A Demon's Work Is Never Done: Latter Day Demons, Book 2 by Connie Suttle Read Free Book Online Page A

tell her we're staying here for the night," I said. Kory and I had connecting rooms at a hotel in Silver Spring, not far from Opal's office. Opal promised that we'd have uniforms delivered in the morning, before we started our day on another plane ride—this time to Texas.
    We were going to interview Loftin Qualls' family about the so-called copycat crime committed in Austin.
    I suppose they thought themselves immune by now—with Loftin considered officially dead. At least Kell would be with us, if we needed compulsion. Anita would have been useful with her talent of obsession, but she was worried about Watson.
    "I wish Klancy and Mason were like Kell," I said, pointing my newly purchased hairbrush at Kory, who lounged against the doorjamb separating our rooms.
    "You mean able to walk in daylight and eat a normal meal?"
    "Yeah." I let my shoulders droop. If wishes were horses , Gran always said, beggars would ride .
    "Stranger things have surely happened," Kory pushed himself away from the doorjamb and walked toward me. "Give me a hug, baby, and I'll shut the door and let you sleep."
    "Okay." More than anything, I wanted him to stay with me. I wanted to lay my head on his shoulder so I could feel safe while sleeping in a strange bed.
    Things would be so much easier right now if he were human. He wasn't. He was High Demon, and we couldn't even kiss without complicating everything.
    "Baby, you have the strangest look on your face." Kory pulled me into his arms.
    "Why do our lives have to be so complicated?" I muffled against his chest.
    "Shhh," he said, combing my hair with his fingers. "It'll all come right. You'll see."
    * * *
    Kordevik
    At least the hotel had a bar. I tried to be as quiet as possible when I sneaked out of my room and shut the door. Lexsi didn't need to know that I wanted several stiff drinks before I even thought about sleeping. Lexsi was terrified of the bite—I could see it every time she thought about us together.
    Why the fuck did a kiss have to be so messed up between us?
    A kiss.
    The first thing humans did when they liked each other.
    No wonder High Demons were kept apart until their wedding. The whole mess was fucked up beyond fucking recognition.
    "You look like a man with a story," the bartender set a double shot of bourbon in front of me.
    "A story?" I shook my head at him. "I have a fucking set of encyclopedias."
    * * *
    Lexsi
    I didn't say it, but Kory looked just as haggard as I did the following morning. Kell hadn't slept either, although he hid it well. I doubted he'd been able to see Opal past dinner—and he wanted to, I think. She'd gotten a call at the last minute, to attend an emergency meeting at the White House. She had to go, but got a driver to take us to our hotel.
    Kory and I—we'd said good-night and shut the door between our rooms, when it was the last thing either of us wanted. If Kell were just as frustrated, then he had my sympathy.
    "Ready for a plane ride to Texas?" The werewolf driver, Jorden Billings, was far too cheerful that early in the morning.
    "You can sleep on the way," Kory lifted my hand and kissed it. "If you want to."
    "I may have to," I said. "My brain is numb."
    "Want coffee? We have time for Starbucks," Jorden grinned.
    "I think we all need coffee," Kell replied.
    * * *
    Loftin Qualls' parents, in their eighties and richer than most people deserved, lived on the outskirts of Austin. They owned a ranch farther west, but chose to live closer to the city for health reasons.
    Jorden explained that to us on the flight; Gerald and Anne Qualls weren't in the best of health—all their money couldn't buy younger bodies or better wellbeing. It could only make them more comfortable in their waning years.
    Great. We're interviewing sick people , Kory growled in my head.
    I felt as he did. A part of me understood how ill, elderly parents might come to make a decision concerning their incarcerated son; one that would release him while putting another in his place.
    I