Chapter 53
Chapter
Fifty-Three
Thomas woke up groggy and sore...and pissed.
Betrayed. He’d been betrayed.
Just like Cyril had screwed with him. Only this time, it felt somehow worse.
“Damn it. Thomas! Wake up!”
He glanced around, getting his bearings. It was just him and Kate. They appeared to be in a cinderblock cell, a little room. There was no furniture, no window, just a hanging naked bulb and a strong steel door. Kate was standing there, looking worse for wear, her black skirt dirty, her feet bare.
Then the memories came back. The town car. The shots.
Kate’s little confession.
She was working with Cyril. She contacted him.
She’d set the trap.
“You,” he snarled, then got to his feet, murder in his heart. “Did you plan all this?”
“If I did, would I be in here with you? Be pissed later,” she snapped back. “We’ve got bigger problems right now. Like, I don’t know, getting the fuck out of here.” She tried the door. “Do you know how to pick a lock?”
He grabbed her wrist, hard. “You set me up.”
She glared at him, yanking her arm away and shoving him. “After everything, you’re going to hitch up your high-horse now?”
“If you’d just stuck to my plan, I could’ve kept you safe!”
“Obviously!” She rolled her eyes before gesturing dramatically around the room. “And how’s that working out?”
Okay, she might’ve had a point here. Thomas felt some of his righteous anger get side-swiped by guilt.
“We had every safeguard if Victor had tried for you in the restaurant, or during transport. Our driver was a signed demon, one who’s worked for me for years.
We didn’t want to tip anybody off by using a security team member, but there should have been eyes on everything.
There shouldn’t have been any way for him to be overtaken. ”
Had Yagi betrayed him?
That would be a problem for another day. If there was another day. There was a good chance he’d survive, but the fact that Kate was still alive was not encouraging.
They’ll use her.
In the meantime, Kate was wild eyed and furious. “Tell me, just how hard did you try before Yagi convinced you that the easiest way to flush Victor out was to use me? Did he even say that he could guarantee I’d be safe?”
“I’ve tried for years to figure out a better way to get at Cyril,” Thomas countered. “There is no ‘humane’ way. I’ve isolated myself, so that I have no close ties. No leverage they can use. I’ve trained. I’ve done everything I can to prepare. But Yagi showed me that I’m going to have to be brutal.”
“Which meant sacrificing me if you needed to,” she said with a sneer. “Playing chess with my soul. Using me as a pawn.”
“If you’ve got a better solution, tell me,” Thomas said, his voice taut t o the point of breaking. “I really do want to save you, Kate. Protect you. But if I lose my soul, then we’re both screwed. You’ve got to understand why I did what I did, since you made a similar decision!”
“Yeah, I did,” she hissed, still desperately studying the door. “Because if it’s you or me, then it’s going to be me, pal. I’m tired of taking the fall for assholes who only care about themselves no matter what they say to the contrary, got it?”
The pain, the frustration, the agony in her voice tore at him. “Why did you warn me at all, then?”
She finally spun to face him. “Because I am the biggest idiot on the face of the planet, with serious impulse control issues!” she yelled. “Now are you going to help me get out of here or not?”
Even in the desperate straits they were in, he blinked, taking her in. “You are a roller coaster, you know that?”
“Yeah, well. Wheee,” she muttered. “If I’d known I had to kill you myself, this would’ve worked out a lot differently, believe me.
Now, I’m probably just as pissed at Cyril as I am at you, so let’s get this figured out and deal with our little drama when I’m not worried that a psycho is going to break every bone in my body. Again.”W
He heard a note of hysteria in her otherwise furious voice.
No matter how tough she talked, of course she was terrified.
Despite her brave facade, and her sometimes off-the-rails behavior, she was one of the kindest, most caring people he’d ever met.
He’d seen how he treated her friends—demons, yeah, but for whatever reason, they were people to her, people she related to.
She’d cared about people nobody cared about.
Hell, she’d even cared about him, even when she was right…he’d really done nothing to deserve it.
And unlike him, she’d tried to fix her mistake. Tried to stop the kidnapping, and had gotten herself here.
“I’m sorry,” he said finally, as it all sank in.
“Again! Not the time!” she yelled. Then, in frustration, she started pounding at the door. “Damn it! Damn it!”
Tears were leaking from the corners of her eyes. He reached out, stroking her shoulder.
She turned on him like a cornered bear. “Do not touch me right now!”
The last of his anger dissipated in the face of her panic. “I don’t blame you.”
“Well, that makes it all better,” she said, and looked shocked when a sob emerged. “I swear, if we get out of this, I am killing you myself, you hear me?”
“When we get out of this,” he murmured, stroking a curl away from her face, “I’ll let you.”
“Yeah, right,” she muttered, knuckling away at the tears.
He looked at her, really looked at her. Her black hair tumbled around her shoulders. She was dirty, and disheveled, and defiant. She looked fiery and beautiful. She was possibly the most courageous woman he’d ever met.
He wanted to take her in his arms, apologize. He’d screwed this up. But he’d do it after he figured a way out of this. After he saved her.
She leaned her forehead against the door. “After this,” she muttered, “I am never working for big corporate again, I can tell you that right now.”
He let out a dry chuckle. She always surprised him. Always.
The door opened, and he stepped in front of her, his fists up...only to have them fall limply to his sides.
“Ginny?” he breathed. “But...how? You were dead. I saw your body.”
“You saw a body,” she said, with her familiar feline smile. “Or, rather, you saw a construct. Considering it landed with a splat, it didn’t even have to look that much like me at all.”
“A construct?” he repeated, baffled.
“You had a demon jump for you?” Kate asked, sounding appalled.
“No, no. Just a lifeless construct.” Ginny’s eyes gleamed.
“I know more about demons than you realize, Thomas. More about a lot of things. I was smart enough to take the tracker off the car beforehand. And I slept with all the drivers… so he didn’t see it coming when I walked up to the car and killed him. All to get to you.”
Thomas stared at her, aghast.
“Remember what I told you?” Ginny’s smile was vicious. “I might not be as smart as you, but I’m not dumb.”
Victor entered the room, and Kate stumbled back, her eyes wide with horror. Thomas quickly stepped between them, putting his body in front of Kate like a shield. Ginny noticed the protective gesture, and her expression turned vicious.
“Ah, I see you’re both awake,” Victor said, but he only had eyes for Kate, currently cowering behind Thomas’s back. “My master, Cyril, says that I’m supposed to hold onto you. She is of no consequence. She is my bonus.”
Thomas reached in his jacket.
“Looking for this?” Victor asked mildly, pulling out his knife. “Tch. Now, now. We’re not going to have any of that here.”
They were screwed, Thomas thought. Totally, utterly, horribly screwed. And worst of all—Kate was going to bear the brunt of it. Brave, beautiful Kate, who could have betrayed him…but simply couldn’t.
Kate, who didn’t deserve any of this.
She’s only screwed if I don’t figure out something else. His mind raced. What could he offer? What did he have left?
“Ginny,” Thomas said quickly. “Leave Kate out of it. I’ll do whatever you want.
But if anything happens to her, I swear to God, I’ll figure out a way to kill myself, and then Cyril will be up shit creek.
If I die before my soul vests, he’s left with nothing.
We both know that’s the only reason he hasn’t killed me. ”
“Yeah, right.” Ginny looked bored. “Good luck with that.”
“Kate’s paid enough for my mistakes.” Swallowing hard, he walked up to her, putting a hand on Ginny’s waist. Ignoring her excited smile, he forced himself to keep his hand where it was, keep his face from showing any revulsion.
“I owe her for this one, and I’m pretty sure you and I can come to an understanding.
You can work with me on this one, right? ”
Ginny smiled, batting her eyelashes. “What kind of an understanding?”
“Let her go,” he said, and stayed still as Ginny rubbed herself up against him, like a cat in heat. “Don’t let Victor have her.”
“You’ll sign the amended contract? You’ll give complete control of your soul over to Cyril?” Ginny said, her eyes bright.
“Thomas, no,” Kate shouted, and Victor slapped her, viciously hard.
“Victor can’t touch her,” Thomas said, pulling away. “I need a guarantee. He can’t harm her.”
“And you’ll tell Cyril that you’re with me,” Ginny said, licking her lips in a nervous gesture. “He can do what he wants with your soul, I don’t care about that. Your body, though—that’s going to be all mine.”
He suppressed a shudder. “Whatever you want,” he said, pushing his full Southern charm to the fore.
“All right.” She smirked. “Cyril’s coming to secure you in a few hours.”
“No!” Victor roared. “Cyril promised! The girl’s mine!” He reached out to smack Ginny.
Out of the doorway, a looming figure grunted, blocking Victor’s way, holding him by the fist like a kid holding a rag doll. It didn’t look human. Actually, it looked like Sasquatch’s mean, ugly cousin.
Victor’s face went slack in shock.
Ginny smirked.
“You might be all strong, Victor, and one of Cyril’s signatories,” she said with a sniff. “But I learned to bring demons over. Last I checked, you’re still not strong enough to beat one of them. So who’s in charge now? Huh?”
Victor howled. The demon sighed, then slammed Victor against the wall. Victor’s eyes rolled back.
Ginny looked at Victor’s prone figure with a distasteful sneer, then turned to the hulking demon. “You didn’t kill him, did you?”
“No,” the demon said, his voice a guttural bark.
“Good,” Ginny said. “Take care of the girl.”
“You promised you wouldn’t harm her!” Thomas said, trying to step between the demon and Kate. The demon shoved him out of the way like he was a toddler.
“I said Victor wouldn’t harm her,” Ginny corrected. “Besides, I’m sure the demon will just…watch her until you sign the contract. So you might want to hurry up on that.”
Thomas felt sweat trickle down his back. “Make him promise. I won’t let her get hurt.”
Ginny’s smile was pointed and cruel, and her eyes shone with a madness he suspected had been there all along.
“He won’t hurt her unless I say so. Don’t give me a reason to,” Ginny said.
Thomas watched as the demon grabbed Kate and carried her out of the room, screaming.
“In the meantime, I’m sure he’ll keep her entertained.” Ginny grabbed the door handle, grinning. “I’ll be back when Cyril gets here.”