The Devil's Due mk-3 Read online

  Something sparked in Dom’s eyes. He looked like a man about ready to take a swing at a rival. I guess that meant he was really having a hard time with Adam’s methods. He’d always been the calm one in the face of Adam’s or my temper before.

  Raphael went on the ready, his shoulders drawing up and back, his posture stiffening. I rolled my eyes and laughed, hoping to defuse the tension.

  “If one of you guys starts pounding his chest and yodeling, I’m outta here.”

  Dominic laughed suddenly, and Raphael lost the aggressive body language. Just your average, everyday peacekeeper, that’s me.

  “Are they. .?” I asked, tilting my head toward the ceiling over which the black room loomed.

  The laughter faded quickly from Dom’s eyes. “Yeah. Do you, uh, need me up there?”

  I stared at him a long moment. I pitied the misery that showed on his face. But not enough to let him off the hook. “You don’t get to hide your head in the sand and pretend nothing bad is happening,” I told him, though I kept my voice as gentle as I could manage. “I know you don’t want to see Adam showing his true colors. I don’t, either. But we’re both going to have to suck it up.”

  A hint of fire flared in his eyes again. My, he sure was touchy tonight. I guess knowing your lover was going to torture someone could do that to you. But there was truth in my words, and even Dominic had to admit it. Or at least he couldn’t find a way to argue it.

  Looking grim but determined, he headed toward the stairs without another word. Raphael and I followed.

  Déjà vu plagued me as I climbed those stairs toward the black room. I remembered a frantic rush up the stairs, a desperate desire to stop Adam from hurting my best friend. I remembered Val’s screams, and I remembered the sound of her neck breaking. I hadn’t been able to stop Adam that time. And this time, I wasn’t even sure I wanted to. The realization did not sit well in my stomach.

  Dominic took a deep breath, then opened the door.

  Adam and company were waiting for us. Though I’m not sure Tommy knew he was waiting—he looked like he might be passed out still. Or again.

  Adam caught sight of Raphael, then turned to glare at me. I tried to look innocent. I suppose the expression doesn’t sit well on my face, since Adam kept glaring.

  Dominic stepped into the room and closed the door behind him, drawing Adam’s attention. I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.

  “Why don’t you wait for us downstairs,” Adam said, and at that moment there might as well have been no one in the room except him and Dom.

  To his credit, Dom refused the opportunity to shove responsibility for his presence on my shoulders, even though that was where it belonged. He kept his gaze locked with Adam’s, not even flicking the briefest glance in my direction.

  “I’m not going to hide downstairs,” Dom said. “We’ve decided we’re going to be open with one another, haven’t we?”

  Adam looked remarkably uncomfortable. I guess it was kind of tough for him to torture someone when his lover was looking on. Not that Dom didn’t already know how ruthless Adam was. He did, and loved Adam anyway. But knowing something and seeing it are two different things. I almost convinced myself to tell Adam why Dom had decided to stay and to let Dom escape, but not quite. It just didn’t sit well with me to condone Adam’s behavior but then not be willing to bear witness.

  “Are you sure?” Adam asked.

  Dom crossed his arms over his chest and shivered. But he nodded.

  “Fine,” Adam said, a hint of sharpness in his voice. “Just keep out of the way.” Adam turned his attention away from Dom, and I followed his gaze.

  Tommy lay on the floor, not moving. A heavy stun belt circled his waist.

  “Since you’re here, you might as well make yourself useful,” Adam said to Raphael, shoving something at him. “I may need to use both hands.”

  I saw that he’d handed Raphael the trigger device for the stun belt. Raphael nodded his agreement, and Adam went to squat in front of Tommy.

  “Time to stop playing possum,” he said. “I know you’re awake in there.” Tommy didn’t move, and Adam let out a huff of exasperation. “If you’re going to start being difficult already, this is going to be a very long night. When I asked around about you at the club, everyone agreed you’re much more into giving pain than taking it. So I can either prove you’re awake by breaking a finger and listening to you scream, or you could just sit up.”

  By this time, even I could see that Adam was right and that Tommy was awake. Although his eyes were still closed and his breathing steady, his muscles had visibly tensed. Finally, he swallowed hard and opened his eyes.

  “Good boy,” Adam said with a sneer.

  Tommy didn’t seem to like that much. He snarled, baring his teeth.

  “Behave,” Raphael said, holding up the stun belt trigger.

  Tommy suppressed the snarl and struggled up into a sitting position. “You’re all going to fry for this,” he said, setting his face into a petulant expression that was probably one of the human Tommy’s favorites. “I’m a legally registered demon, and you can’t—”

  “You’re the one locked in my room with a stun belt around your waist.”

  Tommy seemed about to retort, but then it must have occurred to him that if we were all so blatantly breaking the law it must mean we thought it didn’t matter.

  “You’re going to exorcize me,” he said, sounding stunned. He looked at me, eyes wide. “You’re going to jail for the rest of your life for this!”

  “No one here’s going to jail,” Adam said. “You’re going back to the Demon Realm, though.” Tommy started. “Yes,” Adam confirmed, “everyone here already knows exorcism doesn’t kill us.”

  Tommy’s lip curled again. “If you know it’s not going to kill me, then you know I’ll be back someday and kill everyone here.”

  “You can try. You might find it a little harder than you imagine. But that’s beside the point. What’s important is that you can either go back quickly and painlessly, or you can go back after I’ve shown you what an amateur you are at inflicting pain.”

  Tommy’s eyes narrowed. “And what would I have to do to get this quick and painless exorcism?”

  “Tell us who has the children and where they are.” Tommy’s jaw dropped, and those narrowed eyes widened. “Children? What children?” Then he suddenly screamed and collapsed.

  It took me a second to figure out what had happened, but when I did I turned to look over my shoulder at Raphael, who was smiling as his finger hovered over the trigger.

  “Should I give you another jolt just for fun?” he asked. “Don’t lie to a liar. We’re far too good at picking up each other’s tells.”

  All Tommy could do at the moment was glare. The electricity fucks up a demon’s control of the nervous system so badly they’re essentially helpless. Unfor tu nately, it meant his tongue wasn’t functioning too well, either, so we had to wait until he’d recovered before we could get anything but drool out of him.

  Eventually, he regained control and managed to sit up again. There was a glint of fear in his eyes, but his face was set in stubborn lines. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said.

  Adam held up his hand in a gesture obviously meant to stop Raphael from zapping Tommy again. “If we have to wait ten minutes for him to recover every time, this is going to take all night,” he said. “Just zap him if he tries anything.”

  “Sure thing, boss,” Raphael said dryly.

  Adam paid no attention to him, instead piercing Tommy with a look that should have left him bleeding. “If you think the stun belt hurt, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Now, would you like to reconsider your answer?”

  Tommy firmed up his resolve, getting that stubborn, mulish expression on his face once more. I tensed, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dominic tense, too. Neither one of us wanted to see whatever Adam was going to do now. We both stood with our arms crossed over our chests. I seriou
sly considered not watching, but that seemed like cowardice, especially when I had guilted Dom into being here.

  I held my breath as Adam casually reached for Tommy. I had no idea what he was going to do.

  And I didn’t get to find out, because, before he laid a hand on Tommy, there was the distinctive pop of a Taser, and Adam went completely limp.

  CHAPTER 24

  It was Raphael who’d Tasered Adam. Why was I not surprised? Raphael seemed to make a habit of Tasering his allies.

  It was only by force of will that I was able to sound relatively calm. “I’m having déjà vu,” I said to Raphael as Dom rushed to Adam’s side. “This is the part where you change sides again, isn’t it?”

  He smiled at me. “No. This is the part where we cut through the bullshit and get this over with in something less than five years.” He put the Taser away. He was still holding the trigger for the stun belt, so Tommy wasn’t going anywhere, though I’m sure he must have been enjoying this evidence of dissension in the ranks.

  Dominic, after confirming that Adam wasn’t injured, took a menacing step toward Raphael. I grabbed his arm, but he was a lot bigger than me, so I wasn’t stopping him if he was determined to play macho man. It wasn’t typical behavior for him, but he was as capable of going Tarzan as anyone when his lover was hurt.

  Raphael snorted. “Trust me, Dominic. You don’t want to start something with me.”

  “Come on, Dom,” I said, pulling on his arm. “Let’s not make this any worse than it already is.” I noticed suddenly that Lugh hadn’t made an effort to surface, which he usually would have done the moment there was even the slightest hint of danger. I wondered if that meant he knew where Raphael was going with this and didn’t object. I hoped so.

  Raphael turned to Tommy once more. “We haven’t been properly introduced. My name’s Andrew Kingsley, and I used to host Raphael.” Tommy’s face paled at the mention of Raphael’s name. “Let me lay it out for you simply. These folks,” Raphael said, jerking his thumb in our general direction, “may be badasses in the torture department, but I make them look like pussycats. Raphael taught me everything he knows, as it were. And as you’re probably aware, he knows a hell of a lot. Dominic, do you have a fire extinguisher in your kitchen?”

  “What the—”

  “Just answer me!” Raphael snapped.

  Dom’s olive skin had paled more than I would have thought possible. “Yes.” Of course he did—his kitchen was practically professional grade, except for the pedestrian appliances that came with the house.

  “Get it.”

  Dom looked to me for confirmation. I nodded, and Dom hurried out.

  “Now,” Raphael said, turning his attention to Tommy once more, “you might be wondering why I need a fire extinguisher. Let me clear that up for you real fast.” Still holding the stun belt trigger in one hand, he fished a flask out of his pocket. Man, he’d really loaded up for this. You could tell he’d worked in a lab before, because he had no trouble twisting the cap off the flask with one hand.

  Smiling evilly, Raphael blew over the mouth of the flask, spreading the distinctive scent of gasoline throughout the room. I’d thought Dominic was pale; Tommy looked like he was auditioning for a part as an albino.

  Dominic returned to the room, fire extinguisher in hand. His face went from white to green when he sniffed the air.

  “You might want to get Adam out of the way,” Raphael said. “We don’t want him getting singed.”

  Please, God, let this be a bluff. Only I knew Raphael too well. He wasn’t bluffing. I could see it in his eyes, and I bet Tommy could, too.

  Dominic looked like he wanted to argue, but one look from Raphael banished whatever he’d been about to say. He put down the fire extinguisher, then grabbed Adam under the arms and pulled him away from Tommy.

  “I’m sure if they thought they could take me, Morgan and Dominic would try to stop me from lighting you,” Raphael said to Tommy. “Adam would even have been able to do it, but he’s not available to come to your rescue just now. So here’s the deal: you tell me where those children are, who’s holding them, and how many of them there are, and I’ll let Morgan exorcize you.

  “Otherwise, I start toasting marshmallows and lead Dominic and Morgan in a rousing rendition of ‘Kumbaya.’ Which would you prefer?”

  Tommy didn’t answer immediately. I think he was on the verge of hyperventilating. It seemed he hadn’t been prepared to face threats of death.

  Raphael splashed some gasoline out of his flask onto Tommy’s lap. Tommy yelped and tried to get away, but Raphael held up the trigger.

  “I wouldn’t if I were you. Who knows? The stun belt might not react well with gasoline. Now tell me where the kids are. If I have to ask you again, I’m going to light you.”

  Tommy was trembling, and I didn’t think all the liquid that stained his jeans was gasoline. “If you kill me, you’ll never find those children,” he said through chattering teeth.

  “If you’re willing to let me kill you rather than tell me where they are, you’re no good to us anyway.” He splashed out a little more gas, and Tommy started to cry.

  “Okay, okay!” he said, and it was practically a scream. “I’ll tell you. Just don’t—”

  “Don’t waste time telling me you’re going to tell me. Just tell me.”

  “They’re in the basement of Claudia’s house.”

  Raphael laughed. “Yeah, right. Try another one.”

  “They are!” Tommy insisted, white showing all around his eyes. “We took them to a safe house overnight, but none of us wants to take care of a couple of screaming, sniveling brats. So we went back to the Brewsters’ place with them. That way Claudia can feed them and clean up after them while we keep them. . contained.”

  Raphael looked skeptical, and Tommy’s voice rose even higher. “I swear, I’m telling the truth! We’ve got a hostage to spare, so if Devon or Claudia try anything stupid, they know we can kill one without losing our leverage. They wouldn’t dream of risking those kids’ lives.”

  “Hmm,” Raphael said, still not looking entirely convinced. “Just how long are you planning to keep them there, anyway?”

  Tommy swallowed hard. “Three months.”

  “What happens in three months?” I asked, though I already knew it wouldn’t be anything pleasant.

  Tommy didn’t answer immediately, so Raphael splashed out a little more gas. That loosened Tommy’s tongue.

  “After three months of Claudia seeming to accept me as legal, there won’t be so much of a spotlight on me.”

  “That’s not what I asked,” I said.

  Tommy wouldn’t meet anyone’s eyes. Maybe that meant he felt some remorse. “We were going to shut them up permanently. There was going to be a fire at the house. Since Claudia and Tommy would have been on seemingly good terms by then, no one would suspect me, especially when we left evidence that Tommy’s God’s Wrath buddies had targeted him.”

  If Raphael felt any moral outrage at the plan, he didn’t show it. “How many demons are in that house?”

  “There’ll be at least two or three demons in there with them at this time of night. If you try to rescue the girls, you’ll just end up getting them killed.”

  Raphael sneered. “That’s not so big a deterrent when you’ve already admitted that you and your friends are going to kill them anyway. But thanks for the advice. You’ve been most helpful.”

  It sounded exactly like what the bad guy would say before he carried out the threat he’d promised not to. Apparently Tommy thought so, too, because he closed his eyes and sobbed.

  “Don’t you dare!” Dominic said from across the room. He was sitting on the floor with Adam’s head on his lap. He’d have to dump Adam back on the floor if he wanted to get to the fire extinguisher.

  Raphael chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to light him. He might be helpful in getting to those kids.”

  Tommy snorted, amusing Raphael even more.

  “O
h, you won’t be in him when he does. Morgan will take care of that.” He frowned. “I suppose we might want to get you out of those wet clothes. Morgan uses candles for the exorcism ritual, and I think that might be a bad idea just now.”

  Actually, I used vanilla-scented candles, and I didn’t exactly carry them around with me at all times. I wondered what the chances were that Adam and Dom had some lying around, but I figured they were slim. I bit my lip, wondering if I’d be able to get into the necessary trance state without my traditional trigger.

  I averted my eyes as Tommy took off his wet clothes. My eyes landed on Adam and Dominic. Adam was beginning to regain control of his limbs, but Dom wasn’t letting him sit up yet. If Adam wasn’t strong enough to fight Dom’s restraint, then he wasn’t ready to sit up.

  “Someone should get a trash bag for Tommy’s clothes,” I said to no one in particular. Raphael was busy menacing Tommy, Adam was still too weak, and Dominic wasn’t about to leave his lover’s side, so I slipped out of the room.

  I made an educated guess as to where I might find trash bags and headed for the kitchen. It wasn’t until I tried to open the cabinet under the sink that I realized my hands were shaking. I supposed Raphael had saved us a lot of time—and, in a strange sort of way, saved Tommy a lot of suffering—by his methods. That didn’t mean I liked them. I shuddered and tried not to think about what it would have been like in there if Raphael had lit the fire.

  I found the trash bags, but then took a minute or two to splash some cold water on my face and pull myself together as best I could. Yeah, I was a real badass, all right.

  By the time I got back to the room, Adam had recovered enough to sit up. Dom helped him to his feet, and Adam struggled over to the big black bed, sitting down heavily when he reached it.

  “You going to be okay?” Dom asked, and Adam nodded.

  Dom took the trash bag from my hand, stuffed Tommy’s clothes into it, then took the bag away. The room still reeked of gas, and I wasn’t sure lighting candles would be a good idea, even if Adam and Dom had the requisite vanilla.

  “We discussed logistics while you were gone,” Raphael said. “Dom’s going to get the candles.”