Death Wish

She had no doubt that he could probably seduce any female that crossed his path without much effort at all. Yeah, the guy was drop dead gorgeous and if the last couple days had taught her anything, it was that normal humans never ever looked that good. That knowledge made her nervous as she tried to hurry and ring up the woman’s purchase.

Becoming frustrated, Gypsy glanced across the counter at the pretty girl who always spent so much money in her shop then sighed thankfully when she was handed a large wad of cash and told to keep the change.

“Thank you,” Gypsy smiled and then noticed there was a list of pricey, hard to find items written on a piece of paper among the cash. She glanced back up at the other female realizing the young woman must know about the sudden influx of demons to be making such strange requests but she didn’t have time to discuss it right now.

“I’ll give you a call when the items come in,” Gypsy nodded as if she’d simply ordered a box of chocolates.

As the customer walked away with her box of questionable items, Gypsy glanced back toward Nick seeing the two men now facing each other and by the looks of it they were sizing each other up.

“Can I help you?” Gypsy asked coming up on the other side of the counter.

The stranger turned away from Nick and smiled, “I sure hope so. By chance, is the old codger that runs this store here today?”

Gypsy's polite smile faltered but she had answered this question more than once since taking the store over. “I’m sorry, but he passed away a little over a month ago.” She watched as a quiet sadness crept into the man’s eyes and it put her more at ease. With that kind of reaction, surely he wasn’t here to cause any trouble.

“Then maybe his granddaughter is available?” the man asked calmly.

“I am his granddaughter. Is there something I can help you with?” Gypsy asked politely.

The man frowned slightly in confusion but quickly covered it up with a polite smile, “Maybe. I was told to give this to the owner.” He slid the envelope halfway out of his pocket so that she could see the edge of it. With Mr. Quick Draw beside them he didn’t trust that it wouldn’t be snatched away.

“I am part owner,” Gypsy said with pride now that Lacey was back.

The man looked like he was contemplating something but finally set the envelope on the glass surface and pushed it toward her.

Before Gypsy could even reach for it, Nick intercepted the envelope with lightening quick reflexes and opened the back flap. He scanned the thick gold leaf piece of paper before looking up at the stranger again. The man just stared back at him as if he were bored.

Gypsy frowned at Nick's over protectiveness but something about the stony expression on his face kept her from demanding the envelope. With the way things were going around here, for all she knew it was a death threat, though she had to admit she was curious as hell.

Nick stepped around to the other side of the counter where Gypsy was and removed the 9mm from under his shirt. He kept the gun low so that no one else in the room could see the exchange behind the counter except for the man standing directly on the other side of it. The man’s heartbeat was steady as was his breathing so Nick figured he wasn’t much of a threat, but he wanted Gypsy to have her guard up just in case.

“I’ll be right back. Don’t invite anyone in to the shop while I’m gone and shoot him if he gets too close,” Nick's voice held a hint of warning as he locked eyes with the other man.

“What,” Gypsy asked in a shocked whisper and looked up at Nick as if he’d lost his mind. “What does that letter say?”

“It’s just an invitation, but I have a feeling it will be of interest to Ren. I’ll fill you in as soon as he’s seen it,” Nick answered and headed towards the back room.

Gypsy swung her gaze back to the man in front of her inquiringly and softly demanded, “What kind of invitation?”

She held the gun behind the counter but kept it leveled on him. She couldn’t help but blush knowing that if she pulled the trigger right now, the bullet would hit him in a place no man wanted to be injured. Hopefully, he would take that into consideration and not try anything stupid.

“To a bleedin’ important auction,” the man answered with a sexy smile.

Gypsy's eyes lit up hearing the word auction but then frowned wondering why Nick thought Ren would want to see an invite to an auction even if it was for one that was of the underground type. This wasn’t the first time she’d received an invite via messenger.

“How important?” she asked completely intrigued.

“If I may ask you a question first,” the man inquired. “Are you by chance related to Lacey?”

Gypsy’s lips parted as she instinctively tightened her grip on the gun and took a step back, now understanding why Nick had taken the invite to Ren.

“Who are you?” she asked apprehensively.

The man’s lips hinted at a smile, but he didn’t answer.

Ren looked toward the open bunker doorway when he heard Nick’s footsteps nearly running down the stairs. He watched as the jaguar leapt the last few steps clutching an envelope in his hands and cocked an eyebrow moving to meet Nick in the doorway.

“Don’t ask questions, just read,” Nick said hurriedly as he handed the envelope over to Ren.

Ren opened it and took out the invitation, reading over it thoroughly. The muscles in his jaw flexed as he fought the urge to crumple the paper in his fist. His body relaxed when he suddenly changed his mind and glanced over his shoulder at Lacey who was watching them closely.

“It appears we’re going to an auction,” Ren informed her.

“An auction,” Lacey repeated as she leaned back on the sofa and pretended to think about it for about two seconds before turning him down. “I’m not in the mood so no thanks.”

“You don’t have much of a choice,” Ren stated looking back at the invitation. “It seems the main item on the auction block is a marked soul and the opening bid for that marked soul is a soul orb. The auction is taking place tonight at midnight… right down the road from here.”

He could already smell her fear spiking but he had no intentions of putting her at risk. Her part in the thievery ring would end tonight… he would make sure of that.

Lacey felt like she was walking on legs made of rubber as she approached Ren and took the paper he was offering her. Her gaze was immediately drawn to the symbol at the bottom where a signature would normally be and her heart sank into the pit of her stomach with dread. She quickly lifted her gaze and skimmed the words.

“Well to hell with that. If I don’t leave this building, then they will be missing their main item and their little auction is going to be a flop,” Lacey said handing the paper back to Ren. “You see that seal at the bottom? That’s the seal of the ring I worked for. If I go to this auction… they will kill me.”

“Lacey,” Ren said calmly, knowing she was scared silly at the moment. “If they’re this close, then they already know where you are. You can’t hide in here forever. Besides, it seems that we have something they want.”

“Yeah… me,” Lacey said not bothering to hide the fear in her voice as she glared up at him. “I already know they’re going to kill me but that doesn’t mean I have to make it easy for them.”

Nick turned and started back up the stairs not wanting to leave Gypsy alone for too long with the stranger. Without looking back he told them, “When you decide what you’re going to do, there’s a British guy upstairs waiting on the reply and two demons waiting on him outside the shop.”

Ren lowered his gaze to Lacey when he heard her heartbeat suddenly start racing and she took off up the stairs behind Nick. His expression and thoughts darkened. That stranger had better not be the British bastard who had gotten her into all of this trouble in the first place.

Lacey rounded the corner into the main room only seconds after Nick did. Her lips parted seeing Vincent calmly standing there looking at Gypsy from across the counter. Her gaze lowered seeing the gun in Gypsy's hand and she wanted to snicker at the uselessness of the threat but refrained knowing she would be the only one to get the joke.

Vincent turned his head and locked his gaze on the girl he’d been looking for. “There’s the lass now,” He breathed realizing he’d missed her more than he’d meant too.

In seconds, Lacey had her arms wrapped around Vincent’s waist and her face pressed into his chest.

He returned her hug and refrained from looking back at the demons outside knowing they had already seen her, though he did turn her so that he was blocking their bloody view.

Gypsy blinked at the affectionate reunion and lowered the gun thankfully. He couldn’t be all bad if the way his eyes had softened the second he’d seen Lacey was any indication. She handed the gun back to Nick when he joined her behind the counter. A customer chose that moment to come up and ask her a question and she looked at Nick not sure if she should leave just yet.

“I can hear Ren coming so you can relax, we will take care of this,” Nick said, assuring her that it was alright if she needed to go about her business.

Nodding, Gypsy slid past Nick and gave Ren a wide breadth when she noticed the furious look on his face as he came out of the back room. She watched as he shot the demons a dark glare before dismissing them completely and turning his attention to the counter.

“Go keep an eye on who Gypsy invites in this place. Leave this one to me,” Ren demanded coming up behind Nick.

Nick felt a cold shiver race up his spine and quickly headed toward the front of the store. Even the jaguar within him was glad that he wasn’t the one with his arms around Lacey right now. Ren had played dirty when it came to competition over Gypsy, but he had a feeling that had been nothing compared to the hell this British guy was in for.

Vincent glanced up seeing the intimidating looking man coming toward them with brisk, angry strides. The first thing he noticed was the way the man wasn’t really looking at him… he was looking down at Lacey's back where his arms were wrapped securely around her.

He may not have any supernatural powers, but after living for so many centuries, he could spot a jealous man a mile away. Vincent inwardly smirked wondering what Lacey thought about the relationship… if there even was one. For the last year, he’d been the only man to touch her and they hadn’t been separated long enough for her to just give herself away to another lover. She was way too picky for that.

With an annoyed smile pulling at his lips, Vincent tightened his hold just a touch to see if the other man would object. After all… his favorite hobby was pissing people off.

He knew his little partner in crime well enough to know that her idea of obsession and possession was reserved only for the trinkets they were in the habit of stealing… not the opposite sex. That was one of the things he liked about her, the fact that they both favored the no strings attached clause.

Knowing he couldn’t just jerk her away from the other man, Ren forced himself to stop less than two feet behind Lacey, which was snatching distance if the need arose. He already disliked this idiot but was smart enough to restrain his impulse to strangle Vincent so that he could hear why the man had brought demons here.

Ren slid his right hand into his trench coat in order to hide the fact that it was fisted so hard he could feel his fingernails biting into his palm painfully. If Vincent thought he was taking Lacey back to that demonized circus they called a thievery ring then he’d damn well give the punk something much more painful to think about.

Chapter 5

“I was so worried about you,” Lacey murmured into Vincent’s shirt trying unsuccessfully to hold back the grateful tears from seeing him in one piece. The nightmares she’d had of him being buried alive somewhere or worse lost their power over her as she clung to him… her friend that had died so many times. Her heart had stopped that night and the memory still had the power to make her shudder.

She balled the material of his shirt up in her fist, “Masters… that damn bastard’s hand went all of the way through you. How did you get away?”

Hearing the slight tremor in her voice, Vincent dismissed the enraged man behind her and gave up his antagonizing hug so that he could palm her upper arms. He gently pushed her back and gazed down at her wet cheeks. Damn it… he’d told her to never worry about him… much less cry.

He hardened his voice, “You’re forgetting love… I enjoy it. All of it. Dying is nothing more than a game to me.” Her stupid tears had the power to hurt him worse than a hand through his heart. “So save your infernal tears for something that’s worth it,” he snapped knowing that was the fastest way to dry her eyes… piss her off.

Lacey glared up at Vincent. He’d just done that on purpose. “Whatever dumb ass, just tell me what the hell happened,” she said playing his standoffish game.

“That’s better,” Vincent smirked at her temper. It was actually endearing. “By the time I revived, I was back at Masters’ estate surrounded by a lot of pissed off demons who were having a blast as they took turns killing me with wounds that would quickly heal so that they could have the pleasure of doing it again and again. Monotonous bastards.”

Lacey sucked in a sharp breath and her eyes widened as she stared up at him. Her imagination went into overdrive as a myriad of random ways the demons could kill him trailed across her vision like a horror movie.

Seeing her eyes shine with new tears Vincent quickly added, “They weren’t the only ones having fun at the party and they didn’t even beat my record of deaths within a forty-eight hour period because they wouldn’t shut up long enough.”

“It was my fault. I’m sorry… so sorry. I should’ve taken your body with me somehow,” Lacey said wishing she could turn back time. “You sacrificed yourself to save me again, and I… I just left you lying there. Some partner I turned out to be.”

“You were doing exactly what I told you to do,” Vincent corrected bluntly.

He reached out and patted her on the top of her head like a good little puppy just because he knew she hated it. When she angrily knocked his arm away he was again satisfied that she wasn't going to break down in front of him. He’d crossed over enough of his own lines during the past year for her and didn’t think he could handle seeing her cry right now without giving his true feelings away.

“But you must have gotten away from them or you wouldn’t be in LA… right?” Lacey asked searching his eyes. “You can leave them now and stay here with me… where it’s safe.”

“Wishful thinking dove,” Vincent tilted his head toward the front of the shop to draw her attention to his obsessed black eyed fans that were even now watching every move he made. “My escort is waiting on me to bring them your answer.”

Lacey barely spared an annoyed glance toward the two men just beyond the glass before shrugging fearlessly. “They can’t come in The Witch’s Brew. Demons are not allowed in here without mine or my cousin’s permission, so they can stand out there and rot for all I care.”

“If only it were that easy,” Vincent said shaking his head at his fearless little partner. It really was a shame that he’d rubbed off on her so much. Self-preservation was actually a good thing to have… if getting killed was the last thing you would ever do.

Deciding to pull her back out of fairytale land, Vincent narrowed his eyes showing her his displeasure, “Since it seems that you have forgotten one important detail, I’ll remind you the true reality of the situation. The demons in our little ring have a fetish for mortal weapons and with the underground trading, have gotten themselves quite a spiffy collection. They don’t need to come in to get me or you. They can just shoot us through the bloody window seeing as how both of them are armed.”

Lacey slowly glanced back toward the window wondering why they hadn’t raised their guns and shot at her yet. Maybe they were behaving since the street behind them was full of traffic and there were so many shoppers walking from store to store. Yeah… way too many witnesses.

She recognized both demons because they had been with Masters the night she’d used the cube on them so she could escape. Vincent was right about their fetish for guns… they had even stolen state of the art weaponry for the monsters. The main reason the demons used guns instead of ripping people apart was so that they blended in with other murdering humans instead of outing their race.

“Well they can’t shoot what they can’t see,” she pointed out and grabbed Vincent’s hand trying to pull him toward the back room with her. She frowned and glared up at him when he refused to budge.

Vincent jerked her forward before she could back up against the steaming volcano that was standing right behind her… the little idiot.

“If they wanted, they could blow this shop to hell and back and we both know it,” He said calmly. He had made a game out of getting himself killed but she needed to start using her head before she lost it. The thought irritated him and it showed in his voice, “Stop and think before I wind up having to bury you too.”

“Damn it,” Lacey jerked her hand away from his with a frustrated sound. She was going to have to break him from throwing that up in her face every time he didn’t approve of her actions. “Why do you surround yourself with monsters when you are nothing like them?” she hissed already knowing the answer and it was a stupid reason as far as she was concerned. “They can die just as quickly as we can. You proved that when you took Masters’ head off.”

“Don’t worry about me love,” Vincent instructed knowing she would not be able to run or hide from this. “I’m here to help you and you need to pay attention. The new demon that stepped in to take Masters’ place wants to make a deal with you.”

“A deal… do they really think I’m stupid enough to make that mistake again?” Lacey made a face. “Not happening.”

“Hear me out,” Vincent said running his hand through his bangs to push them out of his eyes. “Tonight at the auction, they will offer up the claim they have on your soul and give you your freedom in exchange for the soul orb that your grandfather stole so long ago. You do have access to it… don’t you?”

Ren's frown deepened as he remembered holding the strange soul orb in his palm and seeing the swirl of the entity trapped inside. He hadn’t felt any power coming from the soul… only massive power coming from the orb itself. Whatever was inside of it was very well protected and confined for a good reason no doubt. The fact that the demons wanted it didn’t sit well with him at all.

Lacey gazed up at Vincent with an unhappy frown as it dawned on her that he was forfeiting himself to save her ass again. “This was your idea… wasn’t it? Because you know that once a deal is struck with the demons, they will abide by it and leave me alone.”

“Don’t paint me as a hero just yet love,” Vincent said still damning himself for breaking the one rule he had about letting people get under his skin. “I only suggested it because they were torturing the hell out of me and I wanted them to bloody well stop.”

Lacey balled up her fist and hit him hard in the chest not caring if it hurt her more than it did him. Seriously… he could be such a jerk, always pretending he didn’t feel the pain of dying when she had seen the agonized look on his face too many times to believe that nonsense.

“Are you trying to make me cry?” she accused.

Vincent’s shoulders sagged realizing he probably shouldn’t have admitted that little fact. She should be angry at him for putting her in danger in the first place instead of worrying about his pain tolerance. It didn’t matter how much it hurt if the pain didn’t mean a damn thing.

He should have known better than to give into his loneliness even for a minute… dragging her into this mess like a selfish bastard just because he was bored. It was amazing that he’d protected her this long but if she would just listen to him than he could finally cut her loose from it all.

“Look, I don’t know what this soul orb is, but the fact that they want it bad enough to not only let you live but to give you a clean break to boot… well, the soul orb probably isn’t a bleedin’ nice thing,” he admitted then gave her a stubborn look. “But if it will keep you from sinking six feet under, then I say give the damn trinket to them.”

She growled at him wondering if he would ever stop using her mortality against her. At the moment, she didn’t give a damn about the legendary demon that her grandfather had said was trapped within the soul orb like a genie in a bottle. Since her grandfather had never figured out how to open it, and he had tried, then it was no more than a pretty little paperweight to her.

Swinging around to go hunt down Ren, she nearly jumped out of her skin finding him less than a foot behind her. Something about the death glare he was giving Vincent made her put a tad more distance between her and her friend. She slid out from between them and leaned back against the counter. Great, Ren looked like he wanted to kill and Vincent always claimed to have a death wish… they should get along just fine.

Lacey took a deep breath to steady her nerves and squared her shoulders. “Since you seem to have a dislike for thieves, then I assume you didn’t steal the soul orb but simply moved it to a safer place like Gypsy assured me… right?”

“Right,” Ren agreed without missing a beat. He wanted her to come to him for help because the man on the other side of her would surely be the death of her. Though, watching the way Vincent handled the little hot head had actually given him a few pointers on how to deal with her himself.

He restrained from rubbing his temple. Using Zachary's power on her had him all messed up in the head and it was confusing the hell out of him. He felt like he was the one that had known her for the last year… made love to her… protected her… died for her. At least he still had enough sense to blame all of the bad things on the other man.

“Then you shouldn’t have a problem retrieving it for me… correct?” Lacey asked testing his honesty.

Knowing it would save her life, Ren had every intention of using the soul orb for the trade. Instead of announcing that fact in front of Vincent the demon informant, he replied evasively, “I’ll have to talk to a certain God about it… but I might be able to arrange it.” He smirked inwardly when Vincent raised an eyebrow at the God remark. “But the demons have to agree to you having your own escort to the auction because you won’t be going alone.”

Lacey felt hope bloom in her chest suddenly remembering what Ren had said about sucking in the powers of everyone around him and being able to utilize it. She could only imagine how powerful he would become if he walked into a room full of demons and other paranormals. Brilliant idea… the demons wouldn’t know what hit them until it was all over and they would have no choice but to agree to add Vincent’s name to the list of the free.

Ren stared down at her when she slowly gifted him with the most amazing smile he’d ever seen. It was at that moment that he knew he was in big trouble.

Now that she had her confidence up, Lacey stepped closer to Vincent and stared up at him defiantly. “Then you tell those bastards this. I will agree to their deal on one condition. The deal has to include not only mine… but your soul and freedom as well.”

”Do you have a death wish?” Ren asked suddenly wanting to shake some sense into that pretty head of hers.

“I agree with your new friend,” Vincent said earning him a shocked look from Ren. “I wouldn’t rock that boat love… not when you’re the one sitting in it. We are going to be surrounded by demons tonight at the auction because there are many things up for grabs… not just you.”

Vincent took a deep breath before continuing, “This isn’t like the small auctions they held this past year… think on a much grander scale and then replace the balding billionaires with beautiful demons and you’re getting close to the real picture.”