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A single tear slid down my cheek.
Raphael had uncovered one of my secrets, but did he know that I knew his too?
Lucifer may have stolen my weapons, but I still carried two truths that could flip the Flynn family on its back.
My father had gifted Aiden Brennan with one of those truth bombs back when the Flynns and the Brennans were chummy and Da was two sheets to the wind. Whether Lachlan Flynn had been suffering from a similar affliction when he’d let my father see the family skeletons or if the guilt had become a burden too heavy to bear, we may never know.
To ensure the Brennans kept their blackmail arsenal stocked, Aiden had disclosed everything to Tiernan. But nearly a decade later, before Tiernan did the flying dismount that had resulted in his broken neck and my temporary freedom, he’d let the lies about the deadliest enforcer Boston had ever known slip from his liquored lips and into my awaiting ears.
Neither of us could have predicted that I’d find myself back in my hometown armed with the consequential information.
I just needed to live long enough to put it to good use if necessary.
My mind reeled in the silence between us as Raphael carried me the rest of the way to my bedroom. I waited, anticipating. Our conversation on the stairs felt incomplete. And there was no way the villain had been satisfied by a single hurtful remark striking a chord.
Raphael placed me on the bed carefully. Strong hands tucked the duvet around my sore arms and legs with no regard for the pressure they applied to my contusions.
He eased himself to the mattress, perching close to my hip.
I jerked in my cocoon. He’d trapped me.
My palpable fear clotted the air as he cocked his head, analyzing me at a different angle. Maybe he was contemplating the best way to snap my neck.
Fresh panic welled in my bloodstream.
Screaming would be pointless. Escaping—impossible.
Raphael’s smooth fingertips dragged along my forehead and down my temple. “You are a stunning creature, Willa Callahan.”
He peeled my bottom lip back with a gentle strum before pushing one finger, then two, through the seal he’d broken. He leaned in, nuzzling my ear as his digits bumped the back of my throat.
I refused to gag or shed another tear for Raphael Flynn. So I swallowed instead. He chuckled into my hair, continuing to assault my mouth with his fingers.
“Yes, darling, I know who you are. I’m sure Lucifer does too. Perhaps the two of you have already discussed your unremarkable pedigree. But don’t be confused, Willa. Lucifer is no avenging angel. His loyalty belongs to me. And if I ever find you in such a compromising way with my brother again, I will take great pleasure in reuniting you with your da just as soon as our marriage certificate is signed and dated.”
He retracted his fingers at the same moment he placed a gentle kiss on my cheek.
“Sleep well, darling. Sosanna will be by to check on you in the morning, and a dress will be brought to your room. Be ready for six o’clock—I’m taking you on our first date.”
Raphael stood, hovering over my bedside lamp. His monstrous shadow appeared on the wall behind him like an omen.
He pinched the draw cord between his fingers. “I believe we have a wedding to plan.”
After the light had been extinguished and the door had clicked shut, for the first time in three months, I cried myself to sleep.
Lucifer
Almost an hour had passed since my twin brother had practically declared a pissing contest in front of Willa. I’d recognized the look. He’d worn it like a badge of fucking honor for our entire lives.
Raphael strolled into the study, pinning me in my chair with his grin smug and chin glistening.
He thought he was taunting me, but I’d been steeling myself for the dozens of plausible directions this meeting could take. So I ignored the stench of sex. Along with the uncomfortable pressure that had settled between my heart and ribcage now that I’d realized how he’d tended to Willa’s needs.
Downplaying the last sixty minutes would serve me best right now.
I also needed to set aside the warring parts of me that had been raging for the past twenty-four hours.
Abhorrence to all things Brennan. Allegiance to Jack.
