“I’m sorry, but we’re not interested in solicitors.”
He gaped at the butler, wondering where the hell the fella thought he could possibly be stashing whatever goods he might be selling. “I’m here for Clarissa. Tell her to get her ass out here. Now.”
The butler looked like he was on the verge of slamming the door in his face, so Logan quickly wedged his shoulder into the opening.
“Let him in, Harrison.”
He stiffened at the unmistakable sound of Clarissa’s voice. How long had she been standing there? He pushed his way past the butler and stared at Clarissa. “What the hell are you doing in this place? What’s going on?”
“You look angry.”
He was pretty damn sure his incredulity had to be written all over his face. “Angry? Hell, shug. I can’t imagine why. Maybe it has somethin’ to do with you lockin’ me in a box and then skippin’ out. Or perhaps my fifteen-mile chase just now has my tail a little tweaked.”
Clarissa licked her lips. “I guess that explains why you’re so sweaty.” Her eyes turning smoky, she sashayed forward and ran her fingertips along his pecs. “Not that I’m complaining. There’s nothing more arousing than a sexy man drenched in perspiration. Gets me all hot and bothered.”
Confusion and wariness surged through him. Why was she talking like this and looking at him like she was two seconds away from jumping his bones? Particularly considering everything that’d happened earlier in her office? Trying to make sense of it, he dragged in a deep breath. It hit him then, the total lack of her scent. He growled low in his throat, stumbling away from her.
“What’s wrong, hot stuff? Aren’t you happy to see me?” Her smile provocative, she leaned in to kiss him.
“Get away from him.”
He jumped at the furious demand in Clarissa’s voice. Only the words hadn’t issued from her mouth. He jerked his focus sideways and noticed Clarissa slumped in the opposite doorway, a wealth of fear and weariness riding her features. Staggering backward, he slashed his attention to the other Clarissa.
Sweet Jesus. Another Clarissa. What the fuck…
A peeling laugh erupted from the Clarissa imposter in front of him. “Oh, you should see the look you’re wearing right now. In fact—” A distortion flickered over her face and suddenly he was staring at himself, his mouth gaping in perfect duplication of his twin.
He was half convinced he was suffering a psychotic breakdown. That none of this was truly happening and he’d wake any minute and laugh with Clarissa about this incredibly crazy dream.
“Enough.” Clarissa—the real one—hurried from the doorway and rushed at the doppelganger, shoving it against the wall. A hiss tore from the creature as it tried to claw at Clarissa’s face. He leapt to defend his mate, only to collide with thin air when the thing, whatever it was, vanished.
A raspy chuckle floated behind them and he whirled, his gaze landing on the creepy trucker dude from the bar. His already befuddled brain stalled, unable to cobble together even a passing explanation for what was going on. And why the hell Clarissa seemed to be smack dab in the middle of the insanity.
Another figure materialized next to the trucker. It took him a second to figure out why the dude looked familiar. It was the guy from Tatum’s. The one he’d thought was only a figment of his imagination.
The one who’d had his tongue rammed down Clarissa’s throat.
A roar ripping from him, he pushed away from his mate and lunged toward the dickwad. Just like the doppelganger had done, the guy vanished and Logan banged into the wall. A hearty chuckle came from the trucker. “Ouch. That’s gonna leave a mark.”
Logan swung his arm. And punched through nothing but thin air again. What were these motherfuckers? Panting, he swung around. His blood froze in his veins when he saw the dickwad from the bar cozied behind Clarissa, stroking her possessively with his inhuman, talon-like claws. Fearful for her, and enraged at the blatant poaching of his territory, he clenched his fists and stalked forward. “Keep touchin’ her and I’ll fuckin’ kill you.”
A laugh snaked from Clarissa’s captor. “Something tells me that you’d love to kill me regardless if I touch her or not.”
“True. Guess it all comes down to the degree of pain you wanna suffer before I put you out of your fuckin’ misery.”
A tsking sound came from the creature. “So much rage. So much wrath. You know, I have a sibling that I suspect you’d get along swimmingly with. Still, I more than anyone understand where you’re coming from. Sweet Clarissa is certainly a prize worth killing for.” A hot flare of covetous lust glinting in those creepy eyes, he bent his head and licked the side of her face.
Clarissa’s violent shudder only stoked the fury that’d erupted within Logan the instant that fucker’s tongue made contact with her cheek. “By the time I’m done with you, you’re gonna beg me to kill you.” He took a menacing step forward. “Let go of my woman.”
“Your woman? I think you’re mistaken, wolf.” A heaping dose of derision was shoveled on the last word. “I own Clarissa. She belongs to me.”
The zealous smugness in that hissing voice as it crowed about ownership made him see red. “She’s not a possession. Especially not yours, asswipe.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. Tell him, Clarissa. Tell him how your soul belongs to me.”
“Her soul? Who do you think you are, Satan?” More like a fuckin’ loon.
“I’m a million times more powerful than that horned weakling. My catalog of souls is far superior as well. Though Clarissa’s will always be valued above all others. From the first moment she approached Gluttony with her request, I knew I had to have her.”
What the hell was this fruit loop babbling about? Keeping a wary eye on the psychotic creature, Logan inched closer, not wanting to spook him and inadvertently bring harm to Clarissa. Still, he had to figure out a way to safely get her out of here.
“Did you know, sweet Clarissa, that Gluttony balked about exchanging your father’s contract for yours? Good ole Glut always has been a stickler for the rules. I went to great lengths to convince the others to bend them. You should thank me for that. In essence, I saved your father.”
Tears had started rolling down Clarissa’s cheeks, and Logan stared at their watery tracks. Son of a bitch. Why was she crying like the nonsense spouting from this creature’s mouth should have any affect on her? Unless…
Swallowing hard, he gazed at Clarissa. “Baby, tell me you didn’t—” Christ. He couldn’t even say it because it was so preposterous.
Holding his stare, her luminous eyes filled with more tears.
The oxygen billowed from his lungs. “Sweet Jesus.”
Chapter Nineteen
“Why the hell would you give your soul to this lunatic creature?” He knew he was shouting, but he couldn’t do a damn thing about it. Not when his world was fracturing right before his eyes.
“To save my father. He was going to be taken, Logan. I couldn’t let that happen.”
“What are you saying? That his life—his soul—is more precious than yours?” He hated the necessity that forced him to sound so callous. It wasn’t that he thought she should have left her father’s future hanging in the wind. Hell, who knew what he would have done in her place. That was the damnable part. Deep down, he couldn’t judge her for the decision she’d made, no matter how much its outcome devastated him.