Chapter 3
3
Braxton leaned back in his seat, letting out a low whistle. He ruffled his curly brown hair and shook his head. “Wow, Eva, angelics and a devil in one night. You sure do know how to get into trouble.”
I fiddled with my disposable coffee cup. “It’s over and done with. And I got my payment this morning, though now more than ever I’d like to know who it actually came from, and what the angelics wanted from them.”
Braxton glanced around the small coffee shop. It was our regular haunt, cute with its pink interior walls and coffee beans stored in large purple glass containers across the counter. “No you don’t, Eva. You really don’t want to know.”
I smirked, leaning back in my seat. “You’re probably right.”
I had fallen into bed as soon as I’d gotten home, thanking my lucky stars I was still alive. It wasn’t every day that one ran into so many powerful beings in one night.
I looked up as the coffee shop door opened with a jingle, expecting someone I knew since we knew most everyone in the neighborhood. “Oh hell,” I muttered under my breath.
Braxton perked up. “What is it?”
I darted my gaze toward the window, not wanting to look directly at the new arrival. “It’s the devil. He’s here.”
Braxton turned around, being horribly obvious, but the devil was already looking our way regardless. He wore a similar suit to the night before, and I had almost managed to forget how handsome he was. His full lips were sensual—I really couldn’t think of a better word for them—and a hint of fire burned in his eyes. I hadn’t noticed it the night before, or else I would have been more quick to guess what he was. But he had been playing human, probably for the benefit of the gamblers at his table. I wondered how many of them still had their souls come sunrise.
The devil walked past us and sat at a vacant table. He leaned back in his seat, crossing an ankle over his knee, then gestured me over.
I turned my attention back to Braxton to see his eyebrows raised nearly to his hairline. “Do you want me to go with you?”
I shook my head. I could break the devil’s hold on me. Braxton might not be so lucky. Seeing him starting to rise from his seat, I said as much.
He paused, thought about it, then sat back down. “Yeah, but I could break his face.”
"I'll keep that in mind.” I stood and approached the devil’s table, and fortunately Braxton stayed behind.
Straightening my spine and trying to look intimidating, though appearance-wise it wasn't something I could really manage, I looked down at the devil. “What do you want?”
He gestured for me to sit. There was no compulsion to it. He simply waited patiently. I wondered how he found me, but the answer was obvious. He had followed me from the Circus, which meant he also knew where I lived. And I definitely didn’t want him to visit me there .
I sat.
He leaned his elbows on the table, steepling long fingers in front of his mouth. “I have a job for you.”
“I don’t take jobs from devils. I’m not here to get paid in souls.”
He smiled, drawing my attention to his full bottom lip. “I assure you, I pay cash. Much more than you’re used to seeing outside of your agency.”
My heart did a nervous flip. “You know who I am?”
He lowered his hands, smoothing them across the table, showing me how harmless he was. Yeah right . “I asked around.”
The only people he could have asked about me were the angelics. "I didn't think devils associated with angelics.”
He gave me a coy smile. “Where practicality demands, we are not so particular.”
Silence stretched between us. I broke first, feeling the need to fill it. “Well if that’s all...”
“The job I have for you has nothing to do with souls.” He leaned forward in his seat. “I want you to collect a debt, nothing more.”
A debt? What in the hells was he talking about? Night runners weren’t used to collect debts. “Look, man, I’m just a glorified messenger, not a mercenary. If you want a bounty hunter, you’re going to want someone a little more intimidating.” I gestured to what he could see of my small frame above the table.
I instantly regretted the action as his gaze lingered a little too long on the undone buttons at the top of my green blouse. His eyes lifted to my face again with a slight smile. “Most bounty hunters cannot cross the boundaries. I need a night runner. I need you .”
“I don’t work with devils,” I repeated, lowering my chin and daring him to try compelling me again. This time I would be ready for it, and I would break free easily. I hoped.
“I’ll give you time to think about it.”
I stood. “Don’t come here again. We may have been on your turf last night, but your little tricks won’t be welcome in this neighborhood. ”
I turned away, waited for Braxton to stand, then headed for the door.
I felt better once we were out in the sunlight. Wanting to get away from the coffee shop, I started walking.
Braxton fell into step at my side, his disposable coffee cup in hand. “What did he want?”
I had expected him to hear every word with his werewolf hearing. “You mean you couldn’t hear us?”
“No,” Braxton said, and not like he was happy about it.
The devil must have done some little trick to give us privacy. I let out a long sigh. “He wanted me to collect a debt for him. I told him to go to hell.”
“You told a devil to go to hell?” he laughed.
“No,” I admitted. “I didn’t want to tempt him to bring me along for the ride.”
Braxton clapped my shoulder, tugging me out of the way as a woman in a pantsuit hurried past us toward the coffee shop. He lowered his voice for my ears alone. “With a devil looking like that, you might enjoy it.”
I snorted. “I’m not into devils. An elf on the other hand...” I let my eyes wander far away.
Braxton chuckled. “You ladies and your elves. They may be pretty, but how can you stand to hear them talk?”
I turned as I walked to waggle my eyebrows at him. “Who said anything about talking?”
We reached the intersection where we had already planned to part ways. I had somewhere else to be. I started to walk off with a wave, but Braxton stopped me.
“Hey Eva, how did that devil know where you’d be?”
I winced. I had been hoping he wouldn’t put it together that I had inadvertently led a devil to our home.
He cringed. “Yeah, thought so. Watch your back.”
I gave him a little salute, then continued on my way. I was a night runner, and he was a mercenary. Watching our backs was just part of life. And we had known each other long enough that we would always watch each other’s too.
Here was hoping the devil would leave me alone, and Braxton along with me.
The dingy office smelled like stale tobacco, wrinkling my nose every time I stepped foot on the cracked linoleum floors. I had an appointment, but Monroe was always at least five minutes late. Even though I knew I’d be waiting, I was never late myself.
Monroe’s secretary had let me into the office to wait on the other side of his cherrywood desk. The desk was the only nice item in the building, making it look out of place. How Monroe afforded a secretary but not a nicer space was beyond me. Of course, I was paying him enough to afford the secretary, so he probably just didn’t care about the space. I had always assumed the desk had been a gift. It just didn’t seem like his taste.
I turned in my seat as he finally shuffled through the open office door. He was only a few inches taller than me, maybe 5’8”, with curly gray hair and a deeply lined face. He wasn’t that old, but the cigarettes constantly dangling from his lips had taken their toll. His wrinkled tweed suit made it look like he had just rolled out of bed.
He probably had.
He sat down across from me, making a slow grunting show of it, as if he really was as old as he looked. Once he was settled, he gave me his best winning smile. “It’s good to see you, Eva. How have you been since you left the agency?”
I leaned against my seat cushion, tilting my head back with a heavy sigh. “You haven’t found anything.”
“I’ve told you a hundred times, Eva, she’s probably dead. I’ll keep looking, but you’re wasting your money.“
I lifted my head to look at him. “She’s not dead. My mother is far too cunning to be dead.” No , I thought. She knew I was looking for her . She probably even knew I was paying Monroe. She was just staying one step ahead of him.
I had sensed her one time in the city. I caught only a glimpse of her, but I knew with deep surety that the woman disappearing around the street corner had been her. I’d felt it in my chest. She hadn’t stayed around to teach me much about my magic, but I’d understood something new about myself in that moment. If my mother was near, I’d be able to tell.
And she hadn’t come near again. I needed someone to help me find her. At least to point me in the right direction.
I had hoped an investigator could learn things I couldn’t, but thus far, I’d been wrong.
Monroe smoothed his knobby fingers across the desk. “Same time next month?”
I nodded, then stood. It was always the same. I knew paying Monroe was probably worthless, but he wasn’t the only one on the case. He was just the one that had been on the case the longest. One day, one of them would come through. Then I would get what my mother owed me.
“You should let it go.”
I looked down at him, giving him a bitter smile. “A girl needs her mother, Monroe.“
It wasn’t true, and he knew it. Motherly love was the last thing I was after. That was a dream I had given up on a very long time ago.
I rolled my stiff shoulders as I stepped out onto the street. The smell of coffee and the bustle of traffic enveloped me. It was chaotic, but the good kind of chaotic. Warm and familiar .
Sensing someone standing too close, I turned, then bit back a curse. “You’re still following me? Don’t you have better things to do?”
The devil smiled. People stepped around us, but only really seemed to look at me, as if something forced their eyes away from his handsome face. It was like I was the only one who knew there was a six foot tall devil standing in the middle of the sidewalk. Maybe I was.
“You know, I can find whoever you’re looking for.“
I glared at him. “How do you know I’m looking for someone?“
He glanced over his shoulder at the rickety sign overhead. David Monroe, PI .
“Maybe I’m just keeping an eye on a cheating ex.”
He gave me a lascivious look. “Someone would cheat on you ? Perish the thought.” His eyes sparkled with amusement. Or was it just a hint of fire?
“It’s none of your business.”
He crossed his arms casually. “You’re wasting your money on these foolish mortals. I could find your quarry in the blink of an eye.“ He spoke casually, but he was looking at me a little too intensely.
“Let me guess, all I have to do in return is give you my soul?”
“No, all you have to do is collect my debt. It’s a simple task, and you can have exactly what you want.”
I almost considered it. He was offering me something much more valuable than cash. But I knew better. With devils, things were never what they seemed. There was some trick in his words I wasn’t catching on to.
“Collect it yourself.” I turned and walked away.
My shoulder blades itched with the feel of his eyes on me as I forced myself to keep an even pace through the crosswalk. I dared a glance back once I was on the other side, but he was nowhere to be seen.
He would have needed to run to get out of sight so quickly, or maybe he just disappeared into thin air. Or maybe it had all been a horrible fever dream. It felt surreal enough for that to be the case. There was no reason for a devil to be haunting my steps.
At least, no reason I was aware of.