Chapter Two

I unlock the door to my apartment, swinging it open and stepping inside. It’s a small studio that I converted into a one-bedroom by separating my bed area with makeshift walls. The rest of the room is all wide open with a tiny kitchen and a small table I eat at.

“Welcome to mi casa.” 

He’s standing frozen at the doorway with a grimace. “This is pathetic.”

My temper rises again, but I close my eyes and count down. I plaster a fake smile on my face and cross my arms. “At what point during my desperate summoning of a demon did you get the impression I came from a lavish lifestyle.” 

He blinks at me and I see the clench of his jaw. I raise my eyebrow, daring him to say something else. 

He moves into the apartment and walks to the chair near my bedroom. Giving it one more disgusted glance, he slumps down into it. 

“You seem like you had more to say?” 

The demon glowers. “Quite a mouth on you.” He looks around my apartment again and sighs. 

“Probably shouldn’t have let me know you can’t kill me. It doesn’t make you as scary.” I tell him mockingly.

He smirks, clasping his hands into his lap. “Can’t kill you, but there are plenty of ways to bring someone to the threshold of death.” 

My tongue dries and I try to swallow to coat it. The demon closes his eyes, his head tipping back. “The scent of your fear is so arousing.” 

I scowl at him. “Sorry, that’s not my kink.” 

“You sure? Have you explored it?”

I ignore him to take off my leather jacket and reach back to unclasp my bra and remove it with a sigh. My breasts were just big enough that I needed a bra but still perky that in a flimsy tank top they still looked good standing up. Honestly, I think my boobs were my best attributes. I tore out of my jeans so I’m only in the tank top and white boy shorts and go to the bathroom to get ready for bed. Quickly brushing my teeth and washing my face, I crawl into my bed and turn to face the demon who hadn’t left the chair. 

“Do you normally strip in front of your guests?” He asks. 

I shrug. “Sure. It’s not like we could— you know… do that.” I cough, trying to cool my flushing face. 

“Do what?” He raises an eyebrow, amusement clear on his beautiful face. 

“Fuck.” I deadpan. 

He barks out a laugh that does nothing to calm the heat crawling through my body. It was too human and too teasing. “Oh, you’re so wrong, little human.”

“Whatever!” I squeak out. “Do you want to know what’s going on?” 

“It’s not a want, but a necessity.” 

Rubbing my eyes with the heels of my palm, I fight back tears of frustration. I lean against the wall and pull my comforter up to my chest. “Okay, so my dad is an addict. And his vices are gambling and hookers.” 

The demon leans back, his hands resting behind his head as he watches me silently. He opens his legs in a relaxing stance, settling in for the rest of the story. I look away from him, finding a  dirty spot on the ceiling to focus on. 

“Both of our moms were hookers, Natalie and I. I don’t know how they figured out he was our dad, but as soon as they had us… they found dad, dropped us off and we never saw them again.” 

My eyebrows pinch together. “I guess we should be thankful he didn’t do the same,”

The demon grunts as if he doesn’t agree, but I ignore him,

“Everything changed when I turned 18. When I didn’t agree to have sex with one of his bookies to settle a debt, he kicked me out of the house since I was ‘useless’ according to him,”

I close my eyes as my fists clench together. “I almost did it, to stay home with Natalie. I figured since she was only 16, she was still safe though and my pride won out,” A bitter laugh fell out of me, “I should have just done it.” 

“What happened then, little human?”

I sigh, dropping my eyes to the comforter to pick at it. I need to back up before I continue. “Do you know who Reno Alvarez is?”

 The demon drops his hand so he can lean forward on his knees. I can feel his burning gaze. “I don’t bother myself with human affairs unless they are a particularly bad human.” 

I smile, darting a glance at him. “I guess that was a stupid question.” 

He raises an eyebrow and I nod. “Right. So Reno— anything illegal around here, goes through him. He’s the boss, literally and figuratively. My dad works for him, I don’t know the full details on doing what, but almost all of my dad's money goes right back to Reno. Either as a debt payment or gambling at one of his casinos.” 

Sighing, I lift my knees to circle my arms around them. “If the girls my dad picks up are Reno’s girls. A couple of months ago Natalie turned 18 and I was so busy working multiple jobs, that I forgot about it. She was living with me by now, we rarely had contact with my dad at this point.”

I bite my lip as I recall the night I truly hated someone. The night I wish death on someone, the night I made a promise to kill them myself if I had to. “My dad didn’t forget that. It was as if he was racking up his tab knowing he had a huge payout to give.” 

“Your sister.” 

I nod, hot tears burning my face and I clear my throat. “Yeah, they snatched her from the cafe I work at. I was locking up for the night and my dad came in with Reno and a few other men.” I close my eyes. “I made two mistakes that night. One was showing how much I cared about Natalie and the second was challenging Reno to his face.”

Opening my eyes, I turn to the demon. He has a calculating hard cold look in his eyes. His jaw is clenched and he nods. “He made sure she’s out of reach for you and your fight attracted him.”

I open my mouth and then close it, a little confused how he got that spot on.

“It’s what I would do, little human. Dangle the prize, but never let them see it. Make promises to give a prize if they give what I want first.” He says.

“Except Reno is the vilest fucking creature and I would never touch him or trust him to keep his word. That’s why I won’t give in, I would sleep with him if it gave me Natalie, but I know it won’t. He’s a liar and he’s a cheat.” 

The demon grins. “So you want me to kill him.”

I scowl. “You can’t just kill people, especially not Reno. He’s the Underboss for the Chicago Outfit,” I sigh, “and we need him to tell us where he sent Natalie.”

“I would extract the information before I killed him.” His grin turns a bit bloodthirsty and I have to remind myself that he can’t kill me. It doesn’t stop the goosebumps running up my arms though.

“Did you not hear where I said he’s a part of the mafia? You can’t just kill him,” 

The demon laughs. 

I roll my eyes. “Was that enough information? Can I go to sleep now?”

He shrugs. “It’s enough for now.”

“Okay. Goodnight then.”

 I blink at him as he continues to stay in the chair. 

“You can’t stay here,” I tell him, throwing a hand out to my apartment. “I don’t have anywhere  for you to sleep and you are not climbing into my bed.” 

“I don’t sleep.” He says with a raised eyebrow. 

“So what were you planning on doing?” I ask hesitantly. 

He leans back on the chair, resting his hands behind his head again. “I’ll just stay in this chair.”

“All night?” I balk, “and do what?” 

He smiles. “I’m not going to harm or touch you, little human. You can sleep peacefully knowing I’m watching over you instead.”

“No–”

“Stop arguing before you make me angry.”

I snap my mouth shut and lay down in a pout, turning my back to the demon. I pull the comforter up to my ears. I’m not sure how peacefully I can sleep knowing a demon is in my house… just watching me sleep.