“I won’t hide from him,” Dee said and her voice was clear. Strong. She stepped to Simon’s side, her chin up, her head back. The charred ends of her hair had vanished while she slept. Her blond mane was tousled around her face. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips bright red.
Sexy. The woman always looked so sexy to him.
“Dee.” The demon’s eyes swept her body once more. “You’re looking good for a dead woman.”
She shrugged.
“I take it that this asshole is the one who changed you?” Rage slipped past the ice in Zane’s voice. Cracked through.
“No.” Her hand brushed over Simon’s arm. “He’s the one who saved my life. More than once.”
A sad shake of Zane’s head. “So you’ve already gone to his side, huh, Dee? Already forsaken—”
“I’m Born.”
The guy’s eyes bulged. “Bullshit.”
“It’s the reason my parents were killed. The reason the vamps came after me again and again. I’m Born and I’m going to take out the bastard—Grim—who is on my tail.”
Damn. The woman sure had one hell of a bite.
Sexy. If there wasn’t a demon standing there, glaring and threatening death, he’d lick that long column of her throat once more.
If.
“Sorry, Dee, that’s not gonna happen.” Zane glanced down at the floor, then back at her. “I got a promise to keep.”
Then he lunged forward, the stake up, ready, moving faster than a human ever could and flying straight at Dee.
Simon tried to jump in front of her, but Dee shoved him to the side. Then her left hand shot out and she snatched the stake, ripped it right out of the demon’s hand and snapped the wood in two.
The broken stake thudded onto the carpet.
She grabbed Zane, bunched his shirt in her fist, and jerked him close to her face.
He smiled at her. “I tried.”
What?
“You gonna bite me now? Gonna sink those, um, really long and what looks like freakishly sharp teeth in my neck? Gonna drain me dry?”
The demon didn’t seem particularly worried.
Dee rolled her eyes. “Don’t tempt me, asshole. Don’t tempt me.”
The smile that had curled his lips faded. “You’re still in there, aren’t you, Dee? All this…” His hand lifted, traced her lips, and Simon had to bite back a growl. “It’s just surface.”
She blinked and her head cocked.
Surface.
Being a vampire was a hell of a lot more than that.
“Not a cold-blooded killer, are you?”
Dee freed him.
“If you were, you would have drained me by now.” He straightened his shirt, then raised a brow. “Born, huh? Never saw that one coming.”
She shoved a hand through her hair. “Me either.”
Zane grunted and looked his way. “So what’s your story?”
Simon just stared back at him.
“Man, you need to bring that down a notch. Dee and I weren’t lovers. You want to get all territorial and kick-ass, save that crap for Tony.”
Simon locked his jaw and gritted, “Why are you here?”
Another fleeting smile. “I’m here because if Dee really had become some soul-less bloodsucker, I would have kept my promise.” His stare slanted to a watchful Dee. “Don’t worry, sweet, I would have made it fast and as painless as possible.” A shrug. “But the minute I saw you, I knew you were still my Dee—”
A woman screamed. Loud, high. Terrified.
The scent hit Simon then. Thick and cloying. Smoke.
Fire.
“Fuck!” Zane spun around and ran for the door. Dee and Simon raced after him.
Not another damn fire. Not again. Grim’s pack, they just weren’t going to stop, not until they killed Dee.
Not on his watch.
Zane shoved open the door at the bottom of the stairs and they walked into—
An inferno.
It should have been impossible. Fire couldn’t spread this fast. With their senses, they would have known but—
But Delaney’s burned. The flames crackled and licked at the ceiling, growing bigger, hungrier, and giving them a glimpse of sweet hell.
“Catalina!” Dee’s scream.
The witch stood behind the bar, seemingly frozen. Her eyes were on the flames that surrounded her. Bright, dancing flames.
The demon swore and charged for her. He waved his hand and the flames dimmed around the witch.
He flew over the fire and grabbed her.
“Burn,” she whispered, but Simon could hear her over the flames. “Burn so fast.” She closed her eyes and turned her head against Zane’s shoulder.
The flames shot higher. The smoke thickened, but the fire didn’t race back toward the witch. Instead, it headed right for Dee.