Page 52 of Trust the Fall

Luke pushes our group together to form an inverted triangle. It’s not lost on me he set it up so that I’d be at the back.

“You know I’m more than capable of defending myself,” I call out to Luke. “You don’t need to hide me back here.”

“Not here. You don’t have all of your powers,” he singsongs back, and I have to grind my teeth not to march to the front and put him on his ass to prove just how capable I am, with or without my powers.

“Would you two shut up,” Leeanna snaps.

“If something should happen to me, please tell Marina that I love her,” Julian says over his shoulder.

“For fuck’s sake, Julian, tell her yourself. None of us are dying,” Law gripes. “You’re losing your man card for this, by the way. The Crown shouldn’t always assume death.”

Julian throws his fist into his brother’s stomach and Law harrumphs, bending over.

“I’m not assuming death, idiot. I was just thinking about how I don’t think I told her I loved her before we left. It’s bothering me.”

I place my hand on Julian’s shoulder. “You’ll tell her soon, but if something should go wrong, I will make sure she knows that she was the last thing you thought about and that you love her.”

He places his hand over mine on his shoulder and squeezes. “Thank you.”

“Any requests from you, Lawrence? Any certain familiar you’d like to pledge undying devotion to?”

He grunts. “I won’t be dying. So no need.”

I grin, realizing that he didn’t deny having feelings for the woman Maggie.

“They’re coming,” Luke yells to prepare us.

I refrain from saying another word as the thundering sound of hooves gets closer.

Weapons are unsheathed and we all assume crouched attack positions.

“Ready?” Lucifer calls out as the first of the demon dogs fly around the corner.

It’s Rix. I’d recognize that demon dog anywhere.

Rix notices us behind Lucifer and the hair on the back of his neck, all the way down his spine into his tail, stands on end. He bares the largest canines I’ve ever seen, hurling himself toward us.

Luke’s hand shoots into the air. “Stop.”

The sound of that one word ricochets off the walls, and the floor beneath us quakes.

The hellhound skids to a stop, directly in front of Luke, dropping to its belly in submission.

“Rix … for today, they are with us. You will obey,” Luke’s tone is commanding and lethal. “Cutting it a bit close, don’t you think, Lil?”

Around the corner struts Lilith, and my stomach bottoms out.

“You were a bit late in summoning me. Next time a bit of a heads-up would be best.” She smirks at Luke as she glides right up to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and planting a kiss on his lips. But not before a look of triumph is directed toward me. Bitch.

JULY

I will not kill her, I repeat internally, trying to remain calm.

I know her game. She’s trying to get a reaction out of me. This is her desperate attempt to hold on to something that is no longer hers, and as much as I hate it, I understand too.

Lilith has had Lucifer’s attention for a very long time. She’s held on to some warped idea that eventually he would love her like she does him. There’s a part of me that actually feels sorry for her, because I know what it feels like to lose Luke. It’s soul-crushing.

So instead of strangling her like I want to, I perfect an unaffected face and simply cross my arms over my chest, cocking my head to the side, signaling she’d better wrap this charade up.