No wonder he’d been so insistent that he wasn’t going to kill me. He’d known he wouldn’t have to.
I’m not sure why the truth hadn’t occurred to me before now. Just because I’d been told the sacrifice would be my life didn’t make it true, especially since I’d been told that by a demon.
“Don’t listen to him,” Chavez said. “He wants to put a wedge between us. I’m just not sure why.”
I wanted to believe he hadn’t known. Really I did. But there was that voice in my head that kept saying, Did you really think he wanted you? Look in the mirror, then look at him.
But there was another voice that insisted Chavez was different. He knew about the ugliness that lived beneath the beauty. He killed it every day. He’d said he liked women with glasses, women who read. Of course that sounded like a bigger lie than any of the others.
“What were you talking to Samantha about all that time?” I asked.
Anger flared in his eyes. I couldn’t believe Chavez had the balls to be angry. “What did you think we were talking about?”
“Where to bury my body?”
“I told you, I’ve killed a lot of things, but I don’t kill people.”
The demon snorted. “Men. They’ll say anything, won’t they?”
I didn’t even glance his way, instead holding Chavez’s eyes. “You should have shot me.”
It might have hurt less.
He winced. “Just because Samantha suggested that removing the virginity the demon craved might be the answer doesn’t mean I don’t care about you.”
The demon in the doorway began to laugh.
“You shut up!” Chavez snarled.
“Why is he still here?” I demanded. “You sacrificed the virgin. Shouldn’t he be demon dust?”
“That isn’t a demon.”
I switched my attention to the now giggling stranger, and I realized what was different. I didn’t want to jump him. I only wanted to slug him—and every other guy in the room. The sexual obsession was gone. You’d think I’d be happier about it.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Beelzebub.”
I glanced at Chavez. “Again?”
“He seems to like me.”
For a minute I sympathized. Imagine spending half your life chasing evil, killing it, and enjoying periodic visits from Satan whenever things got really rough.
Not much of a life, but that still didn’t excuse him.
Chavez had betrayed me in the worst possible way a man could betray a woman. He’d pretended to want me, but he’d only been using me. Not for sex, but to save my life and the lives of others. I still wasn’t going to thank him.
“So the earth moved for you, Kit?” Satan asked.
I could feel the blood drain from my face. He’d been watching?
I glanced at Chavez, who appeared as horrified as I was.
“I hate to be the one to break it to you, Chavez, but that wasn’t a result of your prowess. The demon was dying.”
Chavez ignored him, reaching for me. I stumbled back. I didn’t want him touching me. Not now or ever again.
Pain flickered in his eyes, turning quickly to fury when the devil snickered. Chavez spun toward him.
“You did this. You sent the demon; you made it so I’d have to hurt her in one way or another.”
“What’s your point?” Satan asked.
Cursing, Chavez snatched his pants from the floor and withdrew a vial of holy water. The devil rolled his eyes. “That isn’t going to kill me.”
Chavez tossed the contents into Satan’s face. Steam, the scent of cooking flesh, the hiss of flames, for an instant I saw the monster behind the mask.
“I know it won’t kill you,” Chavez murmured. “But it sure does sting.”
The devil writhed for several seconds. I was hoping he’d begin to cry, “I’m melting!” then do so. Instead, he straightened and lowered his hands from his face. I tensed, expecting something ugly, but he appeared exactly the same.
“Quit being childish,” he snapped. “I came to offer you a deal.”
“A deal with the devil? Hmm, let me think.” Chavez tapped his fingernail against his chin. “No.”
“Don’t be so hasty. The end is here. Demons are pouring out of hell even as we speak. You’re the only chance the human race has got.”
“Why me?” he asked.
“As you said—I like you. Always have. When I was inside you for that brief time, I felt at home.”
“Fuck you,” Chavez snarled. “I cast you out. And you aren’t getting back in.”
He yanked a cigarette from his pants and hurriedly lit the end. His hand shook, causing the devil to smirk and me to take a single step closer. I might want to stick a sharp implement repeatedly into Chavez’s eye, but I wasn’t going to let Satan hurt him.