The Lure of the Devil (The Demons' Muse #4) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,78

asked the bartender.

The girl glanced back. "Yeah, he just vanished sometime around the end of last semester. A whole bunch of people have, actually. I mean, at first, we thought he'd just quit, but the cops came in and started asking us all about things he’d said. You know, like if he'd discussed any vacations or friends in other states." She turned back to focus on the drinks but kept talking. "Couple of the guys think he ran off with someone else, but I don't know. He wasn’t that kind of guy."

"No, he really wasn't," Sia agreed.

But she couldn't pull her eyes away from the poster. I didn't recognize the guy’s face, but I did remember that there had been another bartender who she’d seemed comfortable with. When her ex-boyfriend had been a dick that night, her coworker had seemed almost protective. And most times I'd come in, she'd shared her shift with the same guy. I had a funny feeling that was him. So when the bartender gave us our drinks, I handed her the twenty and told her to keep the change, then guided Sia to a quieter spot closer to the pool tables.

"Was he a friend?" I asked.

Sia kinda wobbled her head from side to side. "Definitely an acquaintance, and a guy I liked. The friendly type, so don't start thinking the wrong thing. But she's right. There is no way he would've just walked off like that. Chris loved this job."

"Weirder things have happened," I said.

But that caught her complete attention. "Like angels." And she glanced back towards the bar. "Luke, do you think that could be it? I mean, Aaron said something about Delta Phi. They have an entire fraternity that is being set up to draw in people that they plan to steal. I don't think Chris would've joined a fraternity, but I could see him going to some prayer group. What if…" She swallowed. "What if the angelic slaves are coming from here."

Shit, she had a point. "Because they were looking for you," I realized, "There was already an entire system in place here. Identities had been made, backgrounds had been set up, and who knows how many angels they integrated into the population. Fuck."

"So what do we do?" she asked.

I pointed at her drink. "Right now, you enjoy that. When we go back, we'll talk to the guys. With all of us, it'll be easier to figure out exactly what they're doing." Then I stepped a little closer so I could lower my voice. My hand found her waist, to keep her from moving away as I leaned close to her ear. "That doesn't mean I can promise that he's okay. If angels are really what happened to him, for all we know, he could be dead."

Sia sucked in a little breath and turned to look at me. I was standing just a little too close, able to watch as her pupils flared, but she didn't try to move away. Was that worry in her eyes, or something else? Could she really care about this guy so much? Even worse, why did I feel this flood of jealousy because of it?

"All I can do is help you find him," I said softly.

She nodded her head subtly. "I know you will. I didn't exactly know him that well. It's mostly that all of this feels like it's piling up - and much too fast."

"It always does," I assured her. "And that's why this is your first lesson. You cannot spend eternity chasing something that may or may not happen. You can't keep going until you drop. Well, maybe you can, but the rest of us can't keep up. Sometimes, Sia, you deserve to just stop caring for a moment. To have a drink, celebrate the little things, and let everyone around you see just how beautiful you are."

She smiled and glanced away. "You don't always have to flirt with me, Luke." Then she snuck in a sip of her drink.

I lifted mine, but before I touched my lips to the glass, I said, "Kinda do."

Her smile grew a little bigger. "I would like to remind you what happened the last time."

I took a slightly bigger drink. "I do believe that the last time was you flirting with me, not the other way around."

"Only if you consider getting you naked to be flirting," she countered.

I tossed back what was left of my martini, leaned just enough to set my glass on the closest table,