I half expected Nick to slam the door shut and lock us in his hiding place. Instead, he moved out of the way to let us out. Dash left first and grabbed the spa owner by his shirt with a snarl, slamming him against the office wall.
“Dash, don’t.” I yanked on his bicep, trying to keep him from hurting the suspect. “We need to talk to him first.”
“So, talk,” Dash gritted through his teeth. He held his arm against Nick’s throat to trap him.
“He won’t be able to give me any answers if you choke him hard enough he passes out,” I pleaded. “Or worse.”
Although Dash roughed him up, Nick didn’t flinch or fight back. His face turned red and he gasped to breathe, but he still didn’t try to free himself.
“That’s enough!” I roared, stepping back. “If you don’t let him go right now, I will hex you so hard”—I struggled to come up with a good threat— “that all your hair will fall out. Including that scraggly beard.”
Despite his predicament, Nick grinned and emitted a slight chuckle. Dash released him, and the spa owner collapsed onto the floor, gasping in air and clutching his neck.
“Fine,” the wolf shifter grumbled, his eyes still blazing yellow. “But I shouldn’t have to remind you that Lucky’s out there trying to save Fenwen because he hurt her.”
Holding up my hands in surrender, I waited for his animalistic side to calm down. “I know, and he’s going to have to answer for his actions. But first, we need to find out what’s going on, especially with whatever’s in those jars.”
“I said fine,” Dash grumbled, stroking his facial hair. “And my beard is not scraggly.”
His ego wore on my patience. I pushed him out of the way and offered a hand to Nick. With an appreciative nod, he lifted his tattooed arm and allowed me to pull him to his feet.
“Thank you,” he choked out, still rubbing his neck.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Don’t thank me just yet. If I don’t like your answers to my questions, then I’ll tell my friend to let his wolf go wild with you.”
For good measure, Dash smiled wide to show off his growing fangs. A low growl rumbled in his chest.
“Fair enough,” Nick agreed. “Won’t you please sit down while we talk?” He gestured at the small couch we’d found Fenwen collapsed on.
With a shake of my head, I crossed my arms. “I prefer to stand. Now, the first thing you need to tell us is what you mean when you say there are pieces of souls in those bottles.”
Nick didn’t answer right away. He took his time, maneuvering around the desk and bending down to slide open a drawer. The sound of glass clinking echoed from inside the piece of furniture, and he pulled out a Jack Daniels bottle and two tumblers.
He uncorked the whiskey. “I keep this here for emergencies. Care to join me?”
“No. I’d prefer for you to provide us with some answers,” I complained, watching him pour out a hefty amount of amber liquid into one of the crystal glasses.
Nick shrugged and held up his drink in the air. “Here’s to bad choices.” In a few gulps, he drained the contents.
It took all my strength to keep myself from shooting a hex at Nick’s glass and shattering it in his face. “You ready to talk after relying on liquid courage?”
A wry grin curled on his lips. “Oh, it’ll take more than a little whiskey to make me less of a coward.” He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and poured himself some more. “I’d prefer a little ice. My touch can make things warm up a little too fast when I’m nervous.”
Dash stomped forward but stopped when I flashed him a warning glare. Threats hadn’t gotten us anywhere yet, so we needed to switch tactics and be patient.
Nick finished his second round of whiskey and slammed the heavy glass on his desk. “I’ll give you some answers, but I’m not sure they’ll satisfy you.”
“Try us,” I challenged.
He ran his hands through his hair, messing up his perfect coif. “Here’s the down and dirty. I’m a demon. A crossroads demon, to be precise. Those bottles contain pieces of souls I was able to strip from my clients. And everything that’s happened in this town is my fault.”
Nope, I was not prepared. My brain processed through his statement and separated each element on its own. “When you say demon, you mean like with horns, a pitchfork, and a tail?”
Nick chuckled and lifted his hair from his face so I could see his forehead. “No horns. No tail. But I suppose I could find a pitchfork.”
“Is there a difference between a regular demon and a crossroads one?” Dash asked. “They both sound bad to me.”
“You live in a town with all kinds of supernatural beings, yet you’re casting judgment on me?” the spa owner sneered. “I can’t help what I was when I was born. But not everything in this world is all bad or all good. There’s usually a pretty good mix of both.”
“But most of the time, the scales dip to one side or the other,” I countered. “It’s all about the choices we make.”
Nick winked at me. “Exactly.”
His arrogance disgusted me. “Then by your simple confession, we have to assume that you’re pretty much the bad guy based on your actions.”
“Again, so quick to judge.” The demon leaned against his desk. “To answer his question, just like there are all kinds of shifters, there are different kinds of demons. My family happens to be in the business of making deals with those who want certain things.”
My eyes flashed to the hidden closet. “And what’s the price of those deals?”
“Souls.” Nick stopped smirking and his brow wrinkled with concern. “If it makes a difference, I didn’t intend for things to turn out so badly as they did. I know you won’t believe
