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I don’t know how he came by this house and the items in it, but from the ill feeling I got from him, I’m guessing it wasn’t good. The sense of him was overwhelming—darkness and disinterest—and he had disconnected from both our home world and this one.
“Why are you trying to kill us?” Ilsa asked again. She looked like she would be sick, the color drained from her face. I wondered if she picked up the aura of demonic power around Earl without knowing what it was.
Or perhaps she was frightened she had just hurt and threatened an innocent.
I wanted to tell her not to worry about that, Earl was far from innocent.
“Did Frank send you? That coward can’t even do his own dirty work,” Earl growled against the carpet.
“Who the fuck is Frank?” I looked at Ilsa, she shrugged, and I eased the pressure of my boot against Earl’s face. “You have no idea who we are, do you?”
He laughed a hollow sound devoid of all joy. “No, I don’t know who you are or why you’re here. But…” he chuckled again, “… I’ve no doubt I deserve it.”
Ilsa tilted her head down, hovering her face above the carpet and holding Earl’s eye contact. He looked determinedly at her. All the edge was gone from his posture, and he lay on the floor as calm as if he were about to take a comfortable nap. I didn’t let go of his arm, not with Ilsa so close to him, but leaned forward to watch his face as he looked at her.
Nothing, not a flicker of recognition.
“I think we’ve been set up,” Ilsa whispered, standing.
“Well, what do we do with him then?” I tugged on his arm, and he grunted. “He’ll retaliate if we let him go.”
“I’ll tell you what…” he said, and we both paused and looked down at him. “If you tell me who sent you into my home, I won’t hurt you.”
“How can we trust you?”
“You broke into my house, remember?” He laughed again. “And you sure as hell can’t trust whoever sent you to me, either.”
Looking at each other, Ilsa raised her eyebrows, and I shrugged.
I’m sure we could both retake him if we had to.
Slowly, I eased the pressure of my boot on his face, and he stayed lying down until I had completely stepped off him. I released my hold on his arm and, in the same motion, pushed Ilsa out of the way, shielding her against the wall with my body. He stood, slowly unfurling himself like the predator he was and towered over us, his head almost scraping the light fitting dangling from the ceiling.
“Coffee?” he offered, dragging the word out around his tongue.
“We’re not here to make friends.”
“I won’t kill you. I live by the same rules you do…” He grinned. “Mostly.”
Shaking my head, I didn’t break his eye contact, trying to keep his attention off Ilsa and focused on me. She was still standing strong behind me, but this demon, he was a snake in disguise and couldn’t be trusted. We were close to the front door. I had made sure not to have him as a barrier between us and the exit. But it would still take us precious seconds to turn and open the door, and we’d have to step toward him as the door swung inward.
“Who sent you?” he asked again. There was no volume to his voice, only a mild curiosity.
I hesitated. “Emrick.”
Earl’s demeanor changed in an instant. He spat onto the carpet and began muttering obscenities. “That fucking prick, who the fuck does he think he is? Sending assassins into my house and my territory.”
“We’re not assassins.”
“You didn’t come here to talk, you made that abundantly clear.” His eyes narrowed. “I owe you no explanation, but suffice it to say if Emrick seems to think he’s the only one in the city who has a handle on the profits of crime, he’s sorely mistaken.” He licked his lips, and I felt Ilsa shudder. “Since my previous income… dried up, I’ve worked my way in with the right humans.” His teeth glinted as he smiled again. “Or the wrong ones.”
“So this was all some territory squabble?” Ilsa asked.
Earl lifted a slender shoulder in a lazy motion. “Yes. Now, I’ll keep my side of the deal, but you better get out of my house. I don’t much appreciate being attacked with silver.”
He eyed Ilsa over my shoulder, and she stared hard at him. I smirked. Surely, he wasn’t expecting an apology.
Not from my girl.
“Oh shush, it won’t kill you.” Ilsa shot back at him.
I giggled, and we shared a quick glance. Earl chuckled, and my attention was brought back to him. He waved his finger between us. “You two better be careful, human/demon bondings aren’t always approved of.”
“Yes, because as a demon, that’s what I seek… approval.”
His smile dropped. “You better watch your mouth.”
Ilsa shuddered again, but she was staring hard at him. “Let’s get out of here.”
Reaching behind me, I took her hand. “Let’s.” We kept our eyes on Earl as we backed toward the door, only breathing freely again when we were in the fresh night air and on our way down the street.
Back to Emrick’s.
That fucker owed us an explanation.
