Weaz-adj huffed and went pink. “You are both disgusting.”
“We were joking.” Bianca drew a careful breath, and he could hear the eye roll in her voice. “He’s not that special.”
Yes, he fucking was. Especially if Weaz-adj was her point of comparison.
A shadow fell over him as Carmen leaned over him. She shared Bianca’s dark hair and blue eyes, but her features were softer and prettier. Where Bianca’s eyes were so deep blue they were purple, Carmen’s were more sapphire. Carmen’s frame was fuller too and didn’t exude the nervous energy, of who he presumed, was her older sister.
“Let’s get him more comfortable.” Bianca joined her sister in peering down at him.
“Now,” Weaz-adj thundered like a televangelist. “We shall attempt to reason with it.”
Murderous intent flashed through Bianca’s eyes before she schooled her expression into something more neutral. “He’s not an it,” she said. “And we’re not going to get anywhere with him if you continue to call him an it.”
“Bianca.” Weaz-adj shook his head. “I can see you have fallen beneath the beast’s spell. He is the great deceiver. Satan.”
Lucifer.
“Beelzebub.”
Lucifer.
“Belial.”
Lucifer.
“Asmodeus.”
“Lucifer,” Bianca yelled. “We’ve been over this and over this.” She counted her points on her fingers. “Asmodeus is lust. Satan is wrath. I don’t know who the fuck Belial is, but this is Lucifer, and he’s Pride.”
Belial had been a high order demon who got above himself and who Wrath had ended a few centuries back. Messy business, best forgotten.
Weaz-adj squinted at her. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” Bianca bent down to Lucifer’s eye level. “I’m going to release the bind on you so you can move your arms, but if you try anything, I’ll snap you back to blob, and you’ll stay that way until I decide to release you. Understood?”
Doing his best to appear nonthreatening, he nodded. “Blob. I understand.”
She should have listened to Weaz-adj—and he couldn’t believe he’d entertained a thought that ludicrous—because he was the great deceiver and bind or not, the unpleasant tingling in his extremities had become definite signs of life in his limbs.
Bianca touched the pendant and feeling flooded into his arms.
He flexed his fingers and rolled his wrists, keeping his feet very still. Looking around the room, he said, “I believe someone was going to explain.”
Everyone but Bianca leapt back and out of his firing line.
Swallowing, Bianca squared her shoulders. “We owe you that much.”
And a whole hell of a lot more, but they’d get to that. Oh sweet hell, they’d get to that.
“As coven leader, I nominate Bianca to brief the prisoner,” Weaz-adj said from the far side of the kitchen table.
Bianca squeezed her eyes shut like she was in pain before looking at him. “Are you hungry? Thirsty?”
“No.” Not unless you counted thirsty for his revenge and starving to have her at his mercy. “And I would like out of this infernal contraption.”
“You’re fine there.” Bianca folded her arms and stuck her chin out. Ready to do battle.
He kind of admired that. Not enough to defer his retribution, but she had guts.
“Actually, Bianca.” Lynn’s face screwed up apologetically. “I do have to get the chair back to the senior’s center before Mrs. Hall needs her middle of the night bathroom break.” She winced. “And also the van. I only said I needed it for a couple of hours.” She leaned closer and lowered her voice. “I told them I needed it to take my mother and her friends to the theatre.”
“Well.” Patty stomped into the kitchen. “I need a godsdamned drink.”
Weaz-adj clicked his fingers and pointed to Lynn and Bianca. “Move the prisoner to the sofa.”
“Get me one, will you, Patty.” Bianca’s eyes went colder than tanzanite. “And if you ever click your fingers at me again, Christen, I’m going to rip them off and shove them down your throat.”
“Bianca!” Carmen gasped. “Christen is the coven leader and in charge. You can’t speak to him like that.”
“Get him out of here.” Lucifer had reached the end of his tolerance with Weaz-adj and his merry band. He locked gazes with Bianca. “Get them all out of here. I deal with you and you alone.”
“Unacceptable.” Christen threw back his shoulders and puffed out a chest that looked like it owed much to hours of bench press.
“Now.” Lucifer snarled. “Or there will be no listening to what you say. No help.”
Indecision crossed Bianca’s face.
She was frightened to be alone with him, and that was the only good sense she’d exhibited since this entire fuckfest had begun.
