Rey wasn't sure why, but Gloria didn't like the smile he was giving her. She had the look on her face that most demons had when they were about to die. It wasn't like he was about to kill such a babe, no matter her race. Rey wasn't racist to hot demon babes. Of course, she was a demon, and if she betrayed them to her boss, then he might have to stick her with the pointy end of his scythe, which better be ready by now. Other than that, he wouldn't do anything to her.

  Though if Kassi leaves us, she could be a second option. Demon Rey said.

  Absolutely not! Fuck right off to the mental basement. Rey snapped.

  He couldn't even begin to entertain such ideas because that was how he had ended up in the mess with Izarth. He was definitely not going to repeat that at no cost. To pull his thoughts away from such things, he looked towards his Kassi. Their eyes met, and she frowned slightly before looking away. It took him a moment to realize why she frowned, because he was still smiling like an idiot.

  Something had to change between them. This had gone on for long enough.

  He turned his attention back to Gloria. "So, this is where you divulge your lover's secrets."

  "Firstly, he's not my lover, and don't you dare call him that again," Gloria seethed.

  Rey raised his hands. "Point taken."

  The demoness calmed down some. "I'll warn you again. He's not like any run-of-the-mill demon. He's nearly as strong as the prince, and that's saying something."

  Lady, if you had seen me a few months ago, you would've so blown away by my magnificence that your jaw would've self-ejected and run away like the Road Runner.

  "Yes, yes, he's strong. Tell me something that I don't know."

  "He has an army of Sniffers at his beck and call." She motioned to Noidet. "Ask him if you don't believe me."

  Noidet nodded. "She's right. Ginirth could call upon all the Sniffers in the city if he so chooses, which most definitely outnumber the city guards, after the devastation that you caused in the ruined city."

  That was another thing that stung. Rey had effectively taken out more than a couple of hundred demons, but since they were all at a lower rank than him, they hardly gave him any experience.

  Seriously, fuck you, Zarius. That's like asking to be shanked in the nuts, which I'll promptly do once I'm done carving out my name on your brother's chest, butt, and eyeballs. Also, his peanut-sized testicles. Can't forget about those.

  "That shouldn't be too much of a problem." Rey chuckled slowly.

  Ajay chuckled along with him while Filomena just shook her head.

  "And then you'll be out of the fight," the Italian Bella donna said.

  "Yes, but so will be all the Sniffers, along with a shit ton of the city." Rey waved a dismissive hand. "But these are just what-ifs. What else, Gloria?"

  "Ginirth is a private demon," she continued. "He doesn't really come out of his mansion much, which means you will have to attack him in his home, where he is strongest. His Sniffers and guards protect him at all times. They, too, are no walk in the park."

  "Are any of them at Rank 10?" Ajay asked.

  "Quite a few, especially his personal bodyguards. Trust me, when I say this, he's the most secure demon in this city save for Razgorel. Guards rotate around the clock and are loyal to him. They cannot be bought and given all the antics that you've been up to, they will kill you the moment they see you."

  "There must be something that we can use?" Filomena asked.

  Gloria rubbed her chin, looking uncertain, and Rey could guess why. After all, he had indentured himself to many masters, some he even liked, but, in the end, he ended up slicing all their throats, because he liked their coins even better.

  "Gloria, remember our talk about freeing you from the oppressive cock of your master," Rey said, drawing looks from the women for some reason. "Well, we can't do that if you don't open up to us. If the Black Hand was hiding so many riches, just imagine how loaded this guy will be. He must be worth two or three Black Hands."

  "If we fail, we'll most likely be killed off in the fighting. There'll be nothing to tie it back to you," Kassi added.

  The former model contemplated as she stared off into the distance and finally sighed. "Fine. I was hoping to dissuade you all from your impending deaths, but if you're so sure about dying, then there is a structural weakness on the north side of the mansion that faces the palace. The boss has been wanting to get that fixed for weeks, but hasn't gotten around to it yet. It's below the window with the red-tinted glass. Be warned, it will be manned most of the time, except during guard changes, which happen every twelve hours. You should be able to sneak in without any trouble then. The real trouble will be getting past all the guards that are inside."

  "That should be easy," Kassi said. "We can easily draw them out by—"

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  "Where do we find Ginirth?" Rey cut in, interrupting Kassi and earning a glare. "Where does he sleep? Where does he shit? Where is he most vulnerable? Hell, even where you squeeze his snake? How many men does he have waiting for us inside to give us a royal welcome?"

  "Let me see, at any given time, he has roughly forty to fifty Sniffers patrolling the house. Sniffers, not guards. From where you would enter, his bedroom is not far from there. Walk the length of the hallway and turn left at the thirteenth turn and then right at the sixth, and you're there."

  "Yes, totally not far at all," Rey said, sarcastically.

  She ignored his sarcasm or didn't get it, and powered on. "He eats, sleeps, fucks, and works out of that room. He's quite an introvert for a demon of his stature."

  "Nice, then we might as well drag him out to do some public speaking, and he might just get a heart attack and save us all a whole lot of bother."

  He instinctively looked to Kassi, but she was busy picking something out of her nails. He knew why she was mad this time. He had interrupted her just as she was about to explain her plan, which was not a smart move. The plan might have been smart, but to relay it in front of the demoness that warmed the enemy's bed was not a smart move.

  "Is that it?" Gloria asked, throwing a look back at the street they had walked in from. "I really should be getting back."

  "Sure," Rey said. "We'll be in touch and thanks."

  She nodded. "I wish you luck, and if you get caught, you better not rat me out."

  "I wouldn't dream of it. Besides, we're not going to get caught."

  Gloria snorted and then left without saying goodbye, which was frankly very rude, but then what else could be expected of a demon? Rey waited until her meticulously sculpted behind turned the corner, and she was gone.

  "Okay, so what do we think?" Rey asked her.

  "We will need to do our own reconnaissance," Aearbon said. "You might have known her when she was a human, but she is a demon now, and demons are always only looking out for themselves."

  "Touche, my Tigerman," Rey said. "Which was why I interrupted you, Kassi. We don't know if we can trust her yet. So, what were you about to say?"

  Kassi said nothing and kept picking her nails. The silence stretched on until it was beyond awkward.

  Rey sighed loudly. "Oh, for fucks sake, can you be an adult for a little bit? I get it, you're mad at me, but we're talking about our survival here. You don't want to be with me? Don't even want to look at me? Fine, but when it comes to shit like this. Act like an adult and not some butthurt teenager."

  Now, she looked at him with the fury of a thousand blazing suns.

  "I think it's best we go make sure that Gloria isn't going to be sending some Sniffers after us," Filomena said.

  No one else said a word, and they promptly left, throwing pitiful glances at Rey, as if it were he who was about to be fried. Truth be told, when it came to having a conversation, he wanted it to be something more civil, not whatever this was going to be.

  "Butthurt teenager," Kassi said, through gritted teeth.

  Rey doubled down. "Yes. It's been four days, and in that time you've said four words to me. Six, counting these two." He gave a slow clap. "Damn, how did I get so lucky to find a girl who wants to be with me so much?"

  "And you?" She snapped. "You haven't even made an effort or tried to—"

  "I told you already. I'm not ready to talk about those things, and a caring girlfriend would have understood, but your stubborn ass would've never talked to me again, rather than wait."

  "What the fuck are you waiting for?" She screamed. "The end of the world? News flash, Rey, that already happened."

  Rey threw his hands up in frustration. "How the fuck do I make you understand?"

  "By talking. Forming words. By having a conversation like adults do, and you calling me a teenager is rich."

  "Yes, you are. Hell, even teenagers don't act like this. Even they give in and have a conversation after so long. Damn, I never thought you were so toxic. If this isn't a red flag, then I don't know what is."

  "I'm toxic? And red flag?"

  "Yes."

  She looked like she wanted to scratch his eyes out. "Says the guy who couldn't keep his hands off Gloria."

  "The fuck?" He frowned. "That…What? I wasn't even…That has nothing to do with this."

  "We had one fight, and you jumped at Gloria. How does that make me feel? Talk about a red flag," she said, imitating him.

  "And you pretend that I don't exist. How does that make me feel?" Rey raged. "If we weren't stuck in this city together, I would've…"

  He got his emotions under control before he finished that sentence. He didn't even want to say it. Didn't even want to put it out there and give Fate or some other omniscient being any more ideas to fuck up his already fucked up life.

  "Go on." Kassi shoved him back. "Say that you would've left me again. Say what's in your heart. Say it!"

  Rey didn't oblige. "Kassi, look—"

  "You don't get to call me that anymore!"

  That reignited Rey's anger. He had been fighting like Hell to make sure she lived, all the while trying to figure out what the Hell happened with him. Why was he back here? If his reward was going to be silence and ignorance, then maybe it was best that this thing was done and dusted.

  "Fine. You want me to say it. Then here it is. I'll make sure you survive this city. Survive your coming death. I'll even get you out of Purgatory, and then we part ways. You can go yours and I will go mine…Kassandra."

  Kassandra stood shocked. Eyes wide and tears lining her beautiful green eyes. A hand went to her mouth as she tried to grasp the meaning of his words. Even he wasn't sure where they had come from, but now that they were out, there was no taking them back. He had broken whatever was between them.

  YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE! Demon Rey raged inside him. Say you're sorry, and that you didn't mean it, or I'll make you…

  Rey tuned him out because the storm of emotions roiling inside him was too great to bear.

  "So, you would rather leave me than tell me the truth," she whispered with tears threatening to spill from her eyes. She looked at him in such a way that it shattered his heart into a million pieces. "And here I thought you loved me…"

  "I do love you," he replied. "I will love you till my dying breath and then even beyond, but I can't do this. I can't have you and not have you. I can't have you pretend that I don't exist. That hurts even worse than death."

  "You say that, but then you hide yourself from me. Why?"

  Rey couldn't answer that without revealing his secret.

  She drew a deep breath. "Maybe it is better that we end this here, since you clearly value your secrets more than me."

  This was not it. This was not what he wanted. It was far from what he wanted. He wanted her to wait and hopefully understand when he eventually told her his story. Most of all, he wanted her, with all her imperfections, but Fate, it seemed, had other plans for him.

  "Until the time comes when we say goodbye, let's at least be civil to each other."

  She gave a single nod, and a tear fell from her eyes.

  He turned from her as he couldn't keep looking at her and not cry, but thanks to seeing the absolute worst and most horrendous things this place had to offer, he knew how to keep his emotions in check. The best thing to do in such situations was to distract himself.

  He walked towards where the others had gone. It was time to bury his feelings with work.