Dealing with Devils (Book 2 in the Road to Salvation Series)

CHAPTER 17

As soon as Katie climbed into the car and closed the door, Josh lurched forward, almost head butting her in the process, and she had to jerk back to keep from being hit. This caused him to miss his intended target, and the kiss landed only on the left side of her mouth. In his haste to get to her, his fingers became entangled in her hair. When he pulled away, she had to wipe some of his spit from her cheek. She chuckled to ease the awkwardness.

"I'm happy to see you too."

"Sorry." Josh unwound his fingers from her hair. "I was just excited to see you. You look great."

Katie thanked him for the compliment, noticing that he had on a dark suit with a deep purple shirt and black tie. He looked good, like always. But the outfit reminded her of Braden and Lucifer. Josh almost looked like a carbon copy of the other two, and she wondered if all demons were given the same lesson in style. Not that she was complaining. It made him more intriguing than ever. She smiled.

"You don't look too shabby yourself." The smile faded from her lips as the reason for why he looked good entered her mind. She sighed.

"You all right?"

"Um, I guess. I'm just not sure how I feel about going to the funeral."

Josh put the car in gear and grinned. "Oh, man. I can't wait. It's going to be fun. It's always a treat to see how many people curse the Man Upstairs for taking such a young life."

Katie wrinkled her nose. "You would find joy in that."

"Of course. I'm a demon. Other people's pain gives me pleasure. One day you'll learn to appreciate that too."

That thought probably should have disturbed Katie. Seeing other people in pain definitely didn't sound like fun at all, but at the same time, she already felt indifferent to the situation. Still, she knew how demons operated, what they were here for, so she couldn't blame Josh for acting naturally. Although, she doubted she would ever find pleasure in other's pain. Even Lilith had her compassionate side. But only time would tell Katie for sure.

Josh cleared his throat and broke her out of her thoughts. "So what did Braden want from you?"

Katie stared at him. "What?"

"I know he was in your room last night, Katie. I can sense those things."

The memory of Braden in her room while she only had on a towel came back to her and caused her jaw to tighten. If anything irritated her to no end, it was that demon.

"He just wanted to make sure I knew who I was. Then he left."

"He didn't say anything else?"

Katie shook her head. "Why? What's going on? What do you know that you're not telling me?"

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "I know that things are changing for you. I can see it in your soul. I know you can feel it too."

"So? What does that mean?"

"It means that soon your human existence won't mean nearly as much to you."

"And what does that mean?"

Josh pulled into a parking space and turned off the car. He turned in his seat to face her. "I'm going to be honest, it could mean a lot of different things. Your destiny hasn't been set in stone, even as Lilith reincarnated. But my hopes are that you will come home and be with me."

The look on Josh's face as he spoke was enamored. Katie thought of Lucifer's words and how demons had the capacity to love, and she knew at that moment that Josh was in love with her. She had always suspected—and hoped—but never really had concrete proof until now. He reached out and took her hand. Her heart swelled. Butterflies entered her stomach. Giddiness swept through her. The words "I love you too" threatened to climb out of her, but she bit them back. She reminded herself that he hadn't actually said the words and until he did, she wasn't going to either.