Page 93 of Like Grim Death: Part One
“With all due respect…” Lucifer sits up straighter, his elbows on his knees and hands clasped together as he stares up at his uncle.“Fuck your forgiveness.”
Silence rings out, save for the crackling of the fire. I note all my brothers’ eyes are on Mikhail, and Elijah has his closed, like he’s internally groaning. Adam though, in the chair between Elijah and Cain, has a small smile playing on his lips.
I think of Ella and Sid, asking about Samson’s death, and now we have another on our hands. They had the right questions. None of us are asking them,pressingfor answers, because we’ve been so deeply entrenched in this cult our entire lives, mindless devotion comes too easily.Puppets.
Mikhail laughs, and I watch him cross one ankle over the other, tipping his head back a little to gaze down his straight nose at his nephew. “You will warm up to me soon, Lucifer.” He lets the words linger, and when I feel as ifImight jump out of my chair to break his stupid cheekbones, there’s a knock on the door. Just one, and as we all turn toward the door at the opposite end of the room, I notice Adam Medici is still smiling.
Without waiting for a response, whoever it is pushes inside, and a second later, I watch as Atlas brushes back the hood from over his head, a hat pulled on low. He casts his eyes about the room before they come to rest on Mikhail. His expression is only of mild pleasantness, lips tipped upward, and he doesn’t say a word, but it’s like a flicker of darkness seems to pass over his features. They tighten, his eyes narrow, even his fingers at his side curl upward into fists. But the moment passes, and he’s got the same smile on his face his father does.
“Well,” Mikhail says, straightening from the desk. “I am glad you could make it.” His gaze lingers on Atlas, then scans the room. “As I am sure you know, we have a ceremony tonight. It is for all of you, but tomorrow and the night after…” He trails off, looking at Luce. “Those two nights, it is just you and him.” Without elaborating on “him,” he starts to fuck with the cuffs of his white dress shirt, rolling them up, at the same time he begins to stroll across the room. “Let us begin.”
But just as he passes by Lucifer’s chair, my brother moves. He’s a blur, and I know he’s planned this since we all settled in this room. He grabs Mikhail’s wrist as he stands, then shoves him backward, into the desk.
He’s taller than his uncle by a couple of inches, but Elijah and Adam are on their feet, both shouting Lucifer’s name in unison and I know they won’t hesitate to pull him off.
Lucifer, however, is undeterred, and as one, Cain, Ezra, and I stand too, and Atlas takes a step closer, glancing at Elijah and Adam, both clearly wanting to move toward Luce, but they eye us and stay still.
“Yeah, let’s fuckingbegin,”Lucifer snarls. “How about we start with this? You talk about my fucking family again like you did Monday night, I’ll put a knife in your skull just like I did to your little fucking brother.” His words are low, but we all hear him. “I don’t give a fuck who you are and I don’t give a fuck who you kill.They’re off fucking limits.”
Mikhail, shoved against the desk by Lucifer’s hand on his chest, doesn’t react for a moment.
Then he does.
He wraps his arm around the back of Lucifer’s neck at the same time his knee comes up, striking Luce in the groin. He uses the momentary flinch from my brother to get his wrist free, and spins Lucifer around so his back is to Mikhail’s chest, one arm barred over his throat, his other palm pressing hard against Lucifer’s face, just over the bridge of his nose.
My heart hammers in my chest, but no one speaks.
There could be far-reaching consequences, going beyond Julie’s death. Lucifer lets his anger get the best of him sometimes, but he has to remember Mikhail doesn’t work alone. I doubt it was him who actually killed Julie, which means someone did the dirty work for him, just like someone acquired the film of our girls.
Anything could happen outside of these walls, where Ella, Sid, and Rain are. Now Finn too.
Lucifer’s face flushes pink as Mikhail squeezes tighter around his throat, and his lips drop to Luce’s ear, but we hear everything.
“You seem to misunderstand me.”
Lucifer tries to shrug him off, but I have to hand it to Mikhail, he’s good, and Lucifer barely budges, his nose still threatened by Mikhail’s palm pressing against the tip of it.
“Iwanttohelpyou. I have no sons of my own.” I don’t miss the fact Mikhail doesn’t say “children,” and I wonder where his daughters ended up.“Youare my legacy now.”
Lucifer closes his eyes, dangerously close to Mikhail’s fingertips, and I wonder what he’s seeing inside his head.
“Your wife and child are safe, and so is the other, as long as you rememberobedience.”Mikhail hisses the word and Lucifer’s lips press into a line, his face going pale.
A moment passes.
Another, then Mikhail shoves his nephew away and Lucifer quickly gets his feet underneath him and spins around, so his back isn’t to his uncle.
Mikhail rakes a hand through his hair, swearing in Russian under his breath.
I glance at Atlas, still by the door. Still looking nothing but…pleasant.And despite everything that’s happened today, it’s the expression on Atlas’s face which unnerves me most.
Music pounds from hidden speakers. It reminds me of sex, bass beats and a low hum, turned up loud.
Obedience.The only thing I want to obey is the desire in my veins to murder Mikhail Malikov.
In my head, I see Sid sitting on the back of the ambulance, blood streaking her face. I watch her flinch as the door slams open and the man she murdered is carted out.
My chest hurts, imagining her loneliness, and knowing she didn’t go to a better place. Not for many years, and maybe… not ever, because she’s withme,isn’t she, and being with me is a fucking nightmare.
