Page 72 of Death Wish

“Jade, right? That’s what you’re going by now?”

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

“Yes, well,” he went on, “I’ve come topside to help you, actually. I’ve heard you are in quite a bind.”

“I don’t want your help,” I snapped.

He held up a finger. “Why don’t you hear me out first. I’m sure I can change your mind.”

Not wanting anything to do with Monnie, I turned around and marched away. Turning my back to a powerful, full-blood demon probably wasn’t one of my smartest ideas, but nothing about Monnie screamed trustworthy. I needed to get away from him and fast. The grave dirt would have to wait until another day.

Maybe going for this walk by myself hadn’t been such a good idea.

“Your Medium friend may want you to reconsider,” he called, and I halted at the mention of Kay.

Guilt bubbled up, as it always did when I thought of Kay and the trouble I had put her in. I hadn’t even gotten that far down the sidewalk before spinning around to face him again. That got a pleased smile from the demon.

“There,” he purred. “A little bit of your time. That’s all I’m asking for.”

“Talk fast.”

“That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? At Fairport’s oldest cemetery? You’re looking for the next piece of the demon cure. To save your friend.”

How did he know any of this? Had he been following me?

Unease skipped through me. I didn’t like this; I didn’t like this one bit.

Monnie took his chance and closed the distance between us. “I can help you save her.”

The red color of his eyes flashed for a second before turning the human’s normal brown again. Whoever Monnie had taken control of, I felt bad for them. No one deserved to unknowingly surrender control over their own body, especially by a demon.

And he was expecting me to trust him? Just like that?

Despite my gut twisting in warning and all the sirens going off in my head, I heard myself asking, “How?”

His grin spread wide. “I won’t only tell you, I’ll take it a step further,” he said. “I’ll give you the key to the cure.”

“And what do you want in exchange?” No one ever did anything for free, and something told me there was no way Monnie, the demon of Greed, was going to do anything for free.

Shrugging, he said, “Nothing much. Just…a kiss.”

I almost choked on my tongue. “Excuse me?” He couldn’t be serious. What kind of weird, pervy request was that?

“That’s my price. My information for a kiss.”

I said nothing as I considered his offer. Was I considering it? I guessed so. Finding out how to save Kay’s life had been my main priority since the attack in her shop. Her time was limited to find a way to help her, and we weren’t even sure if our interpretation of the cure was the real one. I promised her I’d do everything to save her. And I would.

What was a kiss? Nothing really. A quick two second peck and that was all.

Wasn’t much of a sacrifice on my end.

“That’s really all you want? A kiss?” I asked. “And you’ll give me what I need to save Kay.”

“That’s all.”

“No tongue, do you hear me?” I said, firmly. “Two seconds, max.”

His perfectly shaped eyebrows arched. “That’s only if you don’t beg for more.”

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