Page 117 of Paramour of Sin

No… it’s not that.

It’s something…

Something ominous…

Chapter Thirty-Three

Gwen

“You know, I’ve always liked you,” Creek said, pausing to stand before me. “You have this innocence about you that’s almost angelic. Very different from Amarella. She was wicked. Cunning, too. And my equal in so many ways.”

I swallowed.Yeah, this is bad.With Amarella and Trevor being out of the picture, we’d put the case to bed.

And we’d forgotten all about investigating Creek.

“We fooled Zebulon for over a century,” he continued, pacing again. “Then she wanted to engage in a bit of a game. I told her it was a bad idea. But her pride was wounded over his relationship with you.” He shook his head. “I mean, she knew you weren’t his paramour. Except she said there was somethin’ about the way he looked at you that unnerved her.” He glanced at me. “I guess he never looked at her like that.”

His strides lengthened as he reached my living room, his gaze assessing every angle, the jovial, free-loving Nephilim I’d come to know disappearing behind a mask of indifference. Or maybe this was his real face.

“We had plans. Plans that were so much bigger than you and the Demonic Lord. But she insisted, ya know? She was adamant in makin’ him pay.” He sighed dramatically. “Now she’s paid the ultimate price, leavin’ me all these loose ends to tie up.”

He tongued his two front teeth, seeming to contemplate that last thought as irritation lined his shoulders.

“The higher-ups aren’t ready yet. And they’re thinkin’ of takin’ me off the roster now for not appropriately controllin’ Amarella.” He huffed a laugh. “As though I could ever control that girl. It’d be like tryin’ to control myself, which is just a no-go. I don’t like rules all that much. Oh, but Dark Provenance certainly does.” He grunted. “Ridiculous, right? They seem’ta think this moral code of theirs will keep everyone in line.”

I took a step to my left, wanting to be closer to where Gleason hid weapons in this room, but Creek spun around, his eyes zeroing in on my position.

“There’s no keepin’ order in this world anymore, Gwen. The balance is shiftin’. The war has already started. But not everyone is set to play, yeah?”

I bit my lip, unsure of how to reply to his rambling.

“Unfortunately, you’re not one of the pawns. You’re more of a, well, a nuisance, really. You went and made the Demonic Lord of North America feel, and it’s conflictin’ the game, darlin’. So I really have no choice. And I suppose it’s a bit of an eye-for-an-eye at this point considerin’ what he did to Amarella.”

My throat tightened as I tried to voice a reply, the words not forming the way they should.He’s insane. Absolutely insane.

Lord Zebulon was in Hell. He wouldn’t be gone long.

Zane was in Chicago. I had no way of reaching him, unless I found a wristlet… which explained why Creek had wanted to “use mine” upon entering.

Shit.Would Gleason find Creek’s missing attendance strange? Would he think to return here?

“Don’t ya have any questions?” Creek drawled, his southern accent so smooth and charming, easily hiding the lunatic lurking beneath his skin. “I mean, I at least expected an inquiry ‘bout the shiftin’.” He leaned against the wall, right beside Gleason’s painting.

Because he knew about the secret weapons stash hidden behind that picture.

Ugh, of course.

He was Gleason’s protégé. He would have shown him.

“Oh, is this you speechless?” Creek grinned. “Ya know, I always imagined makin’ ya speechless in a very different way. Used to think about ya sometimes while Amarella went down on me. Didn’t tell her, of course. She was jealous enough over Zebulon’s reaction to you. Didn’t want to piss off the ol’ lady and all.” He shrugged. “No hard feelin’s, though. Well, I suppose some hard feelin’s since I have to kill you now.”

He licked his teeth again, wincing a little.

“Why?” I asked, finally finding my voice. Only it came out a little hoarse. “How am I a loose end? We already closed the case.”

“Did ya though?” he countered, arching a brow. “‘Cause I’m pretty sure the Prince of Hell ain’t done.”

“Killing me will only ensure that,” I pointed out.