By closing time, my feet were aching, but I had the whole-body exhaustion that told me it had been one hell of a night. Orin was balancing the registers, so I got busy wiping everything down and storing the perishables. Vas helped clean, and I eyed him as he stacked chairs and helped the servers clear tables.
“Uh, thanks for your help tonight.”
His smile was the ghost of the grin he used to flash before his uncle was killed, but at least it was a smile.
“I had fun.”
I raised one eyebrow, and he shrugged. “I did.”
Vas wouldn’t lie. He’d always enjoyed learning about human experiences, and he always seemed to have one foot in both worlds.
“Laters, boss,” Orin called.
“Thank you. See you tomorrow.”
Orin gave Vas a suspicious stare that made him narrow his eyes right back. Meanwhile, Amy and Becky had already left. We were all alone.
And we’d stepped closer to each other, as if giving in to some kind of gravitational pull. I slid away, stepping back behind the bar.
Vas merely raised one eyebrow. “You going to tell me what’s going on?”
“No.”
I’d expected him to scowl. I hadn’t expected the long, slow smile he gave me. That smile did things to my insides.
“Keep your secrets. I’ll learn them all.”
The son of a bitch. He knew how I felt about him knowing my secrets.
“You—”
“Goodnight, Mere.”
“Vas!” I rounded the bar and stalked after him, watching his shoulders tense and then loosen. Realization hit me. He wasn’t as nonchalant as he wanted me to believe.
He whirled, and then his hand was buried in my hair. “I made you a promise.”
My mouth dropped open. “That was for something else,” I managed to get out. “It doesn’t count now.”
He just shook his head. “Demon, Mere. We take our vows seriously.”
And the day Daimonion had sent his little friend to kill me, the day I’d somehow managed to surprise the demon while I had a bottle of spirits in my hand…
I’d knocked the demon out. Then I’d made myself scarce, getting into my car and driving away before the demon could wake up and kill me. I’d called the tower and then sat in my car and shook, half convinced the demon would wake up, hunt me, and kill me before anyone from the tower arrived.
I was alive due to blind luck, and the overconfidence of Daimonion’s friend, who hadn’t known I’d been instructed to hurt any demon I didn’t recognize. And when Vas had arrived that day, burning with cold fury, he’d made me a promise.
I’ll never let anyone hurt you. My life for yours. Always.
I’d slapped my hand over his mouth, knowing just how seriously demons took those kinds of vows. His eyes had laughed at me, and I’d realized I was in trouble.
Not physically.
My heart was in trouble. Because this demon, with his humor and loyalty and kindness…he made me hope for things I knew I could never have.
I frowned up at him. “I’m releasing you from that vow.”
He merely smiled. “That’s not how it works, sweetheart.”
