Closing Time

23.

I held Mike's glare and bit the inside of my cheek as mild panic swirled inside me. Breaking our staring match, I turned to look at Lou. "Forget what I said."

"No." He replied without missing a beat. His eyes glinted with interest for the first time this evening.

I clicked my tongue irritatedly as the heat rose with just that one word. "Then butt out of it. It's none of your business."

Lou raised an eyebrow and squared his shoulders as some of the glint faded. "You know, you've gotten rather ballsy ever since I resurrected you."

My lips turned down in distaste at the emphasis on himself. "Yeah, death can do that to a human."

"Is that so?" Lou licked his lips. He held my gaze as the colour in his eyes crowded over the rest of his eyes. "Still unwilling to tell me?"

My breath was shorter. It was cold and I could feel the pressure on my chest. But it didn't scare me anymore. It just felt... like a mild inconvenience. I couldn't help the smirk on my face. The demon's lack of feelings might just help me out in this respect. "Yes. Yes, I am."

I could see confusion pass through Lou's form. A few moments later, he narrowed his eyes. Exhaling softly through his teeth as he pulled back. I think he'd realised what was up.

"I should have let you die." He hissed, annoyance visible in his features.

I was almost grinning now. I gave him an apathetic shrug. "Too bad, so sad."

He growled to himself. I felt the cold spread over me once again, a bit more biting this time. If I was still a hundred percent human, this would have immobilised me. Stopped my breathing and made my mind go blank with fear and panic. However I was fine now. Mildly uncomfortable with the cold and the pressure on my chest. But mostly fine.

I jumped as Lou suddenly slammed the counter. He pushed himself away and slid off the stool. He didn't even spare me another glance as he walked to the door. "I'm leaving."

"I can see that." My voice was surprisingly cheery.

I almost expected Lou to stop and glare at me once more. But all he did was yank the door open and vanish. I'm pretty sure he would've slammed the door if we didn't have a doorstop.

I turned to look at Mike after a few moments of being amused at Lou's temper tantrum. "I'm sorry for bringing it up. It just slipped out."

"That's okay." Mike sighed as he reached for his wallet. "Humans can't be trusted to keep secrets after all."

"I can be trusted to keep secrets." I defended myself as I reached for Lou's glass. There was a sliver of whiskey left in it. "I do that for all my customers.

"Then, I'm the exception?"

"You're the accident." I replied easily and snickered as I turned away from him. "I didn't mean for that to slip out. Sorry."

"Your apologies mean nothing." That hurt. Mike sighed. I heard the shuffle of notes. "The demon knows. Can't be hidden anymore."

"It's not that important anyway." I shrugged. "It's just a bunch of useless ammo-less guns."

"Yes, but I'd rather they weren't contaminated by a demon up until the next time I need them."

"You're just a bouquet of daisies, aren't you." I mumbled and moved back to take the cash. "Oh, paying for Lou?"

"Yes." Mike paused to swig the last of his drink. "Unfortunately enough, I still owe the demon."

"Thanks. He gets grumbly when I talk about an unpaid drink."