Page 44 of Death Trap

His gaze, a fiery red this time to show the demon within, flashed between me and Lisa.

“I can see that,” he said. “But what I’m curious about iswhy.Why come all this way—to Hell nonetheless—and put yourself and your…” He eyed the spear and the Guardian tattoo on Eli’s chest, and his lip turned up in a snarl. “Yourpetin harm’s way?”

“Pet? Really?” I didn’t know why, but that irked me. I might have just reunited with Eli and didn’t know much about him, but nobody was my dog. I didn’t even like Eli being my Guardian.

Monnie stepped toward me, his fancy leather shoes tapping against the floor. “I admire your grit, Jade. I really do. But this seems a bit…” He examined the many rings on his hands. “Foolish. If you ask me. Even for you.”

“Nobody did,” I bit back.

Combating a demon wasn’t a smart idea, but there was something about Monnie that made it hard to keep my mouth shut. Even if he liked me, he also got a kick out of pushing my buttons.

I just had to make sure I didn’t let him trap me in one of his cat-and-mouse games in the end.

He peeked at Lisa again, her gun poised in position to fire her last shot at the Halfling that had leapt at her but was now frozen in midair. With his eyes closed, he inhaled deeply like he was taking in her scent—or maybe it was her essence.

When his eyes sprang open, his knowing gaze confirmed my suspicion. “A human,” he drawled. “You’re risking so much for ahuman?”

I didn’t respond.

He strode closer to me. “What are you up to, little lady?”

The nickname itched at me, and the urge to lash out was all too tempting, but I held back. “This human is here by mistake. She doesn’t belong here.”

His perfectly sculpted brows shot up in surprise. “And who says you determine that fact?”

“We have proof.” Not to mention that I was pretty sure Lisa was put here because of me for some reason. My guess was that it had something to do with the box with the demon cure that I didn’t remember giving her.

Now Monnie appeared intrigued. “Oh? And what’s that?”

Like he didn’t know. He was a demon, after all. I’m sure they had some work email or community newsletter—something—to keep them all in the loop down here. He must have known the answer to all his questions, but he was asking them anyway. Why? To see my reaction? To try and catch me in a lie or something?

“Cut the crap, Monnie. Why did you even stop your Halflings? Why not let them tear us to shreds or drag us into our own Hell room? It would have been easier for you.” And I was sure no one around here would mind the death of a Guardian Angel or bat an eye at a missing human soul.

They didn’t alert the media about Benjamin being in Hell instead of being Released, so I doubted they would care if another reaper went missing.

He held up a finger and a thumb, ready to snap them. “Do you want me to?” he asked. “Because I could. It’s fairly easy to undo. Just a quick snap. And by the looks of it, your friends aren’t doing too well in their fight, so their defeat shouldn’t take long. Is that what you want, Jade? Just say the word.”

I didn’t want to give in. I really didn’t. But that little voice inside my head was telling me he wasn’t lying. And I should probably watch my mouth around him from now on.

Only when Monnie lowered his hand did I feel a little better. Just a little though. We were still in a heap of shit right now.

“Why don’t you recall your little minions and pretend like we weren’t here?” I asked. “Maybe take it a step further and tell us a quick way out of here? Just to be a nice guy.”

“Oh, my dear, you got me all wrong. I never do anything for free, and never have I ever been a nice guy.”

I should have expected that.

“But I’ll tell you what. I’ll make you a deal.”

Should have seen that one coming, too. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. “Of course you will.”

He shrugged. “It’s my thing.”

“Okay, then…” I paused, thinking on the best way to word my end of this deal. “You tell your Halflings to all hit the road and give us a quick way out of here, and I’ll…”Not blast you with my demon-eradicating powers?That’s what I wanted to say. But that was more of a threat than a deal, and I doubted he’d take it lightly.

“You’re asking for quite a bit. If I do all that, I’m going to need something big in return.”

Uh-oh. I didn’t like the sound of that. “Like…?”

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