Demons: A Hunter's Novel, Book 1 Read Free Page B

Heat and sin everywhere, what’s not to
love?
     In
the office, there was a large glass desk with a stiff-looking black chair
behind it. It spoke of the coldness that had seeped into Az. Six months ago he
would have had a dark wood desk with a comfy cushiony chair that looked like it
probably needed reupholstering because it was so old, but it would be the most
comfortable chair around. I need a place to rest my ass where it won’t fall
asleep. He’d say.
    This
office spoke of coldness and superiority. Things that Az wouldn’t have had six
months ago, but now Azrael owned them. Maybe I didn’t know him anymore. Something
told me that my Az was still somewhere in Azrael, I just couldn’t see where.
    “The
building’s glamoured?” I asked him.
    The
crap-hole I had seen was actually a gorgeous high rise that had been hidden by Demon
magic so no one could see it. I really was numb. Perhaps too numb, I now
realized. I should’ve been able to feel this. I had done a damn thorough job of
blocking out the world.
    “Of
course. Couldn’t have anyone finding this place.”
    The
unspoken or you hurt. He had put me back with “them” and I won’t lie, it
stung. The Hunters. The enemy he had fought, in one way or another, for the length
of his existence. That’s how he saw me. But he was him and I was me and we were
us. Right? I guess the new us was kicking me in the ass and I deserved every
bit of it.
    “Fair
enough.”
    Azrael’s
eyes sparkled for a moment and he turned to look out the window with his back
to me to keep me from seeing the sparkle. I wondered what that look had turned
into. Did he hate me now, as much as he had loved me then?
    “Why
am I here Azrael?” I pulled out his full name to make sure he didn’t miss the
fact that I had used it.
    “I’ve
kept an eye on you, even if I loathed it at times.” Azrael looked at me over
his shoulder. He looked livid and he made sure I didn’t miss it. I hated he had
seen me with all the other men. He had always been a control freak to the core.
He attempted to control everything that came at us, even though he couldn’t.
Something I loved between the sheets but hated everywhere else.
    “The
Hunters are, of course, following you still. But the supes are too. Including
some of mine.” He couldn’t have surprised me more if he had told me he had a
sex change. What. The. Fuck.
    “Seriously?”
    “Yes.”
    “Do
you know why?” My mind was racing with the possibilities. Why would everyone
and their brother be following me? And why follow me and not kill me?
    “After
I tortured the Demons who were following you…” He let the statement hang there.
He was making it clear he had changed.
    When
we had been together, he had been merciful, he killed quickly without pain. Now
he was torturing others, surrounding himself with pain. He didn’t need to say anything
more to make it clear to me how far apart we were now. Not even miles, but
worlds away. “They told me orders were coming from our highest. So I killed
them. With your blade, naturally.”
    I
had forgotten I left him one of my blades so he would always be safe. I knew he
could take care of himself without my blade, but he had taken over every part
of me and I guess I was a little afraid he wouldn’t remember me after a while. And
I wanted him to. I couldn’t be with him, but that didn’t mean I didn’t still
love him. I wondered how often he had used the blade for his torture sessions
and if he was the one who had been helping keep me as one of the most valued
Hunters. He was still protecting me, even after all I had done. I was sucking
more by the minute, and not in a good way.
    “Naturally.”
    What
was happening to me? I sat down on the floor with the weight of this new burden
on my shoulders. My body just couldn’t take anymore. I felt Az beside me.
    “Laney…”
    I
looked up at the worried expression on his face. I was in some serious shit. It
was the only reason he would have to bring me back