let me show you.”
It had been a while since Finn had impersonated a vamp. He studied Caine, took a deep breath to get his scent, then closed his eyes to concentrate on summoning his chameleon demon abilities. There was a burst of heat deep inside him, then his body temperature plummeted. His jaw began to ache and his canine teeth lengthened into fangs. When he opened his eyes, it was to see Caine staring at him in shock.
The vampire stood and walked over to him. “What the hell?” He stopped and drew in a deep breath. “Damn. You even smell like a vampire.” He glanced at Lucifer. “I can see how this could prove useful.”
Lucifer gave a sly smile. “Indeed.”
Finn let go of the pretense and became his normal self again. He dropped back down into his chair and exhaled. Since he was only part chameleon, he was unable to hold on to a deception as easily as a full-blooded chameleon could. Even that little bit had taxed his energy. Not that he’d ever admit out loud that he was tired.
“Come on, Finn.” Caine shoved his hands in his pockets. “We need you.”
Finn thought about it a moment longer then, looking at his father, said, “I’ll tell you what. You free me from my enforcer duties, and I’ll do this.”
“Done.”
Finn’s brow furrowed. “I mean forever, not just while I’m on this particular assignment.”
“Agreed.”
Finn couldn’t hide his shock. He hadn’t expected it to be that easy. It hadn’t been when he’d asked before. He knew this was some serious shit for his father to so readily agree to his demand. “Fine.” Finn looked at Caine. “Tell me what you want me to do.”
Caine nodded. “One thing first.” He leaned forward, his gray eyes darkly intent. “No one, and I mean no one outside of this room, other than my wife, knows what we’re asking you to do. Make sure you keep it that way.”
Chapter One
Three months later
Finn walked into the Devil’s Domain nightclub and paused to let his eyes adjust to the dimness. The warmth inside the club, produced by a furnace and the heat of the assembled crowd, contrasted with the coolness of the November evening.
Not that heat bothered him. He was a demon after all; he could handle a little heat. Once he accomplished his task tonight, he’d see what kind of hookup he could make and then he’d generate another type of heat altogether. If he could. He scowled a little, remembering those succubi he’d seen a few months ago. He’d had similar reactions since, but hoped that very soon his disinterest would be a fleeting thing.
First, he needed to make some progress on that little matter his father and Tobias Caine had asked him to take care of. Things had been slow moving thus far. Infiltrating the rogue group of preternaturals would be the key to his freedom.
He’d been working on it for the last few months, using his current contacts and making new ones. Going to the leader of the group head-on would be too obvious, so Finn had been coming at them sideways. He was so close, he could feel it. All he needed was one person to buy that he was a true believer and he’d be in. He planned to make some headway to that end tonight, especially since he was running out of time. The next rift was set to occur in only four weeks.
Moving a few more feet into the club, he looked out over the assembled crowd. Prets of every type as well as several humans filled the place almost to capacity. A handful of vampires congregated in the booths near the door that led to the area where they could dine in private if they wanted. Some vamps, though, were exhibitionists and got off as much on audience reaction as they did the actual ingestion of blood, which explained why a few of them were leaning over donors in booths that lined the back wall, fangs in arms or necks.
Shapeshifters—werewolves, various werecats, and even a werebear or two—gathered near the bar. A couple of succubi led entranced humans by the hand toward the restrooms where, no doubt, they’d suck off some of the men’s energy while, well, sucking them off. And they’d probably lift their victims’ wallets while they were at it, but the men wouldn’t care about that, not for a while, anyway.
The club smelled like it usually did, a combination of booze, sweat, and the underlying dark,