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They’ll come for me next.” She tried to ease herself off of his lap, but he stopped her.
    He reached up and held her cheeks in his palms. “Now you listen to me. You are too much of a pain in the ass to give up before this show has played itself out.” One corner of her mouth lifted for a slight smirk. “And I can promise you, no one will get to you on my watch. No one. I know you’re scared right now. But can you put a little faith and trust in me to see this operation to a successful conclusion?”
    She shrugged. He sighed and dropped his hands. “Let’s go to the room and finish this discussion, because, my dear, there is a lot more that we need to discuss.”
    “Okay.” She wiped away the lingering tears and when she moved to get up, he let her.
    They climbed the stairs in silence, one step at a time, but he noticed Callie wincing each time she lifted a foot to the next tread. Without fanfare, he picked her up and cradled her in his arms while taking the rest of the stairs two at a time, and didn’t set her down until they were inside the bedroom area of the suite. He immediately went to the bathroom and ran the hot water. Leaning against the door jamb, he pointed to the shower stall.
    “Get in. It will do you a world of good. When you’re done, we’ll talk.”
    “Thank you.” She looked down at her feet and wrung her hands.
    “Don’t thank me yet.” He snickered. She looked up. “When I say talk, I mean, you’re gonna tell me everything you know. Full disclosure. It’s that or I hit the road, and you’re on your own.”
    She frowned. “What happened to ‘I told you I’d help you’? Seeing it through to a successful conclusion?”
    “I will see it through to a successful conclusion, on my terms. I won’t help any more, Red, without knowing exactly what we’re up against. Take as long as you need in there. I’m not going anywhere yet.”
    He closed the French doors separating the living room from the bedroom, strode to the door, opened it, and leaned against the railing. It was hot as hell outside, but even hotter inside. Having felt nearly every curve of her body through their clothing on the way over, he couldn’t help but imagine how they’d react under his hands, in the shower. Shit .
    He took out his cell phone, pushed number two on the speed dial and waited. “Hey, Joe! How you doin’? Can you meet me at the Sedona Suites on Main Street? I need to bend your ear on something. Five minutes. Great. And get ready to do some sparring. I got some wicked energy to work off.”
     
    ***
     
    “Hey, man, how you been?” Joe extended his hand and Nathanael shook it heartily.
    “Been better, but what else is new? How about you? How’s life been treating ya? I know you’re rehabilitating demons these days. Are they behaving?”
    “Not really. They all wanna stay evil for some reason.” He shrugged and laughed.
    “I told you you’d have a tough go of it. Not every demon has a conscience like you.”
    “That’s right. I’m special.”
    “You’re special, all right. Hey, thanks for coming. I wanted to run something by you. See what you thought.”
    “Shoot. You know I’m good for a little intrigue. So where are we working out?”
    “In here. Come on.” He opened the door to his hotel room. “Some shit’s going down with a woman I’m helping. It has to do with a mission I’m on. I need you to keep an eye out for any demonic energy above and beyond the ordinary around here. They seem to like you for some reason.” He laughed and threw a left jab, hitting his old friend squarely on the jaw.
    “It must be my pretty face.” Joe answered with a right hook that connected with Nathanael’s cheek. “What’s going on?”
    The two began sparring in earnest.
    “She knows where it is, Joe.” Jab. “The Elixxir. And someone wants it bad enough to blow up her apartment. I gotta convince her to tell me where the damned thing is and get it back to the Beyond or there could be big