Don’t walk home alone. Get to safety. Wait for me.
I’d done none of those things, ignoring every single thing she’d said. If I died here tonight, she would kill me.
“Stop fighting me,” a deep voice growled into my ear, the sound of thunder cracking through the sky. “You won’t get away from me, and you’re only making this harder on yourself.”
Tears sprang into my eyes as the taste of his skin melted against my mouth. Ash, oranges, and bitter herbs. What the hell?
“Let go of me,” I said, my words muffled. “I will sic my demon on you if you don’t.”
He stilled. That had certainly caught his attention. Based on his presence at the party, I’d come to the conclusion that the friendly neighborhood serial killer was supernatural in origin. If he wasn’t one himself, he certainly knew about them, which meant he wouldn’t be shocked by the mention of a demon. Or, at the very least, he wouldn’t think I was totally insane for talking about one.
“What did you say about a demon?” he asked in a dangerously calm voice.
I swallowed hard. “Take your hand away, and I’ll tell you.”
“No way in hell. You’ll scream.”
“Fine,” I said, still muffled. “I have a demon boyfriend. If you don’t let me go, I’m pretty sure he will tear all your limbs off your torso and then feast on your soul.”
I didn’t really know if that was a thing demons did, but might as well go with it. It wasn’t a total lie. Asmodeuswouldn’tbe happy this guy had caught his little human pet. And I was pretty sure an unhappy demon wasn’t high on anyone’s list of favorite things. Except maybe Lucifer’s.
Oh my god, what if this guy was Lucifer?
That was impossible, right? He lived in Hell. Of course, I would have assumed the Princes of Hell lived in the underworld, too, so all bets were off.
“You’re human,” he said quietly. “Demons don’t date humans. Only use them as playthings.”
My mouth went dry. Well, that wasn’tat allunnerving. Unfortunately, it probably wasn’t that far off the mark.
“Plaything or girlfriend, it doesn’t matter. I’m still protected by a demon, so you should probably run along home and give up on your big serial killer dreams. Because Az knows about you, and he will track you down. It’s probably best for you to get out of the United States ASAP. Actually, make that this planet.”
I was just talking out of my ass now. Asmodeus had shown no interest in finding the killer. He was far too wrapped up in his world of business ventures and rich, powerful friends. Sure, he didn’t want me to walk alone at night, but it seemed like that was the extent of his concern. Why would a demon care about a killer in the streets?
The guy’s black mask hid his mouth from view, but I could see a reflection of his wicked grin in his eyes. Anger flashed in his grey irises, a flash of steel, like a sword beneath the glint of moonlight.
I swallowed hard. I didn’t think my fake bravado had done much to convince him to let me go. Time to come up with another plan.
My gaze drifted down the length of him and landed on his crotch. Hmm. Maybe if I was fast enough, I could slam my boot into his dick and run.Yeah, I thought to myself as I rolled back my shoulders. This guy deserved a good kick in the dick, and I was more than happy to be the one to administer it.
“I don’t like that look on your face,” he grunted as he pulled a large, serrated knife from his back waistband. “Time to stop messing around. Normally, I wouldn’t touch a human, but you chose your path. Now, it’s time for you to die.”
My heart shot up into my throat and landed there like a clump of nausea I couldn’t swallow down. Every hair on my arms stood to attention and begged for the world to open up beneath me and yank me into the darkness. I’d probably land in a nest of subway rats, but that would be a hell of a lot better than where I was now.
The hand that held the blade shot out toward my neck. I stumbled back, opened my mouth, and let out a scream that ripped through the night air. It was so loud my own ears rang. They could probably hear me all the way up in the Bronx.
Good. Hopefully someone would come running. I just needed to survive ten more minutes.
A low growl emanated from the attacker’s throat. He stalked toward me with narrowed eyes and a white-knuckled fist that gripped his knife.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” he muttered. “I was going to try to make things painless for you. Nice and quick. But now I want nothing more than to see you suffer, you little bitch.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” I said with a smile that betrayed none of the fear surging through my veins like acid.
He stalked forward, and I took a step away. My ass hit the grimy wall. Shit. He’d backed me into a corner, and the only way out was around his beefy frame. My heartbeat skittered like a mouse.
“You have a lot of nerve for a human, but you’ve run out of options now.” He lifted the knife, angling the blade toward my throat.
I squeezed my hand into a fist and met his vicious gaze. My past flashed before my eyes, like a movie reel of unwanted memories. Dancing with my sister on the local playhouse stage. Running through the woods barefoot, laughing as we stumbled over fallen branches, scraping our knees. Dead eyes staring up at me. My sister’s sobs. My parents’ faces as they shouted at me to leave.
