“You don’t have to be human to understand a child’s needs,” Haziel said in her sweet voice.
Lucifer found it hard to believe Wrath had managed to convince the beautiful seraph to join him in his demesne and become his mate. Although he was a big supporter of the changes Haziel had wrought on his brother. Wrath hadn’t tried to end him once tonight and had only glared at Ramiel. He’d also not as yet threatened to rip the wings off anyone.
“Exactly.” Wrath came out in immediate support of Haziel. “Children need attention, security, and boundaries.”
Haziel beamed at Wrath. “And love.”
“And love.” Wrath’s harsh features softened. “Always love.”
Ramiel shifted and clenched his jaw.
Served the fucker right. Ramiel had knowingly put Haziel in danger because he’d been jealous. Lucifer would love to taunt the fucker and drive the knife deeper. Ramiel should have woken up sooner to what Haziel meant to him and should never have exposed her to the horsemen. Too bad Lucifer was too interested in Emma and Ethan’s futures to take such a ripe opportunity.
“Although they’d be safe with you,” Eddie said to Wrath and Haziel, “I’m not sure it’s a good idea to place them somewhere so unfamiliar.”
“Safe!” Chris gaped at her. “How can you call Wrath’s demesne safe? The seals are breaking, and the demons are running wild.”
“As opposed to being hunted on earth.” Eddie was all delightful fire and fury in defense of her sire.
Lucifer hoped when this was over, he’d get to know his niece better. Eddie was a good being, despite her unfortunate parentage.
“Anywhere we send them carries risk.” Sophia was dressed as a Victorian woman, ready for her rehearsal later.
Gabriel had been searching through the records, trying to find a rule that would prohibit Sophia from acting. Not that it would be any good. The archangel for chastity had grown a rebellious streak he admired. Sophia had always been beautiful, but this new wild side made her even more attractive.
Lucifer avoided tangling with the heaven contingent as a rule. For too much rigidity for him, but this new version of Sophia intrigued him.
“Concentrate,” Bianca hissed in his ear.
He massaged the sting left over from her pinch and longed for the days when smiting was a thing. “I am concentrating.”
“On Sophia’s boobs,” she whispered.
In fairness, Sophia had a spectacular figure, but his response had a lot more to do with irking Bianca as he said, “They’re incredible. As is everything else about her.”
“Like she’d give you a chance.” Bianca snorted.
“I’ve never had that trouble before.” He smirked and got the satisfaction of anger sparking in her iris-blue eyes. They were the most remarkable shade between blue and purple. He’d rarely, if ever, seen their like.
She rolled those lovely eyes at him. “God, you’re insufferable.”
“And tired of this argument.” He clapped his palms on his thighs and stood. “Right! This is what we’re going to do.”
All gazes swung his way.
You had to catch this lot by surprise. “The children are staying here with Eddie, Shade, and Sophia. It’s close enough to their home to be familiar, and there’s enough protection to keep them safe. Plus, help can come through the hell gate at any point.”
Chris Fellows frowned. “So can—”
“Shit!” Wrath looked at Lucifer speculatively. “He actually makes sense.”
“Dee and Eddie can take care of their human needs, and they know and trust Patty.”
Shade cocked his head. “You’re right,” he glanced at Wrath. “Lucifer is making all kinds of sense. And that’s a sentence I never thought I’d speak.”
“Stop.” Eddie slapped Shade’s thigh. Then gave him a tender smile that spoke volumes about how Shade’s old-fashioned courtship was going.
Their gazes locked, and Lucifer wanted to gag on the sweetness. He’d never before wanted that kind of connection with another being, but it had a certain appeal.
Bianca stood and whispered, “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me, haglette.” She needed to remember all that had happened between them, and he was going to make sure she didn’t forget. “You and I still have an account to balance.”
She gaped at him. “Are you seriously still pissed about the summoning?”
“Perfectly.” He leaned into her space. “Your actions have consequences, Bianca, and I’m going to demonstrate that. One of those consequences is for the summoning and the other is binding my power.”
She sputtered. “I’m getting that back for you.”
“You should never have bound me.”
Her dark eyebrows shot to her hairline and her jaw tightened. Her breath ghosted across his lips as she said, “You can try, Lucifer. I’m standing right here.”
The audacity! The unadulterated fucking audacity. He loved it.
“But first.” He stepped away before he enjoyed her closeness too much. “You said you could track those amulets.”
She blinked at his subject change and looked wary. “Yes.”
“I’m going to say goodbye to Emma and tell her where we’re going, and then you’re going to track some amulets for me.”
The feral haglette bared her teeth. “Damn straight.”
Chapter Eleven
As she followed Lucifer upstairs to the living quarters, Bianca’s heart was beating so fast she was surprised he couldn’t hear it.
Man, he got scary when he threatened to bring hell justice down on her head. She didn’t know what had come over her to dare him like that. It was the thing Carmen called getting her Lilith energy up. Coincidentally, the same thing Christen had complained about when he’d dumped her.
Her Lilith had been strangely absent when she’d met Christen. She must have been weirdly dazzled by his muscles or something equally facile. Probably PMSing enough to have lost her mind. However, Lucifer had left her breathing, so she was counting that as a win.
Emma and Ethan were tucked in together in Dee’s bed. Their small, sleeping faces poked out above a homemade patchwork quilt. It seemed a shame to wake—
“Lucifer?” Emma’s eyes popped open. “You’re leaving?”
“Yes.” He sat down beside Emma. “I’m going to look for your mother and whoever took her.” He jerked his head at Bianca. “And Bianca is coming with me.”
