“Hmm,” I hummed under my breath. “Might make a good necklace.”
“Do not collect that man’s teeth, Dany. Even you must have limits.”
“None I’ve found yet,” I shrugged.
I faced Luci and found him staring.
His gaze dipped, slow and unhurried, tracing the bullet holes my body had already erased. The shredded fabric. The pink, tight new skin where my chest had been swiss cheese a minute ago.
“You’re beautiful like this,” he said.
“Like what?” I scoffed. “Like a crime scene? You should probably call CSI. Or maybe Adam. I think I just killed Abel with a rock.” I gestured toward Joe’s lifeless body.
He hummed and ignored my humor. “Like you. Desolate beauty, unwanted by the world.”
“Is this your poor attempt at flirting?”
He stepped closer. “And if it is?”
“You probably shouldn’t tell a girl no one wants her if you’re trying to get into her blood stained mini-skirt.”
“I didn’t say no one. I said the world, and I, dearest Dany, am not part of this world.” His hand lifted to graze my cheek and I couldn’t help but to close my eyes and lean into it.
Though I hadn’t killed Callen yet, I felt a sense of freedom, like a weight lifted off of my shoulders. Now, I just needed to get the boulder off my chest.
“While I’ve half a mind to to fuck you over his cooling body,” Lucifer started, thumb catching my bloodstained lower lip. “I wanted to give you a gift first. It’s not a necklace, or note in a tidy box.” He took my wrist in his hand and lifted it between us. The red band that represented Callen’s life shone in the moonlight and tingled when Lucifer ran his finger across it.
Time slowed to a stop. The street lights didn’t change colors, the birds flying in the night sky froze mid-flap, and even the breeze rolling off the river ceased to blow.
“I release you from our bargain,” he whispered, staring so deep into my eyes that, had I a soul to give, he would’ve seen straight through to it. “Your death is no longer mine to take, and your vengeance is owed only to yourself.”
Red lightning arced across the sky, leaving behind the stench of scorched ozone and a foretelling buzz that shivered where our skin touched.
But–
“Luci? I don’t understand.” My confusion was palpable and molded into panic quickly.
Who was I without Lucifer? What was I supposed to do if he released me from this bond? Mostly, though…
I didn’t want to lose him. With no bargain, he had no reason to keep coming back to me.
“You’re ready,Niepozadany.You don’t need me to fulfill your death’s legacy now.” There was a softness in his eyes I’d never seen before. It was full of pride and sadness, and I was fucking terrified for what that meant.
“Lucifer, I–how will–”
The Devil waved a hand, his features turning stoney, and from the shadows came the man of my nightmares.
Callen.
His face was frozen in a scowl and my knees began a traitorous tremble. Hewas here in front of me, ripe and for the picking.
Callen was much older now than he was on the worst night of my life, though he’d aged handsomely. Well placed wrinkles, salt-and-pepper hair that was still full and thick despite time, and piercing eyes that would capture anyone.
“Consider this my last professional courtesy,” Lucifer said, tone gone remote. “You wanted him. Here he is. No deal. No leash. Just you and your monster.” He held out my favorite butcher knife with a nod.
I hesitated. Why had he gone so rigid? Jesus and Judas was he really able to wipe me from his mind that quickly?
The cold pommel settled against my palm where he placed it and my hand tightened on instinct.
