Changing Beauty (The Deadly Beauties Live On 2)

Fooling Reese with a false face and false name would be child’s play for her.

“We’ll keep you updated if we should find anything,” Kane lies, flicking the monitor off and turning to face Dice.

“Already calling her,” Dice says, pulling his phone up to his ear as he waits for his mother to answer. “Voicemail,” he continues, cursing.

Kane turns toward Gage, his eyes shifting from him to Kimber, and he finally says, “I doubt it’s a coincidence that Sadie is yet again in our lives. Don’t leave her side.”

Kimber scowls at him. “I can take care of myself.”

It’s odd to see him looking so paternal, considering he actually looks the exact same age. Most people would see a couple of twenty-year-olds arguing like father and daughter.

“Don’t make me call Drackus,” Kane says with a small smile.

Gage covers his own grin with his hand when Kimber threatens Kane—an empty threat she couldn’t ever truly make good on. After all, he’s a creature god, and she’s a visionless visionary. She does, however, have badass gatekeeping skills.

“I’ve sent my own boyfriend to hell before,” she growls, still glaring at him. “Don’t think I won’t send you.”

Okay, now that’s a threat she might make good on. Kane ignores her, however, and focuses on the rest of us. But before he can say anything, Karma appears with Deke and Zee.

“Found two more bodies that were mauled like that other one,” Zee says. Karma puffs out in a weird smoky cloud like a demon hybrid again, and within seconds, the marred bodies appear on the basement floor when she puffs back in.

“These are older,” Frankie says. “They’ve been rotting in the woods. Damn. We really need to find this girl.”

“And help her learn control,” Alyssa interjects as she materializes in the room with us.

“Alyssa, she’s killing immortals,” I remind her. “Keeping her alive is an unnecessary risk to all of us. We already have one immortal hunter out there. And that one will have to die as well. We can’t become the prey, especially not with all the other shit we’ve already got on our plate.”

She glares at me like I’m the unruly child. It would probably do no good to tell her that I have a few centuries of age on her.

“Just because killing them is a quick solution; it doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do.”

We all look around at each other, confused by what she’s trying to say.

“You do realize you’re talking to a bunch of less than savory creatures, right?” Dice drawls.

She looks directly into my eyes. “Do you really think you could just kill someone without so much as trying to help them change?”

No hesitation. “I know I would, Alyssa. I’ve done worse for far less righteous reasons. Do I need to remind you that I’m a really old changer? You’re starting to sound like the old you. There’s no black-and-white area of reasoning. It’s one big gray area.”

She scowls at me, but I grin fiercely at her. She can’t resist my charm. When her lips twitch, she cuts her eyes toward Zee and Gage.

“You two back me up on this.”

“I’m with Thad on this one,” Gage says without delay, and Kimber glowers at him.

“I’m with Alyssa on this,” Kimber says, still looking like she could slap Gage. But he’s impervious to her I’m-kicking-your-ass glare.

“Zee?” Alyssa prompts when he doesn’t answer.

Zee gives her an incredulous look. “Night stalker,” he reminds her, motioning up and down his body. “My moral compass was broken even before Gavin jacked me up with his mysterious dark user powers. I think we should kill them.”

The sweet queen huffs out a breath, and she starts to speak to Dice, before she comes to her senses and redirects her attention on Karma instead.

But before she can ask her the same question, Karma says, “Half demon who has been caged for a few years and worked hard to survive. You probably don’t want my opinion on what I want done to something that wants me dead if you’re looking for a rainbow at the end.”

Alyssa frowns, and Kane covers his smile with his hand. He’s just as realistic as the rest of us. Which is why Alyssa doesn’t bother asking his opinion.

“Should we ask Drackus his opinion when he gets here?” I ask just to piss her off, and I’m rewarded by that wicked glower once again.