I’m aware. Believe it or not, I do know how to manage myself.
Lucifer
Manage yourself?Clearly, because here we are,three daysinto this, and I’m still waiting for your cooperation. Are you stalling for some particular reason?
Me
Stalling? No. Just making sure I don’t sign my life away.
Lucifer
Let me assure you, Rosalie, nothing in that contract requires your soul. Only your commitment.
Me
My commitment, huh? Sounds awfully like a life sentence.
Lucifer
7 p.m. If I don’t have that contract back by then, you won’t get five weeks, you’ll get five hours.
I raised an eyebrow at the screen. He wouldn’t dare.
Me
You do realize that an empty threat won’t get me to rush, right?
Lucifer
Who says it’s empty?
I didn’t bother responding.
At exactly 7 p.m. I heard the front door open. Then Dimitri’s voice echoed through the foyer. I followed the sound, Duke not far behind me.
Max stood at the door, shutting it behind Dimitri before turning his gaze to me. “There you are,” he said. He moved past the door, shrugging off his damp jacket. Even in the dim light, I couldn’t miss the way his shirt stretched across his broad shoulders as he moved.
I met him at the bottom of the stairs. “Did you think I’d run off and leave you?” I asked.
He tossed his jacket carelessly onto the back of a nearby couch. “Ah,” he drawled, a hint of amusement dancing in his voice. “I wouldn’t put it past you.”
“You’d find me,” I said with a fake smile. “Remember?” I let out a nervous laugh. I wouldn’t run—not with my family at risk.
“I’m glad I didn’t have to tell you twice,” he said as he set his keys down with a clatter that echoed through the foyer.
“Do you always come home this late?” I forced myself to ask.
His gaze darted straight to mine. He knew. He knew I didn’t trust him.
I didn’t know how to—not after everything that had happened.
My heart—that foolish, impulsive thing—ached for the simple yet utterly false trust we’d once had. But my brain clung stubbornly to the facts.
It was like a war inside me. My heart and my brain were in battle with one another, and all that was left behind was a bloody mess of confusion.
“Sometimes,” he said, his tone indifferent, “things would be a lot easier if your father didn’t complicate them.”
“Funny. I’m sure my father would say the same thing about you and your family.”
