A Demonic Bundle by Angie Fox, Lexi George Kathy Love Page A

crazy, certifiably so. They had to be. Demons. Demons?
    “We need you, because you can see them. You can also see the humans who have sold their souls. They are the ones with the yellow light around them.”
    Humans who sold their souls.
    Charlie started to open his mouth to tell them they were utterly insane, but Ava’s comment suddenly echoed in his head. The comment about selling his soul. Did Ava believe this nonsense too?
    If she did, she didn’t want him to be a part of it. She’d practically begged him to not pursue this. Yet she had said similar things.
    “I know this is very hard to believe,” Eugene said.
    “Just a tad,” Charlie said wryly.
    “We are trying to stop them. Demons are running the whole fashion industry, and it’s only a matter of time before they spread to other industries,” Carrie said, her tone just as serious as Eugene’s.
    “And you”—he turned to Carrie, “and you and the mailroom”—he said to Eugene—“are the ones designated to stop this takeover.”
    Both nodded and then, to his surprise, pulled out government ID badges. Carrie had hers tucked into the inside of the waistband of her trousers, while Eugene had his in an inside pocket of his jacket.
    Charlie scanned the badges closely, seeing both of them were listed as belonging to a branch of the NSA.
    “That’s great,” Charlie said. “But how would I know if they are real or not? My fake driver’s license looked legit too and I was only sixteen.”
    “You are right,” Carrie agreed. “But what would be the point of this, if they aren’t real? You know what you’ve seen with your very own eyes. These pictures are just more proof.”
    Eugene nodded. “What would be in this for us?”
    Charlie couldn’t think of a thing. And if the mailroom was a cover for a government operation, that certainly explained the intensity of the place.
    “So who are the demons?” he asked, amazed he was even entertaining their story.
    “Finola for certain. She is, of course, the head demon.”
    “Of course,” Charlie said, still not sure what to make of all this.
    “And Tristan is very likely one. He’s definitely her right-hand man,” Carrie said. “But that is why we need you. You have a gift. You can see them. And you can see the humans who—”
    “Sold their souls,” he finished for her. “I got it.”
    He considered what they were telling him. “Was I hired because of this?”
    Eugene nodded. “Yes.”
    “But how did you know I had this ability?” Charlie asked.
    “You can see demons and those bonded to the demons; I can see special abilities in humans,” Eugene explained.
    “So everyone in the mailroom has special abilities?”
    Eugene shook his head. “No, some are straightforward military, installed here in case things get violent. Others are computer experts, hackers. Actually very few have any psychic abilities, if you will.”
    This was amazing. Just . . . amazing.
    Charlie walked over to the pictures, picking up one of beautiful Ava sleeping. “So Ava has sold her soul?”
    “Yes,” Carrie said.
    “To be a supermodel?”
    “Yes, that would be my guess.”
    Charlie put the picture down. “If I help you, will you get her soul back for her?”
    “That’s our plan,” Eugene said, his voice not as confident as Charlie would have liked. Funny, his uncertainty actually made the story somehow more believable.
    “I should be up front with you. I’m pretty sure I’m falling in love with Ava Wells,” Charlie told them.
    “All the more reason to help us,” Carrie said with an encouraging smile.
    They kind of had him there, didn’t they?
    “Okay,” he said with a sigh, still not believing he was buying into any of this. “Explain to me what my job will be.”
     
    Ava stopped pacing as soon as she heard Charlie’s key in the lock. She flung herself at him as soon as he stepped inside the living room.
    He caught her, holding her close, his surprised chuckle music to her ears.
    “You are