Beyond the Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #6)(39)

Sex, even fantastic oh-my-God-don’t-ever-stop sex, was a complication she didn’t need right now.

Returning her attention to their surroundings, Harley caught sight of the glint of steel beams of a large bridge spanning the river just visible over the top of the trees.

A bridge meant a town, thank God.

She’d kill for dry clothes and something to eat.

A very large something to eat.

A side of beef sounded just about perfect.

Her mouth watered, but her visions of a medium rare sirloin were shattered by the sound of an approaching car. Expecting Salvatore to ease back into the shadows of the trees, Harley lifted her brows as he instead crossed his arms and waited for the elegant black Mercedes to come to a halt in the middle of the dirt road.

“Now what?” she demanded.

Salvatore sniffed the air. “Imp. The scent is familiar.”

“A friend of yours?”

“I make it a rule to spend as little time in the company of imps as possible.” A smile touched Salvatore’s sensuous lips as the door of the car opened, and a tall woman with perfect curves and a stunning mane of shimmering red hair stepped out. “Of course, there’s an exception to every rule.”

“Creep,” Harley muttered, astonished by the pang of envy.

Okay, the woman was drop-dead gorgeous with her pale skin and slanted emerald eyes. But what woman with a brain larger than a pea drove around country back roads in a skimpy black gown that barely covered the essentials and three-inch heels?

Slut shoes out here? Really?

Harley had never fantasized about becoming one of those upmarket women who bartered beauty for wealth. She liked women who kicked ass.

Give her Lara Croft over Cinderella any day.

“Don’t worry, cara,” Salvatore drawled. “I have quite unexpectedly become addicted to one particular female. There’s not another who could possibly tempt me.”

Yeah, right.

She rolled her eyes. No man acquired Salvatore’s talent in bed by reading how-to books.

“Does that bullshit work on your harem?” she mocked.

He managed to look surprised. “I’ll let you know if I ever acquire one.”

“The King of Weres without a harem? I don’t believe it.”

“Being king isn’t just a figurehead position, Harley.” His shoulders lifted in a restless motion, as if in response to the heavy burdens he carried, his expression suddenly bleak. “The entire Were race is depending on me to save them from extinction. That doesn’t leave a lot of time for collecting women.”

Sashaying—yes, she actually sashayed—around the front of the car, the imp tossed her long mane of crimson hair, the scent of plums filling the air.

“Your Majesty?” She dipped her head in an oddly formal manner. “I am Tonya, sister to Troy.”

“Cristo.”

Tonya chuckled at Salvatore’s horror. “I take it that you remember my twin brother?”

“He’s difficult to forget.”

“It’s his gift.”

“Not the word I had in mind.” The golden eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. “How did you recognize me?”

Tonya pointed a finger in Harley’s direction. “I recognized her. She’s the spitting image of her sister.”

Harley forgot her unreasonable dislike for the imp. “You know my sisters?”

“I worked in Chicago until last month, when I transferred to Viper’s club here.”

“Viper opened a club in this backwoods?” Salvatore glanced around the quiet farmlands. “It hardly seems a mecca for demons.”

“We have a specialty coffee shop that caters to humans, and a connected building for our more exotic clientele.” The imp sent Salvatore a smoldering smile. Bitch. “You offer the right scratch for someone’s itch and they’ll drive miles to find you.”

“And your job entails roaming the back roads for potential customers?” Harley snapped.

Tonya ran a deliberate hand down the curve of her hip, her eyes holding the knowledge that there wasn’t a woman alive who wasn’t jealous of her outrageous beauty.

“The only thing that would bring me to the back roads is a command from Santiago. Oh, and the promise of some lovely cha-ching, of course.” The imp actually purred at the mention of money. “There’s a cash reward for whoever finds you first.”

A perilous heat blasted through the air as Salvatore grabbed the imp’s arm.

“Who’s offering this reward?”

The imp had enough sense to step back in alarm. “The Anasso. He sent out a BOLO for the King of Weres and his mate’s sister after he received some sort of mental text from a gargoyle. Since it was still daylight, Santiago sent out his nonflammable servants to keep watch.”

Harley licked her lips, bombarded by a muddle of emotions. A growing confidence that her sisters were indeed alive. A relief that Levet had seemingly made it out of the tunnels. And a vague impulse to take off running and never look back.

Her life had always been predictable. Caine might move them from lair to lair, and the curs guarding her had changed throughout the years, but her days were pretty much the same no matter where they were.

Now…not so much.

Amazingly, being thrown into the middle of an adventure wasn’t quite the exciting buzz she’d always assumed it would be.