A Wolf at the Door

“Gretchen Keene. I don’t know if you’ve heard of her—”

“Gretchen Keene, the movie star? Seriously?” Heard of her? Hell, you couldn’t flip on the TV without some news or entertainment show dribbling her name all over themselves. I think she had four movies come out last year, and another couple due for the summer blockbuster season coming up. “Blond” and “bombshell” were the words most frequently associated with her.

“Oh good, you know her!” Axel seemed delighted.

“Well, not personally.” The whole seduction thing made a bit more sense now. I mean I’m sure there were easily two hundred and seventy-six men who would sell their souls to spend the night with Gretchen Keene. I was honestly surprised it wasn’t more. And a demon contract did explain her meteoric rise to fame, starting about five years ago. It explained a lot. Dammit, didn’t anybody get by on their own merit anymore? “That makes her like a succubus or something, right? Using sex to get souls?”

“More or less. As you know the word.” Axel nodded agreement. “For one of us…one like me…that many souls equates to a tremendous amount of power.”

“When she dies, what happens to those souls then?”

“Well…that’s the kicker.” Axel rocked on his heels, pursing his lips thoughtfully. “See, the demon who made her contract was fairly inexperienced. He left an amazingly large loophole, and really those souls are going to go to whoever can be there to claim them when she dies.” For a moment, he shook his head with a faint expression of awe in his eyes. “That kind of power…that power wins wars, Jesse. Or loses them.”

Axel never did anything for purely charitable reasons, and I’d been confused about his motives up until this point. Now things were starting to become clear.

There was a war brewing in Hell. At least, that’s what I’d managed to piece together from stray Axel comments and a bit of research. Axel was on one side of the conflict, I’d gleaned that much. I had no idea who was on the other, or even which side was the “good” one. I mean really, when they’re all demons, is there a good side?

“You basically have a loose nuclear weapon, and you don’t want the other side to get their hands on it first.”

“Roughly, yes.” Axel mulled that over for a moment, then nodded. “A rather apt analogy.”

“So why send me to play bodyguard? Why don’t you just go yourself and collect the extra souls?”

He drew a breath through his teeth, making a soft hissing sound. “It’s…complicated. If I were to go myself, it could tip some things, and I have no way of knowing if it would be in my favor. Thankfully, the other side is in the same position. They can’t send one of their own, so they’ll send someone else. Something else.”

Leaning on the table like I was, the snow was melting and soaking through my jeans. I shifted position uncomfortably. “Do you think their man’s in place already?”

“I have no way of knowing. Assume someone is already there, and then you won’t be surprised if they are.”

There was a lot to mull over in Axel’s simple little request. I sat quietly for a few moments, and he just watched. “What exactly is it that you want me to do, Axel?”

“Just keep her alive.”

“For how long? I mean, how long do you expect me to play babysitter? I have a life here, Axel. I can’t just pick up and move to L.A. for the foreseeable future.”

“No! No no, it wouldn’t be like that,” he hurried to assure me. “I only need you until New Year’s Eve. Either I’ll have something else arranged, or it’ll all be decided by then.”

“What happens at New Year’s, Axel?”

“Honestly?”

“If you can.”

“I have no idea. I just know that it’ll all be done by then.” I think he could still see my reluctance. “If it helps, I’ll cover your expenses.”

That made me blink at him again. “Where do you get money?”

“Investments. Like anybody. Where do you get yours?” He grinned at me then, and I still have no idea if he was kidding or not.

I rolled my eyes at him. “I need to talk to Mira about it.”

He shook his head. “This isn’t really a ‘choice’ kind of thing, Jesse. You owe me, and this is what I am asking for.”

Fuck. I couldn’t even argue with him on it. I had agreed. “When do you need me to go?”

“Your flight leaves tomorrow morning.” Reaching inside his coat—my coat!—he produced an envelope, handing it over with a snap.

“How did…?” I changed my mind. How he yanked a large envelope out of a coat that wasn’t even his was his business. I wasn’t going to ask. Examining the contents, I found a plane ticket to L.A., hotel information, and a credit card with my name on it. A company card, I noted. I was apparently an employee of “Axel Rhodes, LLC.”

“Axel Rhodes? Really?”

“Hey, you named me. I just ran with it.” He gave me a small smirk. “You should go start packing.”

I sighed, knowing he was right. I did, however, have one last question. “So why me? Why not someone more sympathetic to your cause?”