On the Prowl (Bad Things #2)(33)

He looked away. “I didn’t say the deal was with Luke.”

“Yes, but why would you make a deal with anyone else? You’re a paranormal powerhouse, just like me.” Rayce didn’t say the words as if he were bragging. More like just stating a fact. And, yes, it was a fact. “There’s no one you need to barter with, no one who can help you except…” His words trailed away and horror—real, honest-to-goodness horror filled his eyes. And Rayce wasn’t the type to easily be horrified. “Tell me you didn’t.”

“I didn’t.” He turned away and headed for his room. The room he’d wrecked with Rose. Why had she let him touch her if she was still afraid?

Her voice echoed through his mind. It’s because I’m a vampire, isn’t it? I carry a darkness now and that darkness—it likes you. Part of what she’d said was true. Her desires were darker now that she was a vamp. His desires had always been dark. Nearly insatiable.

But when he was with her…

“You British *, stop!”

Julian frowned and glanced back.

Rayce’s cheeks were flushed. “You lied to me.”

Why was that an issue? “You lie to me all the time.”

“No, no, you made a deal.” Rayce pointed a finger at him. “And you did it with the good one, didn’t you?”

Tread carefully. “You’ll have to be more specific.”

Rayce’s cheeks flushed even redder. “You made a deal with Luke’s freaking twin! You made a deal with Leo!” He marched forward, glaring the whole way as Julian turned to fully face him. “He’s the only one who can match Luke’s power. And since Luke has gone all AWOL on us with his new lady, Leo would be the only one around for you to deal with.”

Luke Thorne was the Lord of the Dark—the ruler of every dark paranormal to walk the earth. And his twin brother Leo…Leo led the so-called light paranormals. The ones who were supposed to be good for humanity.

Only things weren’t really black and white in the world, and, according to every legend that Julian had ever heard, an old prophecy had foretold that one day, the twins would battle to the death.

Then hell would truly reign.

“You can’t trust Leo. Tell me you realize this.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

A growl broke from Rayce. “I do worry about it. What do you think he’ll do? Help your lady? Give her back a human life? Cause that can’t happen. There is no going back. She died. If she stops being a vamp, she’ll turn into a corpse.”

Julian’s muscles clenched.

“What did you offer him?” Now worry edged Rayce’s voice. “I mean, that guy isn’t going to bargain easily. He’s like Luke that way.”

The twins were alike in many ways. That was the problem.

“Tell me what you did. Tell me, man, so I can help you.”

Julian raked a hand over his face. “I agreed to find someone for him.”

Rayce’s eyes widened. “Leo is freaking all-knowing—”

“No, he’s not. He just likes to act that way.”

“—and you mean to tell me he’s lost one of his paranormals and can’t find the guy?”

“Not a guy. It’s a woman.” This was the tricky part. “An angel.”

Rayce rocked back a step. “Fucking hell.”

“The Collector has her—that same SOB who thinks he is going to get his hands on Rose. Leo is the one who told me about him. He warned me that the Collector was coming after Rose and that’s how I was able to get to her and save her sweet ass.”

Rayce’s brows climbed. “How did Leo know the guy was targeting her?”

“His angel managed to send him a message. She got to one of the Collector’s guards. You know how angels have a way of turning humans to their sides…Well, she pulled at a guard, found his soft spot, and got a message to Leo. She warned him who the next target would be—”

“Because her kind always wants to save the world,” Rayce muttered.

Yes, they did. That was kind of their thing. “And the guard was supposed to give Leo the angel’s location, too. But the guy barely got out the warning about Rose before he died. Leo said the fellow’s heart burned from inside his body.”

Rayce blinked. Then he blinked again. “That’s a…new one.”

Yes, it was.

“Witchcraft?” Rayce wondered. “Maybe one seriously powerful spell?”

“I don’t know, but I’m hoping to find out. Leo said magic is blocking him from finding the angel. He wants her back, badly. Badly enough to make a deal with me. I get her, and he will give me what I want.”

“We both know what you want.”

Julian forced his back teeth to unclench. “If I don’t save the angel, there’s no deal. I have to find her, so that means I have to track the Collector to his f*cking hole. I’ll get all the paranormals he has imprisoned there, and then I’ll do what I do best.”

They both knew exactly what that was.

Kill.

“I’ll have your back.” Rayce’s voice was quiet. “You know I stand with you.”

“Thanks.” He turned away once more. He’d only taken a few steps when…