Page 23 of The Devil and His Sparrow

That was secretly how I felt when reading that one, too.

“Iyla?”

The impatient snap of my name had me refocusing on Mom. “Sorry. I-I thought I saw a spider.” I paused, mentally slapping myself at the stupid lie.

“Great save,” Zagan whispered from the living room. He tossed the textbook onto the couch. He must’ve decided he was bored with my school material.

“Anyway,” I said to Mom, watching Zagan zero in on me with his vivid blue eyes. Too late, I realized that his boredom of looking through my shit meant there was only one thing left for him to mess with.

The light in his eyes turned … smoky as he appraised me where I leaned against the island. I felt the heat in his gaze all the way to my core, and somehow, it froze me in place. All I could do was stand there as the demon stalked toward me while I continued talking.

“I’m planning on getting ahead on some assignments today. Study some more. Like you always say, you can’t ever be too prepared.”

Zagan was on me then, putting his hands on the counter on either side of me, caging me in with his body. His eyes traced my face, falling to my lips.

“Good,” Mom said. “I’m meeting with a client now, so I probably won’t be paying much attention to my phone in case you try to get in touch with me.”

“Okay. Thanks for letting me know.”

My eyes were locked on Zagan’s, and even when the call ended, I remained immobile, holding the silent phone to my ear. I was like a deer staring down the barrel of a hunter’s gun. I knew I needed to move, flee, escape, because danger was right there, directed right at me. But I couldn’t move. He’d ensnared me with the closeness of his broad frame and the hungry gleam in his eye.

“I want to taste you again,” he whispered, leaning in close. “I want to bend you over this counter and fuck you so hard, you can’t even walk straight.”

My words lodged in my throat. I squeezed my thighs together, because that voice uttering such filthy words did something to me. But his wanting to have sex was also a reminder that we had something to do before he got what he wanted.

Swallowing hard, I placed a hand on his chest and gently pushed him back to give myself space to breathe. “After we go see Gemma.”

The lines around his mouth tightened in annoyance. That was my only warning before I heard the metallic drag of a knife come from my right. A knife flew toward me, and I ducked with a gasp just as it reached where my head had been. Quick, erratic pants left my lips. I bunched Zagan’s shirt in my hands where they still rested against his chest. My frantic eyes bounced from the knife now embedded in my wall to Zagan.

“Damn,” Zagan grumbled as he stared at the blade. “If you’d been just a bit slower, I could’ve been done with this.”

I shoved at his chest as fear and anger warred like a storm cloud inside me, but the demon didn’t even flinch at my furious shoves. “What the hell? I-I thought we had a deal.”

He met my gaze again. “We do. Doesn’t mean I won’t take a chance when I see an opportunity. Don’t forget what I am, human.”

My heart continued to pound, and my knees wobbled with the lingering effects of terror. He was right. I couldn’t forget what he’d shared. While his death would result in both of ours, my death would result in his ticket to freedom. That knife had been too close, and while it hadn’t done the job Zagan had intended, it succeeded in being a reminder.

We may have had a deal to save my sister, but I was far from safe with this demon.

Chapter 8

Zagan

BLOOMINGS WAS A SERIES OF connected brick buildings set on a sprawling field. Wild flowers grew along the outskirts of the parking lot and around the buildings. A playground of sorts sat out back, and there were different posters of kids with varying medical conditions hanging in the windows along the front of the place.

“So this is where your sister stays?” I asked as we approached the building after Iyla scanned us in through the front security gate. The guard gave me a skeptical look through the window of the car, but with Iyla signing me in as a visitor accompanying her, I was allowed clearance.

The entire car ride, Iyla had leaned as far away from me as possible, probably terrified I’d try to create another “accident.” The thought had definitely crossed my mind, but as my annoyance faded, so did that need. The moment my irritation returned, however, that might change once again.

Iyla nodded at my question, and there was no missing the touch of sadness that crept into the corners of her brown eyes as they traced the structure. “Yep. She needed constant supervision and medical professionals to monitor her, so she stays here in this long-term care facility.”

I frowned. From all Iyla had told me—which was very little but enough—her little sister didn’t seem to be doing well. I didn’t specialize in healing or restoring life. I was a sex demon for fucks sake. But I’d heard of other demons healing people with their blood, despite not being in a contract. It was worth a shot, and if the girl died, oh well. Wouldn’t be the first time a human died, nor would it be the last. As long as I got my meals without issue, I’d go along with this. But as soon as the sister died or Iyla made a fuss over the deal, I’d go back to my original plan—looking for a way to make sure Iyla wound up dead.

Just the thought made me grin.

The hallways weren’t that shitty, sterile white you’d find in most medical facilities. Nope. It was worse. Murals covered the walls, depicting kids and animals running through fields, rainbows and butterflies soaring through the air, or kids riding dinosaurs as if they were horses.

The bright colors and overly cheerful faces in the pictures had my skin crawling and my morning coffee wanting to come back up. How could anyone stand to look at this overly happy shit? It was an eyesore.

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