nod. “The rest of them came and left. He’s been using the drudens to avoid detection.”
“Pretty smart,” I said, impressed. Then I wondered how long he’d been hanging around. I’d been sensing drudens for months. “What’s with his eyes?”
Levi’s irises were the trademark silver-blue of an angel or hybrid. No one from that far south of Heaven had eyes that color.
“He’s a Cambion, Eden. He’s Leviathan.”
My smug smile vanished, and I leaned forward. “The Leviathan? You mean, the son of Satan?”
Bex nodded.
“And he’s a Cambion? As in half-human? How is that possible?”
“Christ did the same. They have to choose a mortal life. I hear Levi’s mother sells life insurance in Miami.”
“Figures,” I said.
We finished our coffees, not at all in a hurry. I was curious, but I wasn’t going to give Levi the satisfaction of running out to meet him. Contrary to what he’d said, Levi was playing a game, and I would play but by my rules.
The moment I stepped outside, I trailed the curious scent to an alley behind the café, but I found myself alone. Bex stood at the mouth of the alley, looking ominous with his arms crossed, keeping an eye out for more unannounced company.
My skin tingled, and I closed my eyes, seeing myself from Levi’s perspective as he barreled toward me from the opposite end of the alley.
My instincts didn’t request otherwise, so I didn’t move.
Levi crashed into my side, mowing me down onto the asphalt, sending us sliding more than fifty yards. We stopped not far from Bex’s feet. I could tell from his expression that he was wondering why I had allowed the tackle, but still, I didn’t move.
Large hands pinned my shoulders to the cement beneath me, gravel and tiny shards of broken glass poking through my shirt.
Levi looked upon me with a wide grin.
“Feel better?” I asked.
Levi dug his fingers into the skin of my shoulders. “Aren’t you going to fight back?” he whispered. “I’ve seen you spar. You’re better than this.”
“You just wanted to pick a fight? No.”
“No?” he asked. “What do you mean, no?”
“I’m not fighting you.”
“Why not?”
“Because you want me to.”
He blinked, an indeterminable expression on his face, and then he reared back his elbow, ready to strike. I lay there, waiting for him to land the blow, but then I saw Bex above, anticipating his own attack.
Before either of them could move, I was behind Levi, grabbing his shirt with both fists. With a thud, I slammed him face-first into the brick wall behind the café.
“Eden?” Bex called, a strange look on his face.
“Back off,” I said. “I’ve got this.” I ground Levi’s face against the sharp wall, pushing him further to put action behind my words.
Levi grunted. He held his hands out to each side, already surrendering, but he wore a victorious grin.
“Why are you here?” I asked, feeling the blood erupt from where the brick had scraped off the top layer of his skin.
Levi flipped around, throwing a punch and then another. I evaded both with little effort, but then he knelt and swiped with his legs, catching my legs.
Flipping and then landing on my feet, I connected the heel of my hand to his jaw, sending him to the ground again. He stood, shaking off the blow, positioning himself to strike.
I waited, wondering what he was trying to accomplish.
“Answer me,” I demanded.
He lunged for me, and I dodged, barely moving to the side. He stood upright, brushing a thick dark section of hair from his eyes. “Curiosity, I suppose.”
“Cambion,” I scoffed. “You’re falling all over the place like a rookie.”
He rolled his shoulders back and stretched his neck. “I was just warming up.”
He tackled me to the ground, and this time, he moved faster, his blows stronger. After wrestling and a flurry of punches, I tossed him down the alley, and he crashed into a group of dumpsters.
“It’s the middle of the day!” Bex scolded. “Wrap it up!”
Levi was already running full speed at me. Leaping in the air, he targeted his foot at my chest. I grabbed it, but somehow, I ended up on my back.
He smiled, his blue eyes bright, as he heaved above me. “You’re not even trying. I’m disappointed, to say the least.”
“I know what you’re trying to do,” I said. “If you wanted to know what I was capable of, all you had to do was ask.”
He scanned my face. “I have a confession to make.”
“Oh?”
“I haven’t been trying either.” Being so close to me seemed to be