Lethal Blow: (Succubus Hitwoman Book 2) by Eliza Hendrix (best motivational books to read TXT) 📗

I rub my chin. “Okay, then explain to me why you waited this long to show yourself. I’ve been able to protect myself for centuries. Why wait until now?”

“Well,” he says, intertwining his fingers. “You haven’t been ready, Alexis. You’ve been living a life of anger and selfishness for a long time. Can you imagine the damage you could have caused knowing you were a demigod?”

I swallow hard, pushing away awful memories from my past.

“I came close several times,” he continues. “You were getting better at controlling your anger, but then Jamal died, and after that, well…” His forehead wrinkles like it’s obvious, which it is.

I part my lips, but nothing comes out.

Jamal.

I’m well aware that I went downhill after his death.

“I worried you might get yourself killed,” he finally adds.

Ace seems to know everything about me. How did I not know I was being followed for so long?

With wobbly legs, I move toward the bed and plop myself down, feeling both overwhelmed and depleted.

“Holy shit…” I breathe. “I’m a fucking demigod.”

Chapter 28

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Drax won’t stop going on about how now, I can rule the world. I’ve tried explaining to him that I have no idea what this means or what I’m capable of. He insists that I should be able to teleport like Ace.

“I mean, if your dad gave him that ability, it means it’s in your blood, right? Can you maybe teleport me back to San Halos?”

This is the third time in the last ten minutes that Drax asks me to bring him back to San Halos. Why is he so adamant about it? What isn’t he telling me? He’s never this eager to go anywhere. The guy could easily spend an entire week on a sofa.

“What’s going on with you?” I ask. “You’re obviously not out of weed—” I make my eyes go big at the bag of green on the bed. Lucky for him, Mr. Mushroom hates the smell of it; otherwise, I’d be yelling at Drax to keep his shit away from my dog. “So, what is it you need from there? You do realize that there are vampires everywhere, right? And that Jamieson might be looking for me? I’m even willing to bet he has a bounty on my head.” I laugh at the thought. “Ironically.”

The man who used to pay me to kill people must have some other hit man or hit woman trying to track me down. Let them try. I’ll tear out their throat with two fingers before they can even say, Found you.

Despite my ego, I’m not dumb enough to go back yet. Don’t get me wrong—I will. San Halos is my home, but with the world going to shit and all… it’s important that we focus on the task at hand and not get distracted by the idea of someone trying to kill me.

Drax sucks hard on his lit joint and sends a thick cloud of smoke toward the sky. “I may or may not have borrowed money from a Krim demon.”

I ball my fists until my claws puncture the skin of my palms. “You what?”

Everyone knows how dangerous Krim demons are, especially when it comes to money. They’re even more greedy than Gortons in that they’ll kill anyone who gets between them and their fortunes. What makes them one of the most dangerous demons, however, is that they possess the ability to enter anyone’s dream and do what they please with them. Heart attack while sleeping? Chances are it’s the result of a Krim demon.

Apparently, succubi and incubi are also known for entering dreams, but I’ve never mastered that skill. I prefer real-life interaction.

If this guy were anything other than a Krim demon, I’d likely deal with the situation through violence, but what’s terrifying about these demons is that they’re not solid form, per se. They reside in hosts—often feebles coming out of comas—and stay there until they want something shinier. So even if you kill what looks to be a Krim demon, all you’re doing is killing the shell of a feeble.

All of this to say: no one should ever make a deal with a Krim demon, period. I thought Drax knew better than that.

“How much are we talking about?” I ask.

“Twenty thousand,” he says.

A few days ago, I would have lashed out and called him a good-for-nothing lizard. I wouldn’t have meant it, of course, but sometimes my anger gets the best of me. Today, however, I’m a multimillionaire, which means a few thousand bucks is pennies to me.

I scoff. “Why didn’t you say so? You know I have the money—”

His lips stretch into a guilty smile that makes my stomach sink. “Actually, no one has money right now.” He raises his phone. “Internet’s gone. Cell has no reception.”

Mouth agape, I turn to Ace. “What about you?”

He shakes his head. “Nothing on my end, either. You think Jamieson is behind this?”

I don’t know what to think, but I wouldn’t put it past him. This is why I wanted to pull my cash out before giving him the chance to manipulate his bank puppets into clearing my money.

I rush to the nearest light switch and flick it on.

Nothing.

“Could be our location,” I say. “Maybe San Halos is fine.”

“I doubt this is Jamieson’s doing,” Drax says. “What would he have to gain cutting all power? Besides, I know the guy’s got reach, but I doubt he has that much.”

I don’t think it’s Jamieson either, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is the situation we’re in now, thanks to Drax’s thoughtlessness. Infuriated, I throw my hands up in the air, and Mr. Mushroom runs under the bed. “Why the fuck did you borrow money if you couldn’t pay him back?”

“To find you,” Drax says, and I feel like an asshole.