I narrowed my eyes. “I sense a ‘but’ coming.”
She shrugged and smiled, but it was unsteady. “I like him. Hell, I’m crazy about him. He treats me like a goddamn queen, we have a lot of fun together, the sex is great, we seem to be really compatible…”
“But?” I prompted, biting back the urge to say “But he’s a demon.” Let her say it, I thought, relieved. Zack had finally told her. At least that was one stress off me.
She took a deep breath. “But things are suddenly moving really…fast.”
I waited.
“I’m pregnant.”
I had no doubt that the expression on my face was a combination of shock, horror, disbelief, and nothing else that could make her think I was possibly happy for her. I fought to put a smile on my face, but it wasn’t happening.
“It’s Zack’s?” I asked, somehow keeping my voice in a mostly normal register.
A scowl flashed across her face. “No, it’s Pellini’s! We’ve been doing the nasty in the back of the van after every crime scene. Of course it’s Zack’s.”
“Sorry,” I muttered. “Um, are you okay with this?” Don’t you know he’s a demon? I wanted to shriek. “And does he know?”
She was silent for several seconds. “Yeah, he knows, and yeah…I think I’m okay with this. It was a shock, to be sure. I use protection, but nothing’s foolproof, I guess. But if I have to get knocked up by accident, at least it’s with a guy who’s pretty damn awesome.”
I reached out and squeezed her hand, since it seemed like the right thing to do. “That’s great, then.” And because I couldn’t hold the question in any longer, I blurted, “How much do you know about Zack?”
She opened her mouth, then closed it and gave me a penetrating frown. “Why? You have that look on your face.”
“What look on my face?”
“The one that you get when you’re—” She broke off as the door opened and the two men entered, laden with my stuff. We both leaped up to help them, and the next several minutes were occupied with getting my computer hooked back up, and the map on which I’d marked the portal locations up in the hallway by the kitchen.
By that time Eilahn announced that waffles were coming off the iron, and so we trooped into the kitchen. Ryan gave me an odd look as I sat in the chair that faced the back door.
“I thought you hated that chair,” he said as he took a seat.
I blinked, frowning. “Yeah. I do.” So why did it feel right to be facing this way?
Then Eilahn plopped a waffle onto my plate, and I forgot all about where I was sitting. Ryan even got up to help Eilahn with the cooking, giving her a chance to sit and eat as well.
I caught Zack’s eye. “I hear congratulations are in order,”
His smile faded. I had no idea if he had any ability to read thoughts, but I had no doubt that mine were pretty clear on my face. I made a quick flick of my eyes toward where Ryan stood at the counter with the clear message, If he wasn’t right here I’d spill the beans because I’m not going to let you fuck with my friend, and holy fuck how can a demon get a human woman pregnant anyway?
Okay, maybe that was a lot to read in my face, but he seemed to manage it. He gave me the slightest of nods, acknowledging. But now I couldn’t help but wonder—why was I so shocked that Zack had knocked up Jill when only a little while ago I’d been worried that Rhyzkahl had done the same to me? But the demonic lords aren’t demons, I reminded myself. Yeah, great, so what are they?
Ryan turned. “Who are we congratulating for what?” he asked, gaze flicking from me to Zack and Jill.
Zack spoke up first. “Jill’s pregnant.”
Ryan inhaled sharply and gave a cautious smile. “Surfer boy’s going to settle down now?”
“Looks that way,” he said. Zack gave Jill’s hand a squeeze along with a look of such fondness that I almost felt guilty for being so angry at him. Almost. I was still plenty pissed. I wasn’t an expert on relationships by any stretch, but it didn’t seem like starting off with a big whopping lie—like the fact that he wasn’t human—was a good way to go about it.
“He’s stuck with me now,” Jill said after giving him a return squeeze and an equally fond look.
Ryan finished up at the counter and slid into his seat. He lifted his chin toward the map hanging in the hallway. “I get that the red marks are where bodies were found. But what are the blue marks?”
“Well…” How to explain this? Crap. Nothing to do but just say it. “Not long ago Rhyzkahl went onto my computer,” I told him. “Did some sort of internet search on a bunch of locations in this area.” I waved a hand at the map. “That’s the blue marks.”
Ryan’s brows drew together. “Well what are they?”
I shrugged. “No clue.”
His frown deepened. “You didn’t ask him what he was doing?”