Chapter 21
After three days babysitting Carman, the world’s worst patient, Ava needed a break. Once her friend regained consciousness, convincing her to stay in bed was like trying to stop a moving train. Feisty as ever, Carman refused to take orders. As elated as she was by her friend’s speedy recovery, Ava couldn’t wait to get out of the Goddess House and into Duncan’s arms.
Caring for Carman gave her plenty of time to think about her duty to protect mortal women from the incubi. She had the ability to track and kill the demons and could use her newfound skills to make a difference. No way could she sit back and let incubi continue to enslave women for their own profit.
Knowing that Duncan would not approve of her plans, she had kept him in the dark about her intentions. One way or another, she would rid Las Vegas of the sex demons preying on women, and she didn’t need anyone’s approval to achieve that goal.
Now that Carman’s condition had improved, she would finally put her plan into action. With Deritus dead and leaving the incubi with no leader, it should be easier to take them out.
Let Duncan and Llion take care of Mider and his demons. The incubi were all hers.
~ ~ ~
Ava swept through the lobby fueled by determination to eliminate the remaining incubi from the city. Better equipped to destroy the sex demons than the guardians, she considered it her personal duty.
After interrogating an incubus’s thrall outside of the Hawg, Ava learned the base of the sex trade operation was located on the top floor of a posh office building in the business district.
Passing through the shiny metal elevator doors, she caught a glimpse of her reflection and drew in a satisfied breath. Dressed in a heather-gray business suit, white scooped-neck sweater, and black pumps, she rocked the corporate executive look.
Time for a hostile takeover.
A short, bald man wearing an emerald-green doorman’s suit greeted her as she entered the elevator.
“What floor, Miss?”
“I’m going all the way to the top.” Ava adjusted her suit jacket and smiled. Energy pulsed within her. Ready to pass judgment in epic proportions, she tapped her foot in anticipation.
The man winked at her as if they both shared a secret. “I’m sure you are, Miss. There’s always a slew of pretty girls going to the top floor.”
“I have a feeling that will change in the very near future. I have it on good authority that business is slowing down.”
“Damn. I like the pretty girls,” he grumbled.
The doors opened to reveal a lobby with a mammoth bamboo reception desk complete with a vacant-eyed Barbie in a skintight neon-pink dress. “Welcome to PPI.”
Ava glanced at the sign on the desk and determined that PPI stood for Pleasure and Pain Industries.
“How can I help you?” Barbie’s bright-pink lips broke into a smile.
“I need to speak to the person in charge,” Ava replied, in her most business-like voice.
The receptionist glanced at a door to her right and shook her head. “Mr. O is busy right now. Can I make you an appointment?” Barbie picked up a pen and searched the calendar for an open spot.
“Don’t worry, I won’t take up too much of his time.” Ava stormed toward the office the receptionist indicated and threw open the door.
Mr. O sat behind a glass desk, leaning back with his eyes half closed. One girl kissed his neck as another serviced him on her knees. His eyes flew open when he saw Ava.
“What the fu—”
She didn’t give him a chance to finish. One blast had his molecules scattered all over the office. The two young women glanced at each other then back at Ava, obviously confused.
“Ladies, you are now unemployed. Get out before you get hurt.” Using an extra shot of compulsion in her voice, she urged the young women to flee. Soon, they would wonder what the hell they had been doing as the incubi influence lessened. Her heart swelled with satisfaction.
Exiting the office, she strode down the hall like a mountain lion stalking a bunny. Barbie no longer occupied her desk. Loud voices came from a room at the far left. Approaching with caution, she opened the door in small increments. Remaining unnoticed as she eased into the room, she observed at least twenty women behind monitors with microphones. Judging from the conversations she could hear, this was the phone-sex operation.
The scene made her skin crawl, and fury built within her. A glass door in the back of the large room caught her eye. She made her way there and wrenched it open. A sentient incubi viewing Internet porn leapt from his chair but never made it any closer. One quick blast leveled at his chest fried his molecules.
Back in the computer room, a few of the women had regained their senses but most still had soulless, vacant expressions. Hopefully, before she was finished, they would all be able to think for themselves.
“Leave now,” she commanded. Deciding that it would be wise to speed up the process, Ava blasted a few monitors into pieces, causing a stampede of screaming women to make their way down the hall and out the exit.
In the back hall, she found a door with a flashing red light above it and a sign that read ‘Filming in Progress—Do Not Enter.’ She viewed this as a personal invitation to barge in. Light flooded the set as she entered the darkened room.
“Dammit! What the hell are you doing? Now I’ll have to reshoot.” A sentient incubus with long black hair and violet eyes turned to face her. “You fucked up my film.”
“That’s not the only thing that’s going to get fucked up today.”
She formed an energy ball in her hands and lobbed it at the wide-eyed demon. Before the sentient could draw a breath, he exploded, his particles floating a lazy path to the floor.
The demon in bed with two young women tried to vanish, not realizing that Ava could still see him sneaking around in the shadows.
“Nice try, Demon, but I can see you as plainly as your two young victims on the bed.”
“Victims? They’re going to be Internet sensations . . . famous even.” He tried to lull her with his smooth, sexy voice and hypnotic hazel eyes.
“Yeah, against their will.”
Unaffected by his attempt to compel her, she prepared to send him back to the Dark Realm, along with his buddies. Energy sparked from her fingers, and she finished him off much in the same way as the others.
Making a point of incinerating the remaining computers and peripheral equipment, Ava left nothing remaining for the incubi to use to restart their nefarious enterprise.
Satisfied with the ultimate use of her judgment powers, she left the high rise in search of more demons to eliminate, vowing not to stop until Las Vegas was a demon-free zone.