Succubus Revealed Read Free Page B

And yet, this wasn’t a particularly unusual pattern in my world.
    “And by ‘we,’ ” added Jerome, “I mean you four.” He nodded toward Peter, Cody, Hugh, and me.
    “I’m sorry,” I said. “Let me make sure I’m following this. You’ve signed us up for some sort of bowling league. One that you aren’t even going to participate in. And this is somehow going to prove your employees’ ‘evilness’ to the world.”
    “Don’t be silly. I can’t participate. Bowling teams only have four people.” He didn’t comment on the proving evilness part.
    “Well, hey, I’ll totally yield my spot to you,” I said. “I’m not that great a bowler.”
    “You’d better become one.” Jerome’s voice grew cold. “All of you had, if you know what’s good for you. Nanette will be impossible to live with at the next company meeting if you lot lose.”
    “Gee, Jerome. I love bowling,” said Carter. “How come you never mentioned this to me before?”
    Jerome and Carter held gazes for several heavy seconds. “Because, unless you’re ready to take a fall for the team, you can’t really compete with us.”
    A funny smile fell over Carter’s face. His gray eyes glinted. “I see.”
    “I don’t really like your use of ‘us,’ seeing as you’ve already written off any participation on your part,” I pointed out to Jerome, imitating his earlier snide tone.
    Peter sighed, looking rather woebegone. “Where on earth am I going to find tasteful bowling shoes?”
    “What’s our team name going to be?” asked Cody. That immediately degenerated into a conversation of truly terrible suggestions, such as Soulless in Seattle and Split Decision. After almost an hour, I couldn’t handle any more.
    “I think I’m going to go home,” I said, standing up. I had kind of wanted dessert but was afraid I’d be drafted for beach volleyball and cricket if I stayed much longer. “I brought the wine. You guys don’t really need me anymore.”
    “When you get home, tell my wayward offspring that I need him to coach you guys,” said Jerome.
    “By ‘home,’ I actually meant Seth’s,” I said. “But if I see Roman, I’ll let him know you’ve found a good use for his formidable cosmic powers.” Roman—Jerome’s half-human son and my roommate—actually was a pretty good bowler, but I didn’t want to encourage Jerome.
    “Wait!” Peter sprang up after me. “You have to draw for Secret Santas first.”
    “Oh, come on—”
    “No complaining,” he argued. He hurried to the kitchen and returned with a ceramic cookie jar shaped like a snowman. He thrust it toward me. “Draw. Whatever name you get is who you’re buying for, so don’t try to get out of it.”
    I drew a piece of paper and opened it up. Georgina .
    “I can’t—”
    Peter held up a hand to silence me. “You drew the name. That’s who you’ve got. No arguments.”
    His stern look stopped me from any more protests. “Well,” I pointed out pragmatically, “at least I have a few ideas.”
    To his credit, Peter sent me home with some chocolate fondue sauce and a Tupperware bowl filled with fruit and marshmallows. Hugh and Cody were running forward with the bowling team plan, trying to come up with a practice schedule. Jerome and Carter said little and instead kept watching each other in a speculative, knowing way that was typical of them. It was hard to read much on their faces, but for once, Jerome gave off the vibe of having the upper hand.
    I left Capitol Hill for Seattle’s University District and Seth’s condo. All the windows were dark when I pulled up, and I couldn’t help a smile. It was almost eleven. Seth must have called it an early night, something I’d been urging him to do for a while. Thinking of that, my smile faded as quickly as it had come. A few months ago, Seth’s sister-in-law, Andrea, had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. The disease had been pretty far advanced when caught, and although she’d almost immediately