Page 51 of Half Dead

“Not at the Italian restaurant.”

“Fine. Your house will do.” His eyebrow quirked. “And if I lose?”

“No meeting. No Kane. You return to hell and never come back.”

The hint of a smile graced his lips. “I’ll take those odds, with pleasure.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

“I’m goingto have to sand and wax those floorboards if you keep pacing them like that,” Ray complained.

I’d been walking back and forth in front of the fireplace in the parlor room as I debated whether to tell Kane that, not only had I met Lucifer, but I’d struck a deal with him. One Oak wasn’t the best plan in the world, but the unexpected meetup at Otto’s house had thrown me for a loop, and the speakeasy was the first place that sprang to mind. For starters, it served a large supernatural client base, so they’d be more equipped to handle a demon’s outrage if he lost the bet. Of course, this wasn’t your average demon; this was Lucifer himself. He didn’t become hell’s overlord by playing by the rules.

I was relieved when Gunther and Camryn arrived to hear my update, although Gun was less than diplomatic in his response. “One Oak? Are you out of your mind?”

“Where was I supposed to suggest? Starbucks?”

“Fairhaven doesn’t even have a Starbucks.” He shook his head. “Couldn’t you have played a game of chess in the park like any self-respecting New Yorker would do?”

“I’m neither a New Yorker, nor an eighty-year-old man.”

Gun’s nostrils flared. “I can’t believe you’re taking the Supreme Ruler of Hell to the local speakeasy for a game of cards.”

“I think roulette might be smarter. I’m an excellent wheel spinner.”

“You can’t let the outcome hinge on luck, Lorelei. The risk is too great.”

“I agree with Gun,” Cam said. “You need to rig the results.”

“Lucifer will know, and then what?” The demon would kill everybody in the speakeasy because I tried to cheat. I couldn’t live with that on my conscience.

Gun swung his jacket onto a branch of the nearby coat rack. “People cheat the casinos all the time. There has to be a way to do it without him finding out.”

“Will any of your tarot cards help?”

“I have plenty of options, but this is Lucifer we’re dealing with, not some clueless rando.”

“Talk in the kitchen,” Nana Pratt said, ushering us forward. “Offer them the muffins I baked earlier. I want to see if they like them.”

I hesitated. On the heels of the Great Kitchen Rearrangement, the ghost had decided to branch out and experiment with her baking, something she was too afraid to do when she was alive. The end result was a batch of muffins with sun-dried tomatoes, olives, cheese, and herbs that looked like they’d been made with Play-Doh by an imaginative child. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to disappoint Nana Pratt.

“Why don’t we talk in the kitchen? I have muffins.”

“No carbs for me, thanks,” Gunther said, “but I’ll take a protein bar.”

Nana Pratt recoiled in horror.

Cam patted her lower abs. “Muffins equal muffin tops.”

Maybe later, I mouthed to the ghost.

Camryn eyed the cards in her cousin’s hand as we took our usual seats at the kitchen table. “You know, this whole thing sounds dangerously complicated. Maybe we should get Officer Leo involved.”

Gunther looked at her. “You would risk the Labrador’s life just to spend more time with him? It’s much safer to ask him out for coffee, you know.”

“For you, maybe.” She shuddered. “What if he says no? I can’t handle the rejection so soon after Vaughn.”

“Then maybe you’re not ready to date yet, my love,” Gun said. “Give yourself a little more time.”

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