“Beatrice, James, great to see you,” Nikolas said, coming over to us. “It’s been a while.”
“Too long,” my mother replied. “I wish it was under better circumstances.”
Nikolas’s smile was grave. “So do I.”
He waved for the others to come over and introduced them to my parents. My mother surprised Sara by pulling her into a tight hug.
“Tristan talks about you so much I feel like I already know you. And Chris has told us so many stories about your adventures together.”
Sara gave me a sidelong look. “I bet he has.”
“Where are you two staying?” I asked my parents.
My sire looked from my mother to me. “We haven’t even thought about that yet.”
“Stay here,” I told them. “You can take my room.”
My mother frowned. “Where will you sleep?”
“I’ll stay in Beth’s room.” Not that I expected to sleep much.
I turned to Rachel, who had joined us. “Unless you need a room.”
Mason spoke up. “I already gave her mine.”
“It’s settled then.” My mother smiled. “Now, put us to work. That’s what we’re here for.”
Nikolas motioned for us to sit. I stood while the rest took seats at the conference table. I didn’t plan to be here much longer because I still had a lot of ground to cover.
“We’ve been contacting everyone we know in the local demon community,” Nikolas said. “Many of them are too afraid of the Lilin to even talk to us. Sara’s managed to reach out to a few of them, but all we’ve gotten so far is suggestions for places to look. Most of our people are out there checking out these places. So far, we’ve found nothing.”
“Is there nothing else we can do?” my sire asked.
Sara answered him. “We also have some guys trying to track down any property the Lilin might have here. We’re expecting an update from David any minute.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, the phone rang. I leaned over and hit the speaker button before anyone could move.
“David?”
“Yeah. Is the gang there?”
“We’re here,” Nikolas said. “Any luck?”
“Yes.”
My heart leaped. “What?”
David cleared his throat. “Kelvan found two names linked to Jonathan Wells from his time in New York. Henry Durham and George Ramsey. I decided to add them to my property search, and I got a hit for one of them. Henry Durham has a house in Bel Air that he’s owned since the seventies. And he’s an Incubus.”
Hope flared in me. This was it; it had to be. It was too much of a coincidence.
“What’s the address?” I asked, already calculating how long it would take me to get there.
“Hold on, Chris,” Nikolas said as everyone stood. “We don’t know what we might be walking into. Let’s make sure we have plenty of backup before we go.”
“Beth might not have time for us to wait for backup,” I snapped. “I’m going.”
“I am, too,” Mason and Rachel said at the same time.
Jordan held up a hand. “We have all of us and Sara. I think we’re covered.”
Nikolas looked unhappy, and Sara scowled at him.
“Oh, no. You are not pulling that protective mate thing on me. I’m going.”
“David, the address,” I called over the clamor of voices.
He read off an address, and I plugged it into the GPS on my phone as I was hurrying out the door. I heard footsteps behind me, but I didn’t look back to see who followed. All I cared about was Beth. Every minute we waited was another minute she was in danger.
I would tear that place apart to find her if that was what it took. And I would kill anything that got in my way.
Chapter 21
Beth
I sat on the floor, panting and covered in a fine sheet of sweat from my latest attempt to break the chain on my leg. I couldn’t even bend the links a little, and I was starting to think they were infused with some kind of magic.
“Argh!”
I slapped the floor as tears of desperation burned my eyes. I had to get out of here before he came back.
I couldn’t even think about what Adam wanted to do with me. The idea of someone other than Chris touching me made me physically ill. And the thought of spending my life as a prisoner, of never seeing Chris again, was almost more than I could bear.
I rested my forehead on my knees, trying not to give in to despair. I wasn’t sure exactly how long I’d been here, but it didn’t feel like more than a day. Chris would find me, or I would find a way to escape on my own. There was no other acceptable option.
Adam hadn’t come to see me since last night. I didn’t want to see him, but his absence made me worry more about what he was doing. I wouldn’t delude myself into thinking he’d lost interest in me, not after seeing the intent in his eyes. Chris had said a Lilin didn’t stray from his course once he was set on something.
My stomach growled, but I pushed the hunger aside. Twice today, a gray-skinned mox demon, accompanied by an Incubus, had come with food and to take me to the adjoining bathroom to relieve myself. During her first visit, the mox demon had smiled meekly at me as she set the tray on the night table. A few hours later when she returned with a second tray, she’d frowned and cast a worried glance at me when she saw the untouched food from earlier.
The Incubus had scowled and ordered me to eat. I’d informed him I would starve and die of thirst before I’d eat or drink anything else here. My declaration had angered him, but he’d left without another word. I didn’t care what anyone here said. After Adam’s deception last night, I didn’t trust them to not drug me again. Whatever happened to me, I was going to face it with a mind free from drugs.
Someone knocked softly on the closed door, and I looked up in surprise. Since I’d been here, no one had knocked before entering the room.
The door creaked open, and the mox demon entered timidly, closing the door behind her. She was alone this time, and she carried a garment bag over one arm and what looked like a toiletry bag in her other hand. She laid the bags on the foot of the bed and bowed her head subserviently.
“Master sent me to help you dress for dinner,” she said quietly, her long white hair hiding her face.
I stood and sat on the bed, pulling the comforter over me. I still wore nothing but my underwear, and I felt vulnerable without clothes, even with this shy female.
“Tell your master I’m not hungry and I’ll stay in my prison cell.”
Her head came up, and her eyes widened. “You must go. Master is expecting you.”
“He’ll get over it,” I said coldly. “He has plenty of girls here if he needs a dinner companion.”
“But you are his special guest. He has been waiting for you to join him here to have this dinner.”
I let out a harsh laugh. “I didn’t join him; I’m his prisoner. So, I think I’ll pass.”
She wrung her hands. “Master will be very displeased with me if you don’t go.”
“Why would he be mad at you? I’m the one who doesn’t want to be there.”
“He gave me the responsibility of seeing to you. If I fail him, he’ll punish me.”
A feeling of helplessness washed over me. My stomach twisted at the thought of going to Adam’s dinner, but I couldn’t let his servant be punished because of me. Mox demons were passive, which meant they were easily enslaved and abused by more aggressive demons. She was just as much a prisoner here as I was.
“What’s your name?”
“Ree, my lady,” she stammered.
I sighed. “Okay, Ree. The first thing you can do is stop calling me my lady. My name is Beth.”
Her title for me implied a relationship I would never have with Adam, no matter what he thought was going to happen. It unnerved me just hearing her call me that.
“But Master said –”
I held up a hand to cut her off. “It’s Beth, or I’m staying right here.”
She nodded meekly. “Yes…Beth.”
“Now, can you please take this thing off me?” I uncovered my shackled leg. “Or am I wearing a ball and chain to this dinner?”