Outlaw (Wolves of Royal Paynes #4) - Kiki Burrelli Page 0,88

get some sleep."

He knew most of the pack wouldn't be able to fall asleep, but after what they'd just went through, they needed time to calm down.

"Well, I'm a spawn of hell and need no sleep, so I'm going to go continue my conversation." In case his meaning was lost on anyone, Claus thrust his hips lewdly, receiving several growls in reply.

Knox waved him away.

At the same moment, the doc stood. "I was able to grab much of the medication we had in stock. If anyone needs a sedative—"

Claus made a severe about-face away from the door. "On second thought, never mind. This just turned into my kind of party."

My sweet mate yanked his shoe off and launched it up the length of the plane where it bounced off Claus's shoulder. "Go on, get."

Claus's ridiculous lumberjack face went slack for a moment, his eyes on the shoe. He wasn't able to hide his smile quickly enough as he raised his head. "Fine," he sighed. "If you need me, I'll be nestled between—"

Quinlan covered his hands over his ears. "Go!"

The penthouse was large enough for the pack to spread out, but mostly, they stayed in the large common area that overlooked the gleaming metropolis.

Quinlan warmed my thighs, wiggling the way he was. He warmed other body parts as well, but I wouldn't be able to do anything about that until after we found out what Claus had discovered.

It was only a tiny bit disconcerting when Claus pulled the grimoire and a knife wrapped in plastic out of his stomach.

More so for Maria, who fainted. She'd learned about the existence of shifters, demons, and angels less than twenty-four hours ago, so her response was understandable.

"I'll get her some water." Doctor Tiff jumped up. "Just give her space to breathe."

Claus shrugged and set the wet items down on the long, dark, glass coffee table.

"Why didn't you wrap the grimoire?" Sitka asked with a single brow raised.

"Huh, that would've been good too. It's all itchy in there now." Claus scratched his red skin.

Jazz nodded toward the table. "What's with the knife?"

"A bonus that I'll just go ahead and call my finder's fee." Claus sounded absolutely delighted. He unwrapped the knife, a gaudy thing with more gems in its handle than anything capable of taking a life should have. "This is Abaddon's blade. It's been missing for over five hundred years. No idea how long it's been in a vault with this ole gal." He bumped the grimoire with his knuckles.

"What does it do?" Storri asked.

Claus's expression was one of outrage. "Do? What does any sharp pointy thing do? It cuts. And it's pretty."

"Can it kill a demon?" I asked.

Quinlan elbowed me in the stomach.

Claus rolled his eyes, unamused. "It can, but it's hardly unique in that regard. A great many powerful weapons can kill or hurt a demon. And no, I won't be providing a list of what those items are. Sheesh."

Knox returned from his and Jazz's room. "The Walker County pack has been informed of the attack. They're sending council soldiers to search the area and make sure no one robs the hotel."

"And Badger?" Faust asked.

"Finished with the contracts we gave them."

Huntley whistled low. "That might help explain why Pierce is still sort of upright. At crunch time, probably easier to keep shitty employees than train new ones."

The lines on Knox's face, already heavy with worry, deepened. "Another group of nephilim is missing, presumed dead. Seven nephilim lived in the same home that they also operated as a daycare. Badger's guys have combed through the police reports. The attack happened at night, and when parents showed up the next morning to drop off their kids, they saw the ransacked state inside and called the cops."

Claus made a noise that sounded like a curse, but in a rumbling language that made the hairs on my nape stand up. "That's worse news than you know." He slapped the book open to a page in the middle and pointed at the top line. "As I rushed to return to you all, I found some time to flip through the book. Thalasso used the," he spoke again in that same unsettling language, "or, as you would call it, the Heretic Rites. Thalasso is insane to utilize them. Created to mock heaven and hell, a mage spurned by angel and demon alike created rites capable of opening a gate to heaven or hell that, once opened fully, can never be closed. Anything will be able to come from