“One day at a time.” I smiled.
He clasped my hand in his and nodded. “One fight at a time.”
Serena appeared just behind him, her hand clutching her throat. She let out a little growl and threw herself at me like a feral wolf. I opened my arms as she slammed into me. Her arms clutched my neck, and her angry tears dampened my cheek.
When she pulled back, she shoved a finger into the center of my chest. “I can’t believe you left without saying goodbye. After calling me about that damn fae. I thought they’d eaten you up and spit you out. You can’tdothings like that, Mia.”
“I’m sorry.” I took her shaking hand in mine and squeezed. “I thought you’d try to stop me.”
“Damn straight I would have,” she said fiercely. “I’m not going to let you run off and face the world alone. You and me, we’re a team. Always. Never do this again, okay? If you need help, come to me. I know you’d do the same for me.”
“You’re right.” I nodded. “I would.”
“We’re going to figure this out together.” At that, she pulled me back in for another hug. I clung on tight, regretting my decision to run. I’d only been trying to do the right thing and save those close to me. But all I’d done was cause them torment and fear. For so long, I’d depended on myself and no one else. I’d had to get by on my own. But my life wasn’t like that anymore.Thank god. This was my team. My family.
We quickly got to work when the rest of the crew drifted in with more pizza and beer. Hendrix waddle over and poked at my foot, and I could have sworn I saw an accusation in the pigeon’s eyes. I’d left him, too. But that sounded crazy. To make it up to him, I gave him his own slice of pizza.
The penthouse filled with movement and noise, reminding me of the many nights I’d spent surrounded by the Legion before Lucifer had appeared in Manhattan to terrorize us all. But a heavy cloud hung over our all our heads. The lack of the demons’ presence was like a black hole sucking all the light into it. They should be here with us, plotting and scheming.
Valac should be in the back corner, watching from the shadows, his clever mind twisting ideas into fully formed plans. Phenex should barge around and make jokes about feeding our enemies to the fishes. Stolas would pour over a book with a silent determination in the set of his strong shoulders. Bael would toss a ball from hand to hand and comparing our tactics to players on a cricket field.
We had to get them back.
“Only Lucifer knows where the Legion is.” Priyanka settled down beside me and hung her head in her hands. “We don’t have time to search every building in this city, especially not without tipping him off. He’d see us coming a mile away, and that’s if we even found them. Do you know how many buildings are in this damn city?”
“Approximately five gazillion,” I said flatly. “Especially if you’re counting the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn.”
She shook her head. “I don’t think he would have crossed the Brooklyn Bridge. He would have stayed nearby.”
Something flickered in the back of my mind as Priyanka’s words cut through me. She was right. Luciferwasthe only one who knew where he’d hid the Legion. We didn’t have time to check out every lead we’d scribbled on the whiteboard. There were about thirty of them so far, all places where Lucifer had once stayed during his trips into the city. Which meant we needed to narrow it down.Waydown.
To one lead.
And Lucifer had said instructions were incoming. Hmm.
I motioned to Caim. He trailed over from the whiteboard where he’d been scribbling what looked like nonsense for a good half hour. “Caim, do you remember everything that letter said?”
“Sure.” He grinned. “I have a photographic memory. Most of the time, it’s an asset. Good for remembering phone numbers.” He leaned closer and whispered. “Phone numbers from women, if you know what I mean.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, I think weallget what you mean, Caim. How did the letter end? What are we supposed to do when we’ve made our decision?”
“Doesn’t really matter, does it?” The smile slid from his face. “We’re not handing youorAz over to him.”
“No, but he doesn’t know that,” I explained. “So, what’s his plan? Where are we supposed to make the swap? Is he coming here? Or are we supposed to go to him?”
Caim’s brows winged upward. “We’re supposed to meet him at the club to tell him our decision.”
“Infernal. That’s good.” I nodded. “That’sourterritory, not his.”
“What are you trying to say, Mia?”
“Lucifer knows Az would do anything for his Legion, and he has a pretty good idea about the bond I share with him. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone to all this trouble to keep us apart.” I glanced over at Az in deep discussion with Serena. Even now, his shadows were frantic strands whipping around his arms. He wouldn’t relax until all of this was over.
“Right,” Caim said. “Which is why Lucifer plotted this whole abduction scheme in the first place. It was the easiest way to get Az to do what he wants.”
I nodded and met his gaze. “So, we make Lucifer think Az is going to do exactly that.”
Realization dawned in his eyes, and he sucked in a sharp breath. “You want to set a trap for Lucifer.”
