Page 71 of Demon's Desire

“I need to leave,” he whispered as he rushed to my window and unlatched it. I started to get up and ask why, but before I could, he pushed the window open and flew out.

I rushed over to the open window, shivering as the chilly air rushed into the room. I noticed him flying upward, so I stuck my head out of the window and looked at the sky. I didn’t see him anywhere. My only hope was that he was just on the roof so he wasn’t far. But why the hell had he left so frantically?

I’d never actually gotten dressed last night before passing out, so I threw on a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt. I went ahead and closed my window, but I left it unlocked in case he needed to get back in through it. He could do that thing where he sort of phased through walls, but until I knew what was going on, I didn’t want to count on anything.

Once I was dressed, I opened my door and headed for the living room. “Kelly? Are you awake?”

I stepped out of the hallway into the living room and froze. Kelly was standing in front of the couch with Jackson of all people.

Well, now I knew why Soul needed to leave.

“Mia!” Kelly smiled and came over as I crossed my arms over my chest. “We were out of coffee, so I walked to Walgreens this morning. When I got back, he was waiting for Mrs. Halston. This is Jackson. He’s a handyman or something. He says Mrs. Halston was running late. She said there was a problem with some of the other apartments’ water overnight? So he came to check ours.”

I grabbed Kelly’s hand and glared at Jackson. There was no use pretending. He knew I knew he was lying, and he knew I knew why he was here. “How long has he been here?”

Kelly picked up on my disdain for the alleged handyman and tensed. “Um… He got here just a minute before you came out of your room. Is something wrong?”

“He’s not a handyman.” I shook my head. “He’s been trying to get into our apartment for days.”

“What? Why?!” Kelly took a step back from him. I ignored her question. I’d tell her later, but I didn’t want to show my hand just yet. “Wait, then why did Mrs. Halston text me about the water this morning?”

“Text you?” I looked at her in disbelief. “She texted you?”

“Yeah.” Kelly pulled out her phone and opened it to show me her text messages with our landlord. There, right underneath the directions she’d sent on how to find the apartment, was a text about a problem with the water and a handyman, saying to let him in.

I frowned for a moment before taking her phone and calling our landlord. I knew we had the right number. I’d memorized it in case of an emergency. In seconds, a phone in Jackson’s pocket went off.

“Holy shit!” Kelly gasped, backing away like she thought Jackson would hurt her.

“It’s alright,” I assured her, handing her the phone. Jackson looked more than a little bit irritated at me, but he didn’t try to defend himself or make some kind of excuse. “Kelly, go into my bedroom and call the police.”

“Is that the best idea?” he asked in a warning tone. “I’m only here to do my job. I’m here to keep you safe.”

“Bullshit!” I snapped. “You need to leave. Now.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Hm. Very well.” He started heading for the front door. “But I’ll see you around, Mia. I can promise you that.”

Kelly grabbed my hand as he left. As soon as he shut the door behind him, she hugged me tightly. “What the fuck was that about?!”

I sighed, relaxing ever so slightly. “Remember at the club? The night of the fire? I told you I saw that demon hunter who was there for Soul.”

Kelly pulled back, her eyes wide. “That was him?”

I nodded. “This was my fault. I didn’t even tell you his name. I should have known he’d try to get in through you. And stealing Mrs. Halston’s fucking phone to text you was low.”

“Where’s Soul?” She looked at my closed door, then back at me.

“He left when Jackson got here.” I rubbed my forehead and looked around. “He has to be close by. I’m sure he’ll come back as soon as he realizes–”

Suddenly my bedroom door opened and Soul stepped out. He looked absolutely pissed. “He’s gone?”

“Yeah.” I nodded. “Kelly didn’t know–”

“How could you let him in here?!” Soul snapped, glaring at Kelly. I’ll admit, his glare was a little more terrifying than mine was.

Kelly stepped back, returning the glare. Again, it wasn’t nearly as intimidating. “How the fuck am I supposed to know who’s out to kill you and who isn’t?”

“Soul, stop!” I grabbed his arm. “This isn’t Kelly’s fault. We never told her who he was.”