Page 2 of Sin and Salvation

And a rogue gust of wind blew my hood back, revealing my pink hair. I clutched the hood, jerking it back up over my head, but the damage was done.

The demon’s eyes widened, and I saw his mouth form the nameVenus Amatoréas he increased his stride towards me.

Without stopping to think, I ran across the next street.

A sports car careened sideways, narrowly avoiding crashing into me as the driver laid on the horn furiously. Several demons shouted behind me, but I kept going, panting for breath, the seam of my tight skirt making an ominous ripping sound as I pushed into a full sprint.

I ran into a female demon who dropped a briefcase with a startled curse, narrowly missing my toes, and went careening off the side of a storefront, almost running right into an opening door.

A trail of chaos and snarled threats were left in my wake, but I didn’t stop to look back. If Maxime realized I was gone, if he’d put out an alert, even a single second could mean the difference between freedom and capture.

My feet felt like I was running on broken glass and a stitch in my side sent shooting pains through my abdomen by the time I saw Granite Avenue ahead of me.

Glittering skyscrapers rose around me, and the flow of cars through the middle of the city was a nonstop flood. A swarm of demons were waiting at the crosswalk, and as I watched, too far away, the light blinked and the cars stopped again.

I was still too far away to make it. It was impossible. I would have to stop and wait again unless I wanted to end up splattered across the road.

Maxime’s men would capture me, and then I would have to answer to him…

The sickness in my stomach threatened to come up when I imagined sitting in Maxime’s office again. His roaming hands. His accusations.

The things he demanded I do in order to give him more power.

I couldn’t go back.

Iwouldn’t.

Gritting my teeth, I let go of my hood and ran like my life depended on it, because it did.

Straight into the four-lane thoroughfare, just as the lights turned green, where the car to my left screeched to a halt.

“What the fuck are you doing?” a female driver shouted at me, her eyes sparking furiously with the telltale yellow fire of the House of Wrath.

I kept going. Shouts from behind me pushed me even faster, dodging cars until I made it to the lush median, and only then did I look back.

Two demons built like refrigerators waited back at the crosswalk, their mouths turned down grimly, and I knew from their black suits they were Maxime’s men. They surrounded the red-suited demon, who gesticulated furiously at me. A dark SUV idled on the curb next to them.

Taking a deep breath, I turned back towards crossing the other side. Only thirty feet to freedom…

I knew those demons would be armed and ready to shove me in the back of that SUV. Maxime wouldn’t want them dragging me down the sidewalk, screaming all the way back to his penthouse.

Like my thoughts had summoned him, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out, eyes still glued to the other side of the road. “Yes?”

A deep, cultured voice seemed to caress my ear. “Venus, love, now is not the time to play these silly little-girl games. You’re too old for this.”

My lip curled in a sneer. “This isn’t a game for me, Maxime.”

The demon who owned me sighed. “All you have to do is turn around, and all is forgiven. What’s bothering you? Do you want more shoes? A nicer apartment? Just ask, and it’s yours.”

I wanted to throw up and laugh at the same time. “Is that really what you think this is about? Shoes? I’m done, Maxime. I want to be free.”

“Venus—”

“I’m not coming back.” I hardened my voice, but a tremble still came through. “Stop chasing me.”

I hung up, shoving the phone in my pocket and focusing on my task. It buzzed again, but I ignored it.

As soon as a gap appeared in traffic, I scurried into the road, ignoring the horns and swerving cars. It was like playing leapfrog with my life, my palms sweating madly, knees trembling with every step.

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