Page 28 of Falling for Lucifer
Silence filled the room until Ellodie finally spoke up to break the tension. Lucifer planned on sitting there all night if he had to until he learned the man’s name he was about to fuck up.
“Wes.” Her voice cracked, and so did Lucifer’s heart at the sound of terror inside her.This her baby daddy? Ain’t no fuckin’ way . . .
Lucifer grinned down at the man, but it wasn’t a friendly grin. “Thanks, love. I’m going to take Mr. Wes on a lil walk.”
“Lu—”
“Go do what I said, Ello. I’ll be back.”
Lucifer didn’t even wait for her to respond. He bent down and grabbed Wes by the size ten foot and twisted it slightly, which caused him to yelp. Then, he dragged him out of the condo and shut the door.
“Nigga, I’m gon?—”
Lucifer cocked his fist back and slammed it into Wes’s face, silencing him into a daze long enough for Lucifer to pick him up and throw him over his shoulder like a rag doll.
It wasn’t until they were inside the elevator that Wes started talking shit again, but it was with a lot less enthusiasm than before. His feet kicked out, and he tried to wiggle out of Lucifer’s grasp, but it was ironclad.
When they got to the lobby, Lucifer walked right out of the building, not caring about any bystanders or cameras. Once in the parking lot, Lucifer tossed Wes off his shoulder. Wes’s head smacked against the pavement, dazing him once again. Lucifer knew the nigga was seeing stars. While he allowed Wes a moment to catch his bearings, . . . again, . . . he contemplated calling his brother. He knew if he did that it meant this man’s life was over. When they ran the streets, they’d ended more than a few lives together in order to stay alive. Hades hated a woman beater more than Lucifer. He was more connected to what happened to their mother at the hands of their father. He didn’t play about that shit at all, so if Lucifer told him, Wes’s life was as good as done.
He was okay with that, but a future with Ellodie flashed through his mind. He contemplated if he would really be able to sustain a relationship with her if he killed her baby daddy. Then there was Etta to think about. There was no way Lucifer would allow this nigga to be around her. Not after this. But would he be able to face her one day and tell her what he did to her biological father? Or could he keep up the facade that he had nothing todo with it? Hell, did any of this even matter? He didn’t know if he would be in Ellodie’s life that long. What he did know was he wanted to. At that moment, he realized just how badly he wanted to be there for the long haul with her. It hadn’t been long since they’d known each other at all, but the connection he felt was one he wanted to grow into something that could withstand the test of time.
As he glared down at Wes, he had to breathe deeply because all he saw was red. Finally, he allowed the rational and sane angel on his shoulder to win. . . . kind of.
Fast as lightning, he snatched Wes up and asked, “Where’s yo’ car?”
Wes’s eyes grew wide. He looked terrified, and he had every right to be. At the moment, he looked into the eyes of Lucifer, not Lu. Not the loving uncle or brother. He was someone else entirely. Someone he hadn’t been in a very long time. Someone his brother prided himself on being. The devil himself.
Wes finally pointed a shaking finger at a white truck. Him not using his words pissed Lucifer off, so he reached out and snapped the man’s finger back. Wes screamed like a bitch, but Lucifer ignored him. He walked toward the car and said, “Unlock the shit.”
He half dragged Wes by the collar, but the man was smart enough to shove away his pain and ignore the fact that his feet half dragged, half walked and pulled his keys out of his pocket. He was lucky he had them because if he hadn’t, Lucifer probably would have killed him at that point. His patience was that thin.
Lucifer yanked the door open and shoved Wes inside.
“Ouch! Hey?—”
Lucifer slammed Wes’s head into the steering wheel. He didn’t really fancy the man talking too much. “Listen up because I ain’t about to repeat myself. The only reason you’re living right now is because of Ellodie and Etta. Ipromiseyou . . . Look atme when I say this shit.” Lucifer yanked his head to the side so he could look him in the eye. “I promise you I have no issue deading you right here. You think I’m playin’?” Wes shook his head, and Lucifer plucked him on the forehead hard as hell. “Use yo’ words.”
“N-no,” Wes replied.
“Don’t let me see you again.” With one quick motion, he hit Wes in the ribs. A satisfying crunch sounded through the parking lot, followed by Wes’s screams of agony. Lucifer cut all his hollering off with one last warning. “And don’t be down here when I come back down withmygirl andmydaughter. All bets are off if you’re still here.”
For good measure, Lucifer grabbed Wes’s wrist and snapped it back. He took great pleasure in his cries of pain, but he cut them off swiftly by slamming the door in his face and tapping on the car good naturedly like he didn’t just threaten to kill that man and break several of his bones.
He didn’t even glance back at the white truck as he went to his car and went straight for the glove compartment. He always kept a gun in his car and several in his home. Gone were the days when he felt the need to keep one on his person, but that didn’t mean he went without protection altogether.
After tucking the gun into the waistband of his pants and covering it with his shirt, he closed and locked his car and smirked when he saw Wes pulling out of the parking lot slowly. Too slowly for Lucifer. He walked over to the car and kicked the side of it so hard the entire truck shook. His shoe left a large dent, and Wes screamed at the top of his lungs at the sudden movement.
“Scary ass, bitch ass nigga. The fuck she find this dude at?” Lucifer mumbled as he watched Wes pick up speed and skirt out of the parking lot.
Slowly, Lucifer walked back toward Ellodie’s building. He had to take several deep breaths to calm himself. It didn’t sit right with him that he let that man live. Flashes of Ellodie’s blackened eyes made him want to turn around and chase Wes down, but he refrained. He kept the bigger picture in mind. A future with Ellodie was more important to him than that nigga. Not to mention, the way he felt at the moment was liable to get him locked up.
On the elevator, he did his best to tuck the rage away. He hated getting like this because it took a lot to calm him down again, and he knew the sight of Ellodie’s bruises would only rile him up again. He said a silent prayer, asking for forgiveness, but he also asked God to take away his anger so he wouldn’t scare Ellodie or Etta. To him, they were his main priority from that point forward.
Ellodie couldn’t stop the sobs that tore out of her as she rushed between her room and the nursery. Her only goal was to pack for her and Etta. Nothing else mattered. Not even Etta wailing in her crib mattered at the moment. Her home suddenly felt like hell, and she wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.
“Shhh, baby. I know, honey. I know,” Ellodie called out to Etta. “We’re getting out of here. Just hold on for mommy.”
Her voice shook as she rushed back out of her room to grab a couple of packs of diapers and wipes from the nursery. The past few days had been torture for Ellodie. Wes dominated her space and wouldn’t leave. Every time she thought about bolting, it was like he read her mind because he would choose those moments to hold Etta, which made her stay in place out of fear. Her days consisted of taking care of Etta, tiptoeing around her own home, and trying to appease Wes enough so he would leave. Fearcontrolled her.Hecontrolled her. Whenever he was around, she became a version of herself she hated. He got in her head and made her believe terrible things would happen if she tried to run from him. He’d known her for far too long. He knew her triggers. He knew how to get into her head. And she fell for it every single time.
