He found Reggie with his throat slit from ear to ear in one of the private rooms in the parlour. The lone small window in the room was banging shut with someone’s departure.
Darien felt the blood drain from his face as he realized they’d just walked right into a trap.
26
Letting the Demon Twins escape wasn’t an option.
Darien felt sick to his stomach after realizing that he and the Devils had been baited; it was no accident that the twins had come to Diablo to get such a clandestine symbol tattooed on them. The people who were looking for Loren knew that someone powerful and wealthy was protecting her, knew her protectors would be seeking answers as to why she was wanted dead or in captivity. To get a lead on her whereabouts, all they had to do was set off a flare, luring Loren and her protectors right into the trap they’d set.
They were good, Darien had to admit. While he’d thought he was staying one step ahead by asking Kyle to keep an eye out for any recipients of the phoenix head tattoo, he had fallen two steps behind.
But even if he and the others caught the Demon Twins before they could get away, there was still that chance they might communicate with a third party, letting them know the girl they were after could be found simply by tracking down the Devils, by figuring out where Hell’s Gate was located.
Which meant he couldn’t just kill them; he had to torture them. Had to make them talk, follow the threads they’d strung between Loren and any other dangerous people, and then snip those threads before rumor of her whereabouts could spread.
Darien booked it through the tattoo parlour, shoving people aside as he went. He communicated with the other Devils through his watch, telling them to block off the alley at the back of the building. Loren’s heels clapped on the floor as she hurried after him, her human pace forcing Darien to slow down. His trust in the other Devils was the only thing that kept him from growing frustrated as he finally reached the door, throwing it open so hard the glass cracked.
Sorry, Kyle.
“Really,Dare?” Kyle protested, throwing his hands in the air.
“I’ll wire you for the damage,” Darien called over his shoulder. And then he was outside.
It seemed to take a lifetime to make it to the alley behind the building, and by the time they got there, Loren was panting. Jack, Ivy, and Max were standing in the alley, watching for any signs of movement behind the dumpsters and recycling bins. Their eyes were black with the Sight—but clearly, they were blind, the Demon Twins concealing their auras, likely with talismans of their own.
This shit was getting old real fast.
The others stood at attention as Darien approached the closest dumpster. If it weren’t for the thick stench of rotting garbage, he might’ve been able to pick up on the twins’ scents from farther away. But as he got closer, he caught a hint of the floral stink that coated every vampire’s skin, like an embalmed corpse.
He gestured for the others to hold their fire as he slid his pistol out of its holster.
He took another step. Bits of glass crunched beneath his boot, and he swore.
The twins launched into the air, throwing the dumpster onto its side with acrashthat startled several alley cats. The beating of their wings churned up gusts of wind in the alley. Darien and the others covered their faces as trash and shards of metal sliced through the air.
Darien swore and launched into motion, barking orders into his watch for Travis, Lace, and Tanner, who were waiting nearby in Lace’s convertible, to follow the twins.
They had no time to lose, no time to move at a mortal’s pace. He scooped Loren into his arms and made for his car, running so fast he knew their surroundings would be nothing but a blur to Loren.
Far behind him, there was a rustling sound. Cats, probably. He threw a glance over his shoulder, blinking the Sight into place, but nothing was there.
They were in his car in no time, the others getting into Max’s SUV. He pulled out into traffic and sped down Angelthene Boulevard after the Demon Twins, not letting them out of his sight once. The twins took off into the sunset, to opposite sides of the city, the sun shining red through their leathery, near-translucent wings.
Darien had Maximus on wireless interconnection. “Take the left!” Darien barked as he slammed the steering wheel to the right, merging with traffic on the freeway at one-hundred-and-sixty miles per hour. Tires peeled on asphalt and car horns blared from every angle.
In the passenger seat, Ivy loaded up Darien’s pistols, as well as her own, with silver stake bullets. Darien took a glance in the rear-view mirror as he wove through traffic, making sure Loren was still in the back. She was so quiet, he almost forgot she was there.
“We should be back in time for dinner,” he joked over the snarling engine. Loren didn’t smile, her face pallid with fear.
They were gaining on the female twin—Koray—when she swooped right, diving at full tilt toward the Financial District. Darien had no choice but to go hell for leather across four lanes of traffic to stay on her tail. Horns blared as they shot through the closest exit and into the Financial District just as the streetlamps were winking awake. The car was going so fast, the undercarriage slammed against the road as they zoomed downhill.
“Pistol, Ivyana.” Darien reached up and flicked the button to open the sunroof. Warm air rushed into the cab as his sister handed him a pistol. “I might need you to take the wheel.”
Darien watched the cars he was passing out of the corner of his eye, steering partly with his knee, as he took aim over the lip of the sunroof. Ivyana kept one hand waiting in case she might have to steer, the other taking aim with her pistol should Darien’s shot miss. But at this angle, he had the better view.
Koray began inching forward, barely out of the line of fire.
Darien flattened the gas pedal to the floor. Tires screeched, rubber burning up a black cloud as he fired.
