“We’re not going to get there if we’re dead. Or if you draw the attention of every cop in St. Louis. Fuck, Bryce.”
They pulled into the driveway of the house next to the Valless mansion. Streetlights were turning on as the sun settled lower in the sky. They climbed out of the car together and cautiously closed their doors. After they reloaded with ammo from the trunk, and Jesse gave Bryce back his phone, Bryce led the way toward the back of the house.
Two cars sat in the Valless driveway. Lights were on in the front of the house, though the curtains in the living room were pulled tight, almost blocking the light entirely. The upstairs remained dark. There was another light on in the kitchen. Jesse snuck up to a window and peeked in, but there was no one to see in that room.
At least he didn’t have a swell of feeling that he was sinking into that other place. His feet and mind remained firmly rooted in the reality around him. Whatever Renee intended, they were right in guessing she couldn’t bring another devourer through so quickly.
The house was too big for a two-person search team. The longer it took them to move in, the greater the chance was that they would be discovered. If that happened, all hell would break loose, and if the enemy had the upper hand, their odds were greatly reduced.
There was a crash inside the house, and it wasn’t far. Jesse pivoted toward the kitchen door and tested the handle. When it opened, he motioned for Bryce to follow him. Every step echoed in Jesse’s ears, but he kept his breathing even. Clearing rooms, looking for suspects—this he’d trained for.
“Keep your fucking hands off me, you fucking asshole piece of shit loser!” Alex screamed. His voice carried, but Jesse picked up a direction.
“You’re psychic. You can communicate with them and tell us what we did wrong,” Renee said.
Alex let loose another string of profanity, that was cut short by the sound of an impact. Jesse clenched his jaw, then let it loose. A level head would see him through. He had an idea where two people were in the house. A man had been with Renee as she escaped the Crowley building. Where had he gone? Who had driven the other car? Jesse needed to see that room.
Bryce synchronized with him as they went around another corner, and he stayed back when they neared the living room, keeping closer to the wall.
Jesse moved to the edge of the doorway to the living room and risked a glance in.
Alex was on the floor. He was curled in on himself, but his hands were bound behind his back.
Renee knelt down beside him. She’d pushed back the hood of her gray mottled cloak, and there was a desperate tone to her voice. “I need to know the next step. You can be our oracle. You can tell me.”
Milton stepped into view, close enough that Jesse pulled back from fear of discovery. “He’s dead weight and he knows too much. We need to leave, Renee.”
Jesse peeked through the door again.
When Milton shifted out of the way, Alex spotted him. Despite his split lip, he grinned. Just as Jesse sent up a prayer that Alex wasn’t going to inadvertently give him away, he looked up at Renee. “He’s going to betray you.”
“What? Who?” Renee grabbed Alex by the shirt and shook him. “Who will betray me?”
Alex nodded at Milton.
“You little son of a bitch,” Milton growled. He stormed forward.
But Renee stood and faced him, placing herself between Milton and Alex. Her attention was solely on the man in front of her. “It’s true!”
Alex rolled onto his back and focused his gaze on the corner of the room Jesse couldn’t see. “You, too. Death and betrayaaaaaaal.”
“You’re spouting crap,” another man said. “Renee, he’s a fraud.”
“He is not!” Renee shouted.
Clever. Alex had given him the location of everyone in the room. They weren’t going to get a better opportunity. Jesse motioned to Bryce that he was going center and that Bryce needed to go left. Bryce gave a short nod.
Jesse brought up his gun and ordered, “Hands up! Stay where you are!”
Bryce swept in behind him, turning left, and he repeated the orders.
For a moment, everyone froze. Renee’s eyes went wide as she spotted Jesse and his gun. Milton stiffened, and half-turned toward Jesse. The man in the corner threw his hands up in the air.
“Hands where I can see them, Milton,” Jesse said evenly.
Milton glanced over his shoulder, and curled his lips in a sneer. “Of course it’s fucking you.”
“It’s fucking me. Hands where I can see them. Now.”
