11. Dante

Chapter eleven

Dante

H ow dare he walk out on me? This guy had no respect for me whatsoever. Did he not know who I was?

I’d asked this question several times since meeting him, and each time the answer was no, I didn’t think he did.

I threw on another pair of cargo trousers and a black shirt. I’d need coffee to get me through the day and put on a pot in the small kitchen in my apartment.

It seemed like an eternity before he finally emerged from the bathroom, a towel tied around his waist. He used another to dry his unruly curls.

“We still need to talk.”

“I’m tired of talking, Dante. It’s all we’ve done. Please can I go home?”

“I can let you go home, accompanied, of course, to grab some more clothes, but then you come right back here. I don’t know who or what could be looking for you now.”

“I don’t get it. Why suddenly are demons, as you put it, going to be coming for me? I’m nothing special.”

“That mark was placed on you for a reason, and I also wonder what the casino chip you’ve been carrying around has to do with things.”

He looked down and adjusted the towel wrapped around him. Someone was avoiding the subject.

“Where did you get it from?”

“None of your business.”

He was going to feel my wrath very soon unless he changed his attitude.

“I’ll ask you again. Who gave it to you, and why?”

“Look, do you have any clothes I can put on? Mine are dirty.”

I pushed off the counter and found what I was looking for in the cupboard in the bedroom: underwear, a T-shirt, and a pair of sweats. They’d be a little long, but it wouldn’t matter.

I turned my back, giving him some privacy, but watched his reflection in the window as he dropped his towel.

At least I didn’t growl, as much as I wanted to see his naked body.

What on earth was going on? Why this reaction to him? I could understand it before, but now I knew his heritage, we should be at each other’s throats. Not just verbally but physically too.

“You got any more of that?”

He reached around me, poured himself a mugful, and sat on the leather sofa. Nothing like making yourself at home.

“Talk.” I sat opposite him and waited while he sipped his coffee.

“I had misgivings about this casino job.”

“With good reason.”

“Are you going to let me talk or keep interrupting me?”

I gestured for him to continue and leant back in my chair.

“The others went off without a hitch, but the moment Joel told me we were hitting this one, it felt off to me. Grandpa told me about a magic shop.”

“I know the one. He’s been around for aeons. The Owner always knows what you want before you do.”

He blinked. Seriously, he was pushing his luck, and he had a lot of that.

“Yes, that one. He gave me the chip. When I asked what it was for, he gave some vague answer about it being for protection or assurance. I didn’t understand and still don’t. I don’t think it’s doing anything.”

I had a thought about that, but I needed it to settle for a while before I made a comment.

He continued. “I thought it was helping me be invisible, which was why I brought it with me.”

“Ah, let me just say that the security at the door disables any amulets, potions, spells, or suchlike. I can’t have people cheating me out of money. That wouldn’t do, now would it?”

Did he look embarrassed? He’d better.

“So, it didn’t work?”

“Not in the way you think. You won the money because of your luck, not because of that cheap chip. I’d like to test a theory, but continue, please.”

“I should throw it away for all the good it did me.” He flicked it in the air and caught it again.

“Here, let’s try something.”

I fished the coin Conrad and I always used out of my pocket. Austin had a fifty-fifty chance of getting this right, but we’d do the best of five. What were the odds?

He sat forward, and I flipped the coin high into the air. “Tails or horns?”

“Tails.”

Okay, that was one.

“Tails.”

Two for two.

“Horns.”

And again. No one could predict with such accuracy, but after five tosses of the coin, he’d guessed every one correctly. That was more than luck.

I wanted to test it further, but that would mean taking him down to the floor and watching him play. But there was more to him than just his luck, and I reckoned his grandpa would have the information we needed about his mother.

“So, what’s the chip for, then? The shop owner gave it to me for a reason, so what was it if it wasn’t to help with the job?”

“He said protection and assurance?”

He nodded.

I had another theory.

I took out my phone and texted Conrad, asking him to come upstairs. It was early, but I knew he’d be here.

Moments later, the door opened. Conrad looked no different from any other day.

“Give him the chip, Austin.”

“It’s mine.” He clutched it to his chest.

“I’m not saying it isn’t, but give him the chip. I want to test something else.”

He threw it at Conrad and watched with concern as he left the room.

Barely two minutes later, I felt so much animosity towards him I found it hard to stay on my side of the room. It hadn’t been this bad before, and I wagered it was the breaking of the angel mark that had caused this anger.

How dare he cheat me out of so much money? How dare he make me look stupid in front of everyone?

I should have killed him where he fell.

I clenched my fists, and the urge to wrap them around his slim neck grew with each moment.

How dare he sit on my sofa, sip my coffee from my mug?

I curled my lip and bared my teeth, my horns tingling as they grew longer than they’d ever done.

I was going to fucking kill him.

I leapt across the room and pounced on him. The coffee mug went flying, hot coffee spilling.

“What the fuck?” Austin tried to scramble away from me, but I was far stronger than him. No chance of escape.

I straddled him, my knees on either side of his hips, and pinned him to the sofa.

I revelled in the hurt I could inflict on him and smiled as I slipped my hands around his throat. His eyes widened as he fought for breath.

I squeezed tighter, forcing the air from his lungs. I sat on him, my arms bulging with the effort.

My cock hardened and pressed against his, but I was more than sure he wasn’t enjoying this half as much as I was.

He clawed at my arms and gripped my shirt, kicking his legs out, trying to dislodge me. I squeezed harder, digging my thumbs into his neck.

Slowly his movements lessened, his eyes rolled upwards, and his head lolled to the side.

Yes, this was what I’d wanted to do all along. To eke the life out of him until he was no longer in existence.

Then I was flying across the room, hitting the coffee table with a crunch, shattering it into pieces.

“What the fuck, boss?”

I shook my head and slowly came to my senses.

Conrad was bent over Austin, pumping his chest.

What had I done?

My head cleared. Fuck, I’d killed Austin.

I was no stranger to murder and violence. It was part of me, but the compulsion to steal his life and make him suffer had overtaken my every thought.

The chip wasn’t protection or assurance for the job he’d been sent to do, but protection against me and what I would do to him once the mark was broken.

There had to be an explanation.

“Do you have the chip, Conrad?”

“In my pocket. What did you do?”

He continued to work on Austin, and for once, I felt remorse for what I’d done.

Killing in cold blood was what I did, so why did I feel bad?

My heart was in my mouth as I watched Conrad struggle to breathe life back into Austin.

At least it had proved a point, but at what expense?

Conrad sat back on his heels, his arms by his side. Austin lay on the sofa, his eyes closed.

Now what?

I made my way over to them and stood next to the lifeless body. Well, fuck.

“What were you trying to do? Why did you kill him?”

“I was trying to prove a point. It just went a little too far.”

“You could say that again. Another body to dispose of. Two in two days. It’s becoming a habit.”

“I don’t need your insolence.”

He stepped away, and I knelt next to Austin. How did I tell his grandpa? And now I’d never find out about the angel mark.

Unless? The angel mark. What had happened the last time I’d touched it?

He’d passed out, but it had shocked him too. I could tell from his face.

Not wanting to delay further, I pressed my fingers to the mark. Austin gasped, his eyes flying open. Relief washed over me.

“Thank fuck for that.” Conrad moved closer.

“Don’t touch him.” I held out my hand, keeping him at bay.

Austin needed to come around on his own.

“Get the fuck away from me.” His eyes flashed with anger. “You killed me.”

He rubbed his neck marred with red marks. I winced.

“I brought you back.”

“Why? Just why?”

“I had to test the theory. I needed to know.”

“I fucking hope you figured it out.” His voice was hoarse, and his shirt was wet with spilt coffee.

I grabbed a bottle of water and handed it to him.

He snatched it from my grasp, cowering into the corner of the sofa.

“I won’t hurt you.”

“Again. You won’t hurt me again. I think that’s what you meant to say. Not sure I believe you.”

His hands trembled as he struggled to open the bottle. I took it and did it for him.

“How do I know you haven’t poisoned it?”

“You just saw me open the bottle.”

He snorted, then coughed and held his throat.

“The chip. It wasn’t protection or assurance for the job. I think it was from me. When Conrad left the room with it, I had an overwhelming compulsion to kill you.”

“Which you did successfully.”

“You’re alive.”

“No thanks to you.”

“It proves my thought that you and I are intrinsically linked somehow, and it’s something to do with the angel mark. I don’t know why or how yet, but it’s something much deeper than you or I know.”

“So, you’re saying The Magic Shop owner knew I’d meet you and needed protection from you? That makes no sense. Why didn’t you kill me before?”

“The angel mark protected you at first. I knew there was something different about you, so although you thought the chip was protecting you, it wasn’t. Not yet anyway. Once the angel mark was broken, so was your protection, so my instinct was to kill you. Then the chip protected you, and when Conrad left with it, so did the safety it offered you. The moment he came back in, the compulsion had gone.”

“I’m so fucking confused.”

“Okay, let me try again. The angel mark protected you from me until it was broken. The chip then took over, and when it disappeared, the urge to kill you hit me.”

I took the chip from Conrad and handed it to Austin.

“Keep this on you at all times when I’m around.”

“Why not just let me go and never see me again? And if the chip protects me from you, surely it does from everything else.”

That was always a chance, but I didn’t think so.

We could test the theory, but Austin had had enough of tests for now, and I needed to get back to work.

I’d neglected my duty for the past couple of days, but I also needed to check a few things and wanted to talk to someone.

A demon I’d known for years. A good friend.

“Look, I’m sorry I killed you, but it was important to establish some facts. We’ve done that now, but you should rest. Let me help you back to bed.”

I reached for him, and he recoiled, moving out of my reach.

Damn it if that didn’t hurt, and I had no idea why.

I stepped away from him and gestured for Conrad to help him, then watched from a distance as he assisted him back to my bed.

Tension simmered beneath my skin, ready to erupt at any moment at the thought of his hands on Austin.

I wanted to push Conrad away or, better still, chop his fucking hands off.

Where had that irrational thought come from?

I had to get out of here—and quickly—before I did something to my closest friend I would surely regret.

I put on my boots and stormed from the apartment, slamming the door behind me. Ignoring everyone, I stalked to my office and flung myself into the swivel chair.

Why did I feel so incensed?

I pulled out my phone.

“Perfect Shores Funeral Home.”

“Hey, Zeke. It?s Dante. Is Mal about?”

“Dante. It’s been a while. I’ll go find him. He’s with Jason.”

Mal and I had met when Zeke had tried to resurrect Jason’s dead husband. I’d got involved because shit like that didn’t always work. Zeke had been lucky he’d not been banished permanently to earth. I knew how inconvenient that could be.

Mal had petitioned on his behalf, and between us, we’d released Jason from the contract, nullifying it.

“Dante, how are you?”

“Mal, my favourite demon undertaker. How much do you know about angel marks?”