Getting Familiar with Your Demon: That Old Black Magic, Book 4

by Jodi Redford

  As predicted, his sarcasm didn’t amuse Pris. “I don’t know how you severed our familiar ties, but count on this—the punishment I have in store for you will make you beg for the gentleness of Toran’s whip.”

  He caught Cass’s eye and spotted the sheen of tears she was valiantly struggling to defeat. “Can’t say I’m much of a beggar. But I’m willing to negotiate. How about you let Nikki go and I let you live.”

  A cold laugh crackled from Pricilla. “You’re in no position to barter threats with me, Samael. You might have snipped the ties, but you still belong to me. If you choose to continue this disobedience, your cousin will suffer in your place.” A heavy silence announced the line had gone dead.

  He clicked the End button and handed the phone back to Cass.

  She stared at him, her eyes swimming with tears. “I shouldn’t have sent Nik out.”

  “Pricilla won’t hurt her. It’s me she wants.”

  Cass’s mouth trembled. “Oh, Sam. What are we going to do?”

  “Get your sister. The rest we’ll wing.” Hopefully, they’d even manage to make it out of this shit alive.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Finding his way to a spot he’d only been to once—via teleportation no less—was a challenge. Thank the devil Cass was riding shotgun. Plop a laptop in her hands and his cousin had scary skills when it came to pinpointing an address.

  “I’m not getting any transmission from Nik’s teleport bracelet. More than likely Pricilla disabled it. But I think I’ve still got Nik’s location narrowed down. The Reaper Sat-link has locked on to five possible leads. Assuming Nik kept her cuffs turned on, she’s one of these guys.” Cass tapped a fingernail on the cluster of red sickles dotting her monitor.

  A reaper’s cuffs weren’t used to track an agent, but rather the apprehended souls who’d been tagged with one. Not only did the system greatly diminish the occurrence of runaway souls remaining on the lam, it provided them their best shot at tracing Nikki.

  He gave the computer screen a brief scan. “Any way you can get a better read than that?”

  “Yep. Just a sec.” With a click of keys, she zeroed in on the blinking coordinates. “Three of the agents are in the same vicinity. Probably working a combined case. But we still have these two—one near Lafayette Square, and the other close to Colonial Park cemetery.” She shot him a look. “I think we can rule out that last one.”

  He nodded. “Lafayette it is.” Flooring the gas, he raced in that direction, following Cass’s orders as she repeated the coordinates traced by the tracking software. Swearing beneath his breath, he darted in and out of traffic and received irate horn blares and middle-finger salutes in return. This being forced-to-drive bullshit was getting old. For fuck’s sake, he could have teleported to Pricilla’s and busted Nikki out of there by now.

  “Take a right at the next intersection.”

  The street appeared faster than expected, and he spun the steering wheel, veering onto the lane with an angry squeal of the GTO’s tires.

  “We’re coming up on it. Sixth house down on the left.”

  He spotted the dark-red gothic mansion and slowed enough that he wouldn’t be roaring onto the driveway on two tires. Once they screeched to a stop, he and Cass jumped out of the car and dashed toward the ornate metal stairway leading to the front porch. Slipping Lucy from his hip holster, he glanced at Cass. “Soon as we have Nikki, I want you two to get the hell out of here. Understood?”

  “We’re not leaving you behind, Sam.”

  Minus the patience—or time—to argue, he grunted and kicked the door. It shuddered and creaked in the frame. Damn thing was sturdier than it looked. He lined Lucy’s muzzle with the lock, intending to blast it open, but the door swung inward, revealing a stocky demon dressed in grungy black jeans and a leather vest. Presumably one of Pricilla’s hired goons.

  Sam aimed his gun at the guy’s head. “Where is she?”

  A smirk crawled across the creep’s pockmarked face. “You really know how to make a grand entrance, Gorasola.” His attention drifted to Cass, and he lewdly coasted his tongue along his fleshy lips. “Though I gotta say, it’s real nice bringin’ such tasty candy with ya.”

  Sam bared his teeth before cocking Lucy’s hammer. “Keep looking at her like that and your splattered brain will be decorating that wall next to you, asswipe.”

  A grating laugh chuffed from the goon. The sound was cut short a second later by Pricilla’s cold, imperious voice. “If you two are done trading pleasantries, Samael and I have matters to discuss.”

  His grin cocky and annoying, the demon sidled away from the doorway, making room for Sam and Cass to enter. Sam’s focus immediately cut toward the hallway, where Pricilla stood. The fury in her eyes threatened to freeze him in place. “Did you honestly think you could break our contract and not suffer any ramifications?”

  He shrugged. “Here’s the thing, Pris. I don’t give a fuck what you do to me.”

  Her laugh resembled shards of ice. “Of course you don’t. Hence the reason I intend to hit you where you’ll feel it most.” She gave an almost imperceptible nod to her hired thug, and the demon grabbed the end of Cass’s ponytail, yanking her against his sizable potbelly. A chilling smile curled Pricilla’s mouth. “It’s a simple choice, Samael. Your contract or your cousin’s life.”

  “You’re missing the third option. Blowing his fucking head off.” Taking bead, Sam squeezed Lucy’s trigger. A hollow click sounded rather than the anticipated bang of a fired round.

  What the hell? He’d loaded ammo before leaving his house. He spun the cylinders open and frowned at the chambered bullets. It took a moment for realization to hit. The damn gun was yet one more casualty of his broken seal.

  Triple fuck. Slamming the cylinders shut, he met Cass’s wide-eyed stare. Apparently she’d come to the same ill-timed conclusion as him. Great. Hopefully plan B would have better results. Grasping the butt of the revolver, he swung the heavy metal at the goon’s face. The satisfying crunch of shattered cartilage and bone preceded a geyser of blood from the demon’s nose.

  Bellowing in pain, he released Cass and made a wild swing at Sam. Apparently taking that as a sign to jump into the fray, Cass leapt at the goon. Clinging to him like an enraged howler monkey, she clubbed the top of his head repeatedly with her fist. The goon staggered sideways, ramming Cass into the wall. A sharp yelp broke from her as she fell to her knees. The demon swung his foot toward Cass, but before the kick made contact, Sam plowed into the creep, taking him to the floor. An elbow caught Sam in the ribs, and a burning splinter of pain ricocheted through him. Ignoring the sensation, he gripped his opponent by the ears and smacked his noggin into the hardwood floor.

  “Enough.” When Pricilla’s sharp command didn’t immediately pierce the haze of fury overtaking Sam’s brain, a volley of unmistakable clicks intruded on the occasion. Sam slowly lifted his gaze and blinked into the barrel of a semiautomatic. In addition to that weapon, there were two others leveled on him. Unlike Lucy, none of the trio of guns were specially commissioned. Still, he held no doubt that they’d easily end his life if any of the demons towering over him decided to pull the trigger.

  He shifted his attention to Pricilla. “You only bucked up cash for four bozos? My ego is in tatters.”

  A tightening around the corners of Pricilla’s mouth was her only response. She turned her back on them and stalked toward the hallway. Two of the goons dragged Sam from the floor while their third colleague took a hold of Cass’s arm and hauled her to her feet. The five of them headed after Pricilla, leaving the demon that Sam had beaten sprawled unconscious on the ground.

  Sam and Cass were unceremoniously ushered through the first door on the right. The only furniture in the small room was an end table, a loveseat and a pair of high-backed chairs—one of which held a bound and livid Nikki.

  “Nik!” Cass struggled to break free of her captors but was towed toward the other seat and secured to it with rope like her sister. She
was even treated to an identical strip of duct tape across her mouth.

  While Cass and Nikki’s infuriated, muffled grumblings filled the silence, Sam locked stares with Pricilla. She eyed him for a long moment, the merest hint of wary confusion lurking in her gaze. And here he’d thought Nikki and Cass had been pros at making him feel like a bizarre bug under a microscope this morning. Their intent scrutiny was nothing compared to the one currently leveled on him.

  Pricilla finally removed her stare from him and glanced at the goons pinning Sam’s arms behind his back. “Leave us.”

  After an awkward hesitation, Pricilla’s henchmen shuffled from the room. Pricilla stepped forward and reached for something resting on the loveseat. Lucy. One of the goons must have grabbed her before coming into the parlor. Blood from the demon’s nose still smeared the metal and had consequently stained the loveseat’s cream silk cushion.

  Pricilla seemed unconcerned with the fact as she weighed the hefty gun in her palm. Her focus tracked to him again. Although she kept her features carefully schooled, there was no denying the suspicious curiosity lingering in her emotionless eyes. “You were unable to fire this. Why?”

  He shrugged. “It must have jammed.”

  “Impossible.” Clutching Lucy in a white-knuckled hold, Pricilla stormed forward. “Take off your shirt.”

  He grimaced. “Babe, you’re not my type.”

  Her hot stare glinting with malice, she grasped his hair in her other fist and yanked hard. “Don’t make me call my men back in here.”

  If it were just him, he’d tell Pricilla what she could do with her threat. But the damn bitch had already made it clear she was prepared to play dirty. He couldn’t risk Nikki and Cass taking a bullet for him. Growling, he bunched his T-shirt in his hands and tugged it over his head.

  Pricilla stepped behind him. Unnerving silence hovering in the air, he met his cousins’ apprehensive gazes. He wished with his entire being that the brave idiots hadn’t gotten involved in this. He’d meant it when he told Pricilla he didn’t give two shits what she did to him. But so help him, if the bitch hurt Cass or Nikki, he’d make it his mission in life to kill Pricilla, no matter what it took.

  The realization that he’d go to such lengths for anyone other than himself was an odd one. So much so, he nearly forgot Pricilla’s intense observation. But then she strode in front of him and tossed Lucy at his feet. The weapon spun and clacked on the parquet flooring before coasting to a halt next to his boot.

  “How did you do it?”

  He decided playing dumb might not be a bad idea. “Do what?”

  “You damn well know what I’m talking about,” Pricilla snarled. “Your seal is gone.”

  “What? You’re shitting me.” Feigning shock, he patted his pockets. “Wonder where the devil it could have gotten to?”

  Pricilla’s lips pinched into a tight, thin line. “Destroying a soul-collector seal is physically impossible. I demand to know how you managed it.”

  Apparently good ole Pris didn’t have the same sources as Cass. Making a concentrated effort not to look at his cousins, he offered Pricilla another evasive shrug. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

  Pricilla’s squinty-eyed glare probed at him. No doubt the bitch wished she could mentally will the answers from him. Shooting him one last angry stare, she pivoted and strode to the end table, where she picked up a knife resting by the roll of duct tape. Testing the tip with her index finger, Pricilla strolled to Cass and wedged the blade against her slender throat. Although Cass’s gaze didn’t waver in its ferocity, her chin trembled. Sam’s heart missed a beat.

  Pricilla trailed one blood-red nail down Cass’s cheek. “It’d be a shame to carve up such a pretty face.”

  Weary resignation settled with grim finality in Sam’s chest. If there was one thing he could count on, it was how bad this would backfire on him if he revealed too much to Pricilla. Even if he did tell her the truth, there was no guarantee Pris wouldn’t plunge that knife into Cass merely out of spite.

  He met the challenge in Pricilla’s stare. Despite her bravado, there was a trace of something else in her expression. A greedy hunger she couldn’t entirely contain. An ulterior motive drove her interest in his seal breaking. His instincts had never failed him in the past. They sure as shit weren’t now. Mulling over his suspicions, he quickly devised a plan. If he threw out the right bait, Pricilla was bound to take a nibble. Make it enticing enough, and he, Cass and Nikki might walk out of this room alive. The key lay in convincing Pris of his reluctance over releasing the information. If she thought she had to drag it out of him, she’d be a thousand times more likely to believe his story and ultimately be left dangling on the hook.

  Mentally preparing his bait, he sucked in a deep breath and spit the words free. “There was a witch.”

  An unmistakable flare of excitement danced across Pricilla’s face before she hastily banked it and assumed a cool mask of indifference. “Continue.”

  “We met at a bar.” Again, it was better to play dumb and not reveal any clues pointing to the fact he’d planned the whole thing. “One thing led to another, and we had a one-night stand.”

  “You slept with her, and it broke your seal?”

  “Who knows?” He said it with just the right amount of casualness to keep Pricilla wondering.

  The blade eased a fraction from Cass’s neck. “The name of this witch?”

  “Can’t rightly recall. She was too busy screaming mine for me to pay much attention to hers.”

  Annoyance flickered over Pricilla’s features. “Fine. The bar where you met her then?”

  He waited several beats before letting the lie slip easily from his tongue. “Tatums.”

  Pricilla lifted the knife from Cass’s throat and fingered the blade, considering. “Although I’m not at all pleased with these turn of events, I’ve decided to give you a second chance, Samael. It cost me a good deal in the way of bribes and money to acquire your contract. Much as it pains me not to kill you, finding some future purpose for you is more expedient.” She tapped her chin with the tip of the knife blade. “This of course means we’ll have to compromise on a different means of staying in contact. A tracking cuff should suffice.”

  Bloody fuck. He wasn’t fooled for a second about the real reason she wanted to keep him under constant tabs. Even knowing this was his best shot at walking out of the room in one piece, agreeing to her demands went down like a bitter pill. He’d just have to deal with the damn cuff or find a way to disable the thing without Pricilla finding out.

  “Very well,” he bit through clenched teeth. This time his reluctant acquiescence wasn’t merely for show.

  Pricilla strode to the intercom affixed to the wall behind the end table and pressed the middle button. “Bring me one of the tracking cuffs from my office.”

  For shit’s sake. How many damn people did she routinely keep an eye on that she required an entire stock of tracing gear in ready supply? Several seconds ticked by before the door opened and Pricilla’s goons trooped in. Sam received a death glare from the demon he’d opened a can of whoop ass on earlier. If he’d been in a better mood, he would have blown the dickhead a kiss. Instead, he got a pistol rammed against his skull by one thug while another locked the cuff onto his ankle. Meanwhile, the fourth goon crossed to where Pricilla was busy loosening the ropes binding Nikki’s arms and legs to the chair. Once freed, Nikki leapt to her feet and kneed the demon in the groin hard enough he yelped and grabbed his balls.

  Nikki ripped off the strip of duct tape and bared her teeth at the thug. “That’s for eating my donuts, asshole.” After one last hot, wrathful glare, she hurried to Cass and released her from the restraints. Together, they rushed to Sam’s side and circled him in a united front of feisty girl power.

  Pricilla eyed the Lassiter siblings with obvious disdain before narrowing her focus on him. “Let today be a lesson. There will be no crossing me, Samael. I’ve granted you a second chance to prove your obedience.
Don’t squander it, because there will be no third.” She gave a dismissive wave to her four goons. “See them to the door.”

  Sam stooped and swiped Lucy from the ground. Adjusting his T-shirt, he tucked her into his holster as he, Cass and Nikki were herded to the entry. Awarding a mocking salute to the thugs, he followed his cousins out into the blazing sun.

  Nikki was uncharacteristically quiet during the walk to the car. All of the bluster and fierceness she’d displayed in the mansion had evaporated. It wasn’t until she huddled in the backseat that she finally broke her moody silence. “God, I’m sorry, you guys,” she said in a small voice. “I never should have stopped by Pop’s place. Talk about stupid.”

  So that was how Pricilla’s goons had grabbed Nikki. No doubt the second it became clear he’d broken the familiar link, Pris had staked out the Lassiter household in the off chance she’d find him through his relatives. Unfortunately, she’d been right.

  Cass swiveled in her seat, her expression worried. “Mom and Dad…?”

  “Weren’t home, thankfully. If something had happened to them too, I would never have forgiven myself.”

  He twisted the key in the ignition, and the GTO’s engine roared to life. “Don’t beat yourself up over it. The important thing is you and Cass are safe now.”

  Another hefty silence filled the interior of the vehicle. Feeling the weight of Nikki’s gaze lasering into the back of his head, he glanced in the rearview mirror and met her incredulous stare. He frowned. “What?”

  “Who are you, and what have you done with Sam?”

  Cass clicked her seat belt in place. “I’ve got to side with Nik on this one. You’re acting…considerably reasonable.”

  “I can be reasonable.”

  Cass’s russet eyebrows winged upward.

  “Okay, so I have my grumpy moments, damn it.” As a matter of fact, he felt a helluva one coming on now. He shifted into reverse and gunned it out of the drive before swinging in the direction of home.