Page 19 of Bad Demon

The beast contorted. No, not a beast, a dog … on steroids.

A hound.

A fucking hellhound.

He shifted suddenly, transforming into the big, arrogant male who’d been in my store. He stood tall and imposing—and completely naked. His hair was down and wild around his face. His wide, tattooed chest was covered in demon ash, and a decent dusting of hair trailedall the way down. His thighs were braced apart and bulged, and his abs—which looked like thick ropes slung across his stomach—were clenched tight.

He said nothing; he just strode to one of the trees, snatched up a pair of jeans, pulled them on, and then advanced on me.

I backed up. “What are you doing?”

He growled, as if the beast was still there and actual words eluded him.

“Stay back.”

He ignored me, and when I turned to run, he hooked me around the waist, hauled me off my feet, and flung me over his shoulder.

“Let me the hell go,” I yelled.

I tried to wriggle out of his hold while my heart exploded in my chest, and fear choked me so tightly that I struggled to drag in the next breath. I fought harder, but it was pointless. He had me pinned down with one tree trunk-sized arm.

“Where are you taking me?”

“You’ve been a very bad demon,” he said, his voice vibrating through my body, all the way to my bones.

“I’ve done nothing wrong. You said I wasn’t in trouble when you came into my store,” I rushed out.

“That was before,” he bit out. “This is now.”

“What the fuck are you talking about, Sasquatch?” I snapped, then quickly slammed my mouth shut.

The potion had worn off, and I was scared out of my mind, which meant going on the defensive. Even though pissing off a hellhound was just plain idiotic.

“What I’m talking about, Gremmy, is you kidnapping a demon—a demon with sanctuary—and delivering him to the crone to harvest for parts. That’s not allowed, or have you forgotten the rules?”

Shit. He knew.

“It was self-defense.”

“If he threatened you? I’d get it. But you dropped him before he laid a hand on you. Can’t scent any blood on you, except for that tiny slice on your finger, which means you took him down before he could touch you, and instead of walking away when he was out cold, you dragged his unconscious ass to Agatheena.”

“How do you know he had sanctuary?” I fired at him, grasping on to anything that could get me out of this.

His other hand lifted. He was holding a wallet. “He dropped this when you were dragging him to his death. He has sanctuary ID from the knights of Hell, like you do, along with everyone else living in Seventh.”

I was screwed. If he decided to enforce the rules, I was on my way to Hell. “Why didn’t you stop me then? You’re just as bad as me.”

A rough sound rumbled from him. “I found the wallet first and tracked you to the cottage just as Agatheena took him, but thank you for confirming what I suspected.”

Goddammit. “What are you going to do?”

“Lucifer’s in town, at our clubhouse. I could carry you out of this forest and take you straight to him.” He sounded angry again.

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” I bit out.

If I came face-to-face with Lucifer, I’d piss myself, then blackout.

“I don’t relish the idea of taking you to a place where you’ll suffer horrifically because you freaked out and chose your victim unwisely.”

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