Page 64 of Death is My BFF

“And when, exactly,” I grated out, a venomous outburst brewing beneath my façade, “did you learn this information?”

“Today. Precisely, a few hours ago, my lord.” His expression twisted, as if anticipating a wrecking ball to the face. “I couldn’t reach you . . . ”

I flexed my fingers, willing my talons to stay in place. Had I known of these attacks sooner, I would have kept Faith far, far away from me. I would have known it was Malphas, and I could have stopped the events in the alleyway from ever happening.

Suddenly my control slipped, and an upheaval of anger swelled within me. The porch lamp of the property nearby shuttered on and off. Soon the entire block’s lights were flickering and buzzing, the trees violently swinging.

My rage hit Glenn like a laser and his clipboard went flying into the street. I unleashed a guttural roar.“You idiot!”

Perhaps the suburbs were not the best place to release my nasty temper; however, we were camouflaged by my power, and I didn’t have the patience to teleport elsewhere to discipline this inbred fool.

Lifting my lip in a snarl, I honed back in on Glenn. Stalking forward, I seized the pitiful little demon by the shirt and hoisted him to my lofty height. “Fiveof my Fallen have been killed within twenty-four hours,” I roared in a thundering voice, “and you didn’ttellme? You have one job, Glenn. One job! To do as I say. You were supposed to tell me everything you obtained immediately. What if it had been one of the Seven? Don’t you know what the death of a reaper would cost me? We have objectives to reach!”

“Believe me, I understand I have failed you,” Glenn squeaked out, shuddering from head to toe. “It was an honest mistake, I swear.

Electronic communication is difficult for a demon my age. You understand, don’t you? Please, spare me! I beg you, my lord!”

“Your whiny voice grates my ears,” I hissed waspishly, as my features shifted beneath my hood to a creature more animalistic and exotic. I threw Glenn down and willed tendrils of darkness to curl around his feet like snakes. “I know how to shut you up.”

Heat blasted outward from my frame, crashing into Glenn’s chest and knocking him flat. Serpent shadows lunged for his small frame, fastening his thrashing body to the ground.

“Please, Your Highness!” he gasped out. “I tried to provide the information to you, I tried! You were with the human, and then your phone kept going straight to voicemail! It’ll never happen again!”

Capturing Glenn’s jaw, I forced his eyes to meet mine. “You’re damn right it’ll never happen again.” A smirk peeled away from my enormous fangs. “You won’t be able to do much of anything with your spine separated from your skull.”

“You said not to expose ourselves to the girl!” he wept. “I couldn’t get the message to you while she was with you! Please, have mercy! Don’t send me down to the pits of Hell, they give me awful anxiety!”

Horror collected in Glenn’s eyes as I struck, trapping the organ between his teeth with two fingers. A sharp tug ripped his tongue, and his cry of distress, clean out. The wind hurled around us, as the wicked creature inside me purred in delight from this gory scene.

Rationally, I knew the lack of communication between Glenn and I hadsomewhatbeen my fault. I had been with the girl when he called, and my ringtone hadn’t been on. Nevertheless, the primal part of me was itching to rip this demon limb from limb for not finding another way to warn me about Malphas’s attack, which could have certainly ended with Faith dead, had I arrived a moment later.

My black soul valued Glenn’s life as much as I valued the life of an ant I could crush beneath my boot. Zilch. Still, Glennhadsurvived under my employment far longer than the rest, and the whole awkward nerdy virgin thing he had going onwashilarious . . .

Above all, I enjoyed screwing with him.

“You’ll heal,” I said, wiping my bloodstained gloves on Glenn’s once perfectly pressed white shirt. I backed off the thrashing demon and rose to my full towering height. “Never withhold information from me again.”

Choking out a sob, Glenn dragged himself to the shadows then evaporated.

Maybe I was too harsh, I supposed, and then shrugged it off.Nah.

“Hell’s Bells” blared from my pocket.

I slid my cell out and answered. “Vegan Delights. How can we help you?”

“You idiot!”Lucifer roared.

I yanked the phone away from my ear and held it at arm’s length as he cursed me out in several languages. This was the last thing I needed tonight.

“I am done cleaning up your messes,” Lucifer snarled. “There were witnesses to your massacre earlier today. Next time you flex your powers in front of the girl, pay a little more mind to the elementary school loading off a bus for a class trip twenty feet away!”

I ground my fangs together. “You try having four hundred underling demons simultaneously pecking at your dick and see if you’re mindful of your environment.”

“You have not only risked our exposure and harming the girl, again, but you have also put my ass on the line. I’ve let you get away with a lot over the years, but these trails of dead Fallen and Guardians you’re leaving are the last straw. Now I have to sit in on a council meeting in Hell. The board isnothappy about this.”

“You think I’ve been killing Guardians and our own Fallen?”

A catlike grin lined my mouth, and for a moment, I was able to disregard my ravenous appetite. “I am flattered, but it was not me.

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