"Just? Two?" Laird threw his hands up in defeat. "You fucking idiot. Are you trying to get yourself accused of blasphemy? Laying with the Devil?"
"That's only used on women," Thane tried.
"Because it's convenient," Laird huffed. "They will drop those charges on you if they think it'll stick. They'd heap everything on you if they had any idea you'd stopped to just talk to this thing. Fucking her? That's so far past the line. You aren't this stupid, Thane. Pull your head out of your ass and keep it together just a bit longer!"
But Thane caught the way he'd phrased that. "Why?" he asked. "What are they doing?"
"She headed west." Laird sighed. "They have the name she's been using, and they've tracked her backwards, so they have a clue what she's done since she's been here. Every hotel she's checked into, every time her ID has been run or recorded, they will find it. They have video of the two getting into a semi at a truck stop. It headed toward Fort Worth. They will find her, and when they do, you can be sure that they'll kill her."
"And the Bishop asked if I wanted to be in on it," Thane groaned, putting the pieces together.
Laird just let his head fall back in exasperation. "What did you tell him?"
"I said yes. I said I wanted to get revenge for her draining me. I said that knowing she's hunting me makes me very uncomfortable, and I want her dead. I'm not an idiot, Laird."
"You'd better not hesitate," Laird warned him.
Thane shook his head. "I already made that clear. I told her that if it comes to that, I'll kill her fast. She promised to do the same."
"Shit," Laird breathed. "You're in love with a demon?"
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Thane laughed. "I'm intrigued by her, nothing more. I also want to know how to stop them. I want to know what they are. I want to know who is right, and I'm pretty sure it's not our church."
"It's not," Laird admitted, "but it also doesn't matter. Being right, in this case, means being dead. I will not bury another brother."
"No," Thane assured him. "You'll just be the one picked to put the spike in me."
"As if that's any better!" Laird groaned.
"Which is why I'll stake her," Thane promised. "Or at least try, because I still can't beat her. Just be prepared for that to be the hunt I don't come back from."
Chapter Twenty-One
DAHLIA
Three steps forward and two steps back. That was how things had been going for them lately. Mei's ad was working well enough, and a few times a week, one or the other of them had a "date" with a man willing to pay for the privilege. No, they usually weren't the kind of lovers either woman wanted, but a meal was a meal, and cash was cash. Besides, prostitution was the oldest trade in the world.
But the cost of clothes, their hotel rooms, and all the other supplies they needed to blend into modern society spent almost as much as they made. Slowly, they were gaining, but it felt like it was taking forever. Between trying to be careful and avoiding the attention of the inquisitors, they'd been in this area for far too long.
This time, Dahlia had been the one to get the appointment. Sadly, Mei had been right. More sleazy men wanted to hire a delicate little Asian girl than a tall blonde. Mei had been out twice as many times as Dahlia in the last week. Sometimes it was a bust and the client didn't show. That had happened to each of them. Then there were men like this one.
He wanted to be rough, so Dahlia had let him. He'd slapped her around. He'd fucked her as cruelly as he could. When she'd finally had enough, Dahlia began to pull his life through their contact. Slowly at first, so he didn't notice, then more as he refused to stop hurting her, until the man had finally passed out.
Then she'd used the hotel shower, cleaned herself up, got dressed, and emptied his wallet. Not that he had much more than the cash to pay her. The only card he'd had was the debit kind, and this asshole didn't write his PIN on the back. She still got a hundred and fifty bucks from the ordeal. She was worth a hell of a lot more than that, but the extra would at least pay for a ride back to the truck stop where Mei was waiting.
Thanks to the hunters, they'd made a few rules. First, they never met the clients at "home" or got dropped off there. It was too easy to be followed - or have a hunter end up as the client. Second, they moved after each date, changing towns and hotels. That meant Mei had a backpack full of everything they owned. Third, they used new names.
She was "Candy" and Mei worked as "Keiko." No one noticed or cared that she was using a Japanese name, and if the inquisitors were looking for them, hopefully it would be one more thing to potentially throw them off. So far, it seemed to have worked.
The driver dropped Dahlia off at the front of the combination gas station, truck stop, and diner. The man double-checked that this was the right place and offered to take her somewhere safer, but Dahlia assured him she was fine. When she walked into the diner, there was Mei, sitting alone at a booth, sipping from a very large paper cup that said Pepsi down the side.
Dahlia lifted a hand. Mei smiled at the sight of her, then scooped up their backpack and slid out of the booth. Dahlia just waited at the door. The whole time she walked closer, Mei was looking her over, clearly checking for damage. Dahlia just rolled her eyes at her girlfriend, then dropped an arm over her shoulders once she was close enough. Together, they headed back outside.
"So," Dahlia said as they made their way to the side of the building, "he was a dick, and he's currently sleeping off his bad decisions. He also lost an extra fifty for his entertainment."
"So you did get a ride back," Mei teased. "Clearly, we're coming up in the world."
"Which means I have one-thirty left," Dahlia said, handing over a wad of bills. "What does that put us at?"