by Jenna Black
Tommy’s smirk hadn’t faltered at my newfound confidence. Moving slowly, and keeping a close eye on the Taser, he pulled out a chair and took a seat in front of my desk. “As I said, I’d heard you were looking for me. Perhaps I should be asking you that.”
“Cut the crap and get to the point.”
One corner of his mouth tugged downward in a hint of a frown. Maybe I was getting to him more than I thought. I surreptitiously glanced at my Taser, reassuring myself that it was fully charged.
“Fine,” Tommy said with a pout he must have learned from his host. “The point is I know my parents want you to exorcize me.”
“They aren’t your parents,” I snapped. “They’re Tommy’s.”
He rolled his eyes. “All right. I’ll rephrase: I know my host’s parents want you to exorcize me. They are under the delusional impression that Tommy was coerced into hosting me. Let me assure you, that’s just their wishful thinking. Tommy is a legal, registered demon host, and if you exorcize me, you’ll be guilty of murder.”
“Yeah, that’s a real news flash. Thanks for letting me know.”
His frown was more pronounced now. Apparently that hadn’t been the reaction he was hoping for. “I have warned my… associates that I have been threatened. If I were to leave Tommy’s body, you would be up on murder charges before you knew what hit you.”
“Again, not a news flash. I told your parents no. I’m not a moron.”
He raised his eyebrows as if surprised. “No? Then what were you doing looking for me at The Seven Deadlies last night?”
“How did you know I was at the club?” I countered.
He gave me a droll look. “Because Shae told me.”
Warning bells clanged in my head. Shae wasn’t exactly my bosom buddy, and she hadn’t even bothered to question what I was doing at her club last night. How could she possibly have known I was looking for Tommy? My question must have showed on my face, because Tommy answered it before I had a chance to ask.
“An exorcist who I know has been hired to exorcize me shows up at a demon nightclub and stakes the place out like an amateur detective. It wasn’t hard to put the pieces together, especially since I asked Shae to tell me if you showed up.”
I supposed that made a kind of sense, though it suggested a closer relationship between Tommy and Shae than I would have guessed. Of course, since they were both illegals, they had things in common that perhaps would lead them to be close friends. Nah, I didn’t think Shae was into the whole “friends” thing. She was a mercenary through and through. If she and Tommy had teamed up, it was because she was being well paid. The question remained, what for?
“Now that I’ve satisfied your curiosity,” Tommy continued, “why don’t you satisfy mine and tell me what you want?”
I’d had enough of my pseudo-relaxed pose, so I put my feet back down on the floor and sat up straight. “I sympathize with your host’s mother. If I were in her shoes, I’m sure I’d be doing the same thing she is. But I’m not stupid enough to perform an illegal exorcism. If you’d like to confess to me that you’re an illegal, I’d be delighted to hear it and I’d set up that exorcism so fast it’d make your head spin. But somehow, I don’t see you being that obliging.”
He chuckled. “No, not likely. But none of this explains why you were looking for me.”
At this point, I wanted nothing more than to get rid of him. I knew Adam was right, and that I should leave the investigating to the professionals. But it wasn’t like I was going to admit that to Tommy.
I shrugged. “If I ignore your mother’s request without looking into it at all, I’ll never be able to live with myself. It’s hard for me to imagine a God’s Wrath fanatic agreeing to host you. I just wanted to hear your explanation firsthand for why he’s doing it.”
His smile looked genuinely amused. “And if you don’t like my explanation?”
I shrugged again. “I haven’t figured that part out yet.”
He laughed softly. “You’re almost as entertaining as Shae said you were.” He pushed his chair back and stood. “It’s been lovely talking to you.”
“If you’re here legally, then there’s no reason you shouldn’t explain to me why Tommy decided to host you.”
“There’s also no reason why I should.” He smiled at me pleasantly. “And here’s a friendly word of advice for you: wasting your time trying to find evidence that Tommy didn’t summon me of his own free will is not your wisest career move.”
Naturally, I bristled. “That sounded suspiciously like a threat.” Making a threat—even one more blatantly phrased than that—isn’t considered a “violent crime,” so I couldn’t earn the right to exorcize him that way. But in a manner of speaking, it could be considered a step in the right direction.
There was a predatory gleam in Tommy’s eyes, though his smile remained firmly in place and he made no response to my accusation. He mimed tipping his hat, then turned to the door.
For a moment, I considered shooting him just on general principle. But of course, the authorities frowned on that sort of thing.
I’m not sure just what he’d hoped to accomplish by confronting me like this. If he thought I’d be intimidated and back off, then clearly he and his cronies didn’t know me at all.
Reciting a list of curses under my breath, I let him go.
Chapter 12
I was still in my office at four o’clock that afternoon when Brian called. I hadn’t exactly gotten much done, and the ring tone I’d assigned to Brian jerked me out of a reverie that had been on the verge of becoming a doze. I cursed myself roundly, knowing that it would only take a few short minutes for Lugh to use my body to make the phone call I didn’t want him to make.
On some level, I knew I was being needlessly stubborn about this. After all, I couldn’t go without sleep indefinitely. But so little of my life was under my control these days, I’d take any excuse I could find to hold on to the reins, even if just for a little while.
I should have expected Brian’s call. He’d given me the requisite two days to think about what had happened between us, and now he was going to start pushing. It was an MO with which I was intimately familiar. I’d have liked to ignore the ringing phone and let him stew awhile, but I figured wrangling with him was sure to keep me awake. With a sigh of resignation, I dug my phone out of my purse and answered.
“Hey,” I said, a neutral greeting.
“You sound tired.”
On cue, I yawned. “You could tell that from one word?”
“I can read you like a book, remember?”
I shook my head, refusing the second yawn that tried to bubble up. “Especially when Lugh’s given you the CliffsNotes?”
There was a moment of silence. “Was it that obvious?”
I scrubbed at my gritty eyes. “Yeah.” I didn’t elaborate.
Another silence, longer this time. “Aren’t you going to tell me what you think of me?” he finally asked.
“No. I already reamed Lugh out about it. I’ll let you off with a warning: don’t do that again.”
“Do what?” I made a snarling noise, and Brian hastened to clarify. “Talk to Lugh, or—”
“Either!” I snapped. Of course, my treacherous mind called up the intoxicating sensations he’d awakened in my body when I’d surrendered to him, and my pulse kicked up. Damn it, it had felt so good! And here I was telling him never to do it again. Not that my words were likely to have much of an effect.
“Maybe this is something we should discuss in person,” Brian suggested, and I could almost see the suggestive waggle of his brows.
As usual, my first instinct was to push back. It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him no, but then I considered my alternatives. I could sit here in the office for another hour or two, getting little to nothing done and struggling against sleep. Or I could go home by myself and face the same struggle. Or I could meet up with Brian. At least if I was with Brian, I’d be facing a struggle that would keep me awake.
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“You’re right, it is,” I said, smiling as I imagined the look of shock that his face must have been wearing at the moment. “If you want to talk, meet me at my apartment at six-thirty. And bring food.” I hung up before he could answer, but there was no doubt in my mind that he would come.
I hoped he’d had fun with his little dominance game. Because tonight, I was going to make him pay for it.
Feeling decidedly more awake than I had all day, I shut down my computer and stuffed my unfinished paperwork into my desk.
My mood sank a bit when I got home and listened to my messages. Adam had called and asked me to call back. I didn’t much want to talk to him, but if he’d managed to get anything out of Tommy last night, I had to know. I started a pot of coffee, then dialed his number.
“Tell me you have some good news for me,” I demanded when Adam answered, though I knew if he’d had really good news, Tommy wouldn’t have stopped by this afternoon.
“Afraid I can’t do that, love,” he confirmed. “However, I did find out something interesting.”
I raised an eyebrow, even though he couldn’t see me. “Oh?”
“I went back to the club after we talked last night. Tommy’d just gotten there and I assumed he was trolling the place. I approached him, hoping I could get him to spend a little time in Hell with me… and he turned me down.”
I swallowed a laugh. “Wow, that’s just amazing! To think that there’s a person on this earth who might turn down the incredible Adam White.” I put a hand to my chest and groaned dramatically. “What is this world coming to?”
“You’re just a laugh a minute,” Adam said, but though he was striving for an air of nonchalance, I heard the simmering anger beneath it. The bruises on my back flared to life, reminding me what Adam could be like when he was pissed off. Not that he could do anything to me over the phone, but still…
“Sorry,” I said, but I don’t think I sounded too sincere. “I couldn’t resist.”
“It isn’t the fact that he turned me down that’s interesting. It’s the why.”
“Okay, I’ll bite—why did he turn you down?”
“I hung around the club for a couple hours afterward, and I saw a very definite pattern. Apparently, he’s only interested in women.”
I blinked a couple of times. “And this is interesting because…?”
“Because it’s highly unusual for a demon to have a strong sexual preference when on the Mortal Plain. Sex for us here has nothing to do with reproduction and everything to do with physical sensation.”
I’d always suspected that Adam swung both ways, but up until now I hadn’t been completely sure. I’d never felt safe with Adam, but a part of me had taken comfort in the idea that he was gay and therefore not a sexual threat. I’d have preferred to keep that illusion.
“What do you think it means?” I asked, hoping my voice sounded absolutely normal.
He gave a frustrated sigh. “I don’t know. But my instincts say it’s important. I’m going to go to the club again tonight and keep an eye on him, see if I can figure out what he’s up to.”
“Have you told Dom yet?” I blurted, and the guilty silence on the other end of the line was answer enough. “You know that the more time you spend at the club, the more likely it is Dom will find out.”
Adam didn’t answer, but I knew he heard the truth in my words.
“I know you’re about as eager to take advice from me as I am to take it from you,” I continued, “but I’ll say this anyway. Don’t go to the club tonight. You probably wouldn’t learn anything anyway.” I then told him about Tommy’s visit to my office this afternoon. “Obviously,” I concluded, “he’s on high alert right now. If you start staking out the club, he’s going to figure out something is up.”
“Do you have a better idea?”
I frowned. “I’m working on it. I know you think I should let the professionals handle this, but I’m just not convinced there’s anything you can do right now.”
“You’re probably right. But if anyone’s going to risk their neck going after Tommy, it had better not be you. Much though I hate to admit it, you’re too important to risk.”
That made me wince, though I was immediately pissed at myself. There was no reason in hell for me to care if Adam liked me or not. Especially considering how little I liked him. But every time he hinted at what he thought of me, it brought a little stab of pain. Pathetic! You’d think I’d have gotten over the fruitless quest for approval by now.
“I’ve got other concerns anyway,” I said, hoping my voice didn’t betray the hurt. Then, because I knew if I said anything more I wouldn’t be able to hide how I felt, I hung up.
I’d downed half my pot of coffee by the time Brian arrived, and my nerves were stretched taut by caffeine while my eyelids still tried to droop. There’s nothing like that special feeling of being sleepy and jittery at the same time to put a girl in a warm fuzzy mood.
Brian arrived right on time, bringing a large pizza that quickly filled my small apartment with the scent of garlic. He took one look at me and tossed the pizza onto my minuscule dining room table.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, putting both hands on my shoulders and peering into my eyes with his trademark gentle concern.
I tried to muster my usual snappish response, but sleep deprivation had eroded my carefully constructed defenses, and for a moment I feared I would burst into girly tears for no particular reason. When Brian pulled me into his arms for a hug, I had to bite down hard on my lip to keep myself under control.
“Nothing’s wrong,” I murmured unconvincingly into his chest. “I’m just tired.”
His lips whispered over the top of my head. “I know you far too well to believe that,” he said. “But I also know if I push, you’ll just get pissed at me, so I’ll try my hardest to be on my best behavior.”
He set me away from him, and I looked into his eyes. Once upon a time, he wouldn’t have been able to resist pushing. My inability to share my feelings with him had caused more arguments between us than I can count. If he was finally learning to back off…
But no. Those whisky-brown eyes of his held sympathy, but also a hint of calculation. This was a tactical retreat, not a change of heart. I stifled a sigh, then turned to the table and opened the pizza box.
Extra cheese, and plenty of pepperoni, swimming in greasy goodness. My stomach grumbled, and I tried to remember if I’d eaten any lunch today. Brian retrieved plates and paper towels from the kitchen; then we dug into our pizza without speaking. Brian used the paper towels to dab some of the grease off the top of his pizza, but I figured with the amount of caffeine in my system, I must be burning up calories at an impressive rate, so screw the grease.
For a while, we ate in companionable silence. I reveled in Brian’s presence, in his calm strength and kindness, and, yes, in his love. It sounds pathetic, but before Brian, no one had ever really loved me for who I was. My parents had always wanted to change me, as had my brother—at least once the Spirit Society had gotten its claws into him. My boyfriends before Brian had all been under the illusion that they could somehow tame me. They had never lasted very long.
What kind of fool was I to work so hard to hold Brian at arm’s length when he really, truly loved me? And when I loved him in return? Once upon a time, I’d told him—and myself—that it was for his own protection, but that was bullshit.
“You look like you’re thinking very hard,” Brian said, and I’d been so spaced out I practically jumped out of my chair.
I shoved away my plate, which was littered with pizza crusts, and tried to drag my mind back into the real world. Introspection was not my thing, but the lack of sleep was making me loopy.
“Sorry,” I said. “I’m just really, really tired.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
It was a very gentle invitation for me to tell all, and usually I would have declined that invitation without a second thought. But today I overrode my own instincts.
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“Lugh and I are having a bit of a disagreement,” I admitted. “If I go to sleep, he’s going to take matters into his own hands. I know I can’t stay awake forever, but…” I shrugged.
True, it wasn’t much of an explanation. But it was more than I would usually give him, and I could see by the look on Brian’s face that he knew it. He leaned over the table and wrapped his hand around mine, giving me a comforting squeeze despite my greasy fingers.
“I can stay with you tonight,” he said softly. “And if Lugh tries to take control, I can wake you up.”
My throat tightened. “You would do that? Even when you don’t know what the disagreement’s about?”
His hand squeezed mine more tightly. “I’m on your side, Morgan. No matter what. So yeah, I’d do that.”
The intensity of his gaze unnerved me, and I tried to pull my hand away. He didn’t let me.
Fine, let him have my hand! But I escaped his gaze by staring at the table. “You and Lugh teamed up against me once before,” I said. “Why should I believe you won’t do it again?”
Brian reached across the table and tried to lift my chin to force me to look at him. A little of my usual fire returned, and I jerked away.
“Don’t treat me like a child!” I snapped, then cursed myself because I couldn’t help looking him in the eye when I was pissed off. The faint smile he tried to suppress told me he’d done it on purpose.
“What if I promise you that no matter what, I’ll wake you if Lugh tries to take control?” he asked. “Will you accept that promise?”
He finally released my hand, and I drew it back gratefully.
Could I trust Brian’s promise? “What if Lugh tried to convince you it’s the right thing to do? You have sided with him before.”
“I sided with him because I wanted to protect you. I won’t do it again.” He held up his hand in the Boy Scout salute. “Scout’s honor.”
It was a chancy proposition at best. I wasn’t entirely certain Brian would be able to wake me up if Lugh took control. Come to think of it, I wasn’t sure he’d be able to tell whether Lugh was in control or not. Demons are damn good at mimicking their hosts when they want to. But I couldn’t stay awake forever, and this sure seemed like my best chance to get some sleep while still avoiding being Lugh’s instrument.