Page 12 of Beneath My Skin

Whatever it was, I’d heard enough. Or too much. Forget the money. I needed to get the hell out. Fast.

“I’m beginning to think I should find a djinn with more power. Because you are worse than useless,” Jacqueline retorted.

“I hardly think bringing her here with a bad check was useless. You wouldn’t have known about her otherwise.”

“Oh? You’re trying to play this off as if you planned it?”

What? I skidded backward, my boots slipping on the cement floor of the hallway. No noise! I needed to be quiet. Unfortunately, my legs didn’t want to cooperate. They were dead set on making as much sound as possible. I slapped a hand against the wall to stop myself from going down. Breath hissed out from my lips.

I was out of the hallway and into the main room trying to make my escape when—

“Look who we have here.” The clerk from before stepped in front of me and blocked the exit. His eyes were as narrow as his face. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Far away,” I insisted.

It would never be far enough. More and more, the idea of moving to a different state appealed to me. Maybe across the continent. If I had to get on an airplane, would they make me pay for two tickets, counting Cer?

“You’re not going anywhere.” The man lunged at me.

I ducked under his outstretched arms and grabbed hold of a silver tea tray, holding it above my head. “Don’t come any closer. I’ll slap you silly.”

In retaliation, he slipped a golf club out from a bag leaning against an armoire. It took no effort at all to knock the tray out of my hand, where it skidded to a clattering halt against the wall with as much noise as physically possible. The sound echoed through the space.

Seconds later, two sets of footsteps could be heard coming into the showroom. Turning my head, I caught sight of Jacqueline and Dax. One smiling. One pissed.

Jacqueline looked like the cat who not only caught the canary but made it into a five-course Michelin-star dinner. “Look who saved us the trouble of tracking her down. You heard everything, I assume?” It was more a statement than a question.

“No.” I shook my head. “I came back in because I wanted to tell you to keep the cash. On second thought, the accident was entirely my fault, and I should have known better than to try and con money out of you. I’m sorry.”

Next time, I thought briefly, I’d be better prepared to defend myself. I wouldn’t let anyone sneak up on me. Or poof in behind me. I still was not sure what he did exactly. While Jacqueline held my attention, Dax dematerialized. Then suddenly I was in his arms and held against what felt like a wall of granite before I had a chance to blink.

“You should have listened to me,” he whispered in my ear.

I twisted and tried to break his impossible hold. The room spun. My throat felt like it was closing up. “You’re a liar and a jerkoff.”

“You should really be careful how you act in public. You gave yourself away,” Jacqueline stated in a sickening parody of concern. She stalked forward, and at once she wasn’t beautiful. She was deadly. She was something better left alone. “If you hadn’t given in to the desire to scratch, I would have never suspected about your demon.”

I glanced over at Jacqueline and she bared her teeth in a smile. Trying to bare mine in return didn’t work out the way I wanted.

Dax shoved me toward his boss. I stumbled forward and something slammed into the back of my left knee, knocking my leg out from under me. I went down shrieking. Crashed against a desk and rebounded off. Landed on the floor hard.

It took time to catch my breath, panting in shock, my palms flat. My heart raced madly and tried to crash through my ribs under the rush of adrenaline. When I slowly got to my feet and looked up, both sets of eyes were on me.

Jacqueline raised one glossy eyebrow. “I don’t know how you acquired one, your demon. But I want her.”

“Why?”

“I’m not sure if you know anything about me. I’m a collector.”

“I thought you were an antiques dealer,” I muttered.

“Some days. Other days, I procure the interesting and fantastical. Power, my poor Mariella, is the only currency worth possessing in this world. And power comes from being the best. Being the strongest. You have something I want. I will have her.”

“You want me in your collection?”

“I want your demon,” she replied. “You either give her to me willingly or I will cut her out of you.”

The room went gray as a wave of bone-deep terror slammed into me. It sucked me under, pulled me down in an icy hold until I was gripped by it. Possessed. Drowning.

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