A Hand in Hell

Chapter 15

I passed through the doorway with a luxurious stretch, arching my back as I came to a stop in the kitchen. I watched as Lauren shut the door to the garage behind herself, just grinning away. She dropped her armful of shopping bags on the floor with a chorus of rustling plastic and made her way to the refrigerator.

"So," she began casually, pulling the door open and reaching inside, "are we married yet?"

I chuckled. "I don't see a ring on my finger."

She turned to me with a bottle of water in her hand and let the door swing shut. "Well, if I got you a ring, would you accept it?"

"I have a feeling I would be the one buying the ring," I said as I slid onto a bar stool, and she stuck her tongue out at me but said nothing else, taking a swig of her water.

I glanced toward the window above the sink and sighed. It was getting dark outside, and the setting sun cast a swath of pink and purple across the sky. I felt like I could hear the crickets chirping, feel the cool breeze on my bare skin, smell the crisp air, and I wondered — could the demons feel it, too? The ones I would soon hunt? Or were they already gettin' it on in that dirty motel room?

Why was I even contemplating this?

"You're not really going to go after them, are you?" Lauren asked softly, and I turned to find her on the stool beside me, her brow furrowed in worry. "We had such a nice day together. And you can't let that dinner go to waste, can you? It would be blasphemy to die with a fifty-dollar meal still in your stomach."

I smiled. "I'm glad I have more confidence in me than you do, or I really would end up dead."

She took another slow sip of her water, eyeing me over the plastic bottle until she finally lowered it. "You really think you can take 'em? I mean, I watched you go up against that one demon lady at the house you burnt down, and she nearly fried your brain. What'll happen if you face two at the same time?"

I snatched the bottle from her fingers and defiantly arched an eyebrow as she glared. "You seem to forget that I existed long before you came along." I paused to take a sip of my stolen water, and she crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. "And that I've been through hundreds — yes, literally hundreds — of fights during my decades of life. You have no reason to worry." I handed her water back to her, and she chugged the remaining half of the bottle in defense. I watched, patiently waiting for her to say something.

She emptied the bottle and dropped it on the counter with a hollow thunk. "Maybe if these were two normal demons, like the losers we saw at that bar last night, but they're not. They're members of this stupid Demon Council thing, and in my experience, members of groups like that are members for a reason. Do I need to bring up that demon lady again? She burned your brain. Um, no, thank you! Let's not fight those people!"

I rolled my eyes and slipped off of the stool. "Are you forgetting the part where I fought back and killed her in a matter of seconds?" I started toward the back door. "Now, I really think I need to be going. I'll see you later."

"Oooh, no," she said, hopping off of her stool in a hurry. "You're not going by yourself." She caught my wrist, but I'd already stopped, turning to look down at her with an eyebrow cocked in cool surprise.

"Why? Do you think you'll be able to save me if things get out of hand?" I mocked.

She smirked. "I just want to be there when you die. Even if the demons kill me after, it'll be worth it just to watch."

"But I just bought you all these clothes," I said, mimicking her previous pout. "Why would you want to let them go to waste like that?"

Her smirk only grew more smug. "Worth it."