Demon Night

And they can lie real well, make her think staying there is for her protection, so she’d have no reason to go with me.” He leaned forward, softened the next words. “Particularly if one demon is someone she already trusts. Loves him, even.”
    Ethan saw it coming. Saw it in the way she trapped her bottom lip between her teeth, as if in denial, waiting for him to continue and change the meaning. How she let it go when her brows drew tight with acceptance and worry. Heard it when the rubbing of her fingers stopped.
    And when her fist came at him, he could have avoided it, but he just eased back so the impact wouldn’t hurt her hand so bad—or his chin. Even seated, Charlie managed to put a mule kick of force behind it.
    The long coat swirled around her when she stalked into the house. A few seconds later, he heard the faint tones of Jane’s voice…a recording for voice mail.
    So Jane was Charlie’s boiling point. A threat to her sister, or someone denying Charlie information needed to protect her, and she went off violently—though she never had when the threat was personal.
    Interesting that Sammael’s reaction had been the same. What did that say about the demon’s feelings for Jane?
    “That was one hell of a jab,” Jake mused. He’d gotten his toothpick out, and was grinning around it.
    Ethan nodded, sucking in his bottom lip and tasting blood. She’d busted it pretty well. And he imagined that if she could, she’d be tearing Sammael apart right about now.
    “One hell of a woman, too,” he said quietly, and had to admit it wasn’t just the fuzzy talking.

    Jane wasn’t home.
    Charlie had been praying that it was just the shield around the house that kept her calls from getting through the cell and land lines, and when she saw Jane’s hybrid car at the curb, her hopes had risen. But Dylan’s Lexus SUV was missing from the driveway, and Ethan confirmed a moment later that no one was inside.
    “So what do we do? Wait?”
    Ethan parallel parked on the other side of the street, somehow maneuvering the big truck into a car-sized spot. About two feet of bench seat separated them, but when he cut the engine and turned toward her, it seemed half that distance. “I don’t see as we have much other choice. Looking for them at Legion would be like traipsing into a snake pit, and if they’ve taken off somewhere else for the day, there ain’t no way to get ahold of her but the phone.”
    Charlie sighed and looked out the window again. A missing phone wouldn’t make Jane suspicious; it would be just another item that she’d misplaced. “Would Dylan have taken it?”
    “Yes. He must know we’d be attempting to contact her. He’ll likely be screening everything possible—her e-mail, all phone calls, any letters.” Ethan repositioned his legs, resting his right boot near the stick shift, stretching out his left to the accelerator. “If they return and you go up to her, ask to talk with her alone, will she go? Even if he tells her not to?”
    “Yes.”
    “Then we’ll wait.”
    Dammit. Charlie propped her elbow on the armrest and began chewing at her thumbnail, staring at Jane’s driveway and mentally urging her sister home.
    “Charlie.”
    She turned; Ethan was holding out a white coffee cup.
    “This might be a bit more flavorful than that.” He nodded toward her thumb. “Be careful with it—nothing changes in my cache, so it’s as hot as when Selah brought it back an hour ago.”
    “That’s…weird. But thanks.” It was hot, and without an insulating jacket; she had to pull her sleeves down over her hands to hold it. Her knuckles ached when she curled her fingers around the cup, but his mouth didn’t seem any worse for her hitting him. “Sorry about…” She gestured to his chin.
    “I could’ve moved out of the way, but I figured I brought it on myself.”
    She mulled that over, the cup just under her lips so she could inhale the hazelnut-scented steam. “I guess you probably thought that if you’d told me last night, I’d drive myself crazy between then and this morning. Or maybe do something stupid like try to run over here before dawn and save her.”
    “It was the bit about fretting. Maybe not sleeping and working yourself into a bundle of nerves before coming here, so Jane might be more concerned about you than listening to what you were telling her. I never thought you’d be so foolish as to come here alone.”
    “Okay, then I really am sorry for punching you. I