Bianca didn’t have it in her to lie, so she went with a verbal sidestep. “Did he say anything about where he might be going?”
“Nooo,” Carmen wailed and pressed her face into Bianca’s shoulder. “He didn’t even say he was going anywhere.” She peered up at her. “But he wouldn’t have left me like that. I know he wouldn’t.” Carmen sniffed and frowned. “At least, not without a good reason.”
Bianca made a comforting noise.
Lucifer sent her a pointed stare to get on with it.
He must be getting a crick in his knees.
She pushed a tendril from Carmen’s soggy face. “How about a cup of tea?” Instead of getting a knee cramp and glaring at her, Lucifer could make himself useful.
Carmen sniffed. “I’d like that.”
“Good.” Meeting Lucifer’s gaze, Bianca jerked her head at the kitchen.
He glared back.
She glared harder.
The door opened, and Raphael strode in. “Tea sounds like a wonderful idea.”
Unwrapping herself from Bianca, Carmen gaped at him. “Who are you?”
“I’m Raphael.” He smiled. His golden eyes shone like they were lit from within. “But you can call me Rafe.”
“Rafe?” Carmen swallowed.
Raphael was a lot to take in with his perfect body and gorgeous smile. He’d also never told Bianca she could call him Rafe.
“Good.” Lucifer shot to his feet, dislodging the shade on an arched floor lamp. “Raphael will make the tea while Bianca and I look around.”
Carmen bristled. “What do you mean look around? I told you he wasn’t here.”
“For clues as to where Weaz—Christen has gone.” Lucifer wrestled the lamp shade back into place.
Carmen narrowed her eyes at him. “Why?”
“So we can find him.” Bianca was getting too much enjoyment out of Lucifer versus the lamp shade.
“Would you like to show me where the tea things are?” Raphael held out a hand to Carmen. “And I’m sure they’re only going to have a quick look and see if they can find anything to tell us where Christen has gone.”
“They won’t hurt him? When they find him.” Carmen took Raphael’s hand and stood.
“Of course not.” Raphael put an arm around Carmen and guided her to the kitchen. “We want to find him and bring him back to you.”
Bianca glared at Raphael. Archangels shouldn’t blatantly lie like that. They had no idea what they were going to do with him when they found Christen.
“Oh-okay.” Carmen stared at Raphael like he’d bewitched her.
Maybe Bianca had gotten used to perfect beings popping in and out of her life, but Raphael had never had that effect on her. Objectively speaking, she recognized he was beautiful. Rich, flawless umber skin over aquiline features. A carved, pouty mouth and those mesmerizing golden eyes. He was a lot for a girl to take in. Except it didn’t affect her.
With Lucifer, on the other hand, she had to remind herself not to stare. Probably because he could be such a dick. Her reasoning didn’t even make sense to her, but she wasn’t going to interrogate it.
“Shall we?” Lucifer motioned the stairs beside the kitchen.
Carmen’s head snapped round. “Don’t go into the spare bedroom. That’s Christen’s private space. Not even I go in there.”
Bianca’s gaze met Lucifer’s, and they both knew exactly where their search was going to start.
“Oh, peppermint tea,” Raphael said from the kitchen. “I love peppermint tea.”
“Really?” Carmen giggled. “It’s my favorite.”
The door to the spare bedroom was the first they reached at the top of the stairs and was locked. Of course it was. If she’d been the plucky sort, she’d have been able to produce a hair pin from her stylish updo and pick the lock. Unfortunately, she didn’t have an updo or any idea how to pick a lock.
The murmur of Raphael and Carmen’s voices drifted up the stairs.
Lucifer jiggled the door handle.
“It’s locked,” Bianca whispered.
“Is it?” One dark eyebrow shot up and Lucifer opened the door.
“Huh.” Bianca stepped into the room. “Nifty little tri—what the fuck.”
Photos everywhere. All over the walls. In frames on the desk. Even the screensaver on Christen’s desktop and all of her.
Lucifer shut the door behind him and took it all in.
“It’s me,” Bianca said unnecessarily as she struggled to process. “They’re all of me.”
“Indeed.” A muscle ticked in Lucifer’s jaw, and his eyes were doing that scary thing again.
“Christen despises me. He broke up with me.” Bianca couldn’t get her mind to slow down and stick on a thought. There were photos of her walking down the street, in the grocery store, stepping out of her front door. She felt shocked, sickened, violated and angry. So very, very angry.
Lucifer approached the wall opposite the desk. He ripped photos down. “He’s obsessed with you.”
“What are those?” Bianca tried to snatch the photos out of his hand. Who the fuck even printed photos these days?
“Never mind.” Light flared and ashes drifted from Lucifer’s palm. “You don’t need to see those.”
An awful suspicion burgeoned in her mind. “Was I naked?” Her voice grew shrill in her panic. “Has he been taking naked photos of me?”
She lunged for the wall, but Lucifer blocked her. “He will pay for this.” His voice deepened with menace and vibrated from his big chest. “But you don’t need to see how much of a degenerate he is.”
Raising one hand, Lucifer flashed a super bright light through the room.
Bianca blinked the black spots out of her vision.
