Page 62 of Legacy of Temptation

“You mean your Aegis tattoo? The one that also gives you night vision and masks the sound of your heartbeat?” Rade shook his head. “I can get around that without breaking a sweat.”

Suddenly, he lunged across the table, his hand clamping down on Eva’s wrist. She yelped in surprise as he put his face in hers, his lips pulled back in a snarl.

“Tell me where the safe house is,” he growled. “And tell me about the new Aegis weapon.”

Eva’s terror was clear, from her trembling hands to the pulse fluttering in her throat. But damn if she didn’t lean into Rade’s space, put her free hand between them, middle finger extended, and grind out, “Fuck you.”

“You should never throw out an invitation like that to a sex demon.” Rade’s voice was dark velvet, both a threat and a statement of fact, and real fear broke Eva’s mask of defiance.

Logan knew better. He knew there were lines even Rade wouldn’t cross. Probably. But Eva didn’t know that, and Logan’s throat closed at the primal fear welling in Eva’s eyes.

Damn you, Rade.

Rade’s arm lit up as he engaged his gift. “Last chance.” He hooked the garbage can with his foot and dragged it closer.

She glared right through the terror. “Go. To. Hell.”

“Where do you think I’m going on my next vacation?” The symbols on Rade’s arm went from a soft glow to radioactive brilliance.

Eva yelped and then clenched her teeth, fighting against what Rade described as something akin to a battering ram slamming into a portcullis. How badly it hurt depended on the strength of the mind or the mental wall around it.

“Bastard,” she hissed. She squirmed and fought to free herself from Rade’s grip. Her fist came around hard, and for a moment, Logan cheered her on.

Hit him! Punch how I showed you—

Rade’s other hand snapped out, catching her wrist, and she screamed as the demon broke through The Aegis mind shield.

No!

Logan couldn’t deal with this. There was a better way. There had to be. He lunged for the door, but Kynan intercepted him.

“What are you doing?”

I’m letting my emotions get in the way of our work because I’m an idiot.

“I’m going to try one more time to get her to talk.”

“Logan, you know this is the best way. For her too.” Ky was using hisdad voice, the one that usually got people to settle down and make the right choices. Or, at least, the ones Ky wanted them to choose. It wouldn’t work this time. “We get the information, and she doesn’t get branded as a sellout or traitor.”

Eva sat motionless, her face pale, her eyes glassy and brimming with unshed tears. Rade was inside her mind now, pillaging every scrap of knowledge he could find, and depending on how much care he used as he traversed the trillions of memory pathways, she could be reliving trauma at a painfully accelerated pace.

Logan had seen Rade operate dozens of times, had watched the demon pull out information gently and not so gently. He’d seen him tiptoe through fragile memories and bulldoze through others, leaving behind permanent damage. The guy was so good dozens of intelligence agencies and militaries around the world called him in. He’d trained with all the biggies too—the CIA, Mossad, CSIS, SVR, SIS. He’d even spent time with Hell’s intelligence arm, the Intelligence Ministry of the Profane.

He’d needed a little downtime after training with IMP.

So, yeah, watching Rade work was like watching an artist paint a masterpiece. But for some reason, Logan wasn’t in the mood for art today. Not when Eva was the canvas.

Eva started struggling again, but Rade’s grip on her arm was solid, and she let out a cry that made Logan think of an animal caught in a leg trap.

He whipped open the door. “Sorry, boss, but I need to try again. I’ll get her to talk.”

For an agonizing second, Logan pondered what he’d do if Kynan tried to stop him. Thank fuck it didn’t happen. Ky let Logan go, and in a dozen steps, he was inside the room with Rade and Eva.

The stench of fear and flowers permeated the room, slamming into Logan like a punch to the face.

“Release her,” he barked at Rade. “Now.”

Rade shot a confused glance over at the glowing wall glyph as if for guidance, even though he couldn’t see Kynan through it. After a moment, he shrugged and backed off.

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