CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Susan took a deep breath as they headed for the chief's house on 18th Avenue South, not far from South Lucille Street. This time of night, it was totally peaceful as the moonlight dusted each house with becoming shadows.
"It's hard to believe how tragic the world can be when it's like this, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Ravyn agreed. "It's why I don't mind being a Dark-Hunter. There's something about the serenity of night that soothes the soul."
Susan gave him an amused smile. "I thought you didn't have a soul."
He cut his eyes toward her as he drove. "I was speaking metaphorically."
"Ooo, there's a big word for you."
By his face she could tell he enjoyed her teasing. "Be nice to me, or I might leave you here alone."
"Considering how close we are to dawn, I don't think you should be antagonizing me, do you?"
He gave her a feigned sullen look that was positively gorgeous. She really liked the fact that he could take a joke and see her humor for what it was. Too many people mistook her sarcasm for scorn. But it was her defense mechanism. Ravyn not only understood that, he seemed to actually enjoy it.
Before she could say anything more, he stopped the car a block over from the house and turned the engine off. "I don't think we should give them any warning."
Susan couldn't agree more. Personally, she still didn't even think they should be there. She glanced around the silent, dark upper-middle-class neighborhood. There wasn't a single light on in any house. No movement. Nothing to say that she and Ravyn weren't the last two people alive on earth.
It was a bit eerie.
"You think they're home yet?" she asked.
"I don't know. It'll be dawn shortly. I'm sure the chief has to work, so if they're not, I'm sure they're not far away."
She nodded, then frowned as a thought crossed her mind. "This may be a stupid question, but could you humor me?"
"Sure."
"What exactly are we going to do here?"
He looked at her with an arched brow. "The plan is to fight it out with the bad guys and win the day."
She nodded at his dry tone. "Good concept, any idea on how to execute it?"
"Not a one." He got out of the car and slammed the door shut.
Gaping, Susan jumped out and caught up to him on the side of the road. "Wait a minute. You're joking with me, right?"
"No," he said in all sincerity. "I'm going to break into his house and then confront him."
She let out several scoffing staccato laughs. "Can I tell you just how stupid I think this plan of yours is?"
"You just did." He placed the keys in her palm that held the mating mark and folded her fingers over them. "Feel free to head back at any time. In fact, I really wish you would." He started away from her.
She pulled him to a stop as fear tore through her. "You're going to get yourself killed, Ravyn. Do you understand that?"
A tic worked in his jaw. "Fighting Daimons is what I do, Susan. It's why I was created." He glanced up at the sky that was growing lighter by the minute. "Besides, it's a moot point. I don't have time to make it back to the Serengeti before dawn. This ends today. On my terms. Not his."
"At dawn. How cliche."
He shook his head at her as he turned and walked toward the chief's house.
Susan stood there in indecision. Every part of her screamed at her to get into Phoenix's car and just leave. To keep driving until all of this was behind her.
But as she glanced to Ravyn, who was making his way steadily toward the chief's house, she knew she couldn't do that. He'd been alone for all of these centuries. If he really was heading for his doom, then she would go with him.
You're an idiot.
Yes, she was. And maybe she would die this morning, too. But at least she would have confronted the man who was responsible for Angie's and Jimmy's deaths. She owed them that much. And she wanted to look the man responsible for their fate in the eye and personally tell him what a scabbing bastard he was.
Tucking the keys in her pocket, she ran to catch up to Ravyn.
Ravyn wasn't expecting Susan to join him, but when he felt her tugging at his hand he couldn't keep from smiling inside. He laced his fingers with hers before he took her around back and crept along the chief's house.
"You think he has an alarm system?" Susan whispered as Ravyn located a window low enough to crawl through.
"Probably."
"Then how do we get inside?"
He covered the windowpane with his hand and closed his eyes to sense if there was anything electrical around the window. There was. He put both hands on the glass and used his powers to interfere with the electrical connector. Then he unlocked the window and pushed it open.
There was silence as the alarm continued to think nothing had been breached.
Susan shook her head at him. "How do you do that?"
"He's a magic man, Mama," he said, quoting the song from Heart, with a grin before he lifted her up to crawl inside.
As soon as she was safe, he joined her, then slid the window closed and locked it. He took a minute to rearrange the curtains over it.
The house was completely dark and silent. There were heavy brown and gold jacquard drapes pulled closed over every window so that not a single ray of sunshine could enter. Definitely the residence of nocturnal beasts who had one serious allergy to daylight.
The house was decorated with a hodgepodge of contemporary and antique furniture. But even so, it looked like a typical home. There were photographs on the wall of Paul, his sons, and his wife.
Susan stared at the pictures, especially the ones of the boys. They appeared so normal. Until you realized their clothing was identical to what she'd worn as a child. His sons weren't in their twenties as they appeared. They had to be in their mid- to late thirties.
Suddenly, she and Ravyn heard the growling sound of a garage door opening. Someone was coming home.
"What do we do?" she breathed nervously, looking around for a place to hide.
"We wait," Ravyn said aloud.
Nonchalant to the danger they were facing, he went to lean against the arm of the brown leather sofa with his arms crossed over his chest. He crossed his ankles and for all intents and purposes looked like someone waiting on an errant child to come home after being out all night.
She couldn't fathom his cool exterior. And she really didn't like his strategy. It was a good thing the man didn't work for the Pentagon. The "I'll figure it out as I go" just didn't jibe with her.
"Don't worry, Ben," a man said, closing a door that she was sure led to the garage. "We'll get him."
"I can't believe that bastard lied." The voices were getting closer and closer.
Susan stepped back into the shadows and whispered a small prayer that this would go the right way.
"Like I said, don't worry about it. He paid for his lie. We'll get Kontis and the others. Mark my words."
"They're marked and noted," Ravyn said in a snide tone as the two men joined them in the room.
Paul and Ben pulled up short.
"What are you doing here?" Paul demanded, his face alternating from pale to red.
Ravyn didn't move or even blink. "Heard you were looking for me. I figured I'd save you the trouble of having to search."