KnockingonDemon'sDoor by Unknown (ink ebook reader .TXT) 📗

it was worse than he thought. The bastard wasn’t just filming x-rated flicks, he was making snuff movies.

Fierce rage came on the heels of his realization. It prowled through his bloodstream and elicited a tremor from deep within. As chaos erupted inside him it became harder and harder to think. Jesus H. Christ, he’d seen a lot of shit in his day, but never had he witnessed anything so inhumane and barbaric. Like he’d always known, sometimes it was hard to distinguish who really was the monster.

“So you like what you see?”

Blake watched the way the bodyguards hovered nearby, ready to draw their weapons if Blake showed any sign of protest. He cleared his throat but also noted that his voice didn’t quite sound like his when he said, “What I see is money.”

Trevor nodded his approval. “Good. Your new job is to audition women. I’ve seen the way they watch you. Christ, they’re drawn to you like flies to shit.” When Trevor laughed at his own expression, the guards laughed with him. A show of respect, he presumed, for a man who deserved none. What he deserved was a life of pain and suffering and Blake wanted to be the guy to give it to him.

“I’m pretty good with the ladies,” Blake said, biting down on his temper. He would have exploded then and there, tearing the bastard to shreds, but that wouldn’t help him discover his sister’s whereabouts. And if he wanted to protect all the other unsuspecting women by putting a halt to Trevor’s productions, he had to play along. For the time being.

“We’re looking for women with little to no family, but if they’re really good,” he stopped to wink, and then added, “thanks to the coroner, we’re able to work around it. If you know what I mean.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean. I know exactly what you mean,” Blake said. Under the guise of anticipation, he gave a wicked grin and scanned the room, memorizing the layout in case he needed to draw on it later.

After they exchanged a few more instructions one of the guards herded them all back out into the long hallway, locking the doors behind them. Darkness had already fallen by the time Blake was guided back to the main lobby and given the understanding that he’d begin auditioning women immediately.

Trevor turned to him. “I’ll be away for the next few days. You can check in with Lex and Neal to let them know how things are progressing, and now that you’re on the team, we’re moving you onto the top floor, to our VIP suite.” He handed him a new keycard.

“My room is fine,” he assured him.

“Take it,” Trevor demanded. “Nothing but the best for all those working on my special project.”

When Blake reluctantly accepted the key card, Trevor nodded toward the underground entrance. “They’ll be waiting.” Before Trevor turned to make his way back to his office he added, “And we’ll be watching you, Ash.”

With those words of warning bouncing around inside his head, and fighting down a surge of rage, Blake made his way back to his old room to sort through matters. Had the bastards gotten their hands on his sister? Cass sure fit Trevor’s specific requirements. A low growl rumbled in his throat and he began to think, to strategize, to figure a way to shut down his operation for good. Not just for his sister, but for all those poor, unsuspecting women who’d gotten more adventure than they’d bargained for.

When Blake opened the door to his room, his skin prickled in warning. Two faint yet distinct scents curled around him. One was from a demon. The other was the enticing aroma of vanilla.

Preparing himself for a confrontation, his gaze darted around the small room, but his search came up empty. Blake stepped inside and closed the door behind him. The demon he couldn’t do anything about. It had probably tried to find itself a fix without having to go through the hassle of dealing with Blake. The bastard would find him sooner or later, when he was desperate for drugs, although Blake had never dealt heroin for them in the past, nor did he intend to do it now. What he did intend to do was drive that fact home in a manner the demon and its friends would never forget.

The vanilla, on the other hand…

If Blake disliked the thought of a demon invading his space, he hated the thought of a cop even more. Especially when he was now hip deep in something that could not only get his ass nailed to the wall, but leave him dangling there like a poster boy for fucked-up good intentions.

* * * * *

Except for a picture of a striking woman with physical characteristics similar to Ash’s, the search of his room turned up nothing. As Michelle committed the picture to memory she wondered if Ash was related to the woman. She replaced the picture, her mind racing, noting how familiar she looked. Was she one of the missing?

After a quick trip back to her own room, Michelle logged onto her computer to check through her reports. Less than a half an hour later she’d found the woman’s picture, and learned that Cassandra Smith had gone missing a couple of months ago. Her disappearance was reported by a man she’d dated only a few times while working at the resort. With no known family to contact, her file was simply added to the rest of the missing cases.

Michelle then proceeded to do a check on Blake Ashen. Shock watered her limbs. He had a rap sheet a mile long, which meant he’d walked the daylight hours of the mortal world for a very long time. A hot temper as a youth had earned him a place in a correctional center. Michelle spent an extra moment absorbing that tidbit of information. She had to admit, Ash’s clear, dark, straightforward eyes didn’t give him the look of a