Demon Angel

with."
    Her gut twisted. "I could strangle it out of you."
    "Through the cell phone?"
    Rolling her eyes, she quoted, " 'The world is changed because you are made of ivory and gold. The curves of your lips rewrite history…'"
    And decided to strangle him later.
    The windshield wipers swished out a soothing rhythm, and unintelligible codes crackled from the police radio at regular intervals.
    Hugh scrubbed his hand over his face as they neared his house, trying to fight the queasiness that riding in a moving vehicle always gave him. He didn't have a watch, but he thought it must have been nearing midnight—the interview had not been long, but the waiting had been. Taylor and Preston had not wanted to let him go, but had no reason to keep him—sending him home with the uniformed officers had not been an act of kindness, however. Hugh was certain that they'd be watching his house after they'd dropped him off.
    A few minutes later, he stood at his front door and smiled grimly as the cruiser pulled out of his driveway and parked next to the curb. They were in for a long, boring night—but they were welcome to try to follow him when he went for his morning run.
    Inside, he toed off his shoes and shrugged out of his damp T-shirt, balling it up and tossing it in the direction of the door to the garage and the laundry. The upstairs windows had been dark; Savi was either asleep or out. Considering the hours she and her friends kept, probably out. She was going to be upset that he hadn't called her from the station, but she would likely be involved soon enough, as the detectives verified the story he'd given them.
    And Hugh hadn't wanted to give her news of Ian's death in those surroundings.
    Anger and grief welled up again, but he tamped them down. They served no purpose; better that he channel them into action. And for once, the gym he kept had no appeal.
    He'd thrown Colin's number and address into the garbage by his bed. He strode soundlessly through the darkened house, shaking off the last of his nausea. Once he'd met with Lilith, had seen the body, his decision to avoid the vampire had seemed ridiculous. If not for the trip to the police station, Hugh'd have met with him. And now, it did not seem so terrible to ally himself with someone who might know something about the nosferatu, and why they had begun ritualistically killing humans.
    He sat on his bed, and reached down to pick up the slip of paper from the bin. Lilith would have known more, but he didn't trust himself around her. Not that he knew where to find her. Michael had said FBI; perhaps Savi could—
    His skin prickled. His hand stilled, and he looked up, into the opposite corner of the room.
    Clinging to the ceiling, Lilith stared back at him, her eyes glowing in the darkness.
    "Should I get my sword?" he asked softly and switched on the lamp.
    "That depends on what you plan to do with it. I prefer my heart intact."
    She dropped to the floor. Her human form had vanished beneath the crimson skin and black wings, claws and fangs. He studied her, wondering how much of this was truly her, and how much of her was the form she'd worn earlier.
    She had clothes on—not the suit from earlier, but an updated version of the tight leather breeches and corset she'd begun wearing in the mid-eighteenth century. Black boots ended at her knee. She did not wear the clothing out of modesty; they molded to her curves so well they left little to the imagination. Nor did she seem to intend them to titillate. Her heels were low, and her shoulders squared in a strong, rather than seductive, posture.
    Perhaps she wore them as a defense? Suddenly aware of his own half-dressed state, he had the urge to find a shirt, to put even a flimsy barrier between them.
    But she would take advantage of such a telling gesture, and so he remained where he was.
    His gaze lit on her bare arms, the upper slope of her breasts. "Vanish your clothing."
    Her eyes widened. He'd surprised her, but only for a moment. She quickly recovered and said, laughing, "Oh, I do like you better when you are human." She leaned against his teak dresser, and with an easy push from the heels of her hands, lifted herself onto the dark surface. "I'm surprised they took you down for questioning. It should have been a simple matter of taking your information down and conducting a preliminary interview, then calling on you later to follow up."
    "I knew him."
    Her smile faded at his quiet announcement. The red glow left her