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of the steel made him suck in a breath. Holding his hand up over the sigil, blood ran down his hand and dripped onto the dirt. The black spots immediately soaked into the ground.

      It wouldn’t be long before the call was answered. Daeva was usually quite prompt.

      Ronan pulled out a thin piece of gauze from his pocket. He always came prepared. He wrapped it around his palm, stemming the flow of blood. Just as he finished tying it off, an audible pop sounded before him. The smell of brimstone and some exotic spices filled the air. He looked up to face the demon.

      She smiled. “Well, hello, Ronan. What can I do you for?”

      Ronan shook his head at her play on words. It was an old joke.

      “Get it? What can I do you for?” She laughed; the sound was like tinkling bells.

      “Yeah, I get it, Daeva. It just isn’t funny.”

      She took a step toward him, mindful of the lines of the pentagram that she was bound inside. “So, honey, what can I really do for you?”

      Out of all the demons he’d run across, Daeva was the only one he liked. She was fun and funny and sexy as all get out with her long crimson hair and startling gray eyes. And she really didn’t follow the usual demon code. She didn’t look for ways to get out of the pentagram and rip your innards out. As long as he’d been doing business with her, he’d yet to see her do any real harm to anyone. She just liked to seduce people. And he really didn’t see the harm in that.

      “I need information.”

      “About?”

      “Sallos.”

      “I see.” She tapped one long fingernail against her cherry-stained lips. “I heard he was being a really bad boy.”

      “Yes, he’s murdering women. Lots of them. He needs to be stopped.”

      “Oh, I agree, Ronan, no doubt about that. But what will you give me in return for my information?”

      “What do you want?” He knew it was a mistake to ask an open-ended question to a demon, but he trusted Daeva. Sort of.

      “I want to meet her.”

      “Who?”

      “Who do you think? Ivy Strom, of course.”

      “Why?”

      She pursed her lips, then fluffed her hair. “I have my reasons.”

      “And those would be?” The voice that came was as frigid as the Arctic winds. Ronan whirled around to see Ivy walking out of the shadows to stand beside him.

      “None of your business, really.” Daeva smiled at the unexpected arrival.

      Ivy bristled a little, and Ronan sensed she was about to do something stupid, but at the last second she seemed to settle down and sighed instead. “Well, we’ve met, so now you can tell us about Sallos.”

      “We haven’t been properly introduced.” Daeva looked at Ronan. “Will you do the honors?”

      He sighed and shook his head. He had a bad feeling that he was going to pay for this in some way. Either from Daeva or from Ivy. There seemed to be some rivalry between them that he couldn’t figure out. “Daeva, Seductress of Shadows, this is Ivy Strom…”

      “Hunter of all Demons,” Ivy finished for him.

      Daeva chuckled, then offered her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ivy Strom. I’ve heard so much about you.”

      Ivy looked at the offered hand, then to Ronan. He shrugged. He had no clue what Daeva was up to. He’d never seen her behave this way.

      “From who?”

      “The word gets around. Hell’s not that big, you know. When one of us comes back, sent back by you, you can bet he’s right pissed about it.”

      Ivy took a step forward so the edge of her boot touched the line of the pentagram. She reached through the binding and grasped Daeva’s hand.

      From the look of rapt fascination on the demon’s face, Ronan almost expected her to pull Ivy into the pentagram. He reached over and grabbed Ivy around the waist.

      The two women shook hands, and then Ivy pulled back and whipped around to glare at him. “What the hell are you doing?”

      He released his hold on her, then sheepishly took a distancing step away. “Nothing.” He looked at Daeva; she was giving him a similar look.

      He found the whole thing strange. It was like some weird female bonding thing that he just didn’t get. Next thing he knew, they would be going out shoe shopping or something.

      He cleared his throat of the awkwardness he felt. “Okay, now that that’s done, tell us where Sallos is located.”

      Daeva cocked her hip and wrapped a finger in her hair, playing with it both innocently and seductively. “Give me a piece of paper and I can give you an address.”

      Ronan opened his duffel bag and came away with a notebook. He tore off a piece of paper and handed it to her. The demon took it, then ran her index finger over it. “There.” She handed it back to Ronan.

      He looked down at it. There was an address scrolled on the paper in bright red. He didn’t even want to consider what she’d used for ink.

      Ivy took it from him. She glanced at it, then at Daeva. “This better be right.”

      “Oh, it is, honey. Don’t you worry your pretty little head.”

      By the look of fury on Ivy’s face, Ronan decided it would probably be best if he ended the “call” and sent Daeva back to wherever she came from. “Thank you, Daeva, for the information.”

      “My pleasure, Ronan, darling. I always love it when you come a-knocking at my door.” Then she put her gaze on Ivy. “It was a pure pleasure meeting you, Ivy Strom. Say hi to your brother for me, will you?” She smiled, blew her a kiss and then snapped her fingers. She was gone in a flash and a puff of spices.

      “What was that about?” Ronan asked.

      Ivy shrugged. “I have no idea. Quinn’s exorcised a lot of demons, so maybe she’s got a bone to pick with him.” Ivy folded the piece of paper and shoved it into her pants pocket. “Nice choice of contact, by the way.”

      He gathered his gear back up and put it in his bag. “She’s always reliable.”

      “What does she usually ask for, for payment?”

      He picked up the bag and swung it over his shoulder. He grinned. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” With a bit of a swagger in his step, Ronan walked past Ivy to return to the hotel.

      He felt her piercing gaze on his back all the way to their hotel room. It made him grin like a fool who’d just won a bet. He was getting to her, just like he’d planned.

       Chapter 7

      When they got back to the room, Ivy sat down on the edge of the bed and unfolded the paper that the demon had given them. Her hands shook a little, and she put them down at her sides so Ronan wouldn’t see them. She was a bit unnerved by the exchange between her and Daeva. When she’d shaken her hand, she got the overwhelming sense that the demoness didn’t mean her any harm and, in fact, had been pleased to meet her. It had been strange, to say the least.

      “Fifty-five Fourth Street.”

      “That’s what it says.”

      “That’s downtown. Do you have a map?”

      “Better.” Ronan reached into his pack and pulled out his iPhone.

      She shook her head in disbelief.

      “What? Don’t you have one? I can get all kinds of info on here. Maps and internet, voice dialing, even Facebook.” He grinned

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