Devil Du Jour (Book 2, The Book Waitress Series)

By Deena Remiel

The Book Waitress, Camille Dutton, has luck on her side. Good and bad. On the upside, she narrowly escaped death and Satan claiming her soul. On the downside, a portal has been opened, and she can feel every time a creature from Hell crosses over to our world.

Derek Galloway is one tenacious man. His curious nature won’t let him rest until he closes Hell’s portal and finds a cure for Camille’s affliction. Satan will have one helluva fight on his hands if he tries to claim her again.

Camille and Derek, an unlikely couple, have found each other in the darkest of times. Will they find the answers they need to free her and the world from Satan’s grip? Or are they in for the longest, darkest battle of their lives?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Deena Remiel
• Release date: Nov 14, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301347667

Deena Remiel

It was the mystique of Arizona’s history and landscape that called to Deena and catapulted her career as a USA Today Bestselling Author. When she’s not writing urban fantasy or paranormal romance in the wee, small hours of the morning or in the deep, dark of night, Deena teaches language arts to gifted middle school students. She currently lives in Mesa, but New Jersey will always tug at her heartstrings.

Book preview

Devil Du Jour

~The Book Waitress Series Book 2~

By Deena Remiel

Devil Du Jour

By Deena Remiel

Copyright ©2012 by Deena Remiel

Smashwords Edition

Cover Art by Scott Carpenter

Devil Du Jour is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher and/or author, except for brief quotations used in critical articles or reviews.

Published by Firewalker Press

Praise for the Book Waitress

Deena weaves a tail of mystery, mischief, good vs evil, and all with an air of sexual tension between the main characters that has you on the edge of your seat. ~The Eclectic Bookshelf

Usually, it’s the hero that has me swooning, so I was a little surprised by this but HOLY HECK... I loved, loved, loved the villain in The Book Waitress. Victor was completely SINISTER. Deena Remiel can write evil like no other ... she held NOTHING back and dived straight into Hell to deliver us perfection. He was menacing. He was callous. He was cold and unfeeling. He was DELICIOUS. ~ The Bookish Snob

Deena is serving up some evil deliciousness with The Book Waitress. ~The Bakin’ Goddess

This tale is scary intense and will have you biting your nails waiting to see what happens next. Full of action, snark, and spice. Ripe with ritual and entertaining characters (both good and very, very bad), The Book Waitress is paranormal suspense a la mode. ~Bella Bunnell

The book waitress earned a nice tip in my mind. She left me eagerly wanting a taste of the Devil Du Jour!!! ~Lucinda Dunn

Dedication

To the believers in Good and Evil, and those who fight the good fight

Acknowledgements

I’m a strong believer that it takes a village to raise a novel.

First, I’d like to thank Satan. What?! Have I gone completely bonkers? You know, if it weren’t for the idea of Satan, and evil existing in the world, what kind of stories could I write? I adore romance as much as the next person, but I also love fantasy and those relationships where our hero and heroine must go through all sorts of trials and tribulations of the most supernatural kind. And honestly, who doesn’t love reading a good old showdown between Good and Evil? So, I thank Satan for being the evil dude he is. I’m removing my tongue from my cheek now.

I’d also like to thank all the Good people in the world. It’s those people who show me every day that no matter what evils may be thrown our way, we will always rise up and fight it down.

My family has forever stood beside me, supporting me on my publishing journey. I couldn’t have asked for a better husband or better children. They are my life’s blood, and I wither when they are not near. Friends are my breath. Without those close to home and others online, I’d be a lonely island. My fans are my heart. I write not only for me, but for them.

I could write a novel with the amount of people I have to thank, so I shall say this: to my writing sisters, to my fans, I love you and thank you for your unwavering support and love of my work. To my editor, Nicole Hicks, you make my stories shine, and I love you for that! To my proofreader, Kali Maddox, you catch it all, baby! Kristina Haecker, my administrator of The Book Waitress fan page, I thank you for working hard at keeping the fan page alive.

Finally, thanks to my computer, for being this girl’s best friend and behaving as a good lap dog should.

Table of Contents

Praise

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Coming Soon

More Great Books

Chapter One

Sirens heralded the arrival of angels. Well, to her they were angels. In reality, men dressed in blue rushed over to her and shoved the real savior, Derek, out of the way. They didn’t need to say anything. The looks of horror on their faces said it all. Camille was a bloody mess. Literally.

Okay, let’s get down to work. The buff one, with a stethoscope around his thick neck, leaned over and asked a myriad of questions all leading up to a determination of her status. Another, leaner, smaller man put an IV in her arm. They hoisted her onto a gurney and into the ambulance with her protector following close behind.

Let me ride with her, he pleaded, grabbing hold of the buff one’s arm. Through watery eyes she watched, with growing tenderness toward him, as he plied the two with all manner of excuse just to be able to stay with her. But they wouldn’t be swayed. Tough crew. She would have let him ride along simply on the merits of his puppy dog, turquoise eyes alone.

Sorry, buddy. No room, but you can follow in your car. The guy quickly closed the back doors.

She heard Derek continue his efforts in making a fuss. He banged on the doors and swore to the holy heavens, but it was a lost cause. They drove off, leaving him in the dirt and her to wondering where they were going. After being kidnapped by Victor, The Mission’s cult leader, she wouldn’t trust so easily anymore.

She strained against the straps holding her captive, a wave of paranoia spreading through her system like wildfire. Bells and buzzers went off. Where are you taking me?

Easy, Ms. Dutton, easy. We’re going to Mercy General Hospital. You’ll be taken to the ER for observation. The lean one patted her shoulder. My name is Jim. I’ve been doing this for fifteen years. Mercy General is great. They’ll take good care of you. Both my kids were born there. He smiled, and his words calmed her a bit.

She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. Suddenly, a screeching, like nails on a chalkboard, flooded her ears, and a jarring pain erupted through her belly that spread to her arms and legs. Her eyes flew open, fully expecting to see someone with a branding iron searing her flesh. Ahh! Had she not been restrained on the stretcher, she’d be doubled over, and she yanked on Jim’s shirtsleeve.

What’s wrong?

Ahh! That sound! She swatted at her belly, arms, and legs. "And I’m on fire!"

He checked her over and sat back on the bench. Ma’am, I’m not hearing anything out of the ordinary, and you’re not on fire. Your wounds are raw, though. Please try and relax. We’re almost there.

They’re burning me, I’m telling ya! The cuts…. As quickly as the sound and pain appeared, they vanished, leaving her perplexed and drained. Limply, she lay back and closed her eyes. Tears leaked out the corners of her eyes, as efforts to hold back her despair completely failed.

What’s to become of me? I’m marked for death, for Satan. He’ll never stop until he gets what he wants. Oh, dear God, help me. Mama, I’m sorry I fell in the pool. I’m sorry I brought Evil here. I’m so sorry. Her voice trailed off as she dozed from sheer exhaustion.

***

Ms. Dutton, can you hear me? Wake up, Ms. Dutton. Scott, these wounds are extensive and look like they’ve been done by a professional. There’s gonna be considerable scarring. Call plastic surgery down here. Ms. Dutton, you’re gonna be just fine. Are you listening? Wake up.

She tossed her head back and forth, shaking off a nightmare, and thrust herself back into reality. Her eyes fluttered open and settled upon a stark white ceiling. An antiseptic odor offended her nose and burned her throat. As awareness improved, she answered in a gravelly voice, I hear you.

Good. Now, you’re gonna be fine, but we have to work on these wounds. How did you get them?

A woman wearing scrubs did this to me. I was kidnapped and supposed to be part of a sacrifice by a satanic cult. That’s what these markings are for.

Well, we’ll do the best we can to make them disappear, but I can’t make any promises. They aren’t simply cuts, you see.

I know, Doctor, she said, resigned. She etched me like a piece of artwork. She removed curls of skin as she carved and showed them to me.

The one called Scott shook his head and patted her hand. Dr. Landry from plastic surgery should be here any minute. She’s the best and can tell you more about what to expect. We’ve given you some pain medication, so you should be feeling more comfortable now, and Nurse Chloe will clean you up. Your friend is waiting anxiously outside, so once she’s done he can come in. All right?

Yes, thank you.

A nurse walked in with a basin, a rag, and a smile. She stood beside her after the doctors left and began cleaning away the dried blood and washed out the wounds. Camille closed her eyes during the procedure, imagining Nurse Chloe as her mom, instead.

All cleaned up and dressed. I’ll send your friend in now, but when the plastic surgeon comes down, he’ll have to wait outside.

Thanks. She managed to offer a weak smile.

A moment alone seemed too much for her. Her heart