That wasn’t even worth “little.” It was worth nothing. “Are you sorry you tried to have a child forcibly possessed? Or doesn’t that count as torture in your book?” He didn’t answer, but I didn’t care. I had more important questions. “Why did you do it? Who or what was my father? Why was it so important to try to have me possessed?”

“This has nothing to do with the issue at hand. I’m not answering your questions, either on the phone or in person, so you might as well forget about it and move on with your life.”

“Oh, no. You don’t get off that easy!”

“Yes, I do,” he said, then hung up on me. I don’t think anyone has ever hung up on me as often as Raphael.

I tried calling back, but I wasn’t exactly shocked when he didn’t answer. I figured I could have Adam trace the number and find out who was hosting Raphael at the moment. But I knew Raphael had been telling nothing but the truth when he said he wouldn’t answer my questions. I doubted even the demon Adam’s most ruthless methods would persuade Raphael to talk if he didn’t want to.

Of the people who I knew were directly involved in whatever had happened in that hospital, my parents were MIA, Dr. Neely was dead, the demon host was a mystery man and would probably stay that way, and Raphael wasn’t talking. That left only Bradley Cooper.

With a shudder, I had to admit to myself that my kinder, gentler methods had failed to give us the information we needed. Which meant it was time to call in the big guns, no matter how badly my soul recoiled at the idea.

I spent a lot of time brooding, trying to come up with some alternative other than questioning Cooper with Adam at my side. No brilliant ideas leapt to mind. I considered going out to Cooper’s place and interviewing him on my own. I even went so far as to call a cab to take me out there. Then I called back and cancelled. If I talked to Cooper, and he refused to tell me anything, he could vanish before I ever got a chance to sic Adam on him. After all, I’d already seen how fast the Spirit Society could make someone disappear.

Resolved to my course of action, I’d have loved nothing better than to rush to Cooper’s house immediately and get it over with. Unfortunately, the demon Adam was currently inhabiting Dominic’s body. If I was being honest with myself, I had to admit that the chances were frighteningly high that Cooper might not survive this interview. However, if Adam did let him live, it wouldn’t do for Cooper to know Dominic was possessed, even temporarily. That would officially brand Adam as an illegal demon, and that would be…bad.

And so I had to bide my time, waiting until Adam had had the chance to heal Dominic’s body. To keep myself from thinking too much, I spent the afternoon dealing with some of the endless hassles involved with trying to get my life back on track after having my house and all my earthly possessions burned to a crisp. It didn’t do much for my temper, but at least it kept my mind off torture and death.

I had taken the tape off my fingers when Raphael told me Der Jäger was in prison once more, but paranoia had me putting it back on before I went out. I believed Raphael was telling me the truth. Despite all his flaws, even Andy, who hated him the most, said he was loyal to Lugh. But I would feel like an idiot if Der Jäger had told his comrades all the little details of his interrupted interrogation.

It was slightly less than twenty-four hours since Dominic had been hurt when Adam opened the door of his house and let me in. At first, I wasn’t sure which Adam it was. He ushered me into the living room, where Dominic lounged on a recliner. I never thought of myself as being particularly observant of body language, but it didn’t take more than about fifteen seconds for me to know that the demon Adam was still in Dom. Something about the way he sat, or the facial expression…

“How’s Dominic?” I asked, and Adam answered through Dom’s mouth.

“Much better. We’ve been discussing when I should move back into Adam.”

I had to suppress a shudder. It was just too weird hearing Adam’s words coming from Dominic’s mouth. “What have you decided?”

Dominic grinned one of Adam’s grins. “I think Dom’s ready to get rid of me. He tells me I’m a little too much of a good thing.” He frowned. “I think there’s a compliment in there, but I’m not sure.”

“Only you would think that,” his host grumbled, but he smiled when he said it.

Dominic sobered and met Adam’s eyes. “Are you ready to take me back?”

Adam’s brow furrowed, and he looked around the room as if searching for something. Then he shrugged. “I can’t see any pressing reason why I should hang around.” He turned to me and smiled, not looking in the least perturbed at the idea of once again being a passenger in his own body.

“It was nice talking to you,” he told me, holding out his hand for me to shake.

Not knowing what else to do, I took it. “Uh, yeah. You, too.” The awkward truth was, despite the many differences I had with Adam, I kind of wanted him back in his own…that is, his original body. Things were just too…weird this way.

Dominic heaved himself out of the recliner and came to stand near Adam. “Ready?” he asked, holding out his hand for a very different reason.

Adam let go of my hand, nodded briefly, then clasped Dominic’s.

I held my breath for a moment as they stood there, holding hands and not speaking. I couldn’t help worrying that Adam had been wrong, that somehow this time Dominic wouldn’t be able to stand losing his demon.

Until Dom made a fist with the hand Adam wasn’t holding and punched him in the shoulder.

“Ow!” Adam complained, letting go of Dom’s hand to rub his shoulder. “What was that for?”

“For being a pain in the ass,” Dom said, but he didn’t look terribly pissed off, despite his words. And it was clearly him speaking, not Adam the demon.

“How was I a pain in the ass? I thought I took damn good care of you.”

Dominic looked at me with a grimace. “I’ll forgive him eventually, but I just had to listen to twenty-four straight hours of lectures about how I shouldn’t have come charging down the stairs like an idiot. I’d hit him again if I didn’t know he’d like it too much.”

I grinned, feeling like at least one tiny corner of my world was back to normal. “Would you like to hear my version of the lecture now?”

He groaned theatrically, then covered his ears and started singing “La, la, la, I’m not listening.”

Adam grunted. “And he says I’m a pain in the ass.”

I pulled one of Dominic’s hands away from his ear. “Welcome back,” I said.

“Thanks. Now, since Adam was so busy lecturing me he didn’t cook dinner, let’s retire to the kitchen so I can remedy that situation.”

I didn’t think what I came to ask about would make good dinner conversation. Nor did I think I’d want to eat afterward, no matter how tempting Dominic’s cooking was. Unfortunately, with his Italian upbringing, he would be mortally offended if I didn’t stay.

“Is it okay if Adam and I have a little chat before we join you?” I asked.

A look that I couldn’t interpret passed between them.

“Sure thing,” Dominic said. “I could use a little time off for good behavior.”

Adam cuffed him playfully on the side of the head, and for a moment I feared this was going to turn into a wrestling match. Or a make-out session. But then Dominic retreated to the kitchen, leaving me and Adam alone.

Adam gestured me toward the couch, and I sat reluctantly. My civilized self was horrified at what I was planning to say. And do. I licked my lips and tried to figure out how to get across what I meant without actually saying the words.

“I hope you don’t play poker,” Adam said.

I’d always had a habit of wearing my emotions where anyone could see them, and I didn’t suppose that was going to change anytime soon.