Page 28 of Promised to the Demon King (The Demon Brides #1)

Nova sat on the leather sofa in Allister's private luxury version of an office. When she last visited with Timothy, she never ventured to inspect. However, Allister and Thomas encouraged her to ask questions, explore, or request food and drinks whenever she wanted. Allister ensured that Sheila, his security, knew to take care of whatever Nova's needs may be; he also ensured that security knew who Nova was and was to be protected around the company.

Nova insisted that she could wait on herself. Sheila seemed nice but was just as busy with work as the two males in her life, rushing around to keep her comfortable.

"Are you guys okay with me exploring around the building?" Nova asked as she closed her sketchbook and placed it on the oversized table.

"Here," Allister handed a card to Thomas to give to Nova. "If anyone gives you any problems, show them this pass. It'll grant you unrestricted access to all floors of the building. Please be careful and do not leave the building without us. Fair?" Allister locked his eyes onto Nova's. There was concern deep within them.

Nova nodded and then inspected the card that Thomas had just handed her. These VIP passes weren't in circulation; they were a risk and only granted to trusted members of the Carter family. Holding that card gave Nova instant and recognizable status of importance to Allister.

"Thank you, Asmo. I won't venture too far. See you guys in a little bit."

With that, Nova left the office, Roz closely on her tail as she did.

'Time to sleuth, Roz. Let's see what is hidden in plain sight.' Nova whispered as they snuck into the secured filing room. The black access pass scanned them through with no hassle.

They spent hours reviewing assorted files and discovered that a few numbers were incorrectly calculated. Funds also disappeared and reappeared unnoticed. The same two authorization codes sign off on the suspicious withdrawals and delayed financial returns. One of the authorization codes was Timothy Carters, but most were logged under the senior account manager, Patricia Cruz.

Nova furrowed her brow. Where had she heard that name before? It was familiar, but she wasn't familiar with any of the Carter Company employees.

"Roz, where have we heard that name before? It's not a coincidence that it sounds familiar, and money is being moved around like it had with Timothy. Is there a connection?" Nova rubbed her temples.

'You're hungry, little star. Let's get you fed and regroup.' Roz suggested.

"You're right." Nova chuckled, putting the last file folder back as it was. "I am borderline ravenous; I've been eyeballing your thighs for the last hour." Nova joked.

"Don't tempt me with a good time, you naughty little Queen, you."

Nova rolled her eyes and headed out of the file room in stealth mode with the laughing Roz beside her.

'Mmm—' Roz moaned when the delicious aroma of the food wafted to them as they approached the food court on the main floor of the building. 'Are you feeling Thai today?' Roz asked, her red eyes glowing with excitement at all the food.

"I am, actually. You know, sometimes your precision is creepy." Nova joked and headed to the Thai takeout line.

Nova ordered her usual chicken fried rice with dumplings and green onion cakes. Roz's mouth was watering.

"I wish I could share this with you, Roz," Nova whispered.

Since Roz didn't have a vessel or obtained corporal form, she had to return to her body in hell to feed. She ached to try the deliciousness of human food. It always smelled tantalizingly good. Thalon promised to spoil her with all she desired once they returned to Hell on Nova's eighteenth birthday.

'It's fine,' Roz said, but Nova saw her face slightly drop in sadness. 'I'll try it someday soon, I am sure of it.'

"I promise that if you find a way, I'll get you all the delicious food you want." Nova smiled warmly.

'I'll hold you to thank, my little Queen.' Roz's eyes flashed as she smiled mischievously.

Once she collected her food, Nova looked around the food court for seating, but what caught her eye and piqued her interest the most was-- her mother!

Carol sat at one of the other four-seater tables in the food court. She didn't have a food tray with her, merely a bottle of Dasani Water. Sitting with her was another woman. Carol and this woman looked to be in a serious and hushed conversation. The woman seated with Carol had a food tray, and an employee name badge was clipped to the front pocket of her dress pants. Nova could see it from where she stood but couldn't read the name.

'That's not suspicious!' Roz said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.

"Hello, Carol." Nova greeted her after she walked over. Nova noted that her mother's face immediately dropped, and her hand flew across the table to retrieve a grey USB stick from in front of the other woman. "What brings you here today? Timothy isn't back, is he?" Nova provided.

"Of course not. As far as I am aware, the investigation is still ongoing. Timothy wouldn't dare return to face the judgment until he was cleared of the crime. Nova, stop being so nosy." Carol scowled at her quickly.

"How am I being nosy? I am merely curious why you are here. You don't work here, and Timothy is not here anymore. That's all. Is something wrong, mother?" Nova intentionally baited Carol.

"I am here having lunch with a friend. Now leave us."

"Hey, you must be Carol's friend. I'm Nova, and you are?" Nova put her tray on their table and pulled out an empty seat.

"I'm Patricia. I am the senior account manager here. I am an old acquaintance of your mother, but we aren't friends anymore." Patricia was quick to clarify any confusion or misinformation. Carol hissed and shot a nasty look over at Patricia upon hearing her words.

The cell phone chimed, drawing everyone's attention. Carol tried to cover the screen, but Nova saw it before she did.

UNKNOWN

[Change of plans! 1901 Park Ave. 30 minutes, come alone!]

'Remember that phone number, Roz.' Nova spoke to the horned temptress standing over Carol's shoulder.

'She is typing back. There is a meeting being scheduled.' Roz said back.

Their bond was unique. Years ago, Roz told her they could speak telepathically because she had pledged herself to Nova since birth. To that day, most of their conversations were never out loud, which helped since only Nova could see her anyway.

Immediately after hitting send on her reply, Carol announced that she was leaving. She put the USB stick and cell phone into her purse and left abruptly.

'I need you to follow her, Roz. Learn what she is doing.' Nova said. Instantly, Roz shook her head.

'I am not leaving you here alone. I don't trust any of these mortals.'

'I have the guys here. Asmo and Tommy are upstairs. I am going there after I eat. Please, this could be valuable information for getting revenge against my father, Roz.' Nova pleaded.

'Fine! If you do not return to Asmo, I will be very upset, Young lady!' Roz scowled, and Nova smirked. Sometimes, Roz indeed went into full maternal mode. She liked it.

After all, Roz has raised her alongside her father since she was born. In all the ways that matter, Nova considered Roz as a mother. She didn't need to be biological for that bond to form.

'I don't break promises, now go. She's already leaving.' Roz rolled her eyes but left nonetheless.

"Nova?" Patricia clammed up as she spoke. Patricia had observed Nova staring blankly at the empty chair as though she were chatting with someone not there.

"Patricia," Nova smiled back as she returned the call-out gesture. "So, you are no longer Carol's friend. Then why was she here meeting you?"

Nova watched as Patricia paled at the question and looked around uncomfortably. "She was just here to chat. I was interested in what she wanted to discuss, so thank you for interrupting me when you came over." There was truth in Patricia's words. Nova could sense it, but she also felt there was more to the story.

A voice deep inside of her pushed her to continue the questioning while they could.

"You gave her a flash drive. Was it filled with old friendship pictures?" Nova asked sarcastically while she noted the beads of sweat forming on Patricia's brow.

"It was hers. She tried to give it to me, but I refused. I don't know what was on it; I just don't want anything to do with that woman anymore." Patricia's words were cautious initially, but her dislike of Carol came out loud and clear by the end.

Lies!

"So there wasn't stolen company information on the drive you gave Carol? That's what it looked like from where I was sitting." Nova said to hell with cautious questioning; she wanted to probe the topic and figure out what was happening.

Upon hearing the question, Patricia dropped her fork, stunned. She looked around nervously and leaned forward.

"Rumours like that can ruin a person's reputation, young lady. Do not defame me without facts." Patricia stood up and stormed out, leaving the food tray behind.

Lies!

Again, for some odd reason, Nova knew the difference between Patricia's lies and truths. She was hiding something and was willing to wager that her assumption was correct. Some inside information was being leaked. She needed to report this to Allister immediately. She also wanted to test her sudden lie-detecting abilities on the guys. They would be able to confirm or deny her accuracy.

If this was a randomly acquired superhero power she had just discovered, it could help her gain her revenge.

Meanwhile, Carol inputted the address from the nameless text message into her GPS and headed to the meet spot. She couldn't believe how easily everything was falling into place. Soon, she'd have everything she wanted.

When she arrived at the location, she took in the isolated area she was directed to. It was a rundown and abandoned warehouse. Most of the windows were broken and boarded over.

"You're late!" a male voice was heard, filled with annoyance and anger.

"You gave me an industrial location after randomly changing the address. It was the opposite side of the city for me. Cut me some slack." Carol shot back.

"Slack costs money!" he growled, clearly not enjoying the pushback from Carol.

"Then add it to the bill after the job is done." Carol rolled her eyes and inspected her nails as though bored. "Are you going to come out of hiding, or should I take my business elsewhere?"

"What's the job?" he ignored her baiting and remained unseen.

Carol held out a brown document envelope. "Inside is an unregistered cell number, bank transfer account number, a few blurry photos, and a first number. I want these loose ends tied and double knotted." Carol's tone was still dull. She was annoyed that he still had yet to come out of hiding, even with her holding out the sealed document envelope.

"Fine!" Carol huffed and tossed the envelope down on the ground. "Inform me when the job is done. I'll wire the money once I receive proof of success. Do this quickly; I have other ends for you to tie afterward."

Carol didn't wait for a response. She turned on her Jimmy Choo heels and headed back to her car. Now that she had dealt with that, her focus was on proceeding with her divorce. It was time to meet with Craig and get him to push forward to challenge the prenup.