Three Wishes (11 page)

“Carry one of these bags for me. They weigh a fucking ton.” An order from her would be acceptable if he were to give one in return. Surprisingly, she took the bag without argument, weaving her way through the crowd.

“What’s in this thing anyway?” she called back to him, turning her head over her shoulder and sending her brown curls dancing across her back. “It weighs a lot.”

“Stuff.” Dar had no idea what he’d put into the bags. Anytime there had been a freebie offered, he’d taken it. Anytime there had been something not offered, he’d taken it. It was a strange compulsion for him to gather trinkets and little items and hide them away. His home in Hel looked like it should be featured on a hoarders show. The rat in him could never resist anything brightly colored, shiny, or intriguing in any way. One human’s junk was a demon’s treasure.

“Here. The redhead.”

Dar thrust the other bag into Asta’s hand and waltzed to the human in question. She was breathtakingly tall, taller even than Asta. The woman towered a good four inches over Dar with her modest heels. Auburn hair was pulled into a soft braid that draped over one shoulder and revealed the blue tattoo at the back of her neck.

It was a sigil, and Dar recognized the mark right away. With a muffled laugh, he made his way back to the angel.

“Uh, no. If she’s our sorcerer, and she’s summoning
that
demon, you might as well call it a night and go for drinks.”

Asta frowned. “Why? Do you recognize the sigil? It didn’t appear to be one for any of the angels I know, and I thought it might be a demon mark.”

“It’s mine.”

The angel stopped breathing for a second, her brown eyes wide. “Yours? What do you mean; it’s yours? Why would that human possibly have your mark on the back of her neck?”

Dar wiggled his eyebrows at the angel. “I may be a demon, but I don’t kiss and tell. And I certainly don’t fuck and tell. Even if the fuck in question was a particularly wild week in Jamaica during spring break five years ago. Oh, you have no idea what young college women do when under the influence of quality reggae music and good rum. It was a week to remember, even though there were moments when I feared for my life. Whew, humans can give us demons a run for our money when it comes to crazy. Good times. Seriously good times.”

Asta craned her neck and stared at the woman. “You’re telling me you made such an impression on that woman that she permanently affixed your sigil on her skin? Just with sex? No untold riches, career success, promises of immortality, or anything like that?”

Dar smirked. “Yep. Just sex. Because I’m that incredible in the sack, baby. You should try me out. Sample the goods. Take me out for a test-drive.”

The angel shook her head, taking another quick look at the woman in question. “She’s got to have the IQ of a hamster. I can’t see any other explanation.”

“Hey!” He couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m very fond of hamsters. Although I prefer angels. At least, I think I’d prefer angels. I won’t know until I’ve actually had one.”

“As soon as I meet an angel with the IQ of a hamster, I’ll send him your way.” Asta sighed, her shoulders drooping. “We’ve been at this all day with no hint of the demon. Part of me wants to call it a night, but I’m afraid the moment we leave, the demon will show up.”

She was probably right. He’d begun to suspect the demon was laying low until she left. Or there was no demon. Dar was starting to think that whoever they’d sensed last night was long gone. The best way to rule one theory out was to test it, and that would conveniently play right into his main goal. “Tell you what, you get outa here, get a cup of coffee, and shoplift some clothing. I’ll hang here for another few hours until the convention closes, just to make sure our guy doesn’t appear. Then we’ll go on our date.”

Asta shifted the two bags into one hand to free the other and rubbed the back of her neck. “It’s my job. I’ll stay.”

Dar gave an exasperated sigh and swatted her hand away, kneading her shoulders and neck. “I mean it. Run this stuff by my hotel room; take advantage of the huge Jacuzzi tub. I’ll call the room if I sense the demon. Chill out, raid the mini bar, watch some television, and meet me at Grand and Dearborn at six. Deal?”

***

Tub. Jacuzzi tub. In the last century, she’d taken a few midnight dips in the lake, and stolen a few quick swims in private swimming pools, but the thought of stretching out in hot bubbling water... . Mmm, hot water. She relaxed a bit just thinking about it. Well, to be honest, she also relaxed a bit due to the demon’s skilled fingers working out knotted muscles. Wow, she
must
be frazzled if she was letting a demon put his hands on her neck, let alone enjoying it.

She chewed her lip. “Well... I really shouldn’t.”

The demon spun her around, nudging her gently toward the exit. ‘Go. Now. The Jacuzzi tub awaits.”

Asta glanced back with narrowed eyes. “Okay, but if you sneak in on me when I’m bathing, I’ll fry you to a crisp.”

Dar raised his right hand, although the glint in his eyes was downright wicked. “No peeking. I promise.”

“Asta! Hi, I’ve been looking all over for you.”

She turned. There was Carter Phelps, flushed rather red, trying to simultaneously smile at her and glare at Dar. Great. She so didn’t need this right now—a cockfight between a man and a demon. She was just too exhausted for their jealous antics.

“I was thinking of what you said last night, and I had an idea,” Carter announced.

Last night. And now Dar was bristling too, his eyes practically boring holes into the human. How to diffuse the situation?

“You’ve identified a security risk?” There. That should clue in the demon-half of this testosterone battle that her meeting had been business related, but not alienate Carter—or give him the ridiculous idea that anything was going on between herself and Dar.

The human looked sheepish. “Well, no. The other thing we discussed. There’s a huge charity event in San Diego next month, and as a major donor, Genus Micro gets to pick the charity. I was thinking maybe you’d like to attend? The money could go to a cause that benefits Rwanda and the situation there—you know, to help out your family and others that weren’t as lucky to escape the genocide as you were?”

The demon made a sharp choking noise. “Rwan-what? What the fuck?”

Asta quickly shifted her weight, bringing a sharp, tall heel down firmly into Dar’s instep. He yelped. “I would love to go, but I’m leaving after this week for home... uh, returning to Rwanda to stay. I won’t be back here for a very long time, if ever.”

“Oh.” The human looked devastated, and Asta felt a twinge of guilt. Better to end this fantasy of his now than have him pining over her for however long it took humans to get over crushes. “I’ll still... maybe you can recommend a charity, and I can let you know how much money we raised? Oh, and I’m continuing to keep an eye out for the security concerns we discussed.”

Even more guilt. She needed him, needed the knowledge and insight of a bigwig at the conference to clue her in on what possible motive could be driving a demon plot, but she didn’t want to lead him on. What a mess.

“Thank you. I’m actually a bit tired and heading out now, but I’ll touch base with you in the morning?”

He practically glowed. “That would be great. Can I walk you to your hotel? Where are you staying?”

“Not a chance, dude.” Dar grabbed Asta’s elbow and practically knocked the human aside. “I’m walking her out, so you just keep your grubby charity funds away from her.”

Carter rolled his eyes and gave Asta what she supposed was a smile of sympathy. “I’ll have an espresso waiting for you. No sugar, no cream, a twist of lemon—just as you like it.”

Dar yanked her arm, almost throwing her to the floor. For some reason unknown to her, she allowed him to haul her through the convention. The whole way, he muttered something under his breath about how macarons were better than espresso.

Once clear of the main conference hall, she pulled free and planted her feet. “Seriously? What is your problem? He’s one of the movers and shakers here. We need him for insight into what the demon’s motive could be, and an early warning of possible issues. Don’t drive him away.”

“That’s hardly likely,” Dar snarled. “It would take an atomic bomb to get him away from you. He knows how you drink your espresso? You went back to the party last night and picked him up. I’d expect the seduction method of information gathering from a demon, but not an angel.”

“I didn’t seduce him,” Asta declared hotly. “We went for coffee next door and talked. That’s it. He has a bit of a thing for me, but I’ve done nothing to encourage it.” Nothing to discourage it either, she thought with another helping of guilt. And why did she care what Dar believed?

Dar’s eyes narrowed, and her anger kicked in.

“Take a hike. I don’t need you, and I don’t need your Jacuzzi tub either.” She spun around to leave, but he grabbed her arm. She allowed him to halt her, even though she was strong enough to break free.

“I’m sorry.”

It was insane how those two words deflated her anger like a balloon on a nail.

“I’m sorry. I’ve never worked with an angel before, and I judged you by demon standards of behavior. Please forgive me? And please use my Jacuzzi tub?”

Asta sighed, suddenly realizing she was still toting around his heavy bags of stuff. What was it about this demon? He could be such an irritating jerk, and then he’d worm his way into her heart with a sincere apology. What demon apologizes?

Wait, heart? Oh no. That was so not happening. But she was exhausted, and the hot, steamy tub just a few blocks away called to her.

“Apology accepted. I’ll drop off your stuff and take a bath at your place, even keep my vow on our night out tonight, but you need to promise not to harass Carter. Don’t prank him, don’t speak to him, and especially don’t engage in a fistfight with him. Deal?”

Once again, the demon raised his right hand—the one not gripping her elbow. “Deal.”

***

Carter. She’d called that stupid human prick by his first name. And the way her voice caressed the syllables made him itch to plant his fist in the man’s face. Still, it was him she was going out with tonight, not
Carter
. He just needed to play his cards right. Rwanda his ass—the angel had lied like a demon in addition to her other sins. Yes, he just needed to be the right combination of ballsy and patient, and she’d be his. The thought stirred not just the one-eyed trouser snake but something deeper inside him. Love was a shameful emotion for demons, one they denied with great vehemence, but Dar had felt that emotion before and wasn’t embarrassed to admit it—at least to himself. As amazing as youthful infatuation had been, it was nothing like what this could be if he just allowed it to happen—if the angel allowed it to happen.

His mind whirred with thoughts of how he could stealthily seduce her. Plotting out the evening in his mind, Dar strolled back into the convention center—always scanning for demon energy. Tonight would be amazing, but he sensed that the way to Asta’s heart was through her work. Helping her catch this demon would do more to further his suit than an exquisite dinner. Sorry, guy, when it’s a choice between betraying a fellow demon and scoring an amazing angel, you lose.

There was one more hour before the conference closed for the night and everyone went to their respective parties. Dar thought for a second about Asta opening the door to his hotel room, discarding her clothes in a line as she strode down the hallway to the bathroom, climbing naked into a steaming tub of water. There was that other motive behind his offer to her—well, beyond the idea of Asta naked in his tub. The angel was trying her best, but she still leaked power. Any demon in a one-block radius could pick up her energy signature if they were suspicious and wary. Dar suspected the demon they were chasing might be more willing to make an appearance if the angel wasn’t in the same room.

Sure enough, as the conference was winding down for the evening, Dar picked up the energy signature, stronger than it had ever been. Holding his own energy tight, he weaved up and down the aisles, tracking the moving target until it halted right where his morning had begun—at the Genus Micro booth.

No circle, no runes. The convention was closing soon, but there were over twenty people meandering around the booth. Dar walked through, making a habit of shaking hands with whomever he met. That’s when he found himself face to face with Carter Phelps. The man had his hands full of USB sticks—blue this time instead of red.

“Dar, right?” The human was clearly fighting between the urge to pummel him into the ground and remain professional. Professional won. “Did you get one of the Cobra Mini samples earlier today? We’re out, but I might have one or two I can scrounge up somewhere.”

Professional, but if looks could eviscerate, then Dar would be in bleeding bits on the floor. The man clearly had a big-time hard-on for Asta. Too bad. Dar had gotten here first, and he was the superior species in this fight. Still, from what he’d heard, angels did have a soft spot for humans and often took that affection down a sexual path. He just needed to make sure Asta didn’t make that choice.

“I managed to grab one this morning. They’re far too basic for our needs, though. I was hoping to speak to you about some of your other, more robust, product offerings.”

Phelps clenched his teeth, and again professional won. “Absolutely. We’ve got three other products for larger companies with complex security needs. I’d be happy to put together a more detailed proposal after an appropriate needs analysis.”

Keep your friends in a bear hug, and your enemies close enough to fuck them in the ass. This guy had designs on Asta—that alone was worth some personal time. He also was a mover and shaker at the conference. If Dar wanted to win his angel, he’d need every bit of intel he could gather to catch the other demon. This man could help.

“What are those?” Dar nodded at the blue sticks. “More of your Cobra Mini giveaways for tomorrow?”

Carter’s smile seemed a shade devious. “No. We’re bringing out the big guns for tomorrow. Ouroboros is our newest product. It’s a learning program designed to keep you one step ahead of the hackers. A lucky hundred will get one of these—six months’ free protection.”