Demons Like It Hot (Demons Unleashed #2)(52)

Matthias clenched his fists. Frustration pounded its way through his body. He wasn’t sure what frustrated him most, the fact that Serah filled him with emotions he had no business feeling, or the fact that she and Daniel were hitting it off so well. Too well.

“Will do.” Daniel reached into his pocket and pulled out an iPhone. “Can I use your office to make a call?”

“Sure, just through the door there.” She pointed to the office in the far corner.

“Be right back.” Daniel swiped and pushed some icons on the screen. With that, he strode toward the office.

Matthias grabbed Serah’s shoulder and pulled her to the side. “I need to do some recon.”

“What?”

“Surveillance.”

“You are going to try and listen in on his conversation? Seriously?”

“Seriously. I don’t trust him.”

“From what I can tell, you don’t trust many people.”

“A good procedure to follow.”

“How can I trust you then?”

Leave it to Serah to emphasize a good point. “Just remember this: I have a duty to the Fore-Demons. I will not fail them.”

Serah’s lips curved down slightly. “I see.”

Matthias bit his tongue. He couldn’t get close. No matter how hard it hurt. She was safer with someone else. Someone who had purpose. He was still trying to find his.

“I’m going to see if I can hear anything.” He left no room for her to refuse. He marched toward the office and crouched low, pressing his ear against the door.

Just a few words to better understand Daniel’s interest in Serah’s shop. He pressed closer. He silently thanked whatever deity that decided to bless—or curse—him with extremely acute hearing.

“Hey, Sally.” Daniel’s voice lacked urgency. Matthias growled. So far, not so good. He pressed his ear closer to the door.

“I’m here at Tasteful Elegance. Pretty good, so far. Miss SanGermano is pleasant. Her investor—not so much.”

“I don’t know. Was there anything about him on the application? Well… He doesn’t look like the businessman type. Kind of weird but he looks like he’d be more comfortable on American Gladiators than a cooking show.” There was a brief pause. “His name? Umm… Matt… No… Matthew? Wait… It’s Matthias. Yeah, that’s it. Matthias Ambrose.” He chuckled. “Kind of a stuffy name, if you ask me.”

Stuffy? Hah. Humans these days preferred silly names like Taylor, Peyton, and Jordan. They sounded more like surnames, not first names.

Daniel cleared his throat. “I don’t think they’ll go for that.” There was another short pause and he blew out a breath. “I can try. Other than that, everything looks good. I’ll call you in a couple hours.”

Did that mean Serah got the show? Or was there more going on? Why wasn’t the producer here too? Something was off. But he’d seen some of the videos and the website. American Chef appeared legit.

The sensual aroma of orchids tingled at his senses. He looked up. Serah stood over him, annoyance clouding her expression. “So you have subsonic hearing too?”

“Something like that.”

Serah’s breath hitched. “That’s nice. Remind me to keep my mouth shut while you’re here.”

Matthias clenched his fists. “I can’t listen in on you, Serah.”

“Yeah, right. Tell that to the door you mutilated.”

“You yelled my name. That is the only thing I heard. It sounded urgent. I couldn’t travel inside, so I used force instead.”

Serah shrugged, but something mysterious flashed in her gaze. “Ever heard of knocking?”

“I’m not making excuses, Serah. I sensed danger and I reacted as I was trained.”

“Whatever.” She leaned over and peeked through the window. She scooted him with her foot. “Better get up. He’s making his way to the door.”

Matthias lunged up to his feet, grabbed Serah by the waist and took her toward the sink. “How long would he be here for?”

“So you approve?”

Matthias shrugged. “I didn’t pick up enough of the conversation to target him a threat. He seems harmless—for now.”

“And he didn’t smell like Infernati either, right?”

“You already knew that, didn’t you?”

Serah slumped against the sink and raked a hand through her curls. Grabbing the side of the counter, she blew out a long breath. “You just don’t understand. I just want a normal life—demon-free.” She snorted. “Well, free of demons I don’t already know, anyway.”

He understood more than she realized. He’d felt the same way when he’d lost his life and turned into a monster. He hated himself. He wanted to die. But as years turned into centuries, he’d learned that normalcy was just a fantasy.

Serah lowered her gaze to the black-and-white-checkered floor and shook her head. “I’m sorry. I know you’re here for a good reason. I… It’s just a lot to deal with all of the sudden.”

Matthias knew he shouldn’t, but seeing Serah in this state pulled at him. He reached out and brushed a stray curl from her cheek. “I understand. Trust me.”