Soul Conquered (10 page)

Grace

Teetering at the end of the
table, I giggle a little and muffle a hiccup. These shoes are killing me; I’ve
been standing in them for hours. I swirl what’s left in my glass and take
another sip of the watermelon-flavor martini I’ve settled on. It’s only the
third type I’ve tried, but it’s definitely the best.

It isn’t just sweet; it also dulls the pain inside.
Everything feels fuzzy. My vision, my stomach, the sounds of the casino, even
the memory of the man I glamoured being arrested in front of everyone.

“Winner!” An explosion of applause gets my attention,
and I toast with my glass in the air. Randy’s done it again. His pile of chips
is huge.

“I think I’m going to quit while I’m ahead.” Randy
stands, stretching, and I notice several women checking him out. Why not?
Handsome, rich, and lucky.

I stare one down as I surf my way around the table
full of people and nearly fall into his arms. He glances back at me, and for a
precious second it’s Josh’s face I see smiling down at me with that spectacular
smirk of his, and my insides heat up. “He’s mine,” I say out loud.

“Easy there, Grace.” Randy keeps an arm around my
waist while collecting his winnings. I let him steer me around and through the
throngs of people as he cashes in a total of $400,000, which he tucks into his
jacket.

“Is it time to leave already?” I ask when we arrive in
front of the glass elevator. I pout. “I wanted another tini. Waddermelontini.”
I shrug, unable to get the words exactly right. “You smell good.”

“Thanks.” Randy laughs, and I like the sound. “I think
you’ve had enough for now.” He brushes a finger over my nose. “I’d hate to have
you pass out before we get to celebrate.”

“Yeah. Let’s have a party.” If I close my eyes, he
feels and smells like Josh, and I can pretend he’s the one with me like it
should be. “We should invite Keira. She was nice to me.”

“Sounds good, babe. But let’s start with just the two
of us for now.” The doors of the elevator slide closed, and I don’t even
remember getting inside. I lean back against the glass and press my eyes shut
again, stretching out my arms at my sides. “I’m flying.”

Randy’s body presses into me, and I’m no longer
floating weightless. He’s the thing that grounds me. But I don’t think I want
to stop flying yet.

Before I can protest, Randy’s mouth is on mine and
he’s kissing me, deeply. Intimately. His hands slide over my hips and cup my
bottom.

“Um, hold on there a second, buddy.” I disconnect from
his mouth and poke a finger at his shoulder as he moves his lips to the tender
spot where my neck and shoulder meet. “We’re in an elevator.”

“Yeah.” He breathes over my ear, and it gets all hot
and tingly. “But we’ll be in the room soon, baby.”

“I want to visit the tiger.” I shove him away a little
too hard and look at my hands, surprised. Then I press
STOP
, followed by
LOBBY
.

“Whoa. I’m sorry. Did I do something wrong? I thought
you wanted me to prove myself back there.” He leans in close and whispers, “I—we—stole
$400,000 in like three hours.”

“
I
stole it?” I ask, trying to focus on what
he’s saying. “You did it.”

“With your help. We’re a team, babe. Bonnie and
fucking Clyde.”

“I’m Bonnie?” I echo. That can’t be right. I’m
supposed to be the good one. Right?

“Why’s the tiger so damn sad?” I ask, pushing past
Randy when the doors open. “Cut it out!” I yell at the cat. “You sit there and
mope around like your life is oh-so-awful, and all the time your every need is
taken care of. What’ve you got to complain about? Huh?” I stumble out of my
heels and grab one, gesturing with it at the beast.

Randy’s big hands are on my arms, trying to steer me
away from the tiger—I think I’ll name him Tony—but I haven’t
finished yet, so I round myself right back in front of the railing surrounding the
pit. I hike up my dress as best I can and climb over so I’m teetering on the
edge. Tony eyes me skeptically.

“Grace! Come on, babe. Jesus.”

“Never met him. Probably should’ve by now. What about
you, Tony? You’d rather be back in the jungle, wouldn’t you? With your tiger
girlfriend. I bet she misses you. You can do it, you know. It wouldn’t be easy,
but I’m pretty sure you can find a way back if you try hard enough.”

“Grace, the security guards are coming.” Randy reaches
over and swings me back over the railing where I stumble back and forth a bit.
He gestures to them to indicate it’s all okay and I’m just drunk.

“I want to stay with Tony,” I say.

“Grace, you are impossible.” Randy shakes his head and
scoops me up into his arms.

“Put me back,” I say. “I can walk.”

“Not really,” he says, carrying me down the hall and
back into the elevator.

“I like feeling like I don’t know what’s up and what’s
down,” I say, closing my eyes and enjoying the sensation of flying upward
again. “Spin me.”

Randy laughs again, and the next thing I know we’re
spinning in circles and I’m screaming like a little girl.

By the time we get to the room, I’m thoroughly dizzy
and disoriented. I stumble forward when he sets me down despite being barefoot
and land in a heap on the carpet, laughing as the world spins.

I’m barely aware of Randy taking off his jacket,
loosening his tie, and kicking off his shoes. I hear the gurgling of the
Jacuzzi filling up and blink, trying to focus as Randy appears before me in
only his boxers.

He squats before me and offers a hand. I stare at it.
“Did you get the money?” I ask, not quite able to recall.

He rummages in his discarded jacket nearby and pulls
out stacks of green money. It’s more than I’ve ever seen in one place in my
life.

“Wow. That’s a lot of money.”

“Damn straight, babe. And it’s all thanks to you.” He
takes my hand and pulls me up before running the edge of the pile of money
along my side.

I giggle. “It tickles.”

“Let’s get you out of that dress,” he says, tossing
the money up so that it flutters down over us like giant confetti. I laugh
again, trying to catch some in my fists.

Randy’s deft hands tug off my dress, making me stumble
again before I realize I’m totally naked.

“You are amazing.” Randy whistles, taking in my body.
Like he couldn’t tell what was there when the tiny bit of material was still
on.

The room is still spinning around me, and it’s hard to
focus on Randy’s face. “I don’t feel so good.”

“Come on, let’s get you in the tub. A little relaxing
bubble bath should help you feel better.”

“I don’t know. I—” But I never get to finish
what I am because I’m in his arms again and his lips are over mine, tongue
exploring my mouth. I try to move mine around and away, but he’s holding my
head from behind and mistakes my movements for enthusiasm.

He lowers us both into the steaming water, pulling me
over his lap. This isn’t what I want. He isn’t Josh.

I shove at him and awkwardly wiggle off of his lap,
backing over to the other side of the enormous Jacuzzi. “Stop,” I say, trying
to catch my breath. My foot slips, and I slide into the water for a minute,
choking and struggling against the bubbles slurping up into my nose.

Randy pulls me out and steadies me about the waist. That’s
when I realize we’re both naked, and I’m not entirely sure when that happened.
“I can’t do this,” I say, tears burning my eyes. Literally. Through my haze, I
realize my eyes must be red. So I duck out of sight and scramble up and out of
the bath, rushing to my room where I slam the door closed and lock it.

I stand there, breathing heavily, soaking wet and
trying to make my surroundings stop moving. The roar of the jets stop, and a
moment later Randy knocks on the door.

“Go away,” I say.

Out of nowhere Lucifer appears beside me, and his hand
squeezes my shoulder so hard I fall instantly to my knees, mouth open in a
silent scream because I hadn’t gotten enough air in to make an actual sound.

“Why are you in here?” Lucifer asks.

I still can’t catch a breath. He must know the answer,
anyway.

“You’ve done so well, Grace. You corrupted him. You
demonstrated how easy and exciting it is to cheat the system. He made the big
time tonight by ripping off the casino for so much money. Congratulations.”

“
Please
.” I mouth the word.

He releases me, and I fall at his feet, sure every
bone in my shoulder is broken.

He squats down and brushes a finger over my nose, much
like Randy did before.

“I did what you wanted. So why torture me?” I ask.

“Because that’s not all I want you to do. I want his
experience to be complete. I want him to garner all of the rewards he can to
associate with his success and spur him on in the future.”

My eyes burn so hot, I want to tear them from my head.
“This isn’t about him. You want me to betray Josh.”

“Layers, Gracie. Besides, ‘betray’? How can a Demon
help but betray an Angel?” he asks. “It was your choice after all.”

I open my mouth to answer but realize he’s right. Josh
is in Heaven. And me succeeding in making him fall won’t mean we’re going to be
monogamous. It’s part of working for Lucifer. Demons betray people.

“So I’m a prostitute. A whore.”

“You are whatever I say you are. If I say you’re a
worm crawling in dung, then that’s what you are. If I say you’re a princess
starting a war, then…”

The alcohol roiling in my stomach makes me heave, and
I vomit in front of Lucifer, who sneers down at me in distaste.

“I’m not going to sleep with him,” I say when I
finish.

“You don’t have to do any sleeping. But let’s not
quibble about semantics, Grace. You are naked on the floor in a pool of your
own sick after helping a young man steal hundreds of thousands of dollars and
turn toward darkness, and you’re telling me what a proud and well-behaved lady
you are?”

He waves a hand, and the mess is clean. My makeup and
hair are fixed, and I’m wearing basically a black lace string studded with
diamonds around my bikini line and the tiniest excuse for a bra I’ve ever seen.

“I’ll unfreeze him out there, and you can go back out
and tell him you wanted to wear this for him. Then you are to let him do
whatever he wants. Positive reinforcement. That’s your job, Grace.”

“And if I don’t?” I ask, stepping so close I can smell
Lucifer’s cologne. “You’ll torture me, right? Forever? At some point he’ll have
moved on. Time will move on.”

I’m shaking, anticipating the pain before it hits.

I don’t know if it’s minutes or hours later that he
lets up, and I collapse again on the floor. Smoke curls from my skin as it
rapidly fades from blistering red to my own porcelain color.

“You will make your choice, Grace. But you will suffer
either way.” He grins and his eyes light scarlet. “See, I know exactly what
it’s going to take to break you, and I plan to make sure it happens. Then when
you’re in a million shards, I will put you back together the way I want.”

I try to ignore his threat. “You promised me I could
see Noah in the morning if I helped Randy con the casino,” I say. My voice
cracks, but it’s still there.

Lucifer’s veins bulge and pulse beneath his skin,
making him appear as a sort of grotesque monster version of himself. “So I did.
And your consequences, should you decide to disobey me, will begin immediately
after. So choose well, Grace. Remember, even Josh would expect you to do your
job.”

One snap, and he’s gone. So is the door. Randy relaxes
in the Jacuzzi, head leaning back on the ledge. This isn’t his fault. I led him
on. I practically promised him sex in exchange for selling his soul. I shudder,
and my eyes burn.

I thought I’d been so clever, talking myself out of a
threesome with Keira. But all I did was delay the inevitable. Ever since I fell
I’ve been making excuses and pretending that I can outsmart Lucifer, but the
truth is I’ve been giving in all along, justifying and doing horrible things
that I never would have done before, all to try and save my brother. My brother
who doesn’t want to be saved.

Damn him! If Noah’s going to turn his back when I’ve
literally been through Hell, then he can just go ahead and burn. To Hell with
him, to Hell with Lucifer.

I rush back into my room and yank a dress out of the
closet. It doesn’t matter which one. But the second I pull it on, it
disappears. I want to scream, but instead I run back to my closet where I find
only empty hangers, swinging.

Fine. I won’t wear anything over this ludicrous
outfit.

I toss my hair back and stalk out to the front.
Randy’s snoring now, which gives me some relief. I tiptoe past and try to scoop
up my evening gown off the floor, but that, too, disappears, turning to smoke
that whispers through my fingers. It’s not like it was made of much more fabric
anyhow, I suppose. And I am in Vegas, after all. It won’t look completely
insane if I’m walking around dressed like a Victoria’s Secret model in a
diamond-studded bikini.