Sin gave her an arch look as the mother and daughter began stirring.
Kat held her hand to her lips to silence him before she flashed them back to his casino where they'd left the gallu bodies.
Damien was there with a questioning look. "You're still alive. Good. Any chance you want to help clean up the mess?"
Sin gave him a wry glare. "That's why I pay you the big bucks, Damien."
"Thought so, boss. Just checking." Damien's smile faded as he turned away from them and started mumbling under his breath.
Kat had a feeling it wasn't complimentary to Sin. "I can't believe Deimos is off your tail. I have to say I've found a new respect for him. I really, truly thought you were dead when he appeared."
"As I recall, he was the one about to die. Maybe I scared him off."
She laughed. "There is that. Seriously, though, he doesn't scare that easily and I wouldn't be surprised if he hadn't allowed you to pin him as a test to see what you'd do. It's not like him to give up a death hunt."
"You think he was lying then?"
"No," she answered honestly. "He's the son of Alecto. She's the Erinys in charge of unceasing anger, and his mother's fury, pardon the pun, runs thick in his veins. But in addition to that, the Furies are also called the Eumenides-the kind ones. They are vindictive but fair. Like Deimos said, I think you proved yourself to him."
"Good," he breathed. "That's one noose off my neck. How many are left?"
She thought about that for a minute. "Counting your brother... couple of dozen. At least."
He looked less than amused. "Thanks for the reminder." But even though his response was sarcastic, she still had a feeling he wasn't as irritated as he pretended.
"Sorry."
He rubbed at his eyes as if he were exhausted. At least for a couple of seconds. Then he suddenly paused. "Where are the demons?"
"I think you killed them all."
"Not mine. Yours. The Charontes. Where have they vanished?"
Oh, that was a good question. In all the chaos, she'd forgotten them. "Hopefully not eating someone."
Terrified, they both flashed up to the room where Simi and Xirena were staying. It took a second for Kat's eyes to adjust to the darkness.
When they did, Kat had to stifle a laugh as she saw the two of them lying asleep, looking like spontaneous crash victims. Simi's legs were propped up on the wall and her body twisted while her head and one arm were draped over the side of the bed, toward the floor. Xirena was facedown with the top of her head on the floor while her body was spread diagonally across the bed. Her wings covered her like a blanket.
Scowling, Sin angled his head as if trying to match their twisted positions. "How do they sleep upside down like that? Wouldn't all the blood rush to your head and hurt?"
"I have no idea," she whispered, pushing him back toward the door. "But let's let them sleep"
He walked through the door, literally, without opening it and pulled her through behind him. A shiver went over her at his actions. "That was eerie."
"Yeah, but you have to admit it's kind of fun. I used to do it on Halloween to scare kids."
Kat laughed at the devilish look on his handsome face. "You're awful."
"Never claimed to be otherwise." He opened the door to his penthouse and allowed her to enter first.
She could sense his exhaustion and his concern for his brother as Sin joined her inside and closed the door behind them. "He'll turn up."
"Yeah, but how?" I have a really bad feeling about this, Katra. Did I make a mistake by freeing him?"
She reached up to cup his face in her head so that she could soothe some of the guilt she felt from him. "Oh, Sin, you know better. There was no way you could have left him there, like that."
Those beautiful golden eyes were tormented. "I know. But..."