Demons LLC (Damned and Cursed Book 7) (18 page)

Cindy smiled.
 
"Is that why you went all pervy on her earlier?"

He rolled his eyes.
 
"Yeah.
 
You know me.
 
Can't keep my hands to myself.
 
Don't you think I can do this?"

"Oh, I
know
you can do this.
 
The question is do you want to?
 
Florida?
 
You'll have to take a few days off work."

Alex started thinking about logistics, timing, his work's vacation policy.

"Yeah, you're right.
 
I've been fighting using vacation time for this stuff, but…."

Cindy finished his thought.

"But the money sounds good.
 
And…Kylie needs help."

Alex broke away and engaged in his own pacing, staring at the carpet.
 
So many thoughts and doubts rushed through his mind.

"Do you trust her?" he asked.
 
"You think Kylie's being honest?"

Cindy nodded.
 
"First impressions…I think she's okay."

"The last time I trusted a ghost who needed my help…."

The sentence was difficult to finish.
 
Alex would never forget.
 
Demons were released.
 
Blood was shed.
 
People died.

She nodded, caring and compassion in her eyes.

"Yeah, I know.
 
It's up to you, baby.
 
If you want to change your mind, now's the time.
 
I support you either way."

Of course she did.
 
That was Cindy.
 
Alex may have been the one with demonic powers, but Cindy was where his strength came from.

"I'll help her," he said.
 
His mind raced through the details.
 
"I have to give work three days notice before using vacation.
 
That'll push everything past Halloween, into next week.
 
We won't be able to fly, not with her…condition."

Cindy laughed.
 
"Are you sure that truck can make it to Florida?"

"Don't be jealous of the truck."

"You can always get Kevin to make one of those portals of his."

It was tempting, but Alex shook his head.

"No.
 
If I'm going to do this, and this kind of work, we can't be taking shortcuts.
 
I can't rely on Kevin and his magic."

"Fair enough."
 
Cindy took a breath and nodded at the door.
 
"Well?
 
You want to tell her?"

Alex nodded, and kissed his wife one more time.
 
Cindy went back to work at her laptop as he opened the front door.
 
An unexpected conversation was taking place on the porch.

"…oh yeah, Alex and I go way back.
 
He'd be lost without me.
 
Just last night, the two of us did some work at a haunted house.
 
We thought it was a ghost, but it turned out to be a demon.
 
Possessed a girl.
 
It was ugly."

"Are you serious?
 
Demons are real?"

"Damn straight.
 
Weird, right?
 
But I guess it makes sense.
 
It turns out ghosts are real, so why not demons?"

"And you and Alex got rid of it?"

"You bet.
 
I held it, while Alex punched it in the face.
 
Then I kicked it in its nuts."

Kylie couldn't hold in her smile.

"Demons have nuts?"

"Yeah.
 
Big ones."

Alex closed the door behind him, drawing the attention of Kylie and Nate.
 
The pair sat on the steps, their backs to him.
 
Nate smiled and winked when he looked at Alex.

"Hey, man," he said.
 
"We were just talking about you."

"I heard.
 
Kylie, I see you've met Nate."

"Yeah.
 
I didn't know he was your partner."

"Ah," Alex said, regarding Nate.
 
"Partner, huh?"

Nate stood up.
 
"Did I say partner?
 
That was probably the wrong word."
 
He quickly changed the subject.
 
"So, Kylie tells me you have a job you might need help with."

Alex pointed at Kylie.
 
"About that.
 
We need to talk alone for a second."

She stood up as well and joined him.
 
Alex was quiet as he stared at Nate.
 
Kylie stared as well, and Nate glanced back and forth between the two, not getting the meaning.

"What?"

"That means you need to walk away."

"Ah, man.
 
Every time I stop by, you send me away.
 
I can eat at the big table, too, Pop."

"Nate—"

"Okay, okay.
 
I'm going.
 
I'll be out in the street jumping through cars."

Alex and Kylie watched him leave.
 
Alex waited until he was out of earshot before speaking.

"So, we kicked a demon in the nuts."

Kylie laughed.
 
"Yeah.
 
He just popped up, right next to me.
 
Scared me to death."
 
She shook her head.
 
"Terrible phrasing.
 
Anyway, I've known him five minutes and can tell he's full of shit."

"He's a good guy.
 
And he's not completely full of shit.
 
Demons
are
real."

Her jaw dropped.
 
"Seriously?"

"Yeah.
 
Listen, we've got to talk."

"What's up?"

"We're in.
 
We're going to help you."

The gratitude and relief that washed over her warmed Alex's heart.
 
It was another reminder of why he did what he did.
 
He tried to shove the good feelings aside as he prepared for what he had to say.

"But here's the disclaimer.
 
Kylie, I want to help you, work with you.
 
I want to get paid.
 
More than that, I want to live.
 
I've been taken advantage of before."

"What do you mean?"

"A ghost who said he needed my help, lured me into a trap once."

"You…think I'm lying?"

"No, not at all, but—"

"The Stewardtown Gazette, October 15th.
 
Obituaries, second column, fourth one down.
 
That's where you'll find me."
 
A tear ran down her cheek.
 
"My tombstone says
With The Angels Now
.
 
But that's not true.
 
I'm still here.
 
Someone took
everything
from me.
 
I don't even remember dying.
 
The last hours of my life, gone.
 
I just remember waking up in an alley.
 
I…thought I was still
alive
, until I leaned on a wall."
 
She took several deep breaths, to regain her composure.
 
"I'm not lying, Alex."

"I don't think you are.
 
But I just have to throw that out there, that's all.
 
If you try to hurt me…."
 
He searched for the words.
 
"It will not end well."

"I got it.
 
That won't happen."

"Okay.
 
Then, we're good."

He extended his hand.
 
Kylie shook it, then pulled him in for a surprise hug.

"Thank you," she said.
 
"For helping me."

"You're welcome.
 
But don't get excited.
 
We haven't even started yet."

Alex frowned as he stared out in the street.
 
He shook his head slowly, not quite believing what he was seeing.

"What?" Kylie asked.
 
"What's wrong?"

She turned to follow his eyes.
 
Her brow furrowed in confusion, but she laughed quietly, trying to cover her mouth.

Nate wasn't lying.
 
He was
literally
jumping through cars.
 
He waited in the street for a car to approach.
 
As it drew closer, he jumped up as high as he could, trying to clear the vehicle without having any part of him touch it.
 
He failed each time.

"Man.
 
I was close on that one," he said.
 
He turned to catch Kylie giving Alex a hug.
 
"Whoa!
 
Where's mine?
 
Nate needs a hug, too!
 
I'm like a big old teddy bear."

"Everything starts next week," Alex said as Nate rejoined them.
 
"I have to take off from my day job, get things together."

"Okay."

He gestured to the house behind him.
 
"You're welcome to stay here, if you want."

Nate's eye lits up, and Alex pointed to shut him down.

"Not you," Alex said.
 
"Cindy would probably kill me if I let you stay."

"Is she home?"
 
He looked at Kylie.
 
"Have you met her?"

"Uh, yeah.
 
I met her."

"Delicious, isn't she?
 
I'll just pop in and say hi."

Alex put his hand up.
 
"No.
 
C'mon, Nate.
 
I have to take a shower, eat, and try to relax."

"Alright, man.
 
Kylie and I were going to head to Baltimore, anyway."

That took Alex by surprise.
 
"Really?"

Kylie nodded and smiled.
 
"Yeah.
 
I've never been to the Inner Harbor before.
 
Hell, I've never been outside Florida."

Alex didn't even bother thinking about how they were going to get there.
 
But he trusted Nate.
 
Somehow, he knew he'd take care of Kylie.

"Okay.
 
You two have fun."

"Thanks.
 
I probably will stay here tonight.
 
Don't worry, I won't get in your way."

He waved as he watched Kylie and Nate leave the house and walk down the street.
 
Nate told another of his jokes, making Kylie laugh.
 
It was a strange sight, watching two ghosts simply walk away.

He leaned against the door after stepping foot back into the living room.
 
The quiet, the stillness of their house was a welcome relief.
 
The normal.
 
Cindy still banged away at her laptop, her face serious and intense.
 
Alex filled her in on their house-guest, to which she simply waved her hand.

"It's not like I can see her, anyway.
 
And I don't walk around the house naked…most of the time."

Alex laughed and stretched.
 
"I'll hit the shower real quick."

"Wait," Cindy said, holding up a finger.
 
"Before you do, come here."

She slid over on the couch to make room as she minimized her work on the laptop.
 
Turning to face him, she took a deep breath and smiled.

"I have a surprise."

"Will I like it?"

"I think so.
 
I
hope
so."
 
She gestured to the laptop.
 
"You ready?"

"Hit me, baby," he said, laughing.

Cindy waved her hand over the keyboard and struck a key with a
tada
.

A website popped up.
 
Alex's eyes traveled the page, unsure of what he was looking at.
 
A slideshow gallery of images scrolled from left to right, showing what seemed to be haunted houses.
 
Realistic drawings of demons were mixed in.
 
There was an
About Us
page, along with
Meet The Team,
even a section for a blog.
 
It was eye catching, very professional.

He took note of the site title.
 
Demons LLC.

"Wow, nice," he said.
 
"But what is it?"

"This is our new website."

"Are you kidding?"
 
Panic threatened to take over, for multiple reasons.
 
"How much did this cost?"

"Zero."
 
Cindy let out her million-dollar smile.
 
"There's a small web-hosting fee each month, but it didn't cost anything to make.
 
Not bad, right?"

"You
made
this?"

"Yeah.
 
Well, Kevin did.
 
It took a few weeks.
 
I gave him all the content, the pictures.
 
I was the director."
 
She laughed.
 
"What do you think?"

Alex was amazed at what they'd accomplished, but terrified.
 
He wanted to make money, but keep a low profile.
 
How was that possible with a website?

"Do we really need a website?"

Cindy laughed.
 
"Every business does.
 
Even the small ones.
 
And we are a business, a legal entity now.
 
You're the one who said we needed business cards.
 
This is the same thing, but on the Internet."

He was quiet as he stared at the laptop.
 
It wasn't exactly the response Cindy was looking for.

"Do you like it?"

"It's awesome."