Susan stared at the pictures, especially the ones of the boys. They appeared so normal. Until you realized their clothing was identical to what she'd worn as a child. His sons weren't in their twenties as they appeared. They had to be in their mid- to late thirties.
Suddenly, she and Ravyn heard the growling sound of a garage door opening. Someone was coming home.
"What do we do?" she breathed nervously, looking around for a place to hide.
"We wait," Ravyn said aloud.
Nonchalant to the danger they were facing, he went to lean against the arm of the brown leather sofa with his arms crossed over his chest. He crossed his ankles and for all intents and purposes looked like someone waiting on an errant child to come home after being out all night.
She couldn't fathom his cool exterior. And she really didn't like his strategy. It was a good thing the man didn't work for the Pentagon. The "I'll figure it out as I go" just didn't jibe with her.
"Don't worry, Ben," a man said, closing a door that she was sure led to the garage. "We'll get him."
"I can't believe that bastard lied." The voices were getting closer and closer.
Susan stepped back into the shadows and whispered a small prayer that this would go the right way.
"Like I said, don't worry about it. He paid for his lie. We'll get Kontis and the others. Mark my words."
"They're marked and noted," Ravyn said in a snide tone as the two men joined them in the room.
Paul and Ben pulled up short.
"What are you doing here?" Paul demanded, his face alternating from pale to red.
Ravyn didn't move or even blink. "Heard you were looking for me. I figured I'd save you the trouble of having to search."
Paul seemed to get control of himself as he adopted Ravyn's calm tone and stance. "Hmm... interesting. So what do we do now? Slug it out?"
Ravyn shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"
"I don't like that plan," Paul said, exchanging a smug look with his son.
Well, at least she and Paul saw eye to eye on something. She didn't like the idea, either.
"No?" Ravyn asked as he put his hand to his chin introspectively. "Then what do you propose?"
"That we kill you."
That plan she liked even less.
Luckily, Ravyn agreed. "I have to say that I don't like your plan. Too much..."-he hesitated as if searching for the right word while he waved his hand around his face in a circular motion-"dying on my part, I think." His face turned deadly earnest as he crossed his arms again. "I'd much rather kill you."
The threat didn't appear to concern Paul at all. "You can't do that."
"Why not?"
He took a step toward them. "If I die, the two of you will never be absolved of the murders. You'll be hunted by the police forever."
Ravyn laughed. "Forever. There's a concept you can't even begin to fathom." He sobered. "Trust me, human. That takes on a whole new meaning in my world. But that's beside the point. I think you seriously overestimate your people and their attention spans. More than that, you definitely overestimate my giving a shit about them. I'm a Were-Hunter, moron. I've spent six hundred years being hunted by things a lot scarier and smarter than you."
"I think you're wrong. I think you seriously underestimate my kind."
Ravyn paused as he felt something odd run down his spine. It was like there were multiple Daimons in the house, but he knew better than that. He hadn't felt any when they'd first entered and Ben was in front of him...
"Really?"
"Ravyn!"