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.
Chapter Nine
Keira watched Finn ride off on his motorcycle and muttered a few pithy words. She wasn’t naive; she knew Finn had killed before. It was part of his job as one of Lucifer’s enforcers. But she didn’t want the murder of people who were essentially his family to be on his conscience. And it would weigh on him, no matter how badass he thought he was.
She wished she had a better handle on why he’d joined the group in the first place. He was not a team player by any stretch of the imagination. It didn’t seem feasible to her that he’d joined because he wanted to help usher in a new age. He’d just as soon go his own way as to help create more preternaturals. At least, that’s what she’d always thought.
Maybe she’d been wrong. And if she was wrong about him with respect to this, how wrong had she gotten everything else? The sense of fondness and friendship they’d formed, was that all an act? He used his charm and vitality to bait the trap, and then when it was sprung, would he lose interest?
She didn’t know. And right now she had other things to focus on. Namely, refreshing her skills so she could successfully complete her assignment.
Two hours later, after having practiced her sleight of hand in front of a mirror, she left the house and headed toward Beynard Jewelers. Along the way she noticed a black sedan a few cars behind her. It turned each time she did, and when she pulled into a gas station she watched as it veered down a nearby side street. She put a few dollars of gas into the tank and then pulled back out into traffic. As she drove past the side street she noticed the black car parked at the curb a few houses down. And from her rearview mirror she saw it ease back onto the main street.
She was being followed. Her first instinct was to lose them, and she sped up with that intention. But then the black car passed beneath a traffic light and she recognized the driver as someone she’d seen attending the meeting. So, Stefan had sent someone to keep an eye on her. He wanted to make sure she was really going to do the job. She didn’t want to make him suspicious, and if she ditched her tail she probably would. She slowed down to the speed limit and made her way to the jewelers as sedately as possible.
Keira arrived at Beynard’s twenty minutes before closing. As soon as she walked in she could tell the employees already had one eye on the clock. No doubt anxious to get their weekends started, which worked out perfectly for her. They’d be in a hurry and not paying as close attention as they should. Nevertheless, she projected her empathic energy, filling the store with a sense of happiness and peace, in order to keep everyone slightly less focused than they might otherwise have been.
When a well-dressed older man approached her, she smiled. “I’m designing a ring and would like to see your raw diamonds, please.”