I opened my mouth to reply, then huffed and looked away. “Yeah, it probably would have.”
“No ‘probably’ about it, honey.” She raised an eyebrow and gave me a pointed look. I cringed under that stare. “Now, you need to figure out what you want, and soon. That little speech he just gave? It sounded like the kind you give when you’re about to do some seriously crazy shit.”
“That’s what I thought, too.” I moved past her to the couch, wracking my brain furiously. What would he do if I didn’t go? How much trouble would he get himself into?
I remembered the moment of panic I’d had when I saw the sword in his gut. Even angry at him, I’d been terrified of losing him. And who was I kidding? This was Lucifer. He could get himself into all the trouble, and then some.
Sophie laid on my lap, kicking her feet up on the arm. “You both kept things from each other, and for different but equally legitimate reasons.” She flashed her teeth in a grin. “Now that everything’s out in the open on both sides, I don’t see why you can’t find a way forward.”
Stupid logic. But she had a point. I’d fought, kicking and screaming in my head, to keep the fact that I was Loki’s daughter from him. And now that I knew some of his story, I understood his hesitancy in trusting me at all. With his magic. With his identity.
With his heart.
I was hurt and pissed, all of it coming too quickly to process. My father’s betrayal drove so much of my anger at both of them. If I was being honest with myself, which I needed to do more often, I’d already forgiven Lucifer for lying. I couldn’t blame him for hiding, even if it was behind me. The necklace he left me was, in a way, an apology for it.
On the coffee table, the keys sat untouched. My keys. The keys to my future, such as it was, but what would that future look like if Lucifer wasn’t in it? Single, with lots of cats.
“Sophie.”
She looked up at me. “Hmm?”
I wasn’t sure what I could do to talk him out of it, whateveritwas, but I had to try something. Because I didn’t want to give up the happiness I’d found. If that meant I had to fight, dammit, I would fight by his side, tobeby his side. Anyone who got in my way would regret it.
I took a deep breath and tugged on her curls, my voice shaking nervously. “I need to go after him.”
“Ah, regular romance movie-style?” She sat up and clapped her hands together, taking on a Southern belle accent. “Is this where you meet him at the airport and declare your undying love so he won’t get on that flight?”
Her optimistic attitude gave me the rush of confidence I needed. “Something like that.” I threw my arms around her in a fierce hug. “Thank you for helping me get my head out of my ass. I couldn’t have prayed for a better friend than you.”
She hugged me back, then shooed me away. “You better remember that come Christmas!”
I ran to my room and changed, hoping I wasn’t too late. As I shoved my phone in my pocket, I debated calling Nathan to ask if anyone was nearby, just in case Lucifer had already started whatever craziness he was planning, but decided against it. I’d keep him in mind if things went sideways, but this was my fight to win.
My attention caught on a dark cloth hanging on the back of my desk chair. I picked it up, sighed, and pulled my Nightmare hoodie on over my tank top. Just because he’d cleaned it didn’t mean he was forgiven, but it was my favorite hoodie. Maybe, just maybe, I could thank him later.
Much later.
I ran through the living room to the front door. Sophie yelled at me and I spun just in time to catch the keys she threw at me.
“Can’t forget those, Red,” she said with a wink. “Tell lover boy if he breaks your heart again, I won’t be so nice next time.”
The door slammed behind me and I took off down the hall, the stairs, out into the sunlight.
“You seem in a hurry.”
I caught myself before I face-planted on the sidewalk. Loki leaned against my apartment building like he’d been waiting for me. I narrowed my eyes at him.
“I’m not in the mood to see you right now.” I turned and stomped away. “I have something important to take care of.”
“Do you, now?” He appeared at my side. “So, what are your intentions?”
I bared my teeth at the sidewalk, determination thrumming through my veins. “He’s not getting away from me that easily.”
His green eyes widened. “You’re going to make him stay?”
I sure as hell wasn’t going to let him run off and get himself killed. “Whether he likes it or not.”
Loki nodded and, without my permission, climbed into the passenger side of my Jeep. “It’ll be a hard road, Lexi.”
