Call of the Siren(9)

Keegan took a swig of his drink. “Supports our theory that Sam is working for the fae.”

“Yup,” Dagan said. “A teleportation spell of that magnitude requires some serious power.”

Keegan nodded. “Exactly. It’s not like they sell those on the black market.”

Dagan swallowed hard, his thoughts turning to another man. Another possibility. “You don’t think it could’ve been Mammon, do you?”

Silence blanketed the room at his mention of that name. Mammon was a demon who had tried to take over the world…and he also happened to be their father. He was evil and abusive, and they’d taken great delight in escaping him. After he turned against the Council, the four of them had gladly tracked him down. Rotting in an interdimensional prison had been the very least he deserved. But he’d been broken out several months ago, and they hadn’t heard of him since.

“Only someone with great power could have broken him out of prison,” Keegan finally said. “Whether it was the dark fae or not is anyone’s guess. But if it was him…why? What’s the connection between the two?”

“At this point we don’t know what to expect from Mammon,” Ronin said grimly. “I’m half surprised he hasn’t reared his head by now.”

True. Their father had an awful habit of trying to kill them.

“I can’t believe Sam turned on me.” Lina frowned and rubbed at her side. She almost looked like she was in pain, and that set Dagan’s internal radar off. Given her angelic healing ability, she should be fully healed by now.

Without thinking about it, Dagan set his drink down and crossed over to her. “You okay?” He didn’t wait for a response before peeling back her leather jacket and lifting her lace top just enough that he could examine the spot where she’d been stabbed. Her flesh was unmarred, but it was damn hard to ignore how soft and smooth it was, or the fact that her top seemed more appropriate for the bedroom than for public view. If that wasn’t a recipe for a hard-on, he didn’t know what was.

Lina stiffened beneath his gaze, her fingers tightening on her knife. “I’m fine. Aches a little, is all. I’m sure it’ll go away soon enough.”

“Good.” Before Dagan could say anything more, a wisp of negative energy drifted toward him.

No mistaking where that came from. Ronin.

Ever since Ronin’s first sexual encounter with his now-fiancé Amara, when she had, to her horror, almost killed him, Ronin’s calming ability had gone wonky. At first it hadn’t worked at all, but once Ronin and Amara had gotten back together it had kicked back in with one notable exception—when he was angry, unease, rather than calm, oozed from his pores.

Damn unnerving.

The Jaws theme played in Dagan’s head as he released Lina’s shirt and backed toward the bar without meeting Ronin’s eyes. He already knew the reproach he’d find in them. Hell, Ronin would no doubt grill him later for turning up at the same place as Lina. The bastard probably suspected he’d done it on purpose.

If only he knew how much Dagan wished Lina hadn’t seen him tonight—at least not in the comprising situation he’d gotten himself into.

Keegan cleared his throat, dispelling the tension that permeated the room. “We need to press forward. If Sam tried to kill you just for asking questions, then clearly we’re on to something.”

“That’s the thing.” Lina flipped her knife in her hand and grasped it by the hilt before sliding it inside her leather jacket. “If Sam had wanted to kill me, he would’ve succeeded.”

Ronin’s body went taut. “What do you mean?”

“He had his chance, but he didn’t want to kill me. He told me so.”

Dagan exchanged a wary glance with Keegan. “Then what did he want?”

“Don’t know.” Lina let the silence settle around them before she lifted her arms overhead and arched her back into a stretch. “Been a long night. Sun will be up soon. I’m gonna head home.”

Without thought, Dagan opened his mouth to offer her a ride. Made sense since she lived all the way down in the West Village and he was the only one of them who had a car, but yeah…he hadn’t thought that one through.

Before he could make the mistake of speaking, Ronin rose from the couch. “I’ll walk with you.”

Lina faced him with an annoyed laugh. “I’m not a child.”

“I know.” But Ronin made no move to back down.

Lina’s eyes narrowed on Ronin, and for one second Dagan feared she was going to reject his offer. In the end, she merely shrugged. “Suit yourself.”