Page 76 of Craving Demons
“Thanks,” I said, then brushed his lips with a kiss. He smiled as he released me.
“This way then, Mister Baker, Miss Baker.” Mammon went to the other door and proceeded through a song and dance to unlock it which included an eye scan, a palm scan, a voice print verification, and a passcode punched into a keypad, which was longer than I’d ever be able to remember.
The door — and yeah, it was a vault door, more than a foot thick — clicked open and Mammon ushered Donny and me inside.
My eyes went wide as I took in the aptly named Diamond Room. Two big bruisers of guards stood next to each of the two doors and with four more guards, one in each corner, that made eight tough-looking men stationed in here.
Another door stood directly across from where we entered while every other surface in the room was cabinets all crammed full of gems, most of which were diamonds. The wealth in this room could probably feed, house, and clothe every underprivileged family in America, if not the world.
“Amazing, isn’t it?” Mammon said, his voice silky and superior. He clicked the vault door closed behind us. “Now…” He drew out the word. “Let’s discuss your transaction.” And the way he said it suggested there was indeed something to discuss as opposed to a straightforward withdrawal.
“I wish to close my account and take what’s mine,” Donny said, not intimidated.
“Do you?” Mammon asked. “Or do you want…more?”
My pulse picked up. There was something in that last word, something both soothing and thrilling.
His voice seemed to ripple around me, like when Harmonia did her thing, and suddenly I was on board. Who wouldn’t want more? If fifty million had turned into almost four hundred million in twenty years, imagine what just another five or ten years might do? A billion? More?
Images of the life we could live flashed through my mind. There would be so much I could have: dresses galore filling an entire house full of closets and my daughters would never want for anything. I could leave my job and Donny could…
Donny…
I blinked, returning to myself. No, we needed this money so Donny could pay off Tommy. If we didn’t, we were dead.
“What are you doing?” I said, stepping between Mammon and Donny. “Stop it. We’re here for our money. We don’t want trouble, but if you don’t give us what we want—”
“Then what, my dear?” Mammon breathed. “You’ll sic your men out there on me? Trust me, they’re about to have their hands full.”
“What do you mean?” But then I remembered that horrific beast. “You wouldn’t?”
“I would, and I will.Ineed to keepmymoney safe after all.”
“Yes,” Donny said behind me. “That would be a sound investment. If we reinvest for another twenty years, I estimate we’d have almost three billion.”
I spun on Donny, trying to talk some sense into him. “Not if Tommy Two-Toes kills you first. We need that money.”
“Tommy will see the benefit in reinvesting. Why wouldn’t he want more?” Donny said with easy justification.
“Indeed,” Mammon purred. Then he laughed. “The minds of humans are so easy to manipulate. They all want more!” He stepped in close to me. “But you, my dear, you’re special, aren’t you?” He was just a bit shorter than me and had to raise his hand to stroke my chin with his fingers, though I suspected he would rather have stroked elsewhere. “Why don’t you stay here with me and let me shower you with more wealth than you could ever imagine?”
I tried not to puke on him.
“Fuck no, you bastard.”
All the guards tensed, and I realized suddenly how outnumbered I was. Ramsey was right. What was I going to do against eight armed guards and a beefy businessman? I couldn’t fight them.
Mammon grabbed my wrist, possessive and tight. “Iwillhave you, woman. I take what I want, and I want you. It will be your choice whether you are discarded with nothing once I’m done with you, or whether you live with wealth beyond your imaginings!”
I looked back at Donny, but he was standing there, head cocked. I could almost see the dollar signs in his eyes. He was fully in Mammon’s thrall, dreaming of riches.
I turned back to Mammon. “There’s no fucking way I’d ever be with you,” I hissed. “Now release me or feel my wrath.” There was one thing I had going for me. Mammon probably knew I was a daemon since he hadn’t affected me earlier, but he didn’t know what my aspects were. So, I could threaten him and see what he did.
Mammon grinned, and there was nothing nice about it. “Oh, you’llbe with me, one way or another. It doesn’t much matter to me whether you enjoy it or not.”
Ick! This guy was a creep-and-a-half!
“You asked for it,” I said, though I wasn’t sure what my next move would be.