Page 74 of Half Dead

“I’m alive and you’re holding me, so yes. I am very much okay.”

He threaded his hands in my hair. “I can’t stand this. I should’ve let Lucifer take me.”

“No, you shouldn’t have. I can do this. Trust me.”

“I do trust you. It’s him I don’t trust.”

“Glad to see you, Clay.”

Still wrapped in Kane’s arms, I bent my neck for a better view of West. “Glad to see you, too. What are you doing here?”

“West took guard duty,” Kane explained. “He wanted to be here in case you needed help crossing the finish line.”

I was touched. “You wouldn’t have been allowed to help me, although I appreciate the gesture.”

“I would’ve found a way,” West said, resolute.

Kane squeezed my waist. “Let’s get you home. Ray and Nana Pratt will be worried.”

“I think deep-seated anxiety is the only thing keeping Nana Pratt tethered to this plane.” Still, it would be good to see her again. I’d been too focused on survival to miss them while I was away, but now their absence began to seep into my bones.

Lucifer’s slow clap stopped us in our tracks. It took all my strength not to rip an oak tree from its roots and make direct contact with the demon’s head. Regular baseball was boring, but this… This version I would enjoy.

“I dare say I’m impressed, young lady,” he cooed, standing at the edge of the clearing. “That took chutzpah.”

I withdrew from Kane’s embrace and turned to face our tormentor. “I assume I got a passing grade for that.”

“Oh, yes. You ticked that box. Well done, you.”

“What’s next?” I demanded.

“I told you I’d allow you a twenty-four-hour rest period. It seems the least I can do.”

“The least you can do is leave Fairhaven right now and never return.”

Lucifer chuckled. “I was just telling Kane how much I like you. You seem tailor-made for him. Like we say in hell, there’s a stoker for every flame.” The demon shook his head in awe. “What a world.”

I slid an arm along Kane’s waist. “Take me home, please.”

“I’ll see you back here tomorrow.” Lucifer tapped an imaginary watch on his wrist. “Twenty-four hours and not a minute more.”

“I’ll set two alarms,” I called over my shoulder. “How did he know I’d done the deed?” I asked Kane in a low tone.

“I don’t know. I tried to pretend he wasn’t there.”

“No idle chitchat?”

“He talked. I ignored him.”

“Its own brand of torture,” I remarked.

We fell silent until we reached the parking lot of the Devil’s Playground.

“Was it bad?” Kane asked.

I unlocked my truck. “I’d say I’ve experienced worse things, but I might be lying.”

His gaze scraped over me. “Any wounds to clean?”

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