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“Of course.” He smiled. “Wouldn’t want my senior man falling down on the job, now would I.”
George winked, then sifted out. Jude pulled me into his arms. I’m not sure what he saw in my eyes, but something made him stop abruptly. His expression softened. Could he see what I truly felt? Were eyes truly the windows to the soul?
“God, woman.” He pulled me tight. “You will most certainly be the death of me.”
His armor of protection shielded both of us as we sifted into his house. George and Kat were seated on the sofa together, talking heatedly. They broke apart on our sudden appearance. Kat scooted away.
“Jude, you are the most stubborn man I have ever known. Didn’t I tell you to deal with the Black last night?”
Last night? It felt like eons since he’d destroyed Fabio into a crumpled carcass of burnt bones.
Apparently, the Black had a way of taking over, guiding a demon hunter beyond the necessary means of destruction. I had wondered what caused Jude to lose control like that. I couldn’t imagine what he’d planned on doing to Dommiel before George pulled us out. I shivered.
Jude guided me to the overstuffed chair, which was, thankfully, no longer embedded in the window. He picked up a brown fleece draped over the back and wrapped it around my shoulders.
He sat down before I could then pulled me into his lap. Rather than feel awkward, it was natural. I burrowed into Jude and the warm blanket. He leaned back, holding me around my back, his hand on my waist. The other hand slid under the blanket and wrapped my bare thigh under my dress.
“Yes, Kat, I should’ve listened to you” Jude replied, “but no harm done.”
“Tell Dommiel that,” she snapped.
Jude sobered. “He got no more than he deserved. I’d already warned him to stay clear of Genevieve. It’s his own fault.” He shrugged nonchalantly.
“What other payment might he have received for disobeying you had we not arrived in time?” Kat asked. “If you removed him, another less cooperative high demon may have taken his place.”
Unruffled, Jude shrugged nonchalantly.
Jude had tidied up the splintered wood and shattered glass from last night’s tirade, but there were still signs of his raging temper. No one remarked on that or the plywood-covered window or the bare hearth with exposed brick, but I saw George observing with a smile.
“Let him alone, Katherine.”
Back to her formal name.What was their story?
“Oh, you two always side with each other!” she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.
“Whatdidyou do with Dommiel?” Jude asked pointedly.
Kat straightened with a superior air, flipping her ponytail, and crossing her rather shapely legs. George’s eyes wandered down the length of them.
“I made a deal with him, which you were certainly in no mind to do.”
“What kind of deal?”
“His measly life, or rather a stay of expulsion back to hell, in exchange for very important information. Thanks to me, we now know which high demon wants Gen dead.”
She paused for dramatic effect. It was very effective. I sat up straighter, breathless. Jude didn’t move, but the muscles in his shoulders and arms tightened around me.
“Well?” I blurted. “Who is it?”
“Bamal, High Demon of New York. Dommiel’s orders were to do surveillance, not to kill.”
“Surveillance? Why the sudden change? Did he say?” asked George.
“That, he wasn’t privileged to know.”
“Wait,” I interjected, “isn’t New York your territory, Kat?”
She nodded. “Yes. But, I’ve never laid eyes on him. He stays cloistered in his lair, coming out only either in shape-shifting form or in possession of his Vessel.”
