But only after girls’ night.
Because I decided it was finally time to have “the talk” with Sophie about moving out.
Chapter 7
Lucifer
Outside the apartment building I was hiding Lilith in, I found the dark-eyed patrol blending into the shadows. His predatory gaze raked over me, studying me even as he straightened and saluted respectfully.
“Any issues?”
He shook his head. “No, sir. A few people have come and gone, but no one has entered or exited the residence. There was a grey cat hanging around for a few hours, but it left a while ago.”
“A cat?” I raised one eyebrow and looked over at the building. “Any reason you thought you needed to report on an animal walking around outside?”
“Even small details can be important, sir,” he replied seriously. “I intend to give them. You can do with them what you will.”
My attention returned to the young man. “What’s your name?”
“Toby, sir.”
I patted him on the arm, startling him out of the stern expression that seemed glued to his face. “Keep up the good work, Toby.”
He stared at me uncertainly for a moment before giving me a quick nod. As he melted back into the shadows, I continued inside to check on my old friend and see what other details I could extract. I had yet to detect a lie, but that in and of itself was unusual coming from her. It could’ve been that things were just getting too serious, too desperate, and she really did need help. In my plethora of experience, the alternative was impossible.
But I still had information to collect.
Today, I found her in the living area, a bowl of popcorn in her lap as some action movie played on the small TV. I held my hand up before she could stand, and she sank back into the worn couch, wincing at the movement. Keeping an appropriate distance between us, I sat on the other end.
“How are you feeling today?”
Lilith shrugged one shoulder and turned the volume down a bit. “I think most of the healing is done except for my tail. But it looked like it was nearly severed, so I guess it’s not a surprise that it’s taking longer than the rest.”
“No,” I said, “but your healing time overall is concerning. I’ve never seen it work so slowly before.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, well, Abaddon wasn’t exactly gentle. There’s no telling what else he did while he was ripping me apart.”
Her human skin was still paler than normal, but it made me feel better that she was recovering, even if it was taking a while. Soon, I’d have her on her way, maybe with a few tips on how to avoid recapture, and Lexi would be none the wiser.
I recoiled from the thought. That implied I’d done something wrong, or that I needed her permission to do something. I was still my own person, capable of making my own damn decisions. And now, I needed to decide how to get what I needed from Lilith and help her disappear.
“Since you’re feeling better, I’d like to ask you a few more questions.”
Lilith sighed heavily and set her popcorn aside. “I’m not sure what else I can tell you that I haven’t already.”
“How you escaped, for one,” I replied easily. Her eyes skittered away from mine. “We’ve gone over what he did, and I’m sorry you had to suffer through that, I really am. But I need to know how you got out.”
She curled her lip and tucked her legs under her. “I fail to see how it’s important.”
“It could provide me with a weakness in Abaddon’s defenses.” I took a chance and placed my hand on top of hers. “You’ve been there more recently than anyone. The information you can provide, no matter how small the details seem, will be a huge asset to me. Once the usurper is removed, you’ll be free to come and go as you please again.”
“I want more than that,” she said immediately, grabbing my hand. “I want territory in Hell, a place to call my own. I’ll tell you everything I can remember if you can promise me that.”
Now we were getting somewhere. Everything was a negotiation with Lilith, which made things easier. So long as Abaddon fell, I could give her whatever she wanted. As long as he fell, it was a small price to pay.
“Done.”
She smiled, a wicked glint in her gaze that set me on edge for the first time. “I made a fool of the Destroyer. He was too paranoid to allow my children regular access to where I was locked away, but he made the mistake of allowing a guard to tend my wounds after each… session. The Fallen would always leave with Abaddon for short periods of time, which gave me enough time to influence the weak-minded demon.”
