Soul Conquered Read Free Page B

the counter, who she’s
obviously just glamoured, and hands me a golden keycard. “It’s the penthouse
suite,” she says with a wink, and leads me off toward the giant elevators
encircling a fenced-off atrium, where a large white tiger rests on top of a
flat rock, chewing on a hunk of meat.
    “Nice kitty,” Keira says with a whistle as we enter one of
the glass lifts.
    “Isn’t it dangerous to keep it in the middle of a crowded
hotel?” I ask, unable to tear my eyes away from the rapidly shrinking form
below.
    “Probably. But they have state-of-the-art security. And
insurance.” Keira pushes the button repeatedly, as though we aren’t traveling
fast enough for her taste.
    “I feel bad for him,” I say as the doors open to a sweeping
hallway flanked by floor-to-ceiling windows. I’m glad I’m not afraid of heights;
there’s only a nearly invisible glass wall between myself and the view. We’re
thirty-eight stories up.
    “He’s probably better off than if he were in the wild,”
Keira says, tapping her keycard against the double doors. “Give a little, get a
little. That’s how the world works.”
    She leads the way inside, and I gasp at the enormity of it.
The same full window-wall view reveals the sunset over a million twinkling
lights. There’s a long balcony, a sunken living room, a full bar, and giant
triple-size Jacuzzi sitting on a dais near the window.
    “There are two bedrooms,” Keira says, tossing her keycard on
the coffee table and kicking off her shoes.
    “Aren’t you supposed to be on an assignment?” I ask, coming
to my senses.
    Keira shrugs off her dress and heads toward the Jacuzzi,
completely nude, which no longer fazes me. “He’s asleep. There’s a time
difference, and he’s dead-to-the-world drunk. Can’t do anything now, so we
might as well enjoy ourselves. Do me a favor and pour me a drink, would you?”
    I grimace but dig around the bar while she fills the tub and
turns on the jets. I set a bottle of champagne down on the edge along with a
glass and snag a second bottle on my way toward the bedroom on the left.
    “I guess you’re right. Lucifer thinks I’m stuck out in the
desert, and he’s busy right now. I might as well relax a little. I could use a
good night’s sleep.” Maybe it’ll get my mind off the man I kept from his true
love.
    “So that’s it? You’re drinking now?” Keira’s taunt stops me
in my tracks, but I hang onto the bottle.
    “So what if I am? Who’s it going to hurt?” Talk about hypocritical.
    Keira sighs heavily. “Lucifer always wins. I just thought it
might take more than two weeks to get to you .”
    Just when I thought Keira couldn’t piss me off anymore… I
spin to face her. “You’re one to talk. Just because I want to relax a little
doesn’t mean Lucifer’s won. I haven’t done anything seriously wrong yet, and I
don’t intend to. But if stopping some guy from breaking up a wedding gives me
more time to get through to my brother, then that’s what I’m going to do.” My
grip tightens around the neck of the bottle, and I realize I’m shaking.
    “Hmmph.” Keira leans back into the bubbles and rests one
foot on the edge of the tub.
    “Hmmph? That all you got?”
    She shrugs, popping the cork from her bottle with one hand.
I jump at the sudden noise. “Want more, Gracie? Okay. Aren’t you supposed to be
asking, ‘what if the guy you delayed is supposed to stop the wedding, marry the
girl, and father the next Mother Theresa?’ Or, how about, ‘what’s going to
happen when Lucifer tells me to do something I know is wrong, and I can’t
reason it away?’”
    The fight drains from my body, and I nearly collapse on the
thick carpet. My voice comes out weak when I answer. “If it’s meant to be, it’s
going to happen either way.” But it’s exactly the opposite of what I believe.
    “Whatever helps you sleep at night.” Keira toasts the air
before guzzling a glass.
    I turn and head back toward the bedroom. I