Angel: Private Eye Book One by Odette C. Bell Read Free Book Online

neatly to
Cortez’s desk. “Don’t worry about the sparks, Miss Luck – they are
just binding you to the contract. They may leave a tickle for a few
minutes, but it will subside.” Benson leaned down, plucked up the
parchment, rolled it up into a neat tube, and tucked it into the
pocket of his jacket.
    When he smoothed the jacket across his
chest, it looked as if the bulky roll of paper had disappeared.
    I could only wish. In all likelihood, it
would have been spirited away to some vampire vault somewhere, to
live out eternity and bind me to this man for good.
    I brought up a hand and smashed it over my
lips in a jerky move as I realized what I’d just done.
    Benson suddenly pulled back his jacket and
tugged out another parchment of paper. Again he slid it towards
me.
    “But I just signed—” I began.
    “A work agreement. Once you sign it, I
promise to find you fitting, well-paid work in your current
profession, or perhaps something more stimulating.”
    My mind really didn’t like the emphasis he
used on the word stimulating. It was the verbal equivalent of
running your hands down someone’s cheek.
    My stomach, however, did kind of like it,
and gave a pleasant tingle.
    He tapped the contract with one finger.
“Sign it, and I’ll even ensure you have lodgings and board.”
    It was a hell of an offer.
    “I’ll put you up in one of my apartment
blocks in Morgana Street.”
    Holy crap, Morgana Street was in the center
of town. There was only one apartment block on it, and it was
categorically the chicest place to live in Hope City.
    Unless Benson planned on putting me up in
the broom cupboard, then he was intending to put me up in a
million-dollar apartment.
    Even Cortez looked impressed.
    Benson opened his mouth, possibly to sweeten
the deal further by offering to buy me some diamond slippers, but
what sounded like a fight broke out in the hall outside.
    Benson swiveled his gaze towards it, one
side of his nostrils flaring.
    “What’s going on out there?” Cortez called
across the room to a panicked uniformed officer who ducked their
head in the door.
    “Vampire fight.”
    “I’ll deal with it.” Benson turned hard on
his expensive loafer and nodded at Cortez. “I’ll deal with
this.”
    They both hurried away.
    I wasn’t stupid enough to think I had an
opportunity to escape. There was now nowhere in Hope City I could
go.
    William bloody Benson III had his eye on me.
And a man like that never lost sight of you.
    When they were out of sight, I turned my
head down to stare at the contract.
    With a strange mash of exhilaration and fear
mixing in my gut like explosives, I grabbed it and brought it
towards me.
    Before I knew what was happening, someone
darted over from my left and leaned in.
    From the ruddy complexion to the perfectly
round pot belly, I recognized him at once.
    The PI from this morning. The one who’d
kicked me out of his shop.
    “What?” I frowned at him as I kept hold of
the contract.
    “Mr Marvelous.” He ignored my question,
leaned over, and offered me his hand.
    I didn’t shake it. Instead I stared at him
in suitable shock. “Ah, what are you doing here?”
    “I came in on a case – heard everything
Benson just said. But that’s beside the point.” Mr Marvelous leaned
in, locked one of the pudgy fingers of his left hand on the
contract, and yanked it away from me.
    I stared up, startled.
    He surreptitiously shifted over his
shoulder, locking his wary gaze on Benson and Cortez. By now, both
of them were already out of the room.
    “What are you doing?” I found my voice. I
also found my sense, and leaned forward, trying to snatch the
contract from Mr Marvelous.
    That, right there, was my ticket out of
this. Hell, it was my ticket not just to freedom, but back to
normality.
    I needed a job. If I didn’t get one, I’d
turn into all the desperate magical criminals around me.
    No matter how hard I tried to snatch at the
contract, Mr Marvelous kept it locked in his pudgy, round,