Infernal Games by Jenna Wolfhart

2

Ithrew myself to my feet and charged down the length of the alley. Blood seeped through my jeans where my knees had slammed into the ground, but fear powered me. I just kept running, despite the flashes of pain.

The mouth of the alley loomed large before me. Sucking in a deep breath, I threw myself out of it and swung a left, away from the entrance to Infernal.

My heart pounded in my ears as I considered my options. I could keep running until I reached the nearest entrance to the subway, where I would promptly take a train to Brooklyn. Apparently, Lucifer didn’t like crossing the East River, whatever that was all about.

Of course, he had wings. If he were following me, he’d no doubt take to the skies and search for a red-headed idiot flailing her way through the downtown Manhattan streets. He’d find me before I reached the subway.

Or I could hide and hope he hadn’t spotted me yet.

I slowed to a stop and tipped back my head to gaze at the smog-infested sky. No sign of those massive, powerful black feather wings that Az and the rest of his Legion sported. I assumed Lucifer had a pair, too. So, that was good, at least, right?

But it probably wouldn’t stay that way for long. I whirled on the spot, searching for a hiding place that the King of Hell wouldn’t think to look. My eyes landed on an old cathedral on the corner of the block.

I smiled and raced down the rest of the street, ducking inside with my heart pounding out a rhythm against my ribs. Thankfully, the place was open, even if it was almost eight o’clock by now. I pushed away from the door and peered inside. A lofted space stretched out before me, broken up by rows of wooden pews. They all faced a small stage draped in red velvet carpet. A cross hung on the wall behind it, and candlelit sconces flickered with flames. The place was empty other than that. The silence pounded against my eardrums.

Shivering, I hugged my arms to my chest and hovered by the door. As eerie as it was, at least I would be safe in here. The question was, how long would I have to wait before I could leave? Would I have to camp in here all night?

A heavy thunder sounded from behind me. I whirled on my feet with a gasp, my hand pressed to my heart. Asmodeus stood before me, inky ribbons of shadows swirling across his skin. Danger flickered in his ice-blue eyes like flames from Hell. He growled and strode toward me, his hands fisting by his sides.

I sucked in a breath. My heart nearly stilled. “Az.”

He growled, his eyes narrowing. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Um.” I wet my lips and cast a glance behind me. “Thought it might be a good time to pray?”

His eyes darkened even more, if that were even possible. “You were at Infernal tonight, poking your head in where it doesn’t belong.”

“Oh, that.”

“Mia.” He grabbed my shoulders and gave me a gentle shake. “What the hell were you thinking? Your soul is on the line. We made a deal.”

“We did. And it said I couldn’t step foot inside your club.” I gave him a wincing smile. “But the deal said nothing about me peeking through the windows at you.”

God, that sounded way weirder when I spoke it out loud.

He let out a heavy sigh and closed his eyes, as if he were on the verge of losing his patience with me. My heart flickered, and a strange sorrow whorled through my gut. I’d imagined our reunion over and over in the weeks since we’d said goodbye, and it was never like this. Tense, uneasy, layered in anger and disappointment. I’d pictured him sweeping me up in his arms and carrying me back to his penthouse, where he would spoil me with gin and tonics and pancakes.

Not this.

“Lucifer heard you.” His words felt like punches in my gut.

I grimaced. “Yeah, I thought that might be the case. Hence, the church. I figured he might not be much of a fan of this place, so he wouldn’t think to look here. Also, I thought demons might not be allowed inside.” I eyed him warily. “But I guess demons are more welcome here than I realized. Did you see me run inside?”

His lips flattened. “No, I followed your scent.”

“Oh.” A fresh wave of unease rushed through my gut. If Az had my scent, then…

“Lucifer caught it, too, and he knows it’s yours, Mia.” He tightened his grip on my shoulders. “We have to get you out of here now. He won’t be far behind me.”

“That’s not ideal,” I said as lightly as I could. When I’d made the ridiculously hasty decision to spy on them, I hadn’t known this whole scent thing could be an issue. “How long will he remember my scent? A few hours?” I paused. “Don’t tell me it’ll be days.”

He closed his eyes. “Until Lucifer leaves Manhattan and stops looking for you. It’s been weeks since I saw you, Mia, and I still know your scent. It would take years for me to ever forget it. And his senses are far stronger than mine. Now that he knows you, you’re forever imprinted in his mind.”

My stomach bottomed out. “Right. That’s great.”

“Come on.” Az wrapped his arm around my shoulder and steered me out the door. A sudden sharp zing went through my gut, a sensation I hadn’t felt since the last time I’d seen him. It brought a strange sense of deja vu along with it, reminding me of something I couldn’t quite grasp.

Did he feel it, too?

I started to ask him, but then stopped when he rushed me into the quiet streets. Dread pounded against my skull as we darted through the shadows lining the buildings. I swallowed hard as my boots splashed into grimy puddles from the recent summer rain, fighting the urge to glance behind me. Had Lucifer seen us? Was he just behind the next corner?

What would he do to Az if his King caught him trying to save me?

Fisting my hands, I let out a yelp of surprise when Az dragged me back into the alley behind his club. I stumbled back when he released his grip on my shoulders, shaking my head. “Why are we here? Isn’t this the last place we should be?”

He pointed at the dumpster. “Get inside.”

My mouth dropped open. “What?!”

“Get inside dumpster, Mia. Now.” The heaviness in his voice told me he wasn’t joking.

“You can’t be serious.” I took a step away from him. “I’m not climbing into a New York City dumpster. There must be a better place I can hide.” One that didn’t reek of rotting fish and cat vomit.

He growled and stalked toward me. “If you don’t climb inside that dumpster, Mia, then I’ll throw you in there myself.”

“Um.” I wet my lips, my eyes darting around the alley for an escape hatch. “I think I prefer my church option, personally.”

He threw up his hands and darted toward me faster than the blink of an eye. With a grunt, he hauled me into his arms and leapt up on top of the dumpster, where we landed with a metallic thump. Before I could throw myself out of his arms, he’d yanked open the left side of the dumpster.

The world yawned wide. Darkness swallowed me as I tumbled toward the piles of trash. I landed in a heap, arms and legs akimbo. My face pressed against a particularly gelatinous takeout bag.

Anger churned in my veins as laughter drifted down toward me. Asmodeus hovered at the edge of the opening, peering down at me with that stupid dimpled smile of his. “This is the best I’ve ever seen you.”

“Fuck off.”

“Come on.” He knelt and held out a hand toward me. “We got the scent off you now. Time to go before Lucifer gets back.”

“I ought to pull you in here with me,” I spat back as I grabbed his hand.

He arched a brow. “You’re welcome to try.”

Growling, I gave a little tug. But he was like a massive boulder. Impossible to budge. It didn’t even look like he had to make an effort to stop himself from falling in. Ugh. So freaking annoying.

Az yanked hard and pulled me back into his arms. The takeout bag was still stuck to my skin like a limp jellyfish clinging on for dear life. And then the world fell out from beneath me once more as my fake demon ex-boyfriend took the skies.

* * *

This time, we headed straight to his penthouse on the top floor of a very fancy Hell’s Kitchen building. He landed on his balcony, threw open the doors, and deposited me on a single stool away from anything else. Probably because I still had trash all over me.

“Can I take a shower now?” I asked through gritted teeth, still angry he’d thrown me in with the goo I’d tried so hard to avoid.

“Absolutely not. We need to keep your scent hidden for as long as possible.” Frowning, he paced the length of his penthouse. “And we need to find a way to make you invisible to Lucifer. Permanently.”

“Okay, great. And how are we going to do that?”

He stopped pacing and turned toward me. “There are methods. Ones I’d rather not use.”

Lovely. I shivered.

“If they’re bad enough that a demon finds them unpalatable, then maybe we should brainstorm a little more.” I gave him a weak smile. Truth was, despite my bravado, I was seriously regretting my idiotic decision to spy on some demons. Not only did Lucifer have my scent now, but I’d ruined any chance of a movie-esque reunion with the sexiest man I’d ever laid eyes on.

I stank. And I probably had goo on my face. Not my most shining moment, and he had to witness it all.

Of course, he’d also been the one to cause my current condition.

“It involves taking you deeper into the supernatural underworld,” he said with a sigh, running a hand through his dark hair. “And I’ve been trying to protect you from that.”

“Oh.” The supernatural underworld? That sounded interesting. I sat up a little straighter. “I’m alright with that.”

He gave me a dark look. “Did you forget how close you came to dying on multiple occasions the last time you got involved with supernaturals? You’re mortal. This life is far too dangerous for you. Honestly, Mia, why did you have to come back to Infernal tonight?”

I pressed my lips together, more to hold back the truth than anything else.

Because I’ve missed you.

But I couldn’t say that. Not when he looked at me like…this. Like I was a pesky child who’d stumbled in during an important client meeting. He couldn’t wait to hand me back to the nanny.

“Serena told me Lucifer was in town, and I couldn’t resist.” I shrugged. “No one is telling me anything. I wanted to see just how much he knew and how long he planned to stick around.”

“Well, he was close to leaving.” Az folded his arms, leaning back on his heels. “After tonight, it’ll be weeks more before he gives up. We need to change your scent and get you out of Manhattan.”

My hands fisted. “Not this again. You can’t force me to leave my home.”

“It’s the only way, Mia.” He strode toward me and took my shoulders in his powerful hands. Gently, this time. His eyes darkened as he peered down at me, like he was peeling back layer after layer of my soul. For not the first time, it almost felt as though he could see into the very depths of me. My deepest, darkest thoughts. My greatest fears. And the desire I felt for him still, after everything.

“I swore an oath to keep you safe,” he murmured, edging so close that I could smell the flames of Hell wafting from his skin. “And I never break my oaths. You can’t stay here anymore. You have to leave tonight.”