Page 20 of Demons and Debts
‘Wake her up. I want to know who killed Dreyson. He was an asshole, but he was almost a full member. We can’t let that go unpunished.’
I nod and go to the locked cabinet in the corner of my room where I keep my medical supplies to grab the ammonia salts. ‘Any ideas who did it?’
Vic shakes his head. ‘It could be any of the other supe factions. Tensions are high.’
‘Tensions are always high,’ I scoff.
‘Higher than usual then. At least the deal we made with her for that orc stone is done. Once she tells us what she knows about Drey, we can cut her loose.’
‘Yeah,’ I say absently, not telling the boss what I’d rather we did with her. He won’t go for it anyway. He only takes the ones who want in, and I already know she won’t.
I crush the packet of salts between my fingers and put it under her nose. She starts, her eyes opening wide as she coughs and groans, curling her free arm around her middle and realizing at the same time that her other one is stuck above her head.
Her nostrils flare as she starts to panic.
5
JANE
‘Relax. Vic just wants to talk to you.’
I rattle the metal of the cuffs. I’m in pain and pissed as fuck. ‘Why?’
‘Because Drey is dead and I want to know what you know,’ Vic answers, but that wasn’t what I meant.
‘No, I mean why am I chained to the bed?’
‘Because you’re a human girl in a house of hungry incubi,’ Vic answers readily. ‘You don’t get to wander around.’
I scowl at him. ‘Let me leave then.’
‘You can go when you’ve answered my questions.’
I flex my other hand, reminding myself that only one is cuffed so I don’t start hyperventilating. Full-blown panic is just around the corner, popping it’s head out to look at me every few seconds and that will get me nowhere I need to be. These assholes will just put me out or sedate me, and then try again when I’m calm. I want this done. I want to get out of here, grab my stuff, and leave town before anyone else gets hurtor killedbecause of me.
I can live with Drey’s death and maybe that makes me a horrible person. But I couldn’t deal with something happening to Shar or her kids.
‘Ask,’ I say, relaxing into the bed, trying to stay as calm as possible.
If I don’t try to move my arm, I can pretend it’s free.
‘What happened after you and Drey left the bar the other day?’ Vic asks.
‘I went to the diner to start my shift. Your boy came in a little while later and ordered a soda. Then I noticed he was gone. I finished my shift and went home around midnight.’
‘And Drey was found yesterday morning?’
‘Yes. Sarge, the cook, went to take out the trash and he was in the dumpster. That’s what I heard anyway.’
‘You didn’t see him?’ Vic’s piercing eyes are unwavering, and I try not to get lost in their inky depths.
I shake my head. ‘I didn’t hear about it until I got to work …’ I look out the window and notice it’s still dark outside. ‘Tonight, I guess. The supe cops came to Gail’s to talk to me about it.’
‘What did you tell them?’ His tone doesn’t change, but I flinch anyway as I feel an invisible weight pressing on me. It’s like extra gravity, pushing me into the mattress.
‘Tone it down. She’s just a human,’ Theo murmurs and the pressure I feel eases.
‘I didn’t tell them anything.’
