And why did this have to happen while we were buck naked at Motel 6? buck naked at Motel 6?

"I'm not your protector," he said simply.

I stared at him and managed a squeaky "What?"

"You don't have a protector," he said, as if every word pained him. "You don't need one. The truth is," he cringed as he said it, "I need a slayer."

The shock of it made my head swim. Dimitri needed me, not the other way around. A horrible thought slammed into my brain. Had he been using me? Had he been using me?

I bolted upright in bed. He'd searched me out. He'd found me. He'd lied to stay close to me. Why? I yanked the sheet up over my breasts.

What did he really want?

"I had to do it," he said, reaching for me, fisting his hands when I ducked away from his embrace. "You're the only one who can save my sisters."

It didn't make any sense. I retreated to the corner of the bed, hauling the covers with me. "But your sisters, they're..."

"Dead?" He blew out a breath. "Not yet. I need your help. You have to understand-"

"I don't have to do anything. Of all the sick things to do, you lied about your dead sisters?" He'd planned this from the start. That's why he'd found me on the side of the road. That's why he'd trained me. Who knew if he cared about Grandma? Or me.

Sure, bang the demon slayer and get what you want. I understood. "You think this is what it takes to get my help?" He didn't have to do this. I would have helped him if I could-for nothing. His emerald glowed hot against my neck. I wished for the hundredth time I could chuck it at his head.

"You know it's not like that, Lizzie," he insisted. "I mean, it was." He drove a hand through his thick black hair. "Look, it took me years to find a slayer. You. And when I found you, I would have done anything to save my sisters, even seduce you."

"Not helping."

"But then I met you and you were different than I expected. Better. Amazing. I had to tell you I was your protector so you'd let me stay close. You can't think..." he began, reaching for me again, dropping his hand as I scuttled away.

"Dammit, Lizzie," he said, launching himself at me. He gripped my shoulders and forced me to look at him. "Where we are right now, this isn't a lie." I tried to squeeze out of his grasp, but his fingers dug in until it hurt. "I've been wanting to tell you the truth for days, but I was too scared." His familiar male scent, now tinged with a hint of sex, made me want to run for the hills.

I glared daggers at him.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. But there was the real possibility that your reaction would be," he indicated my current rumpled, angry state, "less than positive."

"So you had to wait and sleep with me first?"

"Yes. No! I didn't want anything to come between us anymore. What we have here is incredible and I was sick of lying to you."

I hated him at that moment. I really hated him. He sure hadn't had trouble lying in the beginning. He'd fooled everybody. "You could have just asked me to help save your sisters."

"Would you have helped?" he asked.

I would have liked to think so. But when he met me, I'd never seen a switch star, let alone thrown one. All of a sudden, I wasn't too fond of myself, either.

"You didn't even know you were a slayer when I found you. My sisters need help now. Every female in my family falls into a coma after her twenty-eighth birthday. They're dead twenty-eight days later." He shook his head ruefully. "I met you with five days to spare. My sisters didn't have time for you to make up your mind."

"Well I'm glad you thought of everything." Except Except me me.

I wound the sheet around myself. "About your sisters, they're not..."

He shook his head. "Tomorrow. He takes them tomorrow."

"And that's when you arranged for me to go in," I stated flatly.

He nodded. "That is why I sought you out. But that's not why I-" He drew back. "You've gotta believe me, Lizzie."

"Save it."

I didn't even want my brain to go there. I'd been ignored by men before, but never used. I couldn't believe the things he'd made me think and feel. I didn't want to think he'd lie to get me into bed. Then again, I hadn't suspected he'd lie to get me into hell.

Fighting to swallow the lump in my throat, I tried to be practical. At least we could help his sisters. He didn't deserve it, but they did. "Got any other big secrets?" I asked.

He looked guiltier, if that was even possible.

Un-frickin-believable. "This is about Grandma, isn't it? The night I met you, you tried to pawn off a murder rap on her. Was that a lie too?"

He looked as miserable as I felt. Good. "Tell me now or I'll never forgive you."

He sighed. "I'm sorry, Lizzie. But Gertie did kill your mom."

"You'd better know more than that. Spill it. Now."

Lord in heaven, he actually looked sorry for me. "Your mom, Phoenix, I don't know what she was, but supposedly, she was very powerful-a secret weapon against Vald. Unlike you," he said, forcing the words out, "she'd been training her whole life to face him. When the time came, she ran."

I couldn't believe it. I could understand, but I still couldn't quite think anyone would be that selfish. Then again, hadn't I felt like doing the same thing? "Where did she go?"

"I don't know. The point is, she left the Red Skulls to face Vald alone. The carnage was unbelievable. They lost everything. The survivors went on the run. Your grandma tracked Phoenix down to an occult shop they owned. There was a confrontation. Gertie made it out alive. Phoenix didn't."

Fine, so it looked bad.

I grabbed my underpants from the side table and saw they'd been ripped in half. Dimitri's story would explain why the Red Skulls hadn't wanted to answer any of my questions about my mom. But Grandma? It had to be an accident, or a mistake-anything but cold-blooded murder.

That had to be it. I leaped out of bed and started yanking my pants on. "It was a long time ago, Lizzie." Dimitri followed me, trying to get me to face him. I felt the hot tears coming and knew that if I looked at him I could lose it. Growing up, I'd had this picture in my mind of what my biological parents would be like. I never had much hope for ever meeting my dad. My birth certificate listed him as "unknown." But my mom? Call it a stupid gut feeling, but I always felt like I'd meet her someday.

Suspicion clawed at me. I wondered why Dimitri had decided to tell me now. Twenty minutes ago, I would have thought he was concerned. After the whopper he'd told about his sisters, "What do you want me to do now? Save your sisters instead of my murdering grandma?"

"No. Of course we'll get Gertie. Vald has them all."

I glared at him through a haze of tears. And why was a fifth-level demon following us around anyway? "It's your fault he got her, isn't it?"

"No, Lizzie. He's been holding out for you, wanting your powers. Sure, I followed you, but so did he. Remember the imps on the road? You may not like how I helped you, Lizzie, but you needed me to teach you as much as I need you to save my sisters tonight."

"Let's say it plain. You used me."

"Yes."

There. He admitted it. He'd used me for my powers, and my body.

He had the nerve to look exasperated. "We couldn't have a future with lies between us, and I want a future with you."

He stood there with a pained expression, waiting-for what I couldn't imagine.

"Forgive me," he said.

"When hell freezes over."

I tripped over a corner of the bed and he caught me. "Lizzie." He wrapped me in a bear hug.

"Don't touch me," I said, extricating myself. I found my bra wadded up next to the TV stand.

"Okay. Fine. Hate me. I hate myself right now too. But I was desperate to save Diana and Dyonne. It was the only way."

"Fuck you." There. I said it. And it didn't feel nearly as good as I'd imagined.

He stood, looking helpless and forlorn. "Despise me, Lizzie. But it ends as soon as we hit the Dixie Queen Dixie Queen. We need you focused for tonight. Vald has your grandma, but what he really wants is you. You have more raw power than any slayer I've ever heard of, but you're still learning. Think about what happened with the black souls."

"Move." I had to find my scarf-belt.

"Vald thinks he can take your power. You can't let him, Lizzie."

"Oh, now you care about what happens to me?"

"I've always cared, Lizzie," he said softly.

I delivered a scalding look as I tried to button my white shirt. Hard to do when there were only two buttons left. I hurled the ruined shirt across the room.

"Okay. That's not true. I admit it. In the beginning, I only needed a slayer. I've been training my whole life to defeat this curse, to save my sisters. You have no idea how rare your skills-" He shot me a guilty look. "How rare you are," he corrected, a little too late. "When I sensed you you, I went for you."

"How long did you follow me?"

"Lizzie, let's not get into this."

"How long?" I demanded.

"About a week. I sensed your powers through your grandma. She would have found you sooner, but her emotions blocked her. She cared about you. I only wanted to find you."

I'd asked for the truth. Too bad I never realized how bad it would hurt. But how could I have really prepared myself for him, or this?

"Vald wants you, Lizzie. Your grandma suspected. It's probably why he took her."

So now it really was my fault Grandma was burning in hell. "Well aren't you full of sunshine and donkey feathers."

"If a demon can harness power like yours, there's a good chance he can break out of hell."

"What? And walk the earth or something?"

"Yes," Dimitri said.

"So technically, we'd be better off forgetting the whole thing."

"What?"

I didn't mean it. I'd said it just to shock him. But after I said it, the truth of it stuck with me. If I did go down there and fail, the world would be in much worse shape than it was now.

And who was I kidding? I probably needed Dimitri down there with me. He'd certainly up my odds of succeeding.

If I didn't hate him.

I dunked his boxers in the soggy remains of last night's ice bucket.

"What the hell are you-?" He rushed to rescue his drowning underwear.

"Let's just assume I'm crazy enough to go and face Vald. How do I know you won't bolt and leave me down there as soon as we save your precious sisters?"

"You can't possibly think-"

"I don't know what to think," I said, ducking into the bathroom, finding his keys next to his wallet. I stuffed them both into my pants and yanked my hair into a ponytail. The griffin hairpin clattered to the floor and I left it there.

While he went to retrieve the hairpin, I threw his pants off the balcony. Since my shirt was ruined, I took his black T-shirt instead. I regretted it immediately. His musky scent overwhelmed my senses.

Damn the man.

But I wasn't about to walk out in nothing but my bra. And make no mistake, I was leaving.

I threw my oxfords into the saddlebag and fired up the hog. The motorcycle shook and groaned, as if it was trying to throw me off. I squeezed the handlebars until my knuckles went white. Piece of cake Piece of cake. If I could ice Rex, save JR and battle a demon in my bathroom, I could do this.

Dimitri yelled something as he came tearing out of the room in dripping wet-and hopefully ice-cold-boxers.

Get out of my life.

I kicked the bike into gear. It lurched forward like a drunken horse. Didn't matter. The only thing that counted was getting away, far away from him.

Chapter Seventeen

According to Dimitri, the Dixie Queen Dixie Queen was a four-hour ride. Hopping mad, it took me just under three. was a four-hour ride. Hopping mad, it took me just under three.

He'd lied to me, and I fell for it.

Was I that desperate for affection?