Deliverance Read Online Free Page A

uh . . .”
    “Was pulled into his demon’s hell,” Hound finished for her.
    “Yes. He said the key would lead me to a lens shard he took from me.”
    Maliha sought not only to balance the scales on her body but also to eliminate the Sumerian demons left on Earth. To do so, she had to collect shards of a lens made by the chief Sumerian god, Anu, then broken by him into seven pieces and scattered across the world. When she had all seven shards, they would seal together into a round diamond lens that would allow Maliha to read the words on the Tablet of the Overlord. By speaking them aloud, she could kill the demons one by one.
    Maliha possessed two shards already, plus the Tablet of the Overlord. She’d retrieved a third shard, but Lucius had taken it from her, following the orders of his demon Sidana.
    She pulled a key from her pocket. “It has a number on it, but I don’t know how to find the place it comes from. Once we do, it should be an easy retrieval.”
    “Nothing seems to be easy where those shards are concerned. What if Sidana knows where the shard is and has guards set up around it?”
    “A trap, you mean? I’ll have to deal with that if it comes up. The first obstacle is just finding the location. To start, send Amaro an image of the key and see if he can come up with anything.”
    “What was Lucius’s full name? He might need to know if it’s the name on the key’s record.”
    “Lucius Antonius Cinna. He used ‘L. A. Cinna’ as a public name. He said the Roman first name was for intimate use.” She handed the key over to Hound.
    “So the rest of us are supposed to call him L. A.?”
    “You can call him the Great Pumpkin if you want. Where he is, names aren’t needed.”
    Amaro Reese, another of Maliha’s assistants, was a computer specialist. She’d saved his life and his sister Rosie’s life when they were in danger from a gang in Rio de Janeiro. Amaro discovered that he had a knack for working with computers, and now had a business breaking into the supposedly secure computer systems of large corporations and governments. They paid him to find the weaknesses in their systems, and Amaro never disappointed them. Or maybe he did disappoint them by the ease with which he penetrated their computer security. Amaro was a world-class hacker.
    “You get some rest, and I’ll start checking out Arnie. Maybe Amaro can come up with something on the key,” Hound said.
    “Is he staying here?”
    “He’ll be here in two or three days. Oh, and Jake’s called several times. He left a message that he’ll be traveling for a few days.”
    “Working?”
    “Yes.”
    Maliha sighed. It seemed like there was nothing to do for a while. She and Jake had a pact that there was no return contact when one person was working because of the dangerous situations that might be interrupted. Since Jake was Ageless, she didn’t worry about him when he was out of touch—he should be able to handle anything that came up in his work.
    Lately, time for reflection hadn’t been bringing her peace. She’d been missing workouts, too. She’d been hoping Jake would be available to talk and bring her dinner.
    Hound hugged her, avoiding touching her sore back. He didn’t release her right away, and she felt a hardening in his groin pressed against her. She pushed him back.
    “How’s Glass doing?”
    “Off on a food drop in Africa someplace. She won’t be back for another three weeks.”
    “I see. You think we can fool around because she’s on a mission.”
    “Crossed my mind.”
    Maliha pulled away. “Good night, Hound.”
    “Jesus, woman . . .”
    Maliha closed the door to her suite, cutting off Hound’s lament. In her private, soundproofed area, she opened her weapons case and spread everything out on the bed. Each blade was inside a locked case. She inspected everything carefully, and all were freshly oiled and gleaming. She was satisfied.
    Skipping a shower to keep Hound’s treatment of her back dry, she