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“No,” I answered, and I swallowed against the temptation to continue talking because I didn’t know enough about this Emrick to spill my secrets to him, and I suspected he felt the same about me. I didn’t want to tell him I wasn’t even sure the reasons I didn’t want to kill Tate were purely because of the rules protecting demons or if because I felt I deserved to die more than he.
Emrick chuckled. “You may have no choice.”
Again, he was sending my words back to me, and I hated the shiver it sent down my spine.
JACOB
It felt like I was watching a play rather than something that was directly related to my life. It certainly didn’t feel like the lines being played out were about someone who was a direct threat to Mike and me. The exchange between Frank and Emrick was bizarre. They were talking about demons like it was nothing, and as the conversation drew on, I took a few steps back, pulling myself into the shadows and away from the group in front of me.
Was I the only human in the room?
My heart was pounding against the inside of my chest, and I prayed they couldn’t hear it, and I’m certain I was sweating. I wanted to run, to wrench the large door to my left open and simply bolt down the stairs and away. But what good would that do? There was another demon, or human slash demon something, Tate, out for my life.
I wasn’t safe anywhere.
Mike didn’t want to return to his apartment, and I couldn’t blame him. I didn’t want to either but kept my mouth shut. Somehow, Mike negotiated with Emrick to let us stay the night in the club. Emrick was confident that not only would Tate not suspect we would be here, but even if he did, he wouldn’t dare a direct attack. Emrick ran most of this city, apparently doing business I’d rather remain ignorant about, and the club was heavily guarded.
“One night,” Emrick said, casting a glance at me like I was something unpleasant on the sole of his shoe before looking back at Mike. “One night only, then I’ll call my brother, and your human can stay with him.”
Mike’shuman?Is that what I had been reduced to? My nerves and fear were pushed to the side as a bubble of anger grew in my stomach.
“What if I don’t want to stay with your brother?” I finally found my voice, and Emrick turned slowly to face me.
He sneered with little to no humor in the expression. “Don’t worry… he’s not like me. He’s still a full-blown angel.”
Wait!What?
I stuttered my way through the beginning of a million questions I never got to ask as Frank took his leave, shaking Mike’s hand and lifting his other as if he were going to go in for a hug, then thought better of it. Ilsa and Ray left next, promising to continue searching for Tate and any information they could find.
“I think I know just who to ask,” Ray said, opening the door and holding it askew for Ilsa.
“Earl?” Ilsa asked as she walked past, and Ray nodded, closing the door behind them.
I turned back to Mike and Emrick staring at each other with such intensity I doubted they were aware of anything going on outside of their bubble of mutual hatred. After a moment, Cara stood and held out an arm, inviting Mike and me through the door behind where she had been seated with Emrick as though we were formal guests. We walked through a large office, my legs trembling every step of the way, before entering a private elevator that took us up one floor to Emrick’s apartment. The second we stepped across the threshold, I separated myself from the group. This entire setup was designed to keep me safe from Tate, but I didn’t feel safe here with a demon, a fallen angel, and Cara, who was somehow totally okay with the knowledge of all of this. Perhaps I should pick her brain, but Emrick and Cara glanced at each other, and Cara licked her lips, drawing a growl from Emrick, who scooped her up. He tossed her over his shoulder and moved into the bedroom without another word, slamming the door behind him.
Mike turned to me but made no move to close the distance I had created between us. “Are you hungry?”
I shrugged. “I guess.”
He nodded stiffly and moved to the kitchen, opening the refrigerator and searching the contents silently. I went over to a couch by a window and sat, curling my knees up to my chest and looking out at the city below. There wasn’t much daylight left, and I listened to Mike moving around in the small kitchen and the increasing sounds from outside. People were starting to line up for the club already.
I wondered if they knew who the owner really was.
But I supposed they didn’t care. Who would, right? I don’t spend much time down this end of the city, but I know the corruption that exists here as well as everyone. The law is only effective unless someone is paying them out, and even Dad’s friend, the mayor, isn’t beyond reproach. I’m sure he could do something if he really set his mind and resources to it and clean up this city. But when his pockets are being lined as well as everyone else’s, I can’t imagine his motivation to take action would be particularly high.
I could live north of here and not have to think about these people and everything that happened in their day-to-day lives. I could sit at my desk and think only of the world that surrounds me within the walls of my cubicle, my thoughts occasionally escaping outside the office to a place where I have my own shop and can work with my hands, just me and my cars.
But now there was so much more to consider.
Was it morally wrong to start a sexual relationship with my father’s main contractor?Perhaps.
Yesterday I thought that was the biggest moral quandary I would have to grapple with, but instead, I’m faced with a new question.
Is it morally wrong for a human to start a sexual relationship with ademon?
Demons and angels.
Fictitious.
