The Darkest Touch

CHAPTER ONE. Two months later

Ryder was hunting again, and damn, it felt good. To be on his own, with no one to tell him what to do and when or how to do it.

It was like being back in the military again-Special Forces-the best of the best and in charge of his own destiny. He’d loved the life back then, and he’d done it for ten years before deciding all the killing was just a little too enjoyable. That’s when his loner status had ended. He’d gotten out, gone back home a hero, and then shortly thereafter been recruited for the so-called reality show that had made him a demon hunter.

Now he was killing again. But this time, he killed demons for a living, and he didn’t work alone anymore. He liked the other demon hunters just fine, but he was used to this isolation, to a one-man operation, and this is what he preferred-stalking his prey one-on-one.

His lips curled as he thought about that prey-Angelique. Out of all the demon hunters, he was the most suited to find her. Ryder knew more about Angelique than any of the others, could complete this assignment better than they could. He’d touched her, gotten inside her head, had spent more time with her than they had.

He knew her lies.

And now that he’d found her, had her cornered, it was just a matter of sneaking up on her and grabbing her and the black diamond.

Providing she had it on her, which if she did would be really stupid.

Angelique might be a lot of things, but Ryder didn’t think for one second that she was stupid. So she probably didn’t have it there at the tiny house she’d rented.

It was isolated, but in an open area. He had good camouflage, though, since there was an abandoned, thickly covered vineyard behind the house, with dense trees and bushes, which was where he’d set up. The house was located in the midst of all this foliage. If not for the narrow road and driveway, the average person might never locate this place. Perfect spot for someone who didn’t want to be found.

Ryder was good at finding people who didn’t want to be found. He’d vowed to unearth every bit of dirt on her if he had to work twenty-four hours a day to do it. She’d screwed him, and not in the fun way. She’d used him to get her hands on the diamond, and then she’d run.

But not nearly far enough, because he’d found her. And now that he had, he wasn’t going to let her go again.

Once he located her house, he’d hidden out, waiting to see how populated this area was.

It wasn’t. At all. No traffic traveled this road, so he’d waited until nightfall, then hid his car within a dense area of bushes behind the property.

He’d followed a seldom-used footpath leading up toward the house. Thick with shrubbery along each side, it kept him shielded from the back of the house. He could see no light through the windows, so he hoped she was asleep.

The path wound around parallel to the curved drive-easy enough to keep watch for cars, though judging from the lack of traffic he didn’t expect anyone to come this way. He finally found a spot where the house came into view, and he settled there. It was on higher ground, giving him a great vantage point to see everything. He could see the back door of the house, and keep his eye on the drive in case Angelique left.

He leaned against a tree, figuring he’d just watch for a while, see what she did, get a handle on her routine for a day or so. He’d been single-minded in purpose since Lou had given him the assignment. Single-minded with a vengeance, in fact.

And angry. Damned angry.

It was time to back off, gather a little distance from his subject, and make sure he remained detached from what he was doing.

Just a job, Ryder. She’s just a job.

Yeah, right. He was thinking about his job. He was thinking betrayal, anger. They seethed inside him. He recognized them for what they were. Emotions. That was bad shit. He liked it better when emotion didn’t enter the equation at all, when he could go about his business and not think about anything or anyone but his work. He wasn’t his father, imagining slights and insults that weren’t there, barreling through life with a tornadic fury of anger that was almost visible, all of it imagined, internal demons his old man fought no doubt his entire life. His father had been fucked-up for as long as Ryder could remember. Probably insane, but never got treatment, instead set loose upon his family to wreak whatever havoc he chose. And it had been bad havoc. Frightening. Ugly. Painful, both physically and mentally.

He’d long ago vowed to never be like his old man. The old man had just enjoyed inflicting pain. Ryder figured his father had done it to release his own internal demons.

Whatever. Ryder preferred being grounded in reality. And reality meant a laser in his hand, a demon he could see, and a kill he could verify. His reality was demon body count-not some mental bullshit that screwed with a warrior’s reality. He could overcome the weird stuff. He wasn’t at all like his father. Hadn’t he spent his entire adult life proving that?

As long as he remained aloof, his focus on killing demons, he’d be okay. There was no emotion involved in demon hunting, which suited him just fine.

He’d screwed up with Angelique. He’d let her get close. He’d talked to her. He’d kissed her.

Angelique made him think, made him feel. She’d brought out emotion in him.

That made her dangerous.

He’d convinced Lou, their leader and a Keeper of the Realm of Light, that he could handle this-find Angelique, figure out where the black diamond was, and bring her, and it, back to the Realm of Light.

Ryder had never failed on a mission before. He didn’t intend to now. All he had to do was wait it out. Angelique would lead him to the black diamond.

One way or the other.

Just as he started to relax, one of the curtains moved downstairs and Angelique’s face appeared, peering through the window. This was the first time he’d seen a glimpse of her since she’d arrived in her car this afternoon and gone straight inside.

He peeked through the foliage, hoping like hell she wouldn’t walk outside.

Nothing. The curtain was back in place, the light was on, and all he could see now was her shadow within the house.

The shades were all drawn and he watched her silhouette moving about in one of the rooms downstairs. He had blueprints of the floor plan of the house, so he knew the layout. Downstairs kitchen and living room. Upstairs one bedroom and bath. Small, cozy, room for one or two people, max. His audio equipment picked up everything going on inside. There wasn’t anyone else in there with her, and she hadn’t used the phone, because he was tracking her cellular calls, too. She didn’t even talk to herself.

He heard the sounds of cooking, the shower running, then all the lights went out about eleven P.M., so she obviously went to bed.

He glanced down at his watch. Almost midnight. Good thing it was warm outside. He crawled out and parked it on a thick slab of rock, figuring his equipment would alert him if anything happened. He had to get at least a little sleep or he’d be useless. Though he could go a day or two max without any rest, he preferred to maintain mental alertness, since he had no idea what to expect. As far as the Realm of Light knew, Angelique may have already made contact with her sister, Isabelle, and the two of them had planned to do something with the black diamond. And since none of them had managed to find Isabelle yet, they were hoping Angelique would lead them to her. Though the hunters were out searching for Isabelle, too.

Maybe they’d find Isabelle first.

It was a waiting game now. Ryder hoped he didn’t have to wait too long.

He jerked awake at a sound, immediately glancing down at his watch. It was three in the morning. Shit. Blinking away the fog of sleep, he listened intently, wondering if Angelique was up. No lights. So what had he heard?

Something crashed inside, like a lamp. He shot up to a standing position, saw a flicker of light, then darkness again. His senses on full alert now, he wondered if maybe she’d just gotten up and knocked the lamp over. Maybe she had a bad dream.

He knew all about nightmares. He’d lived through a few of them. The shit going down around him the past six months seemed like a living nightmare. Sometimes he didn’t want to close his eyes.

He didn’t hear anything now. Not wanting to reveal his hand and go running in there, he paused, but grabbed his weapon and readied himself, just in case.

He wished he’d had time to install surveillance cameras inside, but that was going to have to wait until the next time she left the house. Then he’d have eyes and ears. Still, his skin prickled with unease, and whenever that happened it meant something bad was going on.

He didn’t like this. Something wasn’t right. He moved through the bushes, into the vineyard and toward the house, making no sound. Approaching the back door first, he made a slight turn on the knob. It was locked. That was a good thing. He moved to the window, peering in through the sheer drapes, using his night vision shades to help him discern objects in the pitch blackness.

No activity. Angelique wasn’t downstairs. His ear comm was connected to his audio equipment, and he could hear her breathing now.

But it wasn’t normal, restful breathing like she was sleeping.

It was deep and ragged.

The breaths of terror. She wasn’t speaking, as if her mouth was covered. He didn’t know how the hell he knew this; he just did. She was being restrained, and she was petrified.

Goddamit. He had to get in the house now.

So much for surveillance.

Though he’d like to kick the damn door down and rush upstairs, he couldn’t do that. Not without assessing the situation first. Which meant he had to take the time to pick the lock.

Precious seconds ticked by as he grabbed his pick and worked the simple lock. Thankfully, she didn’t have major armor installed on the door. Bad move on her part, really good for him. In a few seconds, the lock clicked. He winced at the sound and pushed the door open, hoping it wouldn’t creak.

It didn’t. He left the door open, and moved inside, taking each step with care. He already knew where the stairs were and headed at them, wanting to bound up there, but resisting.

Slow. Measured steps. Make sure not to alert whoever was upstairs.

Patience, something that was in short supply right now. Weapon trained, he reached the top of the stairs and heard the whispers.

“Tell me where the black diamond is or I will cut out your heart and eat it. And you’ll still be alive to watch me.”

Cold dread poured through Ryder as he surveyed the scene. A dark shadow loomed over Angelique. She was lying in bed, her body pressed to the mattress, the man’s hands wrapped around her throat.

But who held her? Was it a demon? It definitely wasn’t a hybrid. They smelled so bad he’d have known one was in the house as soon as he walked in. And those foul-smelling hulking bastards didn’t speak.

Angelique must be frozen in fear, because she hadn’t uttered a single word, her eyes wide as she stared at her attacker, whose face was only inches from hers.

The bastard was going to die. First thing Ryder had to do was get the guy’s-or thing’s-attention. He pulled a knife out of the sheath at his belt, took careful aim, and let it sail through the air. It caught the guy in the upper back, right between the shoulder blades.

Instead of jumping up or falling in pain, the creature-because that had to be what it was-calmly stood and turned to Ryder.

Well, hell. Its eyes glowed a pale blue. Pure demon, maybe? Their eyes were pale blue, but Ryder didn’t remember seeing their eyes glow in the dark like that. Almost fluorescent.

The creature advanced on him.

“Angelique, get ready to run,” Ryder said, unable to determine if she was in shock, or hurt, or whether she could even hear him. All his concentration was on the thing headed his way.

“She’s not going to do anything you say. She’s mine now,” the dark thing said, inching closer to Ryder.

Without hesitation, Ryder raised his laser and fired a stream of ultraviolet light. Human or demon, it didn’t matter. Either one would die.

The light struck the creature and it paused, looking down at the blue fluid spreading over its chest and midsection. Its arms raised out to its sides as it frowned at Ryder, then let out a pained growl.

“That hurts.”

It kept coming. Okay, not supposed to happen. UV lasers killed demons. And it sure as hell would toast a human. So what was this thing? Ryder braced and fired another round, but obviously his laser wasn’t going to work. He shouldered it and went for the microwave gun, blasting the creature and hoping to melt it from the inside out.

Again, nothing. Other than irritation and a slight pause, that was about it. The damn thing smirked at him. It knew Ryder’s weapons would have no effect.

Fuck. Ryder backed up, wanting to draw the thing away from Angelique. He moved down the hallway toward the stairs. The thing kept pace with him, not rushing him, as if he was toying with Ryder, as if this was some kind of game.

Fine with Ryder. As long as he could get the creature away from Angelique, he was willing to play. He backed down the stairs, one slow step at a time, hoping it would follow.

It did.

Ryder continued backward, pulling his knife as he did. The high-tech weapons weren’t working, so maybe something more basic would.

“Come on,” he said to the creature, widening his stance and holding the knife out.

The thing looked at the knife, then back at Ryder. “You can’t kill me.”

“Everything can die,” Ryder returned as the creature maintained its distance. It didn’t seem to be in any hurry to attack Ryder. Maybe it was waiting for him to make the first move, or maybe it was just confident that it was going to win.

Overconfidence was a bad thing. Ryder hoped so. He was ready for anything.

“You are human,” it said. “I can smell it on you, just as I smell it on her.”

“Your point?” They’d made it to the living room. They were circling each other now, like wrestlers in the ring before the attack.

“I was human. Once.”

What the hell did that mean? What was this creature? “You’re not human now.”

Its lips curled, revealing sharp teeth. Ryder made a mental note to avoid those. “No, I’m not. I’m stronger. I have power. They promised me great things, and immortality.” It sucked in a breath, its chest expanding. “I’m tired of toying with you, waiting for you to move, human. I have things to do.”

“Then let’s dance.”

“The Sons of Darkness have come for what is theirs.” The creature lunged and Ryder sidestepped just before it reached him, then he pivoted and shoved his knife in the left side of the creature’s back, hoping to hit a vital organ. It tilted its head back and roared an unholy sound. Ryder pulled the knife just as the thing turned around and reached for him.

Ryder glanced at his knife. Blood. Good. If it could bleed, it could die.

The thing came after him again, and this time Ryder met him. It grabbed Ryder by the shoulders and pushed. Ryder went flying, but he held on to the creature, jamming his blade into its heart, using leverage to push the demon up and over him, even as Ryder was sliding backward clear across the room. A loud crash as the thing hit the wall and Ryder slammed into a table. He winced at the pain, but shrugged it off and leaped to his feet.

The creature stood, limping, blood pouring from the wound at its chest. It was weakening and looked up at Ryder, surprise clearly showing on its face.

“What is in. . the knife?”

Ryder looked down at the blade, then smiled as he met the creature’s pained eyes. “Silver.”

The creature shook its head. “They told me I would live forever.” It looked down at its bloody hands, let out a roar of frustration, then disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

What the hell? Ryder stalked to the area where the thing had just stood. Nothing. Only a pool of blood.

He’d never seen any of the demons do shit like that before. He walked outside, looked in both directions, saw nothing, then shut the door behind him and hurried upstairs to Angelique. She was lying in bed, exactly as he had found her. She hadn’t moved and her eyes were still wide open. She had a vacant look, almost as if she was under some kind of spell. He dropped his weapons, sat on the edge of the bed, and grabbed her shoulders.

“Angelique.” He purposely kept his voice low. “Angie, it’s Ryder.”

She didn’t move, didn’t acknowledge his presence. This time, he shook her. “Hey, wake up. It’s over.”

Still no response. He finally lifted her, laid her head in the crook of his arms. “Angie, wake up.” He tapped her cheek, then slapped it lightly. “Come on. Snap out of this, goddamit.”

When he still didn’t get a response, he gave her one hard slap.

She gasped, then screamed, her hands coming up to palm his chest and push, hard. He didn’t let go.

“Come on, darlin’, it’s Ryder. It’s okay, it’s over. He’s gone.”

Still, she fought him, kicking her legs and feet underneath the covers, her eyes filled with terror. He held tight to her, bringing her up against him, wrapping his arms around her body. Her skin was ice cold. She was shaking, and he couldn’t imagine what she had gone through, having that thing put some kind of mind hold on her and then terrorize her like that.

Finally, she stopped fighting him, but she was still shivering. She pushed away, searching his face, her breathing harsh gasps. “Ryder.”

He nodded, realizing that with his night vision shades on he could see her, but she couldn’t see him. She needed the comfort of light. “Yeah. The lamp’s broken or I’d turn it on. But it’s me. Stay here and I’ll find the ceiling light switch.”

He left her for only a second. She was reluctant to let go of him. “I promise. I’m just going to get us some light.” She finally released her death grip on him. He found the switch, pulled off his glasses, and bathed the room in soft light.

Holy Christ. Her hair was a tangled dark mess around her face and shoulders, her eyes wide green pools of fear. The sheet had fallen to her waist, revealing small, upturned breasts-damn perfect, too-pink nipples and golden skin. His gaze shot back up to her stricken face and he hurried over to her side of the bed again. She was still shaking. He grabbed his jacket out of the bag at his feet and lifted her arms, sliding her into it, though he wasn’t sure if it was to warm her or cover her body from his gaping gaze.

“What. . what was that?” she asked, her voice a croaking whisper. “A demon?”

“I don’t know. I guess. Never seen one like that.”

“Me, either.” She was still breathing hard. He slid his fingers over her pulse. Too damn fast. He rubbed his thumb over her wrist. God, her hand was cold.

“He. . it wanted the black diamond.”

“I figured. Is it here, in this house?”

She shook her head, pieces of her hair sliding across her cheek as she dropped her head to her chin. “No. It’s not here.”

He should be pissed. He had a million questions to ask her, should tell her she got what she deserved after taking off with the black diamond. He had come for the same thing-to get it back. Now was the time to figure out where it was.

But looking at her shaking like this, he couldn’t do it. He had to get Angie out of this house, away from that thing and whatever else the Sons of Darkness were going to send her way. He had to contact the Realm of Light, report what he’d seen, gather some intelligence.

He had to protect Angie, before another of those creatures came back. Or something worse.

He was assigned to find and retrieve the black diamond. Find Angie and Isabelle.

He’d found Angie, so one step accomplished. But damn, he’d just stepped into a whole hell of a lot more.

Pandora’s box had opened, and he had a feeling he and Angie had just climbed right inside of it.

And despite his anger, his determination to keep his emotional distance, here he sat, with his arms wrapped around Angelique.

And dammit, it felt right.

Not good. Not good at all.

He pushed away and stood, looking down at her. “You okay now?”

She nodded, swung her legs over the bed. “I’ll be fine.”

“Get dressed. Pack what you can in five minutes. We’re getting out of here now before the Sons of Darkness send in round two.”

He pivoted and walked away from her, needing the distance. He’d do his job. He’d protect her and he’d bring back the black diamond.

But that’s all he was going to do with Angelique. He wasn’t going to care about her.