“I understand,” he said. “If you didn’t wait for me here to feed me again, then why?”

“I have something for you. Something important. I don’t know why, so don’t ask. All I know is they made me bring it here and wait for you.”

Curiosity sparked beneath his skin. He would cherish any gift this woman offered him, but he thought it might not serve his cause to say so. “What is it?”

She dug in her pocket and pulled out a key fob. One push of the button unlatched the trunk of her rental car. The trunk lid popped open, and Ronan knew instantly what lay inside. He could smell the demon lurking there, one she’d hidden from him until just now. If he hadn’t been so consumed by her scent, if the sun hadn’t diminished his powers, he might have detected the stench of demon earlier. But he hadn’t, and now he was trapped in an enclosed space with a woman who wanted him dead and a demon that wanted his blood.

Apparently, his first instinct had been right. This had been a trap all along.

Chapter 31

At the end of a hike that lasted several hours, the trail finally came out on a rural blacktop road a few miles from where Joseph’s truck was parked. On the road there were some muddy tracks that cut off abruptly, as if the all-terrain vehicle that had made them had been loaded onto a trailer.

“This is it,” said Lyka. “This is as far as the trail goes.”

“You can’t smell them anymore?”

Her shoulders slumped as she shook her head. “I can smell diesel exhaust, but that’s not going to get me far. I can’t separate one vehicle out from another. Whatever they did with Eric and the young here, they were no longer leaving behind a scent trail. No blood, no dead skin, no hair . . . nothing.”

“They could have been loaded into the back of a truck.”

She paced the area, her hair glowing in the last light of day. Night would be on them soon, and when it came, he needed to have her safely behind protected walls, or at least in his truck, where he could see danger coming for her.

Frustration and a steadily growing sense of failure and fear were tumbling out of her. The pathway between them was wider now, leaving room for him to better sense her emotions. And as much as he loved knowing how she felt, he hated that she suffered and there was little he could do to stop it.

This wasn’t a problem he could kill for her. This was a battle of stamina and keeping her hopes up high enough that she could continue searching for her family.

Joseph went to her and took her hand in his. “This isn’t our last hope.”

“No?” she asked. “Then tell me what our next move is, because I’ve only got one more idea, and you’re not going to like it.”

“Tell me what you’re thinking,” he said.

“Do you remember how I told you that I always seem to know what people want?”

“Yes.”

“I think it works with other creatures, too. Not just people.”

He blinked at her. “What makes you say that?”

“I knew about the woman Ronan is looking for—about how he’ll stop at nothing to find her.”

“Okay, but Ronan isn’t a demon.”

“No, but when that sgath attacked me, I knew it wanted my blood. I knew it wanted to eat me.”

“Honey, I hate to break it to you, but sgath feel that way about all Sentinels and blooded humans.”

“I realize that, but I knew it. Felt it. The way I do with people. I’d never been touched by a demon before, so I was a little shocked when it hit me.”

“Okay, let’s just say that it does work. How does that help us?”

“If we can find one that wants to capture more Slayers, then maybe we can follow it home or find some way to interrogate it.”

Joseph’s instant reaction was a swift, harsh denial, but he held that in and gave himself a minute to calm down before he spoke. “Let’s pretend that your idea will work. How are we going to capture a demon without killing it?”

“Leave that part to me,” said Lyka. “I’m the one who can physically touch their skin without being poisoned. I’ll figure out something.”

“You’re right,” he said. “I don’t like it. In fact, I hate it. I don’t want you getting close enough to a demon to see it, much less touch it.”

“We can’t just sit around waiting. If you’ve got a better idea, I’m all ears.”

“I’m sure I’ll come up with something,” he said.

“Fine. You hop right on that, brainiac. In the meantime, we should head back to the truck. It’s getting dark fast.”

Joseph went through about twenty different scenarios to trap a demon—and not just any one, but the right one. Each scenario that ran through his mind ended in utter disaster. If he had more time and some welding equipment, he might have a shot, but without those, he was screwed.

“The frustration I feel sliding off you is not exactly instilling a lot of confidence in me,” she said. “And we’re almost back at the truck.”

“I’m still thinking.”

They rounded the bend, back to where he’d parked the truck, a little ways down from where they’d left her car. Lyka was half a step ahead of him and came to a complete stop, sucking in a shocked breath.

An instant later, he saw what she had: the vehicles had been totaled. The tires were shredded, the axles bent so that the wheels sat at an awkward angle. Both hoods were ripped open, and the guts of the engines were spilling out onto the pavement. Their spare clothes were now tattered strips of cloth and leather.

“New plan,” said Lyka.

“What’s that?” he asked.

“We’re screwed.”

Chapter 32

Justice watched the bloodsucker’s face fall with disappointment. In fact, if she wasn’t mistaken, he was actually hurt by her offering.

For some reason, that upset her.

What a ridiculous reaction. The man had all but killed her, and she cared about hurting his feelings? Since when?

“I’m on a schedule here,” she said, “so can you please just take this to Joseph, whoever he is, and I’ll be on my way.”

“How do you know Joseph?”

“They told me.”

“Who is they?”

She rolled her eyes. “I don’t know. All I know is they won’t leave me the hell alone until you take the damn monster and give it to Joseph. Can you do that or not?”