Read Online Devil May Care by Pippa DaCosta - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Pippa DaCosta
Ads: Link
to… lash out when misunderstood. Jerry is a valuable asset, not just to me, but for the entire demon community. I will not have him put in harm’s way, and given your history, I’m inclined to protect him...from you.”
It was my turn to smile. “I’m not all bad.”
Her grin faded, and her eyes cooled. “Half-blood turned Enforcer? You’re about as bad as they get. You’ll be lucky to leave here alive unless I escort you out.”
Oh. I pinched my lips closed. “Look, I didn’t come here to cause trouble. I need his help.”
“What’s in it for me?”
I only had the clothes on my back and about five dollars in my pocket to bargain with. There was something else... I closed my hand around the jet-injector in my pocket—PC34—and plucked it from my pocket. The size of a spool of thread, it didn’t look like much, but it packed a devastating punch. A quick jab to exposed flesh, and the demon who found themselves on the receiving end would soon be face down in the dirt.
“Is that what I think it is?” Her eyes widened, and her tongue darted across her lips.
“Just the one.” She reached out a hand. I pulled back. “Take me to Jerry, and you can have it.”
Carol-Anne’s eyes narrowed, and something liquid swirled in her irises. “You have a deal.”
----
I t had rained while I’d been inside the Voodoo Lounge. The club’s garish neon lights reflected in the parking lot puddles. The rain had since stopped, replaced by a foggy drizzle swirling around the streetlights. I tucked my hands into my pockets and walked beside Carol-Anne. She stepped around potholes, her dainty stilettos staying dry. My boots didn’t warrant such careful footwork.
I dropped behind her as we crossed the parking lot and passed between two panel vans. The van door to my right slid open. I snapped my head up, caught sight of the two heavies in the back, and tried to lurch away. A gnarled hand struck out and wrapped around my upper arm. A fractured cry of alarm puffed from my mouth as he dragged me off my feet and into the back of the van. Another hand smothered my nose and mouth. I tried to bite down, but a strip of duct tape pressed across my mouth. I reached for my gun and felt their hands riding roughshod over me. My fingers fumbled against the grip. The gun snatched away, leaving my fingers stinging.
I lashed, kicked, thrashed, and bucked. My heel crunched against something semi-soft and I heard one of the men curse.
“For hells-sake, she’s half the size of you two.” Carol-Anne loomed in the van’s doorway. Her impressive Cosmopolitan Magazine silhouette rippled in the low light as it peeled away to reveal her true appearance. The gray-skinned demon stood maybe six feet, her body elongated, limbs gangly, ribs protruding. Her fingers were narrow talons, like crabs’ legs. Water bubbled up through open pores and trickled over her flesh. Great, a water elemental. And there I was without my demon.
She slammed her hand into my chest and pinned me down between her two henchmen. Her rigid lips parted. Rows of piranha-like teeth bristled in her mouth. A fin fanned down her back, its barbed points dripping a viscous substance.
I tensed to kick, but she wrapped her spindly fingers around my thigh.
“It’s in her pocket,” she gurgled. Water dribbled from her lips and splattered onto my chest.
I tried to buck again, but my arms were pinned to the van floor. I couldn’t move. All I could do was glare, and I made damn sure Carol-Anne read my intentions in my eyes.
She laughed, a tinkling wet sound like water bubbling from a tap. “What a disappointment you turned out to be.”
Calling my demon did nothing. I hadn’t really expected her to come, but it was worth a try, considering my element’s behavior the night before.
One of her guys found the injector. She snatched it from him with a liquescent cry. “Tie her up. She’s another’s property. He’ll want her back.”
Panic flushed through my veins. Did she
It was my turn to smile. “I’m not all bad.”
Her grin faded, and her eyes cooled. “Half-blood turned Enforcer? You’re about as bad as they get. You’ll be lucky to leave here alive unless I escort you out.”
Oh. I pinched my lips closed. “Look, I didn’t come here to cause trouble. I need his help.”
“What’s in it for me?”
I only had the clothes on my back and about five dollars in my pocket to bargain with. There was something else... I closed my hand around the jet-injector in my pocket—PC34—and plucked it from my pocket. The size of a spool of thread, it didn’t look like much, but it packed a devastating punch. A quick jab to exposed flesh, and the demon who found themselves on the receiving end would soon be face down in the dirt.
“Is that what I think it is?” Her eyes widened, and her tongue darted across her lips.
“Just the one.” She reached out a hand. I pulled back. “Take me to Jerry, and you can have it.”
Carol-Anne’s eyes narrowed, and something liquid swirled in her irises. “You have a deal.”
----
I t had rained while I’d been inside the Voodoo Lounge. The club’s garish neon lights reflected in the parking lot puddles. The rain had since stopped, replaced by a foggy drizzle swirling around the streetlights. I tucked my hands into my pockets and walked beside Carol-Anne. She stepped around potholes, her dainty stilettos staying dry. My boots didn’t warrant such careful footwork.
I dropped behind her as we crossed the parking lot and passed between two panel vans. The van door to my right slid open. I snapped my head up, caught sight of the two heavies in the back, and tried to lurch away. A gnarled hand struck out and wrapped around my upper arm. A fractured cry of alarm puffed from my mouth as he dragged me off my feet and into the back of the van. Another hand smothered my nose and mouth. I tried to bite down, but a strip of duct tape pressed across my mouth. I reached for my gun and felt their hands riding roughshod over me. My fingers fumbled against the grip. The gun snatched away, leaving my fingers stinging.
I lashed, kicked, thrashed, and bucked. My heel crunched against something semi-soft and I heard one of the men curse.
“For hells-sake, she’s half the size of you two.” Carol-Anne loomed in the van’s doorway. Her impressive Cosmopolitan Magazine silhouette rippled in the low light as it peeled away to reveal her true appearance. The gray-skinned demon stood maybe six feet, her body elongated, limbs gangly, ribs protruding. Her fingers were narrow talons, like crabs’ legs. Water bubbled up through open pores and trickled over her flesh. Great, a water elemental. And there I was without my demon.
She slammed her hand into my chest and pinned me down between her two henchmen. Her rigid lips parted. Rows of piranha-like teeth bristled in her mouth. A fin fanned down her back, its barbed points dripping a viscous substance.
I tensed to kick, but she wrapped her spindly fingers around my thigh.
“It’s in her pocket,” she gurgled. Water dribbled from her lips and splattered onto my chest.
I tried to buck again, but my arms were pinned to the van floor. I couldn’t move. All I could do was glare, and I made damn sure Carol-Anne read my intentions in my eyes.
She laughed, a tinkling wet sound like water bubbling from a tap. “What a disappointment you turned out to be.”
Calling my demon did nothing. I hadn’t really expected her to come, but it was worth a try, considering my element’s behavior the night before.
One of her guys found the injector. She snatched it from him with a liquescent cry. “Tie her up. She’s another’s property. He’ll want her back.”
Panic flushed through my veins. Did she
Similar Books
