“Well, Anora,” he starts and takes a drink from his flask. “I can see why Ethan likes you, but not why the demons have been sent after you. You have no idea why?”
I shake my head. “I didn’t know demons existed until they attacked.”
“You didn’t make a deal with one?” His eyes narrow.
“We already went over this,” Ethan says, apparently not the only one annoyed by Isaac. “She didn’t do anything that would have caused a demon to put a bounty on her head.”
“I see.” Isaac takes another drink, and the smell of whiskey hits me, making my stomach twist. He screws the lid back on and gives me a hard look. “I suppose the root of the problem isn’t as dangerous as the branches. We snap those off and the tree will shrivel and die.”
His tree analogy doesn’t make the most sense, but I get what he’s saying. “We were surrounded,” Ethan starts. “If we hadn’t made it back inside, well, we’d be fucked.”
“How many would you say were out there?”
“Over a dozen, at least. We killed a good handful, but they kept coming.”
Isaac nods, tapping his fingers on the flask. “And they killed her friend?”
“They did,” Ethan answers. “She was wearing Anora’s jacket, and they’d already gotten Anora’s scent.”
“In all my years, I haven’t heard of the Pricolici killing anyone but their target. Brings too much attention to them. They had a fresh kill, and then hours later, went out in droves after her.” He points a finger at me.
“Right.”
“They’re mad and desperate,” Isaac goes on. “And so is the demon sending them. I’m guessing the demon is mighty mad after several failed attempts to capture her.”
“What do we do?” Sam asks. “How are we supposed to injure and track one when dozens are attacking?”
“You try,” Isaac says back bluntly. “And I’d suggest leaving it to Ethan and David.”
Sam’s eyes widen, and she opens her mouth to protest, but Julia gives her another look. Pressing her lips together, Sam huffs back in her chair. She’s not my biggest fan, but I’m pissed for her, since Isaac basically told her to leave it to the men.
Fucking bullshit.
“I think it’s also safe to say the demon sending the Pricolici is one bad dude,” Julia says almost meekly.
“You can bet on that,” Isaac says and takes another drink. How he’s still functioning is beyond me.
“It’s been a long, bad evening.” Ethan moves his fingers in little circles on my arm. “We’re not going to track anything tonight, so I’m going to call it a night.” His eyes meet mine, knowing I’m close to breaking down again. “Want to go to your place?”
“Yes. I need to take care of Romeo.”
“Romeo?” Sam questions.
“He’s a ferret,” I answer, and usually fight the urge to show pictures of his cute face on my phone. I don’t have my phone with me, and I don’t feel much of anything inside, which is a temporary reprieve from the pain of losing a friend.
“I’m going to grab my shit.” Ethan kisses me and gets up, hurrying up the stairs. Not wanting to be the subject of scrutiny, I mumble that I have to use the bathroom. Hunter follows, stopping outside the door. Now that I think of it, he’s always been rather respectful of my privacy, though he’s very much a bed hog.
Isaac is standing in the hall when I come out of the bathroom, startling me. I’m still on edge and probably will stay on edge for the rest of my life.
“Sorry,” I say, thinking he was waiting to use the bathroom, but instead of saying it’s okay or something of the like, he grabs my arm, eyes narrowing. Hunter growls and Isaac lets go but continues to stare me down.
“You might have Ethan fooled, and David may be turning a blind eye for the sake of his son. But you don’t have me fooled. Packs of Pricolici wouldn’t go after just some person, and the demon sending them wants you but doesn’t want to risk coming after you themselves. So, tell me, Anora, who are you? Or should I say what are you?”
“Who or what I am is none of your damn business,” I snap and stride forward, finding Ethan coming into the kitchen. “My car is at the barn,” I tell him. “I should get it so no one questions why it’s there in the morning.”
“Good thinking,” he says and hands me a hooded sweatshirt to put on before going out in the cold. My boots are soaking wet—again—and I’m shivering from the short walk from the house to Ethan’s Jeep. Hunter trots ahead, looking and acting so much like a real dog, the real dog I thought he was for years, I almost doubt what I saw not that long ago.
“I left the dagger in your room.” I pull the seatbelt over my torso, feeling numb inside again.