Heart of the Demon

chapter Eight



Keira went into the Devil’s Domain and stopped at the bar to order a drink. “Glenlivet Eighteen, straight up,” she told the vampire behind the bar. He handed her the whiskey and she made her way toward the back of the club. She tried to ignore the press of bodies, both preternatural and human, and the extreme noise level. The place was packed to capacity tonight, and everyone had to yell in order to be heard over the din.

Javier stood next to the door. His brown eyes lit on her as she neared. “I was wondering when you’d get here, bonita.” He flipped his wrist to check his watch. “You’re late.”

“Traffic,” she said by way of explanation. Trying to get anywhere quickly in the greater Phoenix metro area was an exercise in futility. “I’m here now.” She placed her free hand on his arm and let part of her energy wash over him, creating a slight euphoric satisfaction in Javier. She could feel it bouncing back at her, so she knew it was working.

“Let’s go inside,” he said and opened the door to the private rooms where the vampires fed.

She followed him through the door and into a tiny room off to the left of the narrow corridor. The space was only large enough to hold a regular-size red sofa and a small table at the end opposite the door. Javier motioned for her to sit, and she did. As he sat down next to her, she took a sip from her glass, hoping the burn of whiskey down her throat would bolster her courage.

Javier took the glass from her and twisted to place it on the table behind him. Then, picking up her hand, he played with her fingers while he mused, “I’ve been hungry for you, bonita. So hungry.” He raised his gaze to hers. His pupils had completely dilated, leaving them rimmed in the thinnest circle of brown, and the whites of his eyes had filled with red. “Will you allow me to nourish myself on your sweet vitality again?”

Oh, sweet Morrigan, she wanted to throw up. At least she knew the fake feeding she’d foisted onto him still held. This time, though, she didn’t need to let him do anything to her. She was in the group. With a smile she pulled her hand away. “Not tonight, I’m afraid. You said you had a message for me?”

His mouth firmed but he answered readily enough. “Our next meeting is in two days. Stefan wants you to stay afterward.”

Her mouth went dry. Had she somehow given herself away? “Why?”

“He didn’t say.” Javier seemed a bit put out by that fact, making Keira wonder if he didn’t hold as much sway with the group leader as she’d been led to believe. He might be as much a foot soldier as she was hoping to be.

“Where’s the meeting?”

“Here. At six p.m. In the basement, as before. You’ll get another QR code sent to your phone.” He put one hand on her shoulder and lightly squeezed. “This you don’t want to be late for.”

“I won’t be.” She stood. “Thank you, Javier. I appreciate you introducing me to the group.”

He got to his feet and stared into her eyes. “You don’t act so appreciative, bonita.”

Damn it. She took his hand in hers and pushed with her empathy, creating a sense of well-being and that same sense of satisfaction she’d imparted before they’d come into the room. “I would show you in a more substantial way if I could. I just can’t afford to be weakened right now. I’m sure you understand.”

He withdrew his hands. “I do understand.” He held her gaze a moment longer, somber and disappointed before a small twinkle appeared in his eyes. “That doesn’t mean I have to like it, does it?”

She gave him an answering smile though what she really felt like doing was giving the little shite a swift kick in the arse. “No, it doesn’t.” She opened the door. “I’ll see you around.”

“Count on it,” he murmured.

Half an hour later Keira stood barefoot on the small patch of grass in her backyard. As she absorbed energy from the Earth, she felt her body relaxing, her spirit calming. With a sigh she sank onto the grass and lay on her back, eyes closed against the early evening sun. When darkness arrived she might come back out here naked, but for now having the Earth against her heels, palms, and the back of her head would have to do.

In order to prepare for the upcoming rogue meeting, she decided she would take it easy over the next forty-eight hours. She needed all the energy she could muster, especially since she’d been commanded to stay afterward to meet with Stefan.

Her skin went cold again at that thought. Surely if he suspected she was a fraud he wouldn’t bother to have her sit through a meeting. So what the hell could he want?



Two days later Keira took a seat in the last row and watched as other preternaturals entered the room. The last time she’d attended a meeting she’d ended up sitting in one of the middle rows, so she hadn’t been able to see everyone. Now, from back here, she had a great view. And she was on the outer aisle, so if she needed to she had the ability to stand up and lean against the wall. She could always explain that she didn’t like sitting for prolonged periods of time, which wasn’t untrue.

She watched a variety of prets come into the room, and a few seconds later Finn strolled in.

Finn. At this meeting. He was dressed as he usually was, in a soft black T-shirt that showed off his muscular torso, black leather jacket, worn blue jeans that hugged his hard thighs, and heavy shit-kicker boots encasing his large feet.

Shock ran through her all the way to the tips of her neon green toenails. Yet she wondered why she was surprised to see him here. He had always seemed like such a What’s in it for me? kind of guy, so she assumed he had some other agenda than the one the group followed. What, she couldn’t say.

Disappointment followed on the heels of her shock. She believed Finn could be so much more than what he was if he’d only allow himself to try. If the rumors were true, and she suspected they were based on his attitude, then he was Lucifer’s son. Much of Finn’s behavior reminded her of a son bucking up against his father’s authority. If theirs was a difficult father-son relationship, it would explain so much.

It could also explain what he was doing here. If Lucifer was against integration of demonkind into the other pret groups, which he’d certainly seemed to be, then this could be another way that Finn had to stick it to the man.

She watched as he made his way across the room. He started down the aisle on the opposite side of the room from her. She knew exactly when he saw her. He stopped cold and a funny expression crossed his face. She couldn’t decide if it was astonishment, disappointment, or distress. Maybe it was all three for he certainly seemed gobsmacked to see her. He began to walk the rest of the way down the aisle, his intention to reach her clear in his manner, but Stefan Liuz stepped up to the podium and called the meeting to order. Finn paused, then took the nearest seat he could find, which put him several rows in front of Keira. For him to look at her he’d have to twist round, but she had a grand view of him. Or, at least, of the back of his head and powerfully built shoulders.

Stefan went through his tiresome, illogical rhetoric again. And at the end of his speech the room exploded into applause. Keira clapped along with everyone else and watched Finn for his reaction. He seemed just as enamored as the rest of the crowd, which really disappointed her. She’d thought if nothing else his innate intelligence would save him.

“Now, before I dismiss you all,” Stefan said, beaming a look around the room like a doting father, “I’d like Keira O’Brien and Finn Evnissyen to stay afterward so we can talk.”

Her stomach dropped. Most of the people in the room turned to stare at her. The curiosity in their eyes made her wonder if Stefan requesting audience members to stay behind was an unusual occurrence. Or maybe they were curious about her, since she was new to town. Whatever the reason, she’d find out soon enough what he wanted with her. And Finn.

Stefan met her eyes, his own expression unreadable, and she did her best to suppress her growing panic. With another glance at the room he said, “Thank you all for coming. Victory will be ours!”

There was more applause, which eventually petered out and stopped. Keira slowly made her way up front, her pace in no way reflecting the racing beat of her heart, and reached the rogue leader at the same time that Finn did. While Stefan finished a conversation he was having with another follower, she murmured, “Fancy meeting you here.”

“Yeah, well, you’re not the only one who’s surprised.” Finn stood close and gazed down into her eyes. His voice low, he said, “What the hell are you doing?”

She raised her brows. What did he expect her to say with Stefan—a vampire with very good hearing—standing right there? “I’m here for the same reason everyone else is,” she said. “I’m tired of being treated like…no, worse than second-class citizens. It’s time we do something about it.”

“I’m so glad to hear you say that,” Stefan chimed in before Finn responded. The leader murmured something to the man he’d been speaking with, and the man walked away, purpose in his strides. Stefan put an arm around Keira’s shoulders and then did the same to Finn, though he had to reach up quite a way to do so. “Come with me,” Stefan said.

He led them to one of the rooms that lined the corridor outside the large meeting room. He closed the door behind them and took a seat in an overstuffed armchair. That left a loveseat for Keira and Finn. She sat down and tried to stay as far away from Finn as possible, though the settee was so small she could feel the heat from his strong body next to hers.

“Now, let me say first of all how pleased I am to have the two of you on our side.” Stefan leaned forward and clasped his hands between his knees. “You both bring such solid abilities to the team, we’re fortunate to have you.”

“Thank you,” Keira murmured.

Finn stayed silent and watchful. Keira knew he was wondering the same thing she was: What the hell was Stefan up to?

Stefan gave a slight smile and went on. “I have an assignment for you that will put those skills to good use.”

There it was. She exchanged a glance with Finn. Stefan was going to test them—both their skills and their loyalty, she had no doubt.

Stefan stood and pulled out a small clasp envelope from the inner pocket of his jacket. “Hold out your hand, Keira,” he said and walked over to her. Opening the envelope, he poured several rough diamonds onto her palm. He smiled at her gasp. “Each of these is at least two carats. They’re fake, of course.”

Keira picked one up and looked at it more closely. It was a damned good fake, that was certain. She’d seen a lot of diamonds in her days, and at a glance this would fool even the most reputable jeweler.

“I want you to go to a local shop and swap out a couple of these for real ones.” Stefan sat back down. “Specifically, Beynard Jewelers. They just received a shipment of raw diamonds. We need additional funds, and the money from those real diamonds will fill our coffers nicely.” He stared at her, his gaze tracking over her face. “I’ve been told you’re really good at grifting. I want to see how good you are.”

“Of course.” Keira was unable to fight back the tinge of sadness at the thought that people still wanted to use her because of her abilities to be a con artist, though she did think she was successful in hiding it. Stefan needed to think she was eager to prove herself to him. To the cause.

She couldn’t deny the slight embarrassment that this was happening in front of Finn. While he was aware of her history, he’d never seen proof of it like he was now. She also couldn’t deny the slight thrill of excitement at the thought of pulling a heist. The adrenaline rush was still there even after all this time.

“And if you’re successful with this assignment, I can promise you that you’ll be relied upon more and more.”

If she was adept at swapping out the diamonds, she might get into the shadow cabinet of advisers and fixers for Stefan. She had to do this; time was running out. The next rift was only two weeks away. She had to get into that inner circle, become part of Stefan’s closest confidants so she could find out where he was building his machine.

“For you, my friend,” Stefan said, looking at Finn, “I have a job that is perfect for your rather unique skill set.” He didn’t say anything more.

Keira glanced at Finn and could tell he was going to be stubborn enough to try to get Stefan to make the first move instead of doing what Stefan wanted him to do, which was solicit the information. She slowly moved her foot over and nudged his.

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. With a slight huff of air, he looked at Stefan. “What job is that?” he asked.

Stefan’s face wore a hint of satisfaction that Finn had blinked first. With an air of magnanimity, the rogue leader said, “I want you to kill Tobias Caine.”

The words hung there, bald and desperate. Vile.

Keira’s jaw went slack with shock. She saw the muscles of Finn’s back go taut. “You what?” He scooted forward to the edge of the sofa.

“You heard me. Now, if you also want to take out his wife, I’m all right with that, too.” Stefan gave a careless shrug. “I don’t have anything against her personally. But if she dies first, I’ll at least have the satisfaction in knowing that Tobias suffered before he drew his last breath.” He leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs. “I realize you have something of a relationship with the wife because her mother and your…employer are lovers.”

“That’s right.” Finn didn’t offer up anything more than that. If Stefan knew that Finn was more than Lucifer’s employee, Finn wasn’t going to confirm it.

“And why do you want me to kill Tobias?” Finn’s voice gave away nothing of what he felt.

“That’s my business.” He steepled his hands beneath his chin, tapping his fingers together. “Let’s just say he’s gotten in my way before and is likely to get in my way again, and I like to remove all obstacles I can anticipate.”

“Fair enough.” Finn folded his arms across his chest. “And you prefer that I also kill Nix?”

Keira couldn’t believe how calm he was. How calm they both were. They were sitting here talking about murdering two people with less heat than they would if they’d been talking about a ball game.

“Like I said, I realize you and she have a relationship.”

“Of sorts.” Finn shrugged. “It’s not like we’re close. We really don’t get along.” He paused and lifted his hands. “I actually think she doesn’t like me too much. Needless to say, we haven’t had a lot to do with each other.”

Stefan gave a nod and looked as if he’d heard something that confirmed what he already knew. “From what I understand, every time the two of you do come into contact, you give her a hard time.”

“That might be true,” Finn drawled.

“Yes, I had heard of an altercation between the two of you at Devil’s Domain some months back. You and Caine got into it, too, as I recall.” Stefan’s slow smile glittered in his dark eyes. “Look, do whatever you want with Nix. Kill her or leave her be. But I want Tobias dead. Somehow I don’t think that will be too much of a hardship for you.”

“Nope.”

Keira looked from one man to the other, feeling like she ought to interject something, evince some protest at their machinations. Yet, she couldn’t find the words.

Stefan leaned forward. “Bring me proof.”

Keira stared at Finn, aghast that he seemed more than willing to take out a council member. After all his protestations that he wasn’t a cold-blooded killer…pain skittered through her chest. She really didn’t know this man at all.



Finn’s mind raced as he tried to come up with alternative solutions to the job Liuz had assigned to him. He couldn’t, he wouldn’t, kill Tobias Caine. Not to cement his role in the group, not to save his own life, which might be in jeopardy if he failed to carry out this job. This damned test. “What kind of proof do you want?” he asked.

“Bring me his head.”

There was no way in hell that was going to happen. He shook his own head and folded his arms across his chest. “We’re not living in the Middle Ages. I’m not carting anybody’s head around town.” He ran his tongue across his teeth, and inspiration struck. He’d always heard desperation was the predecessor to inspiration. Or some such thing. “I’ll bring you his fangs.” When Liuz looked about to argue, Finn said, “Take it or leave it. Or get someone else to do it.” In which case he’d have to do what he could to stop the assassin.

It all depended on how badly this loony tune wanted Caine’s head.

Liuz stared at him for a few moments, his gaze hard, face dark with displeasure. Finally he said, “Fine.” He started to say more but stopped when his cell phone rang. He stood and walked away to stand in the corner of the room, his back to them, voice low.

Finn leaned over the arm of the sofa, trying to put a little distance between him and Keira so she wouldn’t sense what he was doing. Then he called on his chameleon abilities and took on the hearing of a werewolf. Liuz seemed to be kowtowing quite a bit to the person on the other end of the line, even if Finn couldn’t quite pick up exactly what he was saying.

Huh. Maybe Liuz wasn’t the one in charge after all. Finn pushed his ability, trying to hear the voice of the other person, but he couldn’t make out anything more than the cadence of speech. He couldn’t even tell if it was male or female. When he heard Keira sniff a few times, he stopped what he was doing and allowed the chameleon to settle back inside.

She looked puzzled. While the fey didn’t have olfactory senses as good as shapeshifters, vampires, and demons, they still could pick out scent better than humans.

Damn it, he hadn’t been able to tell who Liuz was talking to.

The vamp finished his call and turned toward them. “Thank you both. I expect to hear results by midnight. Tonight.”

Keira blinked, but Finn wasn’t surprised. Liuz would want to ensure they didn’t have time to cheat, so giving them a tight schedule would limit their opportunities to do anything underhanded. Well, other than the underhanded stuff they were supposed to do.

“Tonight?” Keira started shaking her head. “I can’t possibly pull off a job with this kind of notice. I need to stake out the place, check on their security measures, figure out the personalities of the staff so I know which approach is best—”

“Tonight.” Liuz sent her a hard stare, which he also turned on Finn.

Finn held up his hands in a surrender mode. He wasn’t the one who had a problem with the short notice they’d been given.

“Of course you wouldn’t care,” Keira muttered. “There’s no finesse in running off and killing someone. However, I’m supposed to swap out diamonds at a moment’s notice?”

“Are you saying you’re not as good as I’ve been told?” Liuz asked. His voice had gone silky, dangerous like a spider waiting for unwary prey.

“No, of course not.” Keira huffed a sigh. “I just…having only a couple of hours to do this is setting me up to fail.”

“Or setting you up to succeed magnificently.” Liuz once again wore his jovial expression, though his beady eyes held hardness. “Call me at this number,” Liuz said and handed them both a business card. The only thing printed on it was a phone number. “Once you contact me, we’ll arrange a meeting.” He stared at both of them, his dark eyes steely. “Don’t disappoint me.”

“I’m sure we won’t,” Finn said. He followed Keira out of the room.

They were both silent as they left the building, but once they were outside, she rounded on him. “What do you think you’re doing?”

He frowned and put his hand up to shade his eyes. Since he was facing west, light from the setting sun was full on his face. He tried to ignore the way it seemed to set her hair on fire, reds and orange lights dancing along each strand. “What do you mean?”

“Joining this group! Why would you do that?” Her voice rose at the end.

This was not a conversation he wanted to have in the parking lot of a trendy, popular club, well within earshot of anyone who cared to listen. “Where’s your car?” he asked.

She sent him a scowl. “I want to talk to you about this, boyo, so don’t be thinkin’ you can just send the little woman on her way.”

“I want to talk to you about it, too, but in private.” He raised his eyebrows. “Now where’s your car?”

“Over there,” she muttered. After they’d gotten in, her behind the wheel, him in the passenger seat, she twisted to face him. “So?”

“Why are you part of this group?” he asked. He couldn’t tell her the true reason he was taking part in the festivities, so if he could put her on the defensive maybe she’d stop haranguing him.

“Why do most prets join the group?” she responded. “There’s something missing from their lives that this group can fill.”

“That’s why you joined?” He stretched his left arm out to rest his hand against the back of the driver’s seat. “You have a void in your life?”

She stared at him. “What does it matter why I joined? Why do you care?”

He shook his head. “Look, I ran out of give-a-f*cks about a lot of stuff a long time ago.” He met her eyes. “But I do care about you.” He softened his voice. “What are you doing here? I thought you wanted to be better than all of this.” He made a circular gesture with his right hand.

Her blue eyes widened slightly. “I did. I do. But…” She trailed off and dropped her gaze to her hands. He watched slender fingers twist together. Finally she whispered, “It’s so hard. And I’m tired.”

Finn reached over and cupped her chin. “Get out now, Keira. While you still can.”

For a moment he thought she might take his advice, but then she stiffened and pulled back. He let his hand drop onto his thigh. When her eyes lifted to meet his, they were hard with determination. “What about you? All I’ve been asked to do is a bit of stealing. You’ve been ordered to murder someone. And not just any someone. A member of the council.”

“Like I said, I ran out of give-a-f*cks.” He lifted one shoulder in a careless shrug. “I think Liuz is onto something with this plan to keep the rift open longer to allow more prets to come through. Hopefully some of those prets will be demons, because we’re outnumbered as it is.”

“I wouldn’t count on it if I were you.”

“What do you mean?”

She grimaced. “He’s said that it’s his allies, and friends of friends, who have been greasing the palms of Detention Center employees in order to be ‘rifted’ without documentation. Do you really think his cronies, who are probably mostly from his home planet, are going to let a bunch of your people through? I reckon we’ll end up with a lot more vampires.”

“You’re probably right.” He wasn’t overly concerned about the numbers, because Liuz’s plans weren’t going to come to fruition. Finn would see to it. In order for him to succeed, he had to kill Tobias Caine. And everyone, Keira included, needed to believe he was going to carry out his orders.

“Speaking of vampires,” she said now, “don’t kill Tobias and Nix. Please. You don’t have to do this.”

“Yes, I rather think I do.” He cupped her chin again and leaned down for a quick kiss. “You have your assignment, and I have mine.”

“You’re not a cold-blooded killer no matter what you say. I know you’re better than this.”

He wasn’t a cold-blooded killer, but Liuz didn’t know that, nor did most people, even those who knew Finn. Except for this slender fey woman. Damn it. If she figured out what was going on with him, she’d blow his cover for sure, possibly without even meaning to. “I’m the kind of killer I need to be, Keira. Whatever it takes to get the job done.”

Her eyes searched his. “Tobias is nearly family.”

“Just because he’s married to the daughter of the woman my…employer sleeps with doesn’t make him family.”

She jerked her chin out of his grasp. “Would you stop with all that? I know Lucifer is your father. There’s no point in continuing to deny it.”

“And how do you know that?”

“I just do. Your relationship is too dysfunctional for him to be anything other than your father.” Even with a scowl she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. “Don’t do this.”

He’d let her have her win on guessing his relationship with Lucifer. “If killing my almost brother-in-law is the price to pay for being accepted into this group, then I’m willing to pay it. Besides, killing a vamp won’t be all that different than killing a demon.” Before she could continue the argument, he leaned down and dropped another kiss on her mouth. “See you later.”

He got out of the car and, as he walked toward his motorcycle, resisted the urge to turn around for one last look. Keira seemed more concerned about him than she did about herself. It was telling. Exactly what she was trying to tell him, though, he hadn’t quite wrapped his head around yet.