Page 50 of Devil Bound
That piqued my interest to the point where I didn’t even mind the cucumber.“Did you just say interdimensional space?”
“Beyond you, little human.You want to know why I don’t conform to your preconceived and biased ideas of my kind and hang out with Lucy?”
“Maybe?”
I watched her pour the juice into a large to-go mug.The color wasn’t too bad, sort of pink.I’d be okay with drinking that, and if there was a crime scene, maybe juice wasn’t such a bad idea.There was no way I was going to throw up juice.
She walked over to me and handed me the massive mug.“Because he’s fun, and a lot of angels tend to be dicks.Like, I mess around with a bunch of goatherds for my own amusement, but they go around being downright mean and inflicting bodily harm.Just not my crowd.I left your shoes by the door.Do not ever drag grave dirt or worse over my floors, understood?”
I relaxed.“I don’t plan on coming back here.”I hopped off the stool and pushed it into place.
She rolled her eyes and tossed her curls back.“By the balls of Zeus, you actually are like the sweet innocent heroine in those damn novels.”She shook her head.“I need to make sure there’s enough lube in the house.”
And that was that.Nothing more I needed to hear from the candy angel.I wasn’t going to engage any further in this conversation.In fact, I was going to add it to my amnesia.
I almost ran out of the kitchen, barely avoiding falling over Soul, who could sneak, as it turned out, and ran to the door.
At least Metatron hadn’t lied about my shoes.They looked like new too, almost as if someone had bothered cleaning them, but I didn’t care, just grabbed them and pulled the door open.I ran to my car, holding the pants up with one hand while trying not to drop the damn juice, my shoes shoved under my arm.
I stopped in front of the Honda.“Fuck, keys,” I hissed.
The air on my left shifted.
“These?”Metatron asked, wiggling my key chain in front of my face.
Teleportation.That was teleportation.Sort of cool, but I needed to go and let the amnesia take me.
I snatched the keys from the angel’s fingers and jammed my thumb down on the fob.My heart was racing.
“Thanks.”
“Show your gratitude by drinking that juice.He’s been going on and on about that damn cleanse, even if no one sees the point.I’m worried it’s going to be the sex throne all over again if the antioxidants and the wheatgrass don’t work on you.”The angel scrunched up her nose.“Maybe I should get ginger and turmeric and grab some goji berries.”
I made the executive decision to ignore the thing about the antioxidants and not ask about the sex throne.I was reasonably certain sex throne knowledge wouldn’t do me any good before I could go on my amnesia experience.
“Totally,” I said with all the conviction I could muster as I got behind the wheel, putting the large juice cup in the center console because the cup holder was for normal-sized beverages.I pulled the door shut and started the engine, then got out of there as fast as was responsible.Maybe a little faster than was responsible, but I had to get to work.
Okay, I had to go home and get dressed before I could get to work, and then I had to make up some sort of believable lie to tell Christine about why I hadn’t answered her calls, and also, I really, really needed to make sure never to talk to Lucifer ever again.I needed to not run into him from here on out.I needed to forget the Devil existed, maybe take up one of those religions with the altars and the undressing Metatron had mentioned so I could find oblivion in faith.
“Just forget it ever happened,” I mumbled as I slowed to a more reasonable speed.“Forget Lucy and his stupid hairdo and how nice he smells.”
I knew I could do it.What was that saying, you can do anything if you put your mind to it?
I was putting my mind to forgetting the Devil, hard.
27
Lionel
Thedrivebackhomewas sort of tense as I began the process of starting my selective amnesiac future.I didn’t look at my texts or call Christine back, my mind still wobbly from last night…from what hadn’t happened last night.
The first thing I did after getting back to my place was to caffeinate, and after, I felt both saner and calmer.I got dressed quickly—if Christine needed me, I didn’t want to keep her waiting.I’d take an extra-long shower once I got back from work.
With my coffee mug in one hand to keep me steady, I called her from the second most comfortable chair at my table.
“Hawkes, finally.I was debating whether to have someone go looking for you.Did no one ever tell you not to go MIA all of a sudden without a heads-up?”
Christine’s voice went from annoyed to relieved, and okay, I got that.I always answered my phone, because normally, no one other than her called.I didn’t go out much, so I was pretty much always free, a lot like Christine herself.We made a good team that way, and I had let her down.
