Free Demon's Caress: Demon Heat, Book 1 by Crystal Jordan Page A

ever done.” She croaked it as matter-of-factly as possible, knowing the human wouldn’t truly believe her anyway. None of them did. She swiped her free hand across her face, wiping away sweat and tears. “Both of you go. I’ll launch him. Don’t miss.”
    Kobal didn’t bother protesting about leaving her alone. They just did as they were told, floating out the filth-crusted, broken window at the top of the stairs and down to the ground. She leaned out to gauge where they landed as they flashed to physical form.
    Stepping back, she dragged Bruno along with her, both of them coughing and choking on the tear gas. She wiped her eyes again, flexed her knees, lifted Bruno, and launched him through the shattered panes. He screamed the whole way, and when it cut off suddenly, she winced and glanced out to see he’d been caught by her partners.  
    There was no time to breathe a sigh of relief—not that her lungs would have managed relief at that moment—because shouting and pounding feet rang on the stairs. She ducked as more bullets went flying, dispersing her body into the shadows. A shudder went through her as the pain ceased as swiftly as it had begun. The coughing cut off, no more fumes burning her eyes.  
    Leaping forward, she sped through the window and dropped straight to the ground, where she solidified. Her demons were already heaving their target into the next building—a darkened warehouse with hundreds of pallets stacked to the ceiling, packing material scattered across the floor. It would do. A few minutes of cover with no fumes or bullets or cops or mobsters was all they needed to get this done. Finally.
    Redness flushed Bruno’s flesh when they were inside, and he cursed and wrestled with the male demons. “I’ll have you all gutted. Slow and bloody. Better yet, I’ll do it myself, motherfuckers. I’ve done it before…my blade’s gonna mess up your pretty faces, and I’ll make you watch while I fuck your bitch.”
    He kicked out and managed to catch Kobal in the knee. His leg buckled, and Bruno broke for a door that exited on a wall away from the cops. Raum went after him, and the human swung an elbow back to slam the dark-haired demon in the nose. Blood gushed down his face, and he staggered back.
    “Shit,” Maron spat. She and Kobal both groaned. This was such a clusterfuck of a case.
    The conduit between her and Kobal opened, and he fed his power through her. Fire whipped out of her, a wave of red and blue flames dancing through the air. He let her take the lead and direct its flow. Lightning strikes hit the ground, driving Bruno back toward them. Then he was inside the ring of fire, and Raum threw his power toward her as well. The vortex of light snapped into place, multicolored flames flashing with forks of brilliant, blinding lightning.
    Darkness bled into the fiery funnel, and her ears buzzed from the amount of energy coursing through her body. She focused it, latching on to Bruno’s evil essence and wrenching it outward. It had never been so easy with someone so dark. It took seconds, mere heartbeats with their three combined powers. The vortex burst into a million shards of dancing, skipping light. She shuddered, blinking away the spots in her eyes. The putrid stench of his festering soul cleared from the air, and her belly unknotted for the first time in hours.
    Bruno was dead.
    Kobal bent forward and braced his hands on his knees. He angled a glance up at Maron and Raum. “Everyone okay?”
    “Yeah,” Raum replied, wiping his bloodied nose. Maron just nodded as everything that had happened tonight slammed into her at once.
    They had done it. Given her control, listened to her, obeyed her even when it went against their instincts. Something Shax would never, could never have done. She had doubted them, doubted they could follow her lead, and guilt washed through her. She had done to them what she feared they’d do to her—pushed them away, never trusting, never allowing them near.