Chaos Rises: A Veil World Urban Fantasy Read Free Page B

the pier?”
    Allard’s smile faltered, just a flicker. I doubted Ramírez noticed. “Nearby,” he replied. “It’s not so bad.”
    My insides curled in on themselves. Stupid, I shouldn’t have told her anything.
    Ramírez looked at me again, and this time I did muster up a smile. Did she know what he was? She said she’d seen demons, but those that flooded into the cities when the veil fell were mostly lesser. Vicious beasts, yes. They were formidable in their vast numbers, like the wave of vitiosus had been. But there were also rare higher demons, demons who could craft themselves human vessels, who looked like people, talked like them, could live among them for centuries without anyone knowing. Allard was one of those.
    I schooled my expression, keeping any sign of panic off my face. “Thank you, Officer Ramírez.”
    “You’re going to be okay?” A slight inflection showed her concern. Perhaps she did know what he was. It didn’t matter. If she went for her gun, he’d break her neck without blinking. She couldn’t help me now. But I could help her leave here without knowing how close she came to her nightmares.
    I smoothed down my gown. “Yes. Fine.”
    “Well, if you need anything, look me up, okay?”
    “Uh-huh.” Not going to happen.
    She faced Allard, meeting his gaze for a few moments. Amiable concern had settled in his warm eyes, and Ramírez’s hard smile softened. He parted the curtain. She nodded her thanks and ducked outside. When the curtain fell, Allard turned his gaze on me, and a chill whispered against my bare legs.
    I’d already clamped my jaw so tightly my teeth ached. I stood, turning to face him in my ridiculous gown, and lifted my chin. He regarded me without saying a word, barely moving, running his gaze from my head to my toes. A trickle of fear spilled down my spine, as cool and sharp as ice water.
    “Well,” he said, low and dark. “You and your brother have given me the runaround this morning.”
    “You found Del?”
    Allard’s brow pinched, furrowing lines between his eyes. He hadn’t known Del was missing.
    My heart sank. “I can’t sense him. He’s not here.” If Allard didn’t know where Del was, that meant my brother hadn’t gone back to the pier. He hadn’t gone home. He was still out there somewhere with his meds wearing off. Did his demon have control?
    Allard watched me closely, scrutinizing my face, reading every line, every twitch, no matter how small. “Is there a problem?”
    He started forward, and my breath caught. Fear knotted my insides, yanking my thoughts in all directions. By the time he stopped in front of me, close enough that I had to look up, my teeth chattered, and adrenaline buzzed through my veins. But worse, my demon stirred, spilling tiny sparks of desire in among the fear, and stirring it all up into a heady mess of emotions that I hadn’t learned how to untangle.
    Allard curled his hand around the back of my neck. His touch was soft and curiously smooth for a man who appeared to be in his late twenties, but I still turned my face away, teeth clenched so damn hard that my eyes watered. He slipped his fingers up into my hair and then snapped his hand into a fist and yanked me almost off my feet. He bowed his head and inhaled, running my scent over his tongue.
    My heart fluttered like a frightened bird beating at its cage bars. I hated that I feared him, hated that while he held me close, while he breathed the smell of me deep inside him, his nearness aroused my demon, and he knew it.
    “Where is my vitiosus demon?” he hissed, his breath scattering gooseflesh down my neck.
    Oh, no . “I lost it.”
    He held me back, dangling me at arms length with his hand fixed in my hair, and I couldn’t do a damn thing to stop him. I was as limp and helpless as the vitiosus I’d caught hours before.
    “Well then, half blood, you’ve failed.”
    He let go, and I crumpled against the cabinet, grateful I hadn’t fallen to my knees. “I’ll