“The books. Are they all the same? You said there were others. Is there another one we can get to? One that belongs to a demon that doesn’t know we’re coming?”

Jared and Kim traded glances.

“It’s not a bad idea,” Kim said.

“Waste of time,” Bex replied.

“Nigh, Shax’s book is the only one that we know of that has been brought to this plane. The others…we’d have to go to Hell to get,” Kim explained.

“So that’s out,” I said.

“Unless,” Bex began.

“No,” Jared said, cutting him off.

“Unless what?” I said, touching Bex’s arm.

“We could talk someone with access in to getting one.”

Jared sighed. “No one is going to do that, Bex, it would start a war.”

“Samuel would.” A small, amused smile touched Bex’s face.

“Enough,” Jared said, pulling into Cynthia’s driveway.

Kim stretched, and then patted my back side. “See you in class tomorrow.”

I shook my head in disbelief. She was so unaffected by it all.

The headlight of Bex’s motorcycle shuttered as Claire pulled into the drive. She was noticeably upset.

“What is it?” I asked, watching her place the bike on its kickstand.

She fidgeted, and then put her hands on her hips, looking down. Her long bangs fell into her eyes as she procrastinated. “I missed one.”

“Who?” Jared said.

“Kit Anderson.”

“That will be a problem,” Jared replied.

I frowned. “Who’s Kit Anderson?”

“Ryan’s partner,” Claire said, combing her hair back with her fingers, frustrated.

“You sure?” Bex asked, surprised.

“Ryan went to his house tonight,” Claire said. “Donovan called while he was there. Anderson was only on the phone for a moment, but it was Donovan.”

“What are you going to do?” I asked.

They all craned their necks at me.

Claire made a face. “What do you think, Nina? I’ve got to get rid of him.”

My mouth fell open. “But it’s Ryan’s partner. He just lost his whole unit. You’re going to kill his partner?”

“Better than you,” Bex said, climbing onto his bike.

“Where are you going?” Jared said.

“Home. I need to check on Mom, make some calls.”

Jared nodded, and then looked at me. “Let’s get you inside. You’re cold.”

I looked down at my ensemble: a coat over my robe, and tennis shoes. I’d been in such a hurry to ride along, I’d barely dressed. “Okay,” I said, following him inside. Jared had told me over a year ago that he could sense my feelings, but I would never get used to him noticing them before I did.

In my bedroom, I kicked off my sneakers and peeled off my coat, falling into the bed. Jared crawled into bed beside me, outlining my body with his. Sleep came quickly, despite the excitement of chasing after Shax.