Infernal Games by Jenna Wolfhart

10

The car rumbled down the street. Az’s driver was silent and still, just like always. He didn’t even give us a curious glance when Az barked out his orders. Drive quickly. Avoid any traffic. Watch out for black wings in the sky.

My heart thumped as Az bit his knuckle and glared out the tinted windows. He was acting pretty freaked out, which wasn’t doing much to make me feel better about this little plan of his.

“Az,” I said softly. He jumped. “Do you think maybe it’s a bad idea to go to this address? If Lucifer…” I glanced at the driver, who had zero reaction to my words. “If he messed with the contract, I doubt he would have left that address untouched without a reason. Maybe he’s trying to lure us there.”

“That’s exactly what he’s trying to do,” Az said in a hard voice.

I frowned. “Okay. Then, maybe we shouldn’t go there.”

“We have to.” He caught my hand in his and brought it to his chest. His heart pounded against my fingers. “There’s something there. We need to know what it is. Otherwise, he would have marked it out, too.”

“Except…that means we’re walking straight into a trap. I don’t know about you, but I think that’s maybe a bad idea.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll stay out of sight where he can’t see us.”

I pressed my lips together. “You’re very determined to go through with this.”

“I am.” He dragged his gaze from the window and met my eyes. Flames roared within them, and shadows whispered across his skin. “He’s destroyed all the other evidence. This might be our only chance to find out the truth. What you are. What was done to you.”

Pain ripped through me. My eyes slid shut. “I don’t know if it’s worth it then. Maybe it’s better if I never find out.”

A beat passed before he answered. “Surely you don’t mean that.”

“I don’t know, Az.” I flipped open my eyes to meet his dark gaze again. “How would you feel if you were me? My entire life might be a lie, and it terrifies me. It has something to do with Lucifer and Hell and fallen angels. Magic and hidden scents and fae glamor. Do you know how crazy that sounds to me? I’m a human. That’s all I’ve ever known. This is all just way too much for me to handle.”

“But it’s not all you’ve never known.” His voice softened, and the shadows blinked away. Now, it was just me and him. “Unlike most humans, you’ve been aware of the supernatural world for most of your life. You accepted it. You understand it. And when I came into your life, instead of screaming into my face, you…” He cleared his throat and glanced away. “The Legion noticed it in you. So did our dancers. You seem to fit, Mia.”

Fit. He put words to the feeling I’d had for weeks. Something I thought I might have only imagined. In just a few short weeks, I’d felt like I belonged at Infernal with the magic, the demons, and the fae. My best friend was even a werewolf. The supernatural world felt like home.

I sucked in a rattling breath as the realization washed over me. At the time, I hadn’t thought much of it. I’d spent so long bobbing along in a sea of solitude that it’d made sense I’d grasp onto the first group of people who welcomed me into their lives with open arms. Even if they were Princes of Hell.

But maybe there was more to it than that. Maybe I’d felt like I fit in with a bunch of supernaturals because...I was one myself.

Could that really be the case?

We were about to find out. Maybe. Az seemed certain we would find answers at this address, but I had a sneaking suspicion we’d just find Lucifer lurking in the shadows and waiting for us to walk straight into his trap.

The driver angled the car toward the curb and left the engine running. Peering out the tinted windows, I tried to steel myself for what we were about to do. But, to be honest, my entire body felt a little wobbly. What was it people said? Bravery isn’t the lack of fear. It’s doing the thing you fear even if it liquidates your bones.

Az slid out of the car, rounded the back, and swung the door open for me to climb out. I put one booted foot on the sidewalk and braced myself for the inevitable swoop of black wings. But nothing came. People bustled by, heads down. It was the middle of the day on a busy Manhattan street, and Lucifer was nowhere to be seen.

I glanced up at the number on the building in front of us while Az slammed the car door. Twenty-six. The address we were looking for was forty-eight, unless I’d totally missed the mark here. And that was always a possibility.

“The building is on the other side of this block.” Az took my elbow and led me toward the revolving doors. “We’re going to approach it through this one and stay out of sight until we’re sure he isn’t in there.”

“But he is going to be in there,” I said, glancing up at him. “Isn’t he?”

Az nodded. “Most likely.”

“I still think this is a terrible idea.”

“We need to see what he wants us to see.” Az led us into the revolving doors, and we pushed against the golden frame. “We just can’t let him see us.”

I rolled my eyes. Demons were so weird. “But he knows we’re going to follow this trail, right? So, what makes you think he won’t spot us? Or smell us? He’s big on the whole scent thing, right?”

“We’ll stay well out of sight.”

I sighed. There really was no talking him out of this. A part of me wasn’t sure I even wanted to know the truth. If the fae was right and I was a fallen angel, what would that mean for my future? Would that make me an enemy to Az? Could angels and demons date?

Not that we were dating anyway, I had to remind myself. We’d had a very brief, fake fling, and he’d shown little interest in me since he’d dropped me in that Brooklyn apartment and walked out of my life.

And I refused to spend the rest of my life pining after a guy who wasn’t interested.

The rest of my life. My gut twisted. Wait a minute. Was I immortal?

We strode through a dimly lit lobby and passed a bank of grungy elevators where a few people stood waiting. They glanced at us as we passed, but went back to their phones with disinterest. One person wore a full-on bunny costume, complete with an oversized, floppy-eared head.

It wasn’t the strangest thing I’d ever seen in Manhattan.

“You seem to know where you’re going,” I whispered to Az when I felt sure we were well out of earshot.

His lips tipped up in the corners. A dimple briefly made an appearance. “The Legion and I have lived in Hell’s Kitchen for a very long time. Stolas spent the past decade making us a map of every building.”

I arched a brow. “An entire decade?”

“Sometimes, good work takes time.”

“Must be one hell of a map,” I muttered.

It didn’t surprise me one bit that Stolas was the demon behind it. Unlike Caim and Phenex, he rarely cracked a smile or seemed drawn to chaos. I could easily picture him with his head down, bent over a massive canvas and drawing tiny details for hours.

We reached the back wall and hung a left down a corridor lit only by a flickering fluorescent bulb. It buzzed like bees as we passed beneath it. A few doors down, Az twisted a knob and pushed inside an empty room. A stairwell sat to our left. We jogged up two flights and entered another vacant room that looked out onto an alley.

“That’s the building.” Az pointed at a red-brick walk-up that squatted on the opposite side of the alley. Dozens of windows stared back at us, some covered in blinds or curtains. A few windows were bare, and we could clearly see residents wandering around their apartments. Some cooked. Some watched TV. One girl was petting her cat.

I shifted on my feet. “Um, this feels a bit voyeuristic.”

Az crossed the room and stood before the large window. I hissed and latched onto his arm, trying to drag him back. But he was like a stone statue. Immovable and…whoops. I could feel his muscles tense beneath my fingers. My god, his biceps were sculpted to perfection. I wanted to run my fingers over them and—

I dropped my hands and backed away.

He shot me a wicked smile. “You’re worried someone will see you in here with me.”

“Um. Yes. That someone is Lucifer.”

“The windows in this building are tinted. That’s why I chose this one.” He pointed out the dark film on the outer glass. “If anyone looks into this room, they’ll see vague shadowy forms and nothing more.”

“Oh.” Relaxing a little, I stepped up beside him. No wonder it had taken Stolas so long to plot out his map of Hell’s Kitchen. He’d even nailed down details about which buildings had tinted glass and which did not. “So, what exactly are we looking at? Is one of these windows the apartment from that contract?”

Mycontract. Had I signed it? I certainly didn’t remember doing anything of the sort.

“I’m not sure.” Az folded his arms, standing tall and firm beside me. For a moment, I let my eyes wander across his body. His corded muscles tensed as he gazed at the building across from us. That strong, unyielding jawline rippled with determination. Why did he have to be so damn hot?

His lips curled. “Have you forgotten that I can scent your emotions, Mia?”

Alarm rippled through me, and I jerked my gaze away. Heat consumed my face until I was sure it was actually on fire. To be honest, I kind of had forgotten. Not that it would have made any difference. I couldn’t control how I felt any more than any other living, breathing human with eyes. He was as sexy as sin. It was just a fact. If he had a Wikipedia page, it would be one of the first things listed about him.

“You sure do like to jump to conclusions,” I said with a mouthful of marbles. Time to save a little face, if even possible. “Whatever you think you smell, you’re wrong. It doesn’t mean what you think it means.”

“If you say so.” He chuckled.

My eyes narrowed. “You have a massive ego. Pretty rich coming from the most anno—”

“There he is.” The smile slipped from Az’s face. He took one step closer to the window and pointed up at an apartment two floors above us.

Heart pulsing, I followed the line of his finger. Az was right. There he was. Lucifer’s silver hair flashed beneath the sunlight streaming in through the window. His hands were wrapped around an old man’s throat.

I sucked in a sharp gasp.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Lucifer smiled. He stepped up closer to the window and snapped the man’s neck in one fluid motion.

Horror tumbled through me.

I screamed.

Lucifer’s gaze snapped toward our building, his eyes scanning the windows. Az grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the door. I stumbled after him, reaching up to touch my cheeks. They were wet with tears.

When we reached the door, I shot one last glance over my shoulder. Lucifer was gone from the window now. Had he seen us? The glass was tinted, but he’d still be able to make out our forms. Would he have recognized the shape of us?

Az didn’t wait around to find out. He grabbed my hand and hurtled up the stairwell. Our footsteps echoed through the concrete space like war drums. When we reached the rooftop, he gathered me in his arms and shot up into the clouds on his wings of darkness.

But it was far too late. I knew Lucifer had heard my scream.