Page 51 of I Accidentally Hired a Shadow Walker
“Is this the moment you're going to explain to me what drama you had going on that made you need to run away from hell? Because if, after all these years, they still want to come after you for it, I’m sure it wasn’t aminor issue.”
“You’re right. It was a big issue,” Raymond started as the kettle whistled. “Someone died.”
He waited for me to return to the table with the tray I’d prepared, and as I began making my tea, he continued.
“It was someone very important, and they lost their life because of me. I made a mistake, and I knew no one in the Bane was going to let me forget it. A few people wanted to take my head because of it. If they have their way, I won’t live much longer. They will end me, but not before dragging me back to hell to make sure the right people know about it.”
“So you did something that led to the death of someone important, and now you're on the run for it?” I thought about his words as I added honey to my cup. “Did you kill them? Are you leaving that part out of the story?”
“No. I wouldn’t do that. I've killed a lot of people in my lifetime. That's not something I'm afraid to admit. What happened was a mistake, a lapse in judgment on my part. It's something I can never take away. The wrong person lost their life, that's all I can say. And I will never forgive myself for that.” He gulped down the rest of the drink before refilling his cup.
“So, what happens now? They know you're here; they're going to keep coming after you. Those things did not look like henchmen. Even if they give up, more will come. Am I correct?”
“Yes, you are. They work for someone a lot more powerful.”
“X?”
“Not exactly. X is above them but still not the top of the chain,” he explained. “It’s a huge organization. You’d probably compare it to the mafia here on Earth, but it's so much bigger than that.”
“And now they know where I live.” I rolled my eyes. “Demonic mafia about to be busting down my damn doors.”
“That's why I came here. I wanted to make sure you were okay. You weren’t answering your phone. My mind went to the worst place. They saw us together, learned your energy signature, and they could have easily found their way to you. I was afraid they had hurt you. That’s why I’m still here.”
“Still here as in here in my home?” I glanced around the kitchen.
“As in, on Earth. I planned to leave. There are other places I can go where they won’t be able to find me. That's why I decided to hand over everything to you.I probably should have left immediately, but I didn't. I couldn't.”
“Why not?”
“Do you really have to ask that question?” He leaned back in the chair and looked me dead in the eye. “Do you not know why I would not want to leave this world? I've been here for decades and never had an issue, but suddenly, I feel tied to this place. Connected.”
I ignored the implications behind his words. “How did they find you?”
“They came here looking for something else.” He chuckled. “Isn't that just my luck? They came here for another demon who’d messed up, and while they were searching for him, they found my energy signature and followed it.”
“Well, they know you’re here. Leave,” I said with naïve optimism. “Leave now, and all of this goes away, right?”
He snorted. “Do you really believe that?”
“No, I don't. Those things are going to keep coming after me to get to you. They think I’m more important to you than I really am, and that's some bullshit. Why should I have to deal with any of this? I swear to God, if I ever see Mitch's backstabbing ass again, I'm going to throat punch him.”
“Mitch?” He raised a brow. “What does he have to do with this?”
“Isn’t it obvious? If he hadn't screwed me over, I wouldn't have had to reach out to Rose for help, which means I would have never met you,which means I wouldn't be dealing with any of this right now.” I tied it all together while ignoring the look of increasing confusion on his face. “This is all his fault.”
“Hey, as long as someone else is taking the blame for this, I'm all good.” He chuckled and ran his finger along the edge of the cup. “Shit. I can’t believe this is happening. I did everything right.”
“Okay, what do we need to do?” My brain kicked into work mode. There was no sense in sitting around pouting about the situation. We had to take action. “How do I protect myself?”
“Now that they've seen what you can do, this is going to be a lot more complicated. Before, they just thought you were a human. They weren’t worried about you. Now, they’ll see you as a threat and are probably going to come back with more aggression. They’re gonna want to know everything about you, and I'd be surprised if they haven’t already started digging deeper into your past.”
“Were those the same people from last night?” I asked. “I know you said they work for X, but are they the same guys? They didn’t look the same.”
“A couple of them, yeah, but the others weren't,” he explained. “Most demons have to use a disguise when they come to Earth. They need to blend in.”
“Damnit!” I fussed. “I can’t have this demonic shit messing with my business. Wait…are you in disguise? Do you look like those things? I think I’m going to be sick.”
“No, I look like this all the time. Well, kind of.”
