Death Wish (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #5)(40)

Jez placed her hand in mine. Excited energy trickled from her to send a strange tickle up my arm. “I always thought Lilah was pretty sketchy, too detached, and her lack of emotion is scary.”

“She’s a demon. It just gets scarier from there. Ready?” I waited for her nod before pushing my energy out around us in a circle, cloaking us with a keenly focused thought. Jez gave a little gasp as my power encased her.

The main door to the office was locked, nothing the key wouldn’t open. I hesitated, feeling for the heavy demon magic I’d seen Lilah surround the place in before. Nothing. Not hitting a demon barrier was a good thing, but it also meant the chances of her being inside were slim. I couldn’t probe for her energy unless I dropped my circle and opened my energy up to her as well. Not happening.

An advantage to being a predatory animal was our innate ability to move silently. Hand in hand, we eased the door open just enough to slip through. My eyes easily adjusted to the dark. There wasn’t a single light on inside, but the thin rays of light that crept through the windows kept it from being absolute black. Slow and cautious, we rounded the corner from the entryway into the hall.

Noise drifted toward us. It took me a moment to realize it was the sound of two people in the throes of passion. Um, shit. I glanced at Jez with my eyebrows raised, and she shrugged, urging me on.

The sound was coming from Veryl’s office, or what had once been his office. The door was swung shut but not latched tight. About six inches of space allowed us a view into the room. My jaw dropped.

Lilah was sprawled on Veryl’s fancy old desk. Her copper colored hair was in disarray and her head thrown back in pleasure. Standing between her legs, groaning with each thrust, was Falon.

I sure as hell hadn’t expected this. I could feel Arys’s questioning touch on my mind, wanting to know what was going on. I let him see what I was seeing, and his grim amusement came in response. Jez’s expression revealed that she, too, found it funny. If she laughed and gave us away, we were screwed.

Too late. My power could hide me from a vampire, but it couldn’t fool an angel, even a fallen one. Falon turned his head, finding us in his line of sight. Our eyes met, and my stomach dropped.

I pushed Jez backwards, toward the door. All we could do now was attempt to leave as if we’d stumbled upon them by accident, which in a way we had. That would have been easier if I hadn’t cloaked our presence.

Falon never let us reach the door. The air rippled, and he was just there, his large silver wings iridescent and shimmering. How he’d managed to make himself decent so quickly was beyond me. His wingspan allowed him to easily and effectively block our exit. With arms crossed over his chest, he scowled at us.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” I shot back. “But, I don’t need to. I saw what you were doing.”

Jez piped up, indignant. “I came to get something from my office. Got a problem with that?”

With a huff, she spun on her heel and marched down the hall to her office, following through with the bluff. I stood there staring at Falon, finding guilt in his pale eyes. I was willing to bet Shya didn’t know his sidekick was sleeping with Lilah. From what I could tell, Falon wasn’t happy with me discovering it.

“You didn’t see anything,” Falon warned, his tone low with menace.

I couldn’t resist the urge to taunt him. “Oh, didn’t I?”

I was keenly aware of Lilah’s approach. I stepped back so I could keep both her and Falon in my sights. I didn’t trust either of them.

She was as unkempt as I’d ever seen her. Her clothing had been hastily put together, and she wrestled her messy hair into a ponytail. Her flame colored gaze landed on me, and I could see her searching for the right words to explain away what we’d interrupted.

“Alexa, I’m sorry you walked in on that. Falon and I should know better than to allow such an indiscretion to take place. I’m sure you understand why this should be kept private.” Lilah did a great job meeting my eyes. For a woman that was just caught with her pants down, she was smooth.

I squelched the urge to laugh bitterly. I wasn’t keeping any secrets for her. “Honestly, I don’t give a crap who you f**k. But, when you send people to kill me, that’s when what you do becomes my business.”

I was disappointed by her lack of surprise. Lilah nodded as if she’d expected me to know. Her neutral expression didn’t change though her eyes darkened.

“You’ve done a good job of staying alive,” she said, emotionless. It wasn’t a compliment. “For the record, it’s nothing personal.”

Her lack of emotion was getting under my skin. I wanted her to be mad or aggressive. Anything that indicated she had a reason to want me dead. This calm demeanor of hers was pissing me off.

“It’s personal now.” I risked a glance at Falon who wore a mask of confusion. So, he wasn’t in on her little plan to off me. Or, was he just a great actor? “I killed Veryl for you. You owe me answers. Why?”

Jez returned quickly, unwilling to leave me alone with the demon. I was grateful for her presence. She stayed back where she could observe the entire situation. Her pupils were large in response to the growing excitement. I could feel it, too, crawling over me like ants on my skin.

Lilah pursed her lips, her gaze unwavering. “You killed Veryl because you wanted to. I just gave you the reason you sought to justify it to yourself. I respect you, Alexa. I may even like you a little bit. But, you’re a threat to me now.”