Sweet Reckoning (The Sweet Trilogy, #3)(77)

When he set me down, he rested his forehead against mine, breathing hard. I knew he was scared. I could see it in his eyes. I lifted my hand and signed, We’re going to win this. He looked down at the floor between us, running his tongue over his lips. When he raised his eyes again, he pulled the ponytail holder from my hair, causing the blond layers to tumble heavily over my shoulders.

Now you’re ready, he signed, looking me over with dark-eyed appreciation.

I nodded. We needed his wits clear enough to be able to fight if it came to that. I watched as Kaidan leaned down, removing the knives from his pockets and fidgeting with the thick soles of his boots. He’d rigged tiny compartments to hide the blades.

Good thing he had such big feet.

When he stood, he took a small bottle of whiskey from his pocket and drank it, tossing the bottle into the trash afterward. The hot scent hit me and I shook with a moment of need, despite my lingering hangover.

My stomach plummeted at the sound of firm knocking on our room door. Kai and I stared at each other for a long moment before breaking apart. We met the others in the entryway, and Kopano answered the door.

My stomach flipped at the sight of the sons of Thamuz in the doorway, looking us over with disdain. Their long brown hair was pulled back in low ponytails and they wore brown suits. They were completely healed from the last time I’d seen them, but pure malice lived in their dark eyes. They all but snarled as they stared at me, promising pain and evil deeds if given the chance. I fought to hold their stares and not back down.

Marna shuddered next to me and cringed back.

“Evening, sons of Thamuz,” Blake said with false politeness.

“It will be a good evening once the punishing begins,” one of them said.

Fear coursed through me, thick and bitter for all the evil we’d have to face tonight. Marna made a pitiful sound. When the sons turned their eyes to her, Ginger stepped in front of her sister and crossed her arms with challenge. Ginger had given me a lot of stink eyes in the past, but nothing close to the one she gave the sons of Thamuz now.

They sneered at her. Blake stepped to Ginger’s side and jutted out his chin at the newcomers.

“We leaving or not?” Blake asked.

One led the way out of the room while the other waited so he could walk behind us. The Dukes would be proud to see a brood of their children surrounding me as if to protect their fathers from a would-be mercenary.

When we stepped into the hall I spotted two whisperers dashing down the long space as if racing. As if this were all fun and games. I wished so much for my father at that moment. Where was he? Had he heard about this summit through one of his ally spirits? And what about Lucifer’s spirit messenger, Azael, our unlikely ally? I wished we had more information, more allies, more time.

My body craved quiet peace so I could concentrate on the task, but making our way through levels of shopping and casinos was sensory overload, even at two o’clock in the morning. Whisperers were everywhere, darting through the spaces and whispering in unsuspecting ears. The noise was outrageous, like a dozen carnivals crammed into one massive building. Electronic games from the casino went crazy with overlapping bleeping and dinging. Hundreds of human voices fought to be heard. Their angel guardians were grim and on guard.

Each laughing face that we passed was a possible victim. I wanted to scream out to them all to leave, but it was a useless thought. The Dukes had been meeting here for as many years as Las Vegas had been popular. It hadn’t gained its nickname of Sin City by accident.

I silently meditated as we left The Venetian and crossed over to an independent casino with a stairway on the side leading underground.

Music played, but it seemed to be coming from under our feet in gentle vibrations. At the bottom of the stairs, out of public sight, we stopped at a set of solid metal doors with a sign above the entrance that said GALAXY NIGHTCLUB. My heart sank to new depths at the sight of the Nephilim standing guard at the door. Marek. I forced myself not to look at Kaidan or do anything suspicious.

Marek ran a metal detector wand over one of the sons of Thamuz, then the twins, Kopano, and Blake, then patted them down. I felt a hard poke in my back and turned my head to the other son of Thamuz, who was staring down at me with angry impatience.

“Move,” he ordered.

I stepped forward, and Kaidan discreetly stepped between me and the angry Neph without looking at me. I faced Marek, who would not meet my eye.

“Lift your arms,” he said.

I did everything he told me. When he was done with the metal detector, he patted me down, concentrating on my pockets. I heard Kaidan shift behind me and clear his throat when Marek’s hands were feeling my back pockets. Thankfully he finished quickly, giving my ankles a pat and then standing and motioning me through.

“Thank you,” I said softly. I wasn’t sure why I thanked him—maybe just the years of manners ingrained in me, but it made him look at me, surprised. Maybe even a little shaken. I dropped my eyes and walked through the door to where the others waited in the darkened entrance with its low ceiling.

I moved to the side where I could see Marek waving the wand over a straight-faced Kaidan. It beeped at his waist, and Kai removed his belt, displaying the metal buckle as if bored. He put it back on when Marek nodded. More beeping sounded when the wand got to Kaidan’s feet. He untied his boots and kicked them off, letting Marek step down to inspect them. I could see the bulge under Marek’s shirt at his waistline where he packed a gun.