The Demon in Me (7 page)

“Stop this exorcism
right now
.” Eden looked directly at Rosa, who was staring back at her with a confused expression.

“She is not entirely human,” Rosa said in a soft voice.

“She’s touched with magic that gives this demon special strength. But I don’t know what it is that makes her different. Be careful, Malcolm.”

Could Rosa sense Eden’s mild psychic abilities? Before she could ask for clarification, Malcolm roughly grabbed a handful of Eden’s hair and pulled her head back around to look at him.

“So the demon is not the only unclean being in the room. Perhaps that’s why he was attracted to your form. You are a minion of Satan as well.”

“Get your hands off me,” Eden growled.

“I can help you,” he insisted. “But I need you lucid enough to break free of the demon’s influence.”

He let go of her hair only to backhand her hard across her face. The pain and shock was enough to knock any thoughts or protests out of her head.

“Malcolm,” Rosa said sharply. “That wasn’t necessary.”

“Mother, please. Let me do my job here.”

There was a knock on the door a moment before Malcolm struck the other side of her face, which left her ears ringing and pain reverberating through her skull as Rosa continued to hold her in place.

Eden looked over and was surprised to see that Ben had returned. He peered through the glass door at them, and his eyes met with Eden’s.

He rattled the handle as he tried to get in, but the door was locked. Then he banged at the door hard with his closed fist.

This probably didn’t look too good
, Eden thought absently, both relieved and disturbed that her exorcism had another witness.

The next moment something shattered—it was the door. Ben had wrapped part of his leather jacket over his fist to break the glass, then he reached through to unlock it and let himself in.

“What the hell is going on here?” he demanded.

“Leave us,” Malcolm growled over his shoulder.

“I don’t think so. Let go of her”—Ben unsheathed his gun and pointed it at Malcolm—“
right now
.”

Malcolm put up his hands and took a few steps away from
Eden. “You’re making a grave mistake.”

“I think
you’re
the one making the mistake. And that goes for you, too, lady. Get the hell away from her.” Ben’s gaze moved to Eden. “Are you okay?”

She felt shaky and cold. She couldn’t feel Darrak’s presence anymore, which disturbed her. Was he gone? Had Malcolm been successful at exorcising him?

“Yes, I’m fine,” she managed after a moment.

Ben narrowed his eyes as he looked at Malcolm and Rosa. “You’re both under arrest for assault.”

“No, wait,” Eden said getting to her feet. “I’m not pressing charges.”

She couldn’t let Ben arrest them. She’d paid the exorcists to come here. They’d only done what she wanted them to do. That is, until she changed her mind.

It was a possessed woman’s prerogative, after all.

“You’re not…” Ben’s forehead was furrowed. “What the hell do you mean? I saw this son of a bitch hit you.”

Eden grimaced. “It wasn’t what it looked like.”

“Then what was it?”

“A misunderstanding, that’s all,” Rosa said evenly.

Ben’s gun wavered. “Eden? Explain this.”

She nodded. “It was a misunderstanding. No harm done.” She glanced at the broken door. “Well,
almost
no harm done.”

“But, I saw him hit you—”

She moved toward him and put a hand on his hard-muscled arm so he’d lower his weapon completely. “Seriously, Ben. Just let it go. Please. Let them leave.”

It was obvious that Ben was torn about this decision. He searched her face for whatever answer he was looking for. Finally and reluctantly he holstered his gun. “Fine. Have it your way.” There was no humor to the words.

Eden breathed out a sigh of relief and then looked at the exorcists. “You can leave now,” she said firmly. “We’re done here.”

“You heard the lady,” Ben growled. “Get out of here.
Now
. Before I change my mind.”

Rosa quickly gathered her cane and the rest of her exorcism paraphernalia. “As I said earlier, Ms. Riley, the full price for this service stands. Thank you for your business and have a lovely day.”

Malcolm moved toward Ben. “Do you have any idea what you’ve interrupted here?”

Ben glowered at him. “A piece of shit abusing a friend of mine?”

“Just the opposite, actually. Your
friend
is very dangerous right now and must be dealt with.”

The cop clenched his fists at his sides. “You have no idea how dangerous
I
can be.”

Malcolm nodded at the chain that held a small gold cross pendant Ben wore around his neck. “I see you’re a believer in the difference between good and evil.”

Ben’s eyes narrowed. “It’s how I live my life. What I’ve chosen to do as a career.”

Malcolm cast a dark look back at Eden before returning his attention to the cop. “I’ll remember that. Come, Mother.”

He and Rosa left, their shoes crunching against the shards of glass from the broken door.

Eden got up and moved across the office toward the coffee machine. She poured a cup, black, and brought it shakily to her lips. She could have used a much stiffer drink, but it would have to do.

“Thanks for that,” she said after a moment.

He just looked at her. “You want to tell me what that was all about?”

How must it have looked to Ben? She had no idea what to tell him. All she knew was that the truth was not an option. “Like I said before, a misunderstanding.”

“So you know them?”

“Sort of.”

“Who are they?” he pressed. “And what did that woman mean when she thanked you for your business?”

“Avon reps are really aggressive these days.”

“Eden—”

She shook her head. “Just drop it. Please.”

“Drop it?” His expression tensed. “I broke your door getting in here to save you and you won’t even fill me in on what I saved you from?”

Despite what had happened, she couldn’t help smiling at that. “My hero.”

“I thought it was just the serial killer earlier, but you’re obviously a magnet for trouble. Or maybe this is just your lucky day?”

“I forgot to check my horoscope. It probably said for me not to leave the house this morning. Or possibly ever again.” She tried to make it sound light and almost succeeded.

He eyed her skeptically. “You’re not going to tell me who they were, are you?”

“It really doesn’t matter anymore. They’re gone and they’re not coming back.” She took another sip of the strong, bitter liquid.

“How do you know that?”

She didn’t. She looked at the door again. “Looks like I’m going to have to call a repairman.”

“You’re trying to change the subject.” He rubbed his temples. “I should have arrested them.”

“If I say pretty please let it go, will you?”

“I’ve always had a hard time letting things go. Even when I probably should.” He actually laughed a little at that, then closed the distance between them, taking her face in his hands. He rubbed his thumb gently along her cheek. “He didn’t even leave a mark when he hit you. That’s one good thing.”

“Like I said, it wasn’t a big deal.” She bit her bottom lip and looked up at him, feeling awkward at being this close to the gorgeous cop, especially after what he’d witnessed. “Uh… not that I’m complaining, of course, but why did you come back?”

His expression was still tense from having his questions unanswered. It probably wasn’t something he was accustomed to. “I forgot my sunglasses.” He nodded toward the table next to them that held the now unappetizing-looking donuts from earlier. Sure enough, his dark wraparound sunglasses were still there.

“You drove all the way back to get these?” Eden asked, surprised. “I could have dropped them in the mail for you.”

“I know.” He shrugged and a small grin twitched at his lips. “I guess I also had an urge to break a door. And here I am.”

“Eden,” Darrak said weakly from inside her head. “He’s come back because he likes you.”

She chewed on her bottom lip. “I’m glad you came back.”

At the moment, she meant both of them. For a moment, she’d thought Malcolm had been successful in exorcising Darrak. An unexpected swell of relief filled her to hear her inner demon’s voice again.

Ben’s grin widened, finally breaking completely through the tense look he’d worn. “Oh, yeah?”

She nodded but found it difficult to speak again. What was it about the cop that made her tongue-tied? Especially when she thought he might actually be interested in her.

“Look, I probably shouldn’t have come back here, but I’m glad I did.” Ben moved toward her to inspect her face again. “Did that bastard hurt you?”

She shook her head. “It—it stung a bit, but I think I’m okay now. Why? I thought you said there’s no mark.”

“There isn’t.” His warm touch moved along her jawline. “Looks perfectly fine to me.”

“Oh. Uh… well, that’s good.” She cleared her throat and stepped back from him, then cursed herself for being a total, awkward wimp-girl.

“You like him,” Darrak stated. “But you’re shy, aren’t you?”

She didn’t reply. She wasn’t shy. She was just… reserved. Yeah, that was a good word.
Reserved.

“I have an idea,” the demon said. “A good one. If you promise to help me find the witch who cursed me, I’ll help you with the cop.”

She really wanted to ask him how he intended to do that. In fact, she was curious enough to venture a “How?”

Ben frowned. “What?”

“Nothing.” Just talking to herself, as usual. Nothing strange or remotely bizarre about that, was there?

“How will I help you?” Darrak replied. “I can tell you what to say and what to do to make yourself completely irresistible to this or any other man. It’s obvious he likes you already, so that will definitely help. You just need to get over your fear. A little inner prodding will do the trick. I think it’s a fair trade for what I want from you in return. What do you say?”

Darrak was offering to act as her Cyrano de Bergerac?

That was completely and utterly ludicrous.

She didn’t need his help. She didn’t want anything to do with the demon at all. He’d turned her life into a complete nightmare in only a few hours.

However, nightmare or not, after what had nearly happened with the exorcists she’d hired, she was feeling very guilty. A few more minutes and she knew that Darrak would have been completely destroyed.

And he was right about one thing. She seriously needed some help in the romance department.

Was she actually considering his offer? She’d do whatever she could to find the witch and he’d help her not be a shrinking violet in front of Ben?

It was so crazy it just might work. A give-and-take partnership. With a demon.

“Okay, fine,” she finally said.

Ben grabbed his sunglasses and put them in his pocket. “So I guess that’s it. Do you need a ride home?”

She shook her head “My car’s here.”

It was a rusty old Toyota with over two hundred thousand miles on the odometer, but she still liked to use the word
car
to describe it, anyhow. She’d taken a cab into the heart of the city earlier for the police case so she could avoid driving on the busy highway.

He nodded. “And what about the door?”

She eyed the broken glass. “There’s actually a guy around the corner I can call to patch it up right away.”

“I can wait with you.”

“No, really, it’s not necessary.”

He frowned. “You’re sure?”

“I am.”

Ben hesitated as if ready to argue with her, but then had second thoughts. He nodded firmly instead. “I’ll send you a check to cover the damages.”

“Not necessary. We could use a new door anyhow. Maybe a sturdier one this time. Obviously the old one was a bit flimsy. Not that I’m complaining or anything since its flimsiness came in real handy tonight.”

Real sexy, come-hither talk if ever she’d heard any.

“Ask him to dinner tomorrow night,” Darrak suggested.

She swallowed.

“
Ask him
,” Darrak said again.

“Good-bye, Eden.” Ben smiled. “
Again
. And if those people come anywhere close to you again, give me… or the precinct… a call right away, okay?”

He reluctantly pushed the doorframe open.

“Do it,” Darrak urged.

“Ben,” she called just before he left.

He turned. “Yeah?”

She cleared her throat. “I know I kind of said no before, but listen, I want to change my mind.”

“About what?”

“Um… I was… uh, kind of wondering if you had any dinner plans tomorrow night?”

A glint of surprise entered his dark blue eyes. “Dinner?”

“Yeah.”

“With you?”

She faltered and felt her cheeks heat up. He was going to turn her down. This was Detective Ben Handsome, after all. She had no idea why he was single when any woman in the world would kill for the chance to date him. “Unless you don’t want to. I totally understand.”

Another smile touched his lips. “You’d understand, would you? Why, because I called you a troublemaker before? Or because that ass called you a dangerous woman?”

“Well… both. To start with.”

“I’d love to have dinner with you.”

She was honestly surprised by his answer. “Oh… well, good.”

“Good.”

Darrak groaned. “Sounds like you’re definitely going to need my help.”

She gritted her teeth.

“So I’ll call you?” Ben asked. “Tomorrow afternoon? And we’ll go from there?”

She grabbed a business card off her desk and gave it to him. “I’ll be here.”

He nodded and tucked the card into his jacket pocket. “Have a good night. And try to stay out of trouble, okay?”

She tried to think of a fantastically witty comeback for that, but came up blank. “Yeah, you, too.”

He grinned at her and left the office.

“
Yeah, you, too
?” Darrak repeated. “That was smooth. Why do you have such a hard time talking to him? Are you like this with every man you meet? You’re too attractive to be a spinster. Do you live alone with a great many cats?”