Chapter Six
CHAPTER SIX
Val
N ot only is Theo arrogant, insufferable, and rude, he’s also delusional and fits right in with my family’s brand of theatrical crazy. He’s completely controlling, has no respect for boundaries, and, with that pissed-off, alpha-male declaration of you’re mine that shouldn’t have made my skin heat and my nipples stand at attention as if saluting him, he’s obviously possessive.
He's the worst kind of sexy, dominating bastard.
Of course I’m attracted to him.
Or at least I was before he real-time CGI’d himself into a giant, scarlet-skinned demon with red eyes, horns, and wings. Okay, fine. Yes, in this form, he reminds me of a really hot villain in my favorite superhero action series, and I’m still staring at his muscles and the tiny scrap of fabric that covers his manhood, wondering if that got enhanced in size as much of the rest of him with the special effects transformation.
Maybe I’ll check. Or maybe I’ll clear my system of whatever hallucinogens must’ve been pumping through the library’s vents. Or I will as soon as I get rid of this pounding headache, sudden vertigo, and nausea that has my stomach revolting.
What trippy awfulness did the show’s producers expose me to this time? Airborne LSD? Powdered scopolamine or Devil’s Breath? So I’m shit at brewing pretty lotions and I kill plants when I look at them, but I aced chemistry and forensic sciences so I know my psychedelics.
Nonna would’ve broken out the horned hand, burning sage, and pilfered holy water at the first sight of his red contacts or whatever the effects people used on his eyes.
“Now do you believe me?” Theo’s voice sounds the same. The identical gruff baritone of moneyed privilege and ivy league fantasies.
Don’t enable the psycho Hollywood wannabe , I remind myself.
“I believe you’re way too deep into your method acting.” I stumble away from him, needing to clear my head of the spinning. How the heck did the show pull off a set change so fast? Did I black out and miss a few seconds of consciousness? “Nice digs,” I slur, attempting normalcy when dizziness crashes through me in a sickening spiral.
We stand—or rather he stands and I stagger about—in a beautiful living space that opens into a kitchen. Both could’ve been designed by a set decorator with an endless budget from the stainless-steel appliances to the spotless marble countertops and the museum-quality artwork. Then there are the plush couches that invite lounging. In fact, I think I’ll take a second and sit to see if the room will stop spinning. I sink into the butter-soft leather and pull a velvet throw blanket close.
I need to get a grip. For years, I’ve dealt with high-handed, overbearing assholes in Hollywood. A little charm and manipulation go a long way. But Theo? He brings out the absolute worst of my temper. I don’t even bother checking my violent tendencies. Never before today have I almost stabbed a man. Damn, what was I thinking?
Theo looms over me, still not giving up this banana-pants charade. “I yank you through an interdimensional portal and you still don’t believe me?”
“Nope.” I pop the p to keep the upper hand in the situation. And the nachos I ate earlier down.
He growls at me. An honest-to-god growl—holy shit, the man would make millions of panties drop if he hit social media with that sound—before he vanishes .
“Okay.” I stagger toward the illusion and swipe my fist where he stood, expecting to find a green screen background. But there’s nothing. Dropping the letter opener and hand sanitizer spray I’ve been clutching like lifelines, I go to my knees and search the floor for a trap door. No luck. “What the actual f?—”
Theo blinks back into existence, wings and all. Except this time, he brought a she-demon along. Or at least I assume she’s a she given the breasts beneath the heavy cream smeared on her neck, the sheet mask covering her face, and the messy bun between the horns on her head.
She shrieks like I’m the scariest one in the room. The next instant, a petite woman with light brown skin, perfect brows, and shiny purple hair in a chic pixie cut replaces her. “Oh my purgatories and puppies, Theo.” She smacks him in the arm with the back of her hand. “You teleported me here without my glamour to meet the Val Bonetti. You are the worst brother in the entire universe.” She bounces on her toes. “Or the best because ahh ! Val Bonetti! In person!”
I glance from the woman’s sparkling sneakers to Theo who’s still rocking the wings, claws, and is that a tail? Reality hits and sobers me. “You honestly brought me to hell?”
He shoots me an imperious look that translates just fine through the fiery gaze and scarlet skin. “Now you believe me?”
The woman smacks him again—this time hard enough to make him grunt. “Aren’t you going to introduce me?”
Giving an irritated sigh, he waves between us. “Val, meet Nic. My baby sister.”
Nic swoops in on me. “I am such a fan of your show. Why are you on the floor? Nooo.” She stretches the word into multiple syllables. “Did Theo make you kneel? Seriously bro, you have no idea how to treat a woman.”
Theo pinches the bridge of his nose like he did at the haunted house. “I did not make her kneel.”
It’s good to know he finds someone else exasperating.
“Whatever,” Nic says, helping me stand and then guiding me to the couch when I wobble. “You poor thing. Interdimensional travel can be a real bitch.” She glares at Theo. “Did you bother to ease the transition? You know human bodies aren’t built for teleporting.”
For once, he looks uncomfortable, letting the supreme boss of all bossiness vibe slip for a second. “You’ll feel better soon,” he tells me. “Anything you want, ask the suite, and it’ll magic it for you.”
His pitiful attempt at kindness had to cost him. I answer with my own vulnerability. “I want my friends.”
“I can’t give you that. Not until their contracts end.”
“You said ask for anything.”
“Not that.” He looks to his sister. “I need to get back to the house. A portal opened—one I didn’t authorize?—”
“The other matches?” she asks.
He looks away. “I’ll be back soon. Take care of her, will you, Nic?” Without waiting for her answer, he simply disappears.
Leaving me in hell.
“It’ll be okay,” Nic says. “He’s the best matchmaker to ever exist. Not just because he closes the deal, but because he protects his matches. He’ll go to the ends of all the worlds for you and your friends, especially since you’re his mate.”
I sense an ally, someone who might say more than Theo did. Or more than he would’ve if I had believed him long enough to let him talk. “What does that mean?” I ask. “His mate?”
“His destined match. The only person in the universe meant for him. Didn’t he explain it?”
I evade. “There wasn’t time.”
“No,” she says. “Theo wouldn’t have let you stay a moment where it wasn’t safe.”
“Not safe,” I repeat in a whisper. “What happened to my friends? He said they weren’t there, that a portal opened.”
She touches my arm, a gentle sweep of her fingertips she pulls away as quickly as the comfort sets in. “He told you he was a matchmaker?”
I nod. “To a specific clientele.”
“Monsters,” she says. “What you humans would call monsters. Like us.”
The cruelty of what she calls herself? It cuts with the same deep shame as each time my family calls me cursed or jinxed, and I hurt for her. “I’ve been called worse than monster by the paparazzi,” I admit.
Giving a snort giggle softened by sad seriousness, she asks, “Why do you hide your quick wit on the show?”
“Probably for the same reason you’re hiding your wings. We don’t share our true natures with someone who might judge us for them.” I keep my tone compassionate, empathetic even. Winning this woman to my side might be the only way I can get back to my friends, to my world.
Which takes you right back to the show , a cruel voice in my head reminds me.
True, this could be the escape from the insanity of showbiz life, but it’s not on my terms, and I wouldn’t risk my friends for anything.
I need answers, and Nic’s my one shot at getting them. Accusing her brother of being an obnoxious, controlling asshat won’t help so I aim to sound like this is no big deal. “Why would anyone open a portal at the house? Were they looking to steal something?”
She blinks, her eyes going scarlet for an instant before returning to their deep brown. “Not something. Someone. They stole a match. That’s the only reason my brother would’ve left you to hurry back. He’ll find whoever did it, and he’ll annihilate them.”
My stomach drops in a freefall having nothing to do with the sick sensations I’ve felt since Theo kidnapped me and dragged me to hell. Someone has one of my friends. They snatched them from a place I’d driven them to.
I walked them into a trap.
And a certain demon dickhead didn’t feel the need to lead with that information.
I should’ve stabbed him when I had the chance.