Page 92 of The Devil and His Goddess

“Do you think I’m unaware about the existence of understudies?”

“Of course not, sir.”

“Then did I perhaps stutter when I spoke?” I continued cooly.

She swallowed hard. “No, sir.”

“Did I ask for your advice on the matter?”

Her hands began to shake, and she shrunk in on herself. “No, sir.”

“How strange then that you thought you could speak on the issue. I didn’t ask for yourpermissionto change the schedule. I amtellingyou that’s what we’re doing, and if you have a problem with that or my reasoning … Well,Ihave no problem replacing you.” I swept my eyes over the entire room and finished, “That goes for all of you. Am I understood?”

“Yes, sir,” came the chorus of meek replies.

“Careful,” Xander warned as he left the trembling woman to stand beside me. “Your demon is about to come out.”

I didn’t need Xander’s warning. My skin was dangerously thin with my hold on my true form ready to snap at the slightest rise in my anger. My insides burned with a need to break Kendra’s neck for even daring to speak about replacing Harper. No one could replace her. Not a goddamn soul.

“Good,” I finally acknowledged, briefly reigning in my hatred. “Now get out of my fucking conference room.”

A meeting had never cleared out faster. The minute the door shut, my control snapped. My head, hands, and eyes revealed what was always kept hidden. I raked my black-clawed fingers through my hair and tugged on the roots as I dropped into a chair.

Xander sat in the one adjacent to mine. “Is work always this exciting? Maybe I should apply for a job.”

“I hope you’re here with an update.” I dropped my hands to the table.

“In fact, I am,” he answered cheerfully. He tucked his hands into his dark hoodie pockets and mindlessly swiveled side-to-side in his chair. “Mandi will be a no-call, no-show for work today. I put her into a ratherdeepsleep that she won’t wake up from until the day is practically over. I’m sure Silverlight’s irate boss won’t be too pleased with that behavior.”

Snickering, I leaned back in my chair. The tension in my shoulders eased a fraction upon hearing that today could be Mandi’s first write-up—the first step leading to her eventual firing.

“Excellent,” I complimented.

“And she definitely helped that fucker. I went through a burner phone she had and found a whole slew of messages where they concocted the plan for Mandi to approach Harper, get her alone, drug her, and give that bastard the green-light to do what he wanted.”

I’d already suspected as much, but having it confirmed made a snarl climb my throat. The urge to kill both of them nearly made my vision go red. I had to reel that desire in, because I didn’t want Mandi dead. I wanted her to live whilewishingfor death.

“Speaking of that prick,” Xander added, “he’s been receiving a nice beating from everyone. I think Dante goes down to visit him every night. Though, Dante’s basement is starting to smell from how much the human has shit and pissed himself.”

Knowing the man was suffering made me smile, especially since I knew it was just the beginning.

Chapter 33

Perseus

EVERYTHING INSIDE OF ME HURT—not for myself, but for the girl tucked in my bed. When I got home that evening, Harper was in the same spot I’d left her in. Incubi could pick up on all human emotions if we really tried, but the ones that came without an ounce of effort were those of sexual nature. Other emotions often had to be purposely searched for to find them.

There was no search necessary to pick up on Harper’s current state.

The despair coating the bedroom settled on me like a thick, almost tangible blanket. I wanted to cast it off, to shred that heavy covering, but … I didn’t fucking know how.

“Harper,” I called out as I walked farther into the room. “Are you awake?”

She didn’t answer me. When I reached her side, her red eyes blinked as they stared at nothing. Like that day I’d found her, she seemed almost comatose, and that only made the dagger in my chest twist violently.

“Have you eaten?” I probed.

Her silence was the only answer I got, and it told me all I needed to know.

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