Hamid said we would wait until the next day to go to the warehouse, so we left to find accommodations and food since the house could not sleep us all. Orias felt it would be better if we all stayed together, and Hamid agreed. He booked us rooms on the top floor of the Ritz-Carlton, and we headed over there.

  I stood back talking to Charlotte while Hamid checked us in and got our room keys. Then we piled into two elevators and went to the top floor where he handed out the key cards. I waited for mine and frowned when I didn’t get one.

  “Where is my key?” I asked him when the others headed off to their rooms.

  Hamid held up the remaining key card. “You and I are sharing.”

  My stomach fluttered wildly despite my dismay. “Why do we need to share? No one else is sharing.”

  “No one else needs my protection,” he replied. “And it’s not like we haven’t shared a room before.”

  He turned to walk down the hallway, but I stayed rooted to the spot. How could I be alone in a hotel room with him after what had happened a few nights ago?

  Hamid stopped walking when he realized I wasn’t following. He looked back at me. “If it bothers you that much, I will sleep outside the door.”

  “You can’t sleep in the hallway.” He needed his rest, and I wouldn’t be able to sleep knowing he was out here on the floor.

  I let out a sigh. “We can share – but just for tonight.”

  He waited for me to catch up to him, and we walked past two more doors until we came to ours. He unlocked the door, and I walked in ahead of him. I came up short at the sight of the king bed in the middle of the room.

  I swung back to him. “You couldn’t get one with two beds?”

  “They were out of double rooms on this floor, and I wanted us all to stay together,” he said, dropping his long duffle bag on the bed. The soft clink of metal told me the bag was probably half full of weapons.

  If he’d been any other man, I might not have believed him. But Hamid was above such deception. If he’d gotten a room with one bed on purpose, he would have told me.

  “I’m taking a shower,” I said angrily, heading to the bathroom with my bag.

  I took an extra long shower, not in any hurry to go back to the room. When I finally opened the bathroom door, I found Hamid eating a large burger in the sitting area. My stomach growled at the smell of food, and I dug into the burger waiting for me.

  “Thanks,” I mumbled between bites. “I was starving.”

  “I apologize for not stopping for dinner. I’m used to skipping meals when I’m on a job.”

  I licked ketchup off my lip. “It’s okay.”

  Neither of us said much after that. We finished our late dinner, and Hamid went to shower. I sized up the sleeping situation and got butterflies when I thought of sharing the bed with him. My gut told me it was a very bad idea, but I couldn’t ask him to sleep on the floor again. I knew he would refuse to allow me to take the floor, and the couch was too short for either of us.

  I pulled back the covers on one side of the bed and got in as close to the edge as I could. I left one light on for him and figured he’d work out where to sleep. Closing my eyes, I tried to will myself to sleep before he came out of the bathroom.

  I should have known it wouldn’t be that easy. Even after a long day full of travel and excitement, my body refused to shut down.

  When the bathroom door opened, I kept my eyes closed and my body turned toward my side of the bed. I listened as Hamid walked into the room and set his bag down on the floor. There was a pause, and then the light went out.

  A second later, the bed dipped as he got in. I had to force myself to take slow even breaths and not think about him lying a few feet away – and how easy it would be to roll over and touch him.

  I thought I was doing a good job of feigning sleep until he said, “We can go down to the hotel gym if you need to.”

  I smiled to myself. “I’m good. Thanks. It’s just been a crazy day.”

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “I think you guys explained it all pretty well. If Alaron gets his body, it’ll be the end of life as we know it.”

  “We’ll find him before that happens,” he said confidently.

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “If he could have done it by now, he would have.” Hamid sounded a lot more relaxed than I felt. “He might not be strong enough in the human body to bring his own body through. Whatever the reason, we still have time.”

  I rolled over to face him, and I could see the outline of him on his back with an arm behind his head. “How do you do it? How do you focus on the job, knowing what’s at stake if we fail?”

  He was quiet for a moment. “It comes with experience. Once you’ve been doing this as long as I have, you lose the fear you had as a young warrior.”

  “I’m not afraid of dying. I’m afraid for Sara and her baby, who might never be born if this goes wrong, and for all of the people I love.”

  He turned his head toward me. “You take that fear and channel it into your work. It’s the person with the most at stake who will fight the hardest.”

  I thought about his words long after his breathing had evened out. I envied him lying there so peacefully while my mind whirled with what-ifs. I had the insane urge to slide across the bed and take comfort from being close to him, but I refused to act on it. Things were already complicated enough between us.

  * * *

  The sound of a phone ringing woke me from a deep sleep. I must have totally passed out, because I felt groggy and the last thing I wanted to do was get up. God, this bed was comfortable. How had I not noticed that last night?

  The phone started up again. I groaned and stretched…or I tried to, only to find myself trapped by a male arm around my waist. I froze as my body registered the chest against my back, the warm breath tickling my ear, and the muscled thigh tucked between my legs.

  I shifted slightly, and the feel of a hard length pressed against my bottom made my belly clench. I closed my eyes against the exquisite torture of being so intimately close to the man I wanted more than anything and couldn’t have.

  I held my breath and slowly lifted his arm to slide away from him. If I could get up without waking him, he’d never know about our little spooning session.

  A guttural sound of protest came from behind me. The next thing I knew, I was on my back with Hamid hovering above me. His weight rested on his forearms while his lower half was nestled snugly between my legs.

  I drew in a sharp breath and stared up into heavy-lidded, ice-blue eyes that were anything but cold. I wasn’t sure if he was fully awake, but parts of him definitely were. The hungry determination on his face told me I had to move before this went somewhere I couldn’t come back from.

  “Thanks for the wakeup call,” I said with forced levity as I pushed against his chest with both hands. “I think I’m awake now.”

  He lingered for a few more seconds before he rolled off me. I got out of bed and grabbed my bag without looking at him. Locked in the bathroom, I splashed cold water on my face and tried to get my heart back to its normal rhythm.

  A knock came on the bathroom door as I was changing. “Yes?”

  “We’re checking out,” Hamid said through the door. “Take your stuff with you when you leave.”

  I paused buttoning my jeans. “We’re not staying in Atlanta?” After yesterday, I’d assumed we’d be here for a least a week, retracing Kai’s steps.

  “Our guys found a house near Tallahassee that Kai Bradley rented for six months. We’re leaving for the airport in half an hour.”

  “Okay. I’ll be out in two minutes,” I called.

  When I left the bathroom, Hamid was standing by the window, waiting for me. His duffle was on the couch, and he picked it up and walked toward me. His expression was all business, and there was no trace of the man I’d woken up next to. How did he do it? I wished I felt as composed as he looked.

  We met the team in the lobby, and judging by their barely concealed excitement, they already knew why we were leaving. I gave Charlotte a grateful smile when she handed me a couple of breakfast sandwiches and a bottle of water from the hotel restaurant. God only knew when we’d get another chance to eat today.

  The flight to Tallahassee was less than an hour. We didn’t have a safehouse there, so Hamid arranged ground transportation for us during the flight. Two hours after he’d told me we were leaving Atlanta, we were driving down a gravel road to the property rented by Kai.

  It was clear Kai had chosen this place for its isolation. The area was heavily wooded, and the farmhouse he’d rented was on twenty acres of land, with the closest neighbor a mile away. It was the perfect location for a warlock who didn’t want anyone to know what he was up to.

  The two SUVs stopped at the bottom of a long driveway that ran up a small hill. The house was hidden from the road, so we had no idea what was up there.

  “Ciro, Bastien, and I will go in first in case Kai has the place warded or booby-trapped,” Orias said after we’d all exited the vehicles. “Once it’s clear, the rest of you can come in.”

  Hamid, Charlotte, Marie, and I armed ourselves while we waited. I wasn’t sure how good our weapons would be against magic, but I felt better having my favorite sword in my hand. It was a featherlight samurai sword that I’d gotten from the weapons stash of an arms dealer in Los Angeles a few years back. Sara had paid the guy well to let me choose what I wanted from his secret store, and it had been love at first sight when I saw this sword.

  Hamid’s phone rang. He answered it and hung up almost immediately. “Orias said we can go up now. Jordan, you stay with me.”

  I nodded and fell into step beside him. At the top of the hill, we slowed and took in the white two-story farmhouse. The paint was peeling in a few places, but otherwise, it looked intact. The fields beyond the house were overgrown, telling me this place hadn’t seen crops in a long time.

  The barn off to one side looked like it could use some work too, and even from here, I could see a few holes in the roof. The whole place had a sad, deserted air about it.

  Orias waited for us at the front door of the house. “We had to neutralize some powerful wards. It’s clear he wanted to keep people out of here.”

  Hamid glanced at me and back to Orias. “Is it safe?”

  “The house is. Ciro and Bastien are checking the barn now.”

  We entered the house, which looked like it had been built in the early twentieth century. The rooms were small, except for the kitchen, and there was no way a summoning could have been done here.

  The food in the fridge and takeout containers in the garbage told us the house had been used as recently as a few days ago. Kai’s body would still need human food even if he was possessed by a demon.

  “Orias,” Bastien called from the door. “We found the site.”

  We followed the warlocks to the crumbling barn. The large doors had been thrown open to provide more light, allowing us to see the summoning circle painted on the wooden floor.

  I’d only seen a couple of summoning sites, but I could pick out differences between this one and the others. There were more symbols than usual painted around the circle, and they covered the walls as well. And there was no mistaking the scorch marks and dried blood in the center of the circle.

  “What can you tell us?” Hamid asked Ciro, who was studying one of the symbols on the far wall.

  The warlock’s mouth pressed into a severe line. “These are containment symbols, but they have been altered. Kai must have thought he could use them to hold Alaron.”

  “We can detect traces of magic,” Bastien added. “Orias will be able to tell if it’s the same magic from the summoning you witnessed in Los Angeles.”

  I watched from the doorway as Orias walked the outside of the large circle with one hand out. He appeared to be mumbling something under his breath, and every now and then, the air inside the circle rippled. He did two trips around the circle before he stopped and nodded. “It’s the same demon magic. We’ll need to do more extensive tests, but I believe Alaron was summoned here.”

  “I don’t get it,” I said to the warlocks. “If Kai is the one opening the barrier, why would he do it in L.A. and other places if he has this secluded spot all set up for it?”

  It was Ciro who answered me. “Some believe a demon can sense when their physical body is close to the barrier. It’s possible that Alaron might be performing the spell in locations where he can feel his body the strongest.”

  “And that’s not creepy at all.” A shiver went through me, and I backed up. “If you all don’t mind, I’m going to stay out here.” The last thing I needed was to come into contact with more of that demon magic. Who knew what it would do to the spell on Hamid and me?

  Hamid followed me. “You can help me search the house.”

  I suspected he was using the house as a reason to keep me near him, but I didn’t mention it. Being in this place where an archdemon had most likely been summoned gave me a giant case of the willies. I’d never been faint of heart, but this wasn’t like any foe we had ever faced. Even without his body, an archdemon on the loose was a terrifying thought.

  “Where should we start?” I asked Hamid when we entered the house.

  He led me down the narrow hallway. “The kitchen looks like it’s been used the most, so we’ll start there.”

  He entered the kitchen ahead of me. A second later, there was a flash of light and a robed figure appeared in the middle of the room.

  I gasped at the misshapen face of Kai Bradley. His cheekbones and chin jutted out cartoonishly, and his grayish skin was stretched across the bones. The eyes were solid black, and two horns curled against his temples. Horns? I couldn’t see the rest of his body beneath the robe, but he was big, maybe even bigger than Hamid.

  Hamid and I drew our swords at the same time.

  The next thing I knew, Kai grabbed Hamid by the throat and lifted him off the floor as if he weighed nothing. He muttered a few words in demon tongue and threw Hamid across the room, where he lay on the floor, gasping for air.

  Chapter 14

  Something dark and feral came roaring to life inside of me. A growl issued from my throat as I ran to Hamid and stood between him and Kai. I felt Hamid’s hand on my leg, and I took strength from the contact.

  Kai threw back his head and laughed maniacally like a villain in one of those superhero cartoons.

  I snarled in response and lifted my sword. Demon or not, he’d have to go through me to get to my mate.

  The warlock flung out his hands in my direction. I staggered as magic hit my blade, sending a shockwave through me.

  The stunned expression on Kai’s face told me the spell was supposed to do a lot more damage. He threw it again, and like last time, I stayed on my feet.

  He bellowed in rage and let loose another spell. This time, the impact sent pain shooting through my sword hand and down my arm. It was all I could do to keep my grip on the hilt. I didn’t think I could sustain another hit, but I’d die before I let him touch Hamid.

  Orias’s deep booming voice filled the kitchen, followed by Ciro’s and Bastien’s. The three warlocks chanted in unison, and the air sizzled with their combined magic.

  I dropped my sword and fell to my knees beside Hamid, who was no longer struggling to breathe. He tried to sit up, but I pushed him back down out of harm’s way.

  “Stay down,” I ordered firmly.

  Surprise crossed his face, but he didn’t fight me on it. Instead, he pulled me down beside him as magic crackled in the air above us.

  The chanting grew louder as the powerful warlocks spread out, trying to surround Kai. I held my breath as a shimmering sphere began to form around Ciro’s protégé. If they could take him down, this would all be over.

  Kai let out a growl that made the hair on my body stand on end. He cast an enraged look at me, and then he disappeared before my eyes.

  I moved to get up, but Hamid held me down. “What were you thinking, putting yourself in front of me like that?”

  “If I hadn’t, you’d be dead,” I shot back.

  “Never endanger yourself for me,” he said harshly.

  “You don’t get to make that call.”

  Orias cleared his throat. “When you two are done bickering, we’d love to hear how Jordan was able to deflect those spells thrown at her.”

  “I have no idea.” Pulling away from Hamid, I got to my feet. I looked for my sword and sucked in a breath. The blade looked like it had been cleaved in two along its length.

  “Don’t touch it,” Orias barked when I leaned down for a closer look. He came over and crouched beside the sword, holding a hand over the blade. A minute later, he stood. “It’s clean.”

  I felt a pang of sorrow when I picked up the destroyed sword. It was probably silly to get emotional over a weapon, but this sword and I had been through a lot together.

  “Jordan?” Orias called.

  I tore my gaze from the sword to look at him. “What?”

  He didn’t look happy to have to repeat himself. “I asked what it felt like when the spells hit you.”

  “It hurt but mostly because of the force of the blow. My sword took the worst of it.”

  “There is nothing special about that sword. I would have detected it,” he said.

  I lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know what to tell you. Maybe the spells weren’t that strong.”

  The three wizards looked at me like I’d said the sky was green.

  “Those spells came from an archdemon,” Ciro said as if speaking to a mentally impaired person. “They should have obliterated you.”

  I threw up my hands. “Listen, I have no idea why I’m still alive. Maybe after all the bloody tests you guys have done on me I’m becoming immune to magic.”

  Orias stroked his chin thoughtfully.

  I rolled my eyes. “I was joking.”

  “Yes, but there may be a grain of truth in what you said.” He looked at Ciro and Bastien. “The spell attached to Jordan and Hamid is made of my magic and Alaron’s.”