Beautiful.
His fangs once again lengthened, along with other parts of his body, and he had to battle against the urge to cross the narrow space and tumble her back onto the cot. The fact that he didn’t know if she would melt beneath him or try to rip out his throat sent a tingle of excitement down his spine.
It was odd. Over the past centuries, he’d avoided conflict. His past mistakes taught him the risk of seeking foolish thrills.
Now, he couldn’t deny a bourgeoning addiction to Brigette’s compelling combination of danger and brittle frailty.
Unnerved by the sheer intensity of his awareness, Xi forced himself to concentrate on the reason he was in the nasty tunnels. Once they’d discovered who was manipulating Maryam, he could return to the serene privacy of his lair.
Somehow, the thought didn’t offer the serenity he’d expected to feel.
“Tell me what you’ve discovered so far,” he commanded.
“Not many of the demons are willing to talk to me.” She pushed herself onto the cot to rest her back against the wall. “Even the rebel riffraff have decided I’m too evil to be a part of the Scooby gang.” A humorless smile twisted her lips. “But I’ve overheard snatches of conversations. I’m not invisible, but I’m good at finding hidden passages.”
“What did you overhear?”
“Most of the demons that Maryam has collected are misfits,” she told him.
“Mongrels?”
“I’m not talking about their species. I mean that, for one reason or another, they were shunned by their own people,” she corrected him. “Or they left because they didn’t fit into their family.”
Brigette’s tone was indifferent, but Xi wasn’t fooled. This female had been an outcast for five hundred years. She understood these rebels better than most demons.
“Like you?” he asked.
“I was never shunned,” she snapped.
Xi arched his brows at her sharp tone. What was she going to think when he told her that he’d been shunned? And how much did her reaction matter to him?
Questions for another time.
“But you didn’t fit in?” he instead pressed.
She shrugged. “I thought I was special. As if whatever I wanted should be handed to me on a silver platter.”
Xi could easily imagine her as a spoiled, petulant pup. No doubt, she had been beautiful, intelligent, and highly rebellious. It would give her the power to manipulate others at a very young age. Power she didn’t have the maturity to handle.
“And that made you an outsider?” he asked.
Brigette stilled, eyeing him with a suspicious expression. “Where are you going with this?”
“Do you sympathize with the rebels?” he bluntly demanded.
“Once evil, always evil, eh?” Her eyes flashed with instant fury. “You’re just like everyone else.”
He leashed his urge to smile. She cared about his opinion. If she didn’t, she would dismiss his words with the flippant indifference he’d seen before.
“I’m like no one else, Brigette,” he insisted. “And I’m not judging you. But as someone who was once driven from my home, I can understand the need to search for a new family and a common goal.”
She glanced away, as if she was about to shut him out. Then, with a visible effort, she forced herself to turn back to meet his steady gaze.
Did she realize that she needed his help?
“I would sympathize if they’d come together to create their own family,” she said. “Most demons feel safer when they travel in packs. But it wasn’t enough for them.” She waved a hand toward the covered entrance. On the other side, the scurry of demons continued to echo through the tunnels. “They allowed themselves to be convinced they have to burn down the world to get what they want.” She paused, her hands curling into tight fists. “I’ll die to stop them.”
Xi jerked, as if he’d taken an unexpected blow. “No.”
She looked surprised by his fierce tone. “Excuse me?”
“You’re not dying.” He instinctively pulled back his lips to reveal his fangs. Not a warning. A pledge. “Not as long as I’m here.”
Chapter 6
Surprisingly, Brigette slept for six solid hours. Climbing off the narrow cot, she told herself it was because she hadn’t slept well since arriving in Chicago. She was bound to crash and burn eventually. But, deep inside, she knew that the reason had something to do with the large male vampire who had just silently pushed aside the heavy wooden board that covered the door and slipped out of her private room.
Having him so near had offered a rare sense of protection while she slept. As if she had someone to watch her back for the first time in over five hundred years.
Brigette stomped toward the wooden chest and opened it to pull out some of the clothes that Maryam had offered the night they’d arrived in the tunnels. She wasn’t going to start thinking of Xi as a partner. He was a temporary weapon she was utilizing to halt the rebels.
A gorgeous, astonishingly sexy weapon who…
No, no, no. Shutting out the image of Xi’s pale, perfect face, Brigette hurried to the makeshift shower that had been set up in an abandoned pump station. At this hour, it was empty, giving her the perfect opportunity to scrub herself from head to toe.
Then, pulling on jeans and a soft sweater the color of the buttercups that bloomed in spring, she pulled her damp hair into a braid. At last, she shoved her feet into a pair of leather boots and headed out to do a quick recon.
Less than five minutes later, Xi silently appeared at her side. He didn’t look as if he’d spent the day standing guard. His glossy hair was as smooth as silk, the buzzed sides revealing the odd tattoos, which shimmered even in the darkness. His jeans and T-shirt were wrinkle-free. And his dark eyes smoldered with an intense energy that hummed through the air.
Everything about him was sleek and immaculate. And overall…lethal. Like an elegant samurai sword.
An unfamiliar excitement raced through her, an electric current that was sparking long-forgotten nerves back to life.
Thankfully unable to read the weird-ass thoughts floating through her mind, he glanced around the tunnel, making sure they were alone before speaking.
“Where are you going?”
“To search Maryam’s office again,” she told him.
“For more scrolls?”
Brigette shook her head. “I’ve done a quick look through the desk and the safe, but it’s possible there’s evidence hidden behind an illusion. Perhaps even an opening to another tunnel. Plus I want to take another look at the map she has on the wall.”