Page 95 of Greed

“No, I haven’t seen him or spoken to him since the incident here. I’m not sure why you’d think he’d talk to me of all people.”

“Thought maybe he called to apologize or something—fucking shit show.” The man snorted and mumbled something about a beach beauty as he walked away. She shook her head and sat back down as Penny came over.

“Why the fuck would that man think you would have anything to do with the jerk that harassed you and then tried to have you charged? I think he drinks. I could sneak into his office and find out, or I can give him a demon special,” she whispered and smirked.

I laughed hard and held up my hands.

“Don’t do that on my account.” She paused as a thought occurred to her. “He’s not a…you know…is he,” she asked, keeping her voice low.

“You’d think so, wouldn’t you, but no, he’s just a very angry person.”

“Do you know what happened to Jared,” she said.

“Me?” Penny put her hands on her chest, her eyes going wide. “Why would you think I had anything to do with him not showing up to work?”

“Just cause of what he did, but I guess not.” Suddenly, a thought came to her, and she swore under her breath. “Do you think Riker could’ve done something to him?”

Penny laughed, and then her face sobered when she didn’t laugh along with her. “Oh, you’re serious. I mean, maybe, but he didn’t know Jared, though.” Penny looked around and then squatted, getting in close. “Look, the thing is, Riker is always going to be Riker no matter how much nicer he becomes, so I guess it’s possible.” Penny shrugged. “Not really a loss if you ask me.”

“Penny, he’s still a person, even if he is a douche canoe.”

Penny laughed hard. “Best insult ever. Fine, feel bad for him, but if he is roasting, I’m not going to shed a tear.” Penny wandered back to her cubicle and picked up the next call.

The more she thought about it, the more it made sense that Riker would have a hand in Jared’s miraculous dropping of the charges and disappearance. She was going to be paying him a visit after work to get the answers.

She shook her head and looked at the screen that was surprisingly quiet. How do you get a demon to stop killing people and taking them to Hell? He was an original sin. It seemed like an impossible task. Her head hurt with confusion as she put her headphones back on.

* * *

I stepped out of the private elevator to the lower levels of the penthouse I owned. It was an area that no one other than a select few were ever allowed to use. It wasn’t even on the building blueprints, but every now and then, I needed a fun place to torture people. In this day and age of technology and cameras on every street corner and phones that recorded everything, even I had to be careful. Plus, I had no interest in my office needing another deep cleaning so soon. The stench of Jared still lingered in the air.

My feet echoed on the stark metal hallway as I marched toward the cell. This Anthony Kent had been far too easy to find. His friend, on the other hand, I was still in need of a lead. Anthony’s trail of abuse had been far greater than I could’ve ever dreamed and gave me the perfect excuse to kill him. Not that I needed one, but if Minetta ever asked, then at least I didn’t look like a total monster, only a partial one.

All I knew was that I didn’t want her to see me that way, the thought of her looking at me the way Callista had…I sucked in a sharp breath as I pushed that image out of my mind.

Skye stood leaning against the wall outside of the cell. Her black leather outfit was like a second skin and was already speckled with blood. There were only two things in this world that Skye and Neven truly loved other than each other. The first was sex, and the second was torture.

“Hey, thanks for including me. I kinda thought you’d never call again after our last conversation,” Skye said. She was referencing my harsh scolding of her telling Minetta to stay away from me. Minny had let the little episode slip while away in Venice. It had been a good thing I had some time to cool off before seeing Skye again, or else she may be visiting an entirely different set of torture cells. Ones that were far hotter and one she most certainly wouldn’t enjoy.

“Whether you agree with my choice about Minetta is inconsequential to our friendship as long as you don’t go butting your nose into my business.” I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at the demon.

Skye rolled her eyes at me. “So does this mean you won’t do any more of our fuck friend sessions?”

“Skye, what did I just tell you?”

“That you’re in a relationship with that twerp of a useless human flesh, and you don’t want to screw it up by screwing me.” She rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically at the statement.

“I’m pretty sure those are not the words I used, but the general idea is correct. Minetta means a lot to me, Skye, don’t go messing with her or me or else.”

“Fine, whatever, you made your point. Neven is inside, and he is having way too much fun with this human.”

Smiling, I reached for the door. “Well then, we better join in before there is nothing left to play with.”

I pushed open the door, and screaming met me, making me smile. There really were some days I enjoyed being a fucking Prince of Hell.

By the time work was over, she’d graduated from mildly annoyed to downright pissed off. If Riker had anything to do with Jared’s sudden change of heart, he was going to get an ear full. She understood his nature. Well, most of it she did. But, seeking out and possibly hurting Jared just because he was a tool wasn’t right. On the other hand, Riker was a demon, a fallen archangel, and knew that there were certain aspects she’d never be able to get him to see differently.

Traffic was light as she traveled the short distance to Riker’s building and pulled into the visitor’s parking area. She stared up at the large structure, her hands gripping the steering wheel a little too hard.