Chapter 35
Chapter
Thirty-Five
Thomas sat in a chair in a large conference room at Fiendish Enterprises.
Yvonne, head of Fiendish Couture, stood next to him, towering at six foot seven.
She used to be a power forward for the North Carolina Tar Heels, back in the day, before changing gears and embracing her true love of fashion design.
“I wanted you to look at the prelim collection for spring,” she said, her voice low and smoky as a jazz club. “We’re doing some really avant-garde stuff, and since you’ve made that deal with so many of the movie stars from Fiendish Films, we’re getting some great buzz.”
Thomas barely listened. “I trust you, Yvonne. You don’t need to run this by me.” Especially when he had another two meetings and a million details to take care of. And the pesky business of trying to retrieve his soul while his supernatural consultant sulked in a corner somewhere.
“You’ve got amazing instincts,” Yvonne demurred, but her gaze was steely. “You’re probably the only one whose opinion I care about, and let’s face it… you’re the one who signs my paychecks at the end of the day. I’ll get my models ready, okay?”
She strutted off on ridiculously high heels, graceful and yet mildly menacing, as the models who rushed out of her way no doubt noticed.
Thomas sighed, then texted Yagi for the thirty-fourth time.
“I’m here,” Yagi said next to him, startling Thomas. “You can stop sending texts.”
Thomas crossed his arms. “So, are you quitting?” he asked, staring at the woman coming down the makeshift “runway” rather than at his consultant.
“That will be up to you,” Yagi said, none of the fury that had colored their last conversation apparent in his voice. “But I will say that, unless you can prove to me you’re serious about getting your soul back, I will not remain in your employ.”
Thomas grimaced. The girl on the runway was wearing what looked like a barber-pole-striped dress with a metal spike as a hat, trailing a ribbon. He nodded, and she preened.
“What does this proof need to consist of?” Thomas said, glancing at Yagi and dropping his voice to a murmur that couldn’t be heard over Yvonne’s background music. “Do you expect me to kill Kate now?”
“Would you?” Yagi asked. “Could you?”
Thomas was staring at the next model when Yagi asked the question, and realized he was scowling fiercely when she stumbled and her expression dropped. “That’s fine,” he said to the model, then hissed at Yagi, “It wouldn’t serve any practical purpose.”
“It might give you a little boost in power,” Yagi said. “After all, she didn’t have a lawyer go over her contract like you did. She’s got standard boilerplate. If she dies, you still get to retain a percentage of her soul power.”
Thomas shot over an icy glare at Yagi. “I’m not going to get my hands bloody just to help you feel better about your job.”
Before Yagi could respond, Ginny settled herself on Thomas’s other side, making sure her hip made contact with him and sitting just a fraction too close. “I’m sorry I’m late,” she said, shutting off her phone and tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder.
Thomas grimaced. “Why are you here at all?”
She smiled at him, playfully hitting his arm. “You know I pulled this collection together, Thomas,” she said, sounding surprised. “I think it’s getting there, but it needs some fine tuning.”
Thomas stared at her sheer audacity. He vaguely remembered her saying she wanted to be involved with this, but he was fairly certain that she was just in it to get free clothes.
“I thought I’d sit with you, explain the choices I made and what I think needs to happen,” she said, sounding a little too chipper. She was dressed to kill in her signature red, from Fiendish’s business collection.
Obviously she was there to prove that she was just as competent as Kate.
“I need to finish this conversation with Yagi,” he said through gritted teeth. “And you shouldn’t be here. Especially after what happened.”
“Of course, you need privacy,” she purred… as if she didn’t understand what he’d said. Or was ignoring it. She then walked away. Thomas turned back to Yagi.
“I know that letting Kate live was a setback. Get me in a room with Victor, and I’ll show you I can handle this.”
“It’s more than just eliminating the power base, the people you hate, and you know it,” Yagi returned quietly.
“It’s doing what a ‘good’ man would be unwilling to do.
The person you’re up against is one of the most vicious, brilliant men I’ve ever met.
What’s more, he counts on the fact that others will have a conscience where he, himself, does not.
When you hired me, you swore that you would do absolutely anything necessary to get your soul out of his clutches.
Now, I need to know if you meant that, or if you simply don’t have the stomach for doing what needs to be done. ”
Thomas frowned, waving a hand at a model who strutted by in what looked like a bloody marble print.
“Not that one,” he called, and the model slunk back, past Yvonne, who was visibly arguing with Ginny now.
“You tell me, Yagi. You’ve seen my business deals.
You’ve seen what I did to get here. I’ve tied up most of my fortune.
I built the condos and this headquarters to your specifications.
I’ve cut a deal with that asshole Al and rogue demons to dig contracts out of Hell itself. I’ll do whatever I have to do.”
Ginny strode back, her expression sharp as a dagger. “That…that woman is impossible,” she said, pulling out her phone and clicking on it. “I didn’t want to say anything, but really, I don’t think she’s going to work out. You should seriously consider replacing Yvonne.”
Thomas ignored her. “I can’t do this without your help, Yagi. I know that. But I’m not going to hurt innocents simply to show you I’m serious, so come up with something else.”
Ginny turned, about to say something to interrupt, when suddenly her eyes went wide. “What’s she doing here?”
Thomas glanced over his shoulder. Kate was standing at the door to the conference room, looking tired and hesitant, two things he hadn’t seen in her before.
She was wearing khaki slacks and a blue denim button-down shirt, her hair in its usual ponytail.
She looked like a lost college intern. He motioned to her.
Kate walked up slowly, then squared her jaw. “I don’t mean to interrupt,” she said. “I was looking for you.”
“Are you all right? After…” he paused, unsure what to say next. After being attacked? After finding out what’s going on here? After signing over your soul?
“Yeah, sure. I’m spiffy,” she muttered, then looked at Yagi. “Thank you for helping me.”
Yagi didn’t spare her a glance, looking at his watch instead. “I was just following orders.”
She winced, then turned with a determined look at Thomas. “So where should I set up?”
“Set up?” he echoed blankly.
“For, you know, the job.” She frowned. “You did offer me a job, right? And I’m pretty officially signed on.”
He nodded, feeling a confused mix of elation and guilt. “Right. You have a job.”
“I’m sorry,” Yvonne called out, with obvious pique. “Is my fashion show interfering with your coffee klatsch?”
“Give me five minutes, Yvonne,” Thomas called back. He looked at Kate, then over at Ginny. “Gin, take Kate up to the large corner office on the twenty-ninth floor. Make sure she’s set up with security cards and everything. Then go home.”
Ginny flushed for a second, her eyes flashing, but she nodded curtly. “Of course, Thomas. You are the boss, after all.” Her voice was smooth, poisonously sweet. “Kate, honey, could you go wait in the hallway for a second? I just need to run something by Thomas here for a second.”
“Sure.” Kate agreed, then glanced back at Thomas. “I need to talk to you, too, when you get a chance.”
He could only imagine. “When I’m done with this, I’ll come look for you,” he promised.
Kate went out in the hallway. When the door closed behind her, Ginny cleared her throat. “About my special projects—”
“I don’t have time, Ginny,” Thomas said, cutting her off. “Yvonne’s already pissed, and I have a million details and meetings to take care of… and after the stunt you pulled, I think it’s safe to say you’re not handling anything. I’ll deal with you later.”
“But Thomas—”
“I don’t like this,” Yagi interrupted. “We don’t even know how Kate holds power over the demons. She could be powerful. She’s definitely unpredictable.”
“But she’s signed now,” Thomas argued. “That’s got to be useful, right?”
“If you’ll learn to control her,” Yagi said. “Which would mean finally studying about your powers, instead of—”
“I have an idea about how to catch that Victor guy,” Ginny interrupted, silencing them both.
Thomas and Yagi stared at her. “You have an idea?” Yagi repeated.
Ginny sniffed at his obvious derision. “Well, you didn’t get him, did you? And I haven’t heard you figuring out how to find the guy since, right?”
“I don’t tell you everything,” Yagi said, sounding both shocked and offended. “In fact, I don’t think you’re privy to any information regarding this man or the current status of his whereabouts.”
“I’ve been reading the private investigator reports,” she said, sounding smug. “I had them send over those extra copies, remember?”
“We didn’t need hardcopies at all. Really, I don’t know what it is about you and paper,” Thomas added, watching as Ginny’s expression fell. “In fact, if Kate hadn’t seen those, she wouldn’t be in the position she’s in, period. I’m with Yagi on this one. You don’t need to know more about Victor.”
Ginny’s back went straight as a yardstick. “I know you think I’m a complete idiot, Thomas,” she said, managing to sound injured. “But the report said that he’s a serial killer. He’s been killing people for years, but his parents have covered it up. I mean, he never was indicted.”
“I know. I read the report, too.”
And I saw what he did to Kate. He noticed his hand had clenched into a fist. He forced himself to relax.
“I guess he killed a bunch of women in their twenties,” she continued. “And I couldn’t help but notice… all of them were Asian.”
She whispered this like a dirty secret. Thomas waited for a second, as she stared at him expectantly. “So what?”
“Hey, I know things. I watch CSI and Criminal Minds, stuff like that,” she replied, rolling her eyes. “They say serial killers have a victim type.”
“Well, if Criminal Minds says so,” he drawled.
She ignored his sarcasm. “And they say when a serial killer gets someone in his victim type, but he’s thwarted, then he’ll need to kill again even more badly.”
Thomas glanced at Yagi, expecting to see the man’s clear impatience. Instead, Yagi was looking at Ginny with curious disbelief.
“That’s actually not bad,” Yagi said. “I’ll check the morgues, see if any Asian women have been murdered recently.”
“That’s not all, though. I’ll bet he really, really wants to finish what he started. If you can’t find the guy,” Ginny said, “maybe you can have him come to you. That’s all I’m saying.”
Thomas was still reeling over Yagi’s reluctant approval, and his mind couldn’t quite wrap around Ginny, of all people, coming up with a strategy. Apparently it was a good point, since Yagi was now nodding at her with something like grudging respect.
“Like I said, I know you think I’m a complete idiot. But this is a special project I might actually be good at,” Ginny said, her smile winter cold. “You think it over, okay?”
With that, she walked out.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Ginny’s got a point,” Yagi mused. “If we could somehow flaunt Kate, show that she’s not only alive, she’s thriving, and she’s just within reach…”
“What?” Thomas said, feeling like he was rapidly losing control of the conversation. “Kate? Why Kate?”
“Kate was Victor’s prey,” Yagi said, enunciating clearly. “She escaped. She fits his profile. She’s tied to you, and I imagine that given his relationship with Cyril, he’s probably got something to prove. Kate is perfect.”
“Perfect for what?” Thomas felt his stomach knot. “What are you saying?”
“You said you’d prove you were serious about this. So, do it,” he said. “Use Kate as bait.”