Linneah answered on the first ring. “Yes, sir?” She sounded out of breath and a little disgruntled.
“Give Vladimir a raise. This scone is brilliant.”
There was a pause. “But—”
“You’re fired. No one contradicts me in this office.” Death released the button and took another bite as he gave his attention back to Reina. “And then you passed the second test by coming back here and getting in my face to give you another chance. Sometimes it takes that kind of tenacity to get a hit.”
“I’m extremely tough.” Total lie, but that was okay. If Death’s delusion helped her case, she wasn’t going to enlighten him that she was desperate, out of hope, and horrifically traumatized by the thought of her sister dying. She grabbed a lemon torte. Not that desserts would solve the situation, but sometimes a good hit of sugar made things seem better.
Death shoved another pastry into his mouth and made a grunt of rapture. “Do you know who Augustus is?”
She bit into the decadent delicacy. Mmm… so good. “Augustus? The assassin who killed more than three thousand immortal beings in the last year alone? The one who wiped out that whole camp of ancient vampires in less than ten minutes? That Augustus?”
“Yep.” Death sat down in his luxurious desk chair and stretched his long legs out as he helped himself to a croissant. “I have investors willing to pay over five million dollars to see him taken out of action, as long as it’s done by this Friday. So, get on it.”
She froze mid-chew. “You want me to harvest his soul?” The odds of her going after Augustus and coming out alive were… um… zero. He was unkillable, and he could dispatch immortal beings with less effort than it took a cow to mow some grass. If Reina tried to snatch his spirit, he’d kill her first. Ten times. Before she had a chance to sneeze.
Death raised his brows, a challenge in his tone that told her that this was her only chance. “You can’t do it?”
No way on earth could I possibly do it. You’re insane to even think so! She managed an arrogant shrug of her shoulders. “Of course I can. I was just clarifying. You know, given the confusion last time about what my actual goal was supposed to be.”
“Now your other task…” He grinned, his eyes sparkling. “This is the really fun one.”
“More fun than harvesting Augustus? Impossible.” Was the universe not in support of her overcoming her abysmal track record at saving those she loved? Because it sure seemed like the entire cosmos was against her, and if so, it would be good to know. Or maybe not. Maybe she was just better off not knowing some things. You know, things like that could be a little overwhelming to cope with.
The lemon torte that had been so delicious moments ago? Nothing but dry, bland sandstone in her mouth. The brewing coffee stung her nose. The blueberry scones looked like moldy piles of mud. Okay, so losing control of the positive attitude here.
“I’m so excited about this other project.” Death grinned, and his eyes began to glow with excitement that, weirdly enough, she wasn’t really sharing. “I have this special project I’m working on. It—” The machine beeped that the espresso was ready.
Death ripped the mug free of the machine and chugged its contents. He slammed the empty cup down and took a deep breath. When he looked at her this time, his eyes were sharp and alert. “I’m launching a new Reaper this weekend.”
“You are?” She was supposed to be the next Reaper. He hadn’t had a new one in almost a hundred years. “You promoted someone?” How was that possible? None of the other Guides were even a fraction as good as she was.
“Nope. External hire.”
“External?” Well, wasn’t that typical? Bypass the employee that had been doing great work for years in favor of some glitzy external hire? It couldn’t be Augustus, since Death just told her to kill him. Napoleon? Or the vampire triplets who’d taken out three of Satan’s minions while they’d been eating donuts the other day? Jarvis? He might not be an official assassin, but he was certainly deadly enough. She frowned as she thought of the warrior. No, no, he might be on the edge of something dark and deadly, but he wouldn’t become an assassin. She was sure of it. His soul was too… pure wasn’t the right word. But she knew he had a solid core that would withstand any malevolent temptation, even Death’s most lucrative offer. Jarvis was good. Scary, deadly, most likely insane, but good in his soul.
But even without the inclusion of Jarvis, there were thousands of internally recognized killers-for-hire who would up the cache of Death’s business. Was cache his new thing? Because she had no cache at all. “Who is it?”
He grinned and waggled his fingers. “Uh, uh, uh, no sneak peeks, Fleming. It’s monumental. I am going to be the talk of the world, even more so than I already am, impossible as that may sound. It’s not every day that a company makes a new hire of this caliber. It’s going to change the way people look at death forever. It creates new options, opens a whole new market. Great stuff.” He giggled.
Reina blinked. “Did you just giggle?”
“No.” He immediately scowled. “We’ll have the first official soul harvesting on center stage, in front of a very esteemed guest list. Some key reporters and media representatives.”
Reina frowned. “Who is he harvesting? Or is it a she?” If it were a she, that cut down the list of possibilities. There were only five or six really glamorous female assassins who were sufficiently successful to impress the king of eternity.
“Tsk, tsk. It’s a secret.” He winked conspiratorially. “Linneah will organize the details of the festival, but you’re in charge of arranging the donation of souls and finding the investors. It’s worth about three billion dollars, so that’s your minimum target. If you can get more than that, it’ll impress me.”
“Three billion dollars?” Yeah, of course. Because she had so many contacts in the death-for-hire business. She could wrap this up by lunchtime. “Listen, I think maybe—”
“Money and soul harvesting are all I care about, and this is your chance to show you can deliver.” He leaned forward and tugged on her chin, forcing her to look at him. “Impress the hell out of me, and I can make you the richest, most powerful female in creation.”
But if she failed him, her sister would die.
No! Natalie would not be the seventh Fleming female to die. Reina might have failed to save everyone else she loved, but this time she would find a way. So what if she had to divest a highly decorated assassin of his soul, find investors and victims for a harvesting, just to appease the overly demanding bastard who was so stingy in doling out the power she needed to save her sister?
No problem.
She could handle it. A fun challenge. She liked death, right? It inspired her. This was up her alley. There was surely a way to stay positive, find the solution, and save her sister, right? Of course there was. No one failed to save their loved ones seven times in a row. Six had to be the limit. It was her time to triumph. “So, I have all my powers back, right? Like misting?”
Death cocked his head. “I think the youth have become too dependent on misting. I’ll give you two more mists, and that’s it. Use them wisely.”
“Only two?” Because she just wasn’t getting enough of a challenge in life.
“Yes. I like to see how innovative you can be. Creative thinking is critical to succeed in business.” Death scrawled a note on a pink sticky and handed it to her. “Here’s Augustus’s home address. Don’t fail.”
“Of course I won’t.” But her hand was shaking as she took the note. How on earth was she going to pull this off?
Chapter 4
When Reina saw the line of men out the door of Scrumptious, the chocolate cafe she and her sister owned in the Back Bay, which was the classically elegant section of Boston, she knew her timing was going to suck.
“What’s with the crowds?” Trinity asked as they squeezed past some rowdy men comparing boxes of condoms they’d apparently purchased from the specialty store down the street.
“We’re l
aunching a new product today.” Although the desserts they served were magnificently delicious, that wasn’t why Scrumptious had been so enormously profitable since they’d opened their doors six months ago.
It was because of Natalie’s special talent: her power of suggestion. With a few well-chosen and clever words, Natalie could use her Mystic talents to get a man to propose, a fourteen-year-old to decide to wear a suit to school, or a librarian to vault onto a luncheon table at the Ritz and start singing the national anthem. But as wickedly potent as she was, when Natalie used chocolate to increase the suggestibility of her subjects, she was positively hypnotic. The fact that Natalie’s specialty was the more salacious side of life made her especially in demand.
The sisters’ new product was going to rock the town of Boston. Unless, of course, Natalie freaked out over Reina’s news and accidentally made every man in Beantown impotent, undersized, and inconveniently flaccid. “I’m worried about telling Natalie about my getting fired. She’s been such an emotional wreck lately—”
A shrill shriek of absolute delight jerked everyone’s attention to the front of the store, and Natalie leapt up to the ceiling, plucked a napkin off the fan, and vaulted back down with a gigantic smile on her face.
Cold dread made Reina halt. “Did you see that move? Did you see the joy in her face?”
“She couldn’t have done that ceiling leap yesterday.” Trinity looked stricken. “And she looks so happy. When did she get happy?”
“It must have been the last twelve hours. I just saw her yesterday and she looked haggard and depressed.” Reina felt like someone had just slugged her in the stomach.
The curse of the deedub: The closer the victim got to death, the better she felt and looked. The deedubs loved the irony of feeling your best before kicking the bucket, and they’d been known to hover around a victim’s family, laughing as loved ones started to say things like, “Wow, she looks great! Maybe she’s getting better!” only to have their jaws drop when their dearly beloved ended up in a head-on collision with death.
Reina had already been down that road with seven sisters and her mom, and she’d learned to dread that happy expression and those well-toned biceps. Well-toned biceps belonged only on warriors like Jarvis, thanks so much.
Natalie saw Reina and waved furiously, her formerly limp, light blond hair now a rich head of luxurious golden curls. “Hey, girls! Come on in! It’s going great!”
“You think she has less than twenty-four hours now?” Trinity asked. “I mean, she looks really good.”
“Maybe it’s not that bad. Maybe she’s just psyched about the product launch.” Please let it just be natural euphoria. Reina shoved her way through the crowd of boisterous men. “Hey, Nat. How are you feeling?”
“Hi, girls!” Natalie shot them a high octane grin as she grabbed the next customer by the lapels. “You will give your wife seven orgasms tonight because you will know exactly where to touch her and how to touch her to drive her wild.”
The cop grinned. “Awesome!”
He was already running for the door by the time Natalie turned toward Reina, her cheeks flushed and her eyes sparkling with delight. “Oh, God, Reina, it’s awful!”
Reina’s heart sank. She’d seen that look too many times. “You feel good?” The question stuck in her throat, like sludge coating her voice.
“Fantastic.” Natalie held out her hands, and all the calluses from years of work with chocolate were gone. Just smooth, perfect skin and long, gorgeous nails. “Did you realize the John Hancock tower has 1,632 steps? I ran them six times before work this morning. Took me less than fifteen minutes.”
Reina’s head started to pound as she touched her sister’s skin. Terrifyingly perfect. “Two weeks ago, you thought exercise was for people who were being chased by the devil.”
“I know.” Natalie lowered her voice and leaned close. “I thought I saw a deedub this morning.”
“You did?” Dear God, were they haunting her sister already? Hovering nearby so they could bask in the horror of her upcoming demise?
“I’m not sure. He looked like a normal kid in a baseball hat, but something about him…” Natalie sighed. “I don’t know. I’m probably wrong.”
Reina exchanged glances with Trinity, who was already scanning the crowded store for a kid in a baseball hat. “But how do you feel emotionally?”
“I can’t stop laughing, and I’m completely exuberant.” Tears filled Natalie’s eyes. “I feel so joyful and sexy and strong, I don’t know what to do!”
Reina hugged her, holding on as tightly as she could. Afraid to let go. “We’ll get through this, I swear. We’ll get you feeling insecure and moody again, I promise.”
Trinity had her hand over heart and looked like she was going to cry. Trinity had been there when Joanie had entered a contest for cage fighting dragons. Sweet Joanie, who had spent her life playing with butterflies, had become a dragon cage fighter in her last few days, dragged into the feeling of invincibility by the deedub poison.
Each Fleming female had been consumed by her well-being until she’d pushed herself so far that she’d died. It was how the poison worked, making the body so strong while eroding the boundaries in the mind until there was no sense of restraint or limitations. A suicide drug.
And if Nat was feeling jubilant already… “Should we lock you up?” Reina asked.
They’d constructed special cells in the basement of the Fleming family home to keep the sisters from hurting themselves as the deadline neared. But the poison wouldn’t be stopped forever. All it did was buy them time. A day, an hour, a minute? It was always different.
“Oh, no. Not yet. I can’t go in today. Not with the launch of the virility balls.”
Natalie pulled back.
Reina reluctantly released her. What if this was the last time she ever got to hug her sister? “It’s not worth your life—”
“Natalie!” Gina Ruffalo, assistant chef extraordinaire and the angel who’d been thrilled to offer her body for Natalie’s soul switching, tapped Natalie’s shoulder. “The men need you. You can’t leave a man hanging with his masculinity at stake.”
Gina was a little moody and elusive, but she was the key to Natalie’s life, so the girls put up with her. Gina was desperate to get back to heaven to reunite with her true love, who had inconveniently died during their first romantic interlude. As a disenfranchised angel, Gina was immortal and banned to the physical world, so she had no chance of joining lover boy, unless she got her soul switched into a doomed body.
Reina had met Gina when the gal was trying to find a way to kill herself, and it had been a perfect match from the first moment. Give Gina a body that was about to die, and give Natalie one that would live forever. A perfect switch. If, of course, Reina could get the powers to actually make it happen.
“I want to work today,” Natalie pleaded with Reina. “I’m still terrified of how happy I am, so that’s good, right? Working gives me something to fight for.”
Reina bit her lip. “Are you still afraid of dying?”
Natalie nodded. “Totally. Freaked out as hell.”
Reina sighed with relief, so glad it wasn’t just her own hope that made her see genuine terror in her sister’s eyes. “Okay, but—”
Natalie squealed with delight. “Thank you, Sis!” She flung herself on Reina, hugging her so tightly Reina felt like her ribs were going to snap, then jumped back and swept a tray of desserts off the counter. “The release of the new Dark Chocolate Virility Balls is going fantastic.”
“Virility balls?” Trinity raised her brows. “What man could say no to that?”
“None, apparently.” Natalie handed two decorated balls to the next male in line. “We’ve had a queue out the door all morning.”
Reina watched her sister chat cheerfully with the client. Yeah, it was probably good not to cause her sister additional stress by telling her what had happened with Death, but at the same time, Reina needed help. Big time. “Nat? I think
we should talk—”
“I can’t last long enough to get my girlfriend off when we have sex.” The customer stole Natalie’s attention before Reina could cough up the bad news. “I tried baseball and politics and I still go too early. I’m afraid she’s going to leave me—”
“It’s no problem. I can help.” Natalie handed him the balls. “Eat.”
“Yeah, okay.” The man took a breath, shoved his construction hat back on his head, and then he slammed both balls into his mouth.
“The moment you become romantic with your girlfriend, you will develop an erection,” Natalie instructed as the man began to chew his balls. “It will last until she has an orgasm. When you feel her climax, your body will release and you will have a fantastic orgasm as well.”
“That’s awesome,” Trinity whispered to Reina. “That’s so much better than impaling men on acid-laced pokers every time they fail to pleasure a woman the way Angelica did to the men. Blaine still has flashbacks when we make love sometimes.”
“She did that to all of them?” Empathy for Jarvis tugged at Reina’s heart. No wonder his icy blue eyes were so laden with darkness. Blaine’s entire team carried the weight of a hundred and fifty years of hell in their souls, but Jarvis’s pain was greater than the others. Darker. His torment gave her the chills, but at the same time, it made her want to reach out and hug him until his anguish went away.
Jarvis was dangerous on a level she couldn’t fully comprehend, but she would never forget the way he’d cradled her face with his hand so she wouldn’t bang her face on the floor when he’d tackled her to keep her from jumping out the window. He was so huge and so tough and so dangerous, and yet his touch had been so gentle, so tender, so soft.
She could still feel the muscled hardness of his body against hers. In that one minute, for the first time in her life, when she’d been pinned beneath him, she’d felt like the world wasn’t trying to rip her feet out from under her and send her crashing into hell—
Touch If You Dare Page 5