Possessed By You (Overworld Underground Book 1)

by John Corwin

  Fresh tears threatened. I looked away. Squeezed my eyes shut. "I want to tell you, Izzy. It's just too hard to understand." I sniffled. "I hardly understand it myself."

  "Has he called?"

  I shook my head. "I don't blame him either." How could I after I'd run screaming that he was the Devil? If a guy had reacted like that to me, I'd certainly never call him again, no matter how much I liked him.

  "Wow. Must have been a doozy of a fight."

  I took a deep calming breath as the concierge called Isabel on her phone to let her know Jack was in the lobby.

  "Let him up, please," she told him.

  I wiped my face. Jack had seen me crying enough this week, even though I'd tried to keep it away. I just wanted to be numb. To go back to not feeling anything for any man, demon-possessed or not. "Maybe we can talk about it this weekend."

  "Definitely!" Her smile was radiant as she stood up, looking toward the door, waiting for Jack to knock. Her breath seemed to catch in her throat when it came a moment later, and she trotted over on her ridiculously sexy high heels.

  Jack's eyes went wide when he saw her. He looked very handsome in a navy suit, his thick hair styled in messy spikes. "You look beautiful," he told Isabel in a quiet voice.

  She smoothed down the front of his jacket and kissed him. "Hello, sexy man."

  "Get a room," I said, feeling embarrassed to bear witness to their love fest.

  Jack laughed. "Hey, Em. You're welcome to join us for drinks after the show."

  I felt like laughing hysterically and then bursting into tears. I looked ghastly, all tear stained and mussed. "I'd love to, but I have plans," I lied, thinking about the fresh box of Dove bars and jar of Nutella I'd purchased on the way home. I still wasn't feeling hungry, but it never hurt to have emergency rations on hand.

  "Okay, just call if you change your mind. We'll save you a seat." Jack flourished his arm. Isabel hooked her arm through his, blew me a kiss goodbye, and closed the door behind her.

  Silence pressed in on me from one side, depression from the other. I felt smothered. Claustrophobic. Maybe I should meet them for drinks, I thought, before dismissing the idea. I'd only end up drunk like last Friday. It felt like a never-ending cycle for me. Find man. Fall for man. Discover something terrible about man. Rue the day I ever met man.

  I cycled through television channels, settling on Animal Planet just as a show was starting. It was about Tasmanian devils of all the bloody things. I groaned, but left it on, since every other channel seemed to have a romantic comedy just waiting to depress me further. I wanted nothing to do with romance.

  The door slammed and I jerked awake.

  Isabel dropped onto the couch at my feet, bawling her eyes out. I jerked upright.

  "What's wrong?"

  Harsh sobs prevented her from speaking for a moment, before she finally got out a single syllable. "Jack."

  I didn't know what else to do but hug her, and console her until her sobbing quieted down.

  "Jack's been ch-cheating on me," she said, still shaking.

  Fury burned into me, and it was all I could do to not jump up, grab the nearest knife, and run after Jack. "What do you mean?" My voice sounded strange between clenched teeth.

  "This girl named Ana showed up for drinks after the show." Isabel sat up, the dark eyeliner drawing black liquid lines down her high cheekbones. "Told me she was Jack's girlfriend."

  Ana, you stupid bitch. "What did Jack say?"

  "He was getting drinks at the bar when she arrived." Isabel sobbed quietly for a moment before she could talk again. "And then when he came back, he saw her. And I could just see it in his eyes. Like she'd blindsided him."

  "And then you asked him if it was true?"

  "No, no. I just ran out before I started crying."

  "And Jack chased you outside and you talked?"

  "No, I got a taxi and came home. I was crying so hard the driver could hardly understand me." She choked back a sob. "How could he? How could he do this?"

  I grabbed a box of tissues I'd just opened, and handed her one. Isabel's phone started ringing in her purse. I pulled it out and saw fifteen missed calls from Jack. I answered.

  "Jack."

  "Emily?" Jack sounded desperate, as if he might break into tears. "Is Isabel there? Please tell her there is nothing between me and Ana. You know that already."

  "I remember. Why was she there tonight?"

  "I didn't invite her. I don't even know who did. Look, she was laughing about what she did to Isabel. She wanted to hurt Isabel and me because I told Ana I didn't want to date her. She's a bitch." His voice sounded ragged with agony. "Please, Emily. Please. You know how I feel about Isabel."

  I remembered all too well how Ana had been around me. How the lying bitch had told me she was with Jack the night we'd gone out for drinks. I hated to admit it, but I trusted Jack. Some instinct told me he was a good guy, and that he would never cheat on Isabel—well, at least not until their love faded and they broke up.

  You are fucked in the head, Emily Glass.

  My inner ninny seemed pissed.

  "Come over," I said.

  Jack let out a loud breath. "I'm already on the way."

  I hung up, then called the concierge and told him to let Jack up.

  "No, no, no," Isabel moaned. "I don't want to see him." She shuddered. "I can't. I trusted him, Emily. I let him in here." She pressed a hand to her heart and started bawling.

  I took her shoulders and held her up. Gave her a stern look. "Isabel listen to me."

  She was crying hard now.

  "I said listen to ME!"

  She snapped her head back like I'd just slapped her.

  "Ana is a lying Russian bitch who likes to make other people feel miserable." I told her about my experience in short angry sentences. "She lied to you. She and Jack used to date. Past tense. Jack is so in love with you, Izzy. There is no way in hell he'd look twice at another woman. You ran out on him without even giving him a chance to explain."

  "But—"

  "Do you trust me?"

  Isabel gave me a miserable tear-stained nod.

  "I trust Jack. Ana is the queen bitch from hell. She delights in misery. If you trust her enough to believe her word, then Satan wins." I had no idea where in the hell Satan came into all of this, but the words were out of my mouth before I could reconsider.

  "You really think she was lying?" Her glistening blue eyes looked so hopeful, it almost made me cry.

  "I know she's lying. Jack is in love with you, girl. The boy loves you. Every time he looks at you, his breath catches in his throat, and it's like nothing else matters."

  Isabel buried her face in my sweatshirt, new tears pouring out. "I get the same feeling, Em. I can't stop thinking about him. Whenever someone texts me, I pick up my phone and just hope it's from him. Every time my phone rings, and it's him, it's like my heart is dancing." She smiled through her tears. "He makes me feel like a giddy little girl."

  Her statement reminded me of how Tyler made me feel. The way my heart leapt with joy when he smiled at me. He couldn't be evil. Nobody with a smile like his could be bad. Hot tears flowed down my cheeks, and the next thing I knew, we were hugging each other and crying like two girls who'd let go of their shiny new balloons and watched the wind carry them away forever.

  A knock sounded on the door. I let out a despairing laugh. "We're complete wrecks."

  Isabel laughed, wiping futilely at her streaked makeup.

  I got up and opened the door. Jack stood there, his eyes red and sick with worry. I offered him a tiny smile, and nodded.

  He breathed an audible sigh of relief. "Thanks, Em." He stepped past me. Isabel got off the couch and threw herself into his arms.

  "I'm so stupid, Jack. I'm such an idiot!"

  He smoothed her dark hair back, pressed his forehead atop her head, and took in a deep breath, as if inhaling her scent. A shiver passed through his body. He put a finger under her chin, lifted her eyes to his. "I
would never betray you, Isabel. I love you."

  I felt like a complete pervert standing there, invisible to them as their emotions walled them off in their own private world. I knew that feeling. I knew what it was like to look into someone's eyes and feel everything else fall away.

  Oh, Tyler!

  Could I have been completely wrong to judge him, ignorant as I was of his true nature? I felt as though I'd made a horrible mistake.

  Chapter 29

  All the pain and regret from the past week flooded over me in an avalanche of despair. I'd run out on Tyler without giving him a chance to explain anything. True, I'd been frightened out of my bloody wits, but I could have given him more of a chance. If he were so evil, why would he even bother to tell me what he was? Wouldn't an evil person try to haunt and hurt me?

  I went to my bedroom and pulled out my phone. Stared at Tyler's number for a moment, and then called it. It went straight to an automated message telling me the voicemail hadn't been set up yet. I remembered how much Thomas Jones had avoided technology, and how Tyler hated smartphones. It made sense, them being the same person, demon, entity, whatever the hell he was. His purchasing a phone just so he could text me was obviously a big deal to him.

  I had to talk to him. Had to find out more about who the real Tyler was. I jumped in the shower, keeping my hair dry so I wouldn't have to fuss with it. I put on jeans and a sweater, and threw my hair into a ponytail. Just in case I needed to flee for my life, I put on a comfortable pair of shoes.

  Isabel and Jack were snuggled up on the couch watching Animal Planet and talking softly to each other as I came down the hallway.

  "I'm going out for a bit," I said.

  "You don't have to leave," Isabel said, turning around. "Maybe we could break out the Monopoly board and some wine."

  "That'd be fun," Jack said, though I suspected he'd say the same thing if Isabel suggested running naked across a bed of red-hot nails.

  "I have something I need to do," I said.

  Isabel's eyes lit with understanding. She disentangled herself from Jack's arms, came over, and hugged me. "I'm here for you if you need me. But I think you're doing the right thing." She kissed my cheek. "Good luck, sis."

  I fought back tears as I nodded. "Thanks." I practically flew down the hall to the lift. Every second of descent felt like an eternity as I waited for the contraption to finally reach the parking deck. I'd hardly driven my car at all since moving in and hoped it still worked.

  I found the pathetic little thing huddled in a lonely corner of the parking deck, and unlocked it. The door creaked open, and I hopped in. A stale odor greeted me. I turned to see a bag with the remnants of a forlorn sub sandwich within. I'd forgotten to throw it away, apparently. The car shuddered to life when I turned the key, emitted wheezing sounds, and belched a cloud of white smoke. But it kept running. It might not be a Lamborghini Gallardo, but it would do, I supposed.

  I somehow navigated the streets to the Gregorian without using my GPS. Every stoplight stayed red for a seeming eternity as worry and impatience swelled inside my stomach. Why hadn't Tyler come to work at all during the past week? Had he done something terrible to himself? Or had he simply returned to a normal life—whatever that might be for him?

  A text dinged on my phone. Hope welled inside me. I looked and felt horribly disappointed to see it was from George Walker.

  We need your services once again. Can we collect you tonight?

  I sent back a terse message. Not tonight. I have a family emergency. It was a small lie, but not too far off the mark.

  When I arrived at the Gregorian, I saw a familiar car parked out front, white steam trailing in the cold air. I parked behind it and walked up to the window. Joe saw me and got out.

  "Miss Glass?"

  "Where's Tyler, Joe?"

  He frowned. "He gave me the week off. I went out of town to visit some family, and just got back today, but he's not answering the landline phone or his cell phone, so I came over."

  "You haven't heard from him at all this week?"

  He shook his head. "No, but I didn't think anything of it since he told me to take the week off. Apparently, he hasn't been into his corporate offices either. Nobody's heard a thing."

  "And nobody thought this was odd?"

  "I'm new, Miss Glass, so I don't know what would be odd for him." He scratched his head, a puzzled look on his face. "Wait a minute, are you telling me you haven't seen him either?"

  "We got in an argument last Friday. I got really mad and left, and haven't spoken to him since."

  "Oh." Joe seemed to soak that in with some alarm. "Not good."

  "Can you get me upstairs?"

  "Yes. But I'm not sure if—"

  "Please, Joe." I blinked back sudden tears, certain that Tyler had done something horrible. My God, what if I'd driven him to suicide? What if the Exorcists had gotten to him?

  "Well, I guess it makes sense now," Joe said. "He sounded like he was numb. Like he just didn't care about anything when he told me to take time off." He clamped his mouth shut as if he'd said too much. "I'll let you in."

  "Thanks, Joe." Tears escaped my eyes, trickling down my cheeks.

  Joe pressed his thumb against the door reader, and did the same for the lift, riding up with me. When we reached the penthouse, he knocked on the door.

  No answer.

  He knocked louder, banging the side of his fist against the thick wood. "Mr. Rock, it's Joe. Are you okay?"

  Silence.

  "Open it, please," I begged, my heart pounding with fear for what I might find inside. Please let him be okay.

  Joe opened the door.

  I ran inside. The kitchen was empty. Dirty plates I recognized from the week before still sat on the table. One lay on the gray marble, shattered. My heart leapt into my throat. I ran through room after room, but they were all empty.

  "Where is he?" I asked Joe, frantic with worry and despair.

  "Found something." Joe displayed a thick yellow book.

  "What is it?"

  "The yellow pages."

  "The what? Who in the world uses those anymore?"

  Joe pointed to a long line of highlighted and crossed-out entries, all of them under the main heading of "Churches." The last one, a Catholic church, wasn't crossed out. "If I had to guess, I'd say that's where he is."

  "Can you take me there?"

  "Let's go."

  My mind raced with questions. Why churches? Was he looking to get religion in his life, or was he trying to find the Exorcists? The second Joe stopped at the curb outside the towering cathedral, I ran inside. Worshippers sparsely populated the rows of wooden pews, some kneeling on the prayer benches. I walked down the aisle, my eyes sweeping from side to side, my mind running in place with confusion.

  Supposing he were truly a demon, why would he be here? Was it possible he was a fallen angel seeking redemption? If so, how old was he?

  Calm down, Emily. Keep it together.

  My hands shook. My body trembled. Was if fear? Apprehension? Dread? I was willing to bet it was a combination of everything. This was just too much to handle. I wanted Tyler, but I feared him. I feared what he did to me, how he made me feel, and how he shattered my self-control.

  I passed an old woman in a dark shawl as she prayed fervently in a broken voice. A young man, thin and gaunt, rocking back and forth with closed eyes. A smiling girl, happily praising God. And then I spotted him, isolated in the far front corner, body slumped, forehead resting on the back of the pew in front of him. He looked so sad. So beautiful. Like an angel in repose.

  My body froze, legs refusing to move toward him. I was here, he was there. All I had to do was talk to him. My heart thudded at an alarming rate, and a tingle drew goose bumps along my arms. I wanted to touch him. Wanted to kiss him. But I felt like a deer in a hunter's sights without him even looking at me.

  You're in a bloody church you nitwit. He can't hurt you here.

  That might be true, but how was it
possible for him to be inside a church in the first place? Wasn't such a thing impossible? Shouldn't the very earth shake, and the marble floor split and swallow him whole? Either his presence here was a promising sign, or it meant none of us were safe from beings like him.

  I forced myself to move toward him. When I was only feet away, he jerked up. Looked my way. His eyes went wide, and his mouth fell open. He stood, head shaking, eyebrows pinched.

  "Emily." His voice was rough, full of emotion.

  "I'm here, Tyler." I sat on the pew even as he backed away. "I'm ready to listen."

  "You should go."

  I felt my eyes flare with disbelief. "Go? Are you bloody kidding me?" I clamped a hand over my mouth as nearby worshippers gave me harsh looks.

  The corners of Tyler's mouth twitched, but he made no move toward me. "You were right to run from me." He backed from the pew and walked toward the exit at the far end of the sanctuary.

  My face went hot with anger and frustration. Pressing my lips together to keep me from shouting at him, I followed him in silence, hoping Joe would prevent him from going anywhere once he emerged. Tyler reached the arched door into the vestibule and I lost sight of him for a moment. I picked up my pace, thankful my rubber-soled boots let me pad silently across the tiled flooring.

  Joe stood squarely in front of the doors. Tyler stood facing him, his face impassive. He turned to me, his eyes glittering darkly.

  "Joe, please wait in the car."

  "Yes, sir." The other man nodded at me before slipping back outside.

  Tyler shook his head, his mouth pressed into a firm line. "Let's walk."

  I noticed with some despair, he didn't hold out his hand for me, or even wait before stepping outside into the cold night air. I caught up with him, resisting the urge to grab his arm. To launch myself into his arms and feel his body against mine. His attitude made me feel like a complete stranger, and it hurt.

  "Are you mad at me for running?" I said, pacing beside him.