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was eyeing up Briggs with a devilish glint in his eyes.
    “ We need your help, Ms. O’Brien. You want to talk about dangerous demons? Let’s talk about Shya.” The agent’s face softened. “That’s not even his real name. Demons don’t give their real names if they can help it. He’s up to something, and we need to stop him. You’re the closest one to him that can help us.”
    Arys’s energy was hot and scattered. His growing frustration was palpable, teasing my senses. I wanted to get him out of there before he did something I’d regret, but I was curious as to how much the FPA knew about Shya that perhaps I didn’t.
    “ Clearly you’re misinformed about my relationship with Shya.” I kept my voice low so it wouldn’t carry outside the four of us. “I don’t have one. I never did. He never interacted with me personally until recently. He sure as hell hasn’t shared any of his big bad plans.”
    “ Yet he trusted you to help him bind a demon goddess that he is supposed to bow down to. Sounds personal enough.” Briggs smiled slightly, as if sure he had me there.
    “ Shya and I both had our reasons for that. They were entirely selfish. We weren’t doing each other any favors.” I wasn’t happy to hear that they knew about that. “I want to make it very clear to you that I have no alliance with that demon. Whatever he’s up to, I don’t know about it, and I sure as hell have no part in it.”
    Briggs didn’t believe me. Skepticism colored the grimace he wore. “Would you be willing to help us gather more information?”
    I wanted to tell Briggs to sit on it and rotate. The words were on the tip of my tongue, but I saw a chance to learn more about the FPA and what they were up to, so I reconsidered. Could I make this work to my advantage?
    I exchanged a glance with Arys, sharing so much with just a look. Tilting my head, I gave Briggs my best smile and purred, “What’s in it for me?”
    He couldn’t hide the relief that swept over his hard features. Relief quickly gave way to a cryptic grin that didn’t sit well with me. My stomach flipped a few times. Briggs’s grin grew until it was downright unnerving.
    “ I’ll tell you what really happened to Kale Sinclair.”

Chapter Three

    “ Are you fucking kidding me?” The words spilled out, driven by a crash of emotion. A growl rumbled in my throat, and I was all fangs and claws.
    Briggs raised his weapon. Uncertainty replaced his smug smile. So much for negotiating with the FPA. Briggs had uttered the magic words that were stronger than my rein on sanity.
    I timed my attack perfectly. Sudden and instinctive, I hit him dead center in the chest, grabbing his gun arm in a bone-shattering grip. An audible crack brought me a shred of satisfaction but not quite as much as his pained shout. He hit the ground hard with me atop him. Briggs grunted as I knocked the gun from his hand.
    Wrapping a hand around his throat, I snarled down into his face. Commotion broke out as nearby agents rushed over with guns drawn. Juliet yelled for them to hold their fire. I looked up to find myself staring into the barrel of her gun.
    “ Do you really have it in you to pull that trigger?” I snapped, refusing to loosen my hold on Briggs.
    Juliet’s eyes were wild, all wolf. “How bad do you want to find out?”
    Little sister had a backbone after all. A chuckle spilled between my lips. I was proud of her. She held the gun on me, but her wary gaze flicked to Arys. He watched me with a mischievous smile.
    At a time when Shaz would have dragged me off Briggs, Arys merely watched with amusement. It was a sobering realization. I had to keep my rash actions in check. My white wolf wasn’t here to keep me from doing something I’d regret.
    Ignoring Juliet, I leaned in close to Briggs. Sniffing deeply of his scent, I savored the delicious smell of fear. It was tantalizing, calling to my bloodlust the way the scent of fresh bread called to a starving man. I gazed at the