Rylie Cruz 3 - How to Date a Demon (17 page)

How to Date a Demon, Rule
#18

Don’t tell your date that
the devil made you do it.

With reluctance I agreed to let Cole
in to look at the book with me. He’d just kissed me. I was asking
for trouble. Why had he done it? He must have very little
restraint. I wasn’t about to let him ruin my relationship with
Jack. If I didn’t know better, I would swear it was the curse at
work. But that was all behind me now, right?

Half-way up the steps to my apartment,
the sound of my phone ringing made me pause. I thought about not
answering, but then I worried it might be Jennifer, so I pulled it
from my pocket. Cole waited behind me.

“
Rylie, I’m glad you
answered,” Jack said with concern in his voice when I picked
up.

“
Why wouldn’t I
answer?”

Okay, I’d just been contemplating not
answering the call, but it had nothing to do with him. Guilt fell
over me. Did he know that Cole had kissed me? Maybe Lily had
already called him. But she didn’t have his phone number, right?
Jack sounded out of breath.

“
Is something wrong?” I
asked as I stopped on the stairs.

Cole stood on the step beneath me,
patiently waiting. I held up my index finger, indicating that I
needed one minute.

“
I have more information.
The demons, whatever they are, may be looking for you. I just spoke
with Quinton and another vampire here, and well, you just need to
get out of your house. I’ll be there as soon as I can to get you.”
The sound of people chatting came across the line. How many people
had he been discussing my dilemma with?

“
Is my life in danger? What
the hell is going on?”

I looked at Cole. He gave a little
grin. Little did Jack know that the demons had already been after
me. This was nothing new. But did he know why they wanted
me?

“
I can’t say. I don’t know
what’s going on, but I’ll be there soon.” His voice sounded even
more panicked.

“
There’s no time for you to
come here. I don’t want to be a sitting duck. I’ll come to
you.”

Yes, I had lied to Jack, but it was
for his best interest. I’d do this on my own. If I could get rid of
Cole I certainly would. At first I had wondered about Cole, but so
far, he’d done everything that he said he’d do. And things that he
hadn’t said he’d do, like kiss me.

“
Are you taking this
seriously?” Jack asked.

“
Of course I am, but you I
need you to tell me everything,” I said into the phone.

“
I think it’s that demon
hunter who’s after you. He’s not who he says he is. Good thing you
got rid of him. You need to get away from there before he comes
back.”

Yeah, good thing I got rid of him. I
eyed Cole again. He looked as if he knew we were discussing him. A
chill ran down my spine. Was that why he kept hanging around? Why
he kept coming back?

“
Who is he?” I asked, hoping
Cole wouldn’t put two and two together.

“
He’s a demon.”

“
That’s ridiculous. How do
you know?” I shook my head in confusion.

Was Cole taking me to my apartment to
attack me? What had I been thinking allowing him into my
home?

“
That’s what Quinton told
me,” Jack said.

“
No offense to Quinton, but
I’m not sure he knows what he’s talking about.”

“
Rylie, I need to go. Are
you coming here?”

“
Yeah, I’ll be there.” My
heart sank a little.

Jack gave me the address and I
promised to be there soon. I wasn’t sure I could keep that promise.
I hung up the phone. But I had a dilemma. I couldn’t exactly ask
Cole to leave now. He was standing right behind me.

“
What was that all about?”
Cole asked.

I’d never heard Jack that panicked
before.

I stuffed the phone in my pocket and
continued up the stairs. I didn’t say anything to Cole and I hoped
he wouldn’t ask. Probably too much to ask for though.

“
So are you going to ignore
my question?” Cole asked when we reached my door.

Yep. Too much to ask for.

“
Jack is just getting used
to the vampire lifestyle, that’s all. He’s newly turned,” I said,
trying to sound casual.

That wasn’t a lie. He couldn’t say
that I’d lied to him.

“
It can be difficult from
what I’ve heard,” Cole offered.

He sounded like he believed me. Maybe
my lying skills were improving. Right then I had to make a
decision: take Jack’s advice or ignore him. Even if Cole was a
demon and wanted to get to me, I had to have answers. And I was
determined to get answers about Jennifer’s whereabouts from him.
She’d do the same for me. Where I came from you didn’t abandon your
friends. Jack only wanted to help, but this time he just couldn’t
help me.

I unlocked the door and walked in with
Cole following closely behind. I tried to breathe normally, not
letting on to my apprehension. I pushed Jack’s words out of my
mind. My stomach churned. It felt strange having Cole in my
personal space. He looked around the room, taking in
everything.

“
Nice place,” he
said.

“
Thank you.” I pulled out
the book. “Do you want to have a seat at the table?”

If we sat on the sofa it would give
him the opportunity to get too close and I didn’t need that. Cole
pulled out one of the white wooden chairs out from the table and
sat down, stretching his long legs out in front of him.

“
Would you like something to
drink?” I asked as I placed the book on the kitchen
table.

The question came out of politeness,
although I should be careful not to make it too comfortable for
him. I had to remain nice so he wouldn’t suspect that I might be on
to him. Wait, I hadn’t exactly been Ms. Congeniality toward him.
Why start now?

He paused, so I said, “How about I
make us some coffee? It’ll help keep us alert.”

“
Sounds good.” He pulled the
book closer.

After putting on the coffee and
pulling cups from the cabinet, I pulled out a chair across from
Cole. He looked different in the light—more boyish and vulnerable.
Not quite as much a tough guy.

He lifted open the cover on the
hardback book and began flipping pages. “Why don’t you tell me a
little about your friend? It might help me figure out where we
should go to look for her.” Cole glanced over at me as we
talked.

“
What does that have to do
with anything? And why didn’t you ask that question before now?” I
asked. My mouth probably hung open at his lack of demon-hunting
ability.

“
You didn’t give me a chance
to ask. We’ve been playing a game of tag all day.” He paused.
“Anyway, the demons make people do the exact opposite of what
they’d normally do. If she was quiet and reserved then she’ll be
the opposite.”

Hmm. “That’s the craziest thing I’ve
ever heard of.”

“
It explains the way she’s
been acting and it makes sense, though, doesn’t it?”

I looked at his little smirk. He was
so happy with himself. When could I ask him if he was a demon? That
seemed like a risky question. What if I was sharing a pot of coffee
with a demon? Did demons take sugar and cream? No, surely they
liked it black.

In order to keep up the charade, I
said, “I guess it makes a little bit of sense. But she wasn’t
exactly a schoolmarm. But now, I expect her to come out wearing a
meat dress like Lady Gaga at any moment.”

He chuckled and continued flipping
pages.

“
It’s not funny. This is
serious.” I crossed my arms in front of my chest
tightly.

“
I know it’s serious. I’m
the one who told you how serious this is. That’s why I’m asking all
these questions. Now tell me about Jennifer.” He
pointed.

I sighed. “Okay. Um, let’s see. She’s
a veterinarian. She loves animals, of course.”

“
You’re a werewolf and you
live with a veterinarian? That’s classic.” He chuckled and held his
stomach.

“
Do you want me to continue
or not?” I asked through gritted teeth.

He tried to suppress a smile. “Okay.
Please. Do continue.” 

“
She hasn’t had much luck
with dating lately. Well, okay, she hasn’t had luck with dating
ever. That’s why I set her up with Neil. She wanted me to after she
had a nasty breakup with a newly turned vampire cop.”

“
This is like listening to a
recap of a paranormal version of Days of Our Lives.” He massaged
his temples.

I threw my hands up. “That’s it. I’m
done. I’m not telling you anything else.”

“
Will you please relax? You
need to calm down. I was only joking to try to lighten the mood.”
He shook his head.

Calm down? He had to be
joking.

I scoffed. “Sure, I’ll just relax and
let my friend’s soul be dragged to hell. Not to mention, you’re
trying to put me down.”

“
I am not. Why would I want
to do that?” he asked sharply.

“
Because you are a jerk,” I
said matter-of-factly.

“
Thanks for the compliment.”
He wiggled his eyebrows. “Anyway, back to the question. She has bad
luck dating… hmm…”

After taking a couple deep breaths and
trying to calm down, I said, “What would be the opposite of
that?”

“
Never dating again?” He
paused. “I know, joining a convent!”

I shuddered at the thought. “In the
dress she was wearing when she left here? The nuns would have a
heart attack. There is no way she would do something like that.
Possessed by a demon or not.”

“
Don’t be so sure about
that,” he said.

“
Maybe we should put up
missing posters?” I glanced at him.

“
She’s not a dog.” He shot
back.

“
Is that a remark?” I
narrowed my gaze.

“
About what?” he asked with
a frown.

“
About me being… oh, never
mind.” I waved off the thought.

“
Is there anything else you
can tell me about Jennifer.” He stuck his hands in his
pockets.

“
Tell me why I should tell
you more?” I didn’t take my gaze off him.

“
Because her behavior will
lead us to places she may be right now. Get with the program,
please.” He shook his head.

This guy was pushing his luck with me.
Demon or no demon. Speaking of which, if he was a demon, why was he
still trying to help me?

“
Well, about the whole
convent thing, she’s been known to go to church a few times…
Christmas, Easter, that kind of thing. So that wouldn’t be exactly
out of character for her. I’m not sure if I trust your theory
though. Because like I said, she wasn’t demure, but she isn’t a
slut either, although she was dressed like a total slut when she
left here though.”

“
Okay, so what do we know?
She was dressed slutty. She goes to church only when it’s expected
of her.” He looked at me innocently.

“
Hey, don’t be an ass.” I
scowled.

“
Sorry, I’m joking again.”
He held his hands up.

“
Don’t quit your day job.
Although I don’t see that you’re all that spectacular at the day
job either.”

“
Ouch. That hurts so badly.”
He held his chest as if I’d just stabbed him.

I rolled my eyes.

“
Anyway, back to the point,”
he said. “I think maybe we should check the bars, the strip clubs…”
He didn’t blink. Obviously he was dead serious.

“
What? Strip clubs? Oh,
you’d like that, wouldn’t you. You can go there on your own time. I
don’t have the time right now.”

“
Well, I didn’t want to grab
a bunch of dollars and hang out, but we can skip that. If you don’t
find her though, don’t blame me.” He flashed a sweet
smile.

“
I’ll take my chances,” I
remarked with a snort.

“
Which way was she headed
the last time you saw her?” he asked.

“
Well, Lily saw her behind
my office at the window. She could still be in the area. Jennifer’s
not much for walking long distances in heels. There’s a bar right
around the corner, maybe she’s there.” I pointed in the general
direction.

“
It’s worth a try. Let’s
go.” He jumped up and motioned for me to follow.

I hesitantly stood from the table and
followed him. How did I get myself into these
situations?

“
So, what do we do if we
search all over this town and don’t find her?” I had considered the
possibility. It was always good to have a backup plan.

“
I don’t think about that,”
he said without looking over at me. “I always find my mission.” He
walked with a military stride, his head held high and his shoulders
back.

“
Would you not call her
a
mission
? She has
a name, you know,” I retorted.