Page 23 of Capturing Sin

I grimaced. You’d have to be a little twisted to find a demon attractive. Then again, Leo wasn’t exactly the most stable guy. Nobody in this place was.

Heat banked in his navy eyes, a look I recognised intimately. It used to set a fire blazing in me too, but now that heat was all rage.

I eyed the female behind bars, noting her blood-red hair and matching eyes. The witchy features were paired with short horns peeking up through the loose curls in an unlikely combination, marking her as a hybrid of major and minor demon breeds.

Sickly purple hues marred her cheekbone.

Something dark raked through my gut, and I fought back the urge to find whoever was responsible and see how well they could take a beating.

She looked startlingly human, and far too young to be here.

After my run-in with my new test subject this morning, I’d been stuck assisting Cara through lunch and well into the afternoon, trying not to vomit as the hours crawled by. She’d sent me here into the spare lab to fetch more dissection tweezers. Apparently I’d ruined the last set by simply touching the delicate ends against the workbench when I’d placed them down.

Was I still sabotaging her work on purpose? Maybe. But just because I wanted to stop demons from hurting humans didn’t mean I supported all the twisted experiments the hunters ran.

Nobody should be here though. Not a demon or an idiot hunter.

I fought to keep my chaotic emotions tucked away. “What are you doing in here, Leo?”

A cocky smirk hooked one side of his thin lips. He lifted his blade, angling it to catch the light. “What? I can’t have a little fun with the vermin?”

I made a snap decision. One I’d probably regret.

“No. Now get away from my subject.”

His eyes narrowed, knowing me well enough to detect something was amiss. “We got this one in from the weasel just yesterday. How is it already yours?”

I straightened my lab coat, internally scrambling for a plausible lie. “She’s a hybrid.” I waved a hand towards her. “We’ve not captured one of her kind before.”

There was a certain logic to it, at least in my mind.

My ex laughed, and I knew I wouldn’t win that easily.

He lifted the set of keys he’d been hiding, grinning viciously at me. “Maybe I need to question it first. Get some intel before I throw it to your mercy… Dozer.”

Anger flared at the nickname, joining my internal panic. It pissed me off when the other hunters called me that, but it was so much worse coming from him. And he had to know it.

He unlocked the door, easing the cage open.

The demon lunged for freedom, hissing as she swiped out with wicked red claws. “Big mistake, fucker!”

Leo slammed the door in her face, snickering as he hit her with the solid bars. She launched forward again, ignoring the blood now leaking from her nose.

Leo sliced along her forearm, forcing her back from the tease of hope.

“You’re a naughty little thing too, huh?” He licked his lower lip, watching her blood run down his knife.

My stomach turned. What had I ever seen in him?

I couldn’t let him do this.

Clearing my throat, I infused as much bite into my tone as I could scrounge up. “Do not interfere with my experiments. The work I do now is just as important as before.”

A sneer twisted his features, but he didn’t take his eyes off his prey. “Since when is playing scientist more important than killing demon scum? I’m saving people.”

I swallowed the urge to scream. “Playing scientist, as you put it, is going to discover new ways to protect us.”

At least, I hoped so.

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