He dropped his gaze and took a deep breath. Deep sadness darkened his eyes as he rubbed his right biceps. "I probably shouldn't tell you this since it'll only scare you, but what the hell? If I'm right, you need to know." He paused a few seconds as if he were gathering his thoughts before he spoke again. "We had a bad situation about eighteen months ago in New Orleans. A real bad situation. We lost a lot of good people in one night, including one of my best friends and his mother."
It was obvious that he was still haunted by that night and her heart went out to him. There was nothing worse than trying to deal with tragedy.
"And you think this is going to be the same?"
His gaze burned her. "It's just a feeling I have. I know it sounds hokey. But I'm a Creole with a long line of people who know the mojo. As my grandmother would say, 'I can feel the evil on the wind.' It's the same feeling you get whenever someone steps on your grave."
Okay, now he was really beginning to freak her out.
All of a sudden, there was a loud crash outside that sounded like someone trying to break down a wall.
Susan jumped as her heart lodged itself in her throat. Good grief, what was happening now?
Kyl dashed from his seat, out of the room. Susan followed hot on his heels as he led her back toward the loading dock where there was a red Saleen S7 that someone had crashed into a Dumpster.
The door of the expensive sports car lifted open to show a young woman around the age of twenty, dressed as a Goth. Wearing all black except for her bloodred stockings and biker boots that had flames on them, she was cute enough as she leaped out of the car with bright blue eyes that were round in terror.
"Dammit, Erika!" Ravyn shouted from behind Susan as he joined them. "What have you done to my car?"
Susan put her finger in her ear and cringed as Ravyn bellowed as if he were in pain. She turned to see that he was dressed in a pair of black jeans, with a loose button-down black shirt that was opened at the neck. The look on his face promised Armageddon to the girl who'd damaged what appeared to be a prized possession.
Erika was completely undaunted by his rage as she ran up the dock and tossed her fuzzy black scarf over her shoulder before she confronted him. "Screw your car, Rave, straight up the sphincter. You can buy another one. I, on the other hand, am completely irreplaceable."
His eyes actually turned red as a fierce muscle worked in his jaw. "Not to me you're not. I'm not your daddy, little girl."
"Oh, shut up," Erika said in a way reminiscent of some vintage 1980s Valley girl. "Why don't you ask me why I'm driving the seven-hundred-and-fifty-horsepower car and not my adorable little Beetle, huh?"
Ravyn ignored her as he went to his car, which had the entire left bumper caved in. He raked his hands through his hair as if he were trying not to wrap them around her skinny little neck and choke her. "Why the hell were you in my car?"
Still on the dock not far away from Susan, Erika put her hands on her hips as she glared at Ravyn, who was now inspecting the inside of his car. " 'Cause Daimons tried to eat me, okay? Someone came to the house and rang the bell only a few minutes after the sun set. I thought it was you, so I opened the door, and there they were, so I slammed it shut, turned around, and there were three of them. In. The. House." She punctuated each word with a smack of her hands together.
Closing the car door, Ravyn stared at her.
"Did you hear me, Rave?" Erika asked when he didn't respond. "They were in your house. Your. House. And just how the hell did they get there, huh? I thought they had to be invited in."
She looked at Susan, then Jack, before she returned to Ravyn. "You invite one in and forget to tell me about it? I know I didn't. I'm not that stupid. But they got in and I want to know how."
Ravyn was aghast as he headed back up the metal stairs. "How did you escape?"
"I grabbed that round weapon thing you have on the wall and threw it at the one closest to me, then I ran screaming like a demon for the garage. You're lucky you still have me!"
Susan felt the grisly pain that Ravyn had on his face as he gave Erika a look that said he didn't think himself particularly lucky that she hadn't been eaten.
"Question," Susan asked Ravyn. "Is this the same Erika who's Dark Angel?"
Erika gave her a look that confirmed it.
Rage, dark and forbidding, came over Susan instantly. If not for this little Goth hoyden, her life wouldn't have taken the offramp to hell this afternoon. "Oh, forget it, Ravyn. I'm going to kill her for you!"
Kyl grabbed her as she started for the girl.
Squeaking, Erika took three steps back. "Who are you?"
She fought against Kyl's hold, but the little bugger was stronger than he appeared. "Psycho Susan and I have an ax to grind against your little selfish head."
"Take a number," Kyl growled in her ear.
Erika screwed her face up as if she smelled something really rotten. "Psycho Susan? The lunatic who e-mailed me earlier? Was that you?"