XII

Malphas had taken Marcy.

I climbed back through my bedroom window and lunged for my phone in a panicked mess. I started to dial the police, but then I pictured how it would all play out. Who would believe me?

My parents. My parents would believe me.

Every breath came out as a harsh wheeze. I sprinted to my parents' bedroom, only to find their bed empty. Sobbing at this point, I forced myself to keep moving to the kitchen. The breakfast counter had a note on it: Going to gym and running errands with Dad. We'll get groceries & sandwiches at the deli. Be back by lunch. XOXO.

They were out. They were safe. But Marcy wasn't. Dizziness shifted my surroundings, dark splotches filling my line of vision like splattered paint. Forcing in a few deep, slow breaths, I hurried back to my room and lunged for my phone again.

"Shit!" I'd deleted David Star's number.

I threw open drawers and nearly toppled my dresser, wildly tossing out clothes. Until I found it. Devin Star's business card.

I dialed the number on the little white card. My hand shook so hard that I almost dropped the phone.

"D&S Enterprises, how can we help you?"

"Devin Star," I rushed out between sobs. "Devin Star, I need Devin now—"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Star is unavailable at the moment—"

"Listen to me, she's going to die!" I shouted. "My friend was taken by Malphas, and he'll—he'll kill her!" Oh God, what had I done? What had I done? "Tell him it's Faith Williams. It's Faith Williams, and this is an emergency!"

The line went dead quiet on the other end, until I heard a muffled conversation.

Then the voice returned.

"It will be handled, Ms. Williams. We'll send someone to escort you to the tower."

"I don't want an escort, I want help! You can't just—"

The line went dead.

I stumbled back, catching myself on my bedpost.

I hastily yanked on a pair of black leggings and an oversized sweatshirt. The worst-case scenario kept replaying over and over in my brain as I sat in the small foyer by our front door. Waiting, rocking in place, clutching my communion cross around my neck and my phone against my stomach as I watched the clock in the living room, counting the minutes ticking by.

Ten minutes. Twenty. Thirty.

The doorbell rang. I scrambled to get up. I gripped the steak knife I'd taken from Mom's chef's block, peered through the sidelight window, and threw open the front door.

A familiar man stood on my porch.

"You're the guy from the car ride," I said. "Leo."

Death's reaper.

He gave my puffy, tear-stained face a passive once-over. "I have orders to take you directly to D&S Tower. Do you need to take anything with you?"

At that point, I was so defeated and broken that I didn't care enough to answer him. Moving forward, I stepped out of the safety of my home and onto the porch, closing my front door behind me. The reaper's golden eyes flicked to the knife in my grasp before he held out his palm.

"You're safe with me, Faith."

I handed over the weapon.

Getting into the passenger seat of his SUV, I wiped my clammy hands on my pants and glanced at the reaper in the driver's spot. "You got a last name, Leo?"

He said nothing. Leo the reaper it was.

Adrenaline caught up with me, and my limbs trembled so hard that my teeth chattered together. Leo pressed down on the gas, and I cast a look over my shoulder through the back windshield. My house got smaller and smaller, and I wondered if I'd ever see my parents or Pleasant Valley again.

"You're very brave."

I blinked, regarding Leo with surprise. His golden eyes had softened with empathy, and he offered a small smile. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough. Enough to keep me together.

When we got into New York City, it started to rain. We didn't hit a single red light, and every car in front of us magically got out of our way, which is how we managed to get to the tower in record time. Leo parked at the curb and tossed another man his keys to park the vehicle.

Standing on the sidewalk in front of the tower, my stomach twisted. Here we go again .

I tilted my head up toward the rain. How had I not seen it before I'd met Death? How the infamous tower's matte-black exterior and tinted windows gave it a menacing appeal that practically screamed, Run away! Like everyone else, I'd been brainwashed by the Stars.

I tried to stay calm as I rode the elevator up to the top floor, but my legs were shaking so intensely that I had to press my knees together to keep myself upright. Leo walked ahead of me like a soldier with long, assertive strides. The hallway closed in like a tunnel with no way out but toward the monster.

"Faith Williams, my lord," Leo said, and then I was striding into Devin Star's office.

Star's spacious office was dimly lit, and he sat in the throne-like chair behind his desk, facing the windows. The panes weren't tinted like Death's office, but there wasn't much light anyway as the storm raged outside. I could see the tops of Star's shoes resting on a filing cabinet, the rest of him blanketed in shadow. As I waited for him to speak, mute lightning crackled outside, angry fissures breaking apart the sky.

"I know we didn't end things on the best note," I began as I hugged my upper body tightly, "but I need your help—"

Devin lifted a hand to cut me off. Silence blanketed the room. That shadowed hand turned over in a casual manner, two fingers beckoning me closer. I swallowed down the wedge of fear in my throat and stepped forward.

"Groveling," he said. "It's seductive, is it not?"

I stiffened at the deep, cultured, accented voice.

Little prickles of ice shimmied down my spine. No .

The chair spun around, and I swear my heart was visibly pounding through my chest. The man sitting on Devin Star's throne sat halfway in the shadows, his face concealed by darkness. Apart from a small, malevolent grin.

"Welcome back to Hell," Death purred. "Cupcake."