Page 72 of Demon Loved
“But I’m not pure,” I sputter out. And then, to emphasize my point, I gesture towards Zolroth’s cock, because I’msuperarticulate. “That was just in me!”
“That,” my posh demon huffs, “deserves a better name. It’s a bloody masterpiece, is what it is.”
“You’re gonna have to trust us, sweetheart.” Van steps forward to cup my cheek. “You know we would never put you in danger, but you’re the only one who can enter this room and find what we need.”
“And fortunately, no one is here,” Raz growls, sounding extremely pissed off at the fact that I’m potentially putting myself in danger. “But you’re gonna have to go alone. We can’t enter.”
“Wha-what would you have done if I wasn’t with you? What would happen if you entered this room?” I spin away from Van and place my hand on my hips, awaiting their answer.
Wary glances are exchanged before Akor smiles brilliantly.
“Spontaneous combustion, of course.” He sounds almostcheerfulabout the idea. “But to answer your first question, our—I mean,their, because I was solidly on Team Bring Katrina—plan involved kidnapping one of those pure souls you saw entering Heaven. And torture. And a little mayhem.” He sighs wistfully. “I miss mayhem.”
“You’ll get your mayhem,” Raz snaps. “We might need a distraction if someone comes in this direction. Akor, do you think you can handle that?”
“Do I think I can…? What do you take me for?” Akor stares at Raz, genuinely affronted. And then—I shit you not—he reaches into his pocket and grabs a bedazzled grenade, tossing it up and down like a baseball. It’s so sparkly and so…pink. “Distraction is my middle name.”
“I thought it was Leslie,” Van deadpans, and the look Akor throws him is capable of ruining the pants of a lesser man.
“It’s Les-Lee,” Akor says curtly…literally just repeating what Van said, but slower.
Raz pinches the bridge of his nose. “Zolroth? Go with him. And make sure he doesn’t blow up anything prematurely.”
Zolroth nods seriously, turns towards me, and gives me the kiss of my fucking life. I literally see stars and get all soft and mushy inside. If I had my diary, I’d be writing Mrs. Katrina…whatever Zolroth’s last name is. Fuck, do they even have last names? Obviously, they have middle ones, and I know Raz referred to himself as Dämon in Gym, but that’s German for demon. Hmmm. Maybe they can take my last name…
I forcibly shake my head and then focus on the task at hand as Zolroth releases me, grabs Akor’s shirt collar, and drags him down the hall. And, because I’m a doofus and just can’t help myself, I begin to jog in place and crack my neck from side to side. Badass Katrina for the win.
“Okay, what am I doing?” I ask, but Raz hesitates. His eyes flicker across my face, searching without words, before he squeezes them shut. I can tell he wants to abort the mission, to take us home and coddle me, but we can’t. We fuckingcan’t. We need to know what the threat is…and how to eliminate it. Or them, as the case may be.
“Katrina…” he begins almost desperately.
“No, Raz. Don’t even think about it. We made it this far, and I’ll be damned if we don’t finish. So grow a pair of ovaries and walk me through this. I’ll be fine, and you can spank me senseless when we get home. Deal?” I beseech him with my gaze to trust in me, trust inus, until he finally concedes with a pained sigh.
“All right.” He nods once…and then a second time, as if he’s reassuring himself. “It’s on the second floor of this ‘library,’ in the angel Gabriel’s office. He’s in charge of placement when the big man isn’t around.”
“He’ll probably have hundreds and hundreds of books and papers. How will I know what I’m looking for?” I ask, fiddling with the bottom of my shirt.
“Magic, baby girl,” Raz explains. “All of the older angel placements will be magically filed away already. Only current placements will be in his office. I don’t know for sure what you’re looking for—a book with a list of names and cities? A map?—but it’ll be there.”
“You can do this, Trina,” Van encourages. “We’ll be right here waiting.”
Kastros, still hovering near the hall, nods his head in solidarity, eyes emanating warmth and love.
The guys are counting on me. They need me to do this, for them and for us.
Pull up your big girl panties, Katrina, and get your head in the game.
“All right.” I begin to jump up and down in place again. “Let’s do this, bitch.”
Without waiting for any of them to change their minds, I take a step forward, breaching the invisible line that prohibits my guys from entering. I wince, half expecting to explode into flames, but when nothing happens, I physically sag in relief.
“Okay, good. You’re not going to explode, Katrina,” I murmur to myself—like some fucked-up, crazy cat lady. Yeah, I reachedthatlevel, apparently.
“Did you really think we’d allow you to enter the room if we thought for even a second you’d spontaneously combust?” Raz growls from behind me, sounding both offended and hurt.
“Of course not!” I reply…rather unconvincingly, if I’m being completely honest. But come on. Me? A pure soul? It’s almost laughable. I mean, sure, I don’t have sex all the time or murder people like my demons. And yes, I prefer staying inside and curling up on the couch with a good book. And I always look at my flashcards for decathlon—
Oh. My. God.
