Page 30 of Hell’s Half Acre

“He wouldn’t do that to you.”

Fire darkened Luke’s gaze. “Lucifer’s the devil. Only an absolute moron would ever trust him. And I don’t. Tell him if he wants to see me, he knows where I am.”

The tic in Anubis’s jaw moved faster. “Are you ready to go to war with your father?”

Luke stepped forward, his words spoken between clenched teeth. “I’m not the one who started this shit. I’m just here, surviving.” He spread his arms wide to indicate the “here.”

“Your funeral.” Anubis vanished instantly.

Sorcha let out a low whistle. “Two gods in less than fifteen minutes. Should I be impressed or terrified?”

Luke turned to face her. “Acheron would never hurt you.”

“Anubis?”

“No telling. He’s not quite as treacherous as others of his ilk, but I wouldn’t turn my back on him.”

“Noted. And why is he in Hell?”

Luke let out an evil laugh. “You’d be amazed how many of the old gods took up with my dad after their pantheons fell.”

“Really?”

“Oh yeah. For some of them, their power comes from being worshiped. While they have a few believers, it’s not enough to keep their powers fully charged. Others are just bored and wanted something to do. Nubi likes weighing hearts and deciding how bad the dead will be tortured. Remember, a dog returns to its vomit.”

“Does that include hellhounds?” She regretted the question as soon as it left her lips. Please don’t think I was insulting you. She hadn’t meant it that way. It really had been a curious question. Nothing more.

Thankfully, Luke didn’t take offense. “We’re not dogs, but like I told him, I have no intention of returning home until I know what I did and why Lucifer overreacted. My father is a bastard and only the biggest idiot would ever expect mercy from him. He wants something, which means I’m in control of this for the moment. If he wants a favor, I want him to be on my turf.”

That made sense to her.

Except for one thing. “I thought you were willing to do anything to go home.”

“My home is the mansion I share with my mother. Not the filthy pits where the damned are tortured for eternity. If he’s still angry at me, this could be a setup. And the last thing I want to see is my mother destroyed.”

“I don’t understand.”

“If I’m put in a pit, she will lead her pack against my father. While I know just how powerful she is, I would never risk her life for me. I’m not worth it.”

And that was what she appreciated most about him. He cared for others. He wasn’t the same demonic beast his father was.

Thank goodness for his mother. Senka hadn’t just given him life.

She’d given him a heart and soul. And while Senka was ruthless, she was a decent creature who loved her son more than anything in the universe.

Sorcha could respect that.

“10-31…”

Her ears pricked up as the code for a crime in progress went over his radio.

And the next words from the dispatcher really caught her attention. “Ice cream parlor break-in.”

Sorcha’s jaw went slack at the first call that sounded like it might be demonic. “You don’t think…”

“Yeah, I do.”

One second, he was standing in front of her, and in the next, he was gone.