A Demon’s Touch by Ella Jade

Chapter 26

Harper

“What doyou mean you can’t do us?” I swallowed back the bile that rose in my throat. “That doesn’t make any sense, not after last night.”

“I take full responsibility for this whole screw up.”

“Screw up?” Breathe…inhale, exhale. He smelled of stale water and dirt, and the frightening look in his eyes unnerved me. “Are you worried about more business associates coming here?”

If you only knew how many more they could send for you.

“Maybe you should take a hot shower and get some coffee, and then, we can talk.”

“A shower and coffee aren’t going to fix anything.” He leaned against the banister. “I made a mistake. I never should have pursued you. I was wrong, and now, I’ve put you in a terrible situation.”

“What situation?”

“I asked you to trust me.”

“And I did.” Inhale, exhale. “It wasn’t easy for me to do that.”

“I know, and that’s why I’m so sorry.” He rubbed his temples. “I thought I could do it, but I can’t.”

“You can’t what?”

“Be the man you need.”

“But you already are!”

“It’s not real.” He shook his head. “I’m not real. I should never have allowed you to believe in me. To trust me.”

“What is making you say these things?” My stomach churned. “You don’t mean them. You can’t mean them. You promised.”

“I shouldn’t have made any promises to you.” His jaw tightened when he spoke. “I was wrong, and for that, I’m truly sorry.”

“You’re sorry.” I threw my hands in the air. “I don’t even know what you’re apologizing for. You’re not making any sense.”

“It makes perfect sense to me.”

“You don’t want me here? After all your persuading and charming words, now you’re telling me you made a mistake.” I stalked toward him. “You wanted me to move in with you, and now, you want me to go?”

“Yes.”

His answer punched into my stomach, causing me to bend forward, knocking the air out of me. He caught me and held me up, but when he gazed into my eyes, I found nothing in his. They were as black as coal, lifeless.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered as he pulled me close to him.

“Stop saying that.” I pounded my fists against his chest, but he wouldn’t release me.

“Listen to me.” He tugged me to him, trapping my arms against his solid form. “This has nothing to do with you. It’s all me. I take responsibility for it.”

“How dare you?” I spat in his face. “You’re an asshole! No better than any other person who has walked out of my life.”

“You don’t believe that.”

“Fuck you!” I screamed. “You don’t get to dictate how I feel. Let go of me!” I twisted and thrashed in his arms, but he held me tighter, pressing his lips to my temple.

“I’m so sorry.”

“You’re sorry for getting what you wanted from me and then kicking me out of your life?” I yelled. “Just like Terra and the others? You get bored, and that’s that?”

“It’s not like that at all.” He squeezed his eyes shut. “I wish I could make you understand.”

“I don’t want to understand you. I’m tired of trying.” My efforts to get him to release me only exhausted me. It was no use; he was too strong. If I couldn’t fight him physically, I’d wound him with my words. I was tired of being tossed aside, of being left alone and abandoned. “You are the most draining man I’ve ever met. I’ve never understood you.”

“Say what you must to make yourself feel better.”

“I don’t need your permission to speak.” The tighter he held me, the more infuriated I became. “All I wanted was your approval, but you kept taking from me until there was nothing left. You’re leaving me empty and alone.”

He nodded.

I continued, fury coursing through me. “You’re right. You can’t be the man I need because you’re heartless and evil.”

“You don’t mean that.”

I pushed against him, slamming my chest into his, bruising and hurting myself in the process. When I cried out in agony, he finally let go of me.

“I mean every word, you self-righteous bastard,” I raised my hand and smacked his cheek. My palm connected hard with his face, but he didn’t even flinch. “I’ll never forgive you for doing this to me.”

“I deserve far worse.”

I screamed out in frustration because my heart was breaking, and there was nothing I could do about it. I couldn’t stop the sobs that escaped my body. The sound was so foreign to me because I never let myself go like this. Through all the years of pain and isolation, I never allowed myself to feel so fully.

Not until Angelo.

I stared into his eyes, as the salty tears streamed down my face. I wiped my nose with the back of my hand. Dropping to the floor, I pulled my legs to my chest and despised myself for doing this in front of him.

“Harper.” He joined me on the floor. “I’m not worth all of this agony. Please, don’t do this.”

“You did this.” I pushed him away. “I don’t want your pity.”

“It’s not pity.” He tried to hold me, but I swatted him away. “It’s nothing but

lov—"

“What is going on in here?” David burst into the foyer with Greta behind him. “We can hear you from the patio.”

I scooted away from Angelo and looked up at David for assistance. Greta gasped when she stared down at me. I tried to rub the mascara away from under my eyes, but I only succeeded in smearing it on my fingers. Angelo’s dirty skin had covered me in mud when he held me against him.

“What did you do?” David glared at Angelo.

“Greta.” Angelo rose to his feet. “I’ll need you to assist Harper in gathering her things.”

“What?” Greta’s voice held surprise, but when Angelo gave her a stern glare, she backed off. “Of course.”

“Have my stuff sent to me or burn it. I don’t care what you do with it.” My voice was low and defeated. “David.” I reached up for his hand. “Can you take me home?”

“If that’s what you want.” He took my hand and helped me off the floor, smoothing my hair with his gentle hand.

“When I woke up this morning, going back to my place wasn’t at all what I wanted.” I leaned against him. “But now I know better.”

“Harper,” Angelo called after me, but I didn’t turn around.

David held up his hand, effectively stopping Angelo from hurting me any further. We walked down the foyer and to the garage. David held me close to him, letting me lean on him for support.

Two months ago, David brought me into this house. I had been nervous but so hopeful that morning. Now, I was leaving broken and alone. Angelo St. Christian had done that to me. I thought he was the answer to my dreams, but he was nothing more than a monster in my nightmares.

* * *

Angelo

An hour later,I had showered and drunk that cup of coffee. Harper was wrong; they hadn’t helped. She pretended to be angry with me, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t mask her real feelings.

She was gutted and confused.

Koradon’s words kept playing in my head: She’ll never be out of harm’s way with a monster like you.

Harper had called me evil in desperation, but she had no idea how correct she was. I would do what I did this morning a thousand times over before I let her learn the truth about me. Before I ever told her I was nothing but a demon. I would never get the pain in her heart out of my mind, but it would never be as bad as letting her see the real me.

David came into my study and tossed Harper’s house keys onto my desk. “I won’t tell you where she told me to tell you to shove them. I’m sure you can guess. I called Kiki and had her go to Harper’s house.”

“How is she?”

“How do you think she is? You fucking blindsided her.” He clenched his fists by his side. “Why did you do that?”

“You know why I did it.”

“You were handling it.”

“I killed two creatures last night. They’ll keep coming. Am I supposed to take down the entire underworld?”

“If that’s what it takes.”

“As long as Koradon thinks I can get him what wants, he’ll keep coming for her. What happens if I miss a signal, and she ends up in the crossfire? Isn’t it better if I let her go?”

“What makes you think he’ll stop? Just because you broke up with her doesn’t mean you don’t care about her anymore. Your father knows that.”

“You have her under surveillance, don’t you?”

“Yes, it’s taken care of.”

“I want them to report directly to me. I want to know her every move. I want to know when something is off. If anyone approaches her, I need to know immediately. She should never be left alone.”

“Let me handle this.”

“No!” I shouted. “She’s mine!”

My skin burned from the inside out. The demonic rage bubbled to the surface, begging to break free but I held it back. David didn’t deserve the brunt of my anger. Neither did Harper.

“As your friend, I’m telling you you’re making a huge mistake.” He shook his head. “Harper was the best thing that ever happened to you. I get why you did it, but this doesn’t feel right.”

“Do you think you need to lecture me about feelings?” I was the one who had to live with what I had done to her. I didn’t need to guess how she felt. I knew exactly how Harper felt. “I may be a soulless bastard, but I have feelings too. I’ll never forget what I had with her. How she made me feel.”

“What are you going to do to fix this?”

“I walked away to spare her life. I did fix it.” I never should have allowed myself to take things that far with her. “Even if I could find a way out from under Koradon, Harper will never trust me again.”

“I need to speak with him,” a voice yelled from the foyer. “Right now!”

“Kiki.” I sighed.

“You can’t barge in here.” Greta chased after her.

“Watch me!” Kiki yelled. “Angelo, you dirtbag. Where are you?”

“Do you want me to handle her?” David asked.

“It’s best to get this over with.” I stood and came around my desk. “Greta,” I called out. “Show the younger Ms. Whitmore to my study.”

David stepped out into the hall and intercepted Kiki as Greta apologized.

“Don’t stand in my way, David,” Kiki said. “I need to see him.”

“Come in, Kira,” I said.

“Don’t call me ‘Kira.’” She couldn’t contain her rage. “What's wrong with you?” She blew past David. “What did you do to my sister?”

“That’s between me and Harper, but I can appreciate your concern.” I leaned against my desk. “Your sister is extremely fortunate to have you by her side.”

“She thought you were by her side too. You had me fooled.” She came closer to me. “Look at you, business as usual.” She motioned toward my desk. “You’re standing here in your fucking Armani suit with your eight-hundred-dollar shoes and your shiny watch acting as if nothing is wrong while my sister is curled up in the fetal position throwing up and shaking.”

“Is she okay?” The thought of Harper in that much pain made me want to drop to my knees. No demon’s strike could ever bring me as much agony as that image.

“No, she isn’t okay. You idiot!” She drew back her hand and slapped me across my face,

David stepped forward, but I held up my hand. I’d give her that one as a free pass. Kiki had earned it.

“You deserve a hell of a lot worse.” She gritted her teeth, “Do you know how difficult it was for Harper to open up to you? To let you in and trust you? She’s an amazing woman. The way she talked about you, I thought you were different, but you’re like all the rest.”

“I’m sorry I hurt her, but I realized I’m not the man for her.” I’d give anything to be normal.

“You’re no man at all.” When she raised her hand a second time, I grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward me. “You’re a fucking devil.”

“Interesting choice of words.” I held her still, towering over her small frame and glaring into her eyes “You have really good instincts, Kiki.”

“Let go of me.” She struggled against me. “You savage!”

“Quiet,” I shouted. “I have my reasons, and I won’t explain them to you, but I am going to offer a suggestion. I sincerely hope you take me up on it.”

“Like I’d do anything you’d suggest.”

“Use those instincts to your advantage.” When I stared into her eyes, her fear soared. She didn’t like being this close to me. Smart girl. “Take your sister and run.”

“What?” When I let go of her, she stumbled back into David’s arms. “You stay away from us. Harper is strong and determined. She doesn’t need you. She’ll be just fine.”

“I don’t doubt that.” My phone dinged with a text. “David, please show Kiki out.”

“Come on, Kiki.” David took her hand.

“Fine.” She glared at me. “Harper wants her laptop.”

“David will help you retrieve anything your sister wants.” I studied my phone screen.

David escorted her out as I read the text from my contact in Italy:

I can get you inside the Vatican. My guy has it under control.

How soon? I replied to the encouraging news.

As soon as you can.

I sat back down and smiled. Maybe I had found a way to outmaneuver Koradon, after all.

David came back into the room and sat down. “She’s a spitfire.”

“Don’t get too comfortable,” I said. “We’re going on a trip.”

“Where to?”

“Italy.”

“The fucking sword?”

“The fucking sword.”