“Care to elaborate?”
“Was I not clear?”
“Apparently not.”
“Roxy is mine.” His gaze slid to Fennel. “Insult her, come anywhere near her, and die.”
Oh dear.
Drake laughed, as if delighted, but he was furious. We were in his house, but we outranked him. This realm was small, without a proper army. He relied on Lucifer and his demons for protection. Us coming here had reiterated that, and in front of an audience as well. His gaze slid back to me. “Have you been introduced to everyone?”
“Only Fennel.” Fennel looked at me as if he wanted to puke. I winked.
Drake made the introductions, but I barely registered their names. They weren’t important.
“So, tell me, Roxana, what brings you here?” Drake said as Grimmel delivered the starters.
I smiled. “Didn’t Grimmel tell you? Lucifer’s sent me on a bit of a tour, visiting our allies, reconnecting.” I placed the red box on the table and slid it toward him. “Lucifer wanted me to personally give you this small token of friendship.”
“He did?” His eyes didn’t leave mine.
“That’s right.”
He opened the box. Drake had a practiced eye for fine things. One glance and he’d know it was cheap rubbish. His gaze flicked back up to me, and there was alarm there. Lucifer would never give him something fake. I’d thought Drake knowing our real purpose here might work against us, now I realized it was the opposite.
He sat calmly, but his mind was racing, weighing what he should do.
“I must thank him.” He slid his phone from his pocket.
“Right now?” I said.
Drake smiled wide. “But of course.”
He decided to go straight to the source. If Lucifer knew nothing about my visit, I was working independently, and maybe he had a shot at getting out of this mess. If Lucifer went along with my obvious lie, he’d know he had limited and seriously unpleasant options. Either continue to lie and hope he got away with it, or hand over Beelzebub and beg for forgiveness. Both options came with consequences—some far more severe than others.
Lothar stilled beside me. We hadn’t yet had a chance to tell Lucifer what was happening. It didn’t matter though. However Lucifer reacted to this call, if he even answered, was the right way. That’s how it worked with him.
Drake scrolled to Lucifer’s number and hit call, putting it on speaker. Maybe he thought he was going to catch us out and turn the tables on us.
“Drake,” Lucifer’s deep, smooth voice echoed through the speaker. “How can I help you, old friend?”
Drake kept that aqua gaze locked on me. “I’m just calling to thank you for the gift.”
“Of course,” Lucifer said without missing a beat. “You are one of my most treasured friends and trusted allies. I hope you’re treating my Roxy well.”
At my Roxy, Lothar stiffened again. “Hi, Luci!” I called. He may have suspected, or already knew, we were there. Now he knew for sure. That’s just how it was with Lucifer. Yes, he was a mystery, but I never doubted him.
Even if sometimes that was incredibly difficult. I gave Lothar’s thigh another squeeze to get him to relax.
Lucifer chuckled. “There she is. If anything should ever happen to her…” Silence echoed through the phone. “Well, it doesn’t bear thinking about, or the aftermath.”
Drake shifted in his seat. “I assure you, Roxana and her paramour are being treated as honored guests, my lord.”
“I hope you like your gift,” Lucifer said without missing a beat. But I heard the change in his voice, subtle as it was, when Drake mentioned me having a paramour, because I knew Luci better than almost anyone, definitely anyone at this table. “We’ll talk again soon, Drake,” Lucifer said, then ended the call.
I widened my smile at a rattled-looking Drake. “Shall we eat? This looks delicious.”
The blood had drained from Drake’s face.
