KnockingonDemon'sDoor by Unknown Read Free Book Online

“Your sister? Is she demon too?”
    Looking suddenly weary, she felt something inside him give as he pitched his voice low, so low she had to strain to hear. “Half.”
    Half?
    As she studied him a moment longer she spotted something in his eyes, something beneath the amber glow that looked suspiciously like sadness, and it slammed into her heart.
    Half-demon?
    She’d never heard of such a creature. As she took a moment to process that new piece of information, there wasn’t a damn thing she could do to separate herself from her emotions. Jesus, how awful must that have been on a kid? Not much wonder he’d been in trouble with the law.
    More than a little unnerved by the unexpected sympathy, she processed what he’d said. Half-demon meant half-human. Understanding dawned in small increments. “So that’s how you can walk during the day. You’re half-human.”
    He nodded, a wash of conflicting emotions passing over his face. “Just so you know , I hate cops as much as you seem to hate demons. But it appears that we’re here for a similar reason and I think we’re both intelligent enough to know we’re better off working together than against each other if we want to get to the bottom of things. So, as the old saying goes, if you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.”
    That would be great, except it wasn’t her back she wanted him to scratch.
    Damn Ash and his demon charm.
    “I have new information,” he said, showing good faith by making the first move.
    “What is it?”
    “First, put down your dagger.”
    It seemed she was supposed to show good faith as well. Not bloody likely. She didn’t lower her blade. “So you’re saying you want to work together then?”
    A slight, reluctant smile softened his features. “Yeah, imagine that? We worked together a few seconds ago and look what that got us. One less full-blooded demon in the world.”
    Michelle still wasn’t convinced. “I didn’t think demons killed their own kind.”
    The smile left Ash’s face. “He’s not my kind,” he said evenly. “He wanted drugs and I don’t deal drugs.” He dipped his head to look into her eyes and it was all she could do not to melt to the ground. His tone softened, sounding surprised. “Besides, he was going to kill you. I couldn’t let him do that.”
    Rattled by the unexpected tenderness in his voice, she shot back the first thing that popped into her head. “I thought you hated cops.”
    He raked his fingers through his dark hair. “Yeah, I do. Look, let’s just forget I said anything about working together, all right?”
    Her mind raced. Was it possible that he really wasn’t a cold-blooded monster? That he was simply looking for his sister? She replayed the events of the night, recalling the way he’d declined Barbie doll’s invitation and the way he’d helped kill the demon. But even though Michelle had seen fleeting traces of humanity in him, he was still half-demon—and that demon half could be pretty potent. His sexual energy alone was enough to make her head spin. Could she trust him?
    Did she have a choice?
    With Dan’s belief that women were dying because they didn’t have the proper skills to combat such a huge hill, combined with the way he purposely avoided eye contact with her as he indulged in the bunnies, it was apparent that he wasn’t going to be much help.
    “What would be the rules of this partnership?” she asked.
    Ash’s eyes flared again, anger and frustration apparent. “Anything goes. I need to find my sister and then we have to shut these bastards down.”
    The little hairs on the back of her neck began to tingle and her head cleared as her police training took over. “Shut them down? Tell me everything you know.”
    He glanced over her shoulder. “Not here. It’s not safe.” He made a move to go around her.
    She paused. Despite her brain—as well as years of training, both on and off the streets—telling her to proceed with caution, oddly enough her instincts