the metal bin and materialized.
She drew in a deep breath, widening her senses to let Bruno’s essence come to her. There. He was near. She could sense him. That familiar instinct to hunt her prey flooded her being, a relief after a day of feeling shaken up and tossed around.
Opening the slender bonds that sex had given her with her partners, she sent the information thrumming along those tethers. It felt good to have those ties. She’d sever them the moment they got back to the silo. She quelled any inner protest that might have risen at the thought.
This bond with them was no deeper than her bond with Lilim or any of the other partners that came before her. If the excuse rang hollowly in her mind, she ignored it. It didn’t matter how good the sex had been. That meant nothing. She’d had amazing sex before. Maybe not quite that amazing, true, but she’d never had any more trouble walking away from a lover before. At least not since her last male partner. A shudder of self-loathing ran through her.
Striding down the alley, she let her senses carry her in the direction of Bruno. The closer she got, the riper the stench of his darkness became. She swallowed the bile that stung the back of her throat. Even after all these years, that scent reviled her. She’d never gotten used to it, but she’d learned to suppress her reaction. Bruno’s stink was far worse than Norris’s had been, and there was no way she’d entrap something that ugly on her own, even for a few minutes.
She nodded toward a rundown, two-story warehouse, just as Raum and Kobal said, “There.”
“Yep.” The street was largely empty. Only the unsavory elements would stick around this kind of warehouse and factory area after quitting time. Everyone else had already gone home for the day. Which meant the humans that she sensed nearby could become a problem. She noted where those signatures emanated from, hoping none of them got in her way. There was a comfort she didn’t want to acknowledge in having two large, experienced hunters at her back.
Kobal sucked in a deep breath as they slipped behind the warehouse. “There are a lot of them in there. Bodyguards?” He lifted his hands and shrugged. “Crime boss is a job that comes with enemies.”
Raum dropped to his haunches and laid his fingertips against the building, closing his eyes, and she felt a pulse of his power dance over her skin. What he was sensing, she didn’t know. His forehead creased, then relaxed. “It’s not paranoia if they really are after you.”
He smiled a little when Maron and Kobal snorted. Then he nodded and rose to his feet.
“A little ghostly recon, just to be sure we have correct numbers and placement?” Kobal cracked his knuckles, a gleeful grin on his face.
She could feel the adrenaline buzzing through him. The need to take action thrummed along the thin link between them, filling her too. Her muscles tightened and she forced them to relax when she went incorporeal, blending into the night. “I’ll take the second floor, just to make sure nothing’s going to come down on our heads. Raum, you take the bottom floor. Kobal, make sure there’s no one outside to give us any nasty surprises. Be back here in five minutes.”
The two demons nodded silently, taking her orders without protest. They slipped into the shadows and were gone. She flowed through the wall of the warehouse, noting the humans she passed as she moved toward the staircase. Eight men, and she could feel more nearby. She shuddered when one of them walked right through her while he came down the narrow staircase. The building had an air of neglect and ill repute. The perfect place for a man like Bruno to conduct his business.
A quick tour of the upper floor revealed a few more men, all armed. Whatever was going down tonight required a lot of guards. Or maybe this was Bruno’s standard operating procedure. A man like him had to have a lot of enemies. There was a hum of
She drew in a deep breath, widening her senses to let Bruno’s essence come to her. There. He was near. She could sense him. That familiar instinct to hunt her prey flooded her being, a relief after a day of feeling shaken up and tossed around.
Opening the slender bonds that sex had given her with her partners, she sent the information thrumming along those tethers. It felt good to have those ties. She’d sever them the moment they got back to the silo. She quelled any inner protest that might have risen at the thought.
This bond with them was no deeper than her bond with Lilim or any of the other partners that came before her. If the excuse rang hollowly in her mind, she ignored it. It didn’t matter how good the sex had been. That meant nothing. She’d had amazing sex before. Maybe not quite that amazing, true, but she’d never had any more trouble walking away from a lover before. At least not since her last male partner. A shudder of self-loathing ran through her.
Striding down the alley, she let her senses carry her in the direction of Bruno. The closer she got, the riper the stench of his darkness became. She swallowed the bile that stung the back of her throat. Even after all these years, that scent reviled her. She’d never gotten used to it, but she’d learned to suppress her reaction. Bruno’s stink was far worse than Norris’s had been, and there was no way she’d entrap something that ugly on her own, even for a few minutes.
She nodded toward a rundown, two-story warehouse, just as Raum and Kobal said, “There.”
“Yep.” The street was largely empty. Only the unsavory elements would stick around this kind of warehouse and factory area after quitting time. Everyone else had already gone home for the day. Which meant the humans that she sensed nearby could become a problem. She noted where those signatures emanated from, hoping none of them got in her way. There was a comfort she didn’t want to acknowledge in having two large, experienced hunters at her back.
Kobal sucked in a deep breath as they slipped behind the warehouse. “There are a lot of them in there. Bodyguards?” He lifted his hands and shrugged. “Crime boss is a job that comes with enemies.”
Raum dropped to his haunches and laid his fingertips against the building, closing his eyes, and she felt a pulse of his power dance over her skin. What he was sensing, she didn’t know. His forehead creased, then relaxed. “It’s not paranoia if they really are after you.”
He smiled a little when Maron and Kobal snorted. Then he nodded and rose to his feet.
“A little ghostly recon, just to be sure we have correct numbers and placement?” Kobal cracked his knuckles, a gleeful grin on his face.
She could feel the adrenaline buzzing through him. The need to take action thrummed along the thin link between them, filling her too. Her muscles tightened and she forced them to relax when she went incorporeal, blending into the night. “I’ll take the second floor, just to make sure nothing’s going to come down on our heads. Raum, you take the bottom floor. Kobal, make sure there’s no one outside to give us any nasty surprises. Be back here in five minutes.”
The two demons nodded silently, taking her orders without protest. They slipped into the shadows and were gone. She flowed through the wall of the warehouse, noting the humans she passed as she moved toward the staircase. Eight men, and she could feel more nearby. She shuddered when one of them walked right through her while he came down the narrow staircase. The building had an air of neglect and ill repute. The perfect place for a man like Bruno to conduct his business.
A quick tour of the upper floor revealed a few more men, all armed. Whatever was going down tonight required a lot of guards. Or maybe this was Bruno’s standard operating procedure. A man like him had to have a lot of enemies. There was a hum of
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