Chapter 13 Chase
Chase
The collar of my work-issued polo itched my neck. The material was cheap and scratchy, and I hated wearing it. But what I hated even more was the know-it-all gym bros who came into the store just to show off.
I forced a patient smile on my face as I watched a dude curl a twenty-five-pound dumbbell. He did a few reps too many before asking, “Got anything heavier than this?”
“Sure, we’ve got free weights up to—”
“Got like a fifty?”
I tried not to be annoyed at being cut off. “Yeah, right behind you.”
The dude turned, saw the weights, and pulled them off the shelf without waiting for me. He grunted as he did an entire set of bicep curls. His sleeveless shirt let him show off the bulging mass of his arm, which I couldn’t care less about.
As the customer worked out, my mind floated to Sagitta. I wondered how he’d look in a sleeveless shirt. I’d never seen him wear anything but prim black button-ups. I swallowed, imagining what he looked like underneath his clothes...
The dude grunted, which wrenched me back to reality. “I’ll take ‘em. These are for my girlfriend, anyway. I use heavier shit at the gym.”
Dunno why I needed to know that, but okay, I thought.
“Sure. I’ll ring you out up front,” I said, reaching for the weights.
But the dude hauled them up without giving me the chance. “I’ve got it.”
He’d left all his used dumbbells on the floor. I scoffed under my breath, making sure nobody could hear. I was a nice guy, but assholes like that tested my patience. It pissed me off when people clearly didn’t give a shit about others around them.
I leaned down to pick up the dumbbells strewn around.
“Hells, what an arrogant, pompous brute!” said a flamboyant voice in my head.
The dumbbell flew from my hand, landing with an earth-shattering thud on the ground. I was lucky it didn’t land on my toes—or worse, the customer. But the explosive sound reverberated through the whole store. Every person turned to stare at me.
Meanwhile, prickling hot shame and confusion mixed into a cocktail of dread in my chest.
“Did you miss me, dear?” Faust asked, oblivious to the trouble he’d just caused.
“What the hell are you doing?” I hissed out loud. Then I realized too late what a big mistake I’d made.
Shit.
The muscled dude’s jaw fell open. Then his face turned purple and his brows furrowed so hard they fused together.
He dropped the dumbbells. “The fuck did you say to me?”
I recognized that blank, furious look. He’d lost control of his temper.
“Sorry, I wasn’t talking to you, I was—”
Engulfed by rage, the dude swung his fist at me. It happened so fast I didn’t have time to dodge it.
Except, I did dodge it.
Faust’s demonic strength and agility flowed through my veins as he took control. In a flashy move, he arched my spine back, letting the man’s punch connect only with air. I sidestepped neatly out of the dude’s way as he lost his balance and fell flat on his face.
Dread mounted inside me. Like a passenger strapped beside the driver’s seat, I could only watch.
Everybody in the store was staring. Customers, other employees, and worst of all, my boss.
I was in real deep shit now.
The purple-faced man roared as he scrambled to his feet. He lunged at me, but I avoided his every strike without breaking a sweat. His rage built with each failed swipe. He was nearly foaming at the mouth by the time I’d backed up to the wall.
“Chase!”
Sagitta’s fearful cry cut through the chaos.
He’s here?
Instinctively, I turned my head towards the source of his voice.
Faust clicked his tongue. “Oh, Chase, you lovesick idiot.”
“You’re the idiot!” I snapped.
The muscled dude’s eyes went bloodshot. He bared his teeth in a snarl as he readied a solid punch to my face—one that would no doubt shatter my nose into a hundred pieces.
But Faust didn’t let that happen. As the man’s fist careened towards me, I raised my hand. Faust’s powers surged into my palm, turning it flexible but diamond-hard. The punch glanced off like a bouncy ball. The impact sent the guy sprawling back, and he fell on his ass.
I gasped as Faust relinquished his control. It dazed me, like the first step after getting off a roller coaster. I was frozen, stunned and breathing hard. I couldn’t believe that just happened.
Sagitta ran to my side, his expression tight with concern. “Are you okay?”
“Faust’s back,” I croaked.
Sagitta’s eyes rounded like he’d been kicked in the gut. “What?”
We were interrupted by my boss, a man in his mid-50s with a chip on his shoulder. He was flanked by mall security, who escorted the muscled dude out with a light warning. My boss, on the other hand, wasn’t content to let me off the hook so easily.
“So, Chase,” he said, grimacing like his next words were difficult. “I’m going to have to let you go.”
I blinked. “Huh?”
“Assaulting a customer is unacceptable.”
“But I didn’t—”
“Don’t make this harder, okay?”
His curt tone was final. I held my tongue. Although I didn’t throw the first punch, I did accidentally throw a heavy dumbbell into the air and nearly hit a customer, no thanks to Faust.
Sagitta grasped my arm. I could tell by the way his fingers dug into my skin that he was pissed.
“Let’s get out of here,” he said.
Drained and annoyed, I slumped into the creaky food court seat. The soft pretzel I stuffed into my face was my only consolation for a crappy day. That and Sagitta’s presence.
He sat across from me, nibbling on his own soft pretzel. A dark cloud hung over his head. We must’ve looked like the moodiest guys in the whole mall.
“I can’t believe I got fired,” I mumbled.
Sagitta scowled. “I can’t believe Faust isn’t gone.”
My brow furrowed. “Dude, can I get a crumb of sympathy here? He just lost me my job.”
“I know. I was there.”
We bit off chunks of our pretzels in silence.
Faust moaned as the salty, buttery flavour hit my tongue. “This pretzel is exquisite. Can we get another?”
“Shut up,” I said.
Sagitta’s gaze locked onto me. “You’re talking to him again. Stop it.”
A surge of irritation prickled my skin. “What am I supposed to do? Ignore him?”
“Yes.”
“Well, excuse me if my willpower sucks compared to yours. It’s hard to ignore him when he’s talking in my freaking head!”
The group of teenagers at the table next to us went quiet, then snickered and whispered among themselves. I was too cranky to give a shit.
But Sagitta bristled at being overheard. He narrowed his eyes, then leaned forward and spoke barely above a whisper. “You need to keep your voice down.”
His condescending tone ticked me off. I glared at him and took another bite of pretzel.
“Why?” I asked with my mouth full.
His jaw tightened. “You’re drawing too much attention to yourself.”
“So? They don’t know what I’m even talking about. Nobody cares as much as you think they do.”
His nostrils flared as he took a breath, but he didn’t look any calmer. “Demonic entities thrive on that laissez-faire attitude. The less caution you exhibit, the more they sink their claws into your soul. You have to fight it, Chase.”
For once, I felt like Sagitta didn’t know what the hell he was talking about. His professional advice was just wishy-washy crap. Faust hadn’t done any of the things he’d warned me about. What he had done was get me in trouble, lose me my job, and get on my damned nerves.
I bit my straw between my teeth and sucked down my lemonade. The hit of sugar didn’t take the edge off my bad mood.
“Are you listening to me?” Sagitta asked.
“Yeah.”
“I know you hear my words,” he said dryly, “but are you actually listening?”
I slowly put my drink on the table. Suddenly, Sagitta’s presence was no longer calming or helpful.
“Don’t talk to me like I’m five,” I warned.
His unrelenting black eyes pierced mine. “Then don’t act like you’re five.”
Frustration swelled in my chest until it formed a tight knot of anger.
“I wouldn’t have to if you actually did your job properly,” I snapped.
Sagitta went quiet.
The air between us churned with tension. I lost my appetite. I abandoned my drink and half-eaten pretzel on the table, then stormed away. I didn’t check to see if he was following me or not.
My feet carried me to an empty corner of the mall. My fists clenched at my side, and my chest felt tight and hot.
“Oh, dear,” Faust mused. “Trouble in paradise?”
I rubbed my temples, as if I could massage him out of existence. “You’ve caused enough problems today, so can you please shut the hell up?”
“I didn’t mean to,” Faust said casually. “Why did you walk away from your boyfriend?”
Frustration made me blurt, “He is not my boyfriend!”
I didn’t know what we were, but I couldn’t think about it clearly, not right now. Not when I’d just gotten fired and Sagitta was treating me like I was an idiot and Faust was spewing bullshit in my ear.
“I thought you were gone. Why are you back?” I demanded.
“Oh, honey, I wasn’t gone. I thought it prudent to give you two some alone time.”
His nonchalant tone made me feel like I was losing my mind.
“What about the sex toy store?” I hissed, trying to be quiet. The only way this day could get worse was if I got kicked out of the mall for being a raving lunatic babbling about sex toys in public.
Faust sounded like he was lounging. “Oh yes, that. I don’t enjoy being in that type of store. In fact, I don’t care for sex in general.”
He was fucking with me. He was a demon. They loved hedonism.
There was no way he was serious.
“I am not fucking with you, Chase.” He let out a shrill chuckle. “Didn’t I just say I don’t do that?”
I dragged my fingers through my hair. I was half-tempted to rip it out. None of this made sense. Faust had fucked off for a day... Why? Because he disliked the concept of sex? Was that why I couldn’t hear him while shopping at the store?
I ran back through yesterday’s events. After we left the store, Sagitta kissed me in an alley. Then we’d gone home and...