Page 38 of These Monstrous Ties
“Are those bruises?” he asks, his voice taking a darker, deadlier tone.
I had forgotten. Or rather, I didn’t really expect I’d see him tonight. And I never expected him to see me. And not like this. Not this close.
But with his words, the memory of Kristof comes rushing back. Of me stabbing his leg. Of him slamming me against the wall. My brother stepping in at the last minute.
I try not to think about it. Now is so not the time.
It seems too late, though, because Lucifer cocks his head, his finger trailing up to my jaw. “They are, aren’t they?” he murmurs. I can smell his breath, feel it on my brow as I look up at him. He smells like cigarettes and spearmint.
“Who did it?” Ezra growls.
I don’t answer him and Ezra snorts, pulling me tighter against him.
I ball my hands into fists, but I’m not going anywhere. Ezra has my arms. Lucifer has my gun. I don’t have a chance.
“Why?” I challenge Lucifer. It’s time for me to find my voice again.
His hand goes back down by his side, away from my jaw. “Why what, Lilith?”
It feels so good to hear his voice.
And I fucking hate it.
“Why did you burn down Brooklin’s house?”
Ezra laughs, but with a look from Lucifer, he falls silent. I can feel his chest rising and falling against my shoulders.
Lucifer smiles coldly, looking down at the ground between us. “That’s what you want to ask me?” he says softly, dragging his gaze along my body, up to meet my eyes again. “I think you want to know something else, don’t you, Lilith?”
I shake my head. “I don’t want anything from you.” I dig my nails so hard into my palms I know it’ll draw blood. Just like I had that night. The pale white scar on my thigh is there to prove that.
He has a matching one. But he had more, before me.
He seems to be thinking about my own scar now as he glances down at my legs, a smile playing on his lips. “I remember your blood,” he says quietly, taking a step closer. I’m frozen, in between these two Unsaints. Once more, me and Lucifer are close enough to touch. But I won’t reach for him. Not even to try to get the gun back. I will never reach for him again. “I remember tasting you,” he murmurs, chin angled down as he takes me in. Like he wants to devour me. “I remember everything about you, Lilith. About that night. And the first thing you want to ask me is about your boss’s fuck toy?”
Ezra barks a laugh, and I feel his chest rumble behind me.
But that means Lucifer doesn’t know I’m Jeremiah’s sister. And I sure as hell won’t tell him. If he knows, he might go thinking that I mean something to Jeremiah. That he can use me as a bargaining chip in whatever war he’s waging with my brother. Because there’s more to this than me. The Unsaints aren’t here just for me. They wouldn’t care that much.
And Jeremiah might get me back if they take me. But he won’t pay anything for me.
“This was really brave, Lilith. To come out here by yourself.” He slides the gun into the waistband of his pants. I want to tell him that’s stupid, but I don’t care enough to.
That, and I catch a glimpse of the V leading down into his low-slung pants and I’ve suddenly gone completely stupid. I remember the tattoo on his thigh.
I snap my eyes to his, but not before he notices where I’m staring. He lets out a little laugh.
“Really brave,” he drawls, stepping closer to me, his chest brushing my shoulder. “And really stupid.”
I back away, farther into Ezra, who laughs again. He presses his nose into the crook of my neck, and I hear him inhale.
“God, you smell fucking good.” He lifts his head. “We should have her tonight, Luce,” he croons.
Lucifer’s gaze hardens, but he says nothing to Ezra. Instead, his next words are to me. “You can run, Lilith. But you can’t hide.” He shakes his head. “Not from me.”
He nods to Ezra, who pushes me forward, and I fucking bolt, not daring to look back. Adrenaline springs through my body as fast as lightening and my shoes pound in the dirt with every hard step. I can’t hear over my own heart, my own heavy breathing, but I don’t think they’ll follow me. Not yet.
They want to drag this out too. I have no idea why they’re mad at me, what’s gone down between them and my brother besides Brooklin’s house and Jeremiah turning his back on the Unsaints. But I don’t care. If they want to play, it’ll give me time to run.
