“Theo? Great. Your demonic BFF is named for one of the Cosby kids.”
She’d never felt so violated. And it wasn’t just that. It was the trust issue, already shaky after what had happened with Ben. She’d been a fool to trust an archdemon. Damn it. She felt so stupid.
And she’d thought Stanley and his lust elixir had been bad.
Still was. But this felt much, much worse.
“Theo can help us,” Darrak said firmly. “He’s willing to help us. I explained everything to him.”
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly as his words managed to sink in. “Keep talking.”
“All I know for sure right now is he promised to do everything in his power to help break my curse. And when Theo says he’s going to do something, he gets it done. He’s very resourceful.”
Eden rolled her eyes. “I think Stanley just filled me in on how resourceful demons can be when they want something. All that’s left is a red smudge to scrape up off the pavement. I’d prefer not to become a red smudge.”
“You won’t.”
“Because you’re looking out for me?” It didn’t sound particularly sincere.
“I’m not claiming to be perfect, Eden. But I am trying to make solid decisions here.”
“You’re trying, all right.” Her anger had come down from a boil to a steady simmer.
She stood at the edge of the parking lot now. Eden’s car was a few rows in. She felt in her purse for her keys.
“Hey, Eden!” a familiar voice called out to her.
She turned and was shocked to see Ben approaching her. He was with a pretty woman with waist-length blonde hair. She wore a tight blue dress.
“We need to go,” Darrak said warily. “We don’t need any more confrontations with golden boy today.”
So insightful, that demon. Really helpful internal monologue.
“What do you want?” she asked sharply. Perhaps that would be the first thing she always said to Ben from now on. Given their history it seemed appropriate.
“You’re better,” he said, looking relieved. “I’m glad. I was worried after. . after this morning.”
He took a step toward her, and she moved away from him.
“You didn’t answer my question,” she said firmly. “What do you want? Are you following me?”
He glanced at his companion, then back at Eden. “I said some things today that I regret. I wanted to apologize.”
Her shoulders relaxed a little. “Apology cautiously accepted.”
Ben smiled. He did look great when he smiled.
Residue of her earlier stress still tingled under her skin, but she tried to push it away. The evening had been a bust with Stanley. She’d learned some unpleasant things about what Darrak did when she was asleep. But at least Ben seemed to have himself together again. It was a strange relief.
“I don’t feel good about this,” Darrak said. “I sense something strange, but I’m not sure what it is.”
Ben nodded at his date. “This is Sandy. Sandy, this is Eden.”
Eden’s eyes shifted to the woman.
“Nice to meet you, Sandy,” she said.
“You, too,” Sandy replied, smiling. She drew closer and extended her hand.
Eden reached out to shake it.
“No, Eden—” Darrak’s voice turned panicked. “Don’t touch her. She’s a wi—”
But it was too late. Sandy’s fingers wrapped around Eden’s and an ice-cold wave rippled through her body. Darrak’s presence disappeared like a lamp had been flicked off, leaving only a dark room behind.
Her eyes widened as she looked down at the blonde’s hand. The red stone set into the ring on her index finger glowed.
“What—?” she managed before the woman let go of her hand. “Ben, what the hell’s going on here?”
Ben cleared his throat. His arms were crossed firmly over his chest. “Sandy’s a witch. And she just dampened your inner demon. Hope you don’t mind. He’ll just get in the way of what we need to do right now.”
Eden could barely speak, she was so shocked. “But — but why are you—?”
Before she could say another word, Ben had moved toward her with something in his hand. A syringe. She felt a sharp pain as he jabbed the needle into her upper arm and injected her with the contents.
His expression was grim.
Immediately, the world began to darken at the edges.
“I’m sorry it has to be like this,” he whispered. “But. . I said I’d help you, and I meant it.”
A moment later, the world disappeared completely.
“Hand me the smelling salts.”
Eden heard the voice as if it was a long way away. The next moment, a sharp, pungent scent assaulted her nostrils, and she gasped, her eyes snapping wide open. She was in an unfamiliar living room seated on a leather sofa.
“Eden.” She felt a warm hand on her arm, and she looked to her left, where Ben sat next to her. Sandy stood a few feet away with her arms crossed over her chest. “Please, don’t panic.”
Eden licked her dry lips, her thoughts cloudy and jumbled. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t.” Her voice croaked as if she’d been unconscious for a while.
“I want to help you.”
“You have a funny way of showing it.” Her throat hurt and anger and confusion flowed inside her. “Tranquilizers and kidnapping aren’t exactly things that sound very helpful.”
Eden tried to sense Darrak’s presence, but there was nothing there. Was he okay? Had the witch hurt him? The thought filled her with fear. Only moments before she’d been wishing he was gone forever, and now she was desperately concerned that he’d been harmed.
“What were you doing at Luxuria tonight?” Ben asked.
“None of your damn business. Where the hell am I?” The longer she was conscious, the more the fog was lifting, and the more pissed off she was getting.
“My place,” Ben said.
“As a cop, you should know kidnapping is a crime.”
“I wish there was another way. But you’re not thinking straight right now.”
“I’m thinking fine.”
“You’re possessed by a demon,” Sandy said.
Another worrying reminder that Darrak was currently AWOL.
“What did you do to him?” Eden snapped.
“Exactly what Ben told you I did. I dampened him.”
Eden quickly scanned her surroundings. It was exactly the kind of house she would have expected Ben to own. Empty. The few pieces of furniture were practical. Hardwood flooring, cream-colored walls. There were no paintings or knickknacks to clutter things up or add some well-needed warmth. No framed pictures, either. However, he did have a wide-screen television with an Xbox hooked up to it. So Ben wasn’t
There was sweat on the witch’s brow. The room was too cool to account for that. Eden guessed she was concentrating on keeping Darrak’s presence dampened.
“Hard work?” Eden asked dryly.
Sandy gave her a tight smile. “For a good cause, hard work is worthwhile.”
“And what cause would that be?” Eden glared at the both of them in turn. The black sofa was hard, with no give, and smelled new. The leather squeaked as she tried to move.
“Saving your life,” Ben said.
“I didn’t ask for your help.”
“Which is exactly why we had to take extreme measures.” Ben stood up and paced the length of the living room, his brow furrowed. “I saw that thing, Eden. It’s horrible and it’s destroying you.”
“You don’t know anything about this.”
