behind her.
Her angel blade was in her hand as she rounded a corner and ran into Jett. The Dark Warrior narrowed his eyes at her. “Are you here to get revenge for the death of your boyfriend? His plan to trap us failed, by the way.”
Chloe rolled her eyes at Jett. “Fuck off. Where’s Dante?”
The sound of a wet cough echoed from the room behind Jett. It was the location where she’d first woken up in Jessup House. “Fucking hell.” That was Dante’s voice cursing. “Leave her alone, Jett.”
Chloe pushed past the warrior and stopped in her tracks. Dante was sprawled on the couch in nothing but a pair of stained leather pants. There were bite marks on his shoulder, cuts across his abdomen and blood everywhere.
Zander and Izzy were dabbing the wounds while Dante clenched his eyes and jaw shut. Chloe continued and knelt by his side. “What the hell happened? Axel mentioned a Daeva demon. Did you find the fucker?”
Dante cracked one eye open. The tension in his body was so intense she was surprised he didn’t snap. “I’m not sure if it was the one that took you, but we faced one in Central Park that opened a portal to the Underworld.”
Chloe ran a hand along one ragged wound. Dante’s body jerked at the contact. “If he had short black hair and eyes as dark as night then you got the fucker.”
These guys must have seen the mate mark on his back. They must know what she was to him. Well, what he claimed she was. Suddenly, it felt as if every eye in the place was watching her every move. It was really fucking unnerving. She wanted to turn tail and take off.
Instead, she grabbed the cloth from Izzy and started wiping the blood from his chest. His eyes heated on hers and the tension eased from his muscles. “Dammit. I knew it was too good to be true. The asshole Izzy killed was blond.”
“So, it wasn’t him.” Chloe glanced at Izzy. The young vampire was staring at her hands. Odd, but not the weirdest thing Chloe had ever seen “I’m not sure he was an archdemon either, so I doubt we made much of a dent in Lucifer’s plans.”
Chloe lightened her touch when Dante winced under her ministrations. “How do you know either were acting on Lucifer’s orders? You mentioned before you thought they were trying to free him. Something about attempts made in New Orleans. I’ve gotta be honest, it seems unlikely. Demons are selfish bastards and loyal to nothing. Once Lucifer sends them here, they lose sight of his mission quickly.”
Zander dipped his bloody towel in a bowl of water and wrung the cloth out. “You’ve obviously never met Crocell and her dead sister Cresil. They’ve been fighting us the longest, trying to take my daughter from us.”
Chloe’s gaze shifted from the Vampire King back to his daughter. Izzy was watching him. Her sorrow was tangible for several seconds before she masked it. Shuttering her expression, the vampire princess sat straighter. “She’s also been kidnapping supernatural children to bring her sister back. That’s not Lucifer’s goal. I’d bet he’s sending demons to track her down and that’s why we haven’t heard from her for a while.”
Zander’s shoulders stiffened and a vein popped out on his temple. “Shite. You’re right aboot that. Demons do tend to get sidetracked. It’s like fighting on countless fronts at once. I never stopped to think aboot that. It’s fucking exhausting.”
Dante’s hand landed on top of hers, stopping her cleaning efforts. “That’s true. We can’t ignore any demon, but the ones that pose the biggest threat are those that are actively working for Lucifer. They tend to bring more of their kind through to this realm and are deadly in their pursuit.”
Zander dropped the cloth and crossed to the wet bar in the corner. “Och, they also kill to create ritual sites as well as for pleasure. Those deaths are far more violent and involve more victims.”
“This is all so fucked up. I’ve managed to stay out of the bullshit for thousands of years and now I’m drug into the middle of it.” Chloe shook her head, trying to tamp down her anger as it rose. She wanted nothing more than to walk away. “How have you identified the sites that are for rituals?”
Dante grunted as he sat up on the couch. Chloe flew into action and stood to help him. She drew her hands back as if she’d