“Where the fuck are you?” the stranger said into the phone, and Iris fought the urge to fan herself.
What could she say? Foul-mouthed, tattooed jerks were her kryptonite.
“I don’t give a fuck. Get your ass over here. I’m bored shitless.”
God, she was getting turned on just listening to him swear like a trucker.
“I know it’s stupid, but I told Mist I’d hang out nearby while he was on his date in case he starts sniffing her or some shit and I needed to do damage control.” He dragged on the cigarette. “Fuck you, I’m not beingnice. I’m just being… helpful. Shut up.”
Iris stiffened. Mist happened to be the unusual name of Lily’s date, and the very reason she was hanging out in this park alone in the first place. So was he friends with this guy then? She didn’t like the idea of Lily dating a guy whose friends had face tats.
And why would Face Tats think he’d need to do damage control? Her eyes narrowed. This Mist bloke better not mess with her sister or she was going to make him regret it.
She sent another text to Lily, starting to lose the battle against her need to panic. She still hadn’t found out why she was suddenly asking about the wards, after all.Did something happen? Are you okay? Answer me right now or I’m coming over.
Lily’s response came almost immediately.No, don’t come. I asked because the ward is red, but I thought it was black before. I’m obviously imagining things. Please don’t panic because everything is fine. Gotta go!
Meanwhile, Face Tats was still talking on the phone. “That shit about Paimon fucked me up. I know this doesn’t help him in the grand scheme of things, but I had to do something, you know?”
The world ground to a sudden halt as several things sunk in at once. The bastard had just name-dropped Paimon. And Lily’s signal ward had turned red.
Paimon = demon. Red = demon.
Motherfuckingdemons.
There was a demon in her sister’s apartment, and, in all likelihood, another standing right in front of her.
They’d been found. After all these years of hiding and all the precautions she’d taken, the wards, the bindings, the rituals… they’d been found.
She was out of the swing and running toward Lily’s place before her next breath.
* * *
Lily marched down the hall,pissed at her sister and more turned on than she’d ever been in her life. Her heart was racing, her body temperature at a thousand degrees, and the sexiest man alive was standing in her kitchen.
So what if he was a little feral. The whole sniffing and biting thing was really doing it for her.
She threw open the door. “Why are you here? I told you I was fine!”
Iris pushed back her hood, and Lily did a double take at the genuine fear in her eyes. “The ward is red? Are you sure?”
“Yes, but why does that matter right— Hey!”
Iris grabbed her arm and yanked her outside, slamming the front door behind her.
Before Lily had a chance to react, Iris dabbed the tip of her already bloody finger onto the center of a new ward on the front door.
“What the hell?” The crazy witch must have been lurking outside drawing the sigil before she’d knocked. “What on earth are you doing?”
“If the signal ward turned red, it means there’s a demon in your house.”
Lily scoffed even as part of her went cold. “That’s crazy. Mist is—”
“A bloodydemon, Lil. His friend with the face tats was in the park. I overheard him talking on the phone. He mentioned Paimon, who is a crazy powerful—”
“You’re unbelievable!” Lily threw up her hands. “I can’t believe you would show up here and interrupt my first date in years with the hottest guy I’ve ever met! It’s like you want me to be miserable and alone forever.”
“He’s not a guy, Lil! He’s ademon. The ward doesn’t lie. If it’s red, there’s a demon in your house. Period. And I just trapped it.” She pointed to the sigil on the door.
