Chapter Fifteen
Emily
After I gave Zelus strict orders that he was a guest in my apartment and not its new tenant—my roommate would be home any day now—I was able to convince the slithery asshole to leave so I could breathe before taking on the partners at my firm.
Verbal wars must be prepared for, and I never brought anything less than my lethal charm to them.
I’d hand-picked my favorite courtroom ensemble for the occasion. I won in it every damn time. The red two-piece that skimmed my midriff with a tight, high-slit pencil skirt was killer in a room full of duds and suckers.
I’d also worn heels. I appreciated the threat that loomed in their nearly six inches of sharp plastic; that if pissed off, I wouldn’t hesitate to impale a bro in the eye or throat with them.
My phone pinged, and I snatched it up, hoping to find my bestie’s name on the screen. But it wasn’t a name I recognized, only a number. Normally I didn’t care enough to bother with it, but the preview had me opening the text.
Unknown Number: I’ll do whatever it takes to claim what’s mine, and even that Horseman can’t save you from me, Emily Jackson.
At first, I thought stalker—because I seemed to be in excess supply of them these days. Then I squinted at it, confused.
Horseman? Doubt they meant an actual horse slash man, as funny as I found that in my head. Asha mentioned a centaur one time, and it never got any less funny to me. Like, if he wore a shirt, would it be on the human half or the horse half?
But this likely referred to that old weirdo bible thing where they brought the end of the world. The harbingers or whatever. I didn’t really pay attention when a friend I met in college mentioned it in a rant. She was as crazy as her parents made her, but we loved her for it.
Then it hit me. My brain quickly summoned the night I’d been doing my best to forget. The demon who attacked me mentioned the same thing. It referred to some Horseman savior, though I didn’t know who it was talking about. I hadn’t met anyone bearing that identity.
Of course, it’d be weirder if they came right out with, “Hello, Emily. I’m here to bring the apocalypse.” I doubt they’d want me to know. Most humans, me included, were anti-apocalypse for obvious reasons.
So, who was it referring to? Someone around me I’d met, or was it someone watching from the shadows? And what did they want with me? Was I in some weird end of the world battle? But how did that make any sense?
I mean, I guess not much made sense when I didn’t understand fuck all about demons and what they were here for or why they were so desperate to take me to Hell.
Zelus? No. Pretty sure the Horsemen were supposed to have, you know, horses and bring a certain omen with them. He’d been lazing about in my apartment and bothering me for nearly a week. Hardly the actions of a harbinger.
I thought back on what my crazy friend talked about. I knew for a fact one of the Horsemen was War. Then maybe like, Death? Conquest? No, that didn’t sound right. Famine. Oh! And illness. Plague dude. Pestilence.
No one was more surprised than me that I’d remembered any part of my friend’s rant because I’d been hung over and slouched on top of a coffee that morning when she went off about what she’d learned in class. Never thought I’d need that knowledge one day, so I owed Becky a thank-you text.
But it didn’t help me much. I still didn’t have any clue how any of this connected to me. I didn’t usually struggle to put the pieces together, but I was left baffled by the text and events leading up to now.
And since when did demons send texts? Why didn’t the asshole just show up and threaten me in person like everyone else? More importantly, why send others in their place?
Zelus had said he was hellbent on not letting them take me to Hell, but he never really said why outside of some silly claim he thought he had over me.
A claim that was odd when we’d only met a week ago.
Unless he’d stalked me for longer. But the look in his eyes suggested he’d do whatever it took to stop them.
That hadn’t felt like a lie.
I might not know his motives, but I didn’t have a lot of choices when it came to a fight against whoever sent this text. And the moment we had yesterday, something shifted. As much as I didn’t want him to, he’d gotten under my skin. He unearthed a part of me I’d buried long ago.
I was starting to like the asshole.
But my well-honed lawyer senses were screaming that there was way more to this than what Zelus had told me. Worse, he knew it and chose not to tell me.
I cut a look up at the door.
Zelus hadn’t said anything more than he was tidying up yesterday, but something told me that demons had found my apartment.
He hadn’t wanted to leave me alone after that, no matter how many times I reminded him his apartment was only a floor above mine and the walls were paper thin.
He’d hear me if I was attacked. Hell, the whole building would.
But the asshole was impossible and barely agreed to leave for longer than an hour or two.
My lips thinned, determined to test a theory.
Leaving the text alone so I could do a little digging into the number later, I grabbed my purse and opened the front door.
Before stepping out, he appeared. I’d been prepared for it, so I didn’t stagger back in shock.
It still affected my pulse a bit every time he did something supernatural, but I managed to level a glare on him.
“You know more than you’re telling me,” I said without preamble.
He tilted his head, playing the fool. “Don’t know what you’re on about, love.”
Maybe he was working with the Horseman, like a minion sent to keep an eye on me, though I still couldn’t figure out what that had to do with demons and the end of the world. You know, assuming that version of Horsemen was who they implied and the stories about the apocalypse were true.
I’d Google what I could later.
If I didn’t have this stupid meeting to go to, I’d ream the asshole for more. It was weird to go about my life as usual when I was apparently caught up in some supernatural war. Enough to be the target of Hell.
But instead of battering him with questions like I wanted to, I locked my apartment door and headed for the stairs. He fell in step with me and dropped an arm around my shoulders, but I was quick to slap and shrug it off.
“You’re angry,” he grumbled.
My voice was dripping with sarcasm. “Oh? What gave it away?”
“Plenty,” he snarked.
I quickened my steps and left him trailing after me. With a swing of the door, I stomped out and headed for my car. But before I could, my wrist was snatched up by the asshole.
“I told you it was complicated.”
I rounded on him after yanking my wrist out of his hand. “Don’t act like I’m stupid, Z. We both know I’m not. There’s something bigger at play here, and it’s the whole reason you and I crossed paths. No amount of sex will make me forget it.”
His lips tilted upwards. “Oh, I don’t know about that, Viper. My brain’s a bit foggy these days.”
There it was, the misdirection. The distraction. His go-to move to get me off the topic.
Pivoting, I resumed my angry trek toward my car and called out to him. “Then you can forget today. Fuck off and find someone else to save. I’ll take my chances with the demons.”
Flipping him the middle finger, because the fuck off I’d shouted at him didn’t feel like enough emphasis, I got into my car and didn’t wait for him to reply. I left him on the sidewalk.
It’d be stupid of me to think that’d stop a supernatural monster from following. I might not know what powers he had, but I’d seen him appear out of nothing plenty of times to suspect he could move unseen. So that was how I’d treat him until that tongue loosened.
Like he was fucking invisible.
It only took me ten minutes to get to the firm. It was tucked into the largest buildings in the city. While this was no New York or Chicago, it was busy enough to make finding a parking spot a chore.
I left my garage pass with them when I tendered my resignation, along with my employee card. I’d have to get signed in at the front and led back like anyone else.
I wasn’t surprised to find Zelus leaned up against the building when I finally got to the entrance, but I didn’t pay the gaudy monster boy a single glance. I strolled right past him into the building.
Our receptionist had her head bent, voice low, probably on the phone with someone who required a patience level most of us didn’t possess. Ginny was a goddamn saint, and she was one of the few people I’d miss now that I was no longer working here.
“Oh, fuck. Look who it is,” she squealed, but then abruptly realized she was still on the phone and whoever was on the other line had heard her outburst. “Shit. My apologies. I have a guest, sir. Just a short hold and I’ll be right with you.”
I covered a smile and walked closer, eyeing the glass doors leading to the usual offices. “Hey, Gin. I thought you weren’t supposed to be working today?”
She growled under her breath, stink-eyeing the offices I’d just glanced at.
“Yeah, well, plans change, I guess. I thought you were supposed to be off being a badass somewhere that wasn’t this shithole.
” The last bit was said under her breath, lest we forget that she was still on the clock and lawyers had weirdly good hearing.
I bent over and gave her my killer smile. “Oh, perfect. Another thing I can use against them today.”
“My hero,” she murmured in admiration. “I’m thinking maybe it’s time I also find me a new home. One with less assholes.”
“Amen,” I told her, searching through my purse. “I’m here to see the partners. I’m sure they’re expecting me.”
Her eyes went wide. “Wow. I’d wondered about that meeting. Maybe they finally figured out who’s really running this place.”
“Don’t count on it.” I laughed.
“I’ll let them know you’re here, but you better not lose my number after you get a new phone and officially slash professionally tell these guys to fuck right off.
We’re friends, right?” She scowled at me, if you could call it that when she was as cute as a button.
Ginny was also incredibly too smart to be working in this office. They’d fall apart without her.
My evil smile emerged at the thought of helping her find a new job that gave them an extra kick in the ass. “If you need help finding a new home, I’m here for you,” I told her with a sly wink. “I might have contacts in need of a receptionist. You know, less assholey ones.”
Her smile grew three sizes bigger, which was a feat with her tiny face. “Then I’ll be in touch.”
The cute ginger-haired darling snuck a few pieces of candy across the top of the receptionist desk and then flicked her eyes to the most comfortable place to sit, unashamed to play favorites.
She and Asha would’ve gotten along if my apartment-dwelling best friend was open to meeting more people than me.
Well, and her boyfriend. But Asha wasn’t much for socializing.
She got weirdly quiet around others. Maybe because everyone who mattered made her feel unimportant and like a burden growing up.
Thank god for her hot new beau who got my bestie out of her shell. I might not like that it was him and not me, but I adored the glow on her before she was whisked away. My girl looked so damn happy. Maybe after they got back, I could get her out to meet a few more people.
After defeating my literal demons, that is.
I swallowed my envy and tried to reassert the promise I’d find a new glow after I figured out what the hell I did to get myself on a demon’s radar and fix it.
Right before I turned around to claim my comfy seat, Ginny’s eyes went wide and a little breath whooshed out of her. “Whoa, hot guy alert,” she whispered to me, ducking her head like it’d somehow hide her thirsty-ass stare. It didn’t.
I glanced over my shoulder and wasn’t even the least bit surprised Zelus, my stalker, had come inside. Ginny’s eyes were firmly on him, but his were firmly on me.
I turned to her and kicked my smile up to a million watts. “That’s my stalker. Don’t let him inside.”
Ginny’s mouth fell open. “You’re joking.”
“Call security if you have to,” I told her.
And when I turned, Zelus was laughing with every part of his body—his eyes, his mouth, his shoulders. Fucking asshole. I took a seat, and the jerk had the audacity to drop down in the chair next to mine.
Ginny continued to stare, not sure how to gauge if I was being truthful or not. Confusion became concern, which quickly slid into despair because our security team hadn’t seen action in a while. And by a while, I meant never.
I threw her a bone and saved myself another hassle. “I’m kidding, Gin.”
The way the girl sagged in outright relief would’ve made me laugh if I wasn’t royally pissed off at the guy next to me. I sneered at him when he made a move to take my hand, as if everything was totally fine.
“Don’t be cross, love.”
I folded my arms under my chest and hoped the partners didn’t make me wait long. I was already regretting the trip. I wanted to go home and ignore Zelus existed. Maybe try to figure out how to stay out of Hell.
I had resources. Okay, places to start that could be resources.
Google, of course, but maybe Alexa had some Catholic trick she picked up when she was young and forced to go to church.
Exorcism or something. Holy water and mumbling old guys.
I might have to ask her and start wearing crosses unironically while I got rid of my demon problem.
“Icing me out, Viper?”
I didn’t respond. I wouldn’t. I’d been around him enough to know nothing I said would get me any place important. He’d bat any attempt to get what I wanted, and I wasn’t in any mood to humor a verbal battle with him when I had the partners to slay.
He leaned in closer, but Ginny stood up with a smile and waved me over. “They’ll see you now, Ems.”
I was on my feet and leaving him in the waiting room without a backward glance.