Soul Stripper by Katana Collins Page B

there in silence for a moment. I could feel Lucien’s eyes burning my skin. I knew he was watching my every move.
    “So—I might die?”
    “No.” He spoke firmly, and when I looked over at Kayce, she had her face buried in her hands. “No,” he repeated. “The difference is, with the past succubi, the transition happened fast. They lost their powers and within twenty-four hours, their bodies were dead. There was no time to protect. No time to assess who was around them. How long have you been without powers?” His eyes were like two stones, unblinking.
    “Yesterday was when I first noticed something was off. But it mostly felt like I was just low on energy. This morning was when I woke up completely drained.”
    “Okay, so we’re at the first-day mark.” Lucien shook his head and placed his hand over mine. “You’re going to be safe. I’m going to keep you safe.”
    He stood up and walked over to his desk, grabbing his phone. “I need you here immediately.” That’s all he said into the phone, nothing else. Within seconds there was a crack and Jules stood before us again.
    They stared at each other. An immortal staredown. It was like a spaghetti western, only the men were much more beautiful. And they showered regularly. I expected them to draw any second—only instead of guns it would be a pitchfork and a halo.
    Lucien was the first to speak. “You know the situation.” It was a statement, not a question.
    “I do,” Julian said.
    “And are you able to help?”
    Julian paused and looked over at me. “I must clear it with the counsel first.”
    “I understand.” Another pause. “If it helps—she has no more succubus powers. She is mortal for all intents and purposes.”
    “Almost mortal. She retains some succubi traits still.” Julian’s eyes flitted over to my breasts, and I rolled my eyes, giving an audible sigh.
    “I’ll need an answer as soon as possible.”
    Julian gave one sharp nod, and with one last crack, he disappeared. Again.
    “Kayce,” Lucien called. When she looked up from her hands, her eyes were red and her cheeks streaked with tears. “I’m going to need your help with this, too. We’re going to have round-the-clock surveillance on Monica. Can you take the first shift?”
    She sniffed and nodded.
    “Take your balls out of your pockets, Kayce. We need you to be on your A game.”
    Kayce stood, swiping an arm over the last remnants of tears, and walked over to Lucien, pupils flickering like a flame. Her stride was fast, and as she reached him, she grabbed Lucien’s balls tightly. He squeaked and his face reddened. “She’s my best-fucking-friend. You better believe I’m on my A game.” She released her grip and Lucien adjusted his clothing.
    “Excuse me,” I chimed in, “do I get any say in this?”
    “No!” they said at the same time, not taking their eyes off of one another.
    “Take her home,” Lucien continued. “But let her go about her days as normal. In fact, try to keep your tail on her a secret. You’re her friend, so for the most part it won’t look weird, you hanging out at the coffee shop and at her house, but we don’t want the perp to be scared off of the target.”
    I swallowed. “And . . . I’m the target, right?” I wasn’t used to all this covert operation shit.
    Kayce shook her head. “I don’t like this, Lucien. Monica shouldn’t be used as bait.”
    For a brief moment, Lucien’s face softened. “I can’t say I like it much, either, but we have little choice. If this guy knows we’re wise to him, he’ll just back off and find another victim. We’d be sacrificing another for Monica’s life.”
    “I’m all right with that,” Kayce said.
    “Of course you are. You kill for a living.” Lucien rolled his eyes.
    “Newsflash, dipshit. I’m a succubus. You’re a demon. We all kill for a living.”
    “Enough!” I couldn’t take their bickering much longer. They were like the Hellspawn equivalent to the Ropers. “I’ll do