Page 1 of Demons in My Bed
Prologue
Thetimehadfinallycome.
I left the three agents I’d been playing pool with all evening in the billiards room and practically sprinted down the hallway. We’d been having fun, and it had been a while since I’d done anything aside from train, but I let my mind slip back into my working mentality. There was no room for smiles or teasing jokes with smoking hot guys. No, not now. Not when everything I’d been planning for was happening.
My phone vibrated, and I connected the call without even checking the screen. “Vale.”
“Ah, Palmer. Good,” Asrael—my mentor and the CEO of Montague Industries—murmured, making my spine stiffen from muscle memory and training. “I’ll meet you in an hour to get you to your destination. I’ve arranged for Laurie to do one last session with you. She’s waiting for you out on the lawn.”
My heart raced. Adrenaline and excitement were taking over. “Yes, sir.”
“Listen to whatever she has to say. If anyone can offer you any last minute wisdom for this type of assignment, it’s her. See you soon.”
The call disconnected, and I shoved it back into the pocket of my gown. Thank fuck for dresses with pockets; even formal ones now came with such joys. Asrael had asked me to meet him here tonight at his seaside castle and being the kind of man he was, he’d required a formal dinner. I’d sure as hell be changing out of this contraption as soon as possible though.
I silently moved down the stairs, freezing in place when I spotted a guy I had absolutely no desire to speak to. Confused, I tilted my head. He should’ve heard me coming, but was clearly distracted.By what?Leaning over the banister, I saw him staring at an image of a woman with long, red hair that would make anyone jealous. He ran a finger over her mouth, and I grimaced. Gross. Whoever she was, I hope she never tangled with that asshole.
The agents who worked at Montague were a family, for the most part. On an assignment, you had to be able to trust your team implicitly. Bryce hadn’t been around all that long, and I had a sneaking suspicion he was actually banging Laurie. I had to stifle the urge to gag. Not that I gave a shit about who was fucking who amongst the other agents, but there was just something about him that I didn’t trust. That had been one of the first things Montague drilled into our heads when we began our training. Never. Ignore. Your. Gut.
Bryce shook his head and took off in the opposite direction. Thank the stars. Hiking up my skirt, I raced down the remaining steps and slipped through the front door into the night. The castle, which was nestled along the coastline, was completely enveloped by the sound of roaring waves that carried through the air.
That was the thing about the ocean—not only was it big and intimidating, it was also deafening. All-encompassing, the sea could attack all the senses, making sure you were constantly aware of the true master of this world.
I couldn’t be near the sea and not think of my parents. The first time I ever saw the ocean, I’d been six years old and on a family vacation. Just the three of us. I’d never forget how when we walked up over a sand dune to see all of that blue water spanning as far as the eye could see, it wasn’t the size that scared me. It was the noise.
I clung to my dad’s back like a monkey, and he carried me over the hot sand. He must have felt my apprehension, because I felt his chuckles vibrating through his back. He asked if everything was okay, and I just squeaked something about how the ocean was so loud.
My mom stripped off her cover-up and ran past us, laughing as the wind blew through her long, dark hair, her squeals of happiness rising over the beast of the sea. Dad and I watched her jump through the waves, and she waved back at us.
“One day, Palmer, you’ll fall in love. I hope you have a kind of love like the ocean—so deep and all-consuming that sometimes, the intensity of it hurts in certain moments. Just like this one.” My dad’s eyes never left Mom as she laughed and waved at us to get in the water.
“Why does it hurt? Love is happy. That’s what my princess books say.”
Dad laughed. “It’s a good kind of hurt.”
My nose wrinkled. “Hmm, that sounds scary. I’ll just close my eyes.”
Dad swung me around, landing me on his hip so he could look at me. “Let’s close our eyes then.” I smiled and copied him, bouncing with excitement at this game. “Do you hear it?” he whispered.
“Hear what?” I whispered back, but it was more of a whisper-shout.
Mom’s laughter carried through the air on a gust of wind to us, and my eyes popped open. Dad’s eyes were crinkled at the corners as he smiled down at me.
“Your mom is my ocean. Big personality, huge heart, endless love… but the thing I love the most is that when everything about her is so big, I can just close my eyes. Even when I can’t see her, or feel her, I can hear her. She’s the sea and I’m the sand. Always here to catch her when she breaks.”
I pondered his words in my six-year-old brain. “Then what am I?”
“Oh. Right.” Dad shook his head like he’d forgotten about me. “That’s easy. You’re the little, stinky, crab baby!” My mouth popped open in disbelief.
“Come on, you two! Don’t make me come get you!” Mom yelled out to us as the waves crashed around her knees.
“I am NOT a little, stinky, crab baby! I am not little OR a crab!” Wiggling out of Dad’s grip as he howled with deep belly laughs, I peeled off my own little cover-up and handed it to him. He secured my life jacket, and then I was off, kicking sand up under my small feet.
He shouted, “Does this mean you’re just a stinky baby then?”
“I’m telling Mom!” Glancing back, I saw my dad standing there, just watching us. It took a moment for me to notice that there were other people on the beach, though most of them looked a little strange. Slowly, my dad’s focus shifted from me to scanning the beach. He didn’t seem alarmed by all the see-through people, so I ran down to Mom, ready to have one of the best days of my childhood.
Being at the beach again felt like fate. Getting the green light for my first mission while staying in a castle right on the shore? Every wave that broke felt as though my parents were right there with me, cheering me on, proud of how far I’d come.
