Groggy and exhausted, I woke to Moira screaming down the house. Not literally, but she may as well have been. I rolled over in bed and groaned. Bandit chittered about, jumping from his hammock hanging over my head and onto the floor. He paced wildly back and forth, scratching at the door.

“Ugh…why me?” I moaned, unwrapping myself from my sheets. I’d slept like the dead last night and woken up in a sheen of perspiration. I was going to need a shower before I went into the shop today.

Throwing open my bedroom door, I dragged my mostly naked ass into the living room. “What in the devil’s name are you screaming about?” I asked, walking around the corner.

Rysten stood in the doorway with an extremely pissed off Moira. My best friend turned to respond, but lost the words once she saw me standing there in my underwear. I let out a frustrated growl and turned on my heel, ignoring the stark intensity that entered Rysten’s expression. I wasn’t a prude by any means, and took nudity in a pretty casual manner. Until you threw men into the mix. Bastards got a look of something they liked and never left me alone.

I dug through the never-folded pile of clean laundry sitting on the corner of my bed. At the very bottom was my black bathrobe. It was simple and cotton, definitely nothing sexy, and it would do the trick. I pulled on the robe and tied the sash at my waist as I walked back into the living room.

“Why is this asshole on our doorstep?” Moira demanded, like I was the one at fault.

“You think if I knew that I would’ve come around in my underwear?” I snapped back. She tilted her head to the side, narrowing her eyes as she considered that little detail for a moment before turning her anger back to him.

“What are you doing here, boy?” she asked him, not at all hiding her disdain at his presence. I nearly choked on the laugh that threatened to come out. Moira didn’t know that Rysten was Pestilence. She didn’t know he was a demon at all.

“I’m here to take Ruby to work,” he said, not hiding his smirk.

“No, you’re not,” Moira answered for me.

“Hey,” I protested. “I can answer for myself.” Moira narrowed her eyes at me. What’s gotten into her lately?

“Do you want him to take you to work?” she asked pointedly.

“Of course she does,” Rysten responded before I could get a word in. I swung my glare in his direction. “Don’t you, love?”

“No, I can’t say that I do,” I said hotly, stuffing my tongue in my cheek. I had mixed feelings where he and the others were concerned. It was my nature to want to play with fire, and four sexy and unbelievably powerful demons were just that. But. They also wanted to cart me off to Hell where I would probably die a terrible death once they realized they’d made a mistake.

“Now, love, I know this isn’t easy on you, but—”

Rysten was still speaking when Moira slammed the door in his face.

“Why is he following you, Ruby?” she asked me, turning her back on the door. Rysten had gone quiet, but not for a second did I think he was actually gone. Not if they really believed what they told me, and given their behavior, I had no reason to think otherwise.

My eyes strayed to Moira and I gave her a non-committal shrug. “You know how men are.”

“I do,” she said narrowing her eyes. “But he’s not human, is he?”

Well, shit. Maybe she did know a thing or two.

“No,” I said grimly. “He’s not.”

She nodded like that’s what she expected. “Have you slept with him yet?”

“No. I haven’t slept with any of them,” I snapped, realizing a second too late that I just gave away more information than intended. Shit.

“Them?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. I rolled my eyes, letting out a sigh of exasperation. There was no way she was going to let it go now that I let that one slip. Great job, Ruby.

“You remember the guy who bailed me out of jail?” She nodded slowly. “Well, he and Rysten work together with two other guys. The four of them came here for me because they have some crazy, delusional idea that I’m someone important. So, they think they need to protect me.”

“Well, who do they think you are?” she asked, her voice filled with skepticism.

“Lucifer’s daughter.”

Silence ensued as we stared at each other until she burst out laughing. I waited for her to get her giggles out, and then she said, “That’s a good one, but why are they really here?”

I stared blankly until her smile fell as the truth behind my words set in.

“They really believe you’re the king’s child?” she asked, like it only then occurred to her I might be telling the truth.

“It gets better,” I said stiffly, and the whole story came pouring out of me. I collapsed on the sofa, all hope of making it into the shop early dissipated as I told her about the Horsemen and how they wanted to drag me back to Hell now that Lucifer died, all so I could somehow prevent the apocalypse from happening.

“Wow. I don’t know what to say.” Her voice was punctured by shock and disbelief.

“That makes two of us.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know, honestly. They wouldn’t believe me when I told them they have the wrong person, but I have no intention of going to Hell just to prove them wrong.” I picked at a piece of lint on my bath robe while Moira studied me.

“Are you sure…”

“Am I sure what?”

“Are you sure there’s no way they may be right?”

I gaped at her, not even willing to entertain that thought. “Do you hear yourself right now? How is this even a question for you? You’ve known me most of your life. Have I ever come across as anything other than part-succubus?” My heart warbled in my chest while I spluttered the words.

“No,” she exhaled. “But that doesn’t mean you’re not. There’s always that chance your other half just hasn’t manifested yet—”

“Do you really think that if Lucifer had a child, they wouldn’t manifest before twenty-two?” I deadpanned.

Even she couldn’t deny that. “Okay, so assuming you’re not. What are you going to do about the Horsemen?” she asked as Bandit jumped onto the back of the couch and stuck his head through the blinds. Between the gap, I could see Rysten standing in the yard talking to someone on the phone.

“The way I see it, there isn’t much I can do. They’re going to follow me either way, and at least any other demons who think I’m Lucifer’s daughter might leave me alone while they’re around. I mean, they’re bound to get the hint eventually, right?” I said throwing my arm over my face.

Moira shifted in her seat. “Hmm…possibly. They’re demons, though, and when they take a liking to you…”

“That’s an if, not a when,” I pointed out, more for my own peace of mind than anything. I was happy with my life here. I didn’t want anything to change, but they made it clear they weren’t leaving me alone, even if I wanted them to.

* * *

Bandit perched on my shoulder, munching on a carrot, as I walked out the front door. I’d been planning on leaving him at home today, but every time I reached for the doorknob, he tried to claw his way up my legs to come with me. Needy. I knew if I left him home, he’d tear everything to shreds just to get back at me. He was vindictive that way.

Rysten stood in my driveway, leaning against my car. His sand colored hair hung in his eyes and he had his arms crossed over his chest.

“I take it you four aren’t leaving me alone anytime soon?” I asked as I approached the car. Rysten shook his head, the dark twinkle in his eye making my stomach do little summer saults.

“No can-do, love. You’re stuck with us now that we’ve found you,” he said, opening my driver’s side door.

“You’re not going to try to take my keys again, are you?” I asked warily.

He snorted. “I’m not Julian. Unlike Death, I realize that you’re independent enough to chafe if we try to do everything for you,” he said, a knowing twinkle in his eye. I swallowed hard and pretended not to notice the subtle brush of heat against my skin.

“Damn straight, I am.” I stepped around him and climbed in. The passenger side door opened, Rysten taking Bandit’s seat. He growled under his breath at his usual space being occupied by this stranger, but he settled in the back of the car as I pulled out of the driveway.

“Your friend. She’s not very fond of me, is she?” he asked. It was an abrupt change of subject. But given Moira’s reaction to him on two occasions, I wasn’t surprised he was curious.

“No. She’s not very fond of most men who won’t leave me alone,” I said honestly.

“But I’m not a man,” he pointed out.

“You’re male and you’ve been stalking me. Close enough,” I said with a roll of my eyes.

He chuckled under his breath, a dark and delicious sound. “It’s good she’s so protective of you,” he said. “Even without being full-blooded succubus, I can feel the draw. A lesser demon would be hopeless to resist you.” I swallowed hard, a question I shouldn’t ask playing on the tip of my tongue. “You’ll really be something when you come into your powers.”

“If I come into my powers,” I corrected. That earned another chuckle out of him.

“Oh, you will, love. Of that, I am certain.” He sounded awfully confident for someone who was going to be hellaciously disappointed. I glanced sideways, but there wasn’t a hint of the power or darkness I heard creeping into his voice. His glamor rippled when our eyes locked, and I quickly averted mine to the road.

“Why do you wear a glamor when the others don’t?” I asked.

“Because the others are idiots in some regards,” he said smugly.

“What do you mean?”

“What was your first thought when you met Allistair?” he asked. I thought of the brooding incubus. I’d known what he was from yards away, as much from the look in his eye to the way he moved. There was a raw power that radiated from him.

“He was”— I struggled to find a description that wasn’t embarrassing, like sex-on-a-stick. That probably wouldn’t earn me any points here—“intense.”

Rysten nodded. “What about Julian?”

“Well, I shot him, so…”

“Exactly. And had you not met Laran when trying to get rid of your admirer”—his nose wrinkled in distaste–“you would have felt the same.”

“That’s one word for Josh.”

“He’s not worthy,” Rysten said. Something about that response bothered me. It was almost territorial in a way, somehow implying he was worthy. I pulled into the parking lot behind the parlor and cut the engine.

Rysten brushed his thumb across his bottom lip, and I bit the inside of my cheek. While he was the most approachable of the Horsemen, he was still a demon, and a very powerful one at that.

“You still haven’t answered my question,” I said.

The corners of his lips turned up as he leaned forward. “Haven’t I, love?”

My gaze went from his lips to his face, where his eyes gave away that very faint inkling of the darkness I sensed in him.

Realization dawned on me. “Because you think I’ll let you get close to me just because you can make yourself seem more human.”

His answering smile had me both pissed off and turned on. He leaned in, only inches from my face, and murmured, “That’s what you’re doing, isn’t it?” His breath caressed my skin, drawing at the seductress within. I clamped down hard on my urges, fighting the lust unfolding inside me.

“No,” I snapped, pulling back. “It’s not.”

I practically spun in my seat and wrenched the door open, jumping from the car to get as much space between us as possible. How could I have been stupid enough to ignore the obvious? I was more frustrated with myself than I was with him.

Bandit perched himself on the edge of the driver’s seat and jumped towards me, wrapping his paws around neck. I put one arm underneath to support his weight and used the other to grip the car door.

Rysten tilted his head to the side as his glamor settled now that I wasn’t so close. A boyish smile appeared on his lips as he said, “It’s going to happen whether you like it or not, Ruby. You’re ours to protect, and we take care of what’s ours.”

I slammed the car door and strode away from him as the reality of what it meant to have the Four Horsemen after me truly set in. This was going to be a long week. They would protect me from anything they saw as a threat because of who they thought I was.

But who would protect me from them?