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Lucifer gave me his word.
If I married Raphael tonight, I would lose everything. Again.
My gaze swung to the imposing double doors of the study, willing the devil to manifest out of thin air.
I heard the scrape of Raphael’s chair and caught him rising out of the corner of my eye.
I traveled in reverse. There was a poker by the fireplace. I’d seen it there the same night I saw Raphael’s tattoo.
“Willa.”
I glanced back at him.
His fists ground into the top of his desk as he skewered me with a blistering glare. “Do. Not. Force my hand. You will sign. The. Fucking. Contract.”
Raphael’s desperation seeped through his vehemence.
This was about more than trade routes. Or money. Or power. Raphael needed this alliance more than he needed to keep his promise not to kill me until we were married. If I didn’t sign willingly, he’d slay me right here, forge my signature, and Aiden would be none the wiser.
Run.
I spun and scrambled toward the fireplace. The sounds of overturned furniture and rage unleashed behind me. Raphael was a demon sent straight from the pits of hell.
As I closed in on the poker, something hidden in the shadows behind the couch caught my eye. Something big, something out of place—
My heart jackhammered against my ribcage.
No. It couldn’t be . . .
My knees gave out and I collapsed.
Broken, splintered branches and pieces of trunk littered the study floor. They’d been hacked down by a madman.
I stared in anguished silence at what remained of Lucifer’s apple tree.
Raphael fisted the back of my sweater and hauled me to my feet.
“You sick. Fucking. Monster!” My elbow drove into his side. I twisted in his arms, intending to claw his arrogant mask apart, but he grabbed my shoulders and shook me with the force of his anger. Pain shot down my spine.
“Get a fucking grip,” he growled.
The doors rattled, startling us both.
Raphael’s fingers relaxed briefly, and I seized the opportunity to flee. In the next beat, Lucifer crashed into the study, and I was already running toward him. Our eyes locked, and he was in motion. I collided with his chest. Lucifer’s arms banded around me. The sentences in my mind were coherent, but the words I choked out made little sense.
“I’ve got you.” He panted against my ear. “Give me a minute and I’ll get you out of those fucking cuffs.”
“He’s going to make me marry him,” I sobbed. “H-he ... ch-chopped down—”
“Shhh ... it’s okay. I know—”
“Get your traitorous hands off my fiancée, brother,” Raphael sneered.
I couldn’t see him, but he sounded too close.
Lucifer raised his head, but he never loosened his hold. I burrowed my face deeper into his coat. I’d ride out the storm in the solace of darkness as his wild heartbeat reminded me that we were both still alive.
“Keegan—escort Mr. Benowitz to his car,” Lucifer ordered. “His services will not be required this evening.” His voice wielded a calm authority that swept over my body.
