He grinned, one of his teeth wobbling in his gums. “You got it, little lady.”
“How did you find out I was an angel? Been keeping tabs on me?” she asked with a raised eyebrow, shoving her heels deeper into the floor.
Houston Maverick chuckled, greasy and mean. “Oh, I get around. Word gets around, too.”
“You mean in Hell, Dad? Where all animals who stab their wives go when they die?”
Now he was really angry, and even through this demonic state he was now in, she recognized that anger. She’d seen it a million times in her life.
Houston used his open palm to smack her across the face, stealing her breath away and leaving her skin burning.
As her heart pounded against her chest, he hissed, “You shut your dirty mouth, young lady! Your mother got what she deserved! She died because she couldn’t obey me!”
But George was just as angry. All the years of putting a pillow over her head. All the years of hiding in sheer terror. All the fear he’d instilled in her, all the self-hatred she’d allowed him to create, left her mad as hell.
He’d killed her mother. She didn’t just die. He’d killed her.
The thought, the very words, left her livid and shaking with rage. “Don’t you mean you killed her because she didn’t obey you, you disgusting pig? She didn’t die, you animal! You murdered her!”
Now he grew angrier than she’d ever seen him before. His blue eyes, once so like hers, swirled orange with hatred. As he hauled her up the wall by her neck, he screamed, “I swear to Christ, you little mouthy shit, I’ll kill you if you don’t shut the fuck up!”
She almost vomited from the stench of his breath, but at least now he wasn’t blocking her view. There was a staircase right behind him with an old wooden door. If she could just get away from him and make it up those stairs, she might have a chance.
Her neck muscles bulged as she hung against the wall, fighting for breath, his incredible strength frightening her.
But she refused to show him her fear. Instead, she dug her nails into his fingers, twisting her head, the skin of her neck raw.
“Talk,” she huffed out, straining with every word. “Let’s talk.”
Houston cocked his head, his salt and pepper hair, much longer than he’d ever worn it, hanging in long, straggly tufts down the side of his face. “Sure, honeybuns. Let’s talk,” he said with a smarmy wink. “Go ahead. I’m all ears.”
Trying to shake her head, George demanded in a rasp of words, “Put me down first.”
Houston dropped her like she was on fire. Her butt hit the floor with a smack. Ignoring the sharp pain, she slid right back up the wall and faced him.
Clearing her throat, she fought her contempt, her hatred, her disgust in order to hopefully distract him and get away. “Let’s talk turkey, Dad. What do you want?”
She knew damn well what he wanted, but she had to buy some time. She didn’t know how much power he had as a demon. Obviously, he could run with a good amount of speed and disappear. Nina and Wanda had said as much. He’d snatched her up at Effie’s and then she’d woke up here.
He’d done it right in front of Wanda. That meant he had some powers, but she sure didn’t want to stick around to find out what else he had up his sleeve.
But if she caught him off guard again…
Houston planted his hands on his hips, his fingernails dirty, his clothes covered in soot. “You know what I want. I want your damn wings, Georgie Porgie Puddin’ Pie.”
“Why, Dad? Why do you want my wings?”
She knew why. Or at least she thought she did. He wanted her soul. He wanted her to die just like her mother.
But Houston scoffed and narrowed his seething gaze at her. “I don’t have to explain myself to you.”
Jutting her chin out, for the first time in her life, George shot back and she did it with venom. “I’ll let you kill me before I’ll summon them and it’ll be just like old times. Your useless, good-for-nothin’ kid, failing you again, right?”
He eyed her, his gaunt face full of malice, his skin pulled taut over his cheekbones. And when he answered, she had to fight not to launch herself at him and tear his eyes out of his head.
“I want your wings so I can get into Heaven, and then I’m gonna hunt that bitch of a mother of yours down and make her mine all over again.”
His words of old rang in her ears. If she ever leaves me, I’ll hunt her to the ends of the earth.
Again. George Denise Maverick wasn’t much of a swearer, but fuuuuck.
Chapter 24
“Where the fuck are we?” Nina asked as they all stood around in front of a row of new construction.
The snow must have held things up. There were supplies everywhere, the drifts in the dirt driveways almost as tall as Dex.
“Darnell? Are you sure she’s here?” Wanda asked, rolling up her sleeves and peering into the darkness.
The big demon nodded his head, lifting his baseball cap off his head to scrub a hand over his hair before setting it back in place. “As sure as I’m standin’ here. I smell him. I know his scent, Wanda. That dirty bird’s here—somewhere.”
Nina cracked her knuckles and rolled her head on her neck. “I smell the motherfucker, too, Wanda. Now we just have to narrow it down because his stench is everywhere. And when I get whoever this fuck is, I’m going to rip his organs out and make GD spaghetti out of his intestines.”
Dex had turned away from the group with a thrashing heart filled with panic he had to keep in check, cocking his ear as he looked around at the new
