The Unlikeable Demon Hunter (Nava Katz #1)(65)

       
         
       
        

"Should I be concerned about them seeing those first few messages between us?" I asked.

"No. But from now on, we should find another way to maintain contact."

Given the schedule for the Samson job, I figured I'd be back in Vancouver by Saturday. We arranged a time for her to phone Leo's place. The Executive didn't know about her. If I wasn't back, she'd phone at the same time each day until she reached me.

"Thank you so much," I said.

She reached a hand up, briefly touching my cheek. "We'll talk when you get home." The conversation was over. Probably a good thing. I'd had my share of bombshells for the day.

I walked back to the hotel, my mind swirling, amazed at the people talking, eating, and shopping around me. Amazed at how normal their lives were. Just over a month. That's how long it had been since my world had been knocked off its axis, and I'd become Rasha. Given such a short adaptation period for such a massive life transition, a transition the rest of them spent twenty years to prepare for, I was not just coping, but thriving.

Thanks to me, we'd cracked the mystery of Samson's identity. Thanks to me, Ari's initiate status had been confirmed and he'd soon be inducted. Not to mention, I'd helped take out the demon Asmodeus, his spawnlings, and the vral. It was fucking unfair then, that every time I found my footing, the floor dropped out from under me.

I stopped at a red light. A little girl in a bright yellow coat watched me. Her dad's hand rested lightly on her head, and her mouth was smeared with chocolate. She grinned at me.

I grinned back. That's how I'd deal. Knowing that doing my job in the dark let kids like her live in the light. We crossed the street and she skipped off ahead with her father. Rohan was wrong about me not knowing what I wanted. Kill demons and get Ari Rasha'd. My personal life had sidetracked me and it was time to reset things to a less complicated state.

Look at that. Meeting Gelman had let me forget about Snowflake for an entire hour. I wasn't to be given a second more, however, because I entered the hotel to find Rohan and Lily, their heads bent close together, cheeks flush with cold, and identical expressions of happiness on their faces as they laughed over a shared joke. A perfect couple.

I tried to sneak past them, but no such luck.

"Where have you been?" Rohan asked.

"Breakfast with a friend at Café Louvre." Let him stew over which friend.

Lily clapped her hands together. "Did you have any of their cakes?"

My heart sank. Not fair. I don't want to like you. "Sacher torte."

She nodded sagely. "That's one of the best." Her phone beeped. Lily checked it. "Oops. Gotta get to the conference." She kissed Rohan's cheek. "See you later." 

He kissed hers back. "Have fun listening to physicists, you giant nerd."

She stuck her tongue out at him.

I returned her good-bye wave. "Seems I wasn't the only one breakfasting with friends," I said. "Up early, were we?"

"Up late." Rohan glanced at Lily's departing back.

My stomach twisted. I saw his hand on her naked back. Her face soft and suffused with ecstasy under him. The wicked glint in his eyes as he slid into her. Was he gentle with her? Did he growl her name, the way he did mine?

Rohan snapped his fingers in front of my face. "Hey, spacey. You all right?"

They probably had movie sex: the lightest sheen of non-odorous sweat, low cries, and mutual orgasm. Two beautiful people basking in post-coital radiance together.

"Is there anything you need me for today?" I asked, because if there wasn't, I wanted to go to my room and torture myself further.

"There is," he said.

"What?"

Rohan frowned at my sharp tone. "What crawled up your ass?"

I stuffed my hands into my pockets so I didn't punch him. My fingers brushed the wrapped item I'd been given. Examining it was a much better use of my time than obsessing over the sexual proclivities of the dummy in front of me.

I stalked off into the elevator, Rohan dogging my heels. I didn't speak until we'd gotten inside my room and I'd locked the door. Rohan watched me, confused, as I tossed the vials of dirt and water on the bed. Then I ripped open the package Dr. Gelman had given me.

An amulet. There wasn't much to it. About the size of a Canadian two dollar coin but thicker, it was made of swirled green glass. The only noteworthy detail was a hamsa etched on the inside. I ran my fingers along the edge but there was no clasp, no hinge, no discernible seam.

Rohan leaned in to look at it. "What does it do?"