Page 79 of The Devil Went Down to Laughlin
“She doesn’t think it’s safe to come back,” he said.
A perfectly natural response…but definitely not the one any of them had wanted to hear.
Ty’s mouth opened, but before he could speak, Caleb said, “Let me talk to her.”
Aaron’s brows lifted slightly, although he seemed to realize it was better if he didn’t try to refuse the request. “Okay. But I don’t think you’re going to get very far.”
“Let me be the judge of that.”
The other man shrugged, then handed over his iPhone. Caleb took it, the corners of his mouth lifting in a small smile.
“Hey, Eiza,” he said, sounding completely relaxed and not as if he’d just faced a high-level demon and closed a portal to Hell. “My name’s Caleb. I’m a friend of Aaron’s.”
“Friend” was probably a stretch, but since Aaron didn’t protest, everyone else remained silent as well.
“I just wanted to personally assure you that Laughlin is safe now,” Caleb went on. “A couple of friends and I just took care of your family’s problem…the same one that made you leave town in the first place. We know your grandmother’s death wasn’t from natural causes, but the…person…responsible is gone and won’t be coming back.”
Another pause, longer this time. Delia wished she could hear what Aaron’s cousins was saying, but Caleb had probably decided that putting her on speaker would have been kind of rude, considering the strain she was under.
“I understand that,” Caleb said at length. “And I want to give you my personal promise that we’ll come back and help out at the first sign of trouble. There won’t be any, though.”
Eiza spoke again, and this time, Caleb smiled.
“Yes, I’m sure of it. And I’ll have Aaron give you our contact information so you know you can reach out at any time. Deal?”
He was silent, and then nodded.
“Perfect. Then I’ll let your cousin know you’ll be back in Laughlin tomorrow.” He ended the call there and the handed the phone back to Aaron. “Okay, we’re set. Eiza needs to pack up her things, but she said she should be here by tomorrow afternoon sometime.”
That seemed almost too easy. But then Delia thought she saw the quirk at the corner of Caleb’s mouth and guessed he might have sent a little demonic energy over the airwaves as he spoke to her, just enough to convince Eiza that everything was fine and that she needed to come home as soon as she could.
After all, the guy had always been there when Delia needed him…but his surprising dependability didn’t erase the fact that he was still a quarter demon.
“And that means you’re good to go, too,” Caleb told Aaron. “Although I suppose you won’t be able to sell the house now, since Eiza will need to live there.”
To Delia’s surprise, Aaron didn’t look as dismayed by this prospect as she might have thought.
“It’s okay,” he said. “While I was talking to my cousin, I had to put her on hold for a minute to take another call. The real estate agency in Bullhead City wants a second interview, so things are looking up on that front, too. If I get the job, I’ll be able to find something of my own either here in Laughlin or across the river, and I won’t have to worry about getting the commission on my grandmother’s house.”
Thank God for that. As far as Delia was able to tell, they’d wrapped this whole thing up pretty neatly…well, except for the part where they had no idea how August Sellers had even known he needed to lure her down here so he could use her powers to open the portal…and now it seemed as if Aaron and his cousin might be able to get on with their lives.
“That’s great,” Caleb says. “It sounds like you have a lot you need to handle, so you should probably get started on that. We’ll let you know if we need anything else.”
“Um — ” Aaron began, but Caleb had already put his hand on the guy’s arm and was guiding him to the door and ushering him out into the hallway.
“Good luck with that second interview,” he said, then closed the door behind him. He flashed Delia a smile and added, “Thought he’d never leave. But now we can get down to the next order of business.”
Chapter Twenty
All right, so he might have used a little demonic persuasion to get Aaron out of the suite at Harrah’s, just as he’d beamed a bit of that otherworldly charm over to Eiza Mendoza so she’d agree that she absolutely needed to come back to Laughlin and pick up the mantle of river guardian. As far as Caleb was concerned, he hadn’t been out of line. That was Eiza’s job and responsibility, not Delia’s, and Aaron had served his purpose and needed to be hustled along so the rest of them could get on to the more important stuff.
“Maybe there’s some evidence in Sellers’ office that might tell us how he knew about Delia,” he said as he sat down on the sofa next to her. Although Caleb had thought she was stunning in that sequined gown, he had to admit she looked more herself in the clothes Pru had loaned her, even if she was wearing black from head to toe.
“And exactly how are we supposed to get in there?” Pru inquired. However, she looked vaguely amused, and he guessed she was just as glad that he’d gotten rid of Aaron Sanchez as he was.
“I doubt anyone knows Sellers is missing yet,” Delia pointed out. “It feels like a century since we escaped that chamber under the Aquarius, but it’s only been a half hour at the most. Also, it’s past eight o’clock, and I doubt anyone expects to see him until tomorrow morning sometime.”
“Unless he was supposed to be attending another river cruise,” Ty said, although his tone was almost doubtful, as if he didn’t quite believe what he was saying.
