I leaned in so our faces were only inches apart. “We need all the upper hands we can get, Zayne. Setting a trap is one way.”
“She’s right,” Danika said.
I sent her a quick smile. “Thank—”
“And kind of not,” she added, and my eyes narrowed. “We can set a trap, not for him to take her, but to lure him out.”
Zayne held my gaze for a moment longer and then straightened, glancing at Danika. “I like the sound of this better, but how can we lure him? I doubt he’ll come for her himself again. He’ll send demons.”
“You say he’s really arrogant, right?”
“And slightly unhinged,” I said, and Zayne arched a brow. “Okay. He’s a lot unhinged.”
“I know a lot of arrogant males.” She paused. “Obviously. You can get them to do just about anything simply by goading them. I doubt Gabriel will be much better. Kill the demons that come for you and then send one back with a message that he’d be a coward to refuse. We can still put a tracer on her in case things go south.”
“I don’t know if I should be worried about being included in that generalization,” Nicolai said. “But do we really think he’s that foolish?”
I toed myself around, toward Danika. “We are talking about the archangel who referred to Instagram as Picture Book, so yeah, I think he’s that foolish.”
But it was the kind of plan that would possibly take multiple attempts. One that hinged on keeping a demon alive, which wasn’t exactly easy when you wanted to kill them.
They stayed for a bit after that, discussing how to move the gemstones into the school, and of course, the idea of Lucifer coming topside. None of them seemed to know how to process that, and I couldn’t blame them. After Zayne promising he would swing by the compound for dinner, which seemed really out of place with the rest of our topics, they started for the door.
Dez hung back, though. “I’ll meet you guys in the garage in a few minutes.”
A curious look settled over Danika’s face as Nicolai guided her out the door. I was still sitting on the bar stool when the elevator doors slid shut behind them. Honestly, I was frozen there, because I knew why he was staying behind.
“So.” Dez dragged the word out as he shoved his hands in his pockets.
“I know.” Zayne stood behind me as he curled his arm loosely around my shoulders. “What you were supposed to ask Gideon about.”
Dez nodded as he moved closer. His features became clearer. “Gideon has been so wrapped up in disrupting the ley lines that he didn’t ask too many questions when I went to him about a Trueborn’s ability to reproduce.”
It was the strangest thing as I sat there. My heart wasn’t pounding. My stomach was settled. I was just prepared, at least on a surface level, to hear whatever it was he was going to say. “Was he able to find anything?”
“He pulled out some dusty old books he knew referenced Trueborns. Took him a couple of hours to go through what he has on hand,” Dez explained. “But I have either an answer or no answer, depending on the way you look at it. He could find nothing referencing any Trueborn having a child.”
There was no loosening of the tension nor any tightening. “That could mean that no Trueborn has ever had a child or none was ever recorded.”
“Yes, but it would seem strange for there to be no mention at all,” Dez said. “I think you’re going to have to find out the old-fashioned way. They make tests now that can tell you yes or no within a day or so of conception.”
I nodded slowly.
“Thank you for looking into it,” Zayne said, the warmth of him pressing against my back.
“No problem. I just wish I had more of a clear answer,” he said, and I could see a faint curve of his lips. “And that this was happening during easier times.”
“I think we can all agree on that,” Zayne replied.
“Depending on what you all find out, let me know? When you’re ready? And if it’s a yes, call me when you flip out, Zayne. Trust me when I say that’s definitely going to happen.”
Zayne must’ve nodded behind me, because Dez started to turn to the door but then stopped. “Oh, and, Trin, he checked out that name you were asking about.”
I blinked, seeming to come out of a stupor. “Any more information on that front?”
“Actually, yeah, there is,” Dez said. “Luckily this apartment requires names of all occupants to be listed on file, including children. He looked at current and the last decade or so. There’s no Gena or any variation of that name that Gideon could find on any records listed here.”
24
“What is the Gena thing about?” Zayne asked after Dez left.