Page 58 of My Demon Mate

“It’s okay. The sheriff just wanted to harass me.”

I meet his eyes, cleaning some of my blood from his cheek. “Is that who hurt you?”

“Yeah. He arrested me and interrogated me. When he accused me of being a bad son, I lost it. I should have kept my cool, but?—”

“Do not blame yourself for what he did to you. Instead, let’s plan his murder.”

Everest chuckles, then plants a quick, hard kiss on my lips. “That’s a good plan.”

“Tonight,” I growl. “He needs to fucking die tonight for what he did to you! And I will make it fucking hurt.” Sheriff Drake does not deserve another sunrise.

Shaking his head, Everest cups my face and says, “It’s too soon after what he did to me. I’ll be the number one suspect. Or you. You came into the police station with me.” He looks me up and down with a wry grin. “You’re not exactly unimposing.”

“I will hide you. I will take care of you. I will?—”

Everest places a finger over my lips and I sigh, cutting off my words. “It’s too soon. Let’s give it a week before we act. We can always plan. But we have to wait to kill him. Okay?”

Blowing out a rough breath, I look at Everest, at his recently healed face that is covered in black blood, and nod. He exhales, holding out his arms. I go to him, pulling him onto my chest. “I will fucking maim him for you. He will die in agony.”

“I believe you, my sweet demon.”’ A smile touches my lips. “How was your business with your father?”

“Good,” I answer with a shrug. “There was a dispute with one of the souls that traded his soul to my father for the chance to win the lottery. Something about not being able to spend all his winnings before he died. I was to stand witness to make sure the dispute was handled properly.”

I can feel Everest’s cheeks move as he smiles. “That sounds … almost normal. Except the soul arguing with a greater demon.”

“Yes, well, it is not wise to argue with my father. The soul was actually in breach of his contract because he died of an accidental drug overdose. That is technically suicide from Lucifer’s point of view. He loves his loopholes. So he is sentenced to a millennia in the fifth dimension in service.”

“Fuck,” Everest mutters. “What was he initially sentenced to?”

I chuckle. “Only five centuries in service of my father. He would have been on the third dimension, so he would have had a far easier time than he will now.”

Everest slides higher on my lap until he is straddling me. “Can I go there?”

“To Xendail? You have been.”

He ducks his head, a shaky smirk on his face. “I mean … forever. Like, can I live there? With you?”

My hearts beat rapidly, and I smile so hard my cheeks hurt. “You want to live in my treehouse?”

His laugh makes my soul feel light and happy. “Yes, I do.” He sighs, meeting my gaze. “I don’t belong here. It took me going to Xendail and seeing how beautiful and perfect and welcoming it was there to know that’s what home is supposed to feel like. The entire time I was there, I felt like it was where I belonged. There. With you.”

“Yes, baby,” I tell him, pushing his hair off his forehead. “You can come back with me. Human mates are welcome there.” I hug him tight, feeling his heart thud against both of mine. “We will never be apart, and no one will hurt you. I promise.”

“You’ll protect me.”

“From everything.”

His lips meet mine in a gentle kiss. “Now,” he mutters against my mouth, tracing my lips with his tongue. “Let’s get to planning this murder. Remember what I told you I drew in my graphic novel?”

I smile, eager to put his plan into motion. “Fuck, yes. I can get what we need to make it happen. Where do you want to do it? His place or elsewhere?”

“He has a cabin at the edge of town he uses for fishing and hunting every weekend during hunting season. Without fail, he goes there on Friday nights after his shift is over. There aren’t any neighbors, so no one will hear him scream.”

“Diabolical.” Kissing him quickly, I set Everest beside me, and we begin to plan.

Two weeks pass before we put our plan into motion. We went back to Xendail to wait it out, giving the sheriff time to drop his guard. Danae said he was in the diner, bragging about roughing Everest up. She said the officer that was with him looked uncomfortable, telling the sheriff he should not have done that. I am on the fence about letting Officer Shade live, but Everest told me he can continue to breathe, so I drop it.

According to Danae, while we were gone, the sheriff looked for Everest. After a week, he told anyone that would listen that he ran Everest out of town, and the city is much better without the embarrassment of him around.

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