Page 53 of Half Dead

“Why not?” Gun asked. “He ran and hid here.”

Cam sucked in a breath. “Ooh, burn.”

“That was before,” I said.

Gun cocked his head. “Before what?”

“Before he had something to lose.” Which I understood because I was in exactly the same boat. I’d been willing to flee places, to stay hidden, when I had no attachments. The downside of that plan, of course, was that I had nothing and no one to care about. And no one to care about me. Now that I did...

“You’re right,” I said. “It was a stall tactic to protect Kane. I just didn’t know what else to do.”

Gun drummed his fingers on the table. “Okay, we’ve established your plan sucks. Now what?”

“I don’t get why Lucifer agreed to your offer in the first place,” Camryn said. “He’s Lucifer, for crying out loud. He’s been hunting Kane for ages, yet he’s willing to lose his big chance because you challenged him to a round of darts?”

“He claims he’s changed.”

Camryn laughed. “If I had a box of Nerds for every time a man said he’d changed, I wouldn’t need to buy another pack.” She shook her head. “I’ve dated a lot of players in my time, and this reeks of maximum game face.”

Her words rang true. There was no chance Lucifer would stick to the terms of our deal if I won. We didn’t even shake hands on it.

I kneaded the growing knot in my shoulder. “I’m sure you’re right.”

“I know I am.”

The assassin had far more experience than I did in these matters. “How do you suggest I handle it?”

“Do the unexpected. He isn’t ready to take off his mask; it’s part of the game.” Camryn smiled. “So you take it off for him.”

Now that Lucifer had made his presence known, I felt a growing concern for Chief Garcia and Officer Leo. They needed that Sight potion yesterday.

I called out a greeting to Phaedra as I opened the front door to the rambling farmhouse, a vast improvement over my first visit to Bridger Farm which involved a shotgun aimed at my head. I didn’t even have to knock; that was the kind of friendship I now enjoyed with the only remaining member of the local coven. The rest of Phaedra’s family had been the victim of their own magic, killed in the aftermath of summoning the wrong monster for the sole purpose of adding extra digits to their bank account. Fortunately for Phaedra, she had integrity as well as a conscience because those qualities saved her life that fateful night.

“If you’re here to check on the status of the potion, you’re in luck.” Phaedra emerged from behind the kitchen counter, clutching a vial in her hand. “I have two samples ready to test.”

I nearly cried from relief. “Can I invite them over right now?”

The witch raised her eyebrows. “When did this become a code red?”

I told her about my run-in with Lucifer as I typed a text message to Chief Garcia and Officer Leo. Multitasking, thy name is Lorelei.

“I’m sorry about the locator spell,” Phaedra said. “You might’ve avoided a surprise confrontation if I’d been willing to try.”

I waved her off. “I understand why you didn’t want to do it. You were right to prioritize your own safety. Anyway, it wasn’t much of a confrontation. He took the smooth talker approach.”

She eyed me curiously. “Did it work?”

“Of course not, but I played along as a stalling tactic.”

A shadow fell over Phaedra’s face. “I’m sorry Kane is in danger.”

“We’re all in danger.” I said, channeling my inner Matilda. It wasn’t lost on me that the Night Mallt’s alarmist approach to potential threats had saved me on multiple occasions.

Phaedra offered a rueful smile. “Another day, another supernatural crisis. Sometimes I think it was a mistake to move back here. I ought to pack up and move to Miami.”

“No supernaturals in Miami?”

“No multirealm crossroads.” She motioned for me to sit at the table. “Lucifer’s beef is with Kane. What makes you think we’re all in danger?”

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