Page 77

“I don’t know,” she said honestly. “But it kind of makes sense that if they were going to make a last-ditch attempt to knock you out of the competition, they’d do it when you were home by yourself.”

Once again, Caleb went silent. Delia could almost see the thoughts darting around in his brain as he weighed what would be the best course of action. True, he’d probably get a better night’s sleep and would be sharper at the tournament if he spent the night in his own bed, but on the other hand, getting attacked while you were sleeping generally didn’t contribute to a sense of well-being and relaxation.

“All right,” he said at length. “We’ll need to swing by my place first so I can pick up a couple of things, though.”

“That’s fine,” she replied, almost giddy as relief rushed through her. “Whatever you need.”

A lopsided grin tugged at his mouth. “I hope you’re right about this.”

Delia found herself smiling in response. “I know I am.”

Although he would have preferred to sleep in his own bed, Caleb had to admit that the guest room at Delia’s house was pretty comfortable…and not entirely unfamiliar, since he’d crashed there before after getting attacked by a gang of demons at his old house.

He’d slept for a solid eight hours and only awoke around seven-thirty because his nose detected the rich scent of coffee slipping under the door. After a luxurious stretch, he got out of bed and went to the overnight bag he’d packed the evening before, and pulled out a T-shirt and a pair of sweats. If his relationship with Delia had been a different sort, he might have wandered into the kitchen while wearing only his boxer briefs, but he had a feeling she probably wouldn’t respond too well to that kind of display.

Maybe someday that would all change, but he knew today wasn’t that day.

She was standing in the kitchen, long red hair pulled back in a scrunchie, slim legs covered in yoga pants. No need for her to rush around this morning, since it was a Saturday and she didn’t have to go into the office. If it had been a normal weekend day, she might have still had a few showings with clients or an open house, but he knew she’d cleared her schedule for him.

Yet another reason for him to be utterly grateful to the universe or whatever other force had steered her into his life.

As soon as he approached, she said, “Coffee?”

“God, yes.”

She flashed him a smile — no makeup this morning except maybe a little tinted lip balm, but she was gorgeous nonetheless — and then got a mug down from the cupboard and poured some Italian roast into it.

“How’d you sleep?”

“Pretty well,” he replied. “And it seemed like everything was quiet.”

“Very quiet,” she said. “I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not. Like my friends with kids say, if they’re too quiet, then you know they’re getting into some kind of trouble.”

Caleb wondered how many people in her circle had families. Certainly Pru appeared to be relentlessly single. But since he’d heard pretty much the same thing from the people he’d known back in Greencastle who’d started having kids early, it seemed that was one truth he couldn’t deny.

“Well, even if they’re plotting something, they left us alone last night, and I’m grateful for that.” He sipped some of his coffee, which was almost too hot to drink but not quite. Good thing, too, because he knew he didn’t want to wait to get any of that sweet caffeine in his bloodstream.

A hint of a smile flickered around Delia’s mouth. “Me too. Do you think we should do any more investigating today, since you don’t have to be at the casino until three?”

Caleb had already thought about that, so he had a ready answer. “Probably not. For one thing, they know we’re hip to Paul Reeves’ game, so it’s not like we can follow him again and get any other answers. And while I have a feeling Pru could probably get Hank Bowers’ address for us, I don’t see the point in confronting him beforehand. He might be playing a key role in all this, but I have to believe whoever’s really pulling the strings would have some kind of backup for him, someone who could step in and take over if necessary if he got sidelined for some reason.”

“Makes sense.” Delia sipped some of her coffee, and then her brows pulled together. “And I’m happy to stay as far away from Aaron Sanchez as possible.”

Words that Caleb was only too happy to hear, although he knew she’d only said that because her one-time date was now possessed by a demon, rather than because she’d had such a horrible time with him that she never wanted to see him again.

“Probably for the best,” Caleb agreed. “I’m still not sure why a demon decided to possess him at all. It’s not like he’s been competing.”

Another frown, and Delia said, “Maybe they’re trying to use him to get closer to me. It’s possible he sensed something the night of our date, something that signaled my powers were expanding, and they thought they could slip a demon into him and have it do whatever was necessary to keep me away from you.”

Caleb hadn’t considered that angle, but he thought it made some sense. According to what Ty Carter had told them, Aaron had only been recently possessed and should have been wholly himself the night he went out with Delia. But it was very possible that whoever in Aegis Holdings was controlling all this had been surveilling her and had decided that her erstwhile date and fellow real estate agent was the perfect person to take over.

“Whatever their game was, it didn’t work,” he said. “And now that Ty’s warned us about Aaron, it should be easy enough for you to stay away from him.”

“Far, far away,” Delia replied. “Luckily, the casino will be extra crowded today because of everyone coming to watch the finals, so it should be easy enough to give him the slip.”

Caleb hoped her confidence wasn’t misplaced. But he guessed that Ty Carter would be there to keep an eye on things, and would probably intervene if he saw Aaron going after Delia.

And that didn’t even take into account Ty’s two fellow angels, or whoever those guys had been. Caleb hadn’t seen them again, but he’d been so absorbed in staying in the game during the last round that he probably wouldn’t have noticed them unless they’d come up and kicked him in the nuts.