Page 76 of Devil in the Details

As they headed outside, Caleb could still sense the energy in the casino building, throbbing like a heartbeat, preparing for something momentous. Tomorrow would bring either triumph or disaster — and he wasn’t sure which one he was betting on yet.

Chapter Nineteen

It had become something of a ritual for them — to go out to eat after the competition, to do something so relentlessly normal that they could forget at least a little about what had transpired earlier in the day.

Unfortunately, Delia didn’t think she’d ever be able to forget any of it.

Aaron Sanchez possessed by a demon. The tournament as a cover for some sort of massive supernatural ritual, one whose true purpose still wasn’t entirely clear.

About the only good thing that had happened today was Caleb advancing to the finals.

If you could even call that part of the whole mess “good.”

Maybe more like necessary, at least according to Ty Carter.

Caleb had already drunk more than half the bottle of cabernet they’d ordered to go with their steaks. True, she’d seen firsthand how the demon blood he carried within him gave him a tolerance for alcohol that would have made a frat boy green with envy, but Delia still wasn’t sure whether attempting to tie one on the night before the finals was that great an idea.

However, she didn’t say anything. He was an adult, and since she was driving, it wasn’t as if she needed to worry about him getting behind the wheel while impaired…not that she thought he’d ever actually do something so reckless. No, he’d call a cab and leave his car behind, and then come back to get it in the morning.

Or maybe just disappear into the men’s room and teleport home from there.

Actually, scratch that. Even drunk — if he could get drunk — Caleb wouldn’t do anything so careless. He knew better than to attract that kind of attention to himself.

And because they were in a public place, they couldn’t dissect what Pru had told them, or what had actually happened during the tournament. Delia had suggested to Caleb that they get takeout, but he’d shot down that idea pretty quickly. No, he’d wanted to go to a real restaurant and order a bottle of wine and have someone bring the food to them.

“Also,” he’d added, “I want a steak, and that’s not the kind of meal that improves with delivery.”

Probably not.

So instead, they talked about the competition on strictly mundane terms, with Caleb giving his thoughts on the three other players who’d made it to the finals.

“I’ve heard of all of them, so whatever’s going on, it’s not like Aegis has put its own ringers in there,” he said.

Even a small mention of that diabolical organization made Delia think maybe he was skirting too close to dangerous ground, but she only nodded. “It seems like they can take control of people pretty easily, though.”

Caleb’s expression grew shadowed…or maybe that was only the flickering light from the small candle in the glass holder that sat on the table. Quite a few restaurants had switched over to battery-operated tea lights just because there was a lot less mess involved, but they still did things old school at Domenico’s.

“It does,” he agreed. “Not me, however. So I suppose I’m the monkey in the wrench.”

Possibly. Once again, Delia wondered why the tournament organizers — who clearly were either members of Aegis or at least mind-controlled by them — hadn’t worked harder to make sure Caleb hadn’t advanced to the final round. Surely they were worried that he’d do something to disrupt the competition, and therefore whatever ritual they were planning.

But…maybe they couldn’t stop him, not really. After all, he might have been mostly human, but he still had a pretty formidable complement of powers at his disposal. It was possible there wasn’t much they could do.

She hoped.

Even so, she thought leaving him alone at his house seemed like a very bad idea. The mere notion was enough to send a trickle of cold shivering its way down her spine, like she’d just walked through a particularly nasty draft.

“I think you should crash at my place tonight,” she said, and Caleb stared at her as if she’d just suggested that they go base-jumping off the tower at the Stratosphere.

“What?”

“Safety in numbers,” she told him.

For a moment, he didn’t say anything. Then one dark brow lifted ever so slightly. “A premonition?”

A very good question. Was she now able to get vague hints from the future, or were her current heebie-jeebies nothing more than her imagination getting to her?

Whatever was going on, she’d learned to trust her instincts over the years.

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