hide their details in body cavities. On the buttocks, genitalia, or even under their hair, yes. But it has to be on the skin.”
“I’m telling you, this guy had nothing on him,” she insisted. “And I know my ‘sight’ is working, because I saw the jerk on the beach’s details just fine.”
“Jerk on the . . .” Alec scowled. “You ran into something else?”
“You can see why taking a nap was a great idea,” Reed drawled.
“Screw you.” Alec looked fit to kill again. “That was probably your idea.”
“Not this time. I was too busy keeping your girl alive.”
“You can’t even keep yourself alive.”
Eve stood.
The brothers barked in unison, “Where are you going?”
“Away from you two. I’ll take my food to go, then you can fight over which one of you will pay.”
“Sit down, angel.”
Alec’s voice arrested her, the tone of command undeniable. This was a different side of Alec. Even more delicious than the others.
Damned libido.
Angry with her unruly desires, Eve plopped back into her seat.
“Tell me everything that happened,” Alec said. “Every detail.”
When she finished, the two men exchanged glances.
“What?” Eve asked.
“The tengu went after you,” Reed said. “He shouldn’t have.”
“Tengu?”
“The demon you thought was a gargoyle.”
“I feel like the kid in school who has Kick Me taped to her back,” she muttered. She looked at Alec. His unwritten sign said Don’t Mess with Me. If she had to wear any sign, that was the one she wanted.
“We have to find him.” Alec’s fingers drummed atop the plastic table.
The server returned with their food and they all waited while the plates were set down. Alec ordered the same meal, then watched Eve closely as she began to eat.
“Why do we need to find him?” Eve asked between bites of her first taco.
“We need to know who he’s affiliated with.”
“By his details?”
“Yes.”
“Fine.”
A smile tugged at the corner of Alec’s mouth. “You sound grumpy.”
“Neither of you believe me. That thing was completely gray from head to toe. Not a speck of color or design on him.”
“Your senses probably didn’t kick in until you ran across the Nix on the beach,” Reed pointed out, wiping his mouth with a paper napkin. “They fluctuate quite a bit for the first couple of weeks.”
“A Nix?” Alec swore.
“Is that bad?” Eve glanced back and forth between the two.
“Hell yeah, that’s bad. And I bet you riled him up with that mouth of yours.”
“There’s nothing wrong with my mouth.”
Both men’s gazes dropped to her lips. They tingled in response. She cleared her throat.
“And the tengu is bad, too?” she asked in order to break the sudden tension.
“Any demon is bad,” Reed answered. “But as far as pests go, a tengu is a mosquito and a Nix is a rat. Our resources are strapped, so the tengu fall fairly low on the scale. We don’t hunt them as actively as we do some other Infernals.”
“We’re going to hunt this one,” Alec said grimly.
“I’m going, too.” Eve wiped off her fingers. “If that thing had details, I want to see them.”
“It definitely had details, babe.” Reed picked up his beer. “There’s no doubt about that.”
“Says you,” she corrected. She looked at Alec. “What do you intend to do when you find him?”
Alec shrugged. “Shake him down and see what kind of information falls out.”
“Unless he has hidden talents, it doesn’t seem like a fair fight. He was small.”
“It’s the demon he works for that concerns me. The tengu are lesser demons who lack initiative and ambition. It’s out of character to risk bringing attention to himself. They like to cause trouble, but only indirectly.”
“It’s not going to be dangerous, is it?”
His gaze softened. “You’ll just point him out and get out of the way.”
“I can do that.” Eve picked up her fork, scooped up some rice, and tried to concentrate on eating. It wasn’t as easy as she would have wished.
She was too exhilarated, a response she found more disturbing than exciting.
“Now . . .” Alec’s voice was laden with frustration. “Tell me what happened with the Nix.”
CHAPTER 9
As Eve unlocked her front door, she took a moment to appreciate the speed with which it had been replaced. But when she stepped inside her condo, admiration gave way to trepidation.
Someone was inside her home.
Alec sensed her hesitation. He caught her arm and pulled her back, taking a defensive position in front of her. Then he sniffed the air and shot her a questioning glance.
She sighed. She didn’t need an enhanced sense of smell to recognize the scents of