Page 46 of The Devil's Dilemma

“I’m tired of talking, Dante. It’s all we’ve done. Please can I go home?”

“I can let you go home, accompanied, of course, to grab some more clothes, but then you come right back here. I don’t know who or what could be looking for you now.”

“I don’t get it. Why suddenly are demons, as you put it, going to be coming for me? I’m nothing special.”

“That mark was placed on you for a reason, and I also wonder what the casino chip you’ve been carrying around has to do with things.”

He looked down and adjusted the towel wrapped around him. Someone was avoiding the subject.

“Where did you get it from?”

“None of your business.”

He was going to feel my wrath very soon unless he changed his attitude.

“I’ll ask you again. Who gave it to you, and why?”

“Look, do you have any clothes I can put on? Mine are dirty.”

I pushed off the counter and found what I was looking for in the cupboard in the bedroom: underwear, a T-shirt, and a pair of sweats. They’d be a little long, but it wouldn’t matter.

I turned my back, giving him some privacy, but watched his reflection in the window as he dropped his towel.

At least I didn’t growl, as much as I wanted to see his naked body.

What on earth was going on? Why this reaction to him? I could understand it before, but now I knew his heritage, we should be at each other’s throats. Not just verbally but physically too.

“You got any more of that?”

He reached around me, poured himself a mugful, and sat on the leather sofa. Nothing like making yourself at home.

“Talk.” I sat opposite him and waited while he sipped his coffee.

“I had misgivings about this casino job.”

“With good reason.”

“Are you going to let me talk or keep interrupting me?”

I gestured for him to continue and leant back in my chair.

“The others went off without a hitch, but the moment Joel told me we were hitting this one, it felt off to me. Grandpa told me about a magic shop.”

“I know the one. He’s been around for aeons. The Owner always knows what you want before you do.”

He blinked. Seriously, he was pushing his luck, and he had a lot of that.

“Yes, that one. He gave me the chip. When I asked what it was for, he gave some vague answer about it being for protection or assurance. I didn’t understand and still don’t. I don’t think it’s doing anything.”

I had a thought about that, but I needed it to settle for a while before I made a comment.

He continued. “I thought it was helping me be invisible, which was why I brought it with me.”

“Ah, let me just say that the security at the door disables any amulets, potions, spells, or suchlike. I can’t have people cheating me out of money. That wouldn’t do, now would it?”

Did he look embarrassed? He’d better.

“So, it didn’t work?”