A DANGEROUS BARGAIN (The Sentinel Demons) (3 page)

“And will it save him?” Zach asked distractedly as he placed his hand over the smiling face of the woman to absorb her information, rather than wait for it to be revealed on paper. He couldn’t read her thoughts unless he was actually close to her, but he could get the general facts faster by absorbing the written words in the file.

Kristoff leaned forward as his voice lowered. “No demon has power over life and death from disease, Zach. Not even me. We can see the outcome sometimes, but we can’t interfere. I’ve told you that. You just choose not to accept it. The Evils can only damage souls or kill a human victim who agreed to bargain. They don’t have the power to cure an incurable disease.” Kristoff sighed as he leaned his muscular body back into the soft leather of the chair. “They told her that her nephew would live…which is true. What they didn’t tell her is that it has nothing to do with any power
they
have. Her nephew’s disease will stay in remission whether she goes to the demon realm or not. They’ve managed to use her fear for her nephew’s life to manipulate her without actually lying.”

“Bastards! So they led her to believe her nephew would die unless she struck the bargain and went with them?” Zach snarled as he closed the file, his brown eyes starting to glow amber as he looked at Kristoff, his face revealing his frustration and anger. Shit…he hated those ugly little bastards. He’d seen humans who they’d manipulated and taken to the demon realm, souls the Sentinels hadn’t been able to save. Sometimes they killed their human victims in the demon realm after absorbing all the power they could get from the individual. Occasionally, they sent the bodies back alive, but drained of their souls, completely lifeless. That particular action was usually done as a taunt to the Sentinels, and it generally worked. His kind had a very hard time not being angry when confronted with the harm done to a human who couldn’t be saved.

“Obviously they didn’t say that directly,” Kristoff answered unhappily. “They just told her that her nephew would live if she gave up a week of her life to live in the demon realm. Not exactly a lie, but definitely an extreme evasion of the truth.”

“Dammit. She’ll be destroyed, a shell of who she was before leaving…if they even send her back alive. All for nothing.” Zach’s hands clenched into fists, his knuckles whitening with the pressure. The thought of the smiling, innocent, vivacious redhead being turned into an empty body with none of her spirit left made his guts roll, although he wasn’t quite sure why. It wasn’t as if he didn’t see it happen frequently, but his emotional reaction to this particular case unsettled him. Maybe it was because he didn’t normally take these types of assignments.

“Not if you get to her first.” Kristoff’s eyes were intense as he nailed Zach with an urgent look. “She doesn’t understand that they mean to steal the life from her soul and she hasn’t given consent. You need to convince her, Zach. She has a soul worth saving.” He hesitated before adding, “She’s…special.” Kristoff sounded like he wanted to add more, but simply shook his head.

“Why me? I’m a recruiter…not a rescuer. Why didn’t you give the job to Drew or Hunter?” Drew and Hunter were rescuing Sentinels. Zach…wasn’t, and he didn’t want to be, although he was reluctant to give this particular assignment to another after seeing the victim and absorbing her general history. Something about her intrigued him, made him want to learn more about her, see her in person.

Zach recruited new Sentinels, humans who had nowhere to go, no one to help them…and who were ready to leap from good to evil because of their circumstances. He offered them the same bargain Kristoff had offered Zach a few centuries ago.
That
was Zach’s designation, a demon duty completely different from that of his two partners in Winston Industries. Zach, Drew, and Hunter posed as brothers, all leading Winston Industries together, but they weren’t actually blood-related. They had just all wished for the same damn thing, had wanted the same demon bargain.
Money
. And they had gotten it. Drew was the only one of the trio who seemed to be happy with his bargain. Zach was still filled with regret, even after two centuries. And Hunter was downright bitter and angry.

Be careful what you wish for…

“Drew is busy with another mission, Hunter is…unavailable, and I have another urgent situation. It has to be you, or Kat will probably end up in the demon realm,” Kristoff replied, his voice neutral, but his eyes were intense as he stared Zach down, forcing him to make a decision.

“How long do I have?” Zach replied, focused on his mission, determined that he wouldn’t screw up this time. There was no way the Evils were going to get their claws into
this
one. The woman looked sweet, innocent. Just the thought of her soul being drained of goodness had him half crazed.

No wonder I’m a damn recruiter. How the hell do Drew and Hunter tolerate doing this type of assignment day after day?

“Sundown. They’ll appear for her final consent and take her,” Kristoff replied without hesitation.

Zach stared at the large glass windows that lined one wall of his office, overlooking the city. As he saw the late afternoon light beginning to fade, he quirked a dark brow at his boss. “Cutting this a little close…don’t you think?”

“Not my fault. I didn’t discover the situation until this afternoon.” As both men stood and Zach stepped out from behind his desk, Kristoff slapped him hard on the back. “It’s nothing you’re not capable of, Zach.”

Zach scowled as he answered, “I may have to bend a few rules if I can’t convince her quickly. You didn’t exactly give me enough time to do much persuading. ”

A smile curved Kristoff’s lips as he answered noncommittally, “I think you know how to bend the rules without completely breaking them like Hunter does.”

Zach didn’t reply. With a curt nod to Kristoff, he allowed himself to fade out until he disappeared completely.

Kristoff’s expression turned to one of satisfaction as he watched Zach’s form completely disappear before shimmering out of view himself, leaving the plush, high-rise office completely abandoned.

Almost sunset. Almost sunset.

Kat Larson shivered as she dropped her suitcase near the door of her tiny, shabby apartment, trying to reassure herself for about the millionth time that she was doing the right thing. It was only a week. She’d give herself up forever to the flames of Hell if it meant that Stevie would survive.

She cringed as a sharp knock sounded on her door. Heart racing and hands shaking, she reached for the knob.
Since when do demons knock politely at my door?

They had started showing up in her nightmares and had progressed to appearing before her whenever and wherever they damn well pleased, battering at her emotions with scenarios about what could happen to Stevie in the future. In the end, she had been ready to agree to almost anything to make them stop, unable to bear the imagery of how her precious nephew could suffer in the future if she didn’t agree to the demons’ demands.

Wiping her sweaty palms on her jeans, she took a deep breath and pulled open the door.

Kat’s face registered her surprise at seeing the man who stood in front of her. She recognized him. Not that she exactly mingled with people of Zachary Winston’s caliber, but she had seen his handsome picture on the wall of the sleek high-rise building, the headquarters of his corporation. Several times a week. She had a plant and flower maintenance business and Winston Industries was her biggest client.

She’d seen the pictures of all three Winston brothers side-by-side, but it was
this
man who drew her gaze to his picture more often than it should.

It’s his eyes. He looks sad…and haunted.

All three brothers had dark hair and eyes, but that was where the resemblance ended. Drew Winston’s eyes were mischievous, Hunter Winston’s angry, but Zachary Winston’s gaze reflected some sort of sorrow, and something about his image had always moved her, making her wonder what was in his past that made sadness linger in such gorgeous eyes.

It was hard not to give Zachary Winston a second look…or a third. Oh hell, the tall muscular body, currently covered by an expensive charcoal-gray suit, was difficult to ignore. Combined with his gorgeous face, dark brown eyes, and neatly trimmed raven-black hair, the guy was every woman’s fantasy. In person, he carried an aura of danger and masculinity that sent her heart into overdrive.

What the heck was
he
doing
here?

“Mr. Winston,” she acknowledged him politely, her voice a little breathless. “What are you doing here?” Was it about the job she was doing?
Oh God, please don’t let him be here to fire my company.
Kat desperately needed that income.

Had she taken a rational moment to think about the possibility whether Zachary Winston, billionaire extraordinaire, would come to her low-income apartment building just to fire her in person, Kat would have laughed at her own stupidity. Like Zachary Winston even knew who she was, or that she was on his radar? But Kat wasn’t exactly reasoning well at that moment. She was still busy freaking out over the fact that she was about to make a bargain with a couple of ugly little demons.

“Ms. Larson.” He nodded, giving her a perplexed look. “Have we met?”

“No, sir. My company does the plant maintenance for your building. I’ve seen your picture.” Kat continued to gape at him as she continued. “Is this about business? I thought I was doing a good job.” She cursed her shaky voice as she questioned him. Could this day get any worse?

I’m going to end up both making a demon bargain and losing my biggest client in the same day?

His lips turned up as his eyes raked over her in an intrusive, assessing manner. He didn’t even try to hide his perusal of her body as he answered, “Not corporation business, Katrina. I believe you were expecting someone to be here.”

Oh. My. God. Please tell me Zachary Winston is NOT a demon. I practically drool over his photo every time I see it. Please don’t tell me I’ve been salivating over a damn demon.

He was someone she respected as her client and he wasn’t even a tiny bit similar to the disgusting trolls that usually tormented her. Before she could think about it, she blurted out, “You’re a demon, here to take me away?”

He answered carefully, “I am indeed a demon here to take you. Are you coming with me willingly?”

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Kat saw every naughty fantasy she’d ever had about Zachary Winston fly out the window as he stared intensely at her, the question hanging ominously in the air.

“Yes.” She could barely get the reply out of her mouth as her throat tightened with fear. What choice did she really have? If she wanted her nephew to live, there was really nothing else to say, no other way to respond.

“Then come.” He held his hand out to her. “We have a bargain to make.”

His voice was kind, yet firm, and she shivered as she prepared to leave her apartment. She lifted her suitcase and pulled the door closed. Her hands trembled as she tried to lock it, her mind whirling with confusion, still stunned that a man whose image she had admired from afar was actually a demon in disguise.

Zach took the keys calmly from her hand and dropped them casually into his pocket. She heard the deadbolt engage without him even touching the lock.

Crap
. This was starting to
really
freak her out. Not that the previous demons hadn’t had her wondering if her sanity was slipping away from her…but Zachary Winston? The man looked a hell of a lot more like a wet dream than a nightmare.

Zach grinned as he held his hand out again and as she went to take it nervously, the hallway suddenly filled with a sense of danger that sent a chill down her spine and temporarily paralyzed her body, causing her to drop the suitcase to the floor. It was a reaction she had experienced before, and it was completely unnerving, her mind panicking as her body stayed incapacitated.

The two evil creatures she had dealt with previously appeared at her side.

Them…she recognized!

Kat had no idea what their real names were, or if they even had any, but she called them Dwarf and Goblin in her mind. Both of them were repulsive and they radiated an evil that made her break out in a cold sweat. They were actually both fairly small with spiky black hair, but what they lacked in height, they made up for in strength and malice. With gleaming red eyes and sunken features, they would never be mistaken for a human or anything else except for what they were-evil demons.

Dwarf pulled her hand roughly to her side, twisting her wrist as he held it against her hip. “You are already promised to us.” Dwarf barely reached her shoulder in height, but for such a small man-or maybe she should say a small demon?-his grip was like iron. Kat flinched at the tight hold that could easily snap her bones.

Zach stepped forward, grabbing the clawed fist Dwarf was using to confine her arm, removing it from Kat’s wrist. “If she had given her final agreement to a bargain…you would already be gone,” he informed them in a low, growling voice as he twisted the offender’s wrist until the bone cracked, before releasing it.

The small demon let out a howl that sent a chill down Kat’s spine and cradled its arm against his chest as Goblin stepped forward. “She will agree. She was waiting for us.”