"Fine, I close five-thirty, sharp." He stomps off and grumbles something under his breath.
If I cared even a little, I would call out and ask what he said, but I don't. He just needs to get my car fixed. Shit, Betty leaves any minute now so I need to get back in there and get someone to cover me so I can go get it in an hour.
I turn around and walk back into the restaurant. I head to the back and find Jeb in his office. "Hey, when is Shirley supposed to get here?"
His head is hovering over his desk with a pen in his hands. "She should be here in thirty minutes. I'm sick and tired of her cutting it so close to your leaving that I'm getting her to come in an hour earlier."
Oh, thank god. This is a blessing. "I hate to do it, because I know it's the dinner rush around that time, but I need to go pick up at my car when she gets here real fast."
"It's ready?" His body tenses and he turns my direction.
"He's putting a new fan belt in and it's ready to go." That's all he needs to know. All the extra stuff I'm going to pretend didn't happen.
"But you're going to stay right?" His eyebrows furrow and his lips form a thin line.
Now this is a trap if I ever saw one. The front door rings alerting me to a new customer. "Hey, I better go help them." I turn around fast before he can stop me. I don't want to promise anything I can't deliver.
As I enter the room, the customer slides into a booth in the front next to the window, away from everyone else. I grab some silverware and head in that direction. When I get to the table, I lay the silverware down and grab my pad. "What can I get you?"
"Now that is an interesting question." A deep tenor tone I'm all too familiar with fills the air, along with the smell of fire and brimstone.
No, this can't be. Of course, he'd show up here and now. I lower my pad and find none other than Damien sitting down at the table. "What are you doing here?"
His blue eyes are glowing and the dark shadows cling to him. "I could ask you that very same thing. Why don't you sit down with me for a minute? We have a lot to discuss."
"Sorry, no can do." Does he think I would even if I could? I saw what he's done to Becca. "I'm at work and have other people I need to wait on as well."
He lifts a hand and a dark shadow springs out as if to do some type of bidding. "I don't think you understand. It's not a choice. Unless you want someone to get hurt more than they already are."
Why in the hell did I think I might be able to trust him, even a little, at one point? I'm not even sure who he's threatening, but it's either my parents, Becca, or Charlie. And what does he mean more than they already are? The last time I saw them, they were fine.
A smirk crosses his face and he lowers his hand.
Shit, he knows he has me. I sit down and throw my pad on the table. I hate he still has some control over me. This is going to end and soon. "Why are you here? I left Illinois for a reason." He's never going to leave me alone again.
"It's Becca." He leans back and crosses his arms over his chest. "You saw there was something wrong with her soul, right?"
"Yeah, that's why you need to just go." I wish I could slap the smug look off his face. Someone needs to take him down a notch. "You've done enough."
"Oh, don't be so dramatic." He rolls his eyes and chuckles. "Her soul is breaking apart. I know what is causing it, and it’s an easy fix for me to do. I just need something in return."
Of course, he does. He also has Beth's soul trapped somewhere. Not to mention, I've got two artifacts; granted they are inside me. He's going to want me to go after the third one. "Let me guess. You want me to go after Hell's Flame?"
"You're catching on." He raises an eyebrow and drops his arms so he can lean forward toward me. "But yes, that's what I need you to get if you want me to fix her."
Does he expect this to work each time? We've done this song and dance two other times and I'm sick of it. "No, it's not happening." I'm done doing whatever this is with him. I take a deep breath, trying to reign in my control. At this point, I want to lay down and kick and scream. "Even if I could get to it, I would just absorb it like I did all the other artifacts."
"You say that like it's a bad thing." He rubs his lips with his finger and leans back against the chair.
Hell yeah, it's a bad thing. I don't like having this extra power coursing through me. At first it seemed to balance me some, but every day it seems to be tipping the other way. I have no clue why. "I don't see why that would be what you'd want." I sure don't want it. I wish I could find a way to get the other two out so I could go back home.
"It doesn't matter if you understand it or not." His eyes narrow and an eyebrow raises. "We already have a deal in place, don't forget that. It could get ugly."
For being a demon, he is a freaking moron. Does he still expect to get a piece of the crystal? "Well, that might be a little difficult for you. It's kind of a part of me."
"Sometimes I forget how slow
