Page 248 of Duty and Desire
“No,” she murmured, her cheeks flushing slightly. “I do have some experience with anger management, but usually I work with children.”
Fucking wonderful.
“Let’s go,” Ivar muttered, not moving.
Noah almost nodded, but his gaze roamed to Abby again. She’d looked relieved at Mariana’s statement. Why? Damn curiosity. There was something about her that he couldn’t place. A sense. So he stayed on his chair. Just for this meeting.
“Why aren’t we upstairs?” Raine asked calmly, his voice not quite as hoarse as a demon’s but close enough. Noah had never met him, but he’d heard of the soldier’s record. The vampire was known as a fierce fighter from a long line of soldiers—not aligned with the Realm. Not opposed to them, either. “Mariana?”
The shrink flushed. “That’s neither here nor there. So. Who would like to start? Let’s get to know each other. How about we talk about the inciting incidents that led to your being here today?”
Ivar grunted. “Listen. I went through hell, am angry, and was supposed to meet with your PTSD dude before I get in to see an expert who’s dealing with some rogue demons in Europe right now.” He nodded at Noah. “Lily. The prophet.”
Man, the guy had forgotten where they were. Noah forced a chuckle. “The rogue demons are just some angry soldiers, so I’ve heard. And everyone calls Dr. Lily a prophet because she has a reputation of being able to help somebody to the degree that she can tell their future.”
Tabi snorted delicately.
Yeah, he was full of shit.
Even Raine pressed his lips together to keep from smiling. The two human females just looked at him, having no clue of the undercurrents in the room.
“Ah, I see,” Mariana murmured. “Well, maybe talking it out to this group will help you, Ivar. At least until you can get in to see the expert.”
Ivar returned to staring at the basement window up high in the wall.
Mariana correctly gauged his expression and slid his file to the bottom. “So. Who’s next?”
The cop coughed. “Tabitha? How about you?”
The demoness cut him a glare that should’ve shriveled the human, but the guy didn’t seem moved. Impressive. “Fine,” she muttered. “I purchased the abandoned assembly plant right outside of town for one of my businesses, and I was out there taking a look when four young men decided to act like jackasses.”
Noah barely held back a wince.
“You put all four of them in the hospital,” the cop drawled.
She rolled her eyes. “They deserved it.” With a huff, she straightened. “Turns out one of them is the sheriff’s kid and the judge’s nephew, so there you go.”
Abby blanched. “Yeah. I know the two of them as well.”
Noah’s stomach tightened. Her tone had been low and sad and furious. What was her story, anyway? Then he turned toward Tabitha. So what? She could’ve blown town. Easy.
She caught his expression. “Part of the, ah, fight was caught on a cell phone video by one of the miscreants. That video is in the possession of Detective Smartass there, and apparently he only keeps things in a bank vault.”
Ah. So she was caught on video and had to get it back before disappearing. It was imperative, considering she’d live forever,probably, and couldn’t remain on video in this timeframe. He gave her a light nod. “Understood.”
Ivar kept his focus on the dirty window. “I know a great bank robber. She’s a demoness, too.”
Damn it.
Mariana turned toward him. “You seem to have an interest with the occult and the otherworld. With maybe hell and repercussions? The demons, Ivar.”
Ivar blinked and looked at her. “The occult? Huh?”
Was now a good time to tell her that Noah and Ivar were both demon-vampire hybrids? Probably not. Noah elbowed Ivar. “Ignore his vernacular. We learned such pseudonyms in the military.”
Yeah, right. Man, this was a disaster.
Abby tried notto feel sympathy for the screwed-up guy who looked like one of those actors from the Viking show on Netflix. He really did see demons everywhere. She smiled at the detective. Without him, she’d be in jail right now. The guy definitely had come to her aid, when everyone else was against her.
