Hell.â
Leo pressed the hot iron to my bicep and then I was screaming, so loud I felt it tear out of my throat.
He stopped as abruptly as heâd hurt me in the first place. âIâm not joking, Ava. Your reaper sent you here with no clue about what youâd be facing. Alexi almost killed you, and if Iâd wanted ten more deadheads to rip you apart, youâd be pieces in black plastic bags by now. He doesnât give a shit about what happens to a creature like you, Ava, so why would you not jump at the chance to get rid of him?â
Shaking, I worked on not tossing my last meal all over my boots. I forced myself to meet Leoâs eyes. âBecause itâs impossible.â
âItâs not impossible.â Leoâs snarl came close to mine. I could see Iâd hit a nerve, so I flinched back.
âMaybe not for you, but I canât help you,â I said. âGary is my boss. He owns me. Iâm not going to flip on him for some psychopath human that already tried to kill me once tonight.â
The iron hit me again, on the collarbone, but this time I was prepared for it, and my scream came through gritted teeth.
âDonât be stupid,â Leo snapped. âYouâre disposable to a reaper. Thereâs always more where you came from. He doesnât care about you, Ava. How can you not see that?â
I breathed in, out. Slow and soft, feeling my heart beat and my blood pump. Reminding myself that I was alive. âI do see it,â I whispered. âWhat you donât see is that I donât have a choice.â I squeezed my eyes shut. Sweat and stress tears flooded down my cheeks. âYou think this is bad? Even if I get out of here, what Gary does as punishment for not putting you down will be so much worse. Itâs not a matter of whether or not we have warm fuzzy feelings for each other.â
The shaking now wasnât entirely from what Leo had done to me. I hated it when I had to think about this, about what I really was and how tight Garyâs hold was. âItâs about who Iâm afraid of. And thatâs Gary.â
It would always be Gary.
I watched Leo pick up a knife, and sighed. âNow, I was already tortured to death once, so if youâre going to do it, just get it over with.â
Leo stopped in midmotion, went completely still as if all his joints had locked up. âYou remember dying?â
âYeah,â I said. âI mean, itâs sort of hard to forget.â
Leo set down the knife. Something had changed in his eyes. I didnât know what Iâd said, but this was more like Iâd imaginedâÂhard and empty, the cruelty that I expected from warlocks with as much power as Leo had.
âThat isnât right,â he said. âHellhounds have no memory of their human lives.â
âIâm a hellhound,â I said. âAnd I remember a lot more than I want to.â
Leo narrowed his eyes. âThe other twoâÂin Brooklyn and St. LouisâÂremembered nothing of their human existence,â he said. âSure, they knew theyâd died and made contracts with reapers to save themselves, but they had no memory of dying or anything leading up to it.â
âI donât remember everything,â I mumbled. I was oddly embarrassed. Iâd never even thought to wonder if Garyâs other hounds were like me. I thought for sure that Wilson at least had to be a miserable asshole in life to be such a jackass when I met him.
âThat you remember anything at all is troubling,â Leo said. I felt my lip twitch back over my teeth.
âIâm so sorry that the information you tortured out of me troubles you,â I said.
âNot me,â Leo said. âBut if you do help me, I wouldnât let your boss know that you recall being a human.â
I stayed still and tense as he reached for me, but there was no pain this time. Leo touched my uninjured arm.