Darkness Avenged (Guardians of Eternity #10)(13)

But it seemed it was.

Even as he turned, the door leading to the bog of a backyard was being shoved open and a tiny gargoyle waddled into the kitchen.

“Did something die in here?” the creature muttered, his ridiculous wings twitching. “I smell”—he came to a halt, regarding Santiago with a sour smile—“vampire.”

“Santa madre.” Santiago turned back to glare at his beautiful companion. “Have you gone completely loco?”

Yes, Nefri silently answered the question.

In this moment she was fairly confident that she was at least skirting the edges of becoming loco. And had been since the moment she realized which vampire Styx had sent to spy on her.

What was it with this man? Granted, he was gorgeous. Breathtaking, mouthwatering, do-me-right-now gorgeous.

And powerful enough to challenge her despite the fact he wasn’t a clan chief.

And edible. Even when he was being stubborn and so aggravatingly arrogant she wanted to slug him in the nose, he made her think of running her hands over those hard muscles and tasting his warm Spanish blood.

But she’d met thousands of gorgeous, powerful, even sexy men over the past centuries and none of them had made her react like a . . . She swallowed a low growl. Why not admit it? She was reacting like a Harpy in heat.

And worse, he was all too aware of her vulnerability.

That knowledge only reinforced the need to get rid of him as soon as possible. As if ticking off the Oracles wasn’t reason enough.

At least her inner turmoil wasn’t visible as she met Santiago’s searing black gaze. “Excuse me?” she asked in the cool tones she knew set his fangs on edge.

He pointed a finger toward Levet. “Why are you traveling with that pest?”

She narrowed her gaze. “Please do not insult my companion.”

“Oui, do not insult her companion,” Levet muttered, moving to stand at her side with an offended sniff. “In case you missed the mammogram, I’m a hero.”

Santiago scowled. “Mammogram?”

“Memo,” Nefri corrected him. “Missed the memo.”

The exasperated male gave a shake of his head. “Are you being punished?”

“I didn’t think so.” She allowed her gaze to flick over his lean, muscular form, shown to perfection in his tight jeans. “Until now.”

Santiago muttered a curse. “There’s no need for him to be here.”

“That’s not your call.” She nodded toward the nearby doorway. “If you’ll excuse us, I need to speak with Levet in private.”

It couldn’t be that easy.

“No.”

“I wasn’t asking for your permission.”

“He can’t follow Gaius’s trail.”

Her lips thinned as she realized he’d so easily read her mind, but with a grim hold on her composure she turned her attention to the gargoyle as he stuck his tongue toward Santiago.

“For your information, I am a superb tracker.”

“Can you find him?” she asked softly.

“Given time,” Levet assured her, then with obvious embarrassment, wrinkled his ugly little snout. “Well, perhaps it will be more difficult than usual. The vampire somehow managed to have his . . . essence stripped. There’s no scent to follow.”

“There, you see,” Santiago mocked.

She turned back with a lift of her brow. “See what?”

“You need me.”

Oh . . . damn. She did.

Even the Oracles would agree there was nothing more vital than finding Gaius. And more importantly, what was currently controlling him.

Of course, she had to be sure that he could actually produce results before she agreed to anything.

“How do I know this is not a trick?” she demanded.

He scowled, as if offended by her question. “Why would I want to trick you?”

“Your male pride was obviously wounded by my return to my people without first gaining your approval.”

His lips curled back to expose his fangs. Like all males, he didn’t want to admit he might be unreasonable. “I’ll admit your disappearance annoyed me, but not because of my pride.” He deliberately paused. “It was the coward’s choice.”

A dangerous silence filled the kitchen, broken only by Levet’s gasp of shock.

“I . . . umm . . . I think I will go investigate the upstairs,” the tiny gargoyle muttered, his tail twitching as he hurried out of the kitchen.

Nefri and Santiago ignored his abrupt departure, both busy glaring at one another.

At last, Nefri found her voice. “Did you just call me a coward?”

Santiago didn’t so much as flinch at the lethal edge in her voice. Something she might have admired if she hadn’t been so infuriated.

“I said you made a coward’s choice,” he corrected her.

“Did you ever consider for one minute that my decision to leave had nothing to do with you?”

“No.”

“That I have duties that are more important than appeasing your ego?” she grimly continued.

“You—” Santiago bit off his words, hissing as the sharp stench of rotting flesh filled the air.

“Sacrebleu,” Levet called from above them. “You will want to see this.”