Call of the Siren (7 page)

“Check out the body,” Ronin said to her in a low tone. “I’ll try to keep her calm as long as I can.”

Lina caught the hidden meaning behind his words. He could calm the woman for a period of time, but eventually she would insist on calling the police. Unless they wanted to spend the night down at the station, fielding questions they couldn’t rightfully answer, they needed to be long gone before the police arrived. Human investigators meant well, but they would be of no help, and anything nonhuman about Sam would be passed off as a genetic anomaly by the human doctors who were too ignorant to understand what they were looking at.

“Can’t believe it,” the woman muttered. “He was such a nice boy.”

A stifling sliver of emotion compressed Lina’s chest. Until Sam had betrayed her, she’d also thought he’d been a good person. Hell, maybe he had been, and his hand had been forced by some element outside of his control. Whatever the reason, Lina found that she was sad he was dead.

Once Ronin and the elderly woman were gone, Lina stepped further inside Sam’s apartment. She wasn’t particularly squeamish—anymore—but there was a whole lot of blood pooling on the floor around the body. She moved across the room and stopped at Sam’s feet, taking her time in moving her gaze upward. The lower half of his body was casually splayed out, with the top of his feet pointing straight toward the ceiling. From this vantage point, it almost looked like he’d lain down on the floor and fallen asleep.

Or been laid there once he was dead, more likely.

Knowing she couldn’t put it off any longer, Lina lifted her gaze upward, coming to a stop at the source of the blood. His neck. His head had been completely severed from his body—the only certain way to kill a demon.

Gods, he hadn’t been dead long. Not long at all. The blood had barely started to congeal.

She spotted the glimmer of something along Sam’s neck and crouched down, making sure to avoid the viscous liquid that even now seeped out further along the carpet. So gross.

When the instinctive urge to gag took hold of her, she placed a hand over her nose and mouth. A footstep sounded right outside the apartment, and she shot her gaze up to see Ronin entering.

“She’s having a cup of tea, but my calming effect won’t last long. Have you found anything?”

“Yeah.” When Ronin dropped down beside her, she pointed it out. “Looks like he was decapitated with something like fishing wire.”

He reached into the pocket of his jeans and drew out a napkin, then lifted Sam’s hands one by one and examined the fingernails. “I don’t see any skin under the fingertips. No apparent signs of struggle.”

“Right. For the most part, he looks peaceful.” Eager to leave behind the sight of Sam’s sightless eyes, Lina rose to her feet and headed for the front door. She examined the lock and doorframe. “No sign of forced entry.”

“He knew his attacker.” Ronin stood and crumpled the napkin before sliding it back into his pocket. His eyes met hers across the room. “This is related to the dark fae.”

Exactly the conclusion she’d reached. “So Sam attacks us, and then the man who hired him to attack us kills him?
Why
?”

Ronin’s puzzled gaze met her own, just as the muted blare of a siren drifted into Lina’s ears.

He picked up the sound at the same time she did. After taking one last look around the apartment, he motioned toward the door. “Time to go.”

Chapter Eight

As if his life was some damn broken record stuck on repeat, Dagan found himself back at his old, familiar hangout—Opiate. And this time, he had a real reason to drink. The fight with Ronin left a bitter taste in his mouth that no amount of hard liquor could wash down. Didn’t stop him from trying, though.

He knew his own shortcomings. He’d lived with them all his life. But the fact that Ronin thought so little of him hurt more than he would ever care to admit. His brother thought he was worthless.

Hell, maybe Ronin was right.

Dagan managed to down a fair number of shots before getting propositioned, which must be a testament to how pissed off he looked. Usually it didn’t take nearly so long for a willing and available woman to come his way.

“You look like you’re having a bad night,” a smooth, sultry, feminine voice practically purred.

He swiveled his head so see a pretty brunette with eyes the color of moss. The long, lean lines of her body and her catlike eyes marked her as some sort of feline shifter. Wildcat, if he had to make a guess. Something about her triggered a spark of a memory buried deep inside his brain, but it was gone before he could grasp it.

“Definitely not one of my best,” he replied.

“I can relate.” Her mouth ticked upward, and she inched closer to where he sat. Lifting a brow suggestively, she said, “Want to make it better?”

Sex was the last thing on his brain right now. He opened his mouth to decline her less-than-subtle invitation, when the memory of Ronin’s words flashed through his mind. His brother had called him a man-whore. It didn’t take too much logic to determine that everyone else Dagan cared about thought the same thing. So why not live up to their expectations?

“Yeah. Why not?”

He hadn’t really meant to say that aloud, but she didn’t give him a chance to take his words back. Grinning over at him, she said, “Then let’s go.”

He hesitated for a fraction of a second before finishing his drink and rising from the barstool. “Your place?”

“Why wait?” She turned toward the rear part of the club and, after giving him a suggestive glance over her shoulder to confirm he was following, led him toward the back.

Her shoulder-length brown hair gleamed in the artificial lighting. Dagan found himself wishing it was another shade entirely—a soft, moonlit blond. As soon as he caught the direction his thoughts had taken, he cursed himself. He and Lina were
never
going to happen. The sooner he got that through his thick skull, the better off he’d be. Lina deserved way better than he could ever give. And random assignations in a seedy nightclub were more his thing anyway.

No sooner had they passed through the gauzy curtain into the back part of the club than the brunette shifter edged his back toward the wall and plastered her front to his. “I’ve seen you here before, you know.”

“Yeah?” he responded dully.

“Mm-hm. You have a bit of a reputation among the women, actually. You know how to have a good time, and you don’t expect anything in return.” She rose to her tiptoes and suggestively slid her tongue along his throat. “Just the kind of man I need tonight.”

That’s me. No strings attached.

Suddenly he hated it all. Hated the reputation he’d developed. Was this really what the rest of his life was going to be like?

When the woman realized he wasn’t responding, she moved back to throw him a puzzled look. “Something wrong?”

Dagan took his first good look at her, and ribbons of the elusive remembrance she’d sparked earlier fluttered back to his mind. He frowned and grasped her arms. “Hold on.”

Like a butterfly shedding its cocoon, the forgotten memory broke free from the recesses of his mind, floating on a symphony of heavy, broken chords.

Dagan was sixteen years old, and in love for the first time. Their maid was smart, beautiful, and—being three years older than him—already far more sexually experienced. Two weeks ago, the unthinkable had happened. She’d told him she felt the same. She’d taught him how to please a woman.

She was everything sweet and good, or so he’d thought…

Until the day he found her on her knees in front of his father. A show Mammon had clearly orchestrated.

“Why?” he asked his father. Later, when he could speak again.

Mammon shrugged. “I saw you notice her several weeks ago.”

Dagan knew his father despised him, but this was beyond cruel. His heart felt like it would wrench from his body with every beat. “I thought she loved me.”

Mammon laughed. “That’s because you thought she was capable of an emotion like that. She’s not. She’s a woman. Women are objects meant to be used. Nothing more. The sooner you learn that lesson, the better off you’ll be.”

“But…” When Dagan’s hands curled into fists, he hid them behind his back. He’d learned long ago that demonstrating aggression toward his father was a mistake. He couldn’t beat him—demons were never stronger than their fathers. “I loved her.”

“Love?” Mammon threw his head back, and his loud laugh filled the room. “When are you going to learn? There’s no such thing. There’s only money and power, and the games we must play to get what we want.”

“Hey, are you okay?”

The brunette’s words snapped Dagan back to the present. He stared at her in horror. How could he have forgotten all about that part of his past?

Holy hell
.

Sudden understanding punched him in the gut, almost doubling him over. All this time—all these women—he’d subconsciously been acting on his father’s lesson. Acting on the premise that he couldn’t be loved…that women were nothing more than objects to be used. And he’d chosen to be only with women who would reinforce that theory.

Even though he knew on an intellectual level how evil and just plain
wrong
his father was, he’d somehow let the bastard’s disgusting beliefs color the way he viewed life. The way he treated women.

How sick was that?

Suddenly he found himself wishing Mammon would make himself known. That he’d come out of hiding and try to attack them, as his brothers feared he would. Because if he did, Dagan would
kill
the fucker. Whatever it took.

The woman’s mouth puckered in annoyance. “Do you want to fuck me or not?”

“Not,” he gasped, pushing her away. The walls of the club seemed to be closing in, suffocating him.

Dagan blindly staggered toward the exit. He didn’t know where he was going but he did know one thing…

He had to get the hell out of here.

…

The call came at half past one in the morning, right when Keegan was about to leave his home office to join his wife Brynn and their infant son Aegin in their bedroom. He glanced at his cell phone, silently cursing as he read the caller identification. It was Tenos, the moon elf who’d recently been granted the position of Council liaison for the greater New York territory. Keegan had come to know him rather well in the months since Mammon had escaped from the Council prison. Understandably, the Council had decided that keeping tabs on him and his brothers might lead to Mammon’s recapture.

Under better circumstances, Keegan might even consider the moon elf a friend. But he knew Tenos wouldn’t be calling at this hour unless there was bad news to impart.

The last thing they needed right now was more bad news.

After pretending for a moment that he didn’t actually have to take the call, Keegan answered. “Hello?”

“Keegan, are you home?”

“Yes,” Keegan answered warily.

“Then open up. I’m standing right outside your front door.”

The phone went dead, and Keegan gave it a blank stare. What the hell? Though they’d met at Eros on several occasions, the Council liaison had never shown up at his place before. Now he was beyond nervous. An undercurrent of fear tightened his throat.

After rising from his sturdy leather chair, Keegan strode to the hallway and stood there, frozen with indecision. Part of him wanted to tell Brynn the Council liaison was right outside their door, but he also didn’t want to worry her, especially when she’d fallen asleep less than an hour ago. In the few months Aegin had been around, Keegan had come to learn that uninterrupted sleep was as precious as gold.

He turned and went down the hallway toward the foyer. He unlocked the door and opened it to see Tenos on the other side.

The tall moon elf wore his customary dark shirt and slacks, and he’d tied long, dark hair back from his face, displaying his striking cheekbones. He arched a brow. “May I come in?”

Keegan motioned for him to step inside and glanced down ruefully at his T-shirt, worn jeans, and bare feet. “If I’d had a little notice, I would’ve at least put some shoes on.”

“No need to dress up for me.” Tenos walked through the foyer and into the living room as if he’d been there a thousand times. “I’m afraid I have grave news.”

His words sparked a pounding triple-beat in Keegan’s heart. His mind raced with the possibilities of what could be wrong.

Tenos faced him. “Where are your brothers?”

“Taeg is still in Europe. Ronin’s at home. Not sure about Dagan. Why?”

“You know things have been rather tense with the Council since your father escaped.”

“Yes,” Keegan said cautiously, motioning toward the large leather sectional taking up a portion of the room. He took a seat on one end, and Tenos sat on the other.

“You also know that someone broke him out, someone capable of great magic.”

Keegan nodded. “We’ve wondered whether it was the dark fae the Council has been searching for, though we don’t understand what the connection would be between the two men.”

“Likewise.” Tenos leaned forward and placed his arms on his knees, meeting Keegan’s gaze head-on. “Certain Council members have come to believe you and your brothers were also involved in Mammon’s escape.”

“What?” An avalanche of anger and frustration urged Keegan to his feet. “That’s ridiculous!”

“I agree, but he is your blood kin.”

He had to be kidding. “Have they already forgotten that we’re the ones who got him locked up in the first place?”

After Mammon had devised a plan to take over Earth by using a magical spell book to create an army of zombies, Keegan and his brothers had defeated Mammon and turned him into the Council for punishment. And Keegan had married Brynn, the one person who could read the book and control the zombie army. Even though Keegan had later destroyed the book, he didn’t put it past Mammon to seek revenge on them.

“If anything, we’re all in grave danger.” Keegan turned on his heel and began to stalk through the room in an effort to quiet the fury racing through his body. “Mammon must want retaliation. I thought the Council understood that. I thought
you
understood.”

Tenos rose and held out a calming hand. “Keegan, of course I don’t believe you had anything to do with your father’s release. The mere thought is ludicrous. ”

Keegan forced himself to stop pacing. “Why would the Council members think it was us who freed him, after all the trouble we went to getting him there to begin with?”

Tenos let out a sigh and slipped his hands into his pockets, turning toward the view of the nightscape. “You and your brothers killed Asmodeus, the one man who could inform them of the dark fae’s identity…”

The pieces of the puzzle fell into place. “So they think we’re in league with the dark fae, and consequently with Mammon?”

“Exactly.”

Shit. Keegan ran a hand through his hair, not surprised when he noticed it shaking. “What are they going to do to me and my brothers?”

“They wanted you imprisoned until they could determine your guilt or innocence.”

Which meant Brynn and Aegin would be left unprotected with Mammon on the loose. Keegan’s hands tightened into fists. “
No
.” He’d die first.

Tenos turned and settled his gaze on Keegan. “I managed to convince them that wasn’t the best course of action.”

“But?” There was no doubt a “but”.

A flicker of sympathy lit Tenos dark eyes. “The Council has decreed that you and your brothers are to be sent back to Infernum.”

Keegan couldn’t hold back the furious growl that tore out of his throat. He’d known deportation back to Infernum would be a very real threat ever since the moment he and his brothers had chosen to save Amara by killing Asmodeus in defiance of the Council’s orders. But still, the fact that it was happening was almost impossible to believe.

Forcing his feet to move toward the sectional, he took a seat on the edge. “What about our families? Brynn, Aegin, Maya, Amara…what happens to them?”

Tenos’ mouth tightened, and his gaze dropped, as if he found the words he was going to say distasteful. “They can choose to go with you, or they can remain here.”

Unprotected.

Keegan’s heart pounded fiercely, threatening to blind his vision. He had to find a way out of this. He had to protect his family…no matter the cost.

“You’ve been a good asset to the Council these past many years, even if the Council members choose not to recognize it.” Tenos crossed the room to sit beside him, giving him an intent gaze. “The Grand Council member is unavailable until the afternoon after tomorrow, so the official order won’t come down until then, but from what I hear, it’s already a done deal. The majority of the Council members have agreed to it.”

Something in the tone of Tenos’s words made Keegan stiffen. “The day after tomorrow? So why are you telling me this now?”

Tenos shrugged, but even though the gesture seemed casual, Keegan knew better. “The Council won’t be worried about keeping closer tabs on you until they give you the order for deportation. Were you to vanish before then…”