Roth pondered the building, no doubt remembering the fateful night that led him here and into Corinne’s arms.

“Roth.” I leaned forward to try and catch his gaze.

He stared at the crumbling façade, perhaps seeing past it.

I ran a hand down his arm, smoothing the fabric as I tried to soothe him. He seemed to soften at my caress, finally looking into my eyes. I reached up to his face, cradling it with both hands. It felt so good to touch him, and I would do anything to quell the sadness that filled his heart.

“It wasn’t your fault.”

He covered my hands with his own. “I wish that were true.”

“It is true. You didn’t kill that girl.”

Had he been a cad? Absolutely. But he didn’t murder the girl.

“She didn’t die by my hand, but it was my actions, my need for the flesh that killed her.”

A true demon would never feel pity or remorse. Roth was an honorable man, fighting off the demon’s baser instincts. Roth was linked to the incubus, but that wasn’t all he was. He could be gentle and kind, not ruled by the demon as I’d once thought. His anguish was tangible, the car becoming a few degrees cooler for each minute of his tale until I could see my breath. He loathed the incubus, but the two couldn’t survive without each other.

I moved my hands so they were grasping his. “I want you to listen to me. That poor girl was killed right in front of you by a monster who would blame his crime on your indiscretion. You didn’t kill her. He did.”

Roth brought my hands up to his lips and kissed them. “You are so kind.”

Dread settled in my stomach like a boat anchor. I wasn’t kind at all. I was calculating. At the thought of my impending betrayal, I withdrew my hands and settled back into the seat. Now I was the one who was studying the architecture, the car, the sky—anything to keep from looking my victim in the eyes.

A blast of cold erupted from Roth as he put the car in gear and sped away from the curb.

I fell into my thoughts, all of them beyond conflicted. Could I turn him over to Ares? I was beginning to doubt it. Only problem was, at this point, it was Roth or me. Completely screwed. The dream of Ares had spooked me so badly that I knew I couldn’t return to him empty-handed. The thought of returning to him at all made me want to vomit. Time was running out, and if I didn’t come to him, I was certain he would come for me. I was still wrangling with my thoughts, trying to create some sort of alternate plan, when the car emerged from an alley and parked in front of Red-Handed.

“What are we doing here?”

“I have some business to transact.” Roth climbed from the car. “Stay here until I return.” With that he slammed the door shut behind him, and strode into the club.

Though I knew doing as he said for once might get me in his good graces, I wasn’t about to sit here and wait for something to jump me. I’d had enough of that the last time I visited the club. I headed for the closest alley to stake out the higher ground. Thankfully, the bouncer had been busy booting a rage demon who was encouraging bar fights simply from his presence, so I was able to take position without being seen.

“Aw, bro. That ain’t cool. That’s like, discrimination.” The rage demon paced around in front of the bouncer.

He should have been booted on the basis of his Ed Hardy T-shirt alone. The warlock bouncer was equally unimpressed, hocking a huge wad of snot onto the pavement at the demon’s feet.

The warlock only shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest. After a litany of expletives, the unwelcome demon huffed off into the night. I smirked at the retreating skull-roses-barbwire heart montage.

Almost an hour passed without so much as a hint of Roth de Lis, and I had half a mind to walk home. It was probably for the best anyway. Seeing any more of Roth’s softer side would likely make me go insane thinking about what Ares would do to him. I’d made the decision to foot it out of the alley when two witches burst out of Red-Handed, half-naked and lit. I leaned back into the brick wall, enjoying the drunken amusement the night had just provided. I’d do just about anything to take my mind off Roth.

The witches stumbled all over the warlock, who didn’t mind the attention. Things were going fine until a male came out the door after them, draping an arm over each witch before whistling for the valet to bring his car. Then he was getting a handful of the women, tonguing one before turning and doing the same to the other. Pig.

I was sick of the display and turned to retreat out of the alley until I heard something that made my hackles rise.

“Come on, my hotel room isn’t far, sweetheart.”