“What’s the rush?”
“He claims he’s imprisoned the witch who cursed me.” He rested his hands on the hilts of his daggers, rage pulsing from him. “I want to know if it’s true, if any of his allies have mentioned Queen Lilith of Lleh. I want to know if they mentioned any prisoners.”
Wait. “If Lilith lives, whose skull decorates your shelf?”
“I don’t know,” he snapped. “Maybe hers, maybe not. Lucifer is a known liar, so I can’t be sure until I’m sure.” He popped his knuckles, no doubt imagining all the ways he could break his brother’s face. “Before coming here, I spoke with my children. Two are searching for the truth even now.”
Two? She’d known he had a son, singular. She hadn’t known there were others. “How many kids do you have?”
“Three boys. I had a daughter as well, but a Fae bitch removed her head.” Now his fingers curled around those dagger hilts. “The boys spy and kill for me, as I once spied and killed for Hades.”
Astonishment knocked her back a few steps. “Do they have different mothers?”
A faint pink tint spread over his cheeks, confusing her. William was embarrassed by the female(s)? But why? This was a man who had nude portraits of himself hanging throughout his home.
“There’s no mother in the picture,” he muttered. “That’s all you need to know.”
Had the woman abandoned the boys or died? So badly Sunny wanted to push for answers, and she would. Later. Right now, she grabbed her laptop and diary, then led William to the small table in the kitchen. “I kept detailed notes about every enemy I ever interrogated.”
He pulled out a chair for her, but she shook her head and motioned for him to sit. He frowned, but he did it. Hoping to avoid his scent, she perched directly across from him. Nope. No better. Every time she inhaled, her hormones turned feral and she only wanted to jump him. Didn’t help that he was being so chivalrous to her.
“I’ve nabbed three generals, over three hundred soldiers, eight of his best assassins and four of his mistresses,” she began as she typed, her fingers flying over the laptop’s keyboard. Once she found the correct files, she slid the laptop William’s way. “Here’s everything they admitted.”
As he scrolled through the pages at a clipped pace, his nails lengthened into ebony claws, and a vein bulged in his forehead.
Voice rough with irritation, he snapped, “No mention of Lilith.” He slammed his fist into the table, the wood cracking.
She canted her head to the side. “Why did you and Lucifer break up?”
He ran his tongue over his pearly whites. “To answer that question, you need backstory.”
“Perfect. I love a good backstory.”
He puffed a breath. “We met the day he helped Hades rescue me from...a hellish realm. I was lonely, traumatized and desperate. Lucifer was older, stronger and, for a while, kind. But every day I heard new rumors about secret black-magic rituals, rapes and animal sacrifices.” Bitterness dripped from every word. “Still, I chose to believe his claims of innocence.”
Why the pause after “rescue me from”? What had he planned to say originally? And how had he been traumatized? What horrors had little William been forced to endure?
Sympathy welled. “Go on.”
“Later, he attempted to sacrifice me—while I slept. It was a betrayal I could not forgive.”
“I’m sorry, William. You must have been devastated.”
He pulled at his collar, clearly uncomfortable, and returned the conversation to the interrogations. “In your notes, you mention an artifact Lucifer wanted. A medallion. Do you know what it does?”
Oh, yes. No way she’d spill the best and worst of the details, though. Instead, she’d stick with the basics. Things Lucifer and his crew had known. “It’s round and flat, about the size of a half-dollar, and roughly two inches thick. It’s a weapon.” It required effort, but she stopped herself from reaching up to stroke the medallion hidden under her shirt. It wasn’t the one Lucifer had hunted, but it was similar. Of course, she owned the other one, too. Anything the bluebell had wanted, she’d acquired. “A spear grows from the center.”
“There must be more to it than that.” William reached for the book, intending to read her handwritten notes, but she jerked it out of range, pretending she didn’t want him seeing her lists.
“You’re right. It isn’t a normal spear. The shallowest incision can paralyze your opponent for several seconds, giving you just enough time to remove their head.” Among other things. “Details about the spear are not in my diary.”
“Only your lists.”
“Exactly. So, you understand why the book is off-limits to you, I’m sure.”
His interest was palpable, and she shivered.
Lids going heavy and sinking to half-mast, he asked, “What have you written about me?”
The perfect response rolled from her tongue. “Absolutely nothing.” Truth! In the list of sexual positions she hoped to try, she’d mentioned his friends, but never William himself.
“Nothing?” he roared, glaring at the diary as if he imagined burning it.
“That’s right.” When she closed the book with a flick of her wrist, he growled. Growled! Do not laugh. Dismissing the diary, she said, “If you want to return the favor and tell me everything you know about Lucifer, I wouldn’t be opposed.”
Though he continued to glare at the book, he told her, “He’s a shape-shifter able to morph into anyone he’s seen in person or photos. In fact, we should use a code word from now on, to prove our identities to each other.”
“No need. I see auras, so I can pick a shape-shifter out of a crowd of thousands.”
“What happens if Lucifer acquires a person’s aura when he shifts?”
Good point. It wasn’t impossible. “You’re right. We need a code word. How about Your penis is cute!”
For a long while, William peered at her, silent. Then he hooked his foot underneath her chair and dragged her closer. “Since you cannot lie, it’s safe to assume you do, in fact, think my penis is cute.”
Again, she caught a whiff of his delicious scent. The heat his body radiated...the startling intensity of his gaze... New shivers rocked her. Stronger shivers.
He seemed to be waiting for her to say something else. When she remained quiet, too busy praying he would lean over and kiss her, he added, “Do you know where the medallion is?”
“I do.” Tell him. No doubt he’d want the weapon for himself. Who wouldn’t? Would he demand she give it to him? Probably. Then, she could resist him, no problem. “I kind of...own it.”
He stopped brea
thing. “I want it.” Excitement flushed his skin. “Name your price.”
What! No demands? He’d rather bargain?
Oh, she was tempted. Over the centuries, she’d found six medallions. She wore one, and had hidden the others. That way, she had backups, just in case. For the right incentive, she might, maybe, possibly part with one.
“I’ll give you anything,” he rushed to add. “Within reason.”
Can’t believe I’m about to do this. Her heart hammered against her ribs. Inhale, exhale. “I’ll give you the medallion if you release the other codebreakers.”
He thought for a moment, then nodded stiffly. “Done.”
“And me. Set me free, William.” She would stick around to break the curse and get that escort to Lucifer’s door, willingly rather than forced.
“No!” he roared.
With that one word, shouted so loudly, her temper threatened to redline.
“I’ll release the others,” he offered at a more reasonable volume, “but not you.”
Forget his earlier compliment. He’d earned another torment. “Then you will release them and move into the stable with me. You’ll put your clothes in the closet, your toiletries in the bathroom and your body in the bed. Every. Single. Night. Think Real Househusbands of the Underworld.”
A tinge of panic infiltrated his expression, but he quickly wiped his features clean of emotion. He even schooled his body language. “Why do you want this?”
“Maybe I hope to steal your sperm while you’re sleeping, artificially incriminate myself and use a baby to trap you into a long-term relationship. Who’s to say? Unless... You’re rich, right? I’d like my baby daddy to be rich.”
He stared at her as if she’d sprouted horns. “I am rich, yes,” he finally said, still masking his emotions. “Is that the only reason you’d want me to father your child?”
“Well, you’re hot, too. The most handsome contender.”
“Who are the other contenders?” A vein pulsed in his forehead. “They. Will. Die.”