“Don’t you dare,” I spat, hurrying to catch up as the thing directed Jax’s body toward Kelly’s house. Azirak used his long legs to its advantage, maintaining a significant enough lead to land square on my aunt’s doorstep with time to pound on the door before I could stop it.
It was pointless, but I tried anyway. Twisting and grabbing and—I even sank to a new low—hair pulling. I was desperate, but no matter what I did, Azirak was unfazed. The demon stood its ground, and my attempts to dislodge it from Kelly’s porch barely jostled the hair on Jax’s head.
There was a commotion inside, and a few moments later, Kelly stumbled to the door. Her long brown hair in rollers, and a pink polka dot bathrobe tied around her waist, she blinked several times, gaze bouncing from Jax to me. “Samantha? What are—”
“Give me the keys to your vehicle,” Azirak demanded.
Kelly glared at him then turned to me. “Are you two drunk? I—”
Azi lashed out, and with Jax’s booted foot, kicked the door open. Kelly gasped as the demon pushed its way inside. It stopped in the center of the room, Jax’s hand extended and palm turned up. “The keys. Now. I will not ask you again.”
My aunt’s face turned an amazing shade of scarlet. Really. It was impressive. Then again, Kelly always did have a flair for the dramatic. When I brought home my first fairly dismal report card, she fainted after a lengthy speech on how I was wasting my time and would never get into a good college.
I was ten.
She clutched her robe tighter and stepped from the doorway. “First you corrupt my niece, and now you’re robbing me?” Arms folded, Kelly shook her head. “No. It’s time someone stood up to you, Jax Flynn. You’ve been a thorn in the side of this family for far too long, and I’ve had enough.”
I sighed and rolled my eyes. “We just need to borrow the car.”
“No. This ends now, Samantha.” Kelly bravely darted forward, grabbed me by the wrist, and dragged me close. With a determined nod, she said, “You’re moving back in with me.”
I opened my mouth to protest—and to remind her that I wasn’t a child anymore—but never got the chance. Azi moved across the room in a flash, and before I could even take a breath, pulled me to its side. “If you ever lay a finger on Samantha Merrick again, I will flay you from head to toe and feed your remains to the dogs.”
Kelly’s mouth fell open and a small sound escaped her lips. For the first time in as long as I could remember, it wasn’t an act.
“I can smell your fear,” the demon said. Jax’s lips twisted into a cruel grin, and Azi maneuvered his body closer to Kelly. It took a deep breath and let go of a small sigh of contentment. “You have no idea how alluring it is. I wonder…” Jax’s arm shot out as the demon grabbed Kelly around the throat.
“Whoa!” I lunged forward. This was tanking south. Fast. “No need for that.”
Azi turned to me slowly, Jax’s eyebrows rising. “This female attacked you. Harmed you.”
I managed to pry the demon’s grip from Kelly’s neck, but I wasn’t able to nudge him back. “It’s fine.” I held up my wrist and wedged it between them. “I’m fine. She didn’t hurt me.”
The expression on Jax’s face was so alien. It was his features—strong jaw, generous lips, and stormy gray eyes—but there was something not quite right. Something that belonged to Azirak. “She struck you.”
I snorted and forced a laugh. Kelly was white as snow and hyperventilating, and I was worried she might pass out for real. “She barely grabbed me! A love tug. Nothing more.”
Jax’s body turned away from Kelly, and the top right corner of his lip pulled upward. “You dare lie to me? Do you forget that I have his memories?”
“Memories? What—” Shit. Of course. Kelly had hit me. Just once, when I was a teenager. Jax and I had wrecked one of his Uncle Rick’s old cars, and to keep Jax out of trouble, I’d taken the fall. Kelly had known I was covering for him, and she’d slapped me—assumedly to knock what she considered to be sense into me. I’d never breathed a word of it to Jax, but a few weeks ago, he’d seen it during a forced shared memory—a lovely party favor from the Archangel Michael. “That was a long time ago, Jax.”
“Should that matter?” It was still so strange to hear such venom in Jax’s voice. It wasn’t like I’d never seen him angry, but with Azi in control, it was more than that. There was an underlying menace, the sense of a fury that didn’t even touch on the anger issues he had.
“Samantha,” Kelly said with a whimper. Her gaze flickered between Jax and me. “Call the police. Call them before he kills me. Do something!”
“He’s had a little to drink,” I said, hoping it was a sellable excuse. “But he’s not going to kill—”
“Of course I was,” Azirak said matter-of-factly. “You are mine. I’ll allow no harm to come to you.”
“Drugs!” Kelly exclaimed. “He’s high, isn’t he?” She clutched her neck and threw her head back with a wail. “Oh, Samantha. What have you gotten yourself into?”