The chance of me throat punching Zayne when he reappeared was currently somewhere between 60 and 70 percent. Although that was probably far smarter than what I normally wanted to do when I saw Zayne.
I focused on the little ball of pulsing warmth in the center of my chest. I’d never felt it with Misha, but since there were no other Trueborns for me to compare notes with, the lack of sensation hadn’t been a red flag.
But it wasn’t like others hadn’t started to guess that something wasn’t right between Misha and I. Thierry, the duke who oversaw the Wardens in the Potomac Highlands region, and his husband, Matthew, had begun to suspect that there’d been a mistake once Zayne had arrived. If I was being honest with myself, I’d known something was up. From the moment I’d laid eyes on Zayne, there’d been something there. Right now, I could feel that little ball of warmth, but I couldn’t sense emotion through it like I had yesterday, when I’d felt his frustration as if it were my own. Maybe distance had something to do with that.
We needed to explore all of that.
My gaze flickered over the crowd to the restaurant across from me. I couldn’t make out the name of the place, but it was definitely a burger joint. If I had to wait here, I might as well indulge in some fried yumminess. A grumble from my stomach told me it was way on board with that idea.
I had no idea why I was always hungry. Maybe it was all the walking. I was burning a lot of calories and—
My phone vibrated in my pocket and I fished it out. Pressure clamped down on my chest as I saw my best friend’s pretty face staring back at me. Jada was calling once more.
My finger hovered over the answer button. I needed to answer, because I knew she probably had more questions about what had happened with Misha, but I wasn’t—
Heat exploded along the nape of my neck, jerking my head up. The hot, tingly pressure was a warning system coded into my DNA.
There was a demon very close.
Letting Jada’s call go to voice mail, I slid my phone back into my pocket as I scanned the busy sidewalk. Demons that looked human easily blended with the populace. The only thing that stood out was their eyes, which reflected light like a cat’s. Picking a demon out of a crowd of humans wasn’t easy for someone with two normally functioning eyeballs, and for me, it was an exercise in frustration. I squinted and willed my vision to come in a little more clearly.
That didn’t help.
I didn’t see anyone who was obviously not human and hailing Lucifer, but the pressure was still there, settling between my shoulder blades. The demon had to be—
There.
My gaze stopped on a fair-haired man dressed in a dark suit walking down the sidewalk, hands in the pockets of his pants. Everything about him seemed normal, and he wasn’t close enough for me to make out his eyes, but some inherent sense told me that he was the demon.
And not only that, an Upper Level demon.
Certainty filled me as I planted booted feet on the ground. Before I came to DC to find Misha, I’d seen only a handful of demons, and never in a situation like this, but I knew I was right.
And if he was the second Upper Level demon spotted in the same area where Bael had been, that had to mean something.
I was on my feet before I realized I was standing. Soon he would be at the intersection, and I wouldn’t be able to keep track of him. If I waited for Zayne to return, I’d lose him.
Zayne had told me to stay here, but I was thinking that was more of a suggestion than an order.
Mind made up, I hurried around a group of people who were waiting to cross the street and hung back from Suit Demon. I stuck close to the buildings so that I wouldn’t run into anyone, hoping that Suit Demon stayed under the glow of the streetlamps.
When the pedestrian light turned green, he crossed to the next block. A non-jaywalking demon. How unexpected.
I had no plan as I followed him past a shuttered bank and several closed administrative offices, but that didn’t stop me.
Suit Demon hung a sharp right, disappearing from my view. Cursing, I picked up my pace and realized he’d entered a dimly lit, narrow alley between two buildings that were dozens of floors tall. I hesitated at the mouth, scanning the relatively clean breezeway. It was empty—
My gaze lifted. “Holy crap.”
I caught a glimpse of a blurry shape pulling a Spider-Man, scurrying up the side of the building. I looked over my shoulder, but no one was pointing with their mouth hanging open.
That was a good thing. Even though the general public was aware of Wardens, the vast majority had no idea that demons were real. Due to a whole set of celestial rules about free will and blind faith, humans weren’t supposed to know that there were most definitely consequences in the afterlife for deeds committed while alive.
People thought Wardens were some kind of genetic crossbreed between humans and who knew what. I had no idea how they convinced themselves any of that was even remotely possible, but human nature demanded logical answers, even if the answer was, in fact, illogical.
To humans, Wardens were like legends and stone come to life, superheroes who often helped law enforcement. But Wardens weren’t out there hunting criminals.
I entered the alley, stumbling over uneven pavers I couldn’t see. Halfway down, I spotted a fire escape several feet off the ground.
“Ugh,” I muttered, glancing back at the mouth of the alley and then to the fire escape, judging the distance between the ground and the bottom landing.
Smart Trinity demanded that I head back to where Zayne had told me to wait. I didn’t have a plan, and if someone saw what I was considering doing, it would be hard to explain.
Impatient Trinity screamed DO IT like a battle cry.
“Double ugh,” I growled as the latter won out.
I ran across the alley and launched myself into air with a prayer that I didn’t face-plant the building, because that was sure to sting.
My palms smacked onto the metal rung. I swung forward, muscles in my arms stretching. I planted my feet on the side of the building and pushed off hard. Swinging back, I twisted as I let go, springing over the railing.
I winced at the sound of rattling metal as I landed on the base of the fire escape. I stayed still for a moment, waiting to see if anyone started yelling, and when there was nothing but silence, I was kind of disappointed that no one had witnessed my gymnastic feat of awesomeness.
Story of my life.
I quickly climbed the fire escape, which had to have about a hundred different code violations. With only the moonlight to guide me, instinct took over, and I didn’t let myself think about how I couldn’t really see where my hands or feet were going. If I let doubt creep in, I could fall, and I was high enough I would end up with a couple of broken bones.
A warm, sticky wind caught the loose strands of hair that had escaped my bun as I reached the rooftop. Placing both palms on the cement ledge, I scanned the area. Luckily, bright floodlights shone from three different maintenance sheds, each complete with its own massive antenna. I didn’t see Suit Demon, but I knew he had to be up here. I could feel him.
I pulled myself over the ledge. The breeze was more of a wind up here, which I welcomed as it rolled over my sweat-slickened skin. Daggers secured to my hips, my fingers twitched with the desire to unsheathe them as I walked across the roof.
Near the second shed, I caught sight of Suit Demon. He was on the ledge opposite the area I’d climbed up, crouched in a manner that was so Warden-like, I frowned. He’d gotten rid of his suit jacket at some point, and his white dress shirt billowed in the wind. The demon appeared to be watching the world down below. Was he waiting for someone? Maybe he was up here waiting for the demon Zayne had followed.
Maybe even Bael.
A plan quickly formed, thank God. Catch the demon off guard, gain the upper hand and make him talk.
Sounded legit and well-thought-out.
I stepped from behind the shed, keeping my hands open at my sides. “Hi!”
Suit Demon whipped around, rising with unearthly fluidity. He was on the narrow ledge and then one heartbeat later, he was a few feet from me.
A rational person would’ve experienced some level of fear at that point, but that wasn’t what I was feeling.
He was close enough that I could tell he was handsome, which wasn’t surprising. Demons rarely appeared as anything other than someone who would be viewed as universally attractive. What hid pure, unadulterated evil better than a comely face?
Cocking his head, the demon frowned. He stared at me as if he’d ordered a tender marinated filet, but instead had ended up with a cheap flat beef patty. I was sort of offended.
I was 100 percent organic Angus beef, thank you very much.
But the demon didn’t realize that because to him, I appeared like any ordinary human who’d foolishly stumbled into his path...on a rooftop.
The frown smoothed out, and while I couldn’t see his eyes, I could feel his gaze drift over me, as if he were sizing me up. I felt the exact moment he dismissed me.
Big mistake.
Suit Demon smiled. “What are you doing up here, girl?”
Surprised that he hadn’t tacked on little in front of girl, I shrugged. “Was about to ask you the same question.”
“Were you?” He chuckled, and the sound grated on my nerves. It was patronizing. “You look a little young to belong to the official roof police.”
“And you look old enough to not say words like official roof police.”