"Valka." He paused, unsure of how that name sounded. "I'm the son of an inquisitor, born from a long line of inquisitors. I've killed a lot of your kind, and that's not something I can take back. In a few more decades, I'll die. You will barely even notice the years passing. If I follow you to Iowa, I'd feel like I'd be stepping all over Mei's memory, and that's just not right."
"The dead don't care."
He shrugged with just one shoulder. "The living do."
Dahlia ran her thumb over the key. "I died a long time ago. I spent centuries alone before I found another like me. The afterlife is a very lonely place filled with too many memories, Thane, and the longer I'm around, the more of them I get. It's been nice having something to distract me. Mei made living feel worthwhile, and I feel like you can understand that."
Gently, he turned her head, making her look at him. "What do you want, Val?" That version of her name fit. "I'm trying to do the right thing here, and you're all over the place."
Dear God, those blue eyes of hers were evil. He watched them waver, looking so damned human as they grew damp and shiny. She tried to look away, but he wouldn't let her. Right here, right now, they were talking about starting something that would mean the end of both of them. He wasn't going to take hints and half spoken bullshit.
"Just tell me," he begged. "If you hurt my feelings, I'm pretty sure I'll get over it. I've only known you what? Three fucks? Four, counting last night."
She tried to laugh, but failed. "I'm scared. The Inquisition won't just let me go away."
"I'm gonna do everything to convince them you're still in the Abyss."
"Ok."
That sounded like a decision, so he leaned back. "Ok. And you'll be fine. I'll make sure you always have a way to survive, and my mom left me a very healthy inheritance. If you lose the cards, I dunno, we'll set up an email or - "
Before he could finish, she blurted out, "Come with me."
"What? Val. I can get more from where I am."
She nodded, but slowly. "I know. Fuck it all. Come with me. They'll kill you and it'll be my fault. Maybe you'll hate me after a few weeks and turn me in, but fuck it. Just come with me? Let's make these assholes pay, and do it together?"
Once again, the vision of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia trickled through his mind. "How about I meet you there? You drive up, rent a nice, cheap little apartment, let me know where, and I'll make some excuse to leave. I've got some time off I'm owed and a lot of excuses for why I need a break. If you don't text me a number, I won't show up. If you do, then I'll fly in. We'll find a way to fuck these assholes up, but I have one condition."
"Ok?"
He answered in a rush. "I'd rather my brother didn't die. If he has to, please don't let me see it?"
Dahlia pushed herself to her feet. "I promise, Thane. That's why I didn't kill him. I'll make sure no one else does either."
She sounded so adamant that he kissed her. It was the only way he could think to make sure she knew how much that meant, and she took it. When he felt her tongue against his, he knew he was a fool. He'd just crawled in bed with the enemy, and it was so damned nice. She would use him, abuse him, then spit him out broken, but he'd get his revenge. Of that he had no doubts. There was no way Dahlia would let any of them live - probably not even him.
It would still be worth it.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
THANE
He parked the rental car before the massive building and turned it off. Then he sat, unable to convince himself to walk in. Like so many other churches, this one was massive, decorated with stained glass and cheap stucco. Above the door was some saying in Latin about protecting the innocent. Thane read it twice.
Maybe there wasn't a God. Maybe there was. Either way, what they were doing was wrong. Most branches of Christianity denounced the inquisitions and witch hunts. Most of them, but not his. They were proud of the destruction. Sitting behind a pair of doors that declared they stood up for the innocent, these men committed genocide. Maybe Dahlia was right and heaven was just a dream to make people feel better, but right and wrong still existed.
Which was why he had to do this. By now, she was halfway through Oklahoma. Even if she refused to call, at least he'd know she was alive. Each charge she made would prove it, and she'd be a fool not to take his offer as easily as she'd taken his name.
Valerie Keegan. Thane and Val Keegan. It sounded a little too good. He could imagine introducing her as his wife, with none of these idiots any wiser about what she really was. So long as she never touched a ward, there would be no way to tell she was anything but human. He was pretty sure none of the priests would ever step into their bedroom.
Realizing the way his mind was running, Thane yanked the keys from the ignition. The fucking succubus had just turned him into a damned hormonal bitch, daydreaming like that. He snagged his cell from the console and climbed out, shutting the door a little harder than he probably needed to.
Inside, the main part of the church was quietly busy. The lights were soft and comforting. The confessional booths at the side were open. That was why he was here. Glancing at the clock on his phone, he headed in the other direction. He had five minutes to waste, and this certainly was not something he intended to confess to anyone besides the Bishop - or Cardinal if he had to.
Thane swiped at the screen, hoping to see a message he'd missed. It was stupid. He'd told her not to contact him for a week, but he still hoped. Granted, knowing Dahlia, she wouldn't even think about him until she was settled in - if even then.
"Thane Keegan." The man's voice just behind him was startling.