“Very good—I am glad to hear it. So I will see you later then!” She hung up.
I managed a self-deprecating smile and shook my head. “Looks like we’ll be stopping by Hannah’s on our way to sashimi and sake tonight.”
“I’ll stay by the car and watch for suspicious activity,” Sunny returned with a distracted grin.
I snorted as I went back to my stack of sales figures. Unlike Hannah, D.J.D. seemed to be doing relatively well for off season, which made me feel even worse that they were getting so far behind on her balance again.
A timid knock at the door interrupted my attempt at concentration. I rose to open it and found Angelica hovering there with a look of distress twisting her features. Her blue eyes were dull and glassy in her pale face, and her perfect skin was blotchy, as if she’d been crying.
I reached for her slim shoulders and pulled her inside, putting my arm around her as I closed the door and led her toward the couch.
“Angelica, what happened?” I asked as tears began silently coursing down her cheeks.
Sunny looked up, her questioning gaze transforming into a worried frown. “Hey, what’s the matter?” She sat up straighter. “Did that guy you’ve been seeing do something to upset you? I told you if he couldn’t accept you for what you are he doesn’t deserve you!” she insisted with staunch sympathy.
“No! He…I…” She looked at me in desperation and her tears began to flow faster. “I’m afraid I have done something unforgivable, Sydney,” she whispered, her voice cracking.
“I doubt that, Angelica,” I denied gently. “What is it? It can’t be that bad,” I said with a teasing smile.
She blinked at me, tears clinging to her lush eyelashes in tiny droplets. “You must believe me. I did not realize until last night. I would never have knowingly betrayed you.”
A sinking trepidation settled low in the pit of my stomach as I waited for her to continue.
Angelica seemed unable to hold my gaze and looked down at her hands, her graceful fingers wringing anxiously in her lap. “The man I have been seeing, the one I have been telling you about…”
My dread grew heavier as my mind whirled through unpleasant scenarios involving her lover having a connection to the death djinns, and her unwittingly revealing something they could use to compel me or sabotage Sparrow’s investigation.
“It’s your Jeremy,” she finished on a quiet exhalation of anguish.
I blinked at her in confusion, wondering what Jeremy could possibly have to do with anything. Then her meaning hit me and the breath left my body in a rush. Sunny and I both stared at her in shock. My hand flew to my mouth, muffling the disbelieving word that spilled from it, “How?”
Her eyes flew to mine, their hollow blue depths imploring my forgiveness. “I am so sorry, Sydney. From the beginning I felt that there was something familiar about him, but I had no idea he was yours. I have grown so close to you over these past weeks, and I have felt your sexual frustration and desire for your Agent Sparrow so strongly—I must have unconsciously followed your connection with Jeremy.” Her head dropped.
“I ..” I began faintly, struggling to break through the stunned vacancy that fogged my brain.
“It’s not your fault Angelica,” I said finally. “You didn’t know. I mean, it’s not as if he hasn’t cheated on me before.”
She cringed at the note of bitterness in my voice. “But that’s just it, Sydney,” she rushed on. “You mustn’t blame Jeremy for this—he did not know until last night that I was anything but a dream. He was terrified when he saw me here!”
I remembered the haunted look on Jeremy’s face and his sudden departure began to make more sense. I’d thought it was because of Sparrow, but Jeremy couldn’t have known that he was my date. He could just as easily have been there for Sunny or Angelica.
“When I appeared to him afterward, it took me long hours to calm him and explain. When he finally accepted the truth, he was greatly distressed that he had shared sexual pleasure with someone other than you—especially someone who you considered a friend!
“Jeremy is consumed by a terrible guilt. This is the reason he resisted me, even in his dreams. He fears that you will never forgive him, Sydney…and I fear that he will never forgive me,” she added softly, her eyes drifting away from mine.
“But there is more that you should know,” she insisted, taking a deep breath as her expression settled into a pained resolve. “Jeremy and I spoke long into the night, and much of our discussion revolved around you.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, envisioning mortifying discussions about the intimate details of our former sex life, and wondering just how much she had told him about my current situation.
“Do not misunderstand me, Sydney,” Angelica interjected. “I told Jeremy nothing about your death djinn involvement, nor did I mention anything about Agent Sparrow. He very much wanted to know what had been going on during your separation, but I told him that as a friend I could not abuse your confidence in such a manner.”
I beamed a grateful look in her direction.
“It was his feelings for you and the events leading up to his betrayal of your monogamy which he described to me. He told me about the woman from his office with whom he shared sexual pleasures—the one you called ‘tramp’?
“He described his confusion and guilt afterward, and referred to the entire experience as having been dream-like and unreal, saying that he couldn’t believe he had done such a thing.”
I felt my lips pucker in an expression of disgust and Sunny rolled her eyes at me in commiseration. I wasn’t impressed by Jeremy’s sob story. Confusion and guilt were the least of what he deserved.
“Angelica, I know you don’t really believe in monogamy, but Jeremy and I were married—and that’s supposed to mean something,” I told her, my tone sharper than I intended.
“Please Sydney, hear me out,” she entreated. “There was something that didn’t seem right to me about Jeremy’s story. So I went to his office today, to satisfy my own curiosity and see this woman for myself.
“Her name is Edie. She is a succubus, Sydney—and not a very nice one. She chooses to live and work in the mortal world, as I do, but for her own twisted purposes. She takes pleasure in seducing married men outside the dream state. The more they resist her, the harder she tries to break their will.”
I gaped at her. “Are you telling me that she forced Jeremy to have sex with her?”
Angelica’s fingertips skimmed lightly across her forehead as she sighed. “No. I wouldn’t put it that strongly. What I’m saying is that I know her, and she would not have stopped trying to seduce him until he gave in. She could not force him, but as he continued to resist her advances, she would have increased the intensity of her seduction.
“It is true that at least a part of him had to want her and be willing to experience the pleasures she offered—but you must realize how difficult it is to resist a succubus intent upon seduction. It is our specialty and we have refined the art over millennia. Even more so than the death djinns.” She gave me an apologetic but pointed look.
I dropped my head into my hands as the implication of her words sank in, a humorless little laugh escaping my lips. This changed everything. Or at least it made everything more complicated.
“What a mess,” I mumbled hoarsely.
“I did not tell Jeremy about Edie,” Angelica stated.
I gave her a quizzical look.
“I have interfered enough,” she said in a resigned voice. “But despite what you may feel toward me, you should talk to Jeremy. He suffers greatly, Sydney, and truly did not mean to hurt you. It is up to you whether to tell him this thing or not.”
I sank back into the couch cushions and closed my eyes, allowing silence to fall between us.
“What are you gonna do, Syd?” Sunny ventured after a long moment.
I scoffed limply. “I have no idea what to do. Everything’s so confused. On the one hand, knowing that Jeremy was unwitting
ly seduced by a damn-near-impossible-to-resist succubus makes me feel a whole lot better. But on the other hand, things would have been much simpler if he had remained the cheating asshole I thought he was.”
I opened my eyes and tilted my head toward Angelica. “I don’t blame you for any of this, you know.”
She blinked at me uncertainly as a wordless sob shuddered through her slender frame. Then she broke into a teary smile and leaned over to hug me tight. “I was so worried that you would hate me,” she whispered with a delicate sniff.
I squeezed her back and hummed a rueful murmur of denial. “I could never hate you, Angelica. You know you’ll always be my favorite succubus.”
She exhaled a fractured laugh. “You are sweet, Sydney. But I think I am also the only succubus you know.”
Sunny snorted mirthfully under her breath.
I wondered whether Angelica intended to continue her relationship with Jeremy, but I couldn’t quite bring myself to ask. My emotions were too mixed up to deal with intimate images of my friend and my not quite ex-husband.
Nor was I particularly eager to initiate the Edie discussion—although Jeremy did deserve to know he’d been magically seduced.
I comforted myself with the morbidly amusing thought that, if things went wrong with the Hell Ride tonight, I wouldn’t have to deal with any of it. I felt guilty for not telling Sunny or Lorien what I was planning, but I’d made up my mind, and I didn’t want to be talked out of it. Knowing Jeremy hadn’t been completely at fault for cheating only strengthened my resolve.
I was through being a helpless pawn of the magical forces around me.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
“I’ll be right back.” I left Sunny in the running car and jumped out to dash into Hannah’s shop. It was almost five, and not only was Hannah about to close, but we had twenty minutes to make our reservation at the hot new sushi place Sunny wanted to try.
I reflected on my luck in finding a parking space in front of Hannah’s, but decided with a grimace that Lorien was probably still too pissed at me to be assisting with such menial comforts. It had to be the time of day and the fact that it was off season.
I nearly ran right into a tall, well-dressed woman who was exiting the cool interior of Haute Hannah’s. My face erupted into a chagrinned smile as I looked up at her. “Sorry about that!”
“Not to worry, dear,” she answered, winking at me as she passed. I stopped dead, staring after her as unease blossomed through me. She had striking hazel eyes, but there were unmistakable green flames burning within their depths.
“Hannah?” I called as I stepped into the sparkling ambiance of the deserted shop. There was no answer and my heart skipped a beat. I rushed toward the back office in panic.
The door swung open to produce Hannah, humming to herself as she counted an impressive stack of hundred dollar bills. I was so relieved to see her that I gasped, and was inundated by an overwhelming cloud of French perfume. I made a choking noise as I attempted to exhale the cloying scent. She looked up at me in surprise and quickly stuffed the cash in a drawer.
“Oh Sydney! Good, I was just about to close up for the day! I have the forms right here. They are Greek to me, but I am sure you will figure them out in no time. I thank you again for coming by on such short notice.” She smiled as she handed me the papers, seeming even more chipper than usual.
“It’s no problem, Hannah,” I murmured, studying her with concern. “So did the woman who just left buy something?”
Her smile faltered.
“I thought I recognized her from somewhere,” I added, watching Hannah for any sign that she was in trouble. “Has she been here before?”
Hannah licked her lips, appearing nervous all of a sudden. “She comes in now and then.”
I did my best to conceal my disquiet. “Oh. Maybe that’s why she looks familiar.”
I wanted to warn her, but what was I going to say? Gee, Hannah, were you aware that you’ve been consorting with a death djinn? If not, don’t worry. She could just be after me. You’ll be fine as long as you don’t wish for death around her.
Hannah blinked rapidly. “Well, I am sure you are eager to be on your way. You must be going out this evening—you look so pretty in your little red skirt!”
I glanced down at the silky fabric floating above my knees and mumbled my thanks. Before I could form another thought, she was bustling me toward the door. “So I thank you again for coming and I will not keep you any longer! See you Monday!”
She closed the door between us and turned the lock with one hand as she fluttered the be-ringed fingers of the other at me in a hasty farewell. I stared through the glass after her retreating back with growing misgivings. Was I imagining things?
Ever exuberant, enthusiastic Hannah, who had always been so sweet to me, couldn’t be involved with the death djinns. Could she?
“That’s weird,” Sunny responded with a frown when I told her about the peculiar experience. “I did see that woman leaving the shop—I was trying to see if I could spot Galena following you again.” She grinned. “But nothing looked out of the ordinary from here. Maybe it’s just another death djinn trying to spy on you.”
“Hannah seemed like she was in such a rush to get rid of me after I asked about her, though.” My hands gripped the steering wheel in apprehension.
“You don’t think she’d help them, do you?” Sunny asked incredulously.
I gave her a troubled look. “She had a huge wad of cash in her hand and she wouldn’t answer me when I asked if the lady bought anything.” It hurt to even think about Hannah betraying me like that.
“Well, we’ll definitely have to keep our eyes open,” Sunny said with a frown, “but it’s probably not the best idea to start grilling Hannah about death djinns just yet. You should at least wait until you figure out a spell to alter her memory afterward. You know, in case she decides you belong in a mental ward with a Thorazine drip attached to your arm.”
“Now there’s an interesting idea,” I mused.
“Yes, it’s supposed to wash all your worries right away. And I promise to bring some coloring books and the biggest box of crayons I can find when I come to visit you. I’ll even get you the ones with the sharpener built into the box!”
“I meant the memory spell, not the mental ward,” I growled, shooting her my dirtiest look.
“Oh, sorry. Yeah, I guess that would be pretty cool too.” She snickered at me with an annoying lack of intimidation.
I tried to let it go and simply add Hannah and her suspicious ‘customer’ to the growing list of things I needed to put out of my mind for the time being.
But a renewed sense of helplessness began gnawing at my insides. It was lighter fuel to the reckless fire of my resolve. I would call the Hell Ride tonight—despite the danger. I would do whatever it took. Because Sparrow’s mom was right—death was better than giving up my soul.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
“Heavenly!” Sunny exhaled on a contented sigh as we headed home several hours later. “That was so worth an interview with a death djinn possessed teenager. It was even worth kissing up to that snotty little hostess.”
We’d caught the draw bridge as we left Hannah’s, run into construction on the street beyond, and to top it all off, one of the two parking garages had been closed.
I was still feeling too guilty to even consider asking for Lorien’s help.
As a result, we’d been a half hour late for our reservation and had to beg the manager to fit us into the packed seating schedule. He put it off on the overwhelmed hostess, and she was still in a huff about it when she came to retrieve us from the bar over an hour later.
Her ire was obvious from the way she scowled and flipped her hair at us, not to mention the way she stormed off after handing us our menus, her satin kimono swishing angrily with her strides.
Oh well. After an hour at the bar we had no difficulty finding humor in the situation.
And the sushi was fanta
stic—unbelievably fresh cuts that melted on our tongues and the most wickedly spicy wasabi I’d ever put in my mouth. Not to mention a bean sprout salad and a ginger miso soup to die for.
Sunny had performed a taste test of three brands of sake in order to determine her favorite. She was still giddy from the liquor, even though we’d walked around afterward and made our usual pit-stop by Starbucks.
I was more clear-headed, having opted for Japanese beer. Sake always put me in mind of a combination of warm vodka and sweet white wine—neither of which held any appeal for me, much less mixed together.
Back at the penthouse, I bid my best friend a good night and watched her stumble off to bed before heading to my own room to dial Cindy’s cell phone. I sighed with relief when it rang to voicemail, and left her a message that I wouldn’t be able to work tomorrow because a family emergency had come up and I had to fly out tonight. It was sort of true.
Instead of changing into the sleep shirt and shorts I had put aside earlier, I donned my thickest pair of jeans and a red shirt with the logo ‘Women Who Behave Rarely Make History’. I needed all the encouragement I could get. Then I laid out a pair of socks and sneakers by the bed (having learned my lesson about wearing sandals on expeditions to the faerie realm), set my alarm for midnight, and tried to relax.
The buzz of the alarm pulled me into a groggy state of awareness what seemed like only minutes later. I reached across my nightstand to make it stop, hoping the sound hadn’t woken Sunny.
I staggered over to splash cold water on my face, refusing to look my mirror image in the eye for fear that one of us would talk some sense into the other. Then I slipped on my shoes and socks and pulled Lauringer’s slip of paper from its new resting place next to the frog vibrator in my bedside drawer.
I smiled forlornly at Sparrow’s bouquet of wildflowers, springing up from a tall crystal vase on the nightstand. As an afterthought, I reached beneath my pillow for his silver coin and stuck it in my pocket for luck.
I was used to bare feet, and the carpet felt oddly springy beneath my sneakers as I treaded across the room to open the sliding glass door. I stood balanced in the middle of the frame, the warm sea-breeze brushing my face as the cool inside air caressed my back. Before I could change my mind, I began to read:
A Risky Proposition Page 28
