A Darker Past (Entangled Teen) (The Darker Agency) Read Free Page B

behind him and grabbed a bag of flour, then hurled it at my head. Luckily, his aim was horrible. It missed me completely and smashed against the wall above my head. Of course, then it exploded, raining white dust down on me, so maybe missed was too broad a word.
    Off he went again, skidding around the corner and down the hall. This was turning out to be harder than any demon takedown I’d ever done.
    “Give me a break, okay? This is technically my first assignment.”
    I chased him into the bedroom, only to dodge another onslaught of flying objects. When he ran out, he started swinging the only thing left. His pillow. It took exactly four swings for the damn thing to rip, feathers exploding in a storm of puffy white. They fluttered around, some sticking to the syrup, while the rest cascaded delicately to the floor.
    That was it. I’d had more than enough. I was liable to dunk him myself. Shooting forward, I snatched a handful of his hair with one hand and ripped the lamp from the wall with the other. The soothing comfort of darkness blanketed the room. Without hesitation, I shadowed the hell out of there.
    I landed us right outside the door to Valefar’s building. Not exactly what I’d planned. My initial target was right on top of the demon’s desk. Probably just as well. I held tight to Fred’s arm and maneuvered him through the revolving glass doors.
    The instant we stepped across the threshold, I felt like I’d grown another two heads. Every demon in the waiting room, as well as the secretary behind the creepy desk, swiveled to look in my direction. Shock. That’s what I saw on their faces. A spark of indignation rose up. Had they really believed I couldn’t hack something as simple as this?
    A tall, stocky demon appeared in front of us. Fred gave a whimper, shrinking away from the thing and shaking uncontrollably.
    “Miss Darker,” he said with a thick southern accent. His lips pressed firm in what I could only imagine was disgust, his gaze traveling up and down Fred. “I see you brought Valefar’s package… In a single piece, even.”
    I patted Fred’s arm, then gave him a good shove forward. “Yep. All safe and sound. Not a hair harmed.”
    “Yes.” He continued watching Fred as though the guy was bad cheese or something. Grabbing Fred’s arm and twisting toward the door, he said, “Well, we’ll see what Valefar has to say about that.”
    Judging from the look in his eyes, I got the feeling Valefar wouldn’t be giving me a gold star for this…

Chapter Three
    It was just after three when I walked through the office door. Mom and Lukas were huddled together over a stack of papers, and when she looked up, taking in my new breakfast of feathers fashion, her lips twisted into a typical Mom-frown. “Do I even want to know?”
    Lukas cocked his brow and flashed a killer grin. “I’m not up on this century’s fashion, but I have to say, Jessie. You do look rather fetching in feathers.”
    Mom didn’t even try to hide her snickering.
    “Aren’t you a riot,” I said, trying to toe the heel of my foot from my sneaker without having to touch it. There was maple syrup everywhere. “I look like the coked-up ghost of Big Bird.” The shoe came off, but I lost my balance in the process, tipping drastically to the left.
    I would have gone over, too, if it hadn’t been for my boyfriend and his more-than-human reflexes. Dad warned us that Lukas would start to develop demon-like resources, but still hadn’t elaborated as to exactly what that meant. Lately, Lukas was always a half step ahead. It was like he knew what was going to happen seconds before we did. He’d reach for the phone a moment too early.
    …Or catch something just before it hit the ground.
    “Hi,” he said, looking down as I hovered in his arms, inches from the floor. Those liquid brown eyes would be the death of me.
    I knew Mom was watching, but I couldn’t help grinning like an idiot. He brought out the stupid side in me. A