“I knew it!” Clayton punched a fist into the air then jerked it close to his body. “Yes!”

Booger cleared his throat. “If he’s in the walls, can he see us here?”

“I’m not sure. But he knows we’re on to him.”

“Is it safe to be here?” Mina whispered.

“You don’t have to whisper. He’s fed intermittently, over decades. The fact he’s killed twice in just a few days might have drained him. I’m assuming he expends a lot of energy to do that,” Cait said, waving at the screenshot of him sucking Madame Xavier into a vortex.

“While his energy field is low, Booger could do an exorcism,” Clayton said.

Cait shook her head. “I have it on good authority that an exorcism won’t destroy him. He’ll simply move on to another place.”

“Then what can be done?”

“I don’t know. But you’ve been helpful. I needed confirmation that was the spot, although how the bodies were moved from there to other parts of this floor, I don’t know. I suppose he could simply have carried them around when he was in human form, opened a wall, and hidden them.”

“He has a human form?” Clayton’s eyebrows rose. “We could interview him.”

Cait rolled her eyes. “Just because he might not be able to whip up a sucking vortex doesn’t mean he won’t be dangerous. If you corner him into an interview, he will likely still be deadly. Besides, we don’t know who he is.”

Clayton chewed on his bottom lip, then let it go. “So, what’s the next step?”

“Nothing. For you.” She had to credit their enthusiasm. “Your part’s done.”

“But you’re off the investigation,” Booger said, shrugging when she gave him a glare. “You don’t have your usual resources now. Use us.”

She shook her head and pushed up from the chair. “Oh no. You saw what happened to your friend.”

“There’s got to be something we can do,” Booger said. “We could help you with research.”

“I already have my sources.” She shuddered inwardly at the thought of facing Morin without Sam at her side.

“We could stay here,” Mina said. “Keep the cameras going. Let you know if anything changes.”

Cait hesitated, but then slowly nodded. “So long as you all promise me you won’t try to go poking around that hallway.”

Clayton sketched a cross over his heart. “We’ll stay well away from the point of conflux. Can’t start a TV career if we’re sucked in too.”

“I guess you guys could be useful.” As the thought formed, she nodded. “As guests, you can roam the ground floor. Mina, get some shots around the foyer, the dining room, and the bar. If you see anything or anyone who looks or acts odd when you play it back, let me know.”

Mina gave her a solemn nod.

Cait reached into her pocket and drew out her wallet. She handed Clayton her card. “Call me first, but let Sam know as well. If anything goes down, he can’t be left out of the loop.”

“Sure. You first. Sam the very next second,” Clayton said.

A soft knock sounded at the door. Cait tiptoed to the bathroom and nodded before closing the door just enough to conceal herself.

Door locks clicked.

“Cait, you done here?” Jason’s voice sounded from the doorway.

She stepped out and gave him a nod. “The coast clear?”

“For about a minute.” He opened the door, peeked out, then waved her through.

Five minutes later in the parking garage, she huddled on the floorboard of his car as he drove past the parking booth.

“We’re clear.”

She shot up and buckled into the passenger seat. “The feed was pretty interesting.”

“Wish I’d had time to watch,” he muttered.

Cait angled her body toward him. “The wall liquefied and began to spin, like that old Time Tunnel show my dad used to watch in reruns. Sucked poor Madame Xavier right through.”

“So we know where, just not who yet.”

Cait tapped the dashboard with her palm. “There has to be a way to expose a demon.”

“Thinking you need to work another spell?”

“Or find something I can use to see him?” Cait shrugged. “I really don’t know.”

“Need a trip to Morin’s?”

Cait thought hard about what needed to happen next. “Not Morin’s. Not yet. I really need to speak to Sam. He has to bend on this, or someone else will die.”

“From what you said, he might not be willing to listen. And if he knows you went behind his back to see those guys…”

She slumped in her seat. “He needs me. Doesn’t he know that?”

When he darted a glance her way, Jason’s gaze softened. “He loves you, Cait. He doesn’t want to see you dead.”

“I’m not an idiot. I really don’t think Eddie wanted to feed me to his master.” Her hand waved in the air. “More like he wanted me for himself. Wanted a companion.”

“That makes me feel all better,” he muttered. “Do you think he’s still alive? Still working the hotel?”

She shook her head. “I haven’t a clue, but I imagine he’s too valuable to destroy. Without Eddie to pick his vics, the demon in the walls has to depend on chance to get the right prospect into the room. He likes bimbos.” Her chest tightened. “Madame Xavier wouldn’t have been taken if we hadn’t focused so much attention on 323. We made the demon nervous, and he lashed out like a cornered beast.”

“Well, it’s pretty late. Not sure what more we can accomplish. Ready to call it a night?”

She glanced at her watch, shocked to see how late it was. “Yeah, we should both rest.”

“I’ll drop you at your place.”

“No, take me to Sam’s.”

Jason shot her a glance. “You sure? He hasn’t had time to cool off.”

“I can’t take the waiting, wondering if he meant it. I have to talk to him, and he needs to know about what I just saw.”

Jason whistled softly through pursed lips. “You’ll be digging yourself a bigger hole.”

“Maybe. Or perhaps I’ll let him blow hot, spank my ass, and he might let us come back.”

Jason’s nose wrinkled. “Didn’t need that picture in my head.”

Cait smiled, her pulse kicking up a beat at her own words.

“If he lets you back, you won’t be calling the shots.”

“I don’t have to be in charge.”

“So you said.” His mouth curved into a wry grin.

Cait sat back, closing her eyes for the rest of the trip, conserving her energy for the battle to come.

The doorbell rang, and Sam had a sinking feeling about who waited on his stoop. He rolled out of bed, padded from his bedroom into the living room, and headed straight to the front door.

Without checking the peephole, he swung the door wide. “Cait, what are you doing here?”

She didn’t wait for an invitation. She ducked under his arm and squeezed through into his living room. “We have to talk,” she said, sounding breathless.

“I’ve said all I’m going to say,” he said, keeping his voice even, his face schooled into a neutral mask. But the truth was he was relieved to see her. Being here meant she wasn’t trying to sneak back into the hotel despite his orders to the contrary.

He slammed the door and then leaned against it, slowly folding his arms over his naked chest. If only he’d worn something more substantial than thin cotton boxers. He needed layers to mask his immediate and inconveniently reliable reaction to her proximity.

“We have to talk,” she repeated, beginning to shed her thin leather jacket. “I can’t leave things the way they were.”

“Things, Cait? The investigation or us?” he asked, although he didn’t really want to know which came first with her. When it came to a case, she was like a dog guarding her favorite bone.

“Both.” She strode closer.

He stiffened—both his back and his cock. He concentrated, ruthlessly willing his body not to concede the battle before they’d even begun.

Her face tilted upward, solemn green eyes searching his face. “I’m sorry. I screwed up.”

“Tell the truth for once, Cait.” He shook his head. “You’re sorry I’m angry, but you don’t regret the risk you took.”