“Damn.” Easton eyes the house for a few seconds. “He still owns this place even though you’re married and living together in Thorne Hill?”
“Yes,” I say with a sigh, knowing where Easton is going with this. “Eliza stays here now, and he owns property and houses all over the place. We spent two weeks at his vineyard in California after the wedding, and whenever things finally calm down, we’re going to his place in France.”
“Must be nice,” Easton grumbles, and I just roll my eyes.
“Thank you again, Easton. Really.”
“I’m just glad you didn’t die.”
“Hah. Me too.”
“I’m going to call later and check in with you.”
“Text instead,” I say, wrinkling my nose. “I hate talking on the phone.”
“I remember,” he says and gets a distant look in his eyes, as if he’s thinking back to those few weeks we spent together in our teenage years. “I’ll text you later.”
“Okay. Be careful.”
“I’ll be as careful as you are.” He pats my shoulder and then turns around, going back down the street to get to his truck. I take in a steadying breath and push open the gate. My heart speeds up and the small reprieve I got from being terrified of losing the one thing I never thought would happen crashes down on me again.
My fingers are shaking when I open the door and step into the foyer. Scarlet comes running, her little puppy bark echoing through the house. Lucas, who was in his office working, speeds through the house and takes me in his arms.
“You’re covered in blood,” he says, brows pushing together.
“It’s not mine,” I rush out, though he knows right away from the smell.
“No, it’s…” He inhales. “Abby’s. Fuck, Callie, what happened?” He draws his fangs and protectively cradles me against his chest. My eyes fill with tears, and the emotions I was suppressing break through the gate.
I open my mouth to tell Lucas everything but only a strangled sob comes out. Lucas holds me tight, stroking my hair, and then picks me up and carries me into the living room. “Callie,” he says after a few seconds have passed. His blue eyes are full of concern and anger. Not at me, but at whatever caused me pain.
“Roger showed up, shot me, but the bullet hit Abby,” I say when I can finally find my voice. “I called for my dad and Julian to come help, but…but…” I don’t want to say it. Saying it out loud makes it real, even though I know it’s real. “Lucifer showed up instead.”
“What?” he asks. “He can’t. He’s bound in Hell.”
I shake my head. “He came and he healed Abby. He…he…saved her life. She’s okay.”
“Then why are you so upset?” Eliza quips, appearing in the living room. She’s leaning against the doorway, arms crossed, looking bored as usual.
Tears run down my cheeks when I close my eyes in a long blink. Lucas brushes them away with his thumb and kisses the top of my head.
“Because he doesn’t do things for free. He’s going to want to be paid back, and I think…I think he wants our baby.”
Chapter 3
“What?” Eliza speeds forward. “Why—how—the fuck?”
”Exactly,” I reply, sitting up and wiping my eyes. “He looked at me and it was like he knew.” I turn my gaze down to my stomach. “Everything happened so fast.” I close my eyes and see Abby lying on the floor, blood pouring from her stomach. “Abby was dying.”
“So you made a deal with the devil.” Lucas gets up, fangs bared, and paces across the living room. “What the hell were you thinking?”
“What?” I ask, heart skipping a beat when I see Lucas stare at me angrily.
“You made a deal with the devil,” he repeats slowly. “And used our child as collateral.”
“Lucas,” Eliza snips, and he holds out his hand, silencing her.
“I didn’t put our child up for anything,” I snap. In the back of my mind, I know Lucas is freaking the fuck out and wants someone to blame. But right now, I’m scared and need him on my side, not against me. “My sister was dying before my eyes. What did you expect me to do?”
“Not take a fucking deal with the devil,” he growls and balls his fist and hits it against the wall. His hand goes right through the drywall, and two pictures come crashing down, glass shattering as soon as they hit the floor. I wince and my eyes fill with tears, but anger courses through me and the lights above us start to flicker, lighting up the dim room.
“Stop!” Eliza shouts. “Stop before you wreck the fucking house!”
“What did you expect me to do?” I repeat. “I called for help and Lucifer was the only one who answered. He broke out of Hell and he…he still came to help me. Should I have told him to go away and let Abby die?” I ball my fists and the anger slips away and more tears roll down my face. “He healed her and…and…” And for a second, I thought I was wrong about him. Maybe he wasn’t really bad after all. Maybe he really did care about me, and being related actually meant something to him like he kept telling me it did.
And that’s when it hits me: the fear I feel is mixed with crushing disappointment. Lucifer has been the most reliable relative I have, answering me when I ask for help.
“I’m sorry,” Lucas tells me and strides back over. He takes me in his arms and holds me tight against his firm chest for a few seconds. “I’m not angry at you, Callie.”
I sniffle and nod, pressing my face against his shirt. He runs his fingers through my hair and then cups his large hands around my chin, tipping my face up to his. We kiss, and some of the tension melts away.
“Tell me everything,” he says and slides his hands down my arms and takes my hands in his. Nodding, I follow him to the couch.
“We got back from the spa and were sitting in the kitchen. The doorbell rang and Abby got up to get it, thinking it was her neighbor who was dropping off honey. But it was Roger, and when he shot at me, I blocked it with a telekinetic shield and it…” My throat gets tight again. “It bounced off and hit Abby in the stomach.” I blink and fat tears roll down my cheeks. Abby doesn’t remember any of it, and I wish I could forget too.
“I threw him back and his head cracked against the door. I called for my dad or Julian to come heal her, but they didn’t show up. She was losing so much blood and then he…he just showed up.”
“Lucifer.”
“Yes, and he healed her, sent Roger’s body to Hell—I think—and then I asked what do you want and he said nothing, but then he looked at my stomach and said maybe I do.”
“How does that mean he wants your baby?” Eliza asks. She’s chewing on her nails, nails that she just spent a good hour painting just the other day. I’ve never seen her this nervous before. “All he said was he maybe wants something.”
“I don’t know, but it was the way he looked at me.”
Lucas wipes my tears away again and bring me into his lap. “After he healed Abby, what happened?” I can see the stress in his deep blue eyes, yet he’s calm for my sake.