Wicked Pleasure (38 page)

He didn't blame her. They hadn't tracked down the archdemon or the portal, but they couldn't put off their attack any longer. The Vaughns had to hit the streets and start destroying demons before the archdemon launched his own attack. The archdemon must know that's what they'd do, but it didn't seem to bother him. He was confident, and that was a red warning light.

“Here's hoping one of the demons feels threatened enough by the Vaughns to make a break for the portal. We'll be there to follow it home. And we've canceled the Vampire Ball for tonight.” If the archdemon decided to take the battle to the Vaughns here, innocent guests would be in danger. Although without his demon army, he might think twice about engaging the combined supernatural forces in the castle.

Kim rubbed her hand across her forehead. “I've put off telling Dirk about his detector until the last minute. Can we say cluck cluck? I've got to tell him now, and I've got to tell him in person. I'm sure some of the Vaughns brought extra detectors. He can borrow one.”

Brynn still felt conflicted about Kim's uncle. How could someone who made such a big deal about loving to destroy demons not know about his detector? Something wasn't right with Uncle Dirk. “Did Fo find out anything about Sergei's death?”

“Nope. She couldn't find any info about him at all. It was like someone went in and wiped away any proof of his existence.” Kim stood and then headed toward the door. “It's almost time for Holgarth's meeting.”

Reluctantly, Brynn rose to follow her. He didn't want to go to any damn meeting with Holgarth. He wanted to forget about demons for the next hour and instead strip Kim's clothes from her hot body, lose himself in her welcoming heat, and feel her clench around his cock. And while they were still joined, he wanted to tell her he loved her enough to tear apart anyone or anything that got in the way of that love, even his own doubts.

Amazing how a few days had changed his perspective. He'd started out with this whole list of reasons why not, and now all he had was one I-don't-give-a-damn. Of course, the twenty-four compulsion-free hours he'd spent with Donna had removed one of the major elephants in his own personal room.

Brynn breathed deeply.
Focus. Demons first and then declaration of undying love.
And he'd guarantee he was the only man who could honestly promise the undying part. “Holgarth did some research on how to close a portal. He wants to pass on what he's learned and make sure everyone's on the same page.”

“Uh, Kimmie?” Fo was using her tiny voice, a sure sign she wasn't happy about what she was going to say.

“Hmm?” Absently, Kim glanced down at Fo.

“Gabriel killed Sergei.” Fo's words were barely audible.

“What?” Kim pulled Fo from her pocket and stared into the detector's wide purple eyes.

“Gabriel didn't want me to tell you because he was afraid you'd blame him and not let us be together anymore.”

Fo blinked rapidly, and Brynn swore he saw tears in her eyes.

“Dirk pushed the button to kill Sergei, so it wasn't Gabriel's fault.” Fo's gaze skittered back and forth between Kim and Brynn. “I didn't think it would hurt to keep Gabriel's secret. But I don't want Dirk to kill you. And he'll be really mad when he finds out Gabriel was with me.” Fo's voice was a whisper. “I'm sorry. I just wanted to have a friend like me. I should have told you.”

“We're not mad at you, Fo,” Brynn reassured the detector.
Not much anyway.
What could've driven Dirk to murder? “Did Gabriel say why Dirk killed Sergei?”

“He said Dirk didn't want Sergei to make any more detectors like Gabriel, and he didn't want any of the other Vaughns to know that Gabriel was different.” Fo sounded tired, as if revealing her first human deception had worn her out.

Kim slid her finger over the screen in an attempt to console Fo. “Thank you for telling us, Fo.” She slipped the detector back into her pocket and then stared helplessly at Brynn. “What's going on with Dirk?”

Brynn guided her into the hallway and then closed her door. “I don't know, but I do know he's a dangerous man. If Gabriel can be believed, he's capable of destroying both humans and nonhumans. We have to get Gabriel away from Dirk.”

Just then, the elevator door opened, and Wade exploded into the hall. “That freakin' son of a bitch.” He spotted Kim and Brynn. “That cheat won the fishing tournament with a hundred-pound redfish.” He speared Kim with a glare that said she was personally responsible for the redfish. “No one has
ever
caught a freakin' hundred-pound redfish.”

Kim stepped back and stared at Wade with wide eyes. “Who?”

“Your freakin' uncle, that's who. The tournament was today, and I caught a thirty-five-pound beauty. I would've won if Dirk hadn't caught his hundred-freakin'-pound monster. He cheated. I just don't know how.” Wade's eyes glowed red. “But I'll find out.”

All the uneasy feelings Brynn had about Dirk suddenly coalesced into a terrifying suspicion. He glanced at Kim and saw that the same possibility had occurred to her.

“No. It couldn't be.” Kim's voice shook.

“Yes, it could. It would be perfect. Hiding in plain sight.” He turned to Wade. “Come with us. Holgarth wants all the nonhumans to meet in the conference room. I know you don't want to get involved in our war, but I think Holgarth needs to hear what you have to say.”

Before going down to the lobby, Kim tried to call Dirk's room. She looked at Brynn. “No answer.”

“Ha! He's probably out celebrating how he screwed me over.” Still fuming, Wade followed them onto the elevator.

Wade was too pissed to even ask why Holgarth would want to hear about his fishing tournament. Kim didn't say anything, but her face was pale with shock. Two floors down, the elevator stopped, and the doors slid open. Mary and Herb stepped in.

Mary beamed at Kim. “Herb and I got hitched a couple of hours ago. When you see Dirk, thank him for suggesting Ye Olde Victorian Wedding Chapel.” Her smile faded a little. “The chapel was lovely, but that Reverend Abby was a little strange. Don't you think she was strange, Herb?”

Herb nodded. “Strange. But it doesn't matter because we're finally married.”

“Reverend Abby?” Kim looked bemused.

Mary nodded. “She gave us this as a souvenir.” She held up a miniature plastic wedding cake with a screw-on top. “It's a really cute idea.” She unscrewed the top to reveal a bubble blower. “Every time I want to remember this day I can blow some bubbles.” She dipped the plastic ring in the solution and then blew on it.

Without warning, the elevator car jerked to a stop, and the lights went out.

Brynn blinked to make sure he was seeing what he thought he was seeing. The gasps from everyone else in the elevator verified he wasn't hallucinating.

Glowing bubbles filled the darkened elevator. Big, bright bubbles with gleaming red eyes peering out of them. Evil eyes that even scared him, and he'd thought he'd seen all there was to see over five centuries.

“Everyone down!” Kim's voice was coldly professional and not to be disobeyed.

Brynn hit the floor with everyone else in the elevator except Kim. She whipped Fo from her pocket, pointed, and pushed the red button. As each bubble popped, Mary squeaked her alarm. Finally all the bubbles were gone, and darkness settled around them.

Just as suddenly as the lights had gone out, they came back on. The elevator lurched into motion again.

“What the hell was that?” Herb sounded breathless.

Brynn wasn't even going to try to concoct a lie. People were in danger. “I'm Brynn McNair. My brothers and I run the castle. I think Mary and you need to check out as soon as possible. The castle will compensate you for any inconvenience.”

Herb stared into his eyes, and whatever he saw in Brynn's gaze evidently convinced him to not ask questions, because he simply nodded.

“Did Reverend Abby say she'd given the bubbles to any other couples?” Kim picked up the empty bubble container and studied it.

“I don't know about that, but she gave us a whole bunch to put in the lobby.” Mary's voice quavered. “She said the little cakes were great promo items.” She glanced at Herb. “In fact she said she would've done it herself, but she'd hurt her leg and couldn't get around right now.”

“More likely the gargoyles kept her ass out.” Wade's murmur echoed Brynn's thoughts.

Kim clasped Mary's shoulder. “This is important, Mary. Did you put any of those cakes out?”

Mary shook her head. “They're all still in our room. The reverend said to take them down to the lobby and just scatter them around. But we thought we'd better ask for permission before we did that.”

Brynn couldn't hide his relief. “You did the right thing. Kim and I will be going into your room to get them. Don't go back there until the cakes are gone.” He attempted a smile. “Go have a good meal on the castle. By the time you're finished, it'll be safe to return to your room.”

“Is this some kind of plot to ruin your business?” Herb was reaching for understanding.

“Yeah, kind of.” Brynn didn't know what else to say.

“Well, I hope you catch whoever's behind it. I had my own business, and a man works damn hard to build up a good reputation. No one has a right to take that from him.” He patted Brynn on the shoulder.

The elevator doors slid open, and the couple left quickly. Brynn put his hand up to stop anyone from getting onto the elevator. “Sorry, folks. There's something wrong with this car. It's out of commission for a while. The management apologizes for any inconvenience.”

Grumbling, the people wandered toward another elevator. He turned to Kim. “Can you tell anything about the bubble container?”

She nodded. “It's lined with some type of metal. Maybe lead? But whatever it is, it got the demons past the gargoyles.” Kim shivered. “If those bubbles had been released in a room full of people, the demons would've had their pick of hosts. Thank heaven Mary and Herb didn't put out all the others.”

“What's the point, though, if the gargoyles kick the demons out on their butts as fast as they take human hosts?” The demon bubbles had managed to push the fishing tournament from Wade's mind for the moment.

“You're right.” Kim stared at the container. “But we've seen examples of this archdemon's power. If he can cloak his own presence from the gargoyles, why can't he cloak an area in the castle from them, too?”

“Like the lobby.” Brynn looked grim.

“Where all the Vaughns will be meeting at midnight.” Kim felt grimmer.

Red flickered deep in Wade's eyes. He was into the moment. “Looks like the chapel might be your portal. Don't think this Abby is your archdemon, though. The archdemon could get past the gargoyles any old time he wanted. He wouldn't need someone to bring in stuff for him. I'd say the Abby demon is a minion who's been filling the containers for the archdemon, and when she had enough, she used a convenient human carrier to get them past the gargoyles. Probably the big guy was busy doing something else, so he couldn't do it himself.”

“Yeah. Like out catching a hundred-pound redfish.” Kim wondered how long the archdemon had been using her uncle.

Wade looked at her blankly for a moment, and then his eyes blazed bright red as Kim's implication sank in. “That son of a bitch.”

Kim sighed. “I'll have to clean up these piles of ash. We were lucky Mary and Herb were so rattled they didn't notice them. I think they've had enough weirdness for their wedding day.”

“I'll take care of the ash.” Brynn touched her arm. “You and Wade go on to the meeting. Tell everyone I'll be there in a minute.”

It was pitiful how even a light touch on her arm managed to momentarily erase everything else from her emotional chalkboard. Without comment, she went with Wade to the conference room where everyone waited.

Holgarth harrumphed to call attention to her lateness.

Okay, she'd used up every last damned bit of her patience for the day. She narrowed her gaze on the wizard. “You will not make even one snide comment, or I'll come across that table and screw your pointed hat into your tiny brain.”

Holgarth raised one brow. “A bit grumpy, are we?”

She glanced at Brynn as he came in and sat down next to her. “You bet. We have some serious stuff coming down.”

Kim had everyone's instant attention. She put the bubble container on the table. “Brynn and I think the archdemon has possessed my uncle Dirk and that Ye Olde Victorian Wedding Chapel is the portal to hell.” Just saying it sounded ludicrous, but it was the only thing that made sense. She'd let Brynn explain the whole mess while she figured out what she'd say to Lynsay and what they'd both say to the other Vaughns.

A roomful of humans would've all started talking at once. The nonhumans grew still and intense as they waited for Brynn to explain.

Brynn took a deep breath and told them everything Kim and he knew—Gabriel's unique abilities, Dirk's murder of Sergei, the demonic bubbles, and the fact that Dirk steered Mary and Herb to the chapel.

When Brynn was finished, Wade added his postscript. “And the prick didn't scare the crap out of any of your guests today because he was too busy screwing me out of first prize in the fishing tournament. A freakin' hundred-pound redfish. Only demonic power could've put a redfish that big on the end of his damned line. I'll find a way to have him disqualified.” His eyes blazed red at the unfairness of the whole thing.