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Eyes narrowing, she eased back and pushed her half-full boay He expected some witty retort Or, even more likely, a smack-down
Instead, she reached into her pocket, took out a ten-dollar bill, and put it between theeant&039;s office"
With subtle grace, she scootched out, taking her coat, purse, and cell phone with her
Before she took off, Veck snagged her wrist "I&039;ed the hold by putting her phone in her bag "See you shortly"
After she left, Veck pushed his own plate away, even though there was a good egg and a half left
Not even nine in theand he&039;d already won the asshole-of-the-day prize Fantastic -
A draft passed over the back of his neck, prickling the hairs at his nape andhim crank around toward the door
A wo vase in the Target housewares department As her perfume drifted over, and she swizzled out of her fur jacket, there was an audible pause in the diner&039;s fifty or so conversations Then again, she&039;d just exposed some Pamela Anderson breasts to half the CPD
As Veck checked her out, he supposed he should have been attracted to her, but instead, that cold shaft tickling down his spine un and point it at her in self-defense
And how fucked up was that
Leaving a twenty of his own, he bailed on the rest of his breakfast and hit the door Stepping outside, he stopped Glanced around
The back of his neck was still going, his instincts screalanced at the round s of the diner So him Maybe the chippie with the Hustler body, maybe someone else
But his instincts never lied
Good neas, it appeared he&039;d be getting his weapons back later this ain
As Jim pulled into the Riverside Diner&039;s lot on his Harley, souy on a sweet BMW bike tooled off with a roar
Adrian and Eddie were right behind hiether in the far corner by the Hudson&039;s shore As he dismounted and looked at the place Devina had naht, Well, isn&039;t this special He&039;d been at this very same pe with his first soul
Guess Caldas a hotbed of activity for the daain,to tell him the soul in question was so over to the entrance, his boys were giving him the silent treatment - not a news flash on Eddie&039;s part, but ato last with Ad, though
The diner was crowded, noisy, and smelled like coffee and melted butter Hell of a place for Devina to pick -
And there she ay to the left, sitting at a booth and facing the door with a shaft of sunlight pouring in through thenext to her The warm yellow rays illuraphed, and he thought of the first ti fixture She&039;d been glowing then, too
Evil had never looked so hot, but unlike the other s and all but drooling like dogs, he knehat she really was - and he wasn&039;t so distracted by the slipcover that he didn&039;t notice she threw no shadow: As bright as the illumination that struck her was, there was no dark outline on the tabletop or the Naugahyde beside her
For a split second, he had an iht before He&039;d tried to fuck her fro it face-to-face Frankly, he&039;d been surprised that he could get it up, but anger had a way ofhim hard At least with her
As he&039;d departed that sweaty, rough scene, he&039;d looked around at her walls, ile of the dairl couldn&039;t see out of it God, to think sheup to Devina, he put a block on any thoughts of Sissy or sex with the eneame itself
"So who is it?" he said
The demon peered over the top of her Caldwell Courier Journal, her black eyes doing a quick circuit of his body andhim want to take another shower - this ti, Jioddalared over his shoulder Like he didn&039;t approve of Jie around a lady
She only looks like one, buddy, Jiht
Devina put the paper down, and went back to her buttermilk pancakes and her coffee "Do you have a pen?"
"Do not fuck with me"
"Little late for that Pen?"
As soet past, Jim and the boys had to turn sidehile Eddie outed a Paper Mate so or other and handed it over
Devina uncapped the thing with her long, manicured hands And then she folded the paper to the crossword puzzle
"What&039;s a five-letter word for - "
"Daonist"
" - the shit"
"Actually, Jih I a in a word "I believe &039;ene for And you&039;re either sitting doithto stand there until your legs rot off and you fall over in the aisle"
More with the careful printing Wonder if she orking on another word for "pain in the ass"
Jiht out"
font size="3">"Good-bye, Adrian," Devina said, with a wave "I&039;ll see you soon, though - I&039; to Eddie Then again, she liked to get a rise out of people, and Eddie was as unleavened as matzo
Which Jim supposed put him and Adrian in the hotcross-bun departels took off, Jim slid into the booth "So"
"Would you care for some breakfast?"
"Who is it, Devina"
"I hate to eat alone"
"You could hold your breath until I join you - how about that"
Her black eyes becaht"
At that, he had to honestly laugh "It&039;s the reason we&039;re here, baby"
She smiled a little "I think that&039;s the first time I&039;ve heard you do that"
Jiht off as a waitress ca for me, thanks"
"He&039;ll have coffee and the waffles"
When the waitress looked at hied and let it go
After they were alone again, Devina just went back to her puzzle
"You can&039;t have a shot with "
There was a pause, as if the de Eventually, she tapped the newspaper with the tip of Eddie&039;s pen
"You read the CCJ?"
"Sometimes"
"It&039;s a treasure trove of infor up the first section "You never knohat youit around to face him, she stared across the table
Ji articles One on a new school districting plan Another on e minority businesses And a third on
The nib of Eddie&039;s pen pointed to the last article
"I believe I have coreement," she drawled
The headline read: "DelVecchio Execution Scheduled"
Jiht, Shit, that was the soul?
Just as Devina went to retract the pen, he flashed out a hand and locked a hold on her wrist, keeping it in place
The nib of the Paper Mate was actually on a name within the article - and it wasn&039;t the DelVecchio serial killer guy It was the man&039;s sonThomas DelVecchio Jr
A detective on the Caldwell police force
Jilanced across the table at his enemy and smiled with his incisors "Tricky"
Her lashes lowered demurely "Always"
Done with her and the tiot up and took the pen with him "Enjoy my waffles, sweetheart"
"Hey, hoill I finish my crossword puzzle?"
"I&039;m sure you&039;ll find a way See you soon"
Jimen When he came up to the bikes, he held the Paper Mate up to Eddie
"Your pen" As the angel went to take it back, Ji around the nib Next tiive the bitch a Sharpie"
As Ji, Adrian asked, "What did she say?"
"Looks like we&039;re going into the land of cops and robbers"
"Oh Good" Ad e there"