“Yark.”
He laughed. “Right, yark. But it’s what you need to survive. When the time comes, Wanda will show you what you need to do. You’ll be fine.”
“I won’t be so fine knowing everyone’s in danger while I kick my feet up and watch a marathon of Rock of Love.”
“Casey . . .”
“No, don’t Casey me. I’m not going to apologize for feeling useless. It makes me want to claw Hildegard’s eyes out. I have all these new goodies, and I’m not allowed to play with the other kids on the block because they’ve been playing longer.”
He brushed a hand along her cheek. “They’re far more skilled than you. Nina alone is a force of nature. Add in Greg, Wanda, and the others, and we have some serious power to obliterate with.” He chucked her under the chin, running his thumb over her lip. “So quit bitchin’ and promise me you’ll do as you’re told.”
The muscles of her stomach clenched. “I’ll behave.”
“Good.”
They both paused, knowing the time had come. Daybreak would arrive soon, and Clay had said he wanted to check on Naomi before he came back to sleep.
Before she spoke, Casey swallowed hard. “So this is it, right? I won’t see you until tomorrow when you get up from your coma and I feed from you.”
His eyes avoided hers but only for a second, then they locked with her worried gaze. “Yep.”
Her heart crashed with erratic, skipping beats, but she managed to keep her voice steady. She kept her face as unreadable as possible, her hands as steady as she could. “So I’ll see you tomorrow—when we’re all mated and everything.”
Taking her hand, he put it up on his shoulder, curving her body into his. His gaze was long, searching her eyes, and then he smiled and said, “Yeah, when we’re all mated-like. You stay safe, Casey Schwartz. We have lots of getting to know each other to do. I’d hate not to get the chance to do that.”
Words were pointless; she couldn’t have spoken them for the hard knot in her throat. Instead, she threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder, grateful he had a collar on his shirt to absorb the tear that leaked from her eye. There was nothing in this world she wanted to do more than have the chance to learn more about Clay. Whether they were mated or not.
His arms came around her waist, molding her to him, lifting her off her feet in a tight embrace before kissing the top of her head and planting her back on the ground and letting her go.
He winked before disappearing into the light shining in the foyer.
Her breath left her lungs in a gasp for air.
Her eyes welled.
Her hands sought the back of the kitchen chair, white-knuckled.
And then, Casey Louise Schwartz set about doing what she did best.
Fixing things.
SHE had no choice. There was no way out. If she allowed her sister and Greg and the rest of the paranormal Mod Squad to defend her, they could bring some heavy shit down on their heads—something they’d have to live with forever.
She was the only choice.
If she bartered with that psychotic nut Hildegard, no one would be hurt. Everything could be just like it was before, and while that wasn’t the ultimate scenario, it beat a child landing in Hell for no reason other than some whacked woman’s malice and greed.
Oh, God.
She’d never see her sister again, her mother and father.
But there was a child’s life at stake.
She’d never see Clay again.
Every cell in her body rebelled against it. The very center of her existence quaked.
But a child—there’s a child who would be left to fend for herself with a woman who’s certifiable. A fifteen-year-old child.
She took deep, deep breaths, letting her chest expand and fill with the intake and release of air.
Never. She’d never allow it.
If Clay knew what she was about to do, he’d stop it. So would Wanda and the crew. They kept saying there had to be another way, but no one had come up with an answer that didn’t involve someone losing something—a lot of “someones” losing something. But there was an answer, and only one person in this whole demonic mess had the ability to give something up.
She was the answer.
Casey Louise Schwartz.
“Darnell!” she called to her empty bedroom. He was her only hope of finding Hildegard. But he’d never agree to what she was about to do. . . . He’d stop her because of Clay’s orders.
Shit.
Frantic, she stopped overthinking and acted, hoping against hope these magical powers she’d acquired would aid her.
Darnell had said all she had to do was think of him, visualize him in her mind, and he’d show up if she needed him. Was that like clicking your heels three times? “Darnell—I need you—now.”
Darnell appeared in the shadows, soaking wet, a flowered swim cap on his head, and blue trunks plastered to his legs. His gold chains glistened in the dim light of her bedroom. “You okay? I was doin’ laps at the Y.”
“Find Hildegard.”
Droplets of water left a trail to where she stood, his look guarded. “The hell.”
“Don’t make me go find someone else who will, Darnell, because I will. Find her. All I want to do is talk.”
His head shook so hard, droplets of water spattered her face. “No, no, no. Clay’d have my ass in a sling if I did that. She don’t talk, Casey. She ain’t in her right mind. So forget that shit. Not gonna happen. I was told to keep you away from her, and that’s what I’ll do.” He folded his beefy arms over his chest in a stance that said “not gonna happen.”
“You know, I just thought of something. If I can call you up by just visualizing you, I guess I can do the same with Hildegard.”
He started wagging his fingers at her, rushing at her with fear written all over his face. “Don’t you do that, Casey! Don’t you dare! You ain’t no match for her. I ain’t no match for her. She’s butt-ass crazy!”
Whirling around, Casey took a deep breath, then jumped in, both feet. “Oh, Gigantorrrrrrr! Come out, come out, wherever you are,” she yelled, defying Darnell by giving him a “so there” look.
He slapped a hand over her mouth with a clap, dragging her backward. “My apologies, Casey, but I won’t let you do it! She’ll kill you, and that ain’t happenin’ on my watch!”
Casey, with mondo regret, twisted her wrist, pointing her fingers up behind her head and zapping Darnell in the ear. She winced, knowing it would hurt him.
“Ow! Shit, woman!” he yelped, but it forced him to let her go when his hand went to his head. “Casey! Stop this shit now or we gonna rumble!”
“Hildegaaaaard—it’s let’s-make-a-deal time! I know you can hear me,” she shouted into the room. “You know you want a piece of this—so come on—bring it, you crazy bitch!”
“The name-calling,” an amused, disembodied voice said. “Is it necessary, darling? It’s so crude—so trailer park. And I’ll have you know, crazy is as crazy does. I like to refer to myself as resourceful.” Hildegard appeared, immaculate in a slinky black dress and hot pink heels. Her blond hair, scraped from her face, was twisted in a tight knot at the back of her head.
Casey’s stomach revolted, but she held her ground. “We need to talk.”
Her eyes twinkled with amusement when she leaned against the wall, intertwining her fingers together and stretching her long, graceful arms over her head. “You and me? Oh, I don’t know. I mean, we are fighting over the same man. What could we possibly find to talk about?”
Sucking in a deep breath, Casey strutted toward her, each step she took, knowing it was a step toward an eternity in Hell.
Darnell had recovered and was up and at ’em. “Hildegard, you get on outta here, now. You leave her the hell alone!”
Casey held up a hand, palm forward, in Darnell’s direction, and once more, just by thinking it, slammed him against the far wall, pinning him there. He struggled against it, pushing back wi
th his hulking shoulders, the veins in his neck bulging from the strain. She looked down at her hand.
Wow. What a rush.
She looked up to find Hildegard’s eyes on her. “Nice, right?” the blonde asked, giving her a demure wink.
Planting her hands on her hips, Casey looked up at her platinum nemesis with hatred. “Leave Clay and Naomi alone. Got that?”
Hildegard snorted. “Why would I do that? We’re a family.” She followed with a throaty laugh.
“You know what this comes down to, right?”
“Oh, I do. I know that someone’s going to be mated in Hell, and it isn’t going to be me.”
“You’re right.”
“Caseyyyyyy! Let me off this damn wall now. You shut your mouth, miss. Shut it now!”
Casey shot him an annoyed look while she clamped her fingers together, and almost as instantly as she’d done that, his lips were literally erased from his face. All she could think was that Darnell needed to be gone. He couldn’t be here to hear what she was going to offer Hildegard.
As suddenly as the thought came, Darnell vanished. Into thin air.
Dude. Double wow.
“How about you tell me what this is about? I’m bored with you already. So get on with it.”
Rounding on Hildegard, Casey narrowed her eyes with determination. “I said, you’re right. Someone does have to show up in Hell, and it won’t be you.”
She gave Casey a mock shiver. “You’ve got me all atwitter. Do tell.”
Here. We. Go. The words left her mouth without a qualm, no second-guessing, they just popped out. “Leave Naomi and Clay alone—keep doing what you’ve always been doing, and I’ll take your place in Hell. It has to be one of us, right? So let Naomi stay here with you—just like it’s always been.” She held up her hands in defeat. “No fight from me. No race to see who can get to Clay’s neck first. He’s all yours. Everything stays the same as it’s been for centuries.”
Her eyebrow arched. “Why would I believe you? We demons are infamous for deception, darling.”
“No deception. No lies. I suck at them, and I haven’t been doing this very long anyway. Straight up, I’ll take your place. When tomorrow comes, I’ll stay out of your way, and I’ll make sure no one tries to stop you from feeding from Clay. I promise.You know he’s the key to you being able to stay on this plane. If I throw up the white flag, nothing’s changed. So tell all your demon friends I’m in.”
The look she gave Casey was pensive, thoughtful. “You’d sacrifice yourself for Clay and the child? What kind of moron are you?”
“The kind who can save you a whole lot of trouble and probably a manicure, if you agree to our deal.”
Her pause was long while she absorbed Casey’s statement. When she appeared to have come to grips with it, her expression was incredulous with disbelief. She let a tinkle of laughter spill from her throat. “You’re falling in love with him, aren’t you? You’ve spent hours daydreaming about what it would be like to be his mate, haven’t you? Did you see yourselves skipping along a sandy beach littered with seashells, and living in your cottage with a pretty white-picket fence? Nights by the fireplace, days spent swinging hand in hand along the shore. Cozy.”
Well, it hadn’t been on the beach—more like a nice suburb in maybe Jersey. And that made her insane. That Hildegard had pinpointed her feelings and spread them all out like she was putting them on a blanket for a picnic lunch, then had the clangers to mock them, made her want to jam both fists down her throat. Instead, she looked her in the eye. “Fuck you. Just shut the fuck up and worry about where you need to be later, psychopath.”
She tsk-tsked. “Again with the names. So crude, darling, but that feisty nature? That should serve you well downstairs. They like them feisty. You’ll be all the rage.”
“How do I know you’ll keep your end of the bargain? I want reassurance. You yourself said demons lie. . . .”
Hildegard ran her tongue over her glossy red lips. “Well, you don’t, darling. That’s all part and parcel of the exciting life we lead called demonic. It’s all about the adventure, the risk taking, don’t you think? But do think of this—Clay’s the reason I can exist on this plane. The child is my insurance. Why would I give that up when you’ve all but handed it to me? Truly, I expected you to show up with your goons, and try and stop me. Imagine my delight.”
Casey’s stomach turned. Every cell in her body screamed to obliterate Hildegard, but that control she’d so longed for had finally taken hold. “Now I’m all atwitter.”
“So I guess this is good-bye? Be well, darling. I hear Hell’s hideous this time of year.” She paused with a frown. “Oh, wait, it’s hideous all year.”
Hildegard left in a vaporous red cloud of smoke, her perfume the only thing that lingered.
Because she could, Casey flung a fireball into the puff of vapor.
In furious frustration.
Sitting at the edge of her bed, she watched the flecks of embers float and disappear with a resolve she didn’t know she had in her.
Hookay. So Hell it was. She refused to linger on her sheer terror. She refused to spend time bemoaning what she was losing. Instead, she focused on Naomi, and a future, though still hindered by Hildegard, a far better place to fall than Hell.
Hell.
Ugh, it had been hot there.
She’d better pack some deodorant.
“WHY, Clayton, what brings you to my neck of the woods?”
“I’m here to settle this once and for all.”
Hildegard rose from her chair, ready to strike, but Clay instantly held up a hand as a sign of peace. “I’m not here to fight with you, Hildegard.”
Her pout was frisky and playful as she resettled herself in her chair. “But we always fight. It’s my reason for existing, Clayton. What else could you be here for but to throw around threats? It’s what we’ve always done.”
Fighting to keep his hands from around her long neck, Clay lifted his chin. “We aren’t going to do that anymore.”
She clucked her tongue in disappointment. “I haz a sad.”
Rolling his tongue along the inside of his cheek, he struggled to keep from snarling. “I think when you hear what I have to tell you, you’ll be much happier.”
Her slender shoulders lifted when she squirmed in anticipation, letting her smile turn flirtatious. “I’m on the edge of my seat.”
Too bad it wasn’t the edge of a cliff. “I’m here to make you a deal, Hildegard.”
“A deal? There’s a lot of that going around lately.”
His puzzled look pierced the cool roll of her eyes. “It’s about Naomi. I’d like you to release her from her contract to you—when the time comes.”
A throaty laugh drifted throughout the cavernous halls of her study. “And I’d like to rule Hell, but I have my doubts that will happen. Naomi’s my insurance that you’ll stay put—so forget it. And speaking of, have we given thought to what we’ll do about that frumpy, dreadful mouse Casey? She could put a real damper on my anniversary, and seeing as you don’t bring me flowers anymore, it won’t make me happy. I cannot believe what you did, Clayton. Did you really think whatever that crazy shaman gave you would abolish me? Or the real question—did you really think I wouldn’t find out? Honestly, Clayton. I gave you more credit.”
Turning from her, he fisted a hand and fought a sneer of rage. Casey’s name on her lips made him want to bloody her to a pulp. But if he didn’t play his cards right, she’d do that to Casey anyway. “I—” He cleared his throat. “I apologize. I don’t know what I was thinking. But I’m here to make it up to you.”
Her platinum head cocked to the left. “I’m sorry?”
“You heard me. I’m here to make it up to you—in any way I can.”
“Does this mean, after all these years, you’ve come to your senses? Why would I believe that now? It’s been a long time.”
“Why wouldn’t you?”
“Because it’s been centuries, Clay. For
centuries you’ve rebuffed my advances to make our mating a true one. I was so terribly hurt.” Casting her eyes downward, she threaded her fingers together.
“I was angry. Surely you can see why?”
She waved a dismissive hand. “It’s all water under the bridge. It was so long ago.”
He knew he shouldn’t jab her, but just one last time—for Dagmar—his wife. The woman he’d loved and should have been able to protect. “She was your sister. Naomi’s mother.”
Hildegard sighed with a forlorn whistle. “I know, I know, and then I killed her because I was jealous that she had you. Yadda, yadda, yadda.”
“Let’s not forget the part where you let your vampire buddy turn my child—your niece. So I hope you’ll consider our mating thus far a period of mourning for me. It was the right thing to do.” To this day, hundreds of years later, he’d never believe that even his scheming, lying, whoring sister-in-law would go as far as she had. To this day, he wanted to strangle her—hold her down while she squirmed and begged for forgiveness.
She shrugged her shoulders, rising from the couch to saunter toward him, her eyes glowing with the look of a cat who’d just captured her prey. “Oh, right. There’s that. But it was all for a good cause. So are we going to spend our time revisiting the past, or are we moving on? You said something about making it up to me. What did you have in mind, Clayton?”
CLAY listened to the plan Heath, Keegan, and Greg had hatched, and he was staunchly against it. “I already told you, Greg. I appreciate the offer, but no fucking way am I going to allow you to be shunned because of me.” As tempting as the offer of help was, he just couldn’t live with it. Harder still? Living with the idea that he’d lied to Casey about his intent to let Greg and the others help him. It would be the last thought she had about him when she found out what he planned to do. He was a liar.
As dawn broke, the first stirring of daylight shimmered through the window, giving Greg’s determined face a sharp edge to it. “Then don’t think of you. Think of Naomi. Casey. Would you really allow them to end up in Hell without at least letting us lend support? Fuck the clan and its archaic rules, Clay. We’re talking about a child here. Your child! I couldn’t live with myself if she ended up bound to Hildegard for an eternity. So how about you let me worry about the risks, and you just shut the hell up? You do know my wife, don’t you? You know, the one who’d beat you senseless for looking at her cross-eyed? She’d kill me if I didn’t try and stop this. I’d rather live with shunning than that—or worse, Nina’s disappointment. It’s a bitch.”
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