Page 30 of Brimstone and Broomsticks
“And Alberta back to her bridge,” I finished, trying to figure out if he was telling the truth or not.
Lucien shrugged. “I guess. She left after the fight along with the others.”
“Wait, what others? And who were you fighting?”
Still smirking. “I’m a demon, remember? The brawls were with two guys. Not that I’m averse to fighting with a woman, you know. Just so happens mostly men want to throw a punch. Or make me want to throw a punch.”
I couldn’t argue with that. “Two men? Who?”
“I didn’t check their ID or ask their names,” he drawled. “First guy said something I didn’t appreciate. He ran off after the first punch. Bartender didn’t want to let me back in, but Alberta sweet-talked him into letting me stay and got me another drink.”
Two fights and a whole lot of booze. That didn’t sound like it left much time for him to bribe a fairy into flying him out of town, but fairies could move quick if they were motivated, even carrying a muscled man…or demon. “And the second guy?”
He shuffled his feet and looked down. Was he…embarrassed? A demon was embarrassed?
“Clinton Dickskin,” he muttered.
“Who?” I couldn’t keep the incredulous tone out of my voice. Bronwyn snickered.
Yes, definitely embarrassed. Lucien shot me a sheepish grin. “It was like something in one of those western movies. Alberta and some woman with Dickskin hustled us both outside. We got into it in the parking lot. I knocked him out, then I went back in for another drink.”
I blew a breath out my mouth and ran a hand over my hair. “Damn it, Lucien. I talked to the prosecutor. He was going to talk to Clinton in the morning and have the charges dropped. And now I hear you were fighting with him again and knocked him out? Why couldn’t you just stay in the damned hotel for the night?”
“Because that’s no fun. How does this law stuff work here in Accident? If I press charges first, does that help? He threw the first punch.”
“You knocked him out!” I was actually kind of impressed. Other than some rumpled clothes, Lucien looked fine. No additional bruises or black eyes. He’d fought with a werewolf that was known for not losing in a fistfight, won, and looked as if he’d hardly broken a sweat.
Yeah, this guy was far more sexy than a player panther shifter.
And Lucien seemed to realize that. “Just for a few seconds. He was getting to his feet before I was halfway across the parking lot,” He took a step closer. “He deserved it. Punishment. Justice. We’re not that different, Cassandra Perkins.”
“Except I’m a defense attorney, remember? I’m on the other side of the justice equation.”
Bronwyn snorted. “Does that make you an angel, Cassie? That would be a first.”
“Two sides of the same coin,” Lucien continued. “Angels are about reward. You’re not about reward, are you Cassandra?”
Ooo, there was something in his deep voice that made me want to be allll about reward. Punishment? Yeah, no. That wasn’t really my thing. Sylvie had all those books where men tie their women up and do hot sexy-time stuff. Sounded good between the covers of a book. Not so appealing between the covers of a bed, in my opinion.
“I’m about winning. I’m about giving my client a fair shake under the parameters of our legal system. I only play one role in justice. I’m not in charge of delivering it as a social concept beyond that. Knowing I did my best for my client? That’s my reward. That and a paycheck.” I shot him a steely glare. “But that has nothing to do with you getting into a fight with two more people, when I’m trying to get you off the hook for last night and get you out of town. Why’d you come back, anyway? You were free and clear. We’ve got no way to track you down, whether you go to hell or not.”
He frowned, seeming to be genuinely confused. “What are you talking about?”
“You left town. Paid some fairy to break the wards or fly you over. And I know why you came back too.”
Flames leapt deep in his eyes. “If all I had to do to leave this town was fly over your magical wards, then I wouldn’t need a fairy to do it.”
He stepped back and I heard the sound of ripping fabric. Bronwyn gasped. I was too in shock to do anything but stare. Before me stood Lucien with a tattered shirt, huge black leathery wings extending from his back.
“I don’t need a damned fairy to fly anywhere,” he snarled.
“I see that.” Bronwyn circled around him. “Nice, bro. Diggin the wings there. Horns? Tail? Because I’m thinking you might be hiding the whole package.”
Hewasa demon. He was really a demon. I’d begun to suspect he was some sort of supernatural being, and even taken to calling him a demon, but now, with these black wings right in my face, it all hit home.
He was a demon. From hell. In my town.
Lucien stared at me. “You don’t want to see my true form. I’m sorry I showed you my wings. I just…”
