the finger.” She pointed to the severed digit lying next to an empty beer can. “Up to you.”
Clem had taken the opportunity to slip away. Morrigan bolted down the stairs in pursuit, all the while cursing herself for bothering to stop and help. If she lost the demon now, it might take her weeks to find him again. And while her mission for Lucifer was her most important task, she still had an immediate boss to satisfy. And Emmett didn’t accept failure.
…
Maccus walked the streets, as he often did at night, minding his own business and enjoying the balmy summer evening. After all his time in Hell, even the smells didn’t bother him.
A black cat with ragged ears darted out from an alley and rubbed itself against his calf. He bent down and ran his fingers over the creature’s soft fur. A heavy purr vibrated through his palm.
Animals were more honest than humans. They were the true innocents of the world, having no ulterior motives.
It stilled, hissed, and raced away.
The skin on the back of his neck prickled. He faded into the shadows.
A long-legged beauty strode down the alley, prowling with the same feline grace as the cat. Her short auburn hair glowed in the streetlight when she passed beneath it. She stopped and raised her head, looking right and left before picking her direction.
Curiosity aroused, he followed at a distance. She barely even paused before entering a dilapidated building that was obviously occupied. She was a tall woman, slender too. But it was the way she carried herself with an utter lack of fear that drew him.
He admired courage.
Making his way to a fire escape around the back of the building, he scaled it and slipped inside undetected. He immediately picked out the demon in the group, a pesky creature barely worthy of notice.
He pulled a cloak of shadows around him. She was here for the demon, which meant she was one of Hell’s bounty hunters. Was that what had drawn him to her? Had he sensed the darkness inside her?
When the demon bolted, Maccus vaulted over the fire escape and sailed through the air, landing two stories down in a low crouch. The demon was so busy checking over his shoulder, he almost ran into Maccus, stumbling to a stop at the last second.
The demon’s eyes widened. “I’m not looking for trouble.” He put his hands out in front of him and backed away.
It seemed as though his reputation had preceded him. Always a good thing. Saved on bloodshed. “Then you’ll wait for the bounty hunter and go peacefully back to Hell.”
The creature’s eyes narrowed. “Not happen—”
Maccus extended his arm, flinging two throwing knives at once. Both slammed into the demon’s heart with unerring accuracy. The creature toppled back and fell to the ground just as the hunter came charging around the corner.
As soon as she spied him, she raised the gun in one hand and drew a short sword in the other. Magnificent. Her gaze went from the demon on the ground to back where he was standing.
“Thought I’d save you the trouble of having to chase him.” He kept to the shadows, not allowing her to see his face. Demons knew about him. After all, he’d spent thousands of years in Hell, leaving a swath of death and destruction in his wake. One that was extreme, even for that place.
But bounty hunters had no idea he existed. Why would they? Lucifer certainly wasn’t talking.
“Thanks.” She stayed where she was, not getting any closer. Smart hunter. “You a bounty hunter?”
A perfectly innocuous question in case he was human. “No.”
She frowned at his short answer. Something pulsed deep inside him. It might be pleasure, but it had been so long since he’d experienced anything remotely like it, he couldn’t be sure.
This woman is dangerous.
He should kill her now and be done with it. She was no innocent. Not if she was one of Lucifer’s hunters. He’d killed so many, what was one more?
But his soul teetered precariously on a precipice.