Page 129 of Once A Crime Lord

His voice didn’t match his appearance. A man like him should have the deep rumbling voice of a bear, not the airy lightness of a schoolboy. Something about him put her on edge. She didn’t trust his smile or hippy attire.

She reached for the water bottle and noted that Gavin was eyeing the stranger as if he hated him. What the fuck was going on here? She tilted the bottle to her lips. She spilled a little on herself and Gavin, but he didn’t release her. She downed half of it before she took a breath.

“I’m Lucifer,” the mountain man/hippy said.

“Lucifer?” she repeated sharply. “Gavin, he’s working with Sadist. He—”

“He’s double-crossing him.”

She stared at him. “Why?”

“Gavin made me a better deal.”

Before she could ask what kind of fucked-up deal, Gavin asked, “Who is he?”

Lucifer clapped his hands together. “He’s so good at this! No one suspects him. A wolf in sheep’s clothing. He’s been a longtime patron of Hell. He does well up there”—Lucifer pointed up at the ceiling— “and down here. I don’t know how he does it. I admire him, actually.”

“Who. Is. It?” Gavin bit out.

Lucifer gave him a sly look. “That’s for you to figure out, isn’t it?”

Gavin cupped her chin, forcing her to look at him. “You need to leave.”

“I don’t think so,” Lucifer said.

He tensed. “She isn’t a part of this.”

“No one’s leaving until I get my show.”

“Show?” She was beginning to hate that word. They were in a brothel. What kind of show was he talking about?

“I don’t want her here for this,” Gavin growled.

“Why? You’re afraid she’ll see the real you?” Lucifer shook his head. “Besides, she has to come. She’s the only one who knows who he is.”

“I don’t,” she insisted.

“You do,” Lucifer said with such certainty that her stomach lurched.

“Are you hurt?” Gavin asked.

She stared into his eyes and pushed all her inner turmoil aside. She needed this to be over. She needed to see this through. “No.”

He looked at Lucifer. “Take us to him.”

Lucifer eyed Eli. “You in?”

Eli looked at Gavin. “We’re clear?”

Gavin glared at him. “We have things to discuss. Later.”

“You in?” Lucifer pushed.

“To go into the pit? There’s nothing in it for me,” Eli said.

“You get a lot out of it.” Lucifer held up his thumb. “First of all, you’re gonna get a great show.” His pointer finger popped up. “Second, fighting at Gavin’s side will make him owe you.” He held up his pinky. “Third, you’ll please me, which may get you a favor in the future.” He held up a scarred ring finger. “Fourth, tonight’s going to go down in history.” The middle finger joined the others. “And last but not least, you’ll find out the identity of the man who called the hit on your mother.”

Eli didn’t move, but the corridor suddenly seemed a little smaller than it had been a second ago.

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