Devilish Deal by Jenna Wolfhart

8

“Are you quite alright in there?” Suriel frowned, leaned down, and peered into my eyes. Flecks of light shimmered in his dark irises like a multitude of stars against the night sky.

I steadied myself. “Yep, of course. Why wouldn’t I be? I just found out my new boss is a demon from the actual underworld, and so are all my coworkers.”

“They won’t all be demons,” Gabriel said. “Vampires and fae mostly.”

“Right,” I said in a small voice.

Even though I’d known Serena all my life, I’d never met another supernatural. That I knew of. She’d been such a constant presence in my life that I never even thought of her as a werewolf. She was just Serena. Sure, before she’d learned to control her shifts, I’d had to trap her in a cemetery mausoleum on full moon nights, but eventually, that had felt as normal as a Friday night football game.

I knew she’d made supernatural friends since moving to New York, but she’d never introduced me to them. Sometimes, she even attended werewolf parties. Obviously, I never went. I wasn’t supposed to know they exist, and she’d be in some deep shit if they found out she’d told a human about them.

“Listen,” Gabe said, his smooth voice cutting through my shock. “We have some suspicions about Asmodeus and his club. We think he and his Legion are up to something dangerous in there, and it’s impossible for us to get close enough to figure it out. Fallen angels are not allowed inside his club.”

“You’re human. You have no bond with him,” Suriel added. “We need you to keep an eye on him for us and let us know the second he does anything that seems off to you.”

I swallowed hard. “Did you say legion?”

“There’s only six of them, including Asmodeus himself,” Suriel said dismissively. “I don’t know why he likes to call them his Legion.”

“So, what do you say?” Gabriel asked.

For a moment, all I could do was stare at the angels, my blood roaring in my ears. They both watched me with expectant expressions carved into their chiseled faces, and a strange hum of power rippled from their towering forms. A humid breeze rustled the hair around my shoulders, bringing with it the stench of a nearby dumpster. The street was silent and empty except for us. It all felt eerie and wrong.

“You’re asking me to spy on a demon.”

They shared a quick glance, and then Gabriel shrugged. “Pretty much.”

“You realize how crazy that sounds, right?” I asked, taking a step away from them. “If he’s as dangerous as you think he is, then I don’t want to work for him anymore, let alone spy for you.”

“I’m not sure you have much of a choice,” Gabriel said. “Didn’t you sign a contract?”

“Yeah, but I mean—”

“You made a deal with a demon, Mia,” Suriel said, his voice softening just a bit. “There’s no way you can get out of it until you fulfill your end of the bargain. Not unless you’re willing to lose your soul.”

“Lose my…” Fear and anger ripped through me like a tornado. Sucking in a sharp breath, I fisted my hands, which started shaking by my sides. “Wait a minute. What are you saying?”

Gabe sighed and ran a hand along his buzzed hair. “When you make a deal with a demon, you lose your soul if you break the contract.”

My heart lurched into my throat, and dizziness slammed into my skull. I reached out for something to hold onto but quickly realized there was nothing but the grime-infested building to my right and the towering angels before me. Shaking my head, I stumbled back.

“Let me get this straight. You’re telling me that Asmodeus made a deal for my soul, and he didn’t even tell me about it.”

Suriel pressed his lips together. “Yes, Mia. We are. So, you see why he needs to be stopped as soon as possible. Only an evil being would do something like that.”

All the blood drained from my face as my mind spun through the implications. I’d signed a deal with a demon. One who may or may not be totally, completely evil. And I had to live with him. If I tried to get out of it, my soul would…what, exactly? Go to hell?

I really needed to sit down.

“We think the club is a cover for something else,” Gabriel added, his boots thunking against the sidewalk as he stepped closer.

Suriel nodded. “Something nefarious. Perchance he is the one behind the recent murders.”

I raised my brows as his words snapped me out of my shock. “Perchance? Um, what century are you from?”

Suriel exchanged a glance with Gabriel. “Well, we are very old.”

“And you didn’t think to update your vocabulary during the past few centuries?”

Suriel cocked his head, and a lock of his golden hair tumbled into his eyes. “Why would I?”

“Nevermind.” The fact that I was currently having a conversation in the middle of New York with two centuries-old fallen angels was not the craziest part of my night.

I was the fake girlfriend of a literal demon.

Oh my god.I shuddered as a new thought sprang into my mind like a ninja ready to chop into my brains. Asmodeus had mentioned kissing. I would have to kiss a demon if I wanted to keep my soul. Did he have normal lips? A normal tongue?

An unwelcome thought flashed through my mind. Forget the tongue. Did he have a normal dick? Or did it have a weird spade-shaped end like a demon tail?

More importantly, did he have an actual tail, too? I wondered if Serena knew. I made a mental note to ask her later.

My cheeks burned as I realized I was thinking far too much about Asmodeus’s dick. It wasn’t like I was ever going to see it. He’d made it clear our deal had nothing to do with sex.

He better keep it that way.

“Here’s our contact details.” Gabriel slid a small business card into my hand. It displayed a telephone number in black letters against a white background. Nothing more. “Call us if you see or hear anything suspicious.”

“You really expect me to carry on like nothing has happened,” I whispered to them.

The two angels shrugged in unison.

“You don’t really have another choice, Mia,” Gabriel said with a gentle smile. “Just whatever you do, don’t make him angry. Oh, and take this. You might need it. Just…never let him find out you have it, alright?”

He dropped a gleaming signet ring into my hand. A thin silver chain wound through it. When I took a closer look, I spotted that same emblem engraved into the center of it. The one on the flyer. The one on the door. Infernal’s symbol.

“Great,” I muttered as the angels vanished around the corner. For a moment, all I could do was stare after them, flipping the card over in my trembling fingers. If I were smart, I’d walk straight over to the subway entrance, climb on board the G train, and hightail it to Serena’s apartment.

Strangely, it wasn’t the demon part of the equation that had me spooked the most. Having grown up with Serena, I understood that supernaturals were a multifaceted group of people, just like humans were. They weren’t all good; they weren’t all bad. That might extend to demons…but Asmodeus had trapped me in a soul contract without telling me, and these angels thought he might be linked to a serial killer. Now, I had to pretend like I didn’t know about any of it.

How the hell would I pull this off?

Unease racing down my spine, I threw the chain around my neck, slung my hands into my jacket pockets, and started walking. I needed some time to think. Asmodeus was back at the club, unaware I’d been approached by two fallen angels who wanted to take him down. I still had a little time to make a plan. I wondered if I could convince him to tear up the contract. I knew next to nothing about demons, so I didn’t know if that was even possible. How binding were these things? If he decided to renege on it, what happened to my soul then?

All I knew was, I didn’t want to go through with this. I needed a job, but I wasn’t this desperate.

Was I?

With a deep breath, I rounded the corner instead of continuing south to Asmodeus’s apartment building. He wouldn’t be there, but I wasn’t ready to walk into that penthouse just yet. Not until I’d had a chance to clear my mind and make a plan.

The distant thud of footsteps sounded on the sidewalk somewhere behind me. Chills swept across my arms. Glancing around, I noticed this street was steeped in darkness. I was away from the bustling, twinkling nightlife now. Instead, the buildings were ghosts, full of shadows and darkened windows. I cast a quick glance behind me, but no one was there.

No one that I could see.

Maybe it wasn’t such a great idea to wander through Hell’s Kitchen alone in the middle of the night, even with my trusty pepper spray. In fact, it was downright stupid. Why had I come out here alone? Idiot. Heart suddenly in my throat, I picked up the pace, only to hear the footsteps do the same.

Shit.

I started to run, tears pricking the corners of my eyes. A car squealed past and slid sideways as it jerked to a sudden stop beside the curb. The passenger door flew open. Asmodeus rushed out, eyes narrowed, jaw clenched tight. A burst of shadows exploded from his skin in the blink of an eye. And then they were gone.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he barked, thundering forward. The vein in his neck seemed to pop right out of his skin.

Swallowing hard, I stumbled back. Had he seen me talking to those two angels? Did he know what they’d asked me to do? Would he steal my soul now? Would he…would he eat it?

What the hell did demons do with souls anyway?

I didn’t want to find out.

“I…” At a total loss for words, all I could do was stand there. At least whoever had been following me would be long gone by now.

“I thought you’d seen the news,” he demanded with flashing eyes. “There is a serial killer in Hell’s Kitchen, and he is after girls exactly like you, Mia. It isn’t safe for you to walk home alone at three o’clock in the fucking morning. Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving? Why did you just vanish like that?”

He strode up to me and gently took my shoulder in his strong hand. His touch shot a flicker of warmth through my gut, even as everything within me screamed to run. Those dark eyes bored into me, and for a moment, all I could think about were his lips and his eyes, remembering my earlier conversation with the angels. If I didn’t get out of this contract, one day I would have to kiss him. Heat curled across my goose-bumped skin.

I swallowed hard. “I just…well, you seemed busy. I didn’t think it was a big deal. I’m your employee, not your prisoner…right?”

This guy was a demon. And he was touching me. Why hadn’t I pulled away yet?

He sighed and let go. “Of course you’re not my prisoner. And normally, it wouldn’t be a big deal. I just assumed you’d wait for me to drive you home. It isn’t safe, Mia. Not until the killer is caught.”

One thing was for sure. If this guy was involved with the murders, like the angels thought, he probably wouldn’t react like this. Unless he knew they’d cornered me in the street, and he was trying to throw them—and me—off the scent.

“Okay.” I gave him a strained smile. “So…now what?”

“Now, we go back home.”

Home. My stomach clenched. That penthouse was not my home.

“Listen,” I said, nervously tapping my finger against my thigh. “This whole Hell’s Kitchen killer thing does have me a little on edge. I’m not sure this is the safest place to live right now. What would happen if I wanted to get out of our deal a little early?”

His expression darkened. “You signed a contract.”

“Yes, but—”

“It’s binding,” he said with a growl, whirling away from me. He strode over to the car, yanked open the door, and motioned for me to climb inside. “It’s just a month, Mia. And unless you go running off into the streets alone again, I’ll make sure no one ever touches you.”

“Erm, right.” I shifted on my feet, eyeing the dark interior of the car. “It’s just…you can’t protect me twenty-four seven for an entire month. Can’t you tear up the contract?”

His lips curled into a wicked smile. “I could. If I wanted to. But I don’t. Now, get inside.”

“You know, some people might wonder why you’re so insistent on getting me into that car.”

“No, they wouldn’t.” His grip tightened on the door. “Because it makes perfect fucking sense, Mia. I know you don’t like me very much, and I don’t like you very much either. But while you are in my employ, it is my responsibility to keep you safe. You’re out this late because you were dancing in my club. I’m not going to let something happen to you when I should have been driving you home. Got it?”

I wet my lips, thinking back to the moments before Asmodeus had arrived. It pained me to admit he had a point. Someone had been following me. It might not have been anything at all. Just some weirdo. New York had a lot of them.

But I might very well have been in danger. A serial killer stalked these streets. He could have had his sights set on me tonight. Hell, he might still be watching me even now, waiting to see if Asmodeus would go away, leaving me out here alone again. As strange as it seemed, a demon was the better option.

Looked like I was going to become a spy after all.