Page 7

CHAPTER 06
Spear demon?”
“Nah…”
“Spike-tailed demon?”
“Doubt it.”
“Heat-based demon?” I swiped another screen on the tablet, staring at what had to be my hundredth fucking demon.
“No,” Gray droned on, barely aware of what he was saying.
“Cold-based demon?”
“No.”
“Vampire?”
“No.”
“Wendigo?”
“No.”
“Skin-shifting demon?”
“No.”
“Oompa Loompa?”
“No—what?” Gray’s gaze shot to me, brows knitting together in confusion. “Oompas ain’t real, baby!”
“Just making sure you’re paying attention.” I chuckled and went back to flipping screens on the tablet. There were so many fucking demons.
The problem was we had very little to go on. Nine men between twenty-one and forty had disappeared—including Mal and Jake. There was no particular pattern between them. They all had different skin colors, social classes, job types, and familial backgrounds.
Mal and Jake had gone as far as to map out each of their lives and nothing. No similarities. No crossover. Nothing.
The only commonality was they’d all gone to a place called The Cove. What was The Cove? We didn’t have a clue. There was nothing anywhere on what kind of place it was, which meant it was probably shady as fuck.
All the men were presumed dead. Which made sense if a demon was involved. It was the only thing that made sense about this whole damn thing.
“Why ain’t she at home?” Gray asked softly.
“I imagine she doesn’t sleep much there with a baby,” I replied, glancing at Tessa. She was burrowed under a pile of blankets, dead to the world despite the lights and TV going. “Just leave her.”
“Uncle Ry’s goin’ to be the straight and narrow uncle.” He laughed.
“No, I’ll be the absent uncle,” I told him. When he frowned, I added, “There’s no way we can be actively involved in her life while we’re on the road.”
“Yeah,” he murmured. “I’m goin’ to be the fun uncle though.”
“No, you’ll be the uncle who teaches her how to swear.”
“I’ll be teachin’ her creative language.”
“Same thing.”