Rylie Cruz 3 - How to Date a Demon (16 page)

I glanced to my left. Jack was zooming
down the alleyway toward us in fast-forward speed. He grabbed Cole
with one big swoosh and slammed him against the wall. Wow. I had no
idea Jack had that much strength or that he was that jealous. The
situation didn’t look good though. How would I explain myself and
would Jack believe me? Of course he would. Jack was a rational man.
Although that was a tough argument to make at the moment
considering he had his hands wrapped around Cole’s
throat.

They tumbled to the ground and I ran
over, pulling at the back of Jack’s shirt. Finally, I grabbed his
arms and pulled him off Cole. I had no idea where I’d gotten that
strength from. Jack felt as heavy as a tank at the moment. Anger
would do that to a person though.

Cole jumped up. “Get that vampire away
from me,” he demanded.

“
Just calm down, both of
you,” I yelled.

“
Rylie, you are coming with
me,” Jack said with steely determination.

I didn’t care for his tone.

“
She needs to come with me,”
Cole said slowly, adding emphasis to each word.

Okay, I didn’t like his tone either. I
expected them to each grab one of my arms and start pulling in
opposite directions at any moment.

Cole and Jack stared at me, waiting
for my decision. Would it be Jack or Cole? Turning away Cole could
mean not finding Jennifer. But he claimed he didn’t know where the
demon was taking her, so what good was he? I kept saying that… now
I needed to get rid of him for good. I’d go with Jack and use the
book to find Jennifer on my own.

I didn’t have time to deal with their
fighting. There already wasn’t enough time and I was no closer to
finding Jennifer. It wasn’t a choice, so I walked away with Jack.
Leaving Cole standing there wondering what had just
happened.

“
What are you doing here,
Jack? I thought you had the conference with Quinton. Why are you
back again?”

Had they killed each other?

“
I don’t know what was going
on back there, Rylie, and we can talk about it later, but right
then I had to get you away from him.”

“
Nothing is going on with
him if that’s what you think. We were hiding from demons.” Okay,
that sounded ridiculous. “You just happened to come along just as
it happened. I hadn’t had time to push him away, which by the way,
was exactly what I was going to do.”

That statement sounded way more
convincing in my mind.

He didn’t answer. Instead he gave me a
sad look.

“
Is that why you want me
away from him? Because you think something is going on between us?
I thought you trusted me more than that.”

“
It isn’t that, Rylie. I
tried calling you, but you didn’t pick up. Apparently, Sophie is
somehow involved with the demons. She sent Neil to Jennifer to take
her soul. He paid for Jennifer’s soul so he wouldn’t have to go to
hell.”

Sophie had wanted to use Jack’s blood
to kill vampires. It was toxic to vampires at a certain level. When
she’d discovered this hidden gem, she wanted to use it for her evil
ideas. Luckily, we’d foiled her plans and she’d been captured by
the vampire clan.

“
That doesn’t make sense.
Neil is a demon hunter. Cole can vouch for that.”

Or could he? Maybe Jack’s instincts
were right. No, he was probably just being paranoid. A worried
boyfriend.

“
I’m just passing on the
information that I got and it seems pretty credible to me. There
are some people susceptible to the demons and Jennifer happens to
be one of them.”

“
But she was acting strange
before Neil came along.”

“
That was because one of
Sophie’s other minions had been to your place—a vampire who had a
demon attached. He had tried to get Jennifer, but it didn’t work.
When Sophie found out about this she wanted to get revenge, make
money, and have a little evil fun along the way.”

I hated that bitch. I’d thought I’d
gotten rid of her.

“
None of this makes any
sense. This seems hopeless. I’m like a rat caught in a maze and I
can’t find my way out. I’m just going around in
circles.”

“
That guy was holding you
back. Once you’ve gotten rid of him we’ll be able to find
Jennifer,” Jack said.

How to Date a Demon, Rule
#17

Don’t play the devil’s
advocate.

Jack and I needed to have a serious
conversation. We walked down the alleyway. I assumed Cole walked in
the opposite direction, but I didn’t turn around to find
out.

“
Quinton’s trying to find
more information for you as we speak,” Jack said.

I was thankful Jack spoke first. The
silence had been awkward.

“
I appreciate that,” I said
softly.

“
Look, I’m sorry for the way
I acted. Do you forgive me?” He cast a glance at me.

I nodded. “Yes, of course. I know you
are just worried about me.”

My thoughts were muddled at the moment
and I wasn’t sure what else to say.

Jack’s cell rang and he picked up. I
knew it was Quinton even though I could hear only one side of the
conversation. Quinton was undoubtedly telling Jack to get his ass
back to the conference. I didn’t want to be the one who got Jack in
trouble with the vampires. Sure, he could ignore the vampires, but
what if someday he really needed their help? It was best if he went
to the meeting, no matter how much he wanted to stay and help me.
Once again, I had to send Jack away. Now that Cole was gone for
good, it shouldn’t be a problem.

Jack hung up and stuffed his phone
back in his pocket. He didn’t look over at me or speak.

After a couple seconds, I said, “Why
don’t you go back to the conference and stay this time?”

His eyes widened. “No, I have to help
you.”

“
It’s important that you
attend this event. Once again I will say: I can find Jennifer on my
own. I have information from a woman that I think will lead me to
Jennifer. If I need you I promise to call. The demon hunter is gone
and there’s nothing to worry about.”

I didn’t want to tell Jack about the
demon that had followed me. He’d only freak out. Besides, I wasn’t
some damsel in distress. I could handle myself. Granted, it wasn’t
always pretty the way I handled things, but I made do.

We turned the corner and our building
was in sight.

I held up the book. “See, I’m just
going to my apartment and looking at the book to see what I can
decipher.”

Luckily, he didn’t see my crossed
fingers. It was entirely a lie. I was going to look at the book,
but I didn’t intend on doing nothing else like I’d just
implied.

We stopped on the front
steps.

“
Okay, against my better
judgment I’ll go back. But you’ll call if you need me or anything
happens.” He gaze was fixed on mine.

I crossed my heart with my index
finger. “I promise.”

“
And be on the lookout for
the demon hunter. If he comes back call me.” He caressed my
cheek.

Jack always managed to lift my
spirits, even in the most dire situations.

I nodded with a smile. “You know I
will.”

He kissed me on the lips and I
lingered in the warmth of his arms. Even my toes tingled when Jack
kissed me.

I waved as he walked away. A pang of
guilt settled in my stomach. I hated to see him go. I wanted to run
after him and ask him to stay, but I knew this was for the
best.

I had made it back to my apartment
with the book. It was a miracle that I hadn’t lost it. Anna Maria
had made a wise decision not to lend me the other one because at
the rate I was going, she’d never see this once again. But what
information was in that other book? Why hadn’t she let me look at
it? If only I could get my hands on it.

My foot was on the first step when a
familiar voice spoke from behind me.

“
I waited until he walked
away.” Cole stood in front of me with his hands shoved in the front
pockets of his well-worn jeans.

I rolled my eyes. “For the love of
werewolves, why are you here again?”

He was like a bad rash that wouldn’t
go away. Did they make an ointment to remove demon hunters from
your side?

“
I came back to help find
your friend.” He looked at me like I’d lost the last remaining part
of my mind.

“
But you said you were going
away.” I sighed.

“
I just said that for your
boyfriend. Come on, you knew I didn’t mean it.” He
chuckled.

I didn’t return his laughter. “You
wouldn’t happen to be related to Lily Friedman, would you? Neither
one of you know when to stay away.”

He frowned. “It’s for the best. Now
let’s go check out that book.”

“
I don’t think having you
around is going to help me in the least. As a matter of fact, it
will hurt me in the end.” I picked at the edge of my shirt, trying
to ignore his stare.

“
Look, you’re a big girl, I
know you can do things on your own, but there’s nothing wrong with
accepting a little help every now and then.” His expression
softened.

Before I answered, he grabbed my hand
and pulled me into the alley again. Okay, it had been kind of cute
the first time, but now he was just asking for trouble.

“
Have you ever been for a
psych evaluation?” I asked.

He looked out onto the street again.
“I don’t see them anywhere. We should get going before they come
back.”

Cole had moved a little but he still
stood dangerously close.

“
I thought you said they
wouldn’t come back.” I tried to breathe normally.

“
I never said they wouldn’t
come back.” He shook his head.

“
Well, then yes, by all
means, let’s get the heck out of here. What are we waiting
for?”

I shoved him away and took a couple
steps. He grabbed my hand and whirled me around, pulling me to his
chest. Without warning, he took my face between his hands and
planted his lips against mine. The shock of his touch had knocked
the air out of my lungs. The warmth of his body radiated next to
mine. The feel of his callused hands against my cheeks was
strangely exhilarating. His lips were soft and his tongue teased my
bottom lip. For a brief moment, I forgot everything around me, then
I came to my senses. I shoved him away and glared at
him.

“
Thought I saw the demons
again.” Cole’s voice was low and husky as a grin slip across his
lips.

“
Is that right?” My words
came out as a squeak.

“
I had to do something.” He
looked around, but avoided my stare.

“
By the way, don’t ever kiss
me again either,” I said through a fake smile.

“
I’m sorry. It was the heat
of the moment and you smelled good. And your lips are all shiny
with that goop on them.” He pointed at my mouth and wiggled his
index finger.

“
Well, just because I have
goop on them, as you call it, doesn’t give you the right to kiss
me. A lot of women wear this goop and you can’t go around kissing
them.”

“
I don’t want to kiss them,”
he said while looking straight at me.

“
What was that supposed to
mean?” My stomach did a little flip.

“
I wanted to kiss you. I’m a
man. So sue me.” He shrugged.

“
Just don’t let it happen
again, is all I’m saying.” I straightened my shirt and tried to
regain my composure.

“
Yes, ma’am.” He
winked.

“
Well, well, well, what have
we here? Won’t Jack be thrilled to see this little affair?” I
recognized Lily’s shrill voice anywhere.

I looked over my shoulder and saw Lily
standing at the end of the alley with that stupid smirk on her
face. How long had she been watching us? Apparently, long enough.
Lily beamed with glee at her discovery of us. She really rejoiced
in my unhappiness. Not very bridal behavior, if you asked me… and
she wanted me to be her maid of honor.

“
Beat it, Lily. I don’t have
time to deal with you now. Why don’t you go find your better half
and leave me alone.”

“
Fine. I have a phone call
to make anyway.” She arched one of her over-plucked eyebrows. “But
be thinking about the whole something borrowed, something blue,
crap. As much as I hate to, I guess I’ll have to borrow some of
your junk.”

Why did I even continue to talk to
her? She was a pain in the ass. That was what I got for feeling
sorry for her.

“
A friend of yours?” Cole
asked.

“
If by friend you mean
enemy, sure,” I said through gritted teeth.

“
They say you should keep
your friends close and your enemies even closer.” He grinned
reassuringly.

“
I’m not sure if I believe
that. I’d like to keep her far, far, away.”