My breath slipped from me in a puff of sound. It was hard not to be flattered. All of this to make good on his promise to me? Trent was still a murdering drug lord, but he had honor. Not to mention a huge disrespect for innocent lives.

“If I can curse Ku’Sox and dump him in the ever-after, then we can all go back to being who we want to be,” I said, then mentally added, Sort of. I’d still be a day-walking demon, but at least I would be in reality again. Vivian’s expression eased, and I added, “I’m tired of being nice, though. If you ever screw me over again or piss me off, I’m letting him out.”

“That’s blackmail!” Oliver exclaimed.

Stiffening, Pierce turned to him, but before he could say anything, the van stopped with a tight squeal of brakes. My hand went out to stop my momentum, but Pierce was faster, holding me back from falling on Vivian. As one, we all looked to the front.

The unassuming-looking driver had unbuckled his seat belt and turned to us. His face was thin, and his expression from under his straggly brown hair severe. And his eyes…had gone vampire black. I shivered, feeling an ancient force take over the car, vampire incense filling me to overflowing. I stifled a shiver, a hand against my neck. Shit, this guy wasn’t a driver. This guy was I.S. Inderland Security.

“Oliver,” the man said, his voice causing ripples of sensation across my skin, “we at the I.S. think you’ve fucked this up far enough. If Rachel permanently eliminates the threat of this day-walking demon, no one will care if she’s the queen of the damned and eats live kittens for breakfast in front of kindergarteners. You will leave her alone, or you will find yourself disgraced.”

“Who the hell are you?” Oliver spouted, red faced, but he was scared. So was I.

Vivian flicked her eyes from Oliver to the driver, inching away from Oliver. Pierce, too, was staring with openmouthed awe. I just wanted to get out of this car before the vampire toxins sunk in my neck had me throwing myself at the guy. He was a living vampire, seeing as the sun was still up, but he was channeling a dead one. A really powerful, really old dead one.

“I’m your downfall, Oliver,” the man said, and I shivered. “If you push, I will be on you with bodies in your pool and satanic symbols etched into your children’s foreheads. But if all you put your faith in is titles, then I am the acting head of the I.S. west of the Mississippi, and as it stands, your coven is useless.” His eyes went to mine, and a small sound slipped out. “You need to replace them with people not afraid to get dirty for the greater good.”

I didn’t think he was talking about the rock dust, and I smiled, letting it fade when he glanced at me.