Devilish Deal by Jenna Wolfhart

19

The Hell’s Kitchen streets were full of shadows. Every thud of my boots brought on a fresh wave of unease. Frankly, it was stupid. The fear, not the trap. I had a Legion of demons watching my back. There was no reason to panic.

My breath shook in my lungs as I rounded the corner. Az’s building sparkled one block down, a beacon in the dead of the New York night. Only a few more minutes, and I’d waltzed through that revolving door safe and sound. No one had jumped out of an alley to attack me.

Strange, really. Why hadn’t the killer taken the bait?

Just as I started to relax, two massive forms stepped out of a doorframe and blocked my path. It was the beefy angels. Gabriel and Suriel. And they didn’t look very pleased to see me.

Also, um, fuck? The demons were watching me from above. They wouldn’t miss me chatting with two angels.

I took a step back and dropped my voice to a whisper. “I told you not to contact me anymore.”

A deep frown pulled down Suriel’s lips. “Your texts concerned us. How could we be sure they were coming from you? Maybe someone, like Asmodeus, stole your phone. We needed to see you were safe with our own eyes.”

“Well, now you’ve seen me,” I hissed back. “Go away.”

Gabriel stiffened and glanced up. “They’re watching us right now. Aren’t they?”

“They are, and they’re going to think it’s pretty weird that I’m talking to you.”

“So, the texts were fake.” Suriel nodded, his golden hair gleaming beneath the moonlight.

“No,” I said through gritted teeth. “I meant every word. But I also don’t want to get fired. And I will if they think I’m spying on them for some angels.”

Suriel sighed and exchanged a glance with Gabe. “Mia, what you don’t understand is that there’s far more at stake than just—”

Caim dropped down onto the sidewalk, landing in a crouch between me and the angels. Massive wings stretched out behind him, the deep black feathers rippling in the breeze. They were like five times the size of his body. My mouth dropped open, and I stumbled back.

“Gabriel. Suriel,” Caim growled out as a warning. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Suriel gave him a winning smile. “We were just introducing ourselves to your newest employee. Strange, isn’t it? A human working at a supernatural club? One who knows everything about vampires, demons, and wolves?”

“Stay away from Mia,” Caim said, his body trembling with anger. Slowly, he stood, and his wings flared wide. “You’re not welcome at Infernal, and you’re not welcome near any of us.”

Gabriel arched a brow. “Us? Are you saying this little human is actually one of you?”

“Gabe.” Az dropped down on my left side. I whipped my head toward him, swallowing hard at his wings. They were corded in pure muscle, clearly apparent even beneath all those feathers. Slick and black, pulsing with pure power. As much as I hate to admit it, I gaped.

“Hello, Asmodeus,” Gabriel said, his voice going hard. “Seems you and your Legion have trapped yourselves another human soul.”

“He hasn’t trapped me,” I shot back, but everyone ignored me as the rest of the demons landed on the streets. Their black wings beat behind them, shooting hot air across my face. And then the wings were gone, melting into nothing more than shadows.

I blinked as my mind tried to make sense of it.

“Well, this is bloody unexpected,” Suriel said as he took in the six angry demons. “You’re all here? Why?”

“None of your business,” Az said, taking a step toward the angels. “Leave now, Gabe. These streets are mine. I don’t want to fight you, but I will if I must.”

Gabe rolled his eyes and let out a sigh. “Fine. But we’ll be keeping an eye on things.”

With that, the two angels pushed up from the ground, spread brilliant silver wings, and vanished into the cloud-filled sky. My heart thumped as I tipped my head back to gaze up at the dark.

“Mia,” Az barked as he began to storm down the block toward his building. “Let’s go. We need to get you home.”

I pressed my lips together as I dragged my gaze away from the sky. He was already halfway down the block. The others followed behind him, bodies tense, gazes locked on the shadows they passed. Only Caim remained by my side, his hands slung into his jean pockets.

“Well, that was odd,” he said, motioning me forward.

I fell into step beside him. “Tell me about it.”

“I heard what they said,” he murmured as the humid breeze brushed the inky hair away from his face.

My head jerked toward him as a snake squeezed my heart. “Caim.”

“Don’t.” He held up a hand. “Like I said, I heard what they said. And I can put the pieces together to understand what happened. I don’t need an explanation from you, but he does.” He inclined his head toward Az who stormed ahead at the front of the Legion. “Loyalty. It is a very big deal to Az. I won’t explain why. That’s his story to tell. All you need to know is that he will never forgive you if you don’t come clean to him.”

I winced and glanced away. “You make it sound like I betrayed his trust or something.”

“Didn’t you?”

“No,” I said, fisting my hands. “The angels approached me after my first night at the club. Things were different then. I didn’t even know him.”

“And you think you know him now?”

I flushed, my gaze locking on my scuffed leather boots. “As crazy as it sounds, yes. I mean, I’ve joined this dangerous mission, haven’t I?”

He patted my shoulder and gave me a smile. “Then, you know how important trust is to him. You need to tell him everything.”

“Yeah, but…” My gut flipped over. More than once. It felt like it was doing somersaults. “Won’t it make him angry?”

“Probably.”

Sighing, I let out a frustrated growl. “This is so annoying. I didn’t ask those angels to corner me in the street. They’re really fucking creepy.”

“Yes.” He stopped suddenly, frowning. “They are.”

He whistled and called the Legion back to his side. The others slowly fell into place, even Az, as unhappy as he looked about it. Caim clapped his hands and gave them a quick rundown of his newest idea, one I probably would have thought of myself if I hadn’t been so distracted by Az’s stupid lips and stupid scowl.

“The angels could be behind this,” Caim said, glancing at each of the demons in turn. “They’re killing supernaturals, and they’ve targeted several people who were close to us. We’ve been thinking it’s some psychotic supe who’s lost control. But what if that’s not it at all? What if they’re killing anyone playing on Lucifer’s side? They don’t know what we’re doing here. They think we’re loyal to Lucifer. And so Gabe and Suriel show up here and try to get Mia over to their side. She’s human. They want her soul.”

“Hmm.” Az rubbed a hand against his stubbled jaw. “That doesn’t explain why the killer cornered Mia in the alley the other night.”

Stolas frowned. “Mia, did the killer try to talk to you at all? Convince you to leave Infernal?”

“Not really,” I said. “He was pretty intent on the stabby thing.”

“I saw the killer, too,” Az said. “He was masked, but I saw enough to know he wasn’t Gabe or Suriel. Might have been one of the others though. Raphael or Michael. They both like to keep to themselves. I might not have recognized either of them with that mask.”

Phenex clapped his hands. “Oh, I hope it’s the angels. That means we can have a little fun.”

I gave Phenex a blank stare. “You do know this is my life we’re talking about, right?”

But also, why would they have asked me to spy on the demons if they were behind the killings? They’d told me Infernal was a cover for something else, and they’d wanted me to find out what. A sudden dose of realization flooded my veins. Did they think the club was a venue for soul sacrificing? And they wanted me to find out if it was. So they could find a way to stop Az and get ahead in their little soul game.

Caim met my eyes. He clearly thought the same thing I did. But he wouldn’t voice it aloud. He was leaving that up to me.

Meanwhile, Phenex had started laughing. “These guys have been fucking around with us for too long. You’d think they would have learned their lesson by now. Last month, they tried to send a spy into Infernal. Want to know where that asshole vamp ended up?” His voice morphed into a mobster’s thick accent. “He swims with the fishes.”

Chills swept through my body. I sucked in a sharp breath and stepped back. My eyes widened in horror as I stared at Phenex’s cackling smile, turned to Caim’s wince, and then finally landed on Az’s ice-flecked eyes churning with unadulterated anger. Suddenly, I remembered exactly who these guys were. I’d started to think of them as harmless oversized teddy bears, and I’d forgotten a very important fact. They were literal demons. From Hell. They might be trying to save souls, but that didn’t mean they were fluffy bunnies.

They were nice to me now. What happened when they found out I’d been a spy, too? Caim gave me a grim smile. He hadn’t said a word, but I had a feeling he hadn’t been the one to throw the other spy into the Hudson River. It would have been Az.

“I’m really tired,” I said in a small voice. “It’s been a long night. Can we go now?”

Az nodded and motioned for the others to gather in close. They murmured a few words amongst themselves. I didn’t even try to listen. It was too much. I just kept picturing a dead man’s body floating in the Hudson River with fish nibbling his rotting toes. I wrinkled my nose. Ew.

After we said goodbye to the Legion, Az and I returned to his apartment. I couldn’t stop the quick glances his way. Had he killed the spy? Would he do the same to me? I wanted to believe he’d never do anything to harm me. He’d said as much. But did it extend to this? If he believed I’d betrayed him, what then?

He frowned as he caught my one hundredth glance, just as he trailed over to his bar to pour a drink. “You seem on edge.”

“Gee, I wonder why.”

“Not because of that.” Glasses clinked as he tipped the gin toward the crystal goblet. “You keep looking at me.”

I nibbled on my bottom lip, tempted to tiptoe into my bedroom and lock the door behind me. But I took the offered gin and tonic instead. I doubted he’d let me sleep alone tonight. “The spy Phenex mentioned.”

“Ah.” He sighed as he took a sip of his drink. “That.”

“Yes, that.” I frowned. “What did you do to him?”

“It doesn’t matter, Mia.” Az toed off his shoes and trailed over to his black leather sofa that faced the floor-to-ceiling windows. He sank into the cushions, took another sip, and stared out at the twinkling city lights. “He was our enemy.”

“But surely killing him is…a lot.” I took a few timid steps closer to him, my heartbeat frantic. “Maybe he was just someone who didn’t know what he was getting himself into, trapped between your heaven and hell games.”

His eyes narrowed as he turned those piercing eyes my way. A shiver raced down my spine, even as heat curled through me. “He was a vampire, Mia. And he was spying on us. The angels have long guessed I’m hiding something. They’re right, of course, and they can never find out. Do you know what would happen if they do?” He shook his head and leaned back into the sofa. “He needed to die.”

I swallowed hard. So that was how he would see me if he found out the truth.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Az patted the open spot on the sofa next to him. The glow of the city curved across his jaw, highlighting the strong edges of it. He’d unbuttoned the top of his shirt, and his sculpted pecs gleamed like steel. He looked delicious basked in the shadows and the lights. “I don’t know why you’re so wound up about this. It has nothing to do with you. Come sit. Let’s enjoy our drinks.”

“No.” I took a step back. “I think I just want to go to bed.”

His frown deepened, but he didn’t argue. “Alright. But keep the door open just in case.”

Before I could talk myself out of it, I placed my untouched drink on the dining table and vanished into his room. I climbed into his bed without bothering to undress. My eyes struggled to shut. Every muscle in my body stayed tense. Ominous thoughts flashed through my mind, taking me down paths of disastrous what ifs. I’d told myself never to play that game again, but I couldn’t help it tonight.

What if I should have gotten out of the deal when I could? What if the Legion really was hiding something? And what if Az found out I’d been a momentary spy?

But the thing that kept me awake the most was that Az never came to bed.