Good. I wondered how she would feel if she knew what I was about to do.

“I am what I like to call a … mentor, of sorts,” I lied, flipping the Token over and over in my fingers. “I enjoy finding artists who just need a … little nudge … to be great. I didn’t want to say anything in front of Jemma,” I leaned closer as if I were imparting a little secret between men. “Because I didn’t want to upset her, you know? She’s quite fragile about her art.”

He relaxed a little, a knowing smirk pulling at his lips. I fisted the Soul Token so tight I would have an impression of it on my palm for days. This bastard needed a fist right in those slightly crooked teeth of his.

“So, you have connections in the art world that you can get my work in front of?” he asked, and his eyes gleamed greedily.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” I tempered, steepling my fingers in front of my face. “What I have is a gallery with some … prime real estate, where your work will be seen by many.”

He didn’t need to know that the many I spoke of were souls being transported to and from their daily torture … and their demon handlers.

“I’ll ask again.” I pressed the Soul Token safely into a crease in my pocket, then willed my hand to fill with human cash, tugging it out and setting the stack on the table in front of his bulging, covetous eyes. I leaned back, letting him take in the teetering pile of notes.

This man was despicable, and before Heaven had changed their selection criteria, he would already have been a shoo-in for Hell. So I felt no qualms about what I was about to do.

Or very few of them, anyway.

“I am willing to pay handsomely.”

“That’s … that’s more than …” He abruptly cut himself off, straightening and eyeing me with slight suspicion. “What else do you want from me?”

Oh, so much more than you would ever be willing to part with, if you knew. “Like I said, I want your work to be seen. I’m prepared to pay extra to take them off your hands immediately.”

His eyes widened. “But … but I won’t have anything to display in the café tomorrow, and it’s the weekend!”

“Yes, well, that is unfortunate. But I do want to get them up for display in my … gallery, as soon as possible. But if you don’t think you want to part with them …” I reached towards the cash stack.

His hand shot out, snatching the cash. “Yes, of course, you can take them.”

I stood, stretching and staring down at the pathetic human, clutching his cash to his chest. The stupid fool.