Demon's Mark (Hell Unleashed Book 2)

by T. F. Walsh

  The ‘IT jerk’ had to be convinced to delete the racy photos of Tasha he’d taken after their one night stand, though it wasn’t before half the people at Argos saw them. That had taken threats, pleading, and finally, a hypnotizing spell. It worked, so at least Cary knew Tasha’s plan was plausible.

  “How long can you give me?” Cary asked.

  “You’ll probably only have fifteen minutes or so before the backup servers kick in.”

  “Don’t do anything that makes you uncomfortable.”

  Tasha’s voice was confident and matter-of-fact. “My spell will work, but you won’t have much time, and that worries me. Be really quick.”

  “Thank you so much, Tasha. I owe you big time.”

  The line went dead, and a horrible churning swirled in the pit of Cary’s gut. Was this the right decision? If it meant getting Levi to cooperate and get his mark removed, she’d do anything to protect him, but not at the cost of Tasha getting into trouble. Yet, she was running out of time and solutions. Please, let everything be all right.

  Levi stepped into her vision, a quizzical expression on his face. Cary realized that after the marks were removed, she might need to leave the country and keep a low profile. Then she wouldn’t get to see his face again.

  “All done.” She slid his cell across the table.

  “Let’s head out,” he said. “My bike’s parked in the back.”

  “I’ve got my car in the parking lot. You can leave your bike at my dad’s place.”

  “We’ll be quicker with the bike.”

  “No way am I dumping Blinkie on the side of the road,” she said, even if he didn’t need food and could manage on his own. “We’re going in my car.”

  “Fine, whatever, let’s get moving.”

  Blinkie released a low snarl as he climbed onto his feet beside Cary. Levi’s words stung. He never held back from telling it as it was, and he’d made it clear enough where they stood, along with what he thought of Cary.

  Levi walked toward the rear exit without looking back to see if she was following.

  Cary caught up and pushed past him into the bright sunlight, ready to break the law.

  Chapter 20

  Cary stood outside Argos, sweat dripping down her neck. Her stomach knotted as she glanced at the camera above the entrance. No red blink. It meant Tasha had disarmed the security. Or, her best friend had been caught and was now being tortured by Argos until she spilled the plan, or worse, she was already in prison. And Argos had disabled the alarms, waiting inside for her with a cavalry or well-armed hunters. She hoped she was wrong and the lack of lights meant success.

  “You okay?” Levi asked, standing behind her.

  “Fine.” A hot gust of air blew her hair into her face, but the wind did zilch to cool the fire burning in her stomach.

  She hated the idea of Tasha being drawn into their scheme and didn’t want her one true friend getting hurt because of her. If something bad happened to Tasha, she’d never forgive herself. She didn’t throw friends in front of the firing squad.

  Night embraced the building and no light shone behind a single window. It should have been empty at twenty minutes to midnight.

  The heat from Levi’s body radiated against her back.

  “Do you have to stand so close?” She could barely get air into her lungs, suddenly feeling claustrophobic.

  Levi scanned the road behind them. “Hurry up. I don’t need anyone to suspect us of committing a crime.”

  She placed her palm against the panel and entered her five-digit number in the pad next to it.

  The lock clicked open.

  “Tasha, you’re a star,” Cary exclaimed. She bounced on her toes as she pushed the door open and rushed inside, Levi hot on her heels. He closed the door softly with a click, locking them inside.

  Cary half-expected a gang of Argos hunters to pop out of their hiding places and train their weapons on her. Every muscle tensed, and her ears strained in anticipation for the blaring alarm. Nothing.

  Levi flipped on the flashlight.

  She made a beeline for the dark brown door behind reception and punched her pin number into the pad. They stepped inside the main area.

  Darkness strangled the next room. Only the EXIT lights in the far corner were on, throwing green illumination across the empty cubicles.

  Memories flooded back from her last visit to the building: The way Brent set her up, and her colleagues quickly believing him, to the point that she had to bolt out the back door. She’d spent her entire life expecting to get caught because of what she was… And when she started to believe she was safe, it happened.

  “You going to just stand there?” Levi pushed past, targeting the circular metal staircase at the back of the room.

  Okay, get your head in the game.

  Quick to catch up with Levi, she followed his strides to the second floor. A dark corridor lay ahead with offices on either side. Her pulse accelerated. Coming up on the first room to her right, she held her breath and peered inside. No surprise attacker. Levi flashed his light into the next room. He continued, his beam bouncing down the corridor, Cary hurried after him. She scanned each room just in case Levi missed anything.

  Levi came to a stop near a door with the name Brent Moore etched on glass. Were they really doing this? It wasn’t too late to leave.

  “You’re up,” Levi said.

  Stepping closer, she stared at the scanner on the wall near the door and wiped her brow. If anything was going to go wrong tonight, this was the spot for it. Brent kept his office locked for a reason.

  Fuck… If we get caught… Torture, imprisonment, and death guaranteed.

  But Cary knew that if she didn’t make a move, she might as well give herself in to Argos because she had nowhere else to go. Plus, Levi was also marked, and she couldn’t be responsible for him dying. She had to do everything in her power to protect them both.

  Under different circumstances, the warmth of the heat pad on her palm would be soothing, but not now. She closed her eyes, biting the inside of her cheek. To her relief, instead of the alarm, a ding sounded.

  Levi entered, scanning the room, and Cary crept in behind him. Brent’s desk was bare, with the exception of two folders in the corner and an unopened scotch bottle. A dying potted plant was in the far corner alongside a filing cabinet. No laptop in the docking station.

  Levi dove right into the cabinet, pouring over dozens of files. “Invoices and boring crap.” He tugged at the bottom drawer but that groaned and stayed locked. Rattling it only made noise. “Fine,” Levi said. “I accept the challenge.”

  Kneeling, he set the flashlight next to his leg and pulled the drawer above it completely out and set it on the carpet. Cary crouched next to him. She picked up the flashlight and pointed it into the cabinet, but saw only filed papers. She ran a hand across them and retrieved a fat folder, curiosity getting the better of her. Flicking through the documents, a figure of $50,000,000 grabbed her attention. She opened it. Payment to Argos from a private investor with no name mentioned. No header or any other details, except the date and the sum of the money. Close to seven months ago. More flipping and she found more invoices, same amount, paid every month for the past year. “What the fuck is he doing with so much money? They can’t be spending this much on R&D.”

  Levi studied the files and shook his head. For a second, Cary swore she didn’t recognize the guy. Here was a stranger who drove her insane with desire. He had the heart of a saint and the libido of a sex-devil, but in truth, did she really know Levi? For the past several months, he’d made it clear he detested demons, and she’d mostly ignored the fact that he’d eventually discover what she was. Any fool could see the train wreck heading her way. Exhaustion washed her, emotions stretched so thin she had no idea how to disentangle herself from her feelings, her pining, and her misapprehensions. She craved his attention, but thinking she might get it back? That was her fooling herself.

  “One thing I know: Brent’s been ri
pping me off,” Levi said. He shoved the file back in and checked the next one, then froze. “What’s that?” Pushing the files to one side, he reached into the drawer and pulled out a leather-bound notebook.

  Cary leaned over Levi’s shoulder for a better look. “Open it.”

  He flicked through the pages, each one filled with handwritten notes. He folded the book open and on each line were people’s names, some with addresses next to them, others a cell number, or simply a town name.

  “Oh shit, I think that’s it,” Cary said. “For once, things are going our way.”

  Just then, they heard a loud sound from outside. Cary jerked upright and dashed to the window on the opposite wall. Peeling back the blinds, she peered outside. Below, a blue car was parked on the street, and a dark figure was pulling a bag from the back seat. The person closed the car door and walked toward the entrance.

  “Someone’s here.” She sprinted to the office door and shut it quietly. “Give me the book,” she said, whispering. “I have to find out if Thomas is in there.”

  Without waiting, she snatched the book and started flicking through it while Levi held the flashlight on the pages. “It’s going to take too long,” he said. “Take the book with us.” He shoved the drawers back into place in the filing cabinet.

  Cary shook her head. “Brent will know someone took it.” Her grip on the book tightened.

  “So? He won’t know it’s us.”

  The downstairs door clicked shut.

  Every hair on Cary’s arms stood on end. “Fuck! We’re going to get busted.”

  Levi switched off his light. They both squeezed into the tight spot underneath the desk. They kneeled side-by-side as footsteps and a familiar voice came closer.

  “Tom, there’s something wrong with the security cameras,” Brent’s voice said. “They’re not on. Can you come down here and fix it.” A pause. “Yes, now.”

  “Brent!” Cary hissed. A shudder ran through her. “We’re in his office. We’re beyond fucked.” Levi put his finger to her lips to shush her.

  She hugged the book to her chest with one hand, sweat collecting across her back.

  Levi’s breath fluttered across her cheek.

  Bad idea to break into Argos.

  They both tensed when they heard the sound of a door opening across the hallway.

  Cary peered out from beneath the desk. Her heart did an extra jump at the sight of two pairs of legs emerging into the corridor from the room across from Brent’s. They hurried past the room and headed for the stairs, probably about to leave.

  Cary exchanged glances with Levi. He stuck two fingers up and mouthed, two people? Someone else had been in the building this whole time! She’d definitely seen only one person get out of the car.

  The glint of a gold buckle on one of the men’s dress shoes snagged her attention. Brent was the only person she knew to wear such obviously expensive shoes.

  Tasha’s warning about bad things going on at Argos came flooding back.

  When the clap of a door sounded, Levi pushed Cary out in front of him.

  Cary jumped up and bolted to the window. She pulled the blinds to the side and peeked out. Brent and the other figure walked to the car, except the newcomer was unstable on his feet, swaying as if drunk. He took a step forward and Brent shoved him to the car, but the man collapsed to the ground. Brent dragged him to his feet and into the backseat. Brent glanced around, then skirted the hood of his car to the driver’s side.

  “What’s he doing?” Levi stepped alongside Cary, staring down at the road.

  “Brent just shoved the guy that left the building into the car. He looked like he was drugged or something. Shit’s going down here.”

  Chapter 21

  Levi crossed Brent’s office and darted toward the room the guy had come out of with someone else. No security scanners on the doors, just standard locks. What was Brent hiding?

  He tried the handle: Locked. Unlike the other rooms, these walls weren’t made of glass, so Levi had no clue what lay inside. Why was someone in there? The whole time he’d worked at Argos, he’d never seen this door opened.

  Surely, a person in this room would have heard him and Cary talking in the hallway. Yet, none came out to investigate. It was a mystery, making Levi anxious to get inside.

  He put an ear to the door, listening. He could hear a faint whirring sound inside. Someone else might still be in there. He curled his hands into tight balls. Pulling back, he scanned the doors edges for a sliver of light, coming up empty. Not demons, then. Not magic. If he left now, he’d never find out what Argos was hiding. But breaking in came at the risk of exposing himself to anyone who might be inside.

  Cary tugged at his shirt, and whispered, “What are you doing?” The shadows did little to conceal her frown. She had Brent’s book tucked under her arm.

  “If one person came in and two left, that’s alarm bells to me. What if someone else is still in the building?” A shiver gripped his spine. No. He’d come this far and refused to run. He had to find out what Brent was doing. “I’m not leaving.”

  Shattering glass erupted from behind the locked door.

  “What was that?” She stepped closer.

  Beneath his skin, nerves jumped. The noise definitely came from the mystery room. “I’m opening the door.”

  “Are you crazy? This is our cue to leave. I’ve got the book with names. Let’s go.”

  “Something’s going on here,” he said.

  “And I don’t want to die. Let’s leave before we get caught.”

  “Not before I find out what the hell is going on,” he said. “You can wait for me in the back alley. You’ll be safe there.”

  She looked back and forth, several times, between Levi and the dark hallway leading outside, but didn’t move. “I’m not leaving you.”

  Levi took a deep breath and kicked his heel into the door near the lock. The wood creaked. Two more kicks, and the door slammed open.

  It was too dark to see. An electric charge in the air made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

  He swept his flashlight across the room. The long table against the back wall was littered with jars containing liquids and herbs. Three of the jars were on their sides, one close to the edge. Several mortar and pestles littered a corner. The ground was covered in shattered glass and broken jars.

  “It stinks of sulfur,” Cary said.

  Levi’s legs froze as he scanned every corner of the room. An iron chair, carved with runes, occupied the middle of the room. His light streamed across the back wall to a cage large enough to accommodate a standing man. Its door hung wide open with the keys still in the lock. Two additional cages at the back had fabric draped over them.

  He swallowed the lump wedged in his throat and considered leaving with Cary.

  The crunch of glass had Levi turning to find Cary peering inside a metal container. Her hand dipped in and came back out with two black stones in her palm. “What the fuck are they doing with these?”

  Levi’s pulse raced.

  “What is this place?” She nudged his elbow.

  “Well, either Brent gets the munchies at work and needs his own personal kitchen, or we’re in a testing lab.”

  “Except,” Cary said, “the testing facilities for Argos are in the basement.” She stepped into his light, heading toward the cages. She reached for the fabric on the second prison pen and pulled it off. Her sharp gasp pierced the air.

  Inside, was a man sitting on a chair. Head tilted forward, he only wore shorts and his body was covered in ink. Levi bristled at the idea of an innocent human being used for experiments. What the fuck, Brent? He rushed forward.

  “Stop.” Cary blocked his path. “Look at his flesh.”

  Levi pointed his flashlight. The man’s torso and limbs were inked with runes and words in different languages.

  Cary’s voice wavered. “Those are suppression spells on his skin. The kind used on our handcuffs to keep demons locked inside a body.” S
he moved closer, inches from the bars.

  Levi retraced his steps to the door and searched the wall for a switch. He flipped it on and the fluorescent lights flickered to life. Cary stepped closer to the second covered cage.

  “The files, the money transfers, the stuff in Brent’s office...” Levi wondered aloud. “Were the payments meant for this?”

  He couldn’t ignore the glaringly obvious problem—Argos trapping demons and controlling them, the same kind responsible for killing three hunters in Louisiana. This wasn’t a coincidence. Fuckin’ Argos was responsible. Levi would rip Brent’s heart out with his bare hands.

  The blood in his veins raged like a bull. He paced the length of the room and back.

  Cary picked up the clipboards hanging from first cage, flipping through the pages. “All their experiments are about keeping the cadaver from rotting.” Her head jerked up. “They’re putting demons into dead bodies, but the human body isn’t lasting. What happens to the demon under these spells when the body decomposes and fades away? These people are dead.”

  “Why are they trying to control demons inside bodies?”

  Cary scanned the dozen or so folders in a side cupboard. “No idea.”

  The puzzlement on her face twisted his gut.

  In the cage in front of him, the man’s head snapped up, yellow pupils fixed on Levi.

  A sudden quake shook the room, the jars on the table rattled, and the covered cage quivered.

  An animal growl echoed around them and the door of the third cage creaked opened, the fabric still concealing what lay inside.

  Levi recoiled, shoving Cary behind him.

  A shrieking alarm pierced through the building.

  “Let’s get this done quickly,” Levi said.

  A pair of legs in heels stepped out of the cage beneath the fabric.

  Levi’s skin crawled as if a thousand spiders swarmed his body.