“Yes, sir, but . . . you’re going to Marissa’s, you say?”

He sounded confused, and it took me a second to realize why. Marissa would have no idea who this young guy was. Her underground trade was highly secretive.

Pharzuph chuckled. “Marissa is a special human. She knows about our kind. She’s expecting me, and can’t wait to get her claws into my new skin.”

I nearly vomited.

Kaidan cleared his throat. “She must be an exceptional woman if you’ve been able to trust her in such a way.”

“Exceptional, yes. And I still expect you to be at her service if she calls on you, regardless of whether or not we live here.”

“Of course, Father. Enjoy your evening. I’ll begin my search for the Neph straightaway.”

“If you need to involve the son of Melchom to help you, then do that. He has a lot of resources at his disposal on the West Coast.”

Blake. Oh, he would be involved, all right.

“Brilliant idea,” Kaidan said.

Nothing else was spoken. Just the sound of footsteps as they both walked from the room, up the stairs, and out the door. Pharzuph started his car and drove away.

I let out a silent breath, and I rolled the conversation around in my head, pondering all I’d learned and feeling proud of Kaidan.

Mercenary of heaven. Was that really how they saw me? A dangerous demon assassin? Actually, I kind of liked that image. I was determined to find a way to secure our safe futures. If only I felt like a merciless assassin.

Nerves zapped inside me. Kaidan couldn’t keep the demons waiting. They’d be expecting him to bring me in soon so they could “deal with me.” This was huge and it was happening so fast. I had no idea how we’d fight so many of them. Would more allies rise up at the sound of our battle cry? If not, we were throwing ourselves into the mouths of the lions with the sheer hope that we’d be able to keep their jaws from clamping shut. I’d been saved by a miracle once before, but it didn’t feel feasible to wish for that fate again. This time it had to be us. We had to fight.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

STRATEGIZING

Pharzuph had been gone ten minutes before I saw Kaidan’s headlights pull out of the darkened driveway. I followed, keeping distance between us. I wondered about Patti and Jay—where they’d gone and how they were. The image of Patti half possessed made everything churn inside me. I had made Jay swear that if he saw something like that happening again he would call me immediately. We may have been separated by states, but I would get there.

We’d been driving for half an hour. I watched Kai’s taillights in silence, and just as I began wondering where he was taking us, he exited for Lookout Point.

Wow. I had to shake my head. He was leading me to the very place his father had ordered him to take me two years ago to begin my “training.”

Two cars were parked at the top of the peak with space between them. The interiors were dark, but I was willing to bet they were occupied. Kai and I parked next to each other and we both got out and stood without speaking. The stars shone bright above us. Crickets serenaded from all around. Kaidan walked to my car and opened the back door, signaling me to get in. I came around the car and stood as he held the door open, giving me a look.

“What are we doing here?” I asked, half teasingly.

His face was serious. “We’re going to talk strategy.”

I bit my bottom lip and tried to look equally serious. “It’s a little snug back there for strategizing,” I warned.

When he still didn’t smile or take the opportunity to make one of his infamous innuendoes, I ducked into the car and he followed. I turned to face him and we stared at each other for a long time. Our circumstances were dire, and his mood reflected it.

“So,” I said quietly. “Am I your prisoner now?”

My words did not have the desired effect. His face only tightened, so I reached up to push hair from his eyes.

“Kai . . .”

“We don’t have to do this.” He spoke with sudden urgency. “You can stay hidden, like Zania.”

My heart broke to see his fear for me and hear it in his voice. As much as I wished I could ease his mind, there was no escaping the truth of our situation.

“I can’t hide forever. And what would that mean for you? Your father will expect you to be working. Marissa will be calling you.”

He gave a light shudder. “I’ll go into hiding with you.”

“That’s no way to live.”

“Are you truly not afraid?” He searched my eyes. “At all?”

“Of course I am,” I admitted. “Mostly because I don’t know how it’ll go down. I don’t know how to face the Dukes. But the chain of events has started, and we can’t stop it.”

“We can try.” In the moonlight his eyes shone with the passion of his words.

I shook my head, feeling torn. I was scared, and I didn’t know if I was ready for this monumental, mysterious task, but I needed Kaidan’s support in order to come to a sense of peace about it.

His voice was hard. Adamant. “I finally have you, Anna.”

“And every second we’ve had together is a blessing I never thought we’d get.”

I ran my hands across his strong shoulders and dug my fingers in a little. Nothing I said was helping. I didn’t have the words to take away his anxieties. Or mine. So instead I kissed him.

My hands grasped the back of his neck, moving up through his hair as his mouth worked mine with a dizzying desperation.