Beauty Awakened (Angels of the Dark #2)(43)
Author: Gena Showalter

“I promise you,” Laila said. “There isn’t a demon following me around.”

“Not right this second, no.”

Another sad smile was cast her way. “You’re seeing things again, that’s all. That’ll stop, just like before.”

No, it wouldn’t. Not this time. Nicola’s spiritual eyes had been opened, and she would never shut them again. But she didn’t want to spend her lunch hour arguing. “So, listen. I already said yes to this, and I’d love for you to join me. Just…promise you’ll keep an open mind when I tell you about it, okay? Please.”

Laila’s brows drew together with confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“A guy at work asked me out. Asked the two of us out, really. On a double date, not anything weird,” she rushed to add. Some men heard the word twins and their minds went to strip clubs and tag teaming.

“I’m intrigued so far. Go on.”

“Yesterday I called him and accepted. For me, not for you.” And she’d only debated three hours before picking up the phone—and another hour after that. She’d just gotten tired, and maybe a little resentful, of waiting for Koldo to appear, of hoping for something more than a conversation and a kiss with him, of dreaming of what might have happened if Laila hadn’t interrupted them, of wondering how he would look at her the next time he saw her. Tenderly? Fiercely? Or as coldly as a teacher with his student?

And what if he wasn’t allowed to date? Or, what if he was already committed to someone and forever off the market?

A fiery fog rolled through her mind, and she experienced what she suspected was a killing rage. If that sleazebag had a girlfriend…

“Uh, Co Co?”

“What?” she snarled.

“Nothing. Nothing,” Laila said, holding up her hands, palms out. “You just tell me when you’re ready and not a moment sooner, and I won’t wonder what this little mini makeover is all about. I mean, one second I was talking to my big sis, and the next I was staring at a serial murderer.”

Calm down. Just calm down. Already her heart was pounding erratically, and if she wasn’t careful she would pass out. Or worse, strengthen the demon toxin. And really, this was silly. She was raging for nothing. Koldo wasn’t the type to cheat. He was the type to just flat out tell you he was done with you.

“There’s the sis I know and love,” Laila said. “So…continuing our previous convo. You accepted a date with a coworker.”

“Yes. And I’d love to call him back and accept on your behalf. The other guy’s name is Blaine and he’s—”

“Stop right there. The rest of the deets don’t matter. I’m in!”

After Laila’s last disastrous relationship, Nicola had expected a little resistance. “Really?”

“Really. I’m not sure how much longer I’ve got to live, so yeah, I’ll be doing anything and everything I possibly can.”

“That includes listening to what Koldo has to say, I hope.”

Laila stuck out her tongue. “We’ll see. So, what’d this guy at your office have to do to get you to say yes? You’ve always been oblivious to the male population.”

“I have not. I just didn’t want to have to deal with all the complications.” And, okay, yes, the argument fell a little flat considering Koldo brought more complications than most.

A shirtless guy in blue shorts grinned as he jogged past Laila. “Hey, beautiful.”

“Hey.” She returned the grin with one of her own, and even waved, causing him to slow and then stop, clearly determined to approach. Her sister saved him the trouble and closed the distance.

Sighing, Nicola stepped off the path to wait. Another five minutes, and she’d have to head back to work.

She sidestepped a man walking his dog and—

Saw a shaved Koldo?

No, not Koldo, she realized with disappointment. A few yards away stood a male with the same body type as Koldo, with a bald head and bold features almost eerie in their similarity. This male wore a black shirt and black leather pants, and both were molded to his skin. He was, perhaps, ten or twenty years older than Koldo, the skin around his eyes and mouth lined. He was handsome, but he was without a sexy, beaded beard.

They had to be related, though. There was no way two guys could look so much alike and not spring from the same family line.

She waved, only to freeze in place when he reached up to stroke…a snake. A large snake with fur sticking out from underneath sickly green scales and the long, multipoint antlers usually only seen on deer. The rest of the creature’s body coiled around the man, the tail shaking and rattling. Its eyes were as red as rubies—and watching her intently.

Not a snake. That thing couldn’t be a snake. A…demon?

Evil wafted on the breeze, a hint of sulfur in the air. Oh, yes. A demon. And demons caused sickness, Koldo had said—and probably a thousand other things she wanted no part of.

No way this man was any kind of Sent One.

“Laila,” she called hollowly.

“Just a sec,” Laila replied. “I’m currently memorizing a very important number.”

The jogger chuckled.

The bald man grinned at Nicola, but it wasn’t a nice grin. A gaze as dark as the night perused her from head to toe, reminding her of the leering Mr. Ritter. Her heart, already amped up from the chocolate, kicked into an erratic beat.

Nicola raced forward and grabbed her sister’s hand, tugging her a few steps backward. “Come on. We have to get out of here.”

“But—” the jogger began.

“Why?” Laila said, turning her back on him to concentrate on Nicola. “What’s wrong?”

“Do you see that man over there?”

Laila glanced to the right. “Baldy? Yeah. So?”

“What about his pet snake? Do you see it?”

“Uh, he doesn’t have a pet snake. Or a dog or a cat or a bird. Honey, are you okay? You’re pale and shaky.”

Her sister still couldn’t see the demon, then. “Come on.” She pivoted and quickened her pace, dragging Laila with her.

“What’s going on?” her sister demanded.

“I’ll tell you later.” The park was crowded with moms and their kids, dads and their dogs, as well as businessmen and women out on their lunch break like her, hoping to soak in a little sun before crawling back inside the shadows of the daily grind. She maneuvered around them, but wasn’t quite at her best and ran into a few.