18. Ruin

T aking a job wasn't something I ever thought I would do. I mean, why would I need a job? I'm a divine being. My job is to watch over my charges.

Yet here I am, not only working but enjoying it, though I can see why the mortals complain now. Living the way they do is hard, and despite the many times I've been down to walk the Earth, I don't have funds saved up like Asta does. Again, before this visit, I didn't have a reason for that kind of thing. I did what was required, and then I left. This is the longest I've ever spent down here, and the first time I've ever tried to blend in.

"When did they say that transmission should be in?"

The sound of Kai's voice echoing around the shop has me damn near slamming my head off the hood of the car I'd been buried in for the last few hours.

I didn't even realize he was here.

"Bout a week," I shout back, not bothering to look up, and I'm almost shocked by how easily the lie rolls off my tongue. I hadn't even ordered the transmission yet, but I wasn't going to tell him that. I wasn't going to tell anyone.

The same way I wasn't going to tell him whose car it is. I mean, on the one hand, he could torch the car to spite her and trap her here. But more than likely, he would make it his top priority to get her gone as fast as possible, which is probably what I should be encouraging.

Having her as far from here as quickly as possible would make sense. Of all the damned places she could have ended up, how had she managed to end up with them? No, being a mortal roommate to a bunch of demons is a disaster waiting to happen…yet I couldn't help but want to keep her close.

"What's eating you?"

Fuck, leave it to his broody ass to want to talk today of all days.

"Nothing." The second I say it, I know it was the wrong answer. I don't even believe myself. There's no way he's going to buy it.

"Sure, whatever you say. When you decide you want to stop being a bitch about it, you know where to find me."

He walks over to the car he's been working on the last few days, and I let him go without a word. There are a few things I want to say to him, but none of them will do me any good, I just need to keep my mouth closed and do my damn job.

Easier said than done, though. I make it less than twenty minutes before it feels like I'm going to burst.

Only by some crazy stroke of luck does he do it first.

His shouted curse echoes around the garage, pulling me from my own spiraling thoughts just in time to see him chuck his phone into the wall, where it shatters into a million pieces.

I'm surprised he still bothers to replace the damn things with how often he breaks them. It's not like they're cheap, either. The mortals put such a high value on things like tech and clothes, things that seem so small in the grand scheme of it all.

"I knew she was going to be a fucking problem!" Kai seethes, running his hand through his hair to push it back out of his face with a growl of frustration.

It's not funny, not really, yet I find myself fighting a smile as I watch him lose it about one tiny mortal woman. Kai's powerful, a high-ranking demon who was once high-ranked in heaven before the fall. He doesn't often lose his cool; yes, he's grumpy and mean, but usually, he keeps a lid on his outbursts.

"What the fuck are you laughing at?"

"Nothing," I tell him with a shake of my head, though I can't seem to wipe the smile from my face, so I know he won't believe me.

Guess I might as well own it.

"I just think it's funny that a tiny mortal woman has you so worked up, Kai. Usually, the only ones who can get to you like this are Talian and—"

"You. Yeah, you're both annoying as fuck. Trust me, I'm aware." He shakes his head, and although he's still yelling, I know he's not as mad as he was a moment ago.

An eon of friendship will do that, I guess.

"I'm sorry to inform you, though, the ‘tiny mortal woman' might just give you a run for your money." He sarcastically quotes me with his fingers, and I roll my eyes. "And don't even get me started on how Talian and Bast are with her."

"What does that mean?" I ask too quickly and instantly regret it.

Kai makes his way across the garage, but even before he can reach me, I know I've fucked up. Like I said, eons of friendship, and unfortunately for me, I know he heard the annoyance; I hadn't meant for it to happen, but it slipped out.

Kai makes his way around the car I've been working on for the past few days to come face-to-face with me, but I keep my head down, carefully avoiding his gaze.

I know this is about to develop into something more than I need it to be, something more than I have answers for, but it won't stop him from asking.

"Why are you acting so strange?"

His question catches me off guard because I thought I'd been doing a good job acting normal. I mean, up until about five minutes ago, that is.

"I'm not."

"Yes, you are." He gets closer as he looks me up and down, and it takes everything in me not to take a step back. I don't want it to appear as if I'm cowering, but I also don't like the way he's looking at me.

"No, I'm not. You're just in a pissy ass mood because the guys are stupid, don't put that shit on me." I step forward until we're chest to chest, leaving him to meet my gaze.

"Our brothers are always stupid. We both know that, it's nothing new. But as much as they might piss me off, I know you and something's been different lately." His voice is little more than a harsh whisper, but it's impossible to miss.

Our brothers.

We haven't been brothers in so long it's hard to remember a time when we were. The only one I still talk to is Kai. As grumpy and mean as he might be, we've found a way to stay close. Not as close as we once were, but one might call us friends by mortal terms.

"Don't call them that." Honestly, I've never cared one way or the other, but I know they do. Especially Bast, for some reason, he can't stand me. "And the only one acting weird is you."

I watch as his eyes narrow, trying to keep my face from giving me away, but it's no use.

I have no idea how he does it, but he's always seen right through me, and this time is no different.

"Fuck! You too? How?!"

Ugh, I guess we're going to have to hash this out now, after all. I can't deny that I'm a little curious about how she ended up as their roommate. I'd meant to ask her, but somehow, it never comes up, and I don't want to seem like I'm prying. And if I couldn't ask her, I definitely wasn't asking Kai because, well, this right here.

"Her car broke down, and she was just passing through. She ended up in here looking for a tow…" I let my words trail off, hoping the universe would take pity on me, and he would take that as enough.

"And…" he prompts when I don't say more.

"What do you mean, and? There's no and! She came in here and needed a tow. It's kind of what we do. We run a car shop, Kai."

His hand smacks against my chest hard enough that it should probably sting or, at the very least, push me back a step, but instead, all it does is piss me off.

"Bullshit, you wouldn't sound possessive over a random customer who wandered in to drop off their car, Ruin. We deal with people all day, and you probably don't recall half of their names."

He's not wrong about her or the other customers. For the most part, I stick to myself; it's easier. But for heaven's sake, it's my job to interact with mortals, or some of them. He knows that, but what he doesn't know is…

"She's one of mine." The words tumble out before I can stop them, and I curse my inability to keep shit from Kai. I really need to work on it.

I watch as my words settle over him, his brows scrunching in confusion before his eyes widen, and I know he really gets it.

"No. No fucking way." Shaking his head, he takes a step back, away from me. "What are the odds she wanders in here without you seeking her out and later ends up with us? She must really need the extra guidance if that's her luck."

He can say that again. He doesn't even know the whole story yet.

"Could you stop being such a dick to her?"

Throwing his head back, Kai barks a laugh; it's one of the most sarcastic things I've ever heard, and I don't need him to answer me to know what he's going to say.

"Yeah, fucking right, I'm not the one who's the issue here. That would be your little mortal. Maybe tell her to get it together. She's hardly been staying with us more than a few months, and she already has Talian and Bast at each other's throats."

"What?" Nothing about what he just said made sense. I highly doubt Aeri is the issue, but for Bast to argue with anyone is hard to imagine. Talian can be a lot, but usually that's with other people, not them, especially not so soon after coming back topside.

"Don't ‘what' me. You're in charge of her. Shouldn't you know what's going on?" His question isn't meant to be a dig, but it feels like one.

"I lost her!"

The words ring around the garage, echoing around us almost deafeningly, and I can't help but curse as I hear my own failure reflected back to me.

"What?" Kai's earlier annoyance and attitude are gone, and when I finally get the courage to meet his gaze, I'm met with confusion instead of the judgment I'd been expecting. "She's the one you lost all those years ago, the one who just went dark?"

I can't make myself answer aloud, but I nod.

"How the hell did you lose her in the first place? Better off, how'd she end up here, of all places?"

"I don't know."

"Fuck." He runs a hand down his face with a sigh. "Let's go."

"Where?"

"To find Asta, something isn't adding up here."