either of you two idiots touch her?”
They both stared down at the floor and shook their heads. “No, sir,” they muttered in unison.
Delacroix pinned his dark gaze on me, and his jaw softened. “Did they hurt you?”
My head whipped back and forth.
“Good.” He released the two males, and they scampered away faster than mice fleeing a fat cat. Delacroix turned to me and flashed a smile, accentuating the deep scar across his face. “I was hoping I’d run into you again.” His eyes moved from mine down to the demon symbol peeking out from under my sleeve.
I gulped. “Me too.” I hoped my voice sounded more confident than it did in my head.
“Wonderful. Let’s have a chat, shall we?” The hellus demon motioned further down the hall, in the opposite direction of the door out of here.
Chewing on the inside of my cheek, I nodded. It was now or never.
I walked beside Delacroix as his crew filled in the space around him like shadows. Much like when I first went to the mess hall with the Triad, demons darted out of our way as we approached.
Delacroix finally stopped in front of a large cell with only one bed. A king-sized bed from the looks of it—and a shower! My eyes doubled in size. The two-minute communal shower I’d finally taken last night had left much to be desired.
My escort ticked his head at his minions, and they all stopped outside the enclosure as he led me in. Not only did Delacroix have a massive bed, his cell also boasted a sitting area with two chairs and a table. Sure, they were plastic and mismatched but still. He pointed at the smaller of the two seats and I gingerly perched on the edge ready to spring to my feet if necessary.
Delacroix bent down and reached for something under his mattress, and my heartrate spiked. I leaned forward, ready to bolt if he pulled out some sort of weapon. Instead, when he straightened, he revealed a small wooden box of cigars. “Can I offer you a Cuban?”
I shook my head. “Nah, I don’t smoke.” This guy must have it in good with Sandrene. Cigars couldn’t be a typical commissary item.
“Your loss.” He smirked and folded his large frame into the crappy chair. His dark eyes found mine from across the table as he brought the cigar to his lips. The two bottomless inky orbs sucked me in as he puffed, his inscrutable eyes firmly fixed on mine.
When another minute or two passed in silence, I blurted, “Thanks for stepping in with those guys back there.”
He waved a nonchalant hand. “Those two idiots are harmless really.”
My flesh crawled at the memory of the males’ hot breath on my skin. I hated to imagine what the real bad ones were like in here.
“I hear you’ve been asking about me.”
My eyes widened. How does he know that? Had I even told anyone I wanted to talk to him?
“I have eyes and ears everywhere, girl.”
“I see that.” I shifted in my seat, edging my butt back a little. “That’s actually why I wanted to talk to you. The other day at the mess hall you said I took out an entire Fae village.” I twisted my fingers in my lap to make up for the knife carving out my insides. “You were the first to give me insight into that night, and I hoped you had more details. I don’t remember anything.”
He clucked his teeth and took another long drag of his cigar. “That’s a shame.”
“Do you know anything else?”
A grin pulled at his thin lips, curling them up. “I may have more information on the night in question for the right price.”
“I don’t have any money yet, but I can get some.” I just had to admit to Emi or my parents what happened. Or maybe I’d call in a favor to one of my grandfathers. Somehow admitting what I’d done to Lucifer or Garrix seemed easier than telling the other three.
“It’s not money I’m interested in.” He speared me with that dark gaze that made my head spin.
I swallowed hard and attempted to replace the moisture that had suddenly evaporated from my mouth. “Then what do you want?”
“I deal in many things, Azara.”
When had I told him my name?
“Like?” I was getting tired of this cryptic conversation, and I was short on time. The last thing I needed was to get stuck in this scary AF cell block.
“Favors, information, secrets…” He flicked his wrist.