I was good to go.
Chapter Nine
My hands trembled as I rang Simeon’s doorbell. It was half past one in the morning, and I was exhausted. The icy wind was whipping into me, and I was freezing. Moreover, my anxiety level was through the roof, and I was questioning my current state of sanity.
Before I could call to mind my reasoning for being here, he opened the door and gave me that heartrending smile, dimple and all. And I relaxed. Somewhat.
He’d changed out of his night clothes and into a pair of jeans and a white button-up shirt, untucked with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. So innocuous, it was difficult to keep thinking of him as evil, my enemy. Why I existed.
“Abigail, come in,” he said and gestured toward the living room.
I stepped inside far enough for him to close the door. The heat from the fireplace instantly warmed me. He must’ve started the fire for my benefit. He certainly didn’t need it. I was fully aware of that fact when the feverish temperature from his fingers grazed my neck as he pulled my jacket off me. The simple touch made my skin prickle. I blew out a breath, attempting to calm myself as he turned to hang my jacket on the coat rack.
Boy, was I in trouble.
“That’s a lovely sweater,” he said, briefly dropping his attention to my breasts.
“This old thing?”
He smiled and grabbed hold of my hand, drawing me further into the living room. The coffee table was set for two with a plate of sushi rolls in the center. Oh boy. Call me what you will but any food that wasn’t thoroughly cooked scared the heck out of me. I was a coward when it came to trying new cuisines, I’ll admit it.
“Sit with me,” he said. “You’ll enjoy this. It’s one of my favorite recipes.”
“Thank you but I’m not very hungry. And I really have to get back soon or...”
“Sit, Abigail. I promise to help you find the bad guys when we’re done eating. But not until then.”
“Blackmailing Angels is evil.”
“Maybe, but not accepting a carefully prepared meal is rude.” He sat down on a cushion, resting his arm on his bent leg, waiting for me to join him.
“Pig-headed, aren’t you?” I plopped down on the opposite side of the table and eyed the offending food. Some sort of raw fish with rice wrapped up in seaweed.
“That’s why we get along so well.” He picked up a pair of chopsticks and pointed them at me. “You know how to use these, right?”
“I’m more of a fork and spoon kind of girl.”
He arched one black eyebrow at me. “But you’ve eaten sushi before, right?”
“Uh, more of a pizza and burgers kind of girl too. I like to stick to the tried and true. Know what I mean?”
“A sushi virgin. I’m honored to feed you your first.” He used his chopsticks to drop a roll onto my plate and then filled our glasses with white wine. “You can use your fingers if you like. I prefer that actually.”
Why did every word that came out of his mouth sound sexual? I studied his expression to see if it matched his tone, but he only grinned back at me.
“Just taste it,” he said. “You might love it.”
“I might vomit.” I gasped at my own words. “I’m sorry. Sometimes things fall out of my mouth, making me sound like a complete ignoramus. I’m sure it’s delicious―”
A heartfelt laugh erupted from Simeon, and I couldn’t help but giggle along with him. I’d never heard a demon laugh so sincerely before, which made me think he was more on the human side. He was such a fascinating creature...and beautiful to watch.
His amusement faded as he set his eyes on me. “Consider this, Miss Ignoramus. Have you ever tasted something new and found it utterly delicious? So delectable that you wondered how dull your life would have been had you not tried it?”
Yes, your mouth. “Cheesecake with cherries on top from the Cheesecake Factory.” It was the next best thing.
“Try the sushi, Abigail. Take a chance.”
“You’re really good at that.”
“At what?”
“Persuasion.”
His lips twitched up to a smile. “I suppose that’s the demon in me.”
I popped one of the rolls in mouth, chewed quickly, swallowed, and sipped down some wine, which didn’t help much because I wasn’t much of a drinker.
“Did you like it?”
“It wasn’t too awful.”
He chuckled. “I like your honesty. It’s refreshing.” He slid a small dish filled with brown liquid toward me. “Try it with some soy sauce.”
I did as he suggested but my curiosity emerged, and I suddenly found myself prying. “You’re very domesticated for a demon,” I said. “You cook, you own a business. Do you own this home?”
“I do. I’ve lived here for five years. I was in the middle of moving from my condo when I met you for the first time. That might explain why I was distracted and failed to remember to report my change of address.”
“Oh.” I wasn’t sure how to respond. I’d distracted him? He was beautiful and glorious. I was sure he had women lined up for his attention.
No. Don’t be naïve, Abby. The man in front of me existed on this earth to seduce the weak, steal from the innocent, and betray the naїve. And to make everyone around him think it was okay to do the same. If women were lined up, it was out of pure ignorance. I’d been policing demons long enough to know that.
“Isn’t it funny how fate keeps luring us together?” He reached across the table and set his hand on top of mine.
I pulled away, wringing my fingers together in my lap. “I run into the same demons all the time. It’s my job. Nothing to do with fate. In fact, I think people who believe in fate are chumps who wait around to see what life is going to give them rather than being proactive and getting it themselves.”
My cheeks felt flushed as I finished my senseless rant, and I realized I had no idea what I’d just said. My only goal had been to disagree thoroughly. I was fairly certain I’d accomplished that. I could tell from the way he was narrowing his silvery eyes at me.
“Such a cynic, Abigail. I’ll have to do something about that.”
“No disrespect intended.” I concentrated on my words this time. “But all I want from you is what’s in your computer.”
“All right then.” He stood, dropped his napkin on his plate, and extended his hand to me. “Let’s be proactive and make our way over to the den.”
I stared up at him briefly before accepting his assistance. The man bewildered me to say the least. I wished I could read his mind and know his thoughts. What sort of game was he playing, if any at all? Why was he agreeing to help me? And what did he think he was going to get from me in return?
“But you’d insisted we finish eating first,” I reminded him.
Simeon led me across the room with his fingers lingering on the small of my back. “I believe I lost that battle.” He pushed open the door to his office. “My computer awaits.”
He flicked the light switch on and wheeled an extra chair up next to his large oak desk. I sat beside him as he booted up, waiting impatiently for him to say something else. I hoped I hadn’t hurt his feelings, but what did he expect from an Angel? He knew how we were.
The large flat screen monitor revealed his desktop, a picture of about a dozen people grouped together, posing with a smile on the steps of a large porch. Simeon was kneeling down in the middle in between a girl who looked like his receptionist and a teenage boy who had two rabbit ear fingers above Simeon’s head.
My curiosity piqued, and I pointed toward the screen. “Is that Harley, your receptionist?”
“Good eye.” He winked at me. “She’s also my great-niece.”
“Really?” I took a closer look at the picture. The only resemblance was the black hair. She didn’t have her great uncle’s silvery eyes.
“She refused to allow me to pay for her college tuition, so I suggested she work at my office to pay me back. She’s a Keller, all right. Stubborn
, proud, and hard-working.”
Sometimes it took a while for my mind to catch up. “So this is your human family?”
“Most of them, yes. The rest live out of state or would rather not admit I exist.”
Before I could ask any of the gazillion questions that were swarming around in my head, he clicked on one of the icons, and another screen covered the picture.
“Tell me about your attackers.” Clearly, his family was not a subject he wanted to discuss. “Give me a description of one of them.”
Blondie’s image was still vivid in my mind. “One of them had longish blond hair and blue eyes.”
Simeon moved the cursor around the screen. “So he was Caucasian.” There was a section that read “Ethnicity”. He clicked the box next to “Caucasian” and went to the next section that allowed him to choose the hair color. He clicked the box next to “blond” and then went on to the eye color.
“How tall was he?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I was looking up at him from the ground the whole time. What exactly are you doing?”
“Narrowing down the search. My company’s database has the description and picture of every employee and associate and associate’s associate I’ve ever come into contact with.”
“Cool,” I said, surprised by his thoroughness. And questioning why the Demon Control database didn’t have the same capability. We were really behind the times.
Simeon gave me a cute grin. “Yes, but don’t think you won’t be paying me back.”
There it was. I knew his help would come with a price. Damn half-breed.
“I will not have sex with you,” I informed him.
He cocked his head at me, seemingly amused by my response. “Abigail,” he said. “If I pleasure you again, it’ll be a mutual decision just like before. And believe me, it won’t be a quickie on my desk.” He leaned toward me and whispered in my ear, “Next time I plan to take my time...and savor you.”
I gulped and looked away. “There won’t be a next time,” I mumbled and felt his knuckles brush against my cheek.
“If you say so.” He returned to his computer search, giving me my personal space back.
I let out a sigh of relief.
“Tonight, all I ask is for you to answer my questions. I want to know all about Abigail Angel before you leave here.”
Wonderful, I thought. Maybe I should just strip and let him have his way with me.
Seconds later, he exchanged seats with me and gave me full access to search through all two hundred fifty-six blond-haired, blue-eyed demons in his database, including demons from out of Denver Demon Control boundaries. I was impressed.
“Why do you have so many?” I asked. “Where did you find them all? And with pictures?”
“Hmm... I’m afraid it’s my turn to ask questions, sweetheart.” He edged his chair to face me, propped his elbow on his desk and rested his gorgeous head on his fisted hand.
Before he could see the effect his undivided attention had on me, I turned to the monitor and clicked through various demon faces. None of which matched my attacker.
“You know my human age,” he said. “What’s yours?”
“It’s rude to ask a lady that question.” In truth, my human age was twenty-eight. But why not keep him guessing?
He chuckled. “My apologies. What about your family? Where are they?”
I didn’t see the harm in answering that question, but I continued my search, hoping I’d spot Blondie before Simeon’s interview became too personal. I wasn’t accustomed to sharing the private details of my life with anyone, especially someone I barely knew. Besides, why did he care? We weren’t friends, quite the opposite, actually.
I humored him anyway. If answering a few questions was all it took to find who I was looking for then I’d play along.
“I’m not sure where my parents are right now. They’re missionaries, and they travel around the world a lot.”
“Do you miss them?”
I shrugged. “Yeah, but I’m used to not seeing them often. My dad has been on this mission to save the world since I was a baby, and my mom joined him when my sister and I headed off to Angel Academy.”
“Your sister. Where is she?”
Ugh. Why did he care? “She married right after she graduated, so she’s living a human life with her family in Phoenix. I haven’t seen her in a long time.” And I wasn’t sure I wanted to. I was still angry with her for deserting me.
“Is that what you want as well? A human life? With a family?”
Way too personal. “I’m happy where I am.” There was a tart edge to my voice to warn him off. Then I turned the tables. “What about you? Do you want a family of your own?”
“No. Where did you get the red hair and brown eyes? That’s a rarity for local Angels, isn’t it?”
“Thanks for the reminder. I was told I resemble my paternal grandmother. No family, huh?”
I felt his hand graze my neck and slip into my hair. He had a gentle touch, sweet and intimate. Nothing evil about it. That worried me. Evil I could deal with. Evil I understood. Sweet and intimate from a demon was not normal. As far as I knew, it wasn’t in any of the textbooks at Academy, and it certainly wasn’t evident in any of my experiences as a Demon Control officer.
“Do you have a boyfriend, Abigail?”
I clicked faster. Two hundred and five demons to go. “No.”
“Do you want one?” Was he offering?
“No.”
“Have a bad experience?”
I laughed despite myself. Was he writing all this down? He could file my name under “L” for Loser, so he would know where to find me whenever he wanted some amusement.
“I’m assuming that’s a yes. Tell me about him...or them. They had to be morons to let you slip from their grasp.” His hand drifted back down, and he lightly massaged the precise area where my left wing springs. He circled the sensitive flesh with his warm fingers, and I had to wonder if he knew exactly what he was doing to me.
I held in the moan forming in my throat. Why, oh, why could he not be of the dateable persuasion?
“Um. Let’s just say my unusual looks aren’t very appealing to the men I hang around with.”
His hand froze mid-circle. “You’re kidding, right? I don’t believe that for a second.”
I dared a glance at him. He truly did look confused, bless his heart. I was half-tempted to leap into his lap and reward him for it. But I turned back to my current task instead.
Focus. Focus. Focus.
Three more blond demons passed over the screen as I pressed down on the mouse. They were all starting to look alike. I refreshed my memory of Blondie from what I could remember from the rooftop. His eyes were set close together. He had a strong chin. Sort of looked like Fabio.
I passed through a few more faces and then Bingo. A perfect match.
“Here he is,” I shrieked, elated to have made any headway in this investigation. “Detective Abigail Angel at your service.” I used my best Sherlock Holmes impression.
Simeon didn’t laugh or give me any emotion at all. “That’s who attacked you?” he asked, focusing in on the demon in question.
“Yeah, that’s him, all right. He was the leader of the group. Do you know him? What do you have on him?” I was more than eager to find this guy before he caused anymore harm.
“He doesn’t look familiar. Let me check it out. Do you mind switching seats again?”
“My pleasure.” I stood and let him pass behind me, disregarding the slight brush of his hand on my butt cheek. I was too thrilled with my discovery to get angry.
A new page was up on the monitor before I’d even taken a seat. He sent it to the printer and closed everything down.
“Wait. I thought you could let me look at Piper’s file now.” I flashed him my sweetest smile.
It didn’t seem to influence Simeon. He pulled the paper from the printer tray and handed it to me, suddenly all business. “Piper’s of no importance, I
can tell you that much. You don’t need to worry about him.”
There wasn’t a lot of information on the page. Only a name, Cesar Knight, his description, and his last known location, which was a motel in East Denver.
“This is it? You had over a dozen pages on Piper.”
“Piper used to work for me. I don’t know anything about this Cesar character.”
“Well, then let me have the Piper file. Maybe there’s something in there.”
Simeon shook his head warily. “I’m sorry, Abigail but I can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
He combed a hand through his hair and let out a breath. “Do you think you’re the only one who will have consequences over our meeting? If the Lord of Hell discovers I’m aiding and allying with an Angel, then my next trip down will be even more agonizing than it usually is. I can’t chance that. The human side of me is too weak.”
Weak wasn’t a word I’d use to describe any part of Simeon. How could I have known?
“What happens to you...when you get deported?”
“I’ve only been twice in my life, but each time took a couple years from me. I don’t want to get into details, sweetheart.” He grinned but not before I noticed a glint of pain in his eyes. “All I can say is I try to avoid that.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.” I felt awful for putting him in this situation.
“It’s my choice.” He cupped his hand to my cheek. “I want to help you, but there’s only so much I can do and only limited information I can give you. You’ll have to understand that.”
I nodded and stood as he did. Without another word, he took hold of my hand and led me to the front door. I followed, absently.
Much about Simeon Keller was a mystery. And the new things I’d learned tonight only brought up more questions. What exactly happened to his human side when he was deported to Hell? How close was he to his human family? How did they feel about having a demon as a relation? Did they love Simeon? Did he love them? Could he love them? As far as I knew, demons didn’t have that emotional capability. But humans did. Humans were driven by love. It was evident by the lyrics they sang, the novels they wrote, and the movies they created. A human would live or die for love.
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