Page 2 of Devil Bound
With that, the Devil walked right up behind me, put a hand on his hip, and smiled down at me.
“Sure.Let me know if—”
I went for one of the fortune cookies, letting the paper crinkle as loudly as I could.“How much do I owe you?”
The server glanced at me as if he’d forgotten all about me, then frowned at his screen.“Twenty-eight seventy.Feel free to wait at a table while we get your order ready.”
“Sure.”I went for the wallet in my back pocket, only to realize it wasn’t there.“Shit.Sorry.I left my wallet in my jacket and—my car’s just outside.I’ll go grab it real quick.”
The guy looked less than thrilled, his annoyance plain in the way his mouth turned down when he fixed me with the most eye contact he’d given me ever since I’d walked in.I should have just gone with ramen.Ramen never judged me.
A hand landed on my shoulder before I could even turn.“That’s fine, Nelly.I’ve got you.You can owe me.”
Lucifer’s hand was warm.Then again, it was possible I was just cold.
I looked at him.“I really don’t want to owe you.”
The Devil smiled, his hand sliding away and leaving only the memory of warmth behind.“Then it will be my treat.Forgetfulness might be a symptom of head trauma, and—”
“I’m fine!”My hand clenched around the fortune cookie I’d taken, making the vacuum-sealed wrapper pop loudly.
“Hey, you’re only supposed to take one of those after you pay,” the server said, being the least helpful he’d been all night.
“I’m paying for him,” said the Devil, and smooth as a snake slithering through an oil spill, he handed the guy his fancy credit card.Of course it was black.None of the legends about the Devil had ever mentioned humility.
I could feel the heat rising to my face.“I’ll pay you back.”
The Devil smiled.“You don’t have to.”He cocked his head.“Do you even remember who I am?”
I didn’t have a mirror in front of me, but I could feel my color deepen.Yes, it was only ever going to be ramen from now on.My low-effort meal had turned into a cognitive exam administered by none other than the Devil his own damn self.Fuck my damn luck.
“Lucifer,” I said.
His face fell, that left eyebrow pointing skyward again.“It’s Lucy.Lu-cy.Have you been forgetting things a lot since that night I dragged the de-animated zombie off you?”
I would have told him to go fuck himself, thank you very much, but there was a civilian here, plus the Devil had just paid for my food.As it was, I could already hear the guy mumble “Zombie?”as he handed the card back over to Lucifer.
“My memory is fine, but I don’t have to prove that to you.”
“Hmm.”
“I just want my damn pizza, okay?And your address.So I can pay you back.I don’t have cash on me right now.”
The server piped up.“Hey, if you were going to steal that pie—”
I spun.“I wasn’t!It’s not like he’s the only person with a credit card, okay?Mine’s in my jacket I’m pretty sure.Do you want me to show you?”
The guy was giving me The Look.I knew it well.The last time I’d been given it had been at a funeral home where things had gotten unsavory in the extreme and I’d ended up with…fluids all over me.At least we’d taken the murderous embalmer out in cuffs.And Detective Rice had given me the rest of the day off because the funeral guests had either given me The Look or…fainted at the sight of me.
“All good, man.Your food is paid for, okay?Chill.”
He glanced away as if he didn’t want to deal with me, as if I was unhinged or something.I didn’t get the chance to push back against his false perception of me, because Lucifer was dangling a business card in front of my face, holding it in his long, neatly manicured fingers.
“It’s Milton Avenue.Where I live.It’s printed on there so you can’t forget.”
I snatched the card from his fingers and narrowed my eyes at him.Damn, but he was tall.“My memory is fucking fine, okay?”
“Okay.Say, what’s my name?”
