Page 1 of Demon Touched (The Demon Syndicate #2)

Nova

N ova strapped all her hunting gear in place and then pulled down the face mask just enough she could see where she’d dragged the knife across her throat.

The mirror showed there was nothing left but a fine white line that was so thin she almost couldn’t see it. It glittered like a necklace, and Nova felt her stomach flip flop.

Whatever healing abilities Dex possessed were immaculate, but this had been a death wound. She’d made sure of it. So, whatever he’d done to forcibly yank her back from the brink of death had left a permanent mark.

Her father would be pissed if he ever found out she’d been caught.

But now Dex knew who she was a hunter as well as a witch…and she knew he was a demon-angel hybrid.

Nova hated demons after what they’d done. They’d killed her sister and turned her into this freak, but when it came to Dex, she felt nothing but conflicted.

Was the fact that he was part demon, something she could get over? She didn’t know. It wasn’t like she’d had very many positive experiences with demons.

Honestly, it was all too much. She had no fucking clue what her next step was going to be after she’d tried to kill herself twice, and nearly succeeded the first time. Nova hadn’t really thought this far ahead.

She’d been so sure Dex would torture her and then kill her.

That’s what he did after all.

Nova was under no illusion about what exactly it was that he did for a living.

The Grim Corp financial records had been extremely detailed. His official job title was listed as ‘Director of Quality Assurance,’ but Nova wasn’t stupid.

Dex was a fixer.

Not only was he nephilim, but he was also some kind of gangster.

The Grim Corp acted as a pack, but they were all business, like some kind of mafia shit. Sure, they broke a lot of human laws, but the council didn’t care about that as long as they weren’t caught.

And how would they ever get caught when they had magic on their side? The humans wouldn’t remember anything with a simple memory potion.

If they had a banshee, vampire, raven, or a night witch on the payroll it would be nothing for them to pluck the memories from someone’s head or warp them until their reality was whatever the Grim Corp wanted it to be.

Nova pulled out her phone and read her last report again, burying down the guilt.

Still no violations seen , her report said. Expanding patrol south .

It wouldn’t help anyone if she’d reported the incident with Dex’s shifters since no one else had seen anything and no one had died.

More importantly, no one had seen her face.

She’d even gone back and checked, but the footage from that night had been erased thanks to Dex. It was difficult for cameras to pick up the details when she darkened the shadows, but she’d wanted to be sure.

Even her blood had been cleaned and the sharp scent of bleach had tickled her nose.

Nova had followed the shifters for a few nights to make sure they hadn’t seen anything, but they had no idea what had happened after they’d gone to sleep and the one who’d thrown the knife at her was already back to normal thanks to his shifter healing.

It was a miracle her mission hadn’t been compromised.

Unfortunately, stalking Dex hadn’t given her any clues about who was being so blatant with magic that it had been reported to the council. She’d spent a few extra days in his territory to make sure, but nothing ever happened within the Grim Corp borders.

Business went on as usual, but the humans were either completely oblivious or complicit. The paranormals she’d talked to were smiling and happy and prosperous.

No one was afraid if someone from the Grim Corp showed up at their place of business, but they also didn’t mess with the ones wearing the pins on their lapel, or the tattoos.

The hourglass symbol with dark wings reminded her of Dex, but he wasn’t the one running the syndicate. Someone named Agmos was.

Nova wondered if he was really Dex’s uncle, and if he was…was he angel or demon?

Regardless, whatever the reports to the council had been about, it wasn’t happening within the borders of Grim Corp. So, Nova would have to expand outward, in concentric circles preferably to ensure she missed nothing.

At least her job would be easier now that Dex knew why she was here.

Then there was his offer to think about on top of everything else.

Her phone rang and she studied the number with a growing sense of unease before finally answering.

“Hey Dad.”

“Why aren’t you home yet?” he demanded.

The sun was about to set, and she didn’t have time to argue. “It’s not him.”

“Are you sure?”

As sure as she could be about anything. “I’ll be fine, Dad.”

He was silent for a long time and Nova checked to make sure the call hadn’t been disconnected. No, he was still there.

“Your mother worries about you.”

So, he’d told her.

Nova had never had a boyfriend before. She’d never let herself care about anyone after Gianna died. That hadn’t been a part of her goals and then one day she’d called her dad about a boy.

Her mother must be freaking out.

“I won’t fail my mission,” she told him.

She meant for it to sound reassuring, but her father only sighed.

“That’s what I’m worried about.”

What the fuck did that mean?

“Nova, let me just say this once.”

Her stomach dropped and she tried to ignore the panic. Her dad didn’t mess around when it came to her knowing her shit, and here she was, practically throwing everything he’d taught her in his face.

“If you love him, it’s worth it.”

Her heart actually stopped beating for a moment.

“What?” she whispered, trying to understand. That was something she’d never thought her dad would say. Ever.

“I never wanted you to work for the council,” he explained. “Because of shit like this. It only compromises your own moral compass to set aside everything for their mission. Not yours.”

“I’m protecting people.” That was the whole reason she was doing this.

“Yes, but only on their terms.” Her dad sighed again, and she knew his patience was thinning. “Happiness and love are hard to come by in our world. Don’t let it go because of some twisted sense of duty. You can protect people without having to work for the council.”

Nova couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Dad…I don’t even know if I love him, and I don’t want to give up on this mission.”

“No, and you shouldn’t. Just think about what you want to do when that ninety-day contract ends.”

The following silence was heavy and Nova couldn’t help but wonder what Gianna would tell her to do.

Her sister had been so young when she died, but she’d always talked about being the best hunter there was. How could Nova prove she was the best without the council?

It was the least she could do for the sister who’d given up her life for her.

“I’ll think about it,” she finally said. “And tell Mom I love her.”

“Just remember Nova, we are the monsters the monsters are afraid of.”

“We are the monsters who hunt monsters,” she replied automatically.

That one statement has always been at the core of who she was and she could never forget that.

Monsters weren’t the things that looked terrifying. They were the creatures who did monstrous things. Whether they were shifter, demon, witch, vampire, or human – it didn’t matter.

“I love you,” her father murmured, almost like he hoped she wouldn’t hear him.

“I love you too, Dad.” Nova hung up and then made sure the phone was on silent.

That was definitely not the conversation she’d been expecting to have with her father. Her mother? Sure. They’d always been able to talk about anything, but her dad was a different story.

She couldn’t help but wonder how he knew she’d been struggling with what it meant to be a council hunter.

Was it because this was the first and only mission she’d ever gotten distracted on?

It wasn’t like this was her first time. She’d joined her father on missions ever since she’d proved she could survive a bear shifter. Nova was only fourteen when she went on her first mission so she had more experience than most hunters her age.

Maybe working for the council wasn’t the right call, but what else was she supposed to do? Work for Dex?

Nova pulled the face mask over the lower half of her face and secured the hood in place.

Working for Dex didn’t seem like a good idea when she didn’t know anything about the guy running the Grim Corp and it wasn’t like she could ask him about Agmos when things were so awkward between them.

They needed to talk, but she had no idea how to do that right now when she was still trying to figure out how she felt about him being part demon. So, she’d do the only thing she could do and walk the shadows until dawn.

Once she reached the borders of Dex’s territory she could finish mapping out the paranormal businesses that didn’t fall under the Grim Corp umbrella. There had to be something she could find there.

Maybe she could figure out who the dead wolves belonged to. They’d tried to take her near the mortuary, so she’d start there.

Thanks to the intel she’d stolen from the Grim Corp accounting firm, she was sure those wolves didn’t belong to Dex.

Even if she didn’t have that intel, she’d know they weren’t his.

Dex would never kill his own guys. He was very protective of them, even if he had thrown them at her just to see what she could do.

Now that he knew what she was capable of, he was planning to hunt her.

She really shouldn’t think about that too much or she’d make another mistake and Nova really couldn’t afford that when one wrong move would have the council on her ass.

But Dex was on the hunt and she didn’t think anything she said or did could stop him. All she could do was cross her fingers and hope the council never caught wind of him or things could get very, very messy.