Lethal Blow: (Succubus Hitwoman Book 2) by Eliza Hendrix (best motivational books to read TXT) 📗

waiting for me to blurt out some ingenious plan. There’s one problem though: I don’t have a plan. I banked on Rachel coming back with Zerachu and that together, we’d figure all of this out.

I’m willing to bet no one knows who’s behind all of this. Not even the Council of Elders. I think back to Clock Dragon’s reaction when I boldly asked him where Lucius was hiding the book. He thought I was messing with him.

Is that why whoever’s behind this decided to lock Zerachu up? What better way to cause chaos than to trap the Great Witch? If anyone would know what the hell is going on, it’s her. Either that, or she’d know how to fix this, which is a threat to the person orchestrating this mess.

“We should move forward,” Ace says, and I clench my teeth.

He must sense my hurt. The moment I make eye contact with him, he bows his head apologetically. “I’m sure Rachel is safe. She might be facing a few challenges, but that girl is a smart witch. She’ll make it back to us. Until then, though, we should use the Interruptus spell to our advantage.”

Twenty-four hours.

Or at least, that’s what Ace thinks our timeframe will be, based on similar spells used in the past.

I turn to Riskus, who watches us silently with no hint of emotion on his face. I’m sure deep down, he’s freaking out as much as I am, if not more. Rachel’s his master, and if she were here to correct me, she’d say his friend.

“Can you hold down the fort again?” I ask him.

He nods like a trained soldier, and Mr. Mushroom’s ears fold flat on his head.

“Thanks, Riskus. We’ll be back as soon as we can. If Rachel comes back, please keep her here until we get back.” I jerk my chin out at him. “And please don’t forget to feed Mr. Mushroom.”

The little demon nods again.

I shift my focus onto Ace. “Can you take us to the Jamieson Hotel?”

He gives me a look that surely translates to Are you sure that’s where you want to go?

I’m more than sure. There’s one way out of this. We must collaborate with the vampires. Whoever stole the artifacts needs to be stopped before this war gets out of hand, if it isn’t already too late, and if there’s one place to gather information on the vampires, it’s Jamieson’s place.

Right when Drax is about to open what appears to be a stale bag of potato chips, I say, “Can you take us there, or not?”

I’m tempted to question Ace about my new demigod abilities and whether I’ll be able to harness enough power to teleport the way he does. I mean, if my father gave him that gift, wouldn’t it be coursing through my veins, too?

But now isn’t the time to fantasize about being able to appear anywhere I want.

“Of course,” Ace says, straightening his muscular back. He extends two open palms and waits for Drax and I to grab them. The moment the warmth of his hand touches mine, our eyes lock, and I find myself staring at his juicy lips, his strong jawline, his round shoulders—

I’m about to lick my lips when everything disappears and we stumble into Jamieson’s office.

I stick a finger inside my ear and wiggle it to regain my balance. “I have to ask, Ace, how do you teleport to a place you’ve never seen before?”

For a second, my heart almost climbs up into my throat. What if he has seen this place before? What if he’s working with Jamieson? What if maybe, all along, I was wrong about Ace? I’m not typically wrong about anyone, but with him, I have my doubts.

Why? Because his sexiness clouds my mind.

I hate how we have such a strong bond. I met the guy a short time ago, yet it feels like I’ve known him my entire life. Well, I suppose maybe I have. All along, he’s been following me. Maybe it isn’t his intentions I don’t trust—maybe I’m too afraid of caring about him.

Fuck, I hate introspective shit.

He must sense my worry—he rests his large hand on my shoulder and says, “It’s an energy thing. It’s hard to explain, but I can feed off—”

Suddenly, another voice overtakes his, sending chills up my spine.

“Well, well, well.”

I spin around and my wrist blades come flying out of their hidden compartments. With fists clenched and posture hunched, I stand face-to-face with Jamieson.

What the fuck is he doing here? Feebles aren’t supposed to be on Earth—not after the Interruptus spell. He can’t possibly be fae, can he? We’ve had plenty of conversations about how much he hates demons and anything magical, and how if he had the choice, he’d burn them all alive.

It’s clear his anger comes from a place of hurt. Doesn’t take a psychologist to figure that out. But he’s never come out and explained to me why he hates them so much, and I haven’t questioned it, either. It was more important for me to keep my true identity hidden from him than to try to understand his.

“How—” I try, but nothing comes out.

“What’s the matter, Alexis? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

This doesn’t make any sense. If he were fae, I would have sensed it. What kind of bullshit is this? Is he a hologram? I mean, I wouldn’t put it past him. The guy has more money than every bank in San Halos. Then again, he also owns them all. If he wanted to create an illusion of himself, he’d have no trouble hiring the best of the best.

I flare my nostrils. “What are you doing here, Jamieson?”

He steps slowly toward me, his shiny leather shoes ticking against his spotless office tiles.

I bend my knees, prepared to lunge