Deal with a Demon (Kindle Serial) Read Online Free Page A

didn’t know if he should reveal himself yet, so he stayed silent, fading back into the shadow behind the open door where he couldn’t be seen but could watch unobserved. Nic obviously knew the male, and Arden wouldn’t interfere unless it stalled forward progress.
    Nicolette. Beautiful name. He wondered how her parents—
    Focus, idiot.
    “OK, Jimmy, you need to start talking,” she said.
    Arden could smell the man from five feet away. He reeked of garbage and sweat.
    From his spot in the shadows, he saw Jimmy roll over and shuffle into a sitting position. “Take it easy. I got over here as fast as I could.”
    “Don’t care,” she said. “When was the last time you saw my brother?”
    “I was here last night. Drew called me and said he scored some sweet shit. He invited me over for a sample. But when I got over here, there were some weird-ass dudes here with him.”
    Nic shot Arden a pointed look. Time for the big reveal. He pushed the door closed and stepped out of the shadows.
    “Hi there, Jimmy,” he said.
    Jimmy took one look and skittered across the floor like a crab. “Oh shit! He’s one of them too, isn’t he?”
    One of them? The male had seen demons before. This situation became more complicated by the second. He wanted answers.
    “Nic, don’t you see what he is?” Jimmy pressed his back against the refrigerator and the scent of his fear intensified.
    “It’s OK. I know who he is.” She glanced at Arden. “I need you to tell me who he works for and where they took my brother.”
    Jimmy stared at Nic, bug-eyed. “Fucking hell, you don’t know shit.”
    “I know you and Drew got messed up with the wrong people and now you’re here and he’s…gone. Who were you two getting the supply from?”
    She still thinks I’m some drug dealer’s errand boy. Hadn’t she learned anything from his demonstrations? Perhaps he would have to show her his capabilities.
    He stepped over to where Jimmy huddled against the refrigerator and knelt down in front of the stinking human until he was at eye level. The heat of his power brimmed inside his chest. When he leaned in for the capture, the junkie’s constant twitching stilled and his eyes glossed over. Jimmy was his to command.
    “That’s better, Jimmy. Everything is fine. Everything is cool.”
    “Everything’s cool,” Jimmy repeated.
    “Tell me what happened when you were here with Drew.”
    “I was here with Drew.”
    Arden was tempted to sneak a smug smile at Nic, but he didn’t want to break the hold he had on the man. “What happened?”
    “I came over ’cuz Drew was having a little party.”
    “And?”
    “When I got here, there were these two dudes sitting on the couch. They kinda looked uptown, know what I mean?” Drool dripped down Jimmy’s chin. He might have wiped it away if Arden told him to.
    He didn’t. “What else?”
    “They looked like they were hustlers or something. I figured that’s who had the dope.”
    “Next?”
    “Drew and me got off and it was awesome stuff. Those dudes were laughing at us, but then they got all serious. They had whacked-out names too. One was called Sad or something, and the other guy was Flip.”
    “Flic?” Arden asked.
    “Yeah, Flic. They made us go in the spare room and it was all done up like some witches had been living in there or something. Then they started singing.”
    Here it comes.
    “They were singing loud and dancing around and Drew was laughing. He was looking all creepy, like he didn’t know if he should burst into tears or start screaming, ya know?” Jimmy was deep in the spell, but his fear was here and now; Arden could feel it ramping up his power. He had to be cautious. If the human got too worked up, he’d never get the whole story out of him.
    “Easy, Jimmy, easy.”
    Jimmy swallowed and went on. “The three of them were getting crazy and the room started shaking. I was freaking out and yelling for Drew, but it was like he couldn’t hear me. Then this light