Free Wicked Pleasure by Nina Bangs Page B

past him, a coffee container in one hand and a glazed doughnut in the other.
    But before Brynn could turn back to press the button for his floor, Wade bumped into Kim, knocking Fo from her hand. As Wade tried to right himself without spilling his coffee or dropping his doughnut, he stomped on Fo.
    The elevator door swished shut, and at Kim’s horrified cry, Brynn forgot about pushing buttons. He shoved Wade away from Fo, but even as the demon lifted his foot from the detector, he managed to kick her into the corner. Kim dove for the floor to rescue Fo.
    â€œOh, jeez, I’m sorry, ma’am.” Wade was still juggling his coffee and doughnut. “Lost my balance. Look, I’ll get you another cell phone.” He glanced at Brynn. “The only place I’m not clumsy is on my boat. Wasn’t meant for life on land.”
    Brynn narrowed his gaze on Wade even as he bent down to help Kim. He reached for Wade with his mind. “What the hell were you thinking? You said Fo wasn’t any danger to you.” Fo didn’t look too good. Her back cover had come off. It was still in one piece, but it had a crack in it. There were a lot of little bits of her lying around the case.
    â€œThought about that and decided it never hurts to be too careful.” Wade looked big, clumsy, and apologetic.
    But Brynn knew the demon wasn’t clumsy, and he was a long way from apologetic. “Real smart move, Wade. She’ll just get another detector, and the new one might actually be able to point out the real deal. Did you think about that?” He picked up the few pieces of Fo that Kim had missed and placed them in her shaking hands.
    â€œDoesn’t matter to me. It’ll probably take her a week or so to get a new one. By that time the fishing tournament will be over, and I’ll be gone.” Wade edged away from where Kim still crouched and moved to the front of the elevator, ready to step off as soon as the doors slid open. “Once I leave, I don’t give a damn if she wipes out a whole army of demons. Eudemons are pretty laid back that way. Just leave us alone to do our thing. And my thing is fishing.” The door opened, but he paused before heading toward his room. “Want to apologize again, ma’am. I’ll be over to get some info from you. You’ll have the best phone I can find.” And then he strode away.
    Kim looked up at Brynn as she held the pitifully small pile of Fo’s remains. Tears glistened in her eyes. “She . . .”
    Brynn slipped into Kim’s mind to hear the words she couldn’t speak aloud. Sorrow. Kim mourned the loss of a being she hadn’t even known she cared for. Hopelessness. Fo was lost to her. Kim hadn’t a clue how to fix her, and the detector’s creator was dead. Kim doubted anyone in her family could or would even want to put Fo back together again.
    Brynn glanced at his watch. Fifteen minutes. He couldn’t believe what he was considering. But the sadness he’d touched in Kim’s mind plus the thought of those ridiculous purple eyes closed forever, bothered him. So he was feeling compassion, was that a crime? Yeah, for a demon. He was pretty sure the Big Bad who created him wouldn’t be happy. Brynn exhaled sharply. He’d worry about the Big Dickhead Bad later.
    â€œGive Fo to me. Let’s see what I can do.” Silently, Kim handed Fo’s pieces to him and then fished in her jacket pocket for her key.
    Once inside, she threw her jacket on the bed and then joined him in the small sitting area. He’d set Fo on the coffee table, taken off his own jacket, and now sat on the couch studying the pieces. Kim sat beside him on the couch. “What’re you going to do?”
    I’m going to use my mind to interface with whatever power still remains in Fo and see if it can tell me how to fix her. All in fifteen minutes before I’m compelled to do my sex demon routine . “I