I threw a wild, desperate glance at the demons around the table.Save me, I shouted silently at them. But there was nothing they could do. Not without giving up on all of this.
“Yeah, I just…” I forced a smile that definitely resembled a grimace. “Well, I never thought you’d ask. You seem so…busy doing important things.”
I fisted my hands when that smug smile returned. It took all my self-control not to slam said fists into his teeth. “Good. That’s the right answer, darling. It’s a date.”
Darling. Blech.
He slammed his palm against my butt so hard it sent me tumbling down the hallway. After I caught myself, I glared over my shoulder to find he’d closed the meeting room door behind him. For a moment, I stood there, unsure under the fluorescent light. Was he going to confront the Legion about Phenex’s trap? Should I do something?
What the hell could I even do?
Tell Az.
Squaring my shoulders, I roamed through the club until I found Az near the DJ booth, checking all the dials and knobs. He shot me a lazy smile that melted my core. But now was not the time to get distracted by those kinds of thoughts. He needed to know what was happening. Stat.
In a rush of words, I filled him in. His expression grew dark when I told him about the Legion’s plan. And then I mentioned that Lucifer had returned only a short while ago, unruffled and unbothered. Phenex and Valac had yet to show their faces. Not a good sign after what they’d tried to do.
“Oh, and there’s one more thing you need to know.” I braced myself for his reaction. “Lucifer is taking me on a date.”
Shadows pulsed from within him and writhed around both of our bodies. Tendrils of smoke brushed against my skin with an electric intensity. I sucked in a breath as his expression darkened. In a dangerous growl, he whispered, “Absolutely not.”
“What’s the problem, Asmodeus?” Lucifer appeared from the deep shadows along the back wall, his hands laced behind his back.
Az sucked in a sharp gasp and pulled the shadows back into his skin. The sudden vortex left me reeling.
“My problem is,” Az said in a low growl, “I haven’t forgotten what happened the last time you ‘dated’ one of my dancers.”
My brows winged upward. Ooh, this was juicy. I glanced between them, wondering which dancer he could mean. “What happened?”
“Nothing,” Lucifer said with a tense edge to his voice. “Asmodeus, you have no right to interfere. Don’t make me do something both of us will regret.”
14
“Sansa,” Az said, turning my way. “Do you want to go on a date with the King of Hell?”
Um, no. Obviously not. But I didn’t think I had any say in the matter. Lucifer had made it more than clear that he was the one in control here, and I was just his little puppet on a string. Maybe we could find a way to turn his instruments against him, but now was not that time.
We needed a carefully constructed plan.
Az wanted me to say no. That much was clear. But surely he could see that I couldn’t.
I shifted in my boots, the stage creaking beneath me. The colorful strobe lights had begun to cast pink and yellow hues on the dance floor. Soon, the doors would open. We probably shouldn’t be standing in the middle of a DJ booth arguing about demon dates when the crowd poured in.
“I think I need to go get ready.” Gingerly, I stepped back. “I haven’t done hair and makeup yet.”
“You don’t need any makeup.” Lucifer grinned. My god, he had the most punchable face I’d ever seen.
“Okay, thank you. Off I go.” Twisting on my heels, I made my escape. I’d come here to do what I needed to do. Now Az knew everything. It was up to him what happened next.
“Sansa,” Az called after me. “You didn’t answer my question.”
With a frustrated sigh, I paused and glanced over my shoulder. “What question?”
“Do you want to go on a date with him?”
Frowning, I searched his eyes. They were vacant and hard, as if the fiery, electric Az I knew had vanished. There was nozingbetween us now. The demon stood before me, cold and calculating. And he demanded a response to a question I didn’t dare answer.
Not truthfully, at least.
