This time, the woman screaming was completely different from the first one, and I cocked my head to the side, trying to picture in my head what was going on in front of me. The problem was that I had no information.
I knew there was a woman who made a wish, her daughter, and a man with a voice that could teach Lust a thing or two. The best part was that he wasn't even trying to be seductive, but he had that low, O City cadence that made me want to take off my panties and throw them at him.
Then again, walking around without underwear was probably not a good idea, seeing as I was wearing a short skirt, but you got the idea.
"Where did my mother go?" demanded a younger version of the older woman. I heard her stamping her foot, the sound of her thin heel clicking against the laminate flooring of the mall. "What did you do to her? You can't go around killing people like that!"
My blind eyes widened as I blinked rapidly. How did the woman end up dying? The deal was that she could go anywhere else but here…
Unless she ended up in hell?
But I didn't hear a body dropping, so how would the girl know her mother was dead?
"I'm guessing that was you?" asked Dimitri, his whispered words caressing my ear as he spoke to me.
"Potentially," I shrugged, whispering back. "A deal was made; I just don't know what she gave up."
'You don't need to worry about that,' answered Envy. 'When they leave the contract open-ended like that, we just take whatever it is that we want.'
'And what did you take?' I asked, unable to help myself. Curiosity killed the cat and the girl, apparently.
'Everything, Little Star. We took everything. Remember that. When they specify the conditions, we only take what they willingly give. But when making a deal with the demon, the devil is the in the fine print.'
Once again, I slowly nodded my head, even more impressed with the guys than ever before. It seemed like a boss move to take everything when nothing was offered in exchange. She didn't even come to me for the wish, and poof, she vanished in thin air anyway.
"Do I want to know?" asked Dimitri, and I bit my lip, wondering if he would be upset over the fact that I wasn't upset. Good people would be worried or upset if someone just up and vanished… right? "And no telling lies. Never lie to me, Kitten."
"She made an open wish," I whispered so close to his ear that my lips brushed the outside shell with every word I spoke. "Don't make open-ended wishes. Always be as specific as you can."
"Noted," chuckled Dimitri before raising his voice. "Nice to see you all made it here without me. I would be upset, but I found a treasure on my way, so I don't mind."
"Like we had to worry about your ass," chuckled the man with sin for a voice. I heard the softest sound of three men walking toward us, and I clutched Dimitri's shirt harder in my hand before burying my head in his neck.
Would he leave me now that he met up with his friends? I mean, I couldn't blame him. But I wish he wouldn't.
"And just who is this treasure?" asked a new voice, just off to my right.
"This is…" started Dimitri before trailing off. "Actually, I don't think I know her name."
"You are carrying her around like that, and you don't know her name? Do I really have to teach you how to be nicer to the fairer sex again? I swear, everything I say goes in one ear and out the other." A second voice on my left caused me to lift my head and let out a low growl, my teeth flashing for a second before I could control myself.
Right, normal people didn't act like that. Don't be suspicious; just be normal. Or at least, as normal as possible, given everything.
"Awe, isn't she precious?" came the voice in the center, and I felt the air shift in front of me as if he wanted to touch me, but Dimitri shifted his weight, keeping me out of reach.
"Hattie," I answered after an awkwardly long pause. "My name is Hattie LaRue."
-----
The second the small creature lifted her head and snapped at Désiré, Luca was utterly lost. This was the little girl that had made him want to get a career in policing. It had been 14 years since he and Réne had fished her out of the river, but the feeling of being able to save her had never left.
The only problem was that she looked almost completely different. Her once blonde hair was now a weird shade of pale blue, and it looked like it had been days since it had last been washed or combed. Her beautiful lavender eyes were replaced with a milky white pair, and she had more scars than anyone he had ever seen before.
And yet, he knew it was her.
"Hey, Short Stack," he smiled as her head snapped around, and he was on the receiving end of her stare. He could see how it would be uncomfortable for an average person to be the center of her attention, but now he wanted to be the only one she paid attention to.
And in order to do that, he needed to get her away from Dimitri. He had her long enough anyway.
'Ours,' came a very simple word to his head. 'She belongs to us, and what do we do when we find a treasure?'
'We keep it,' smiled Luca, answering the voice in his head. It didn't talk to him all that much, in fact, compared to the rest of the guys, his and Réne's voice was almost nonexistent. But now he wondered if it was because he had found his other half.
Like a cute doll, Luca watched as the girl cocked her head to the side, a look of confusion on her face.
"Don't tell me you forgot about me," pressed Luca, taking a step forward, refusing to let Dimitri back away again. "That night changed my life."
Short Stack rolled her beautiful eyes, but she couldn't stop the smile on her face.
"Hello, Luca," she said. "It's been a minute."