Soul Corrupted Read Online Free PDF Page A

brother?”
    Crap.
    I try to pull away, but he keeps a solid hold on me.
I’m pinned by an Angel. An unworthy Angel, but an Angel nonetheless.
    “How did you know it was me?” I hiss.
    “I know your eyes.” He sits back a bit, but retains
his grip on me. It’s starting to burn a little. “And Hope ? Really? Have
some imagination.”
    “Ass,” I mutter, trying to yank myself free. No dice,
so I turn on the waterworks. Tears spill down my cheeks. “You have no idea what
he’ll do to me when he finds out you saw through my disguise,” I fake-sob, but a
real shiver runs through me. It’s not a lie.
    “I have some idea, but it’s not my problem.” Josh
tightens his hold and I wince. “I was watching Noah, and I saw Lucifer with
him. Don’t make me ask twice. What the fuck are you doing with Noah?”
    “You’re insane. I have no interest in anything to do
with Grace’s brother. I have no clue why Lucifer would care.” This isn’t a lie,
either—Lucifer didn’t say anything about Grace’s brother. “If you really
did see them together, ask him yourself.”
    “I intend to. But who do I run into right near their
meeting place? My old demonic mentor dressed like a bad copy of Grace.”
    “Let me go,” I say. His grip is really burning now.
I’m not sure if he knows it.
    “Not until you tell me what I want to know.”
    Is he deaf? I said I didn’t know. “Let go!” I shout in
my high, syrupy voice. Every eye in the place turns toward us. Josh freezes in
shock.
    “Is there a problem here?” The barista is at our table
in a flash. His biceps pump up beneath his T-shirt when he crosses his arms. I
daresay he’s bigger than Joshy. His nametag reads tyrone .
    Josh releases me so fast, it’s like I’m burning him
instead of the other way around. I rub my arms and smile. “Thank you, Tyrone.
My hero.”
    Beefcake glares at Josh. “You aren’t welcome here any
more. If I catch you here again, I’ll call the cops.”
    “There’s nothing going on,” Josh says, laying on the
glamour.
    “You want to protect me from him,” I counter, catching
Tyrone’s eye and winking at Josh. Hell knows he doesn’t want to start a glamour
war with all the attention it may attract.
    I smile as demurely as I can muster while Josh stands
up and gives me the evil eye on his way out. Ha. I win this time.
    My smile fades as soon as he’s gone, though. Now I
have to find a new way to break up the super couple. I better keep an eye on
Josh in the meantime. If he is tracking down Lucifer, he better not say
anything about recognizing me or I’m in the Pit for the next fifty years.
    Shit. I need to stop him.
    I pop onto the sidewalk in front of Josh, looking like
myself again. I’m prepared this time, and I’m not letting him within snatching
distance.
    “Isn’t there some Heavenly rule about sticking your
nose where it doesn’t belong, Joshy?”
    He stumbles backward a bit. “So now you know stuff
about Heaven?” He laughs, but it’s forced. Clearly, I struck a nerve.
    “I know lots of things…but not what Lucifer is doing
messing with Grace’s brother, if he really is. He doesn’t interact with the
living that often.”
    “All the more reason for me to find out what’s
happening.” He moves to step around me, but I put myself in his way.
    “I can find out without you rushing in on your
white horse and messing up like always. It’s not like Lucifer’s just going to
open up to you—you aren’t his favorite Angel, you know.”
    He backs up until he’s face-to-face with me again.
“Yeah? And I’m supposed to trust you because…?”
    “Because I need something from you in return. Tit for tat.
Not that you have any tats. They’d look delicious on you, though.”
    “Get to the point.” He’s so close, I can smell his
breath. Peppermint mocha. Mmmm.
    “I need you to make it look like I’m doing my job—namely
distracting you .” I run a fingernail down his arm, careful not to make
skin contact. I