by Rose Pressey
He shrugged. “If that’s what you want to believe. So do you want a glass of water or not.”
I stared for a beat, then said, “I guess I could use a couple sips of water.”
Cole moved across the floor toward the bar. I watched as he placed our order. He was a handsome man. I couldn’t deny that. I shifted my attention when Cole made his way back toward the table with two glasses of water in his hands. I didn’t want him to catch me staring. The bar was full even though it was early in the evening. The in-crowd usually didn’t show up until at least eleven. That was when I was slipping into my cozy jammies and having a late-night beef jerky snack. I was no party animal.
I was glad we could hide away in a corner and watch the room, although it would be harder to pick Jennifer out of the crowd. Plenty of people lined the bar and a band played at the front of the room. The lead singer stood in the center of the stage, gripping the microphone, while the saxophonist and bass player stood on either side. The music was loud so maybe Cole wouldn’t feel the need for chitchat. I scanned the crowd for Jennifer, my eyes stopping on any blonde in the room. So far I’d had no luck in spotting her. It looked as if this was a waste of time. Another dead end.
Cole placed the glass of water in front of me, then sat down next to me again.
“Thanks,” I said, still avoiding his gaze.
Cole took a sip of his water and held the glass up to his mouth as he spoke. “Be subtle about this, but there is a guy in the corner of the room watching us. I think I recognize him from somewhere but I just can’t put my finger on it.”
I held my glass up to my mouth. “Do you think he can read lips? Is that why you’re holding the glass up to your mouth?”
He placed the glass down and for the first time I thought his cheeks turned bright red. “Never mind that. Just check him out. Do you recognize him?”
“No. Is he a demon?” A wave of panic washed over me.
“He isn’t, but I think he has ties to them.” Cole continued watching the man.
Other than the guy who was still standing in the corner watching us, I felt eyes on me. Were we surrounded? I was beginning to feel very uncomfortable in this place. My initial feeling had been right. Maybe it was time to leave.
I scanned the room again and my gaze fell on the man sitting at the table next to us. He was looking at me, so I tried to look away quickly. I had been right though. Someone was watching me. I had to chance a look at him again. With any luck, he wouldn’t be looking this time. Nope. He was still staring. Did I have a sign on my forehead that said gawk at me? I knew the he was tall by the way his long legs stretched on under the table. He had chiseled features and shoulder-length blond hair. He looked like he’d made a wrong turn off the pages of GQ. He took a drink of his beer and the gold ring on his finger glinted under the light. That was when the dim light bulb in my head finally brightened. I recognized the ring from the warehouse where Sophie had taken Jack when she wanted to drain the blood from him. It was the same ring and symbol.
“You see that guy sitting next to us?” I asked.
Cole whirled around and looked. What a way to be subtle.
“Look at me,” I demanded. “Now turn around nonchalantly and look at the guy.”
Cole eased his head to the side and took a quick look. “Yeah, what about him?”
“His ring.” I pointed discreetly. “Jennifer was wearing a ring exactly like that the last time I saw her. It’s very unique and it had belonged to a vampire. I’d never seen her wear it in the past.”
“Where did she get it?” Cole asked.
Hmm. Now I had to admit it had been mine. “Well, it was mine… kind of. It had belonged to the vampire who tried to take Jack’s blood. But when we got rid of her, it became mine. I didn’t want anything to do with it, so I stuffed it in my jewelry drawer. Jennifer must have taken it.”
The guy got up to leave without looking at me again. Where was he going?
“We have to follow him,” I said.
“Are you sure?” Cole sat his glass on the table.
I grabbed Cole’s hand. “Yes, it’s the only connection we have right now.”
Chapter Twenty
How to Date a Demon, Rule #20
Running with the devil is never a good idea.
We made it back out of the bar and into the night air. The sun had set and darkness blanketed the area. Stars glittered in the vast and forbidding dark sky. I didn’t look behind me, but I knew that the sliver of moon was there and calling to me, reminding that my nights were numbered. Before long, I’d once again have to shift into my beastly self. Thankfully, that night was not tonight.
Unfortunately, the twinkling, star-filled sky didn’t provide a protective embrace. But with nighttime came one thing for certain: it was time for all the crazies to venture out. Great. As if it wasn’t bad enough that there were plenty of loonies roaming around during the day, we got double the number under the cover of night. I spotted the guy and we hurried our steps to catch up to him. He didn’t seem to be in a hurry, so it was easy for us to hang back a little to see exactly where he was headed.
“Do you plan on following him home? He may call the police,” Cole said as he walked beside me.
“I just want to see where he’s going.” I motioned for Cole to pick up his pace.
“Look, if you need a date…”
I glared at Cole. “Will you please stop trying to be witty? Because frankly, it’s not working.”
Cole chuckled.
The man glanced over his shoulder and I ducked behind a building. Cole finally realized what I’d done and joined me.
“You’re not very stealthy,” he quipped.
“Well, he’ll know we’re following him now thanks to you,” I snapped.
Cole poked his head out a bit. “He’s still walking at the same pace. I don’t think he noticed us.”
“No thanks to you.” I rolled my eyes.
We stepped back onto the sidewalk like a couple of cat burglars. I was confident that we weren’t nearly as stealthy as we thought. The man probably knew we were following him and leading us to our untimely deaths. I had no idea what I would do if the man actually led us to Jennifer. If she was still acting weird and refused to come home, how would I convince her to leave with me? I couldn’t make her come with me if she didn’t want to. All I could do was try to talk with her and snap her out of it.
“How do we break the hold the demon has on Jennifer?” I asked as we followed the man down the sidewalk.
“I’ll kill the demon,” Cole said matter-of-factly.
“Just like that, huh?” I asked.
“Yeah, just like that.” He looked straight ahead.
I thought about asking how he’d go about killing the demon, but maybe it was better if I didn’t know. And for that matter, wasn’t a demon already dead? Or not alive in the first place? Whatever. The stress was making me babble.
After a couple blocks, the man approached a house and walked up the path, disappearing through the front door. The house was brick with large white columns in the front that went from top to bottom. Music spilled out from the open windows and French doors onto the balconies of the historic home. A black iron railing adorned the porches on the bottom and top floors. An ornate gas lantern hung above the door.
“I don’t think we should go in there.” He shook his head.
“How did you know I wanted to go in?” I asked.
“I can tell by the look in your eyes,” Cole said.
I scoffed. “So why shouldn’t we go in?”
“Demons. There are nothing but demons in there.” He gestured with a tilt of his head.
I glanced over at him. “How do you know?”
He clicked his tongue. “I’m a demon hunter. It’s my job.”
I rolled my eyes. “Right.”
Should we go inside? That was the question, regardless of what Cole said. Would anyone notice the strangers around? If there were demons in there surely they would
notice Cole right away. Unless like Jack said, he was one of them? No way. Cole had helped me too much at this point. I wasn’t psychic and I didn’t pick up on people’s objectives, but I had a gut feeling about Cole. No way was he a demon. I threw that notion out of my head for good.
We had no other option but to go inside. The guy with the ring was in there. Was it the same ring Jennifer had been wearing? My stomach turned at the thought that this guy might have taken the ring from her.
I swallowed hard and glanced over at Cole. “Let’s go inside.”
“Do you want me to give you a boost up to the window?” Cole fixed his gaze on me, not blinking.
“What? I’m going through the front door, you jackass.”
He snorted. “Have it your way.”
Old trees covered with moss shaded the regal home that towered above us. Darkness had settled over the city. The moon cast a glow across the yard. I walked up the path behind him and reluctantly passed through the door when he held it open. After Cole’s hesitation, now I was having second thoughts about crashing this party. But I had to suck it up. I had to find Jennifer.
A sick feeling churned in my stomach and a lump formed in my throat. My mouth probably dropped to the floor when we stepped inside the foyer. An wide, elegant mahogany staircase took up the middle of the space. The ceilings were high and a parlor, where the bulk of the people gathered, was to our left. I wanted to see all of the décor, but I knew there was no time for a grand tour of the home. Fine art and antiques were placed in just the perfect spots over the house; everything had its place. Unfortunately, I knew Cole and I had no place in this home. How long would it take before someone discovered that?
When I stepped inside the parlor, my eyes were drawn to the floor-to-ceiling windows covering the wall to our right. Candles added ambiance to the room. The soft flicker from the flames added a glow to the space. A crystal chandelier hung from the ceilings of in the middle of the room and a marble mantle rested atop the fireplace. Soft yellow-colored walls were accented by the golden fabric from the drapes that pooled on the floor in puddles of silk. Wood doors and intricate molding adorned the rooms. The whole place screamed rich and elegant.
The crowd was full of gorgeous twenty-somethings. It was as if they were having a modeling convention in this place. The men wore suits and the women were gowns and diamonds. This was no ordinary cocktail party. They stood in groups, chatting with drinks in hand. The rooms were full to the brim so maybe no one would even notice that we weren’t supposed to be there.
Well, accept for the fact that we were both a little underdressed. I glanced down at my jeans and sneakers and looked at Cole’s tight T-shirt. In spite of our attire, no one even looked up when we’d entered the front door. I’d almost expected for someone to ask us for our invitation.
Cole took a drink off a waiter’s passing tray.
“Hey, we’re not here to party.” I scowled.
“I’m parched. I didn’t drink at the bar, so give me a break.” He raised the glass to his mouth and took a drink.
“Fine, but only one. I don’t want to deal with a drunk,” I warned with a wave of my hand.
“Yes, ma’am.” He gave a little salute.
I lured Cole over to the corner of the room. I had hoped for a tall lamp to hide behind or maybe a potted plant or something. Alas, there was nothing. I felt vulnerable and exposed. We might as well have been standing there in the nude.
Cole snatched an hors d’oeuvre off a passing tray. He raised the cheese and cracker to his lips. I smacked it from his hand. The snack tumbled to the floor. I glanced around to see if anyone had noticed. Everyone seemed too consumed in conversation to notice. Thank goodness.
“Hey, what the hell did you do that for?” He picked it up from the floor.
“Give me that.” I yanked it from his hand and sat it on an empty plate on the table next to us.
Cole scowled.
“That look doesn’t bother me. This is not cocktail hour. We didn’t come here for dinner.” I glanced around again.
“You’re traipsing me all around town. You can’t expect me not to be hungry. I need sustenance. Besides, you wanted us to blend in. What better way than to eat and drink?” He took a swig from his glass and smiled.
I glared. “You’re going to get us killed. You have a death wish and you want to bring me down with you, don’t you?”
“Your face is going to permanently have that scowl on it if you don’t stop. Don’t be so dramatic. If their eyes start to glow red, then we’ll run.”
“Oh, is that all? That simple, huh?” I rubbed my temples. My head was beginning to throb.
“Pretty much.” He winked.
Groups of people, or should I say demons, stood around the edges of the room. In the middle of the space, people moved back and forth to the music.
“Do you want to dance?” Cole gestured with a tilt of his head.
“Are you crazy?” I lowered my voice. “Like I said, we’re not here to party.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, a few people are looking at us. We need to act like we belong here or we could be in big trouble.”
His last word echoed in my head. I swallowed hard at the thought. “Okay. But not too close,” I warned.
Cole grabbed my hand and I wanted to yank it away immediately, but I knew that I couldn’t. His hand was warm and surprisingly soft for someone who chased down demons all day. He pulled me onto the floor right in the middle of all these demons. He obviously liked living dangerously. I, on the other hand, wasn’t too keen on the idea.
Chapter Twenty-One
How to Date a Demon, Rule #21
Keep a devil-may-care attitude.
The music pulsed and we swayed in time with the rhythm. His moves were actually not bad for a demon hunter. The more I moved the hotter it grew in the room though. It wasn’t the normal sweating from dancing. No, something wasn’t right. Heat emanated around us. Was it coming from the demons surrounding us? Cole moved closer and my heart thumped faster. He was too close and his hips were moving way too much. How long was the song anyway?
“You’re a good dancer,” Cole whispered close to my ear.
I looked out across the dance floor, avoiding his gaze. “Thank you.”
“Where did you learn to dance like that?” he pressed.
Maybe talking would distract my thoughts from how close our swaying bodies were to each other. “I took ballroom dancing classes. My mother taught them. That was right before her belly dancing and after the holistic healing classes. She’s tried a lot of different professions before she found the one she liked.”
“What about you? Did you find the profession you like?” He flashed his white teeth.
“I may not be good at it, but I do like playing matchmaker,” I said.
“No one’s perfect and I’m sure you’re good at what you do.” The warmth from his body encircled me.
“That’s not what you said before.” I looked into his eyes.
He stared for a beat. “Sometimes I say things I don’t mean.”
My brows drew together. “Sometimes… or all the time?”
I didn’t give him time to answer. The movement and the heat was too much for me. I turned and hurried away, brushing past a couple who had been staring at us.
Cole caught up to me and grabbed my arm. “What are you doing?”
“It was too hot out there.” I pulled my arm away from him and wiped my forehead.
I left out the other reason that I’d stopped dancing. He didn’t need to have all the info.
He steered me by the elbow to the corner of the room.
“I feel like everyone is watching us,” I said.
“Well, they’re not. Yet. But if you keep acting weird they will watch us.”
I let out a deep breath, trying to regain control. “Okay, you’re right. We came here to find the guy and we’re not going to find him just standing around. And we’re definitely not going to find him on the dance
floor.”
“You need to try and act cool. I realize that may be kind of difficult for you.”
I cackled mockingly. “You’re a funny guy. Come on, let’s check out the house and see what we can find.”
“And you said I’m the one with the death wish? We should stand over in this corner and try to blend in, not rummage through the house.”
“We’re not rummaging through the house. We just want to see where that guy went and if Jennifer is here.” I scanned the room to see who might be still watching us.
Was he a demon hunter or not? Why was he afraid of the demons?
He ran his hand through his thick dark hair. “You’re right. We should try to find him.” He took another drink from a passing tray, took a big gulp, then sat the glass down. “Let’s roll.”
He didn’t seem all that confident. Maybe I should be worried. “Question for you,” I said.
“By all means feel free to ask any question.” He smiled.
“Thanks. I’d planned on it anyway.” I lowered my voice again. “What do the demons do to humans?” I glanced around. “Like if we get caught, what are they going to do to us? What’s my fate?”
“Just the standard demon stuff. Suck out your soul, banish you to hell. Or worse, they could make you one of them.” His mouth remained in a straight line.
I shuddered. I waited for him to smile or laugh and let me in on his joke, but he didn’t.
“So, you’re not joking, huh?” I asked with widened eyes.
“Would I kid you?” He gave a sweet grin.
“How the heck am I supposed to know? I don’t know you.” I frowned.
He looked around. “Come on. We’ll check the place out, but be prepared to run.”
My stomach turned with that. How did I get myself into these situations? We moved across the room and into the foyer. I followed Cole over to the tall, wooden pocket doors. Luckily, they were already open. A few people stood around chatting.
The room wasn’t nearly as crowded as the other room, which was probably a bad thing. We could be noticed a lot easier now. I fidgeted with my hands. If I wasn’t careful, my nerves would give us away.
