Page 57 of Legacy of Temptation

She almost wished anyone else had found her, partly because she hated the disappointment in his expression, but mostly because no one else would have made her pulse pound like it was. Like her veins would burst at any moment.

It was pointless to run, and truth be told, she didn’t think she could. Fight, flight, or freeze had kicked in, and the soles of her shoes might as well have been frozen to the sidewalk.

Somehow, she found her voice long enough to say to the crowd, “And here’s my escort to the meeting.”

Swallowing, she walked calmly toward Logan, hoping no one could tell that her knees were wobbly.

“Let’s not make a scene,” she murmured as he seized her upper arm.

“Let’s not make demands,” he growled through clenched teeth, but he did flash the people a friendly smile as he guided her in the direction of DART headquarters. He yanked her aside once they were away from the crowd. “Where are the others?”

“I don’t know.”

His lips peeled back from his teeth in a silent snarl. “You just killed two of my friends. Donotbullshit me.”

“I didn’t—”

“It doesn’t matter who pulled the fucking trigger, Eva.” He tugged her back onto the sidewalk. “You have a lot of explaining to do.”

Her wrist comms beeped, but before she could take the call, Logan’s long fingers encircled her wrist, holding her as firmly as cuffs. He clicked the clasp and slipped the device into his pocket. “You don’t get to talk to anyone.”

Still gripping her wrist, he started walking again.

“Excuse me? You don’t have that kind of authority. You’re not a cop.”

“In most countries, we actuallydohave authority over demon-related incidents.” He halted, swinging around to face her in one swift, smooth motion that made her almost run into him. “But okay. Do you want the police involved? Do you want an international incident? Because right now, we can keep this contained. But the moment you go to the cops…”

The whole world knows. He didn’t need to finish the sentence, and he knew it. He’d made his point. And his point was…you’re screwed.

Logan struggled to keep his jaw from locking up as he frog-marched Eva back to HQ. The image of his mutilated friends lying on piles of organs and in pools of blood on the cafeteria floor kept flashing in his head, keeping his fury stoked, and his jaw tight.

He glanced over at her as they neared the rear entrance. “I want to know about the weapon. Bullets don’t kill most demons.”

Eva looked straight ahead, avoiding his eyes. She was wearing the top he’d given her. And the necklace.

“I think it best to say nothing until I speak with The Aegis.”

“I see. You said you didn’t kill Shan and Noah. Who did?”

Her chin came up in stubborn defiance. “Again, I think it best to say nothing until I speak with The Aegis.”

He smiled darkly. She wasn’t going to speak with The Aegis, but shewasgoing to talk. DART employed one of the best, if notthebest, interrogators in the human realm, and he just happened to work from out of the Brussels office.

Blade met them at the door, his normally brown eyes gone gold with anger. “Bring her downstairs,” he said. “Holding cell one.”

“Holding cell?” Eva gasped. “Are you serious? Do you honestly think I’m a threat?”

Crimson forks of lightning spiderwebbed through Blade’s eyes, a measure of his growing wrath. Blade was pretty laid back and slow to anger, but when the red shit streaked into his irises, watch out.

“Throwing you in a cell isn’t to protectus, lady,” he growled. “It’s to protectyou.”

Logan casually put himself between Blade and Eva. Not that he was worried about the guy. Blade, once triggered, was truly a demon, but murdering defenseless humans wasn’t his thing.

But Eva didn’t know that, and clearly, the reality of her situation was starting to sink in. Until now, she’d practically reeked of defiance. And maybe a little arrogance. But she abruptly lost some swagger, and the sharp scent of fear overpowered her orchid perfume that probably cost as much per bottle as the wine he’d bought the other night.

Flanked by both Logan and Blade, shoulders hunched, and gaze fixed on a future that must have looked bleak, she said nothing during the short elevator ride to the basement. She even remained quiet as he took her tote and opened cell one, which had been designed for low-threat beings like humans and were-creatures on non-full-moon days.

He shoved her inside, and dammit, he actually felt bad when she banged her elbow on the doorframe. Cursing his stupidity, he slammed the door shut.

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