The Devil's Due by Jenna Black Page B

expression along the way.
    He was silent for a long time after I’d finished, and I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
    “Well?” I finally prompted when I got tired of waiting.
    He blinked, as if coming back from a great mental distance. “From the evidence, it sounds like there’s a definite possibility he’s a product of the Haven project, but I don’t think there’s any way to be sure.”
    “And how do you explain his mysterious change of heart? Why did he leave God’s Wrath and register to become a demon host?”
    Raphael shrugged, his expression telling me how little this mattered to him. “I’ll buy Adam’s theory that Sammy was possessed, at least until it’s proven wrong. But you know, as fascinating as you might find this puzzle, in the grand scheme of things, it’s unimportant.”
    Yeah, that was Raphael all right—compassion personified. “It’s important to the Brewsters.”
    “I’m sure it is, but that doesn’t mean it’s important to you .”
    “You don’t get to tell me what’s important to me,” I said through gritted teeth.
    He rolled his eyes and looked exasperated. “Fine. Sorry I presumed to tell the demon king’s host that she has more important things to do than play girl detective.”
    I’m usually a master of sarcasm myself, but I don’t much appreciate it when it’s aimed at me. “How’d you like fifty thousand volts of electricity running through your body?” I asked, though I refrained from actually pulling the Taser. I was sitting too close, and Raphael would be on me before I even got my hand on the damn thing.
    Raphael’s nostrils flared. “The next time you Taser me, remember you’re Tasering Andrew at the same time. I can promise I won’t shield him from the sensation.”
    I growled in frustration. Raphael laughed, but he sounded more bitter than amused.
    “What’s the good of having a hostage if you’re not going to use him, eh?”
    My fingers curled into fists, but the emotion that swelled in my chest was more grief than anger. So many people had suffered already because of me.
    Raphael sighed, and his voice gentled. “I’m not really threatening to hurt Andrew,” he said. “I’m just trying to discourage you from hurting me . Surely you can understand that?”
    Understand? Maybe. Forgive? No way in hell! “Just don’t try giving me orders,” I said, but I sounded defeated. “If I want to investigate the Brewster case, it’s my business, not yours.”
    “I’m just suggesting you be reasonable. Think it through! Even if you ever figure out exactly what happened, as far as the law is concerned, Brewster is a legal demon host. Your chances of finding enough concrete evidence to prove he’s not are slim to none.”
    There’s nothing like being told I can’t do something to make me bound and determined to do it. “I’ll find a way,” I said, and I meant it.
    Raphael dismissed my assertion with a wave of his hand. “No, you won’t. But we’ve argued enough for one day, don’t you think?”
    “Fine.” I stood up and managed about three steps toward the door before Raphael stopped me in my tracks.
    “There’s something else I need to talk to you about.”
    My instincts were to get the hell out of there now that I’d gotten as much as I could out of him, but I fought those instincts. I still wasn’t convinced whose side Raphael was on, but I couldn’t deny he was an important player in this deadly war of succession. And if he was actually willing to divulge information for once, it would behoove me to listen.
    I forced myself to return to my seat. “I’m all ears,” I said, my voice brittle as broken glass.
    “I wish you would let Lugh surface so I could talk to my brother directly,” Raphael said, and I snorted out a laugh.
    “Not gonna happen.” Lugh was peeved enough at me to send a spike of pain through my eye, but that didn’t exactly endear him to me.
    “So I gathered.” Raphael’s expression changed, the forced