Demons in Disguise: The Divinicus Nex Chronicles: Book Three Page 8

  “It shows where demons touched this map,” I said. “Like UV light illuminating blood spatter at a crime scene.”

  “Yes, but there is no blood involved here.”

  “Not yet,” I muttered grimly.

  Jayden’s brow furrowed. “But this doesn’t help much. Demons touched it too often for me to ascertain any clear pattern of the locations they were interested in.”

  Blake rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. “Jayden, could you install that purple photoflotsam electroblob demon synergy catcher in the cameras around town? Then, if demons showed up, we’d see them, right?”

  “That’s an excellent idea.” Jayden tucked his long hair behind one ear. “It’s still experimental, and it’s not how the prototype was configured, but it could work if I…” He started muttering to himself and typing on his tablet.

  Logan thumped Blake’s arm. “Nice work.”

  “Don’t be so surprised.” Blake tapped an index finger to his head. “I have a mind like a steel sieve.”

  “You mean trap.”

  “Nuh-uh.” Blake shook his head. “Nothing gets trapped in my brain.”

  No one argued.

  “So we have zilch?” I said, disappointed.

  “Not completely.” Jayden dropped a plastic card on the table. “I have this item you retrieved off the demon. It is a security badge or keycard of some sort, with a picture of the demon you called Razor Rick. I recognized him when I reviewed the security footage from last night.”

  “So we can track down where he worked?”

  “Yes,” Jayden said. “Once I can determine the company. My database had no answers, but I am sure that by researching it using Aunt M’s computer, I will ascertain the name and the relevance to our current situation.” He smiled. “Our first real clue.”

  Which all sounded great, until I got my first real look at the card. The air froze in my lungs. I stared at the badge for a long agonizing moment.

  Then I freaked.

  CHAPTER 21

  The bell signaling the end of lunch rang, but I was already running, racing at high speed away from Flint’s castle and toward the school parking lot. Ayden caught up as I reached his car.

  “Let’s go!” I said, pounding on the Audi’s window. “Hurry!”

  He calmly took my shaking hands in his warm relaxed ones. “You can’t leave school and go home. What are you going to tell your mom? Something about this?”

  Ayden pointed at the badge keycard thing and pried it out of my grip. I'd been clutching it so hard it left deep ridge lines in the skin of my palm. He leaned in and gently kissed my hand, then rubbed his thumbs over the indentations. They didn’t go away, but it felt good, soothing both my skin and raw nerves.

  The card had a picture of some normal looking guy. I was guessing he looked like the fake human form of Razor Rick. The ID badge listed his name as Brian Burke and gave employees of the company access to the building and the offices inside. It had a notation of “Purchasing and Transport Department,” but there was no company name. Just a logo. A series of raised lines, which reminded me of blips on a heart monitoring machine.

  I’d immediately recognized the logo and the access card. I’d had one myself once. So had my parents. When we’d all gone on a private tour of the facility in Los Angeles.

  The series of lines in the logo represented the letter M.

  As in M-Terprises. Meaning that this demon, this minion for what was probably the Mandatum traitor trying to kill me, had infiltrated the top secret security firm owned by my uncle and my crazy, genius, and very pregnant, Aunt M.

  “I’ve got to do something,” I said with quiet desperation. “Aunt M could be in danger. And what about the baby?”

  The chill breeze caused my errant red curls to drift across my face. Ayden smoothed them away and cupped my cheeks with his hands, capturing my gaze, helping calm my fears.

  “Your aunt is one of nuttiest people I know,” he said. “But also one of the smartest. With her wacky paranoia and over the top security skills, she can well take care of herself.” He had a point. “Besides, if we have his badge, this demon’s not going anywhere near her for now.”

  Another good point. “But for how long?”

  “Long enough for us to come up with a plan,” Logan said as he strode up with the rest of the Boys.

  Jayden rubbed his hands together. “This badge is an excellent lead which we can use to our advantage in deducing what this creature was doing and why. What was he purchasing and transporting?”

  Jayden may have been right, but it still scared the crap out of me.

  CHAPTER 22

  The rest of the school day proved quiet. Except for me bombing my history exam. I had a lot on my mind. Most urgently, what to do about the keycard and Aunt M.

  Mom, still in mega-maternal, everyone-stay-together mode, insisted on picking me up. Ayden promised to stop by later. I was still drawing a blank on brilliant ideas while trying to concentrate on homework when, while I was on my second cinnamon roll, inspiration hit. Must have been the sugar rush.

  “Hey, Mom.”

  She turned from putting her zillion-cheese lasagna in the oven. Next, she was starting on mac and cheese. Fried chicken had also been mentioned. The cooking binge continued. Not that I minded. The aromas were mouthwatering.

  “You said you’ve been talking to Aunt M almost daily.”

  “Yes, lucky me,” Mom said with heavy sarcasm. “Today at three thirty-four a.m., she accidentally peed herself a little and was sure her water broke. Her delivery date is still over a month away. I let Dad talk her down. She’s fine. Why do you ask?”

  “Do you know where she is?”

  “Are you kidding?” Mom snorted. “If she told me, she’d have to kill me.”

  “So you don’t know if she’s even in California? Do we still have those badges she gave us when we toured her company in Los Angeles?”

  “No.” She eyed me. “What’s up?”

  I shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. “She offered me an internship, and I thought I’d go take another look at the place. I don’t remember much from our last visit.”

  The internship offer was true, although M was hoping I’d go somewhere in Europe, far away from Hex Boys. She wasn’t their biggest fan.

  “Really?” Mom said. “That was nice. It would be a wonderful experience for you. Not to mention getting you out of the house. Expand your horizons.” Translation: help get you further out of the hermit mode you’ve been in ever since the alley attack. “I’ll call her and set something up right away.” Translation: before you change your mind.

  “Gee, Mom. Thanks. Tomorrow would be perfect. We have a half-day at school. What a great idea you’ve had.”

  “What’s a great idea?” Ayden came in from the backyard through the kitchen's French doors, carrying three containers of coffee. He handed one to Mom and another to me. Before sitting at the table, he kissed me on the cheek and with a furtive glance at my mom, threw in a quick nibble on my earlobe. I stifled a giggle and pushed him off. He sighed with a dramatic pout, but sat down to drink his coffee.

  Mom said, “Tomorrow Aurora’s going to tour M’s offices in Los Angeles.”

  In the middle of a sip, Ayden choked and spewed coffee everywhere.

  CHAPTER 23

  “It’s not a great idea!” Ayden hissed as we washed up at the massive metal sink in the garage. Not sure if he’d gotten more coffee spewage on me or himself.

  “It will get us in the building, and we can use the keycard to see what the disguised demon has been up to in Purchasing and Transport.”

  He scowled. “How are we going to do that?”

  “I’m sure Jayden can figure something out while the rest of us cause some sort of distraction.”

  “It’s too dangerous.” Ayden had been rubbing a wet rag over his T-shirt to diminish the coffee stains. It wasn’t doing much good. With an angry grunt, he pulled off his shirt and stuck it under the faucet, scrubbing, squeezing, a
nd rinsing with a vengeance. His words were clipped in frustration. “I don’t like it.”

  Well, I certainly did. Not talking about the plan now.

  The plan kind of flitted from my mind as I watched his naked torso. His arms, his shoulders, his back. He was taking his frustrations out on the shirt. Attacking it. Making all his muscles bulge and ripple in a most impressive way.

  And he smelled so good. As his anger rose, the heat brought out the scent of that sandalwood soap he loved to shower with. Naked. I closed my eyes and inhaled the wondrous aroma of Ayden. A few pleasant visions of him started dancing behind my lids.

  Nice. Why fight the feeling? No need. I felt a blush—

  “Dammit!”

  I jumped back and opened my eyes as he flung the wadded shirt into the sink. It landed with a wet thwap, and water splashed on his chest and arms. The droplets quivered, giving away the internal tension in his body. Some of them dripped down. Slowly. Taking their time to meander over his smooth skin, the sensuous curves of his muscle. Watching them trail along his body, I was mesmerized.

  He dropped his head briefly, then straightened, water flinging through the air as his fingers raked angrily through his hair, slicking it back in a shiny blue-black wave.

  “Sorry,” he said, his voice stiff. “It’s actually a very good plan. It’s just…” He looked away, miserable.

  “What?” Now I was worried.

  He sighed. “Because of the half-day at school tomorrow, I was going to surprise you and take you on a date. One that didn’t end in disaster. For once.”

  Something tight broke in my chest. Relief.

  “Oh,” I said as I got a kind of “awww” feeling at the thought that in all this hoopla, he was thinking of ways for us to have time together.

  “I know.” He shook his head. “With how things are, it’s stupid.”

  “It’s not stupid at all.” I smiled and stepped forward, then wrapped my hands around his biceps. His skin was damp and very warm, muscles coiled just beneath the surface. “It’s sweet.”

  He gave me a lopsided grin. “Sweet wasn’t exactly what I was going for, but doesn’t matter. You’ve got other things on your mind.”

  Hmmm. If he only knew.

  I slid my hands up his arms, the movement was easy with the water slicking the way, my fingers rolling along the contours. I kept going, letting my hands roam.

  “If not something sweet,” I said softly, “what exactly did you have planned?”

  He cocked his head, watching me, glancing to my hands as they smoothed over his shoulders, across his bare chest, then slipped up his neck and into his warm, wet hair.

  A sly smile spread across his mouth. His hands moved to my hips, wrapping his fingers in a gentle squeeze. His thumbs slipped underneath my shirt and brushed a feather’s touch back and forth against the skin just above my hip bone.

  My breath hitched at his delicate strokes. Goosebumps emerged. My stomach clenched and my insides hollowed, warmth tingling down through my abdomen and the backs of my thighs.

  He pulled me forward, bringing my body to press against his. My shirt was soaking from the failed attempt at cleaning, and now it sucked like a magnet onto his damp torso. The thin material between us seemed non-existent. I felt the hardness of him, and the heat nearly sent the water to steaming.

  He looked down at me, so intense. His dark eyes started to shimmer with the colors of sunset.

  “Well…” His voice turned deep and rough around the edges. “I was contemplating various scenarios, and I don’t want to ruin any future surprises.” He moved one hand from my hip and slid it across my back, tugging me closer. “But I can tell you that in every scenario we were definitely alone.”

  I let out a slow breath, shaky from the fiery tingles coursing through me. “Sounds ideal.”

  “I thought so.” His head dropped toward my lips. I nearly shuddered with the anticipation of his touch. But at the last minute, he dipped sideways, the stubble on his jaw scratching softly on my cheek. I felt his warm lips on the edge of my ear as he whispered, “Especially because we always, always, did a bit of kissing.”

  His warm breath tickled. This time I did shudder, and when his tongue flicked my earlobe, my eyes closed, and I had to lean into him for support.

  I felt him smile.

  He ran slow, tender kisses down my neck. I tried to remember to breathe. Inhale. Exhale. Yes, that was it. Then I said, “That’s disappointing.”

  I felt him frown.

  When he would’ve pulled away, I held him tight, and with my lips against his skin, said, “Because I was hoping for much more than a bit of kissing.”

  He smiled again and brought his face up so he could look at me, desire burning through his amusement. “Your wish is my command.”

  Then his mouth lowered and—

  “Boom! Went the dynamite that is my irresistible charm, and they all agreed to a dance with moi at the Spring Fling!” Blake burst through the side garage door with a dramatic, and surprisingly graceful, twirl.

  Logan and Jayden followed him in, Logan rolling his eyes. “Yeah, so you’ve been saying.”

  “Repeatedly,” Jayden agreed.

  “You guys are just jealous because I need a new Spring Fling book to accommodate all the ladies’ names!”

  I tried to pull away from Ayden, but he wouldn’t let me go.

  “Nope.” he said through gritted teeth and surprised me with a solid kiss on the lips. “Holding you in my arms is all that’s keeping me from strangling Blake.”

  I laughed. Ayden didn’t.

  So I stayed wrapped in his warmth, snuggled against his naked skin.

  “Hey, dude and dudette!” Blake said when he finally saw us. “What? Are we having a Taking Off Our Shirts contest? Awesome! I’m in.” He quickly dumped the boxes he was carrying into the arms of Logan, who stumbled under the weight. Then Blake pulled his shirt off over his head and stepped back, grinning, spreading his arms wide, giving us the full view of his bare torso. “Yep, yep. Take it all in, fireboy. I know you do your best, but look at this.” He began rubbing his chest and abs in a way that was far too suggestive. “I clearly win. You lose, loooo-zah.”

  Admittedly, Blake’s body was impressive. Hours of gym time, not to mention hard work on his ranch, and you had to love his uncomfortably overwhelming enthusiasm. For himself.

  “Babe, try not to drool. On second thought. That’s impossible. Drool away.” Blake pointed at me. “Now for the ladies’ category. I’ll be the judge. Aurora, off with your shirt so I can make a proper assessment of your assets.”

  From inside the house Mom yelled, “I heard that.”

  Blake’s eyes bugged. “Oh, crap!” He scrambled to find his shirt. It had slipped under a table when he’d flung it on the floor. He dropped on all fours to get it. “Just kidding, Mom Lahey!” He fumbled to his feet as he yanked his shirt back on, shouting, “I would never do such a thing!” He glared at all of us. “Why didn’t you guys warn me?”

  Logan smirked. “And miss watching you squirm? Not a chance.”

  “Yeah,” Ayden said. “Who’s the loo-zah now?”

  As we snickered, Blake snatched back the boxes from Logan and headed into the house. As he turned the knob and shoved the door open with his hip, he told Mom, “I brought you a present.”

  “Thank you, dear,” she said before the door closed. “What could it be? Oh, first, fix your shirt. It’s inside out.”

  CHAPTER 24

  Dinner proved more raucous than usual because we had a Hex Boys extravaganza. When the Boys mentioned that their families were gone and that they planned on camping out at Tristan’s house—which, Ayden’s explained on the sly, was to better keep an eye on me—Mom insisted they join us, happy to utilize her many recent culinary efforts.

  Matthias was missing, of course, but that was a good thing. He would’ve ruined my appetite.

  After the meal, Blake took Mom and Dad into the backyard so the three of them could plant hi
s gift to Mom. He’d brought a bunch of her favorite flower varieties, almost all the plants in full bloom.

  “I didn’t think these were even close to blossoming yet,” Mom commented with delight as the trio walked outside.

  “They weren’t,” Logan told me under his breath.

  He took off his jacket, tucking his tie inside his shirt, and rolled up his sleeves in preparation for dishwashing duty. Luna and Lucian were dealing with baths for Selena and Oron, while Ayden and Jayden cleared the dining room.

  “So he used his earth power to do that fast-forward growing thing?” I grabbed a dishtowel for drying. “That’s really sweet, but what’s up with him? He seems a little, I don’t know, tense?”

  A few spots of pink sprang up on the pale skin of Logan’s cheeks. He shrugged. “Who knows?”

  “Seriously? When it comes to what Blake’s thinking, you’re the expert.”

  As close as all the Hex Boys were, Logan and Blake had a special bond. After the incident when they were kids where Garrett had been killed by, as Ayden called it, a “flying serpent-wolf thing,” Blake’s parents and sister hadn’t returned with the group, and he’d lived with Logan’s family until his Uncle Reece had shown up.

  Logan briefly paused washing dishes. “Blake just likes everyone to be happy.”

  “He does pride himself on being a lover, not a fighter. Unless it’s demons, of course.” I watched the big guy outside laughing with Mom and Dad and wondered…“What happened to his family?”

  Logan stopped washing dishes. More color flared bright on his cheeks. “I can’t…It isn’t…you aren’t supposed to—” He clanged the pan on the countertop and started cleaning another one with excessive vigor as he grumbled, “None of your business.”