Cary tightened her grip on the steering wheel as Blinkie pressed up against her, licking Levi across the face. Levi squirmed in his seat, scowling.

Her lips pinched, blocking the river of insults dying to pour out at Levi. She kept reminding herself that Levi was just a good guy terrified of what he didn’t understand. She couldn’t have told him earlier. Didn’t he see that? He would have tried to kill her.

“Make it stop.” Levi wiped his cheek in the passenger seat, a scowl capturing his brow. “Has Bunky got acid for saliva?”

“It’s Blinkie. And I think he likes you. Though I have no idea why.”

Levi cut her a glance with raised eyebrows.

“Nice boy, Blinkie,” she said. “Lick him to death.”

The clock on the car glowed 4:55. Morning darkness spread across the road. A lack of sleep had her swerving over the pavement, but thankfully no one else was out at this ungodly hour. Coffee. She craved a potful. Up ahead, she spotted a diner with lights on, calling to her like a beacon. Her father had brought her here many times before when they visited a friend who owned a warehouse nearby. Even though she was quite young at the time, she remembered the place well and the huge stack of pancakes she polished off.

Blinkie bumped her shoulder as he shoved himself onto the middle console, half his body sticking out between the front seats, his front paws in Levi’s lap.

Levi snorted as he shoved Blinkie back with a hand, but it wasn’t working. Even with his back pressed up against the door, Levi was pinned down in his seat.

Blinkie kept licking his cheek. Then Blinkie’s tongue lengthened, wrapping around Levi’s neck. That was new.

“Get it off me!” Levi’s voice wavered, his fingers prying at the invisible tongue, his eyes wide with horror.

Cary nudged Blinkie’s rump to get him to stop and swerved across the road in the process. “Maybe you two should get a room,” she teased.

Thankfully, she wasn’t going to be kissing Levi any time soon. Bet if he offered, you’d jump him, dog slobber and all.

Shut up.

He wiped his face while pushing the hellhound back. “Get off, Blinkie. It’s got a taste for me, Cary, and not in the good way.”

Cary smiled to herself and parked in front of the diner on the main road. With the engine switched off, she climbed out. “I doubt you’re Blinkie’s type.”

The hellhound scrambled out, and so did Levi.

Levi wiped his T-shirt sleeve over his face. “It’s not funny to let a bloody hellhound lick me. Who knows what demonic bugs it has.”

Blinkie grumbled.

“You won’t catch anything. Relax.”

“If he does eat me, remember, I called it.” Once inside the diner, Levi made a beeline for the men’s bathroom.

Baby.

Fifteen minutes later, with a cup of black coffee in hand, Cary leaned against the cushioned seat across from Levi, who was devouring his second grilled cheese sandwich. A few minutes eating something in the dinner wasn’t going to kill them. Blinkie sat under the table, huddled up against Cary’s legs. His fiery touch was like an electric blanket switched to hotter-than-Hell.

Dimly lit, the diner was the size and shape of a locomotive, with only one other customer, a guy in the far corner shoveling scrambled eggs into his mouth. The scent of grilled meat permeated the air. The waitress set a plate of deep fried chicken wings and waffles on the table.

“Hungry?” Cary asked.

Levi shrugged and stuffed half a wing into his mouth.

She took a waffle drenched in maple syrup and ate it in four quick bites, then helped herself to a grilled sandwich, leaving one more for Levi. It was greasy, but delicious, since the last meal she’d eaten consisted of a granola bar. In comparison, this tasted heavenly. Wiping her fingers on a napkin, she sipped her coffee and kept snacking on Levi’s food until her stomach was certain to explode. Levi polished off the last wing.

“Glad to see a girl not eating like a bird,” he said.

She shrugged, then caught the glint from the silver chain around his neck.

“So,” she said. “After Argos took your dog tags, did you demand them back from Brent?”

Reclining in his seat, Levi stared at Cary, probably trying to decipher if she deserved to hear his story. He shifted in his seat and guzzled back his coffee.

“Shit, yeah. Brent wouldn’t give them up.”

“Those bastards. I’m not fully surprised, though. Especially after finding the dead bodies in the lab.”

“Brent said they would return them after I paid my debt. Whenever he decides that is.”

“You should have told me before.” Cary grinned. “I would have done more damage to Argos’s building to make them pay. Could have got Tasha to crash their systems. Paint blood on their walls. Reset all their computers to Windows 95.”

Levi didn’t smile, but pulled the chain out from under his top and ran a finger across the bumpy surface. “These mean the world to me.” He tucked them away and glanced at something behind Cary.

“Keep those tags safe. I wish I had more from my father.”

Levi pushed the empty plates away and shuffled out from the booth. “We should get going.”

If he’d been distant before, now he might as well be on Pluto. She shouldn’t have pried into his business and hated the pain crawling behind his eyes. Not even Blinkie on his feet and nudging his head into Levi’s thigh distracted him.

He dropped the cash on the table and walked away across the diner.

Cary climbed to her feet as a sudden chill fill the room. Her breath turned to mist. Dread licked the length of her spine, and Blinkie growled.

She spun to find four guys entering the diner. Each sported a silvery aura, dressed in jeans and leather vests dotted with badges. Great, the biker’s brigade—Underworld Chapter.

Levi halted halfway across the room and backed up against the counter, reaching for Noose on his belt.

Cary’s mind screamed at her to attack now. Three against four were good odds, and after her night, she was in the mood to kick ass.

Their sights shifted from Levi to Cary and halted on Blinkie. The bearded one mouthed the word hellhound, his face paling.

Yep, drink it in boys.

The toothy frown splitting the skinny man’s mouth confirmed it, while the one with a long, biker-style beard cracked his neck.

The air in the diner thickened. She could carve through it with a dessert spoon. Lasso in hand, she clicked the clasp and the noose opened. Bring the fight on.

Blinkie’s hair bristled into an explosive mass of black fur, lips peeled back over fangs.

“Look, boys,” Levi said. “Let’s take this out back.”

Mr. Skinny shook his head, his yellow eyes glowing.

“We got word you were heading this way.” Mr. Skinny belched. “Others are on their way. Wasting their time. You’re mine.”

The trucker in the corner stood and faced Levi. “Need a hand, buddy?” But when his gaze landed on the four pairs of eyes targeting him, he froze.

“Unless you want your spine removed today, leave,” Mr. Skinny growled.

“Fuck this.” The man dashed outside through the back exit.

Levi waved a hand to the waitress to leave. No doubt she’d call the cops.

“Didn’t realize one was just a human.” The stubby one’s gaze slicked up and down Levi’s body. The demon’s tongue flicked in an out of his blackened mouth as if he was a damned snake.

Anger surged through Cary.

Levi stepped forward, but it was Blinkie who made the first move. Nails scraping linoleum, he lunged. He crashed into Mr. Skinny, forcing him and another at his back, against the wall. Framed photos tumbled to the floor, glass shattering. Blinkie snapped his mouth toward the two demons beneath his paws.

Levi charged Mr. Beard, leaving Cary with the brute with the long nose: Lizard Man.

He bolted toward her. At the last second, she vaulted sideways, ducking a swinging arm. She spun, but had the back of a chair swung at her, colliding with her stomach. Air gushed from her lungs. The lasso fell from her grip.

She caught a glimpse of Levi clasping Noose around a demon’s neck. Blood drenched his arm. Damn, Levi was fast, even when injured. Then she spotted them: Five more bikers, covered in tattoos and silvery auras, heading toward the diner from the front door near the counter. Oh fuck.

“Levi, behind you!”

Cary dove for her lasso, but Lizard Man snagged an arm around her throat and heaved her upright, her back jammed against its chest. He gripped one of her arms. With him pressed up tight against her, she couldn’t reach the vial of holy water in her back pocket.

“Everyone’s been bragging about what they’ll do with your pretty little body when you return home,” he whispered and licked her ear.

Her flesh crawled. Home sure didn’t equate to Hell. “You’re going there first,” she spat out. Her foot slipped forward to reach her lasso. An inch more.

Several feet away, Mr. Skinny slipped away from Blinkie and darted toward her. Cary froze. He snatched her free wrist and tried to drag her away, while Lizard Man tightened his grip and yanked her backward by the neck and released her other arm. He made a gurgling, foul sound as he hissed, “She’s mine.”

Cary thrust an elbow into Lizard Man’s gut. He stumbled away, and she broke free. But with Mr. Skinny still pulling on her, she stumbled toward him. She grabbed her holy water vial from her back pocket, popped it open, and splashed it across his face. The backsplash was a bitch, burning across her neck, but she’d live.

Swiping the lasso off the ground, she spun around and looped it around Lizard Man’s head as he crashed into her. He lay on top of her, his body convulsing as she pulled tight the lasso handle. Six seconds passed. She shoved him off her, batted away the moths, and retrieved the lasso. Her attention turned to Mr. Skinny, who was still trying to claw the holy water from his face. Blinkie ran in Levi’s direction, leaving behind a comatose guy near the wall, just as the five possessed bikers stormed inside.

Blinkie’s snarls echoed through the diner. He placed himself between Levi and the encroaching danger. Levi and Blinkie both retreated, sliding past tables and chairs toward her.

No time to finish Mr. Skinny.

Cary dashed for the door to the back, pushing it open. “Levi. This way.”

Levi and Blinkie raced after her, the biker demons on their heels.

Cary took the lead and bolted toward her SUV. Lesson one for escaping demons—always park near a road for a quick getaway. Lesson two—don’t get on their wanted list in the first place.

The clap of footfalls followed. With one click, her SUV unlocked. In a second flat, all three of them were in the car, the locks down, and her engine roaring awake. A bald biker slammed into her window, his hand grabbing for the door handle, while another jumper smashed a fist through the glass on the rear door.

Shifting gear into drive, Cary hit the gas and whipped away from the curb just as another demon collided into Levi’s window. “That was too close,” she said.

“Where the fuck did they came from?” Levi yelled.

Cary checked the rear-view mirror to see them running for the parking lot behind the diner. She glanced at Levi, who was pressing a hand to his forearm. So much blood dripped through his fingers and down his hand that she was surprised he hadn’t passed out yet.

Just because their situation wasn’t crappy enough. Thanks, universe.