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“Cool.” Sig kicked his foot up on the empty chair next to him. “What’s the update, Ben?”
“It’s Benji or Benjiro,” Benji said in a voice that made clear how tired he was of being calledBen. Eva got that. Her name was pronounced EH-vuh, but some people insisted on using a longA. “The update will improve upon our already enhanced night vision and make Harrowgates visible to anyone with astigmatism.”
“That’s the dumbest update I’ve ever heard of,” Sig said, and Eva had to admit that it kind of sucked if you didn’t have astigmatism. But wow, the ability to detect Harrowgates washuge. Right now, Guardians needed migraine and nausea-inducing glasses to view the invisible portals supernaturals used to travel vast distances and between their hell realm, Sheoul, and the human realm.
“Fuck off,” Benji shot back.
“Sig, behave,” Willa snapped. She didn’t put up with crap from anyone. “Benji, your update will have to wait until you return. You all fly out this afternoon to DART’s headquarters in Brussels.”
A chorus of groans and curses echoed around the room. Personally, Eva thought this was an awesome opportunity to see how their rivals operated, but the extremely short notice would be an issue. She was still dealing with a PR disaster in China, where an Aegis Guardian had been accused of raping a woman, and in Missouri, where two Aegis Guardians had gone missing following a raid on a vampire nest.
Willa rechecked her comms. “Eva, you’re first.”
Eva’s gut flipped over as she came to her feet. She’d always interviewed well and was comfortable in front of a camera and powerful people. Her self-confidence made men either appreciate or fear her, and women either love or hate her. But right now, her nerves were in knots. She’d met each of the twelve Elders at some point since her promotion and transfer from the LA Aegis division to the DC Headquarters nine months ago, but she’d never had a formal meeting with them.
Willa escorted her down the narrow corridors to a room on the south side of the building.
“Did you apply to go on this assignment?” Eva asked, mostly to break the awkward silence.
“Absolutely not.” Willa waved at someone in the accounting office as they passed. “I don’t trust myself to be around those people for that long. I’d probably end up killing someone and triggering an international incident.” She stopped at the door to the Elder Suite and smiled. “But I would love to see behind the DART curtain. I can’t imagine what it’s like to work with demons. I’ll bet they have some spectacular weaponry.”
Eva would put money on that. Sure, The Aegis had an impressive arsenal of weapons, some demon-made, some of Heavenly origin, and a handful of invaluable high-tech pieces like the Smiter from the Sydney-based company run by a demon who apparently hated other demons. But The Aegis had fewer arms than they once had because the traitorous defectors who founded DART had stolen weapons, artifacts, and rare tomes when they left. Plus, DART employed supernatural beings, and they, themselves, were weapons.
“Are you ready?” Willa asked.
Sure. Why not? This was an opportunity to shine. Eva braced herself with a brisk breath and straightened her shoulders. “I am.”
Smiling, Willa opened the door. “Congratulations. And good luck.”
Eva entered the brightly lit third-floor corner office for only the second time since she’d started work with The Aegis. Two entire walls were comprised of massive floor-to-ceiling windows, and shelves of books and demonic artifacts lined the other two. In the center, seated at a six-person table, were two Elders Eva had briefed just yesterday about the Chinese rape case.
“Hi, Eva.” Maja Weso gestured to one of the chairs across from her. “Please, have a seat.”
The other Elder, a sixty-something, round-faced Russian, eyed Eva coolly as she sat. “Thank you for coming.”
As if she’d had a choice. “Thank you for naming me for this project.”
“Obviously, this is a very important and public undertaking,” he said. “We are placing a good deal of faith in you.”
In other words, don’t fuck up.
“I understand.”
Dmitri looked skeptical, but Maja smiled warmly. Maja, at thirty-two, was four years older than Eva, two inches shorter, and drop-dead gorgeous. She’d been a warrior for The Aegis for a few years but had chewed through the ranks to become one of the youngest Elders in history. Most acknowledged that it was due to her intelligence, historical knowledge, and extraordinary successes at rooting out demon nests. Others said it had been thanks to her extraordinary sexual favors.
What bullshit. Sig’s dad, Lukas, had shot to the top even more quickly than Maja had, but no one ever suggestedhehadn’t earned his place on his own merits. Even though, as far as Eva could tell, he’d lucked into it. Or maybe bought into it. He certainly hadn’t earned it. He’d never fought even a single demon. As the only son of the wealthiest demon antiquities trader in the world, he’d joined as a consultant. Arrogant, rude, and entitled, he drove everyone as nuts as Sig did.
Maja braced her elbows on the desk. “We’ll make this quick. I assume Willa told you about the flight this afternoon.” At Eva’s nod, the other woman continued. “You’ll need to brief Stefani on your current business, as she’ll be taking over. Your entire focus needs to be on this operation, and we need you to keep your fighting skills under wraps.”
The Stefani part made sense, even if Eva didn’t like it. But the rest was entirely unexpected. “What do you mean? Why would we not go into this from a position of strength?”
Dmitri answered. “We need them to underestimate all of you. You’re going to be the helpless ditz.”
Eva blinked, unsure she’d heard that correctly. “A…what now?”
Maja shot her colleague an annoyed glance but didn’t dispute his words. “Their eyes are going to be on Sig, Carlos, Mason, and Benji. So, they won’t see petite Keeley or media darling Eva as threats.”
She went taut in her seat, her spine pressing into the hard wood behind her. “Why? Because we’re women?”
