He was brought up in a world surrounded by loving, supportive family. They’d taught him that there was no problem too great to be solved, that love conquers all, that virtue shall be rewarded. It’s not that he believes we live in a utopia, but he thinks it’s worth reaching for.

Me, I was raised in a world full of anger, resentment, and bitterness. I’d learned how not to compromise from some of the best teachers in the world. I’d learned cynicism by the age of thirteen, and it was a lesson that would stay with me for the rest of my life.

I could never be a part of Brian’s world. Once you’ve come over to the dark side, there’s no going back to the light. But I could drag Brian down to my world without breaking a sweat. Today’s fight showed me he was already starting to skid down that slope.

I couldn’t let that happen. It would be like destroying a priceless work of art. I had to let him go before it was too late. Even if doing it would destroy a piece of myself.

At the hotel, I pinched my nose and forced down a rum and Coke on the off chance a little alcohol would make me feel better. It didn’t. But whoever was after me wasn’t going to call it quits just because I was feeling depressed, so I called Adam’s office. Naturally, he wasn’t there. I tried to convince the guy who answered the phone to give me Adam’s cell phone number, but he flatly refused. My charm was slipping. I left an urgent message for him to call my hotel room, then lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling.

After fifteen minutes of that, I felt even worse than I had before and was seriously considering trying a little more booze. Lucky for me, the phone rang. I think if I’d drunk anything, I would have puked.

I refused to tell Adam what I wanted over the phone — you never know who might be listening in — but he didn’t press too hard. He’d heard about the fire, so I guess he was being considerate of my frazzled mental state.

He was at my door in twenty minutes. It occurred to me then that asking a good-looking guy to meet you in a hotel room might be considered a come-on in some circles. I hoped like hell that wasn’t why Adam had agreed to come without asking any more questions.

He frowned when he saw me.

“You look like shit,” he said.

I opened the door wider to let him in. “Thanks for the pep talk.” I turned to look at him, remembering how I’d had impure thoughts about him yesterday, then remembering how I’d torn Brian’s heart out of his chest earlier this afternoon. It was all too much, and I felt my eyes welling up yet again.

Adam’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry,” he said. “That was insensitive of me.”

The last thing I needed was a good-looking, sadistic demon being nice to me for no earthly reason. Niceness could eat through my armor faster than anything.

I rudely ignored his apology, stomping over to the other end of the room to the pair of uncomfortable chairs. Well, I didn’t really stomp, because my feet hurt too much, but I did a passable imitation. Adam must have noticed what the effort cost me.

“You haven’t healed the burns?” he inquired as he sat.

I shook my head, not quite trusting my voice yet.

“Why on earth not?”

“Do you have an open mind?”

He made a sound between a snort and a laugh. “More open than yours, that’s for sure.”

I let that one slide, and told him about my hitchhiker. I watched his face closely as I talked, looking for any sign as to whether he believed me or not. I couldn’t tell, but I saw something else, something very interesting indeed. When I said Lugh’s name for the first time, Adam started.

It was very slight. If I hadn’t been watching so intently, I probably wouldn’t have noticed.

Lugh’s name meant something to Adam. It remained to be seen whether I could find out what.

He was silent for a long time after I’d finished. Deep in thought. At least, that’s how I interpreted the faraway look in his eyes. He could have been wondering what to eat for dinner for all I knew.

When he finished thinking, he reached for me, grabbing my hand before I knew what he was going to do.

“Hey!” I protested, trying to pull away.

“Hush,” he said, trapping my hand between both of his and closing his eyes.

I wanted to tell him exactly what he could do with his “hush,” but figured it wouldn’t do any good.

After maybe thirty seconds, he let go, opened his eyes, and shook his head.

“I can’t find him,” he said. “I believe you that he’s in there somewhere, or your bruise wouldn’t have healed, but your aura is overwhelming him.” He stood up and started to pace. “How can a human be that powerful?” I think he was talking to himself, but that didn’t stop me from answering.

“Are you asking how it’s possible for me to overwhelm any demon, or this one in particular?”

Surprise, surprise, he didn’t answer. Instead, he stopped his pacing right in front of my chair and looked down at me. I really wanted to stand up so I didn’t have to crane my neck like that, but I knew how much it would hurt and I just wasn’t up to it.

“So he wrote those notes to you while you were asleep, and he communicates with you through dreams, right?”

“Yeah.”

Adam nodded, the look on his face saying he’d reached a decision.

“Sorry about this,” he said.

Before I had a chance to get even vaguely alarmed, the back of his hand came out of nowhere and smacked into the side of my face with the force of a wrecking ball.

CHAPTER 13

I came to, lying on my back, ready to be miserable. That had been one hell of a backhand. I braced myself for the pain, maybe even some queasiness and blurred vision. Surely he’d hit me hard enough for a concussion.

I realized I was unusually clearheaded for someone who’d just been knocked unconscious. Then I realized my face didn’t hurt. At all. I reached up and tentatively touched my cheek.

“Lugh healed it while you were out.”

I turned my head toward the sound of Adam’s voice. I was lying on the bed, and he was sitting on one of the armchairs, his legs stretched out in front of him, hands clasped over his belly. He looked damn proud of himself.

I pushed up on my elbows, still tensed for pain and nausea, but I felt nothing.

“He healed your feet, too, though you should keep wearing the bandages just for show.”

Finally convinced that I would suffer no ill effects from Adam clobbering me, I sat up. I glared at him.

“You’d better tell me you exorcized him,” I growled.

“Sorry, no can do. He’s way out of my league.”

I groaned and lowered my head into my hands. Panic welled from deep inside my chest. I wanted this… creature …out of me. I wanted my life back. My gorge rose, and I wondered if I had a concussion after all. I swallowed hard, trying to force it all down, keep calm, keep sane.

How long did I have before Lugh found a way around my defenses and took me over completely? It seemed I couldn’t get enough oxygen into my lungs. I sucked air frantically, my heart racing as fear beat at me from all sides.

Adam was suddenly beside me on the bed. His hand fastened on the back of my neck and he pushed my head down between my knees. I tried to resist, but he was far too strong.

“Easy now, love,” he said, still holding me down. “Breathe easy. Don’t pass out on me.”

Passing out seemed like a really good plan at that moment. Until I remembered that when I was unconscious, Lugh had free rein.

I forced myself to slow my breaths. I closed my eyes, concentrated, visualized taking the roiling panic, shoving it into a steel safe, and slamming the door shut on it.

I wasn’t sure how long that safe would hold, but I seemed to be calming. Adam released his grip on my neck and rubbed my back vigorously.