Temping is Hell (28 page)

She’d cared about people nobody cared about.

Hell, she’d even cared about him—when he’d really done nothing to deserve it.

And she’d tried to fix her mistake. Tried to stop the kidnapping, and had gotten herself here.

“I’m sorry,” he said finally, as it all sank in.

“Again! Not the time!” she yelled. Then, in frustration, she started pounding at the door. “Damn it!
Damn it
!”

Tears were leaking from the corners of her eyes. He reached out, stroking her shoulder.

She turned on him like a cornered bear. “Do
not
touch me right now!”

The last of his anger dissipated in the face of her panic. “I don’t blame you.”

“Bully for you,” she said, and looked shocked when a sob emerged. “I swear, if we get out of this, I am killing you myself, you hear me?”

“When we get out of this,” he murmured, stroking a curl away from her face, “I’ll let you.”

“Yeah, right,” she muttered, knuckling away at the tears.

He looked at her, really looked at her. Her red hair tumbled around her shoulders. She was dirty, and disheveled, and defiant. She looked fiery and beautiful. She was possibly the most courageous woman he’d ever met.

He wanted to take her in his arms, apologize. He’d screwed this up. But he’d do it after he figured a way out of this. After he saved her.

She leaned her forehead against the door. “After this job,” she muttered, “I am
never
working for big corporate again, I can tell you that right now.”

He let out a dry chuckle. She always surprised him. Always.

The door opened, and he stepped in front of her, his fists up… only to have them fall limply to his sides.

“Maggie?” he breathed. “But… wait. How? You were dead. I saw your body.”

“You saw
a
body,” she said, that catlike smile familiar. “Well, to be totally technical, you saw a construct. Considering it landed with a splat, it didn’t even have to look that much like me at all.”

“A… construct?” he repeated, baffled.

“You had a demon jump for you?” Kate asked, sounding appalled.

“No, no. Just a lifeless construct.” Maggie’s eyes gleamed. “I know more about demons than you realize, Thomas. More about a lot of things. I was smart enough to sleep with a limo driver—who didn’t see it coming when I walked up to the car and killed him to get to you.”

Thomas stared at her, aghast.

“Remember what I told you?” Maggie’s smile was vicious. “I’m not
that
dumb.”

Victor entered the room, and Kate stumbled back, her eyes wide with horror. Thomas quickly stepped between them, putting his body in front of Kate like a shield. Maggie noticed the protective gesture, and her expression turned vicious.

“Ah, I see you’re both awake,” Victor said, but he only had eyes for Kate, currently cowering behind Thomas’s back. “My master, Cyril, says that I’m supposed to hold onto you. She is of no consequence. She is my
bonus
.”

Thomas reached in his jacket.

“Looking for this?” Victor asked mildly, pulling out his knife. “Tch. Now, now. We’re not going to have any of that here.”

They were screwed, Thomas thought. Totally, utterly, horribly screwed. And worst of all—Kate was going to bear the brunt of it. Brave, beautiful Kate, who could have screwed him over… but simply couldn’t.

Kate, who didn’t deserve any of this.

She’s only screwed if I don’t figure out something else
. His mind raced. What could he offer? What did he have left?

“Maggie,” Thomas said quickly. “Leave Kate out of it. I’ll do whatever you want. But if anything happens to her, I swear to God, I’ll figure out a way to kill myself, and then Cyril will be up shit creek. If I die before my soul vests, he’s left with nothing. We both know that’s the only reason he hasn’t killed me.”

“Yeah, right.” Maggie looked bored. “Good luck with that.”

“Kate’s paid enough for my mistakes.” Swallowing hard, he walked up to her, putting a hand on Maggie’s waist. Ignoring her excited smile, he forced himself to keep his hand where it was, keep his face from showing any revulsion. “I owe her for this one, and I’m pretty sure you and I can come to an understanding. You can work with me on this one, right?”

Maggie smiled, batting her eyelashes. “What kind of an understanding?”

“Let her go,” he said, and stayed still as Maggie rubbed herself up against him, like a cat in heat. “Don’t let Victor have her.”

“You’ll sign the amended contract? You’ll give complete control of your soul over to Cyril?” Maggie said, her eyes bright.

“Thomas,
no
,” Kate shouted, and Victor slapped her, viciously hard.

“Victor can’t
touch
her,” Thomas said, pulling away. “I need a guarantee. He can’t harm her.”

“And you’ll tell Cyril that you’re with
me
,” Maggie said, licking her lips in a nervous gesture. “He can do what he wants with your soul, I don’t care about that. Your body, though—that’s going to be all mine.”

He suppressed a shudder. “Whatever you want,” he said, putting his full Southern charm to the fore.

“All right.” She smirked. “Cyril’s coming to secure you in a few hours.”

“No!” Victor roared. “Cyril promised! The girl’s
mine
!” He reached out to smack Maggie.

Out of the doorway, a looming figure grunted, blocking Victor’s way, holding him by the fist like a kid holding a rag doll. It didn’t look human. Actually, it looked like Sasquatch’s mean, ugly cousin.

Victor’s face went slack in shock.

Maggie smirked.

“You might be all strong, Victor, and one of Cyril’s signatories,” she said with a sniff. “But I learned to bring demons over. Last I checked, you’re still not strong enough to beat one of them. So who’s in charge
now
? Huh?”

Victor howled. The demon sighed, then slammed Victor against the wall. Victor’s eyes rolled back.

Maggie looked at Victor’s prone figure with a distasteful sneer, then turned to the hulking demon. “You didn’t kill him, did you?”

“No,” the demon said, his voice a guttural bark.

“Good,” Maggie said. “Take care of the girl.”

“You promised you wouldn’t harm her!” Thomas said, trying to step between the demon and Kate. The demon shoved him out of the way like he was a toddler.

“I said Victor wouldn’t harm her,” Maggie corrected. “Besides, I’m sure the demon will just… watch her until you sign the contract.”

Thomas felt sweat trickle down his back. “Make him promise. I won’t let her get hurt.”

Maggie’s smile was pointed and cruel, and her eyes shone with a madness he suspected had been there all along.

“He won’t hurt her unless I say so. I suggest you play ball, and don’t give me a reason to give the order,” Maggie said.

Thomas watched as the demon grabbed Kate and carried her out of the room, screaming.

“In the meantime, I’m sure he’ll keep her entertained.” Maggie grabbed the door handle, grinning. “I’ll be back when Cyril gets here.”

Chapter Twenty-six

Kate felt beads of sweat slicking down her back when the demon placed her on the floor of another cell-like room. He’d slung her over his massive shoulder and taken her down a hallway—they appeared to be in some kind of warehouse. A warehouse somewhere in Oakland, she thought. This probably wasn’t good.

The demon was huge, much bigger than the Basement Boys. And Maggie was making constructs.
Does Al know?
Kate wondered inanely. He thought she was an idiot, but here she was, bringing over demons and everything.

Maggie was dumb… but not that dumb.

The demon looked at her, tilting his head.

She cleared her throat. She’d always gotten along with the Basement Boys, even before she knew they were demons. Maybe this guy would be reasonable, too.

“Don’t suppose you’re an Ammonite?” she asked, with a nervous laugh.
Please, please don’t hurt me
.

He stared at her for a long moment. Then, his face contorted.

He was…
smiling
at her.

“I do not suppose,” he said, with a thick accent, “that you have a Ho Ho?”

She blinked. Then, without thinking, she ran at him, throwing her arms around his hulking body. “Slim? Is that you?”

He did the awkward back pat, and she’d never felt so relieved in her life. “I told you; I work on this plane quite often. When the call went out and the spell was cast, I rushed for it.” He made a sour face. “Although I am not fond of working for this particular human.”

“Oh,
man
, am I glad you did,” she breathed. “Can you help me get out of here?”

“The contract-keeper who brought me over,” he said with distaste, “said that I should ‘take care’ of you. I would imagine there is no better way to take care of you than to help you escape from a crazy man intent on killing you.”

Kate’s grin was gleeful. “Maggie might not be as dumb as people think,” she murmured, “but thank God she’s still
dumb
. Okay. Now we just have to get Thomas out of here, too.”

Slim frowned, his weird new face looking like melted silly putty. She fought to focus on the “Slim” aspects of him, his personality, rather than what he looked like. “If she sees me, she can stop me,” he said, with rancor. “I am here in her construct, under her contract. Technically, I am under her control.”

“Ugh. Well, we’re going to have to figure out a way around that,” Kate said. “Because there’s no way I’m going without him.”

“I thought he was the reason you were here,” Slim said. “He signed you.”

“Yeah, and I’m on the hook as long as he is,” Kate said. “So if anybody’s going to kill him, it’ll be me. Can we boost him?”

Slim was silent for a long moment. “If we are quiet and careful, we might be able to get him out,” Slim said, then frowned. “If we’re caught, though—I’m afraid that she will realize her mistake, and correct it.”

Kate swallowed hard. “She’s going to tell you to hurt me. Maybe kill me.”

Slim looked sorrowful, and he nodded.

“Well, we’d better make sure we don’t get caught,” Kate said, as adrenaline jolted through her bloodstream like a shot of meth. “Come on.”

“Wait.” He reached into a pocket of his huge gray jacket and pulled out a wicked-looking knife. It resembled the one Victor had held, all gold and shiny and crooked. “If she commands me, I won’t be able to disobey her, but I will be able to slow down. If she gives the word… I want you to stab me, right here.” He pointed at the center of his chest.

Kate stared at the knife, aghast. “Not just no, but
hell
no.”

“It will save your life,” Slim said firmly. “I told you—it doesn’t really hurt for me, more like a sharp pinch. And you know I will not truly be dead. I just won’t be
here
.” He pressed the knife into her hand and curled her fingers around the hilt.

“I don’t know if I can do it.”

“You can do anything,” he said, and there was such shining belief in his voice, she nodded.

She checked the hallway and heard Maggie, yapping away on her iPhone. “Cyril, damn it, I told you I took care of it. You should have signed me in the first place,” Maggie said, as Kate and Slim crept past the closed office door. “No, I didn’t kill Victor. Trust me, I’ve got everything under control.”

Kate and Slim moved quickly and as quietly as possible, counting on Maggie’s loud bitching to mask the sounds of a large demon’s footsteps. He opened the door to Thomas’s cell.

Victor was still crumpled on the floor. Thomas was hovering over the guy’s prone body. It occurred to her that he needed to kill Victor, and she wondered if he’d tried anything while the guy was knocked out. She felt a little queasy at the thought—until she remembered the pain Victor had put her through. That went a long way toward making the idea of kicking around an unconscious Victor palatable. In fact, she wondered if they had time for her to get in a few good shots.

Thomas looked over at the sound of the opening door. “Kate?” He rushed to her, hugging her tightly for a second. “
Kate.
Are you all right?”

“No time,” she said. “We’ve got to—”

“No!”

She glanced over to see Victor, eyes blinking slowly, head shaking. “Oh, of course
now
you wake up,” she said, with a huff.

Victor stood up, blood gushing freely down his temple from where Slim had slammed him against the wall. There was murder shining in his eyes. “Where is that bitch?”

“Which bitch? You mean Maggie? She’s in the office,” Kate said, from behind Thomas’s back. With luck, Victor would go find
her
, and kill her.

Instead, he zeroed on Kate.
Whoops. Wrong bitch.

“You’re not getting away that easily, Kate O’Hara,” Victor spat out.

Slim growled, loud enough to have the hair on the back of her head sticking straight up. Thomas stared in amazement. “Are you like the demon whisperer or something?”

“What the
hell
is going on here?” Maggie shouted, then stared in shock at Kate, Thomas, and Slim.

“You!” Victor shouted, and rushed her, producing a curvy, wicked-looking knife from somewhere in his clothes “You tried to take away my prize. You double crossed me with the master!”

“You had one of those knives on you?” Thomas snarled with obvious irritation, momentarily surprising everyone. “I could’ve killed you already with that thing, damn it!”

Maggie barely had time to peep before Victor slashed a deep gash in her chest, almost certainly fatal. She stared at Thomas, gasping incoherently, her mouth opening and closing like a fish on dry land.

Thomas turned away—looked, instead, at Kate.

Maggie slumped to the ground, her expression pained—and pissed. “Demon,” she gasped. “
Kill… her…
”

“No!” Thomas shouted.

“She’s mine!” Victor said, and leaped over Maggie’s body toward Kate.

Thomas threw himself in the way, and the two men started grappling, over and over, the blade shining like an obscene Christmas ornament in the light of the bare bulb.

Slim started moving toward her, as if he were in slow motion. “Kate,” he grunted, sweat beading on his forehead. “Do… what I told you…”

Maggie was watching, her eyes glazing. “Die, you bitch,” she said, blood tingeing her lips.

Kate stared at Slim. He started to reach for her throat, his eyes pleading.
“Kate,”
he said.

She took a deep breath. Then, with one motion, she stabbed the knife forward, right in his chest.

It was as if the room froze. Thomas and Victor paused, and Maggie stared in disbelief.

Slim grunted. Then smiled.

“I’ll see you again, Kate,” he said.

Then burst into a cloud of flame and ash, vanishing.

…

Thomas could barely process what had happened. Maggie was dying—again. Kate had come to his rescue. She’d befriended a demon, and now she’d stabbed it in the chest.

In the meantime, he was currently wrestling with a supernaturally powerful old guy who had his knife and meant business.

Focus
, Thomas chided himself. He’d trained for this. This was a signatory, someone who’d signed away his soul to Cyril in exchange for power, riches, whatever. This one swore to protect Cyril’s life with his own.

Your loss, Victor
, Thomas thought.

The old guy was wiry, though, and strong. Thomas struggled as the knife fell lower and lower, coming close to his own throat.

“Do you really think you can beat me?” the guy taunted, his eyes wild. “I’ve been flaying girls since you were in diapers. I’m one of the strongest souls Cyril has in his power base. You don’t stand a chance!”

He crowed triumphantly… then yelled in pain.

Kate had slashed at his back with her knife—the one she’d turned that demon to ash with.

“Come on, you fucker!” she shouted. She had no training, no style, but God, the woman had guts. “Come get some!”

Victor frothed, distracted from Thomas. “You
dare
?” he screamed.

Fighting is just as much about opportunity as strategy
, Thomas heard Yagi’s voice drone in his head.
Use your opponent’s weakness against him.

Victor turned, like a plant toward the sun—obsessed with Kate. His weakness.

Kate backed up. Victor stretched toward her.

In a move Thomas had practiced thousands of times, he twisted Victor’s arm, the knife clattering to the ground. Victor sounded like a wounded animal as they both dove for the metal.

Thomas grabbed it first… and Victor’s forward motion, already in full and unstoppable momentum, plunged his chest onto the knife.

He stared down for a moment, in stunned disbelief. “You can’t beat me,” he said slowly. “It’s… it’s not possible.”

Thomas drove the knife deeper. He watched, without a doubt, as the light in the old man’s eyes went out.

Then he shoved the body off of him, watching as it crumpled and turned to dust, taking the knife with it.

“Well, shit,” he muttered from the floor, backing away from the pile of debris that was once Victor Klauss. “Yagi didn’t mention that would happen.”

He rolled over, taking in the scene. Maggie seemed like she was dead, too—a crumpled, bloody pile on the opposite side of the small room, by the door.

“Are you all right, Kate?” he asked finally, then got a good look at her.

She was standing there, knife in hand… staring at him.

“This,” she said, her voice shaking, “is a very interesting situation.”