That didn’t mean I was ready to forgive him. But Iwouldwork with him.
For Malice.
To get free.
To finish what we started.
Locking my door—like it would do any good if Lucifer wanted in—I settled myself on the middle of my bed, eyes closed, breaths intentional and slow. I found their tethers all lined up in a row—three bright and shining, one stronger than before, but still a dull glow. Grim’s. I grabbed his first, this time gaining purchase rather than slipping through it. Collecting all four, I pulled hard, bringing them to me instead of going to them.
Just like before, they appeared near instantly.
Chaos looked around with a chuckle. “The gym?”
“You said tonight was for practice.” I shrugged. “It seemed appropriate.” I was studiously ignoring Grim’s presence to the left of him. But his gaze burned into the side of my face. I’d say he was ravenous and I was his meal of choice, but that was a dangerous thought leading to nothing but heartache, so I shut it down.
“You’re not really dressed for the gym, kitten,” Sin said, his lips curved into a smirk.
Glancing down at my jeans and crop top, I laughed. “It’s my favorite.” Did it sayThug Lifeacross the chest with the Golden Girls posed underneath? Yes. Do you have a problem with that? I didn’t think so.
“She’s fine. We aren’t working out our bodies. Just her mind.” Malice closed the distance between us and pulled me against his chest before dropping his lips to my ear. “We can work our bodies after, if you’d like.”
“If training here is anything like back at the château, I’m not sure I’ll be up for it.” Those sessions with Malice left my brain in a pudding-like state. All I ever wanted to do after was sleep.
But when Malice pulled away with a smirk, my lower belly tightened.
Then again . . .
“Okay, enough flirting. We haven’t even acknowledged the huge hurdle Merri jumped over already,” Sin said, taking my hand and tugging me out of Malice’s embrace.
“What’s that?” Chaos asked.
“She brought all four of us in at once. Didn’t even break a sweat. Our girl is so fucking strong.”
I stood a little straighter under his praise, but my gaze slid to Grim, whose focus never deviated from me. To say the vibe between us was tense would be an understatement. The usually polished and well-kept man was unkempt, hair a wild mess of silver waves, beard longer than the normally meticulously groomed version I was used to. He was still in his customary suit, but the jacket was gone, and his shirt sleeves were rolled up his forearms.
Didn’t hate that. Nope. Not one bit.
It was obvious he’d struggled in my absence, and I wish I could pretend I was a better person and that the knowledge didn’t fill me with a sense of victory. But that would be a lie.
I was a petty, petty bitch.
Eat your heart out, Grimsby.
Forcing myself to look away, I settled my attention on Chaos. “So how are we doing this? Is there an actual plan, or am I supposed to wing it?”
“You are the only one with enhanced power in these dreams,” Malice said.
Sin raised his hand and cleared his throat. “Not true. I also get a boost in here. Incubus. Remember?”
“Right, but I doubt you’ll have the chance to get one over on Lucifer the way Merri will. He suspects nothing but foul play from you. With her, it’s different. He wants to believe her. That’s his weakness. We need to exploit it.”
His lips turned down in a frown, but he righted his expression a moment later. “Fine. But I’m here to help if we need it.”
“No one is arguing that, Sin,” Grim said, finally speaking for the first time.
His voice ran me through like a spear. Dammit.
“What do you want me to do?” I asked.
