Read Online The Demon Within by Stacey Brutger - Free Book Online

smile disappeared, and viciousness took hold as if he took her words as a threat. Ragged edges of his composure unraveled and tiny cracks of strain that weren’t there a week ago lined his face. “The old man is dead. The team is mine. The vote decided it, yet you’re still angling for a position of power. I will decide what’s best for the group. Watch your steps. I won’t take kindly to your disrespect or misfit friends.”
    Genuine amusement burst from her lips. “I would rather die on my own than under your bungling command. This group won’t survive without help before the demons overtake everyone.” Caly set aside the glass of water she’d picked up and tugged at her jacket. Predictably, his eyes dropped to her cleavage.
    Her fists tightened. The temptation to knock him on his ass licked through her. This was Oscar’s memorial. He deserved better behavior from them.
    “I’m leaving.”
    “Leave now, don’t bother to come back.”
    Caly shook her head and walked away. “Not to worry. I’ve enough courage to die fighting rather than run like a coward.”
    The sharply muttered curse couldn’t be heard by anyone but her. It was enough. Caly stepped outside, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Cool evening air filled her lungs until her chest burned. The tension that had built up in her shoulders slowly unwound.
    The long week of funerals left her exhausted. She missed Cunningham, and yes, even Oscar. Part of her screamed that leaving the group would only make her slide to hell all the quicker, but she couldn’t make herself move back into the warehouse. There were too many memories there to haunt her.
    The smell of black licorice wafted on the breeze. She tensed and lifted her head even as her mouth watered. “Who’s there?” She reached for her weapons when Kelly’s strident voice pierced the thick-glassed door of the warehouse.
    “Caly, wait.”
    The smell vanished when David and Kelly rushed outside. Jarred, who never seemed hurry at anything, followed them.
    “And where do you think you’re going?” The without us went unsaid.
    As unobtrusively as possible, she searched the deserted street. “Henry’s right about one thing. Oscar poured his life into this organization. To split the group would destroy it.”
    Empty pavement greeted her. Paranoia was getting the better of her. She glanced longingly at her car, then resolutely turn away. They’d only follow her.
    “There’s no way you can leave and not expect us to protest.” The vehement words came from the mild-mannered Jarred. “I gave up my life to this cause. The cause was Oscar and his vision. You’ve always been that to him. The reason why he’d fought so hard. He might have favored Henry, but everyone knew he only kept the jackass at his side to provoke you. He was waiting for you to challenge the boob for control. It was never his intent to let Henry rule.”
    If the words were meant to reassure her, they failed miserably. A pit opened up in her stomach. Others couldn’t rely on her, not when she couldn’t even trust herself. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Henry didn’t tell everyone the truth at what happened at the temple.”
    Kelly snorted. “We know that, girl.”
    Caly only shook her head. “The rendezvous point was a sacrificial temple. We were lured there. The demons had somehow managed to find a group of Fallen Angels. Before the bombs detonated, seven were restored to their bodies. If we hadn’t arrived a day early, we would’ve never survived.”
    Since they’d returned, she hadn’t been able to sleep or relax. Even amongst her friends, her nerves jittered along her spine. She tapped her fingers against her leg as she searched the darkened street once more, suspicious of every shadow. Despite feeling eyes burn into the back of her skull, she frustratingly found nothing. “I don’t think we returned alone.”
    Something was out there. Stalking her. Waiting to strike. She needed to keep