“Do tell.” A flash of glee crossed fake Axel’s face. “I’m certain I can help.”
She looked to William, as if seeking permission to proceed. But he knew his unicorn, knew she wanted a sign that he would cooperate with whatever plan she’d cooked up.
As he peered into those gorgeous eyes, something swelled inside his chest. Time and time again this fierce female had proven herself capable of anything, but her safety came first. “You have plans with Pandora, remember? You go, and I’ll fill him in.” With his gaze, he told her, Do not cross me on this, woman.
With her gaze, she replied, Silly Willy. You’ve already been crossed. “Did I forget to tell you Pandora and I delayed our plans?” She patted his cheek, smiled another sugary sweet smile and motioned to the kitchen. “Let’s talk at the table, shall we?”
Damn her. At least she’d chosen the perfect spot. William had a semiautomatic mystically hidden beneath the tabletop.
He escorted his unicorn there, never giving Lucifer his back, or revealing the blade concealed against his forearm. When he offered Sunny the corner chair, she shook her head and motioned for him to sit.
Rather than argue, he bit his tongue and eased down. “So gallant,” he muttered.
She remained behind him, her hands resting on his shoulders.
Lucifer chuckled and eased into the seat across from William. “How domesticated you’ve become.”
A dig meant to infuriate him? Too bad. He liked his arrangement with Sunny. But he didn’t want the bastard to know what she’d come to mean to him.
He wagged his brows and flashed a lascivious grin. “You don’t know what you’re missing. My stable mistress might be a lowly witch with little magic—” to explain anything mystical she might do “—but she makes up for her many shortcomings with tons of head. Isn’t that right, snookums?”
She shocked the shit out of him; she leaned down to kiss his cheek. “So right, boo boo bear. It’s all in the fingers. Massage a man’s scalp with enough pressure, and he’ll be putty in your hands.”
Smart-ass. Do not smile.
“Now, this head-massage-loving nymphomaniac is going to make hot cocoa. Who wants some?” She skipped to the kitchenette to prepare drinks. With poison? William had no idea what she planned, and the mystery intrigued him.
Morning light streamed through the window, illuminating “Axel,” revealing hard, harsh eyes that did not belong to his brother. Sunny was right; he knew it beyond any doubt now.
Somehow, William found the strength to evaluate his options and not strike. If Lucifer had Axel...
Should he bargain? No way. He couldn’t trust Lucifer to keep his word. Battle? No. What if Sunny got caught in the crosshairs? Magic? Lucifer had his own, and it was stronger than William’s. The only option left? Trickery.
“Go ahead and tell us your plan, sugar tush,” he told Sunny. “The suspense is killing us.”
“Okay. Check it.” She puttered around, gathering the proper ingredients. “We all know Lucifer is a piece of garbage, right? Like, a real steaming pile of poo.”
Had the male stiffened ever so slightly, a hint of malevolence flashing in his irises? Jubilant, William said, “Yes. Garbage.” With one hand, he clasped the semiautomatic under the table. With the other, he readied the knife. “We all know. Everyone knows.”
Lucifer’s next smile sparkled a little less. “Everyone knows,” he parroted. “Oh. Before I forget. Lucifer told you the witch, Lilith, still lives. I’ve heard a rumor that he plans to use her against you somehow.”
Ah. Here it was, the attempt to send William into a frenzy of panic. “I’m not worried,” he said, and Lucifer narrowed his eyes. “My codebreaker solved the mystery of the book. The curse is broken already.”
Brittle smile. “How exciting.”
Lucifer’s shock was headier than ambrosia.
No footsteps sounded as Sunny returned to the table, two cups of cocoa in hand. She placed one in front of William, then moved around the table, headed for Lucifer.
William stifled a denial, head, his muscles knotting with sudden, intense strain. He didn’t want his woman near the fucking devil.
The other male noticed his upset, and he realized the truth—William knew his true identity. No more waiting, then. Time to strike.
William hammered at the gun’s trigger. Boom, boom, boom!
Lucifer had been in the process of standing, the bullets nailing his thigh. He grunted, but didn’t collapse.
A smiling Sunny tossed the steaming chocolate in Lucifer’s face. As he roared with pain and rage, she revealed the blade hidden against her arm and stabbed him in the throat. Once, twice, thrice, her motions fast as lightning. No hesitation, just pure aggression.
As a spray arced over the table from Lucifer’s jugular, she spun behind him and stabbed his brain stem. Lucifer gasped for breath and finally collapsed. She skidded to the floor and hacked at his neck to remove his head.
When she finished, she laughed happily and held up the bloody blade like a gold medal. “I did it! I won!”
William watched, held immobile by shock and awe. She truly had—familiar male laughter rang out. Though Lucifer’s headless body remained on the floor, a second, very alive Lucifer stepped out of thin air, coming up behind Sunny to place a knife at her throat.
No, no, this can’t be happening. Panic crashed over William in icy waves, blood rushing from his head. A loud ring tolled in his ears. He’d thought Lucifer had shape-shifted into Axel, but he’d actually created an illusion of Axel and an illusion of invisibility over himself. No doubt he’d entered the home behind his illusion.
William should have known better; he should have expected this.
Just get to Sunny! Nearing a frantic state, he leaped up. His breaths came hard and fast. He used the table as a step stool, dropping down in front of Sunny. Her eyes were wide, her skin once again devoid of color. The stable grew deadly quiet, Dawn no longer barking. Why?
“That’s close enough.” Lucifer released a gleeful laugh. “I must say, you gave a good effort, brother. Just not good enough.”
Red dotted his vision, fury melding with a surge of protectiveness. Get to Sunny, damn it. He thinks to take her from me. No one takes her from me!
Careful. Must stay calm. Must stall. William grated, “The same could be said for your disguise, asshole.”
“Ah, yes. You did figure out my ruse faster than I assumed. What gave me away?”
“Axel isn’t a piece of shit.”
The laughter stopped. Lucifer grated, “Be a lamb and bring me your book, brother, nice and slow, or I kill your woman, nice and quick. And don’t bother trying to convince me your curse is broken. I recognize a lie when I hear one.”
Give up his book? His only hope for a life worth living? A future with Sunny. No! But would he have a future with Sunny if she died? No, again. Shit! What other options did he have?
“Ticktock,” Lucifer said. “Make a decision before I make it for you.”
“William,” Sunny whispered. Her voice trembled, tears welling in her eyes, wetting her lashes. “I’m so sorry.”
She cries? It wasn’t fear he saw in her irises, he realized, but disappointment. She cries because she thinks she di
sappointed me. A savage roar left William, shaking the stable.
The little darling. He’d never been prouder of her.
“Now, now, brother,” Lucifer said, smug. “She’s only a mistress, yes? When she’s dead, you can get a new one.”
“You will not harm her!” he bellowed.
“Oh, but I will. Gladly. You slaughtered a contingent of my demons. For that, you will lose your most treasured possession. The book, and perhaps the woman.” Lucifer pushed the tip of the blade deeper, a drop of shimmery blood trickling down the vulnerable column of her throat. “I’ll be applying more pressure every minute. Within two, I’ll reach her carotid.” He lowered his head to run her earlobe between his teeth, smiling when she jerked her head to the side. “I know why you keep her here.”
His stomach flipped. Reveal nothing. “Do tell.”
“She is your decoder, and a unicorn. So, I can kill her, then take her horn, or take the horn and leave her alive. The choice is yours, and time is running out.”
The panic redoubled, choking him. Yet it was nearly overshadowed by his need to lash out, to kill, to bathe in this man’s blood. Sunny, without her magic...
When she’d told him about other unicorns who’d lost their horns, her mournful tone had suggested they were better off dead. Now true fear etched her features, the mere possibility nearly breaking her.
Sweat beaded on William’s brow. His heart hammered, racing faster. Growls reverberated low in his chest—so much for revealing nothing—he grated, “If you do it, if you harm her—”
“You’ll make me pay?” Lucifer finished, faking a pout. “Not that. Anything but that.” He pushed the knife deeper. “Funny how you went from telling me I wouldn’t harm her to practically begging me to refrain. Tsk-tsk. So weak. And nearly too late. The clock will soon run out.” He grinned, smug. “Only one more minute to go.”
“William,” she repeated, the tremors in her voice so much worse. “It’s okay. I’ll shift for him and give him the horn.”