Trust a demon. Wasn’t that the number one thing you weren’t supposed to do?
Ash sighed, gaze landing on the knife still in her trembling hand. “Look, I don’t blame you if you’re scared of me now. It means you’re smart. But think about it—who do you trust more, me or Mist? If you stay here, Mist will be back for you. He knows you’re with me, so you’ve become a target.”
Eva did think about it. She wasn’t ready to believe a single word out of Ash’s mouth at this point, but she had to admit that between the two creatures fighting in her house, if she had to trust one, she’d pick him in a heartbeat.
Her gaze traveled to the gaping hole in her window, and her breathing hitched. Somehow, that stupid hole in the glass felt more real than anything else. “My apartment... I can’t just leave it like this.”
“You can call someone to come fix the window, but we have to go.”
“My c-cat.” Her protests were nonsensical, but she was just trying her best not to fall apart.
Ash looked impatient. “We can’t bring your damn cat.”
“I’m not leaving him.” It was the strongest her voice had sounded so far.
“Fuck.” Ash scrubbed his face with his hands, and it was such a humanlike gesture that she could almost forget he’d been a red-skinned, horned giant five minutes ago. He looked up. “Do you have a car?”
She nodded.
“Fine. We’ll take your car, and you can bring the cat. But I’m driving, and we have to go now.” He didn’t wait for her response but went back into the bedroom where she assumed he was getting dressed.
Eva stood there, wrapped in the blanket, staring blankly ahead. She felt numb. In shock, probably. Definitely.
“Eva, come on,” Ash called from the bedroom.
She was crazy for going anywhere with a man who’d admitted to being a demon. She ought to run out the door right now and not stop until she’d reached another province. No, another country. No, fuck it, she’d buy a flight to another continent and hide there for the rest of her life.
But that wasn’t an option, was it? That monster was coming back for her, and he could probably find her anywhere in the world. Ash was right: she’d rather trust him than Mist any day.
And then there was that little whisper inside her that had suddenly gotten louder. It was telling her she was close to something vital, close to uprooting the dissociation that had plagued her her entire life. It told her she needed to keep pushing, to dig deeper, and despite her fear, she wanted to listen.
She wasn’t losing her mind, she hadn’t hallucinated, and the world wasn’t as ordinary as it seemed. Surely that meant there was more to her existence as well? Surely that meant she could find a way to feel whole?
She forced her feet to work and managed to walk in a daze into the bedroom, dropping her useless weapon on the kitchen counter as she went past. She reached her room just as Ash came out. He was wearing pants but had his T-shirt pressed against the wound in his side to stem the bleeding.
Somewhere in her bewildered brain, she remarked that he still looked like her sexy, not-quite-a-boyfriend-yet boyfriend, but she couldn’t reconcile that image with everything she’d just seen. She wasn’t ready to bridge that gap yet.
He reached for her as she approached, and she recoiled. He winced and dropped his hand. “Grab a change of clothes. I’m not sure when we’ll be back. I’ll find your cat, but I’m not touching the little bastard. You want him, you carry him out.”
“D-don’t hurt him.”
Ash scowled. “I’m more concerned abouthimhurting me. Cats hate me.”
“W-why?”
He gave her a dry look. “Because they have good goddamn instincts. Now, hurry up. I’ll be waiting.”
15
Speed Demon
Asmodeus—that really was his name because he really was a demon—drove her car like a bat out of hell. Oh god, hewasa bat out of hell.
Eva’s head felt like it was going to burst, but she was too busy holding onto the dash and passenger door for dear life. Thelonious howled from his pet carrier in the back seat. Ash had been right—her cat really didn’t like him.
While Ash phoned his brothers and told them to meet him at their home—he hadn’t explained what happened because he said Belial would flip a lid—Eva had gotten dressed and thrown as many clothes as she could into her backpack. Thankfully, she’d had the presence of mind to pack a toothbrush and the detangling products for her hair.
Her phone and charger had been next, and she’d already fired off a text to her landlord asking for his help fixing the window, though it was far too late to expect a response now. For obvious reasons, she’d lied and said a piece of furniture had fallen through the glass instead of two battling demons. How the hell she was going to afford the repair if insurance didn’t cover it, she had no idea, but she was taking things one step at a time.
