AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Not dying," Brice promised. "I got that much, and you know what else? Laird told me that if something happened to him, I'm supposed to make sure you don't go stupid and rush back in here to fuck up all he's doing. That's why I didn't say shit. Because you called for a reason, and now you've just gone stupid, exactly like your brother said you would. Fill me the fuck in."
Dahlia took over. "We had a crime spike here. A few baby eidolon decided they didn't want to play it safe. Hunters showed up, we lost two tonight, and killed eight of theirs. Yours? Inquisitors!" she decided to go with. "Thane says that if they called it in, Dallas might hear, and since he's here, and now there's a problem here, we're not sure how that's going to work."
"Well, they don't know where you are," Brice promised. "Out of state, that's all Laird said."
"Credit cards," Thane said. "My fucking phone!"
"They're not looking," Brice promised. "Also, we won't be called in for Iowa. We're currently using priests from Austin, and everyone knows we got hit hard. They won't ask us to send anyone up there, if that church even asks. See, that's the thing. They will try to cover their own asses first. It's what we would do, right?"
"Right," Thane conceded, "but we still need to get out of here before more come, and if Laird's hurt..."
"No," Brice said. "Thane, that's a bad idea."
"I'm supposed to come back after my vacation," Thane insisted. "I also think that if I show up, Laird will miraculously appear."
"Or he's hurt bad," Brice countered.
"And they have Words for that!" Thane yelled. "They took Lucas to the hospital because he was too bad for us to deal with. If they didn't rush Laird out, then it means he's dead - which I need to know - or he can be saved. Either way, I'm not abandoning my fucking brother, Brice. You were supposed to get his ass out of there, and now he's what, missing?"
"He's a fucking priest!" Brice shot back just as the sound of footsteps sounded on the stairs behind them.
Thane didn't even care. He saw Dahlia glance back, but he needed to know what the deal was with his brother. "Look, I'm coming back. I'll send the rest to a safer place. Well, I think they'll send themselves, but I'll let them know what I know. Then I'll come back there and we'll figure this out, ok?"
"No," Dahlia said. "If you're going back to Dallas, then I'm coming with you."
"Me too," Roarke said, proving he was who'd joined them.
Then Nikki said, "And I can play the girlfriend."
Cain just murmured, proving he'd joined the party as well. Thane sighed, waiting for someone to talk him out of this. Naturally, Brice was more than happy to fill that role.
"It's a trap," he said. "You know it, I know it, and I'm sure your new friends there know it too. The Cardinal has a hard-on for the one that got away. You and I lived through her, and you more than me. So, he wants his potential golden child back in the fold. Your little vacation is supposed to get you all ready to call the demon back, and they have her name. I'm going to try first, since I'm here and clearly disposable. But you? I have a bad feeling that Laird's going to stay missing until you make the demon appear, Thane."
"I can appear," Dahlia said.
"No," Cain told her. "Not even you can get out of that alone."
She just gestured at Thane. "But I won't be alone."
"I'm with Cain," Thane told her. "Laird is my responsibility. These people are yours. I think you should go with Cain."
"Not an option," Dahlia told him.
"So," Roarke said. "Priest boy on the phone, who are you?"
"Brice," he answered. "And trust me, it's better if I don't know any names."
"Good," Roarke said. "Seems you've been trained well. Look, what are the odds of this being a trap versus his brother really needing help?"
"Fifty-fifty," Brice admitted.
So Nikki leaned in to get closer to the phone. "Can you get more of those stake things?"
"Uh, maybe?" Brice said. "Like how many more?"
"All of them kind of more," Nikki told him.
"I'll start making a collection," he promised.
