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“So he knows where you are. He can get to you at any time.”
She nodded.
Perfect. Micah hated the idea that she’d been vulnerable the last few days, but now he had an excuse to move forward with his plan. “But you still gave me the key.”
“I had to.”
As defeated as she sounded, Micah could feel the resolve rolling off of her. She’d made up her mind and she’d stand by it—just like she’d always done. Seemed like there was still a bit of Phoenix inside of her, even if she didn’t remember.
He squeezed her fingers. “You did something for me. Let me do something for you. Stay here.”
Her purple eyes went wide. “What? No. I couldn’t. I barely know you, and I have Crow—”
Micah cut her off before she could continue in her litany of excuses. “The Twilight Sphere is a hotel for tourists, but it also has room for faction beings in need. Take one. My treat. I swear to you, Lucifer can’t get to you here. You’ll be safe.”
“And you’ll be near. Because of the casino you have with your brothers.”
So she’d learned even more about him than she initially let on.
Micah nodded. “I live here, too, yes. If you stay, we’ll probably see a lot of each other.”
Her tongue darted out, licking her bottom lip. Micah tried desperately not to react to the gesture.
Another sign that his Phoenix was in there somewhere. She always did that. At first, it was a sign that she was leaning toward agreeing with whatever he said whenever they were having a couples’ discussion. But the closer he got to his soulmate, the more he recognized it as her subconscious clue that she wanted him to kiss her.
He wanted to. Lord help him, he did. If he wasn’t absolutely convinced that he’d lose any ground he’d earned with Cinder, he would’ve.
Instead, he slowly released her hand.
“It’s your choice. If anything, think of it as me repaying you for the key. You gave us our talisman, and we’ll protect you from Lucifer.”
It killed something inside of Micah to make their relationship seem so transactional. But if Sam could offer Polly an additional fifteen thousand dollars to get close to her while she was plotting how to steal the key from Lucifer, then it should be okay for Micah to give Cinder a room.
Raze did the same for Becca, after all, before he moved her into his apartment.
And if all went well eventually, Micah would do the same for Cinder.
As long as she said—
“And Crow can stay, too?”
“Of course.”
“Then yes.”
* * *
Once he’d gotten Cinder settled in on the thirteenth floor, Micah took the elevator back down to the third.
No avoiding this. Now that he had the key, he had to let his brothers know—even if all he wanted to do was provide everything his soulmate would require.
After she agreed to stay, he offered to fly her out to the cabin so she could pack what she needed; obviously, when she set out to give him the key, she had expected to return. She’d refused. When pressed, she admitted that she hadn’t left anything behind that she couldn’t go without.
She’d only been back on Earth for about a week and a half or so. Cinder hadn’t kept count, only waiting for the moment Lucifer showed up at the cabin with the task that would set her free from the second contract she’d signed. From how she understood it, the first had been completed when she arrived in the Pit four decades ago. The second was as soon as she took the key from Polly. Technically, she was free and clear from Lucifer’s clutches—until she died and was pulled back down below again.
Unless, of course, Micah shared his soul with her while making her immortal.
Then Lucifer could try all he wanted to torment her, but he could never actually claim her soul again.
