The Unlikeable Demon Hunter (Nava Katz #1)(40)

Taking my tree escape route, I dropped onto the ground with no attempt to be stealthy, since I wanted to be seen by whoever was on guard duty.

The operative word being “seen.” Not tackled to the ground, hitting it with a hard whoosh as all my breath left me. Though that may have been for another reason as my body instinctively recognized the scent of iron and musk.

“What have we here?” Rohan’s voice vibrated against me.

I had to turn my head to answer or risk eating dirt. “Do you mean ‘we’ in the royal sense or are the voices in your head clamoring in unison?”

He stretched out on top of me, pinning me more firmly between him and the ground. “You didn’t give the code word,” he said, lazy amusement threading his voice.

“Eyeliner?” Grass tickled my cheek.

“Nope. Two more wrong guesses and I’ll have to deal with you.”

He was sick. Which made me doubly so because I shivered in pleasure at that so-called threat, my entire body yelling “throw the guesses!”

“Hamsa?” I asked.

“You Googled the engraving, huh?”

I was many things. Stupid was not one of them. I slammed my crackling left hand into him, being careful to hit his leather jacket, since frying him was not conducive to securing his assistance.

The zap was still enough to buck him off me, allowing me to roll out from under him.

“Don’t mess with Lady Shock and Awe,” I warned.

Rohan pulled on the jacket, examining it. “Fuck a duck, you’re giving yourself superhero names already?” He rubbed the small scorch mark on his upper sleeve, then scowled.

“Your predilection for fowl aside,” I flicked a spark of electricity at him. “I have a question.”

“Good for you.” He stood up, brushing off his ass.

Yeah, I looked. Yeah, he caught me. Yeah, I shrugged.

I pushed to my feet. “A nice butt won’t get you out of answering, Emo Snowflake.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“It’s not your superhero name? Never mind.” I patted his cheek. “I’ll find you something.”

“Lucky me.” Rohan motioned for me to follow him out of the moonlight and into the shadows. “What’s the question?”

I twirled a finger indicating the perimeter of my yard. “I know there are wards. You’re here guarding me. So why was it weird when I asked to go home? What did Ari refuse to tell me?”

“You can stay here tonight but tomorrow you move into the chapter house.” He placed his hand over my mouth to keep me from protesting. “It’s the safest place for you to be. Especially if Asmodeus learns it was you.”

When, not if.

I pulled his hand off, resisting the urge to suck one of his fingers into my mouth. “Okay.” Was it getting hotter out here? I pushed my hoodie sleeves up.

He tensed. “That’s it? No fight?”

“You have a fabulous impression of my intelligence. I’ll explain this once so remember it. I’m not stupid. I’m also not endangering my family.” I wound a curl around my finger, all casual. “Hey, I was just thinking. I know you checked actors on Samson’s film, but what about the rest of the crew?”

Rohan rubbed the back of his hand across his chin. He hadn’t shaved since yesterday, and the dark stubble along his jaw combined with the steely glint of his eyes was insanely hot, giving him a dangerous air. Correction. More dangerous.

“Drio checked producers, directors, all other above-the-line positions on King’s last few films against the database maintained by intelligence,” Rohan said. “No hits.”

Damn. “There’s a database?”

I guess I said it a little too fervently because Rohan held up his hand. “Stand down, Lolita. You don’t get to troll for famous people we suspect.”

Someday. When I was allowed to do more than just train and prove I should be allowed to continue breathing.

Now that I’d been out here a while in my pajamas, my skin was beginning to get goosebumps. I tugged my sleeves back down, zipping my hoodie up against the cool night air. “What about Samson’s make-up artist?” I tapped my finger against my lip. “Obviously Samson is glamoured up and I get that if he is a demon, he’s far more powerful than Josh, but when Josh got… excited, he flickered. Actors spend a lot of time with their make-up artists and maybe he’d want someone trustworthy around him in case he exposed himself.”

Rohan was already texting a note to Drio to check it out.

“Seeing as I’m so useful–”

“Potentially,” he said.

“How about a little quid pro quo?” I figured I’d work up to specific details. “I’m thinking that the downfall of a major demon would be just the thing to get the Brotherhood to listen to me.”

Rohan slid his phone back into his pocket. “Don’t even think of going out to look for one. You wouldn’t know where to begin and you can’t take one on.”

“Rohan…” He waited while I debated how much of my Ari worries to share. “My brother isn’t doing well. I’m scared he may not recover from this.” My voice shook. “I know he’s still an initiate and if I have some leverage that gets the Brotherhood to check and confirm it–”