Lucifer shot her a wicked grin. Did he have any other kind of smile? “I’ll meet you at the theatre.” He glanced at Shade and Wrath. “We need to have a little chat.”
Nodding, Wrath swept his great red and black wings and shot high over the buildings.
“The keys.” Dee dug in her pocket.
“Oh, ye of little faith.” Lucifer winked at her. “Enjoy your flight, Dee.”
As Shade lifted Eddie higher, angels worked their magic, and the house, the dead demons, and the damage started disappearing.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Wrath stared at his brother, not bothering to mask his loathing. He might have been persuaded that Lucifer had not been involved in Eddie’s kidnapping, but he still didn’t like the troll fucker. “What were you doing there?”
Smoothing down the front of his black button-down, Lucifer smirked at him. “Why, brother, I am well. I’m so happy you asked.”
Yeah, he wasn’t going to bite. Well, not in the sense of rising to the bait, but his teeth breaking Lucifer’s skin still held dizzying appeal.
“Why were you there?” Sophia folded her arms and propped her hips against the greenroom counter. Behind her, the kettle came to a boil and hissed.
“Tea first.” Dee bustled at the counter putting bags in cups and pouring hot water over them.
Wrath could say with certainty that he did not want a cup of tea, but Eddie had seconded Dee’s suggestion when she’d made it, so he would choke down a cup of fucking tea.
“Ashe.” Lucifer’s face went stony, and retribution chilled his eyes to pitch. “He is mine.”
He could respect that sentiment. If Ashe had been part of his court, Wrath would take his defection personally and want to take care of payback himself. “Why didn’t you take him when you had the chance?”
“Because, unlike you,” Lucifer drawled, “I like to think before I act.” He accepted a mug from Dee with a smile of thanks. “Ashe was my best demon. Him being part of something like this makes no sense. I wanted to know more before I end him.” He smirked. “And I was there incognito. Until you decided to blow the place to shit, that is.”
Wrath took his cup and cradled it between his palms. The warmth did provide a measure of comfort, so maybe there was something to this infernal tea drinking of humans. “What if you don’t get another chance to capture him?”
“I’ll get another chance.” Lucifer’s voice vibrated with malicious intent, and Wrath didn’t doubt him for a second. He knew from experience exactly how vengeful his sibling could be.
“There’s something bothering me,” Eddie said and rubbed at her nape.
Shade rubbed her back. “What is it?”
“Ashe.” She frowned into her teacup. “There were a couple of times in that meeting when I swore he saw me but then…nothing.”
“He can’t have seen you.” Sophia spooned sugar into her mug. “Or he would have called out.”
“Not necessarily.” Shade’s palm moved slowly up and down Eddie’s spine.
The only thing that kept Wrath from ripping Shade’s hand off his daughter was the comfort Eddie seemed to draw from the contact. She swayed into the touch in a way that made Wrath grind his molars.
“Beg to differ,” Lucifer snapped. “The only reason that self-serving piece of shit kept quiet was because he knew she wouldn’t be there alone.”
Eddie’s frown deepened, and Wrath sensed she had more to say. “What is it, Eddie? We’re listening.” He shot a glare around the room to make sure everyone else was onboard.
“I don’t know.” Eddie sipped her tea. “When I was a captive, it was mainly Ashe I saw.”
Wrath’s mug disintegrated in his fist, and tea sloshed on the floor. Before anyone could get pissy about it, he vanished the mess.
“And he was…well there were times when I felt like he was trying to help me.” Eddie shrugged. “I don’t know, because he was also always there whenever they were going to drain me. So maybe I’m suffering from some kind of Stockholm syndrome or something.”
Shade watched Eddie as if he was being paid to do it. “What do you mean tried to help you?”
“Well, he was the one who said something about dreams before I reached out to you in yours.”
Lucifer scoffed. “Coincidental.”
“Let my daughter speak,” Wrath snarled. It didn’t matter that the same thought had crossed his mind as Lucifer spoke.
Shrugging, Lucifer winked at Dee.
Dee rolled her eyes at him, but she did it as she giggled, so it lost a lot of its scorn.
“And then he was the one who locked me in at night,” Eddie said. “And he started leaving some of the locks open.”
“He could be careless,” Sophia suggested gently.
“Not Ashe.” Lucifer shook his head. “Before he turned into a traitorous shit, he was my best demon. The sort of demon I could leave to get something done and know it would be done.”
Sophia wrinkled her nose in thought. “So, out of character then?”
“Completely.” Frowning, Lucifer nodded. “To be honest—”
