3 Straight by the Rules Read Free

gunpoint a few weeks ago…they don’t deserve to be punished?”
    “Well, yes, they do deserve to be punished,” I admitted, “but…”
    “But what?  Do you want to overlook bad behavior?  Let every offender get off Scott free?”
    “No, of course not…”
    She raised her eyebrows.  “So what’s your objection?”
    Miss Spry’s logic always twisted my brain.  As I struggled to come up with a good rebuttal, she asked, “Did you think the names I give you were picked at random?”
    I had, actually.
    She smiled grimly.  “Those names are given to you for a reason.  If a human is being tempted, it’s because he deserves it.  Heaven delivers rewards, and Hell delivers punishment.  You may not like your job, but I assure you, it’s necessary.”
    She was a liar, but a good one.  I sensed there were flaws in her arguments, but I was too overwhelmed by her order to get pregnant to refute them.
    “Now, I’ll give you some time to decide how you want to proceed with your insemination.  But if you continue to stall, we’ll do things my way.”
    In the short time I’d known her, Helen Spry had threatened my family, stolen my daughter, and nearly killed me.  She’d spent the last nine months terrifying me, and as a result, I’d caved in to her demands over and over again.  But like I’d promised Patrick Clerk, I was done being Helen’s toy.  I’d won a reprieve for my daughter.  I’d win this battle, too.
    Feeling far less brave than I sounded, I lifted my chin and said, “I will not get pregnant for you.   Helen .”
    I’d never before used her first name to her face, and she blinked.  “So it’s Helen now is it?”
    “Yes.”
    She smiled nastily.  “Feeling powerful are we?”
    It’s a good thing I was sitting down because I’d started to shake.  I gripped the arms of the chair with sweating hands.
    She came around to my side of the desk and sat on it.  “Before you do something you’ll regret, let me give you some advice.  I’ve seen seven generations of your ancestors pass through my office.  At one time or another, each of them tried to grow a spine and defy me.  When that happened, do you know what I told them?”
    My mouth was too dry for me to speak, so I shook my head.
    “I reminded them that I owned them body and soul.”  As Helen became more and more angry, the 40’s era glamour disappeared.  Her demon took over, and her eyes grew hot.  “I can do with you whatever I want.  I can hurt you in ways you could never imagine.  I can drag you to levels of Hell so terrible that a rational woman would go insane simply hearing about them.”
    I began to sweat at my hairline.  A trickle of moisture ran from my temple.
    “I know more tortures than any other creature in the human universe, and I show no mercy.  Try to cross me, and I will instantly have you cursing your own name.”  Her neck stretched, becoming long and sinewy like a snake, and she put her face very near to mine.  “Do you understand?”
    It was all I could do to look at her terrible face.  “Perfectly.  Helen.”  I squeezed my eyes shut and braced myself, trying to prepare for whatever she sent at me.
    She laughed.  “Oh, Lilith.  You do amuse me,  you poor, pathetic creature.”
    I opened one eye, and when I saw that she no longer appeared monstrous, I opened the other one as well.  She put the brochures back into her desk drawer.  “I’ll give you some time to make a decision,” she said.  “But don’t take too long.”
    I hadn’t bested Helen – I certainly hadn’t expected to – but I’d held a measure of ground against her.  That tiny victory had to count for something.
     
    When I left Helen’s office, I found William Darcy sitting on the corner of Delilah’s desk.
    William, my incubus counterpart, was as seductive as only a demon could be.  Dark hair, dark eyes, strong chin, broad shoulders – these were only a few of his alluring features.  Most of his charms had