Page 20 of Bad Demon

The prick was far too perceptive.

He put me down suddenly, and I shoved my hand in my bag and pulled out the pepper spray I always carried, aiming it at his face. He’d be on me again in a heartbeat by the time I grabbed out my blowgun and loaded it.

“Okay, back the fuck up, or I’ll blind you, you fucking psycho.”

“You sure that’s the way you want to play this?” he rumbled.

No, I was not, but I was all out of options.

ChapterFive

RELIC

Motherfucker.

I’d followed her out here, and now I had a real reason to haul the little demon to Hell. Demons killing demons? That shit happened all the time—of course it did. But a demon selling their own kind to a witch—I assumed for her own gain, especially a demon with sanctuary? Not fucking okay.

The last thing I wanted to do was take her to Hell. She was too small and weak, and that smart mouth of hers would get her into all kinds of trouble—the kind that would make her scream in agony. I didn’t like the thought of that. Not at all.

“Fuck,” I growled, and she startled. I didn’t like that either.

She waved her pepper spray around like that could protect her from me if I meant to cause her harm. That shit wouldn’t work on me, but I wasn’t going to tell her that if it made her feel safer to hold it. Despite the real threat I posed to her right then, I didn’t want her afraid of me.

“I went to your store earlier to apologize for scaring you. Then, you came out of your shop, and I—”

“You followed me?” She lifted her can of pepper spray higher. “You’re a fucking stalker. And you don’t know what you’re talking about. That demon had every intention of hurting me. It was absolutely self-defense.”

I didn’t doubt her. I believed one hundred percent that she’d defended herself. When it’d stopped being self-defense was when she trussed him up and delivered him to Agatheena.

I shoved my fingers through my hair and did my best to get some control over my anger. Because I was fucking pissed that not only had she put herself in this fucked situation, but me as well. The idea of taking her to Hell made me feel physically ill.

“Don’t know if you know this about hounds, Gremmy, but we’re extremely protective of females.” The urge to explain myself was impossible to choke back down. For some reason, I didn’t want this little demon thinking I was a fucking stalker. “I didn’t like what happened when I was in your store, though to tell the truth, I had no idea I’d scared you.” I flexed my fingers; my palms itched to snatch her up again. “I thought you were enjoying it until my friend corrected me.”

Her eyes widened. “You thought I was enjoying it?”

Zinnia had been right; the only one of us who’d enjoyed our sparring was me.

“Hounds aren’t the best at reading emotions.” Why was I telling her any of this? I had no idea, only that I didn’t want her to think I was some fucking creep. “I was coming to say sorry, and then I saw you walking down a dark street on your own, and my protective side kicked in.”

She was shaking. It could be anger. I hoped it was. It could also be fear. What did I know? I’d gotten it completely fucking wrong last time.

“I don’t need your protection. I’ve been looking after myself my whole damn life, and I’ve done just fine.”

“So, you clocked the two demons following you then?”

Her chin jerked back.

“I’ll take that as a no.”

Her cheeks darkened. “I didn’t see any demons.”

“Because I strongly encouraged them to fuck off.”

The pepper spray lowered a little. “Are all hellhounds egomaniacs?”

“We don’t have an ego. We know what we’re good at—it’s just a fact. We don’t need to prove shit.”

“And what exactly are you good at? Because you’re a terrible conversationalist, and you didn’t need to tell me that you’re bad at reading people because it’s obvious. Like, right now, I’m giving off a whole lot ofget the fuck out of my face, and you’re missing it completely.”

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