Keigan’s eyes turned sad and I swallowed around the lump in my throat. “It’s okay,” I assured him. “I can take anything they hand out.”
“Of course you can.” His smile was gentle, but I had a feeling he could see right through my tough talk. I shifted on my feet. Vas was waiting for me, and I’d feel like a dick if I left him outside in the heat for much longer.
“I need to get back to work,” I said, and Keigan nodded.
“Good luck, Danica.”
I left him deep in thought in the meeting room and took the stairs down to the lunchroom, sliding between mages and bounty hunters who appeared very unimpressed to see me. I darted toward the counter, swooped up a cookie, and wrapped it in a paper towel.
Moments later, I slid into the elevator as the doors began to close, ignoring the scowl a mercenary named Rose sent me.
“You know my dad was killed by a demon?” Rose asked, her hand slipping down to the knife on her thigh.
I tensed. I’d bet she was considering taking that knife and driving it into my gut. If I was in her shoes, I’d be doing the same. But she wouldn’t come out on top. She had a better reach, but I was faster. Her long arms would only hinder her in this elevator.
“I did know that. I’m sorry for your loss.”
She sneered at me. “No you’re not. If you were sorry, you wouldn’t be bonded to the most powerful demon on the East Coast.”
I was actually relatively sure Samael was the most powerful demon in the country, if not the world, but I didn’t mention that.
“My little situation has nothing to do with how I feel about demons,” I said as the elevator continued down.
“Oh yeah? Then why is a demon standing outside this facility, looking like he’s one bad moment away from slaughtering everyone inside?”
“I made him wait. He’s pissy about it.”
“You’re going to get what’s coming to you, Danica. My father–”
Enough. “Your father summoned a lesser demon because he wanted it to kill his business associate. He didn’t word his orders properly, which gave the demon all the wiggle room it needed to kill him and then slaughter countless innocents. You play stupid games, you win stupid prizes.”
She gaped at me and I shrugged as the elevators opened. I couldfeelhow badly she wanted to stab me in the back as I walked into the lobby, but she managed to restrain herself. Rose wouldn’t come after me in public. She wasn’t an idiot. If she killed me, she’d do it somewhere quiet, where it couldn’t be traced back to her.
I gave the mercenary a finger wave and sauntered out of the elevator. I had too much to do to worry about her. If she wanted to rumble, she was welcome to get in line.
Screams and curses lit up the air and I rubbed at my pounding head as I walked through the facility’s lobby. A lesser demon was being dragged in for interrogation, his claws scratching along the stone floor as he fought against the chains binding him. Mages leapt forward to help pull him toward the elevator used for paranormal bounties, and I used the distraction to slip out of the building without anyone else bothering me.
Vas was leaning against my car. His sunglasses hid his eyes, but his feet were planted, arms crossed, and pedestrians were giving him a wide berth.
Luckily, I’d prepared for this eventuality. I held up the cookie I’d snagged from the lunchroom on my way out of the building, unwrapping the paper towel around it. Keigan’s assistant Martha liked to keep the lunchroom stocked with baked goodies.
“I’ll give you a cookie if you lose the scowl,” I said, holding it up.
Vas lowered his head so he could stare at me above his sunglasses.
“An hour,” he said. “I’ve been waiting out here for an hour.”
“It’s a really good cookie.” I broke a tiny chunk off and slipped it between my lips. Brown sugar, chocolate, and vanilla exploded in my mouth. Yum.
“Give me that.”
I blinked. Vas acted so human that I occasionally forgot that he wasn’t close to being human. The cookie was out of my fingers and in his before I could blink, and I stared at him. I’m not particularly strong— most paranormals could beat me in a fight. But I’m real fucking fast. Vas might be just as fast as me.
“Uh, just to be clear, the cookie doesn’t mean I’m like… yours or anything.”
He threw his head back and roared with laughter. A human woman dropped her phone and stared at him, while another walked into a pole. I gave them both a stare that suggested they keep walking.
“Don’t fret, Danica. Unlike most demons, I’ve spent most of my life in this world. I’m not attached to the old traditions.”
