Nerves bit at me. It had been a long time since I’d worked anywhere. It’d also been a long time since I’d played a deadly game of tag with a demon. These were two things that didn’t mix well.
I got out of the stairwell and froze; sure I was having some sort of hallucination. The guy on the front desk couldn’t be Mason. He turned my way and I slipped back into the stairwell quickly. I was sure he didn’t see me. I was also certain it was actually him.
There’s no mistaking those sky-blue eyes of his, that red hair. I stood there for a few seconds, cursing under my breath. I couldn’t hide in the stairwell for the duration of my shift. That was on a par with falling asleep at the front desk because the damned demon finally decides to let his host sleep.
I tried to prepare myself to deal with this, but my head only filled up with questions. What the hell was Mason doing working here? How could he still look that good? Did he know Lucy gave me a job? Lucy! She had to know what she’d done assigning me to work with him. My heart sank at the realisation. Did she really hate me this much?
There were probably obvious answers, but right now I couldn’t think of any. Grow a pair, I told myself, pushing the door again and heading straight to the desk before I could chicken out. I seriously needed this job, and I seriously needed to prove to Lucy that I was capable of keeping it.
I felt my face flush as he looked up and his gaze fixed on me. His mouth dropped open.
“Tina,” he said. “You’re back.”
“Mason, you’re working here?” My attempt to sound casual didn’t quite work. Shock altered the pitch of my voice. It was kind of hard to hide.
He smiled wryly. “The factory closed down.”
“Ah, shit. Sorry.” He’d been working out there since we left school. Since his mother got sectioned.
He looked down, seeming to realise I was dressed somewhat similarly to him. “Wait. You’re the new start?”
“A girl needs to work.” I shrugged, trying to give the impression that I could care less while I could feel my pulse starting to race in panic. This was the guy who’d basically ripped my heart out, after all. Okay, so he could probably say the same about me, but he’d won me over in the end, forced me to admit my feelings, so it wasn’t exactly the same thing.
“It’s not such a bad place to be,” he said. “It was supposed to be a temp thing for me. A year later, here I am, still.”
Oh my God, his deep, raspy voice was still enough to make me go weak at the knees. This was such a bad idea. I was going to have to find another job, fast.
He looked me over with the first hint of a bemused smile. “Are you coming around to this side of the desk or what?”
I supposed I should. Even if it felt like a monumentally bad idea. Seriously, could this week get any worse? I moved around and I was careful not to get too close. He noticed the little squeaks my shoes made and smirked at me for it, though he didn’t say a word. I groaned inwardly and forced a nonchalant smile.
“So, what ropes are you showing me today?” I had to hope it would only be for one shift. Maybe if I spoke to Lucy she would take pity and put us on different rotas. I’d take nightshifts over working with Mason. I’d take toilet duty, oven cleaning, anything.
“Checking customers out and in, basically,” he said with a shrug. “It’s easy and it should be quiet today. Mid-week isn’t usually that busy on the desk. We also take any room service orders and walk them to the kitchen. And we set up wake-up calls via the computer.”
Was that all? I glanced around. The lobby was empty. Tumbleweeds might as well be rolling by. Shit. Was I going to have to make small talk with him all day? This was seriously going to suck balls.
He moved away from me, going to a drawer. The slip of paper and pen he put on the desk in front of me appeared some sort of employee information form. I slid it closer as he moved, and our fingers brushed accidentally. The spark of static electricity that passed between us made me jerk my hand back. He was standing too close. My elbow hit his stomach as I pulled back.
He sighed, and his breath moved my hair. This was so messed up. I couldn’t work with this guy. How could Lucy not know? Maybe she did. Maybe this was payback.
“I need to get my purse,” I told him, glad to have found an excuse to head back to my room. “This form is asking for my bank details.”
He backed up and I rushed away. I took my time climbing the stairs, taking deep breaths and trying not to think about it. When I got into my room I picked up my phone before I looked for my purse.
The message I sent to Jimmy was short and to the point. I held my breath when I pressed send, waiting to regret it. The feeling didn’t kick in. That was something, at least. I sent Lucy a message after that, asking politely to switch shifts so I wouldn’t have to work with Mason. I didn’t get an instant reply to either message. I went back down the stairs, almost tempted to take the elevator this time in the hopes of getting trapped inside for a few hours.
I got back to the reception desk and filled out my form while Mason checked out a couple who were definitely deep in their honeymoon phase. The woman gazed serenely at the man who stroked her hand in both of his. It was kind of cute, but also one romantic declaration away from being vomit-inducing. Mason was perfectly pleasant to them. His smile didn’t even seem faked. I listened to his voice and wished it didn’t make me all quivery inside. Didn’t really matter what he was saying. It all sounded incredibly sexy.
I took my time with each section of the form, using it as an excuse not to speak to him. I watched the minutes tick away on the bottom corner of the computer screen as he picked up the ringing phone and took down a room service order. I put my pen down when he hung up.
He looked at me. “This needs to be taken…”
“To the kitchen? Point the way.”
He gave me the order. I was careful not to let my fingers graze his as I took it from him. I walked away in my slightly squeaky shoes the instant he pointed out that the quickest way to the kitchen was through the bar. I knew the bar. I’d been well acquainted with its stocks before I left town, from two years of waiting for Lucy to finish work to go for nights out.
The kitchen doors were around the other side of the bar. I moved that way and put the order where Mason instructed me to. I also checked what he’d written so I’d know what to do when I had to take an order myself. His handwriting was neater than I remembered from copying notes in class, but I supposed it had to be legible for the orders. There didn’t seem to be any kind of shorthand involved so I breathed a sigh of relief. That’s the sort of thing I was bound to get wrong. Learning new skills tended to go badly for me. I liked to think my head was too full of demons to take anything else in, but if I was being honest it might just be that I tend to be easily bored.
Mason was leaning against the wall behind the desk when I returned, a mildly pissed off look on his face. Memories flooded me. It could have been any night that he’d tried to tell me how he felt before I shut him down, or walked away. It was that exact same look.
I swallowed as I approach, hoping to hell he wasn’t going to bring any of the past back up while we were supposed to be working. There had to be some sort of silent agreement about that kind of stuff. You broke my heart, I broke yours. Let’s just pretend none of that shit even happened. We’re adults now, right?
“What now?” I didn’t want to ask, but there wasn’t much else to say, and I couldn’t spend the next seven and a half hours point-blank ignoring him.
He blew out a breath. “I can’t believe you came back.”
“I only went to the kitchen.” And the lame joke award goes to…
“You know what I mean.”
Shit. I glanced about but there was still no-one around. I guessed that meant he thought he could talk about stuff. Couldn’t be a good sign. I wondered if half an hour qualified as the smallest amount of time spent working before quitting a job.
“I couldn’t stay.”
He nodded slowly, before hi
s gaze hit mine. “Then why did you come back?”
The big question. Truth was, I hated to think I might be anything like my mother. I hadn’t realised what I’d been doing at the time, not fully. It had been reactive. Once I’d realised what I’d actually done, it had been too late. The guilt over taking the coward’s way out had made me feel sick. I’d always promised myself I’d never do what she had. Turns out I’m more like her than I ever thought I was.
I knew Mason was waiting for me to speak, and I knew he’d understand if I told him. The thought of telling him made my stomach hurt. Things weren’t the same between us. I couldn’t pretend they were. Irritable about his confrontation, I decided I didn’t owe him an answer.
I shrugged. “Had to come back sometime.”
“Lucy was a mess when you went. She thought it was her fault.”
Okay, yeah, that made sense. Guilt tripping me over Lucy. Because he knew he had nothing if he tried to make this about us.
“My last living relative had just died,” I snapped at him. It wasn’t technically true, but he’s only one of two people in this world who knew about my mother. The woman might as well be dead. She was to me.
“I’m sorry about your gran. She was a nice person,” he said, earnestly enough that it made me want to punch him. This was the old Mason. The one I missed.
“She was everything to me.” My voice started to break and I wished I hadn’t brought it up.
He went quiet for a few minutes. I pulled myself together, so I didn’t end up punching him. I was considering how bad it would be to quit. Doing that would be letting Lucy down. This working for her thing was like a test. More important than exams at school, more important than anything. I quit, and it’s letting her know I’m the same person who could never hold down a job, the same person who couldn’t ever be trusted to be responsible. I couldn’t quit, but I couldn’t stand this conversation with Mason. I couldn’t handle working with him. I had to just get through this shift and beg Lucy to switch me to nights.
“I tried to find you when you left.” He sounded hollowed out. “I went out looking for your gran’s car. You don’t know what it was like to do that and come up empty. We talked about filing a missing persons report, but Lucy didn’t want to. It just looked like you up and left. You weren’t lost. You did this on purpose.”
“I don’t know what it was like? What about you forcing me to admit my feelings and then just cutting me out of your life the next fucking day, Mason?” If he wanted to fight about this, I was going to hit as hard as he was.
He flinched, and went slack-jawed, as if he didn’t expect me to bring that up. I smiled tightly.
“Lucy was pissed at me for fucking up another one of her messed up relationships and you…” I took a breath to calm myself down enough to say the rest. “You’d started fucking some bimbo you couldn’t even stand in school. I was alone. I didn’t owe you anything. I still don’t.”
He straightened. “We seriously need to talk.”
That’s all he had to say? I shook my head. “We’re talking right now.”
He cleared his throat. “We have a customer. We should talk after our shift.”
I glared at him, but he just moved around me to serve the person who took that inconvenient moment to appear at the front desk. I took a couple of deep breaths before I turned around. I was still incredibly angry and barely managing to conceal it. Lucy had better be moving my shifts.
I glanced at the customer and my breath caught in my throat. The demon’s host was staying right here in the Starlight! The corners of his lips twitched when his gaze drifted to mine. The flash of red was brighter than it had been the first time I came face to face with him. The guy didn’t even look tired. For someone who hadn’t slept in close to a week that seemed kind of miraculous. I had to wonder what kind of drugs he could be taking. There had to be something.
I shook my head and focused on what he was doing at reception, shock draining the anger right out of me. I had to concentrate. Mason was keying something into the computer. The host was extending his stay. I zeroed in on his name, James Strickland, and his room number, 320, before Mason saved the changes and closed the file. The guy left, and I smiled. Got your number now, Hellspawn.
Mason turned to me. His expression was unreadable. It was odd. I thought I knew all of his looks. I shook off the feeling that something was off. I wasn’t going to dwell on it. All I had room to think about now was getting a copy of the key to the host’s room. I crossed my arms as I glanced at the rack of keys situated at the back of the desk.
Mason seemed bothered by something, but he wasn’t talking so I didn’t have to respond to his weird mood. Probably still pissed at me, and more annoyed realising he’d have to wait to speak to me, to properly go off on one. I couldn’t have cared less right at that moment. The demon was out of his room. If I could grab the spare key when Mason’s back was turned, I could get into the killer’s room and wait for him.
Then Mason moved, and my heart started to thump harder. He came in close and for a split-second I thought he might actually try to kiss me. His gaze drifted to my lips before he practically put his chin on my shoulder. The lean-in was tight, and had me on edge instantly. Keeping his voice low, he whispered into my ear, “He’s not done, Tina. He’s going to kill again. He has already.”
Chills raced down my spine as Mason stepped back. I expected to see something different in his eyes, but there was no demonic glow. This was all just Mason. I stared at him in horror. The demon had used him somehow. I turned over all of the knowledge I had and came up empty. This wasn’t possible. What the hell was going on?
“I’m calling the kitchen to tell them you’ll be coming to help wait tables for lunch.” And now he sounded normal again. He picked up the phone and did exactly as he’d just told me he was going to. When he hung up, he smiled sadly at me. “I have to get home straight after work tonight. You’ll meet me tomorrow night when our shifts end. We’ll talk.”
I didn’t know what to say. The demon’s arrival and his odd reaction had thrown me. Was he sending me to the kitchen to stop me from getting my hands on the killer’s room key? I had to get that key. Knocking the demon’s host out might be the only way to get him unconscious to let me do my job.
“I’m supposed to be on the front desk.” It was all I can think of as an objection.
“You’ll come back here after the lunch rush. About three when the tables are cleared. I’ll show you how to work the computer.” Every word sounded carefully measured.
Stomach churning, I did as he’d instructed me to. My thoughts chased through what had happened. The demon had no influence over any human other than his host. There was no way for him to get to Mason. No way I knew about, at least. If there was some weird loophole I’d never found out about, there was zero chance of me working it out now. Gran had been my knowledge bank for all things dream walker. She’d said she’d taught me everything she knew. If it wasn’t the demon, what had happened?
One thing was for sure, I’d talk to Mason like he wanted me to now. I had to know what had happened to him. It would be so much easier to find out if I spoke to him.
There’s another way, the voice of my grandmother whispered through my thoughts. I didn’t like the idea, but it was true. There was another way I to find out what I needed to without speaking to Mason.
I could go into his dreams, and find out what had happened to make him whisper that creepy shit in my ear about the possessed killer. I didn’t like the thought of doing that. I’d already refused the impulse when it came the first time, a few years ago, over the weird, sudden way he’d cut me out of his life.
This was different. It was specific and related to his wellbeing. If the demon had done something to him I needed to know about it. I couldn’t let the damned thing hurt Mason, even if he wasn’t someone to me anymore. I still loved him, I always would.
Chapter Twelve
I hadn’t gotten the key to the demon host’s room,
and I hadn’t seen him come back to the hotel. I half-wondered if he might not, knowing I was working here. Then I remembered his type and knew he’d be back.
I’d get another chance to swipe the key. Maybe I could trick one of the night staff into giving me it if I told them I left my key in my room. Then I probably wouldn’t be able to switch to the night shift without tipping someone off that I was up to something odd. Damn it. I needed to work on my plan.
Mason had shown me where the keys were. He’d explained that the cleaning staff had keys that were kept in the safe in the back office. It was weird how much information he gave me that seemed relevant to getting into the Wrath’s host’s room. Almost as if he was trying to help me.
That couldn’t be it. If something sounded too good to be true it’s usually because it is.
It’s not as if he gave me the key, and I didn’t get a proper opportunity to nab it when his back was turned either. Missed my chance. I supposed I could hang out in the back stairwell on the third floor, waiting for the creep to get back to his room, but there was every chance I’d miss him. The front door was open 24-7 so there’s no curfew he had to get back for. Not that killers really care about breaking rules, but I couldn’t assume he’d be back anytime soon and while he didn’t seem to need sleep to function, I kind of did.
So, I headed up to my room after my shift, after Mason reminded me he’d see me tomorrow. His serious stare was unnerving. I wondered what the hell he wanted to talk about so badly. It was clearly frustrating him that it was going to have to wait. I started to wonder why he had to get home so badly, and stopped myself right there. I didn’t know what his life looked like now, and I shouldn’t want to know.
Sinners Never Sleep (Seven Deadly Demons Book 1) Page 7
