What Lies Beneath

We were out of the building, and cars blinded us with light as they passed us by. We couldn't be seen. Not with bodies inside. The last thing I needed was my face on TV or an APB out. Landon moved us alongside the wall. He had the demon against the wall. "Tell us where they took that man."

He squirmed. "Not the deal, buddy. You need to get me out of here. Get me somewhere safe."

Landon clicked his tongue. "You'll be lucky if you live through tonight. I'd cooperate if I were you."

"Somewhere safe," the demon said. "And I'll tell you what I know."

"We'll drive you a few miles away," I offered. "Then you tell me where Jaxon is."

He didn't waste a second. "Fine. Let's go then. They'll be back to check on us in the morning. I can't be here."

Landon pulled him off the wall and shoved him in front of us. "Start walking."

We both did.

There was more noise behind us. Hopefully, it was the demons. We didn't go back to check. We reached the van, and Landon made our guest sit in the back.

"Where do we go?" I asked while Landon started the engine.

He looked over his shoulder and backed out of the space. "It's late. We'll head to our next motel. That way I can torture him if necessary."

"Hey," the man behind us growled, "I don't appreciate that."

Landon and I turned at the same time so we could glare. "Shut the fuck up," we both said.

We were on the road moments later. The traffic was light but still enough to bother me for how late it was. Landon took us out of the city and found us a motel that looked like it might be the last one I would ever see. Surely he wouldn't mind me crawling into bed with him for fear of the much worse monsters that were waiting just outside.

Once we pulled into a spot, Landon looked back at the demon then to me. "You need to go get our rooms, kid. I'm not leaving you alone with this guy."

"But you can trust that there's not some crazy Batman-style villain waiting in the shadows?"

He smirked. "A risk I'm willing to take."

I rolled my eyes and left the vehicle. Although the lady behind the counter was terrifying for a dozen reasons, I didn't get murdered. I opted for the full night rate as opposed to the pay-by-the-hour thing that made me throw up in my mouth. I took the keys out to Landon, and we brought the man into one of our rooms.

"All right." Landon sat him on the bed. "Tell us what we paid you for."

The man dusted his dirty shirt. "You didn't pay me. All you did was get me out."

"And I can put you back if you give me a reason. We're on a time crunch, so if you don't mind..."

We were standing hip to... well, he was tall, so it wasn't really hip-to-hip. More like hip-to-stomach. Our arms were crossed, and we glared.

"So rude," he said. "You never even asked my name."

"For your tombstone?" I snapped.

"Lance, thank you very much."

I kicked his leg. "Where's my brother?"

The man stiffened and my blood felt cold as it moved through me. I knew that this wasn't going to end well.

"The man in that picture..." Lance said, "...I did see him this morning. The guy that had him brought him down to us. I thought he'd get the same treatment that we did. The chick watching over us told him to take him somewhere else. She said she got a call." I closed my eyes and spoke evenly. "So, you don't know where my brother is?"

"I know he's alive. Or at least, he was this morning. It didn't sound like they planned on killing him."

There was a quick movement from beside me, then I heard the demon struggling. When I opened my eyes, Landon was holding him down in a very not nice way.

"You had us get you out because you said you knew where he was." Landon wasn't pressing down on his throat yet, but I knew it was coming.

In a panicked voice, Lance said, "I never said I knew where he was. I said I saw him. I told you what I knew."

That didn't help his case.

"Why shouldn't I kill you?"

Lance's

eyes were so wide that I could see white all around. "I didn't want to die. I used what I could to get out. Do you have any idea what it's like in there? You would have done the same thing, and I probably would have done worse." There was a moment where Landon hesitated, then he pulled the man up. "Mila, love, I think this one is up to you."

I blinked. "What is?" I was positively numb from how quickly my hope had turned to ashes.

"Do you want me to kill him?"

I looked at the floor, and I heard the man start to plead with pure nonsense, as if that would have any effect on his fate. It didn't.

"No," I said quietly. "Don't kill him."

Landon sighed with disappointment. "All right then. Wait in here, and I'll be back." He didn't loosen the hold he had on Lance as he dragged him out of the room.

Once I was alone, I got onto the bed and just sat there. I attempted to feel comforted by the fact that he was alive. I could coast off that for a while. It meant that they intended to keep him that way. Otherwise, they would have killed him right after he was taken.

Would he hate me for this once it was over? I doubted it. He was my big brother and in his eyes, I could do no wrong. But this wrong, what I did that might have cost him his life... I was scared that he would see it. He might look at me differently, trust me less. Love me less. I couldn't hold it against him. I earned whatever I would get from him. And I would accept it, just as long as I did get him back.

I was by myself for about twenty minutes before Landon walked back in. He had my bag, and he laid it on my bed. "Get some sleep. We can continue in the morning."

I started digging through my clothes for my pajamas. "What the hell are we supposed to do now?" I fished out a tank top and shorts.

He smiled. "I have an idea, but I don't think you'll like it."

"Do I like any of this?" I stood up and started walking to the bathroom. I left the door ajar so I could hear him.

"Well, you have all of those dates and names from that book, right?"

I started changing. "Obviously. Why else would we be doing this?" I slipped off my shoes, set my old clothes on the counter, and pulled the shorts on.

Landon took a moment to answer me. "If you can give me a couple names, then we might have a lead."

Was he trying to trick me? If I gave him the names, I had nothing keeping him here, helping me with my brother. But, on the other hand, it might be the only thing we had to go on.

I left the bathroom and shoved my clothes into my bag. I looked up, and Landon had his head cocked as he stared down my shirt.

"Really?" I sighed.

"Don't walk around looking like that and get upset with me for noticing. If I ignore your constantly moving mouth, you are actually somewhat attractive."

"Bite me." My eyes narrowed, and I zipped up my bag.

"Ah, now that you mention it, I am a bit peckish."

The look in his eyes was cruelly tempting. It was almost, almost enough for me to decide to try something new. After all, he did say that it was good for the human under some circumstances. Maybe he'd make it good for me...