I didn’t hear footsteps. “I want that reward taken down, Miss Hunter.”
“I’m not taking anything down,” I returned, “but I will change the number on the flyer to mine. If the cops aren’t going to chase down the right leads, then I will. Enough time has been wasted. I need to save Dora.”
I heard footsteps then, but they were closing the distance to me. “You are not going out there and investigating my case on your own. It’s too dangerous, and you’ve clearly lost all perspective. If I get even one whisper that you’re harassing witnesses again, I’ll be forced to arrest you for obstructing justice.” A hand grasped my shoulder. “Please, Miss Hunter, don’t make me carry out that threat.”
“Carry out whatever threats you want!” I shook him off, whirling around. “What don’t you get, Daniels? What’s cloudingyourperspective! How can you not see that I don’t care? I don’t care if you lock me in an asylum. I don’t care if you arrest me. I don’t care that you don’t believe me!” I screamed. “She’s my baby sister! The only family I have left, and when she needed me the most, I let her down!
“So do your worst,” I hissed. “Because this is what nothing to lose looks like! I’ll sell everything I own! I’ll sell the house! I’ll sell the clothes on my back! I’ll sell my soul to the devil if that’s what it takes!” My eyes pinned him through. “But I will get my sister back.”
Daniels didn’t reply, he just stood there glaring me down—
—and glaring—
—and glaring.
“Detective?” I backed away, brows crumpling.
Daniels stood there frozen to the spot, his eyes refusing to follow me as I shifted from foot to foot.
“What are you doing?” I snapped. “Are you mocking me? Because this isn’t funny.”
“I disagree.”
I spun around, my heart racing into my throat. A tall, slim, outrageously handsome figure posted up in the corner of my room. A figure... with bloodred eyes and horns.
“This is hilarious.”
“Ahh!” Speeding past Daniels, I fell on the office door and tore it open.
The man grinned at me from the other side. “Hello.”
“Ahhh!” I took off, shooting around him and screaming the house down. “No. No! Not again!” I made for the stairs, and found him waving at me from the top of the landing.
“What’s all this running about?” He pouted. “You’re the one who called me.”
Whipping around, my sock-covered feet pounded the hardwood—as loud as the thumping in my chest. All of the terror of that horrible night filled my body. The pain of a thousand cuts. The agony of my sister’s screams.
I burst into the kitchen, and he was there—kicking back against the kitchen island.
“Seriously,” he drawled, “are you sick of this yet?”
I skidded to a stop... and smiled. “Yeah. I am.” I snatched the cord by the light switch and tugged, dropping the net from the ceiling.
The man twisted his neck, blinking at the nylon falling over his eyes with the same confused astonishment the scorpion beast gave the layout of the kitchen.
“Now what, bitch!” Edging around him, I grabbed a knife from the holder. “I told you not again.Neveragain will you bastards come into my house and leave me lying on my asshelpless.” I leveled the knife against his heart—assuming he had one. “Tell me where my sister is.”
Beholding me, a loud, gruff, menacing sound poured from his curled lips—standing my neck hairs on end. It took me a solid thirty seconds to realize... it was a laugh.
“Well done,” he said, applauding me. “Truly, well fucking done. My gods, girl, you are the first person in two thousand years to successfully lay a trap for me. Well”—he snapped his fingers and the net disappeared—“almost.”
I jumped back, scream trapping in my throat when another snap of the fingers made the knife vanish from my grip.
“But, still, impressive,” he oozed, leaking actual admiration. “I knew I’d like you, but not this much.”
My chest heaved, panic surging through my veins. I was hopeless against these monsters before, and now I was hopeless, weaponless, and netless. “Where’s my sister!” I screeched. “Give her back to me!”
He didn’t so much as blink before my righteous fury. “All climax, no foreplay with you, I see.” He winked. “My kind of girl.”
