“What?”
He smiled at her. “Your ankle. Try to put your weight on it.”
She did, tentatively. When that didn’t hurt she put all her weight on it. Then she hopped up and down on it. It didn’t feel broken or even slightly sprained anymore. She stopped hopping.
And glanced at him with a small frown.
“How did you do that?”
His smile widened. “Do you feel better?”
Her frown deepened. “Yes.”
“Then, you’re welcome.”
“I didn’t say thank you.”
“You’re still welcome.”
She glanced at the unconscious thug on the ground and her eyes narrowed. “How did you managed to launch him way over there, anyhow? Who are you, Batman or something?”
The handsome stranger’s smile held. “No, Valerie, I’m not Batman. Unless you’d like me to be, of course. I’m sure I could scare up a cowl and cape if I needed to.”
She tried to swallow the nervous lump forming in her throat. “How do you know my name?”
You will know a Tempter Demon when you see one.
A flame flickered to life in his hand. He held a lighter and with it he lit the cigarette he’d removed from his jacket’s inner pocket. Val watched the tip of the cigarette glow red, a flickering glow that lingered in the stranger’s eyes longer that it should have. “I know all about you, Valerie. Sorry it’s taken me so long to show up. I was . . . unavoidably detained.
Have you been waiting for me?”
Tempter Demons are assigned to lure fallen ones to Hell for an eternity of torturous servitude.
She racked her brain. What else did the scroll say?
Eat regularly. Three meals a day is standard for human sustenance.
That wasn’t going to be very helpful.
She pressed her hands together to stop them from shaking. And she’d thought having to deal with a mugger was the worst thing that could happen to her that night?
The demon smoked his cigarette and waited patiently for her to find her voice again. But her voice had gone on vacation. Somewhere warm, with palm trees.
Just one more day, she thought miserably. I only need one more day. Why did he have to show up now?
Of course he was attractive. All Tempters were. In Heaven she’d heard all sorts of tales about demons from the other angels. She’d listened with distracted amusement, never thinking she’d ever have to personally face one. Otherwise, she might have paid more attention to what was said. Taken some notes, maybe. But, she knew Tempters had to be tempting. After all, it was their job, wasn’t it?
How could she have been so out of it not to see this coming? Was she that sick?
TEMPTER DEMONS ARE VERY DANGEROUS. Their methods are underhanded and almost impossible to resist.
“Take it back,” she finally said, her voice weak but present and accounted for.
“Take what back?”
“What you just did to my ankle.”
He took another drag of his cigarette, then flicked it against the wall. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“I know what you are. I don’t want to owe you anything. Take it back. Make it broken again.
Please.”
He smiled and tried to meet her eyes. But her eyes were shy—they weren’t prepared to meet anyone tonight. Or maybe ever again.
“What I did was a favor for you. I expect nothing in return. Is it so wrong that I don’t want to see you hurt?”
Val managed to laugh at that. Just a little. It came out sounding jerky and pathetic. “Right.”
“My name is Nathaniel.” He took a step closer to her.
She took a step back and felt the brick wall, cold and unyielding behind her. “I’m happy for you. Leave me alone.”
The demon pulled something out of his pocket. A cell phone. He flipped the lid open, pressed a few buttons, and looked at the display screen.
“According to this, your last name is Grace.” He looked up from the phone and those dangerous eyes of his tried to catch her in their weirdly hypnotic gaze. “Valerie Grace is a very beautiful name.”
“I’m going to leave now. Don’t try to stop me.”
He frowned, creasing that handsome face into a semi-serious expression and cocked his head to one side. “But we have so much to talk about.”
“No, we don’t.” She tried to keep the fear that filled her chest from showing in her words.
“Yes, we most certainly do.”
“No,” she managed to put more emphasis on it this time. “We really don’t.” Her head ached, and she was overcome with exhaustion. She attempted to walk past him but he moved to block her escape.
“You don’t belong here, Valerie.”
“You’re absolutely right. I don’t. That’s why I’m going back.”
“To Heaven?” A grin appeared on his perfect lips. “Are you, now? And how are you going to manage that, little angel?”
Is he mocking me? she thought with a sudden jab of disdain.
“Because this is all a mistake, that’s how. And I’m going to fix it. So you may as well not waste your time with me.”