Page 19 of Claim the Dragon
Steele turned quickly down the alley behind Twilight, his nostrils flaring as the scent he’d been in search of was found.This fool was as vile in dreams as he’d been that night over a week ago when Steele stopped him from attacking Ravyn.Tonight, he was in the alley with another woman.From the sounds they were making, Steele guessed this woman was much more agreeable than Ravyn had been, a thought that only made his stomach turn because the guy was a foul creep and Steele pitied any woman who dealt with him.
As Steele came closer to the Dumpster the two were making out behind, he spoke slowly, but loudly.“Let her go!”
The woman, who’d been on her knees with her face buried in his groin, tried to pull back, but he kept his grip on the back of her head.Steele knew that wasn’t so he could continue to feel the pleasure of her mouth on his dick, but to provide himself a partial shield.Again, this guy was an ass.
“I said, let her go.”
“Get your own!”the guy yelled.
Steele sighed and moved in closer, grabbing the woman out of the way just before the whooshing sound of the Reaper’s blade echoed through the air.
Seconds later Steele sat straight up in his bed at the hotel, a sharp slice of cold spreading through his body.The Reaper had claimed the soul Steele led him to.
Steele’s heart raced as his eyes searched the dark room, for what, he wasn’t sure.When it was apparent that he was alone and no longer in the dream, he dropped back down onto the pillows, using an arm to cover his eyes.
He hoped it had worked.Prayed it was so.
Never before had he attempted to swap one soul with another, but he’d thought it was worth a try.While that guy wasn’t powerful, he had demonic blood running through his veins, probably from a distant relative, but still it was there.Steele hadn’t picked up on that the night he’d used dream dust on the guy—if he had, Steele would’ve killed him then.Because killing demonics to keep humans safe was the Drakons’ job.They didn’t, however, just go around killing humans, even vile disgusting ones.By chance, he’d seen the guy on the street when he’d been looking for Ravyn last week, and then he’d picked up the scent and started to plan.
Now, he would wait to see if the plan to give the Reaper this soul instead of Ravyn’s would work.
The first thing Steele thought at six o’clock the next evening was that he’d been to this house before.
His call to Senator Daron Robles’s office this morning had led to a tag team of other calls, with the final one coming at four this afternoon, setting the meeting time for six.That had given him the entire day to sit in his hotel room reading more about the dagger’s curse and thinking about Ravyn.His dick was still hard, reminding him that all of those thoughts about her hadn’t been about her dying on some roof.
Dragging a hand down his face to smooth his lightly trimmed goatee, he raised an arm and pressed the doorbell to the brick house in Sodesto.In moments, a tall thin woman wearing a kelly-green dress opened the door and offered him a smile.Her golden hair fell in heavy waves down to her shoulders, makeup was carefully applied to an averagely pretty face and diamond earrings sparkled at her ears.
“Good afternoon, Mr.Eze.Senator Robles is waiting for you in the den.Let me take you to him.”
Steele nodded, figuring she’d said all that needed to be said and that she really only expected him to follow along.He could do that, especially since he needed a few more minutes to replace thoughts of Ravyn with thoughts of business.That was why he’d stayed in his room all day instead of instantly going out to find her.She was safe during the daylight hours—the dream told him she would die at night.And besides that, he needed to do the job he was being paid to do.Magnum’s words hadn’t fallen on deaf ears.
The layout of the house was simple enough, three large rooms off the main foyer—formal living room, dining room, library.Portraits hung in gold beveled frames along the cranberry painted walls.Plush rugs covered glossed wood floors.It smelled like incense, some deep and heady fragrance that was heavy and potent, seeping into his nostrils as quickly as if the entire place were filled with smoke.
A few steps ahead of him, the woman gripped the doorknobs of double oak doors and pushed them open.
“Senator, Mr.Eze from the Legion Security Company is here,” she said.
A fire blazed in the marble fireplace against one dark wood paneled wall.Burgundy leather chairs were positioned around the fireplace and a man rose from one of them.He had a cigar between his lips, glossy black hair smoothed down to his scalp and hunter-green eyes.
“Thank you, Marona.Come in, Mr.Eze, come in,” the senator beckoned him.
Steele embraced the eerie feeling he’d felt upon entering this dour room and walked past Marona to accept the outstretched hand of Daron Robles.
His hand was chilly, the smile that ghosted his lips was insincere and his eyes assessed Steele in the same way the Drakon was assessing him.
“Good to meet you,” Robles said when they disconnected the handshake.
“Likewise,” Steele replied, immediately noting the sour taste the word left in his mouth.
“Let’s get right down to business, I’ve got another meeting in an hour.”
“That’s fine with me, sir.”Steele followed Robles when the man moved to sit back in the chair he’d been in before.
Robles extended one arm toward a brown leather chair across from him.Steele took his seat there, being sure not to lean back in the chair, but resting his elbows on his thighs instead.
“I understand you’d like to upgrade the security of your house.Can you tell me what type of system you have at the moment?”
Whatever it was, Steele was betting it was crap because he hadn’t seen a control panel on either wall when he stepped inside the front door.Of course, the system could be set up somewhere else in the house, but a panel near the door ensured less chance of false alarms because it could be quickly disengaged.Unless there was a remote, but that wasn’t a method he ever advised.
