Page 127 of Like Grim Death: Part One
“I don’t fucking like this.” I pace my husband’s office as he sits behind the desk, Rain in his arms. He’s smiling down at our son, but his eyes keep flicking toward me with every turnabout I do, my arms crossed. “I don’t want him here.”
Slices of the sun spill into the darkened office, but most of the light is shadowed by Maverick, gazing out through the window with his hands in his pockets, back muscles flexed, he still hasn’t found a shirt. “This is how it goes, Angel,” he says without looking at me.
I stop directly in front of Lucifer but I shoot my gaze over to Mayhem. “Fuck that,” I snarl, my nails digging into my biceps. “He can stay somewhere else.”
There’s a tense silence, broken only by a cooing sound from Rain. I keep my eyes trained on the back of my brother’s skull though.
After a moment, he shakes his head, scoffing. “I assume you wantmeto take that responsibility?”
“None of youhave kids. Any of you would be fine.” I feel my husband’s eyes on me with my words, but he says nothing.
“That wouldn’t test him enough.”
“He can’t stay here. He can goanywhere elseon this goddamn street, but he cannot stay here.”
Maverick is quiet, still facing away from me. When he speaks again, his voice is low. “I can’t always save you and him, Angel. I have my own family to worry about.”
I almost laugh, but I hold it in. “Your ownfamily? Her?She’s not fucking family.Thisis your family—”
“Her name is Ella.” He’s still soft spoken, looking out that fucking window.
And it’s not like I askedhimspecifically to takeSevryn,but Lucifer and I are the only ones with a child. It’s unfair, but more than that, it’s a solvable problem. What does Ella have to do with it, anyway? Rain is my brother’s blood relative,and he’s completely defenseless. “I know her fucking name. But your nephew’s name isRain,and it’s not as if he can look out for himself—”
“Don’t speak to me as if I’m stupid, Angel.” It amazes me, the way his voice is such a caress, but his words seem deadly. Almost enough to make me back down, but this is my son we’re talking about. “Sevryn cannot stay with anyone else because this is anordergiven to Lucifer.”
“I don’t give a fuck—”
“You will if they break Rain’s neck and make you watch and listen as they do.” Maverick’s voice is a low growl and slowly, he turns to stare at me. I can see the paleness of his eyes this far across the room.
My stomach feels sick. “Fuck you.”
He lifts his lips in a half smile. “I think we’ve already been down that road—”
“Enough,”Lucifer snarls.
I don’t look away from Maverick, his smirk curving higher as he keeps his eyes on me too.
“There’s nothing we can do about it, Lilith.” My husband’s tone is softer as he speaks to me. “It’s temporary. I’ll keep him away from Rain. And in the end, it will be worth it.”
Maverick jerks his chin toward me. “Hear that? It’ll beworth it,because President Satan over here is probably keeping secrets about what he gets out of this.”
Confusion spins with annoyance in my gut as slowly, Mav and I both turn to my husband, who has his eyes on me. But when he talks, I know he’s addressing his brother-in-law. “Here’s a hint.” He cuts his gaze to Mav, spinning in his office chair, holding tightly to Rain, who is reaching chubby hands up to grab at his dad’s face. “You find out exactly what the fuck is going on with your girl and Atlas, because if she putsmy familyin danger…” He glances at me. “I will fucking kill her myself.”
The feeling in the room changes. Even my mouth goes dry, watching Maverick lift his chin and stare down his nose at Lucifer. His nostrils flare, every muscle in his body tense. “You’re crossing a line.” He whispers it, but it’s deadly.
Lucifer’s dimple pops as he smiles. “Yeah. I tend to do that without remorse.” He bends his head, kissing Rain’s, but his eyes don’t leave Maverick.
“Here, let me help.”I pull open the smoky gray drawer I know contains silverware, then pluck out a spoon.
Sid swipes her bangs out her face with her fingers on one hand, turning to glare at me as she stands on the opposite side of the kitchen. She has an empty eggshell in her fist, but the mixing bowl she’s cracked the eggs into has floating pieces of shell in it. She was trying to get it out with her fingers, and I heard her low growl of frustration.
This morning when I woke up, I couldn’t find Mavy, but I hear his carefree laughter ricochet now through the closed screen door, all the boys—including Rain—on the back deck. I still haven’t gone outside to see him. When I was looking for him, I watched as he came downstairs with Sid, Lucifer, and Rain a few minutes ago, his eyes narrowed on mine. He kissed my forehead but trailed past me, following Lucifer to the back deck without a word. I wanted an apology for the shit he did with me last night, trying to humiliate me in front of Atlas, but he gave me nothing.
Atlas is out there though, along with Cain and Ezra, and I’m annoyed how he’s okay withthem,but not me.
I cross the kitchen and Sid moves to the side, yanking open a drawer and dumping the egg shells in the trash as I pluck up the stray shells with the spoon, gliding them up the side of the mixing bowl and setting them on a paper towel beside it.
“He’s here, isn’t he?” I ask quietly, feeling Sid’s eyes on me. I try not to think of Mavy’s call to her. Her obvious disdain for me, for what happened with Lucifer after she left him for Jeremiah. The way Maverick seemed so into her when we first arrived here as her personal bodyguards or some shit. “The initiate?”
