Free Demon Crossings by Eleri Stone

her chair. “We’ll let you go if that’s what you decide but first we need to talk. I think we can both help each other out.”
    She was shaking her head.
    He touched her knee. “You don’t even know what you are.”
    That’s it. She stood and headed for the door. She wasn’t going to stick around and listen to this crap. People had been trying to fix her for as long as she could remember. No one moved except Aiden, who caught her arm before she’d taken two steps. “Sit down.”
    She tried to jerk free and his hand tightened. No way could she break that steel grip. She looked into his eyes but there was no give there either.
    “Please,” he said. “Sit.”
    He gave her a little tug and this time she didn’t fight it. She wasn’t ready to use her gun. If they didn’t let her go, she’d need a better plan of escape than bolting out the front door and running down the dirt road. She sat. Elin gave her a sympathetic smile. Fen grinned and looked pointedly at the shot glass. Grace shook her head. She wouldn’t eat or drink anything they gave her until she figured out what was going on. For now, she’d have to play along and see where it took her. Aiden pulled a chair up next to her.
    She lifted her chin. “So go ahead. I’m listening…you were talking about fire demons.”
    He ignored the taunt and started to speak again with irritating calm. “There’s a confluence of energy lines here that creates a weakness in the fabric of this world. When the energy levels flare, it’s possible to cross between dimensions.”
    That stirred a bit of memory. “Are you talking about ley lines?”
    “You have heard this before.”
    She scowled. “On TV. From fantasy books and sci-fi movies. You can’t really expect me to believe it.”
    “Should I have held on to the demon a while longer?” Fen asked. “Do you need another look? I thought one would be enough to convince you.”
    Grace turned to glare at him. “I thought you were getting rid of it.”
    He smiled. “I ran the carcass through the incinerator but we could probably scare up another. The gate’s been unstable lately.”
    “I don’t want to see another one,” she snapped.
    “Well, none of us do,” Rane put in. “But we can’t just ignore them. Let them go rampaging through town. You stopped that thing before it could find a little kid or some unsuspecting hiker.”
    Grace noticed Aiden staring at her hands and she gripped the armrests to stop them from shaking.
    Christian turned his attention from her to Aiden. “She’s scared shitless and stubborn as hell. She’s not going to listen to anything you have to tell her. Why not just let her ride with us tonight?”
    Elin frowned. “Tonight?”
    He reached out idly and stroked the back of her neck. “Full moon tonight. There’ll be another surge and—”
    “No.” Aiden’s tone was final.
    Christian raised his eyebrows. “She can ride with me if you’re worried she’ll be in your way. I can handle her.”
    Aiden stood. “I think that’s enough. Let her process this for now.”
    Fen shook his head. “Why bother? It doesn’t matter if she believes us or not if she didn’t track Maia like you said she did.”
    Aiden’s expression was guarded. “She did.”
    “Is it true, Grace?” Christian asked. She didn’t like his voice—too cultured, too smooth. A salesman…or a psychiatrist. Someone who lied for a living.
    She’d hedge her bets. It seemed a good idea to give them at least a piece of the truth, bolstering it with what Aiden would already know from his internet search. “I’m a private investigator from St. Louis. Maia’s grandmother hired me to find her. I tracked her here and was going to call—”
    “How?” Aiden interrupted. “How exactly did you track her?”
    She shot him an annoyed look. “The car. The neighbor recognized the father and wrote down the plates.”
    Aiden stared at her. “Bullshit.”
    “Someone always sees something,” she told him. “People