Page 5 of Inferno (Drake Security Book 4)

VALENTINO

Hours later as we all file into Lord’s living room, I feel uneasy. I haven’t been able to shake it since the incident at Dempsey’s shop. That demon got too damn close to my brother for comfort, and my scales threaten to explode and take over. At least I know he’s safe here.

Lord’s face is a mask of tight concern. He really doesn’t like demons after the tussle we had a few centuries ago over a house we were both interested in. They let us have it, or so they said, but continued to basically haunt it until we gave in and left. Fuckers.

Mac sits like a petulant child in an armchair, his body language an odd mixture of contrite and defiant, like a teenager bracing for a lecture from their parents. Lake is practically vibrating with need to soothe him, but Nico holds his mate back. What our little brother needs now is action, not soothing words.

“So, what exactly happened today?” Lord asks once we’re all together.

“I fucked up,” Mac says. “Isn’t that what I do? The family screwup?”

“Hey, bro,” Arson says, a slight tone of amusement in his voice. “You’re being hard on yourself. Besides, we all know I’m the family screwup.”

“No one is a screwup.” Lord rubs one of his temples. “We’ve all had our share of troubles.”

Mac scoffs at that. “Really? What have you ever done?”

Everyone, mates included, turns to Lord in anticipation of his answer. I can’t remember a time when he’s done anything out of line. Not Lord. That’s why we let him basically run things. It’s his thing.

“Specifics aren’t important,” Lord deftly answers. “What is important is that you’re not alone. You have us and our experience to guide you through it, but you have to let us help you.”

“I’m here, right?”

“Yes, a smart decision, but according to Lake, you stomped off on your own in an unprotected area.”

Mac huffs a puff of smoke, shooting dagger eyes at Lake, who raises his hands in protest.

“Hey, don’t get mad at me for making sure you don’t get hurt. Do you understand what your brothers would do if something bad happened to you? There’d be no more demon realm when they were done with it.”

“I don’t see how that’s a problem,” Mac mutters.

But the very idea of destroying the realm Montrose comes from disrupts my peace, and another wave of scales flashes across my chest and neck, drawing a raised eyebrow from Lord. I avert my eyes quickly, hoping to avoid questioning later.

“What did the demon do when he was chasing you?” Nico asks, thankfully redirecting the conversation.

“I could hear him laughing,” Mac says, visibly shivering. “Like he was taunting me. I felt so… vulnerable. He could just snatch me, and I wouldn’t see it coming.”

Guilt washes over me. My little bro is terrified, being stalked by a demon, and all I can do is get horned up for Montrose.

“That’s not going to happen,” Hemingway growls.

“You guys can’t see him either,” Mac says. “Right, Tino?”

“I couldn’t, but I could smell him.”

“So could I, but big deal.” Mac huffs. “I’m so fucked. I really screwed up this time.”

“What exactly did you do to this demon?” Lord asks, his tone softening. “It’s time to fess up so we can truly help.”

Mac shifts in his seat, his face contorting with embarrassment. He’s unable to control his emotions as well as we can, and his muted scales, still not at full color, ripple across his arms.

He slides his hand into his pocket, producing a thick band of gold with gems of different colors embedded in it. As he twirls it between his fingers, my own dragon pushes to the surface, desperate to get closer to the pretty ring.

“Give me that,” I say, snatching it from Mac before I even have time to process my reaction to it.

Once I’m holding it, feeling its weight and able to see the intricate details of it up close, a new, very confusing sensation takes over. My dragon purrs, curling up and flicking its tail, oddly soothed by the trinket.

“You stole a ring from a demon?” Arson asks, a smirk on his face as he looks at Dray. “We haven’t even done that.”

“Give it back,” Mac demands.

“No chance,” I whisper, sliding it onto my index finger. It fits perfectly, so I know it’s too big for Mac. “It needs to be returned to Xazedose.” I shudder as the words leave my lips.

Mine.

My dragon’s feelings about the ring are loud and clear. What is going on? It’s pretty, but I’ve seen and currently own many pretty rings. I tilt my hand back and forth, watching the gems catch the light with satisfaction.

“That’s right,” Lord says, his tone tight. “We’ll find the demon and return the item.”

“Finders keepers,” Mac tries again. “It’s his fault. He was showing it off at the bar. He didn’t care about it like I do. I’ll take care of it.”

“Aww,” Lake says before Nico shakes his head.

“We can’t take everything we want anymore,” Nico says. “Maybe from mortals but fucking with supes is bad news.”

“Nico’s right,” Arson says. “Ask me how I know.”

“The vampire nest from a few hundred years ago you told me about?” Dray asks, smiling.

Arson nods. “Vampires have excellent taste in art, but they are not to be fucked with.”

Lord sighs. “So how do we find the demon? I don’t want Mac used as bait. This demon sounds pretty tricky, and visiting the demon realm to pull our brother back isn’t on any of our to-do lists.”

“I found some information,” Dempsey says. “How to summon a specific demon. We need his true name, of course.”

“I think Xazedose is his real name,” Mac says.

“Then we need a witch, so we could ask Dahlia for help with that. Also, I found three spells that could work.”

“Let’s do that then,” Hemingway says, beaming at his mate with pride.

“Well,” Dempsey continues, his cheeks turning pink as he pushes his glasses up his nose, “It should be noted that demons don’t like to be summoned, so he’ll probably be pissed off.”

“Great,” Nico says. “He’s already pissed off.”

“I might have a lead,” I admit, drawing all eyes to me. I shrug. “What? I know some demons.”

“You’ll fuck anything, won’t you?” Arson teases, but his tone is pure affection.

I almost want to gloat, but my dragon growls softly instead, the implication pure protection. Dude. My dragon has lost the plot. I’m starting to wonder if Montrose is playing some kind of game with me, making me all demon-dicknotized.

I shake my shoulders to clear my thoughts. “I know a place I can go where they sometimes hang out. I’ll go tonight and ask around.” My ulterior motive tastes sour on my tongue, but I am killing two birds, as they say. “If no one has anything, we can try the summoning.”

Lord nods, but he’s still looking at me curiously. “For now, Mac will stay with me. My guest suites are as secure as my hoard room.” He turns to our brother. “You’ll be safe there and still have some autonomy.”

I’m expecting Mac to argue, but he nods, his erratic energy calming down. “Okay, Lord.”

His acceptance makes it clear how scared he really is. No dragon wants to be contained, but this is best for him and he knows it.

As the meeting breaks up, Lord closes in on me. Please for the love of fire don’t ask me why I’m acting so weird.

“Call me if you need any backup,” he says.

“Of course.” I lift the hand with the ring on it. “Little bro has good taste.”

“And bad instincts. Maybe some time with us can help.”

“Yeah. I figure if I’m wearing the ring, the demon might sense it and show himself too.”

“Smart.” He searches my eyes and I feel the questions he doesn’t ask. “Be careful,” is all he says.

“Always.”

MONTROSE

It’sfive minutes after midnight and still no sign of Valentino. My ego wants to disappear, stinging from his apparent brush off, but some annoying tug in my chest keeps me planted on this stupid barstool, fending off the throng of supes attracted to my pheromones. I’d turn them off, but fuck me, I’m too excited to see the damn dragon to control it.

I slam back another glass of whatever this syrupy sweet drink is that the bar concocts. There’s no high or buzz from it—at least not strong enough to counter what I’m already feeling from knowing, or at least hoping, that Valentino is on his way—but it does coat the throat nicely.

Every time the door opens, I turn and look, irritated at myself for acting like a demon with no game. I have tons of game. The most game. Other demons wish they were as gamey as me. Wait. I tilt my head. That came out wrong. Anyway…

My pulse races suddenly, and I start to get antsy to the point of wanting to crawl out of my skin. This time, when the door opens, instead of turning to see who it is, I already know. I can feel him long before I can see him. Every step he takes thunders in my ears, and not for the first time, I wonder what’s in dragon cum that’s got me so whipped.

The heat of his body envelops me as he closes in behind my seat at the bar. I try to play it nonchalant, but I swear to Hades, my body is vibrating from his proximity. What the actual fuck? We haven’t even truly fucked yet, so what is this connection about?

Valentino drags one of his big hands through my hair, making my skin prickle with the heat of his touch, and I can’t help but swing around to face him. The cocky grin on his lips melts my guard almost instantly.

“You’re late, Dragon.”

“I’ll make it up to you, little demon. Thanks for waiting for me.”

“You’re lucky I was having so much fun,” I lie. “A boy can’t catch a break here. I just got off the dance floor before you showed up.”

His grin falters as his eyes narrow and the dragon peeks out at me. The sight of his beast gazing directly at me is as warm as the summer sun on my face. I expect some sort of quip, but instead he leans close, inhaling deeply before stepping back and releasing a tendril of smoke. Fuck, that is so hot.

“Do you need another drink?” he asks.

“No. I need to pick up where we left off a few hours ago.”

Valentino nods, but his eyes flicker back to their human form as he glances around. “I have a little problem I need to deal with first.”

I rub my hand over his beefy chest, dying to see what he looks like completely nude. I bet he’s pretty sunbathing on a rock. “I thought you were here for me. Don’t you want to have fun?”

A growl rumbles in his chest, vibrating through my hand where it’s touching him. “I’m definitely here for you.” He tickles his fingers under my chin and my eyelids flutter. “But this is a family matter, and for me, family is always first. I’m looking for an asshole demon who’s fucking with my little brother.”

I swallow hard, nodding and wishing I could just twitch my nose and disappear, but that would be equivalent to a flashing sign screaming “It’s me. Hi. I’m the asshole you’re looking for.”

Valentino lifts his left hand, wiggling his index finger, and my eyes fixate on it. Shiny pretty on his finger. My ring looks incredible on him.

Valentino turns his intense gaze to the club. “You wouldn’t happen to know where I could find the owner of this ring, would you?”

Oh, now this is a conundrum. The way I see it, I have three options. One, I can dip to the demon realm and lie low. Two, I can tell the truth, which sounds terrible, honestly. Or three, I can lie, fuck this beautiful dragon once for the road, then run like hell before he roasts me like a marshmallow.

I release an involuntary flood of pheromones so strong that Valentino actually sways into me.

Well, there it is. Option three for the win.