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Jaden eyed him warily and bit her lip. She was clearly uneasy. “Let’s just say your name popped up. I thought maybe there was something here that had been overlooked, so tonight I hopped on the jet and flew up from Mexico.”
Julian cocked his head as the ever-present darkness inside him shifted. It left him edgy, aggressive. This could not be a coincidence. He fucking hated being nothing more than a chess piece to be moved about until someone with power yelled, “Checkmate.”
“I don’t suppose you brought the portal back with you?” she asked pointedly as she clenched her fists at her sides.
He considered dismissing her outright but instead shook his head, no.
“Are you going to tell me where you’ve been?” she asked.
“In hell.”
&
nbsp; The words were simple, his tone harsh, and she winced as they slid from between his lips.
She opened her mouth to speak but then closed it, running a hand along her temple wearily.
“Who called you?” she asked abruptly, her dark eyes wary. “Earlier tonight on the cell.”
“Declan,” he answered. Julian had no need to lie.
“The sorcerer is alive, too?” She looked shocked. “Do Jaxon and the others know you’re back?”
“Not yet.” Julian answered.
He moved closer to her and nailed her with a don’t fuck with me look. “Are you working with your family?” There it was. The question that he most wanted answered.
Jaden’s eyes widened slightly, and he heard her heart beating fast against her chest. The color in her cheeks darkened once more, yet it only enhanced the golden tone of her skin. He fought the urge to pull her to him, just so he could touch her softness and inhale her fragrant odor.
It had been so long.
“No.” Her voice was low and husky. “I’ve done everything in my power to stop them, to find the portal and destroy it.” She looked away. “I’m ashamed to say we share the same DNA.”
He was about to answer, but his body froze. Every instinct inside him screamed “attack,” and he growled softly. Something was out there, beyond the glass, on the balcony that ran the length of his penthouse.
He rushed toward Jaden, his body a blur. A look of surprise flickered over her features, then he was on her, taking her down as the large pane of glass shattered, erupting into deadly projectiles that rained down into his home.
He felt the familiar burn creep over his skin, his animal wanting out, and time stopped as he stared down into her eyes. Something passed between them, and in that moment, they were in perfect harmony.
She went for the dagger as he rolled off, clearing the way, and her aim was both accurate and deadly. The dagger flew in silence, slicing through the air near his cheek as it sailed behind him.
A loud grunt was heard, and he was on his feet in time to see a body fall to the floor. The dagger was embedded deep into the skull, between the eyes, cutting through bone and brain tissue.
It twitched violently, then stilled as an obnoxious odor leaked from the wound. Filthy, stinking, dead demon.
Jaden bent down and cursed as she kicked the prone body. “Goddamn it! Must there always be drama?” she yelled. Her anger and frustration boiled over into a string of profanities that at any other time Julian would have found both impressive and nasty.
Except, he had no time to congratulate her on her choice of vocabulary as he was staring at a huge problem.
“Shit,” Jaden whispered as she straightened and stood beside him, the dagger back in her hands and dripping blackened liquid.
Six nasty demons slipped through the shattered window, bringing with them the stench of otherworld.
Six demons against two jaguars.
Julian looked down at the woman beside him and snarled, glorifying in the dark energy that had just blown in. It fed him in a way nothing else could.
“You ready to rock and roll?” he asked harshly.
