So Thane leaned closer. "Bishop Daniel, I want to see that demon sent back to Hell. I want to know that she'll never hunt me again. She made a mistake when she came into our area, and I want the Devil to learn that we do not give up."
"Good," the man almost purred. "Go back to work. When we're ready to deal with them, I'll let you know."
"Thank you, sir," Thane said as he stood.
He walked out of the room without looking back, but his heart was beating just a little too hard. That was close. Too close. How long had they been following him, and did they know about the club? If they asked, how would he explain that? No, Mei had been moving around the building. She could feel the wards.
Which meant that those two had their own way of checking for inquisitors. Hopefully, it was a sign that the Church had no idea what he was doing. The only problem was that Thane didn't really know either. All he knew was that he couldn't keep his hands off that woman.
Something about Dahlia was impossible to resist. He had a very bad feeling that it was going to be what got him killed.
Chapter Twenty
THANE
Thane once again made the trek back down the halls of the church toward the hunter's area. He was just over halfway there when the sound of a man clearing his throat made him look over. Standing in one of the cross halls was his brother. Lifting a hand, Laird crooked a finger, clearly summoning Thane to follow him.
All he could do was sigh and obey. Laird didn't say a thing, merely led Thane through the winding corridors of the Church of the Holy Inquisition. Just when Thane was sure he'd walked across the entire building, Laird stopped to open a door, gesturing for Thane to go first.
What he stepped into was a small private space. The walls were boring and white. Images of God and Jesus adorned everything, along with a rosary hanging from the corner of one. A few books were laid out on the small table in the corner, the bed was made, and there were no dirty clothes thrown around. In other words, there was nothing at all to make this space feel personal.
"Your room?" Thane asked.
"Yeah," Laird said as he closed the door, making their conversation private. "And I want to know what the fuck you're doing."
"No," Thane assured him. "You really don't."
"Well, tell me anyway," Laird demanded. "I got my ass chewed yesterday because my brother was going down the wrong path, so I think I deserve at least a heads-up."
"I have a vampire hunting me," Thane told him. "Seems that my date with a real nice lady was crashed by a demon, and I didn't have a clue."
Laird's eyes narrowed. "I don't buy it. Maybe she doesn't set off your wards. Maybe you can bullshit everyone else in this place, but I've known you since you were born, Thane. What the fuck is going on?"
"It was completely innocent," Thane assured him. "I had a date. Cora picked the place. I was trying to get the succubus out of my head, so I picked a woman who was nothing like her. We talked, ate fried pickles, and discussed her damned cat. Look, I was honestly thinking I was doing the right thing. My team leader knew about it because I'd kinda matched with the girl while I was here."
"Ok..." Laird made it clear he knew there was more.
"Dahlia was at the bar. The blonde. I didn't notice her at first because I was trying to make sure I could match the picture to the woman I was supposed to meet. But when we were talking, I kept seeing the back of her hair, and it looked like her. Eventually, she turned, and I was sure of it. The whole time, Dahlia was watching something across the street, so she didn't notice me there either."
"Until?" Laird asked.
"She went to the bathroom," Thane said. "This is where you get to decide how far into my bullshit you want to go, because it's a mess."
"All the way," Laird assured him.
Thane nodded. "Ok. I walked into the ladies’ room, chasing her. I barely made it inside before she jumped me. And by that, I mean throwing me across the room. I managed to shove her off, she came at me again, and we kinda beat the shit out of each other. I can't stop her, though. She's just as strong as I am, and that's even when I'm pulling from the power of God. Well, one thing led to another, we realized it was nothing but a coincidence, and uh, I kinda made sure she had enough life to get out of there."
"Instead of putting a stake in her?" Laird asked.
Thane nodded. "And in full disclosure, it wasn't the second time I saw her. I was at a club about a week after she killed those priests. Guess who walked in? Both of them. I was hitting on this girl, and Dahlia walked up and sat right on my lap."
"And you let her?" Laird asked.
"Well, she pulled my dick out first," Thane admitted.
Laird closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose, and pulled in a long breath. "You fucked a vampire?" he hissed.
"Since you have no idea what sex feels like, I don't think you're in a position to judge, bro," Thane shot back. "Yeah, she fucked me in the middle of that club and we traded answers. She didn't know about hunters, Laird. She can touch the cross because she doesn't believe in God. Not even when she was alive. She said that priests used to be found and indoctrinated or killed as witches."