Free Touch of the Angel (Demons of Infernum, #3) by Rosalie Lario Page A

Otherworlders?”
    “Straight shooter, aren’t you?” Trying her best to appear casual instead of starving, Amara spun and strolled forward into the room. She trailed her fingers along the small, round dining table as she passed. Once she’d taken a seat on the couch, making sure to keep her legs pressed together so she didn’t inadvertently flash anyone, she answered, “I don’t know.”
    Keegan’s lips tightened in clear displeasure.
    “Stop fucking with us,” Dagan growled, pacing toward her. “You can’t expect us to believe you’ve been blindly going around, killing whoever he tells you to.”
    “But that’s the truth.”
    “I don’t believe it—”
    “Amara.” Ronin edged past his brother and took a seat on the chair closest to the couch. Then he leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees. “We need to know what he’s up to. Whatever your reason for working with Asmodeus, I sense there’s some good in you. Now please, tell me what you know.”
    She stared at him, feeling herself weaken. She couldn’t help it. Everything about him called to her. Not merely in a physical way, though there was much of that, too. But she felt a pull toward him she’d never experienced with anyone else.
    Or maybe you’re just starving and he’s a yummy snack.
    Amara carefully crossed her legs, all too aware of how few clothes she wore. Not such a big deal when she was hunting down an assignment in a darkened club. Less than ideal, however, in a lit room occupied by Ronin and his brothers.
    Ronin speared her with an intense gaze. “Amara.”
    She feared those eyes of his might talk her into doing anything. Breathing in deeply, she confessed every sordid detail. “I really don’t know what he’s doing. He gives us assignments. Men we’re supposed to seduce. I don’t know how or why he picks them, but he’s found a way to take in the energy we absorb from our assignments.”
    That got their attention.
    “Why would he do that?” Keegan asked.
    “ How does he do it?” Ronin added.
    How?
    “Guess,” she said wryly.
    She saw the moment Ronin caught her drift. Unmistakable anger sparked in his eyes.
    “Wait a second.” Keegan stood in front of the round table and leaned against it. “You’re saying that Asmodeus has you seduce men in order to absorb their energy, and then uses sex to transfer that energy from you to him?”
    “What the hell?” Dagan’s brows knitted together.
    Amara shrugged. “I don’t know what his agenda is.”
    “If Asmodeus has figured out a way to absorb the life force you take, who knows what he might have learned to do with it?” Keegan said.
    That was the very thing she feared. Asmodeus did nothing without reason. What acts was she helping him commit?
    Ronin shook his head. “I don’t understand. Why?”
    “Things aren’t always clear-cut. I thought you’d know that, being a demon yourself.”
    His eyes dropped to his clasped hands and he practically whispered, “How many men have you killed for him?”
    Although it was clear he didn’t really want to know, she wasn’t about to hide it from him. “Dozens over the past several months. All different types of Otherworlders: fae, vampire, shifters.”
    “Dozens?” Keegan said in a strangled voice.
    Amara ignored him, keeping her sights set on Ronin. He swallowed hard, but he betrayed no other emotion. Whether that was good or bad, she didn’t know. Part of her wished she’d lied to him, told him there were only a few victims. Maybe then he wouldn’t hate her quite so much. But if the Council had discovered Asmodeus’s crimes, they would figure out how many men were involved sooner or later. Lying would only delay the inevitable.
    Better he knows now what a monster I am.
    Though he still didn’t know why.
    “Um...anyone else see a correlation between her timeline for killing all these dudes and the drop-off in steady work?” Dagan asked.
    Amara opened her mouth to ask what he meant, but Ronin stood before