Page 17 of Demons of Eden

There’s a stretch of silence as I consider risking the safety of my tongue for a bite of the delicious-smelling taco. Only the memory of the last time I ate something a little too spicy running through my mind stops me from risking it. I don’t want to start huffing, sweating, and crying in front of the three of them as Ibattle the heat. Suvi had found it pretty funny, having a good laugh at my expense before she’d given me a glass of milk and switched our servings, which had clearly gotten mixed up. I’d laughed too, eventually, once my poor tongue had recovered. Though, for some reason, it feels far more embarrassing for them to potentially see me like that.

“It’s spicy,”Rio practically snarls, startling me as he snatches the plate out of my hands and shoves the box of tacos he’d been holding into my empty palms. There’s an even longer stretch of silence as the other two men and I all turn to stare at the grumpy-ass demon hunter questioningly.

“Did you just…” Daion trails off, shaking his head and deciding against whatever he was about to say. “Never mind.”

I glare at the tacos that have been placed in my hands. He was going to eat them, so why would he suddenly give them over to me? Are they poisoned, and was this his plan all along? If he is trying to poison me, is he trying to give me explosive diarrhoeaor something much worse?

“Stop pulling those faces. I didn’t fuck with them. I just have no interest in listening to you bitch about how spicy the other tacos are. Those ones are mild, so they’re fine if you’re worried about too muchflavour,” Rio snaps, the way he spits out the word flavour making me lift a questioning brow.

“Weren’t you about to eat these?” I point to the box in my hand. “But there’s no more—” My words are cut off by Torrin sliding a little closer, bumping my shoulder with his own as he leans down a fraction.

“Just quietly eat the tacos beforehe changes his mind. He wouldn’t have done anything to them,” he whispers, and I nod at the sage advice.

Torrin makes a very good point. I really don’t want to have to hand them back over to Rio if they’re the only non-spicy ones for me to eat. Not giving him the chance to reconsider, I takemy first bite, a small sound of pleasure escaping me when I find they’re as delicious as they smell. The chicken and guacamole melt together on my tongue while I chew; the only thing it’s missing is…

“Lime.” Rio places the quartered lime in front of me like he read my mind. I snatch it up greedily. My hesitance is all but gone now I’ve started eating, and the tastiness of the food is making me forget all of my concerns about potential tampering.

For the next few minutes, the room falls quiet other than the sounds of us eating and the faint music floating down from upstairs. I wonder what’s up there. More offices or maybe living space? It’s probably big enough for a decent-sized apartment. Did one of the three hunters leave the music playing, or is there someone else up there listening to it? I keep my curiosity to myself as I eat, deciding it isn’t really my business.

“We haven’t had much luck locating your demon so far,” Daion says, beginning his update once he’s finished with his own food, and I try to ignore the sinking feeling in my stomach that has nothing to do with what I’ve eaten. “I followed up with the hotel, as well as the club, but no one had any useful information on Ash beyond what you’d already given us. I couldn’t pick up on his energy signature, either, but it could have faded by now if he hasn’t been there since.”

“I accessed their security systems, but I couldn’t find any surveillance of him once you left the hotel that morning. There also wasn’t any of you going in with him the night before either. As far as the recordings are concerned, you left the hotel alone despite never entering it in the first place. It’s the opposite of the CCTV outside of the club, where you’re seen going in but never leaving,” Rio adds with a scowl, gesturing at Torrin to continue.

“I only heard back from Eli a few hours ago,” Torrin says, looking apologetic as he rounds up the update. “One of his contacts has responded so far, but they were a dead end. He’swaiting to hear back from at least two others, though, and he says he’s more hopeful that one of them will know something than he was about the first. They’re apparently a bit of a recluse, as much as incubi can be reclusive, so it was a long shot they’d know anyway.”

My lips press together tightly while I think over what they’ve said, suddenly finding the table very interesting. I’m avoiding looking at their faces, knowing how obvious the disappointment must be on my own. A lump forms in my throat as I try to swallow, knowing I should say something. I should thank them for their effort so far, at least, even if all I want to do is scream at the lack of answers they’ve found.

A warm hand rests on my knee and squeezes.

Torrin’s show of comfort breaks the dam. The feelings I’ve been trying to hold back come rushing out, overwhelming me. Elbows resting on my legs, I let my head fall into my hands as I take a few deep breaths in and out, staring down at my lap as the seconds pass slowly. It only makes me feel worse when they all stay quiet, waiting patiently for my response.

“Look, I knew finding him would take time,” I begin, my voice quiet and mournful as I force myself to look up. “I know I shouldn’t be upset he’s more difficult than expected to track down. It’s just…I’m nervous, I guess. What if you can’t find him in time?”

Ash might be the only one who can help me at this point. Until we find him, both mine and the baby’s fate are up in the air. The tears filling my eyes aren’t surprising, all things considered, but they do annoy me. I hate that I’ve lost all control over my own feelings. I try swiping them away with my hands, but there’s too many of them streaking down my cheeks for it to be very effective. I must truly look like a mess, as the last person I expect to show me any form of kindness, even after he shared his tacos with me, suddenly hands me a tissue.

“Thanks,” I grunt, dabbing away the rest of the water from around my eyes, trying not to smear my mascara. Judging by the black marks left on the tissue, I’m not entirely successful, but it could always be worse. At least this wasn’t a full-on noisy, snotty breakdown. I look at the crushed-up tissue in my hand, surprisingly grateful for Rio’s presence despite my earlier thoughts.

Maybe he’s actually not so bad. When he’s not trying to kill me, anyway...

A weird tingling passes over my skin, and the three men around me suck in deep breaths almost in unison. Rio and Daion rear back with wide eyes, while Torrin only grunts, his body briefly tensing next to mine before he forces himself to relax.

“What the fuck?” Rio snaps after a few seconds, jumping to his feet now he’s past his initial reaction to whatever the fuck has made them all suddenly act weird. He glares at me with hate-filled eyes. If looks could kill, I’d be dead and buried. It seems he’s right back to being a psycho then.

Oh well, pod person Rio was nice while he lasted…

“What?” I demand, looking up at the blond asshole, very much confused by the quick switch-up in personality once again. Has using the tissue he handed me somehow offended him? I look at it again, then at the men, deciding it can’t be that if Daion and Torrin are also reacting, if less emotionally than he is.

Fuck this, I’m so lost.

“Shit,” Daion murmurs, now standing as well. He glances at me, then at Rio, before putting a hand on his friend’s shoulder and ushering him away from me and out of the area. He practically pushes him around the corner and out of sight, but I still manage to notice his clenched fists and the…it couldn’t be fear on Rio’s face, right? It has to be anger. That makes far more sense. He has no reason to be afraid of me. I mean,he’s obviously the truly murderous one out of the two of us, considering he actually tried to kill me when we met.

“What’s happening?” I turn to ask Torrin, who shrugs dubiously. Despite his attempt at appearing casual, his concern for his friend is obvious, even if he trusts Daion to deal with it while he stays here with me.

“Honestly, I’m not entirely sure either,” he says finally, frowning as he looks me over like he’s trying to solve a particularly challenging puzzle, without having any luck doing so.

CHAPTER NINE

When Daion finally walks back in, both Torrin and I turn to him expectantly. I’m hoping for a really good explanation for why Rio blew up so suddenly, seeing as I can’t simply put it down to him being unhinged with the others also experiencing something.

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