Page 71 of Ghost Hunted

“I’ll come with you too,” she says.

“Fuck that. I’ll get you a babysitter, pet.”

I roll my eyes. “Maybe you could’ve left her in Devil Tower, then, if you were too scared to have her out and about.”

“There’s no way I’m leaving her for a day, let alone however long we’re going to be here. Especially with the baby due soon.”

“I want to go out with you,” she insists in a firmer voice, but he merely pats her on the back patronizingly.

“How long are you planning on staying in Paris anyway?” I ask.

He shrugs. “However long it takes.”

“Do you think it’ll take a long time to find her?”

He stares at me for a beat before his brow clears. “No, no. I’m not looking for Lia. I’m looking for the Prices, those fucking bastards. Remember I told you they were dealing Memoril? Well, their headquarters were in Paris. I’m hunting down everyone involved in their double-crossing shit and giving them the gift of slow, painful deaths. You know, just everyday Devil business.”

“I don’t believe it for a second,” snaps Seraphina. “You’d never have come to Paris just for everyday business. I don’t know why you’re getting your hands dirty with the Prices when you could just send some of your minions over...”

He yawns. “I mean, involving myself directly feels like the least I could do. After all, I did kill the Price heiress.”

His words sit in the room for a minute before their meaning sinks in.

“Wait, Damien... you don’t mean you killed Anna Price all those years ago?”

He grins. “How’s that for a fun fact, huh?”

“You were just fifteen, Damien,” I tell him. “That’s crazy. How the hell did you get in Moretti’s good graces after... oh.” I shake my head in disbelief as everything clicks. “So that’s how we got in good with the family, huh? Moretti is the one who asked you to kill his wife. You fucker.”

His lips curl into a satisfied grin. “So, yeah. I figured putting a stop to the Prices’ double-crossing shit was kind of a personal thing.”

I’m about to answer when Seraphina insists, “No, that’s not why we’re here. We’re here because of Jane, aren’t we?”

I bolt up, but Damien’s annoyed glare tells me Seraphina got it wrong.

“You sure have gotten mouthy, lately, haven’t you, pet? What happened to my submissive girl? And no, it has nothing to do with Jane. I’m very sorry you’re going through all this, Logan, but Seraphina, you need to stop harping about it.”

“I just think...”

“I don’t care what you think. I understand you’re a woman, with womanly feelings, but...”

“Shut up!”

She claps a hand over her mouth as my eyes widen. I’ve never heard her lash out like that. And by the looks of it, neither has Damien.

“What I mean,” she says hastily, taking advantage of Damien’s shocked silence, “is that I can’t understand how you’re giving up without being completely sure that the baby you found under Devil College is really Logan’s daughter.” She blinks back tears. “When I think about that child being ripped away from her mother...”

“Ah, so that’s what it is,” grins Damien, looking relieved at finding an explanation for her outburst. “It’s the pregnancy hormones, isn’t it?”

“If the pregnancy hormones are to blame, it’s only because they’re showing me exactly how stupid you are!” A moment later, she’s pressed her hand to her mouth again, and the words, “I’m sorry, Damien,” come out muffled from under it.

But he doesn’t look angry or surprised anymore. “Pregnancy brain,” he tells me. “That’s all it is. As soon as the kid is born,” he adds, running his hand over her round stomach, “she’ll go right back to being my sweet, submissive, knife-wielding pet.”

“Seraphina has a point,” I say wearily. “I don’t see how the corpse they found couldn’t be my daughter. But if there’s even a chance, then maybe... What state were her bones in?” It feels horribly strange to speak that way about the baby. “Do you think a DNA test could be possible?”

“Well, there’s only one way to find out. I’ll talk to Everest about it. But Logan,” he adds, a flicker of concern in his eyes, “I think you’re setting yourself up for more pain.”

“Yeah, probably. Well, you know how it is... twenty-seven bones and all.” I grunt as I try hopelessly to stand. “I really need to start looking for Lia.”