Lucifer's Beginning (The Lucifer's Trilogy)

“Where is she?”

“She’s not my partner anymore. And I don’t know where she is. I’m telling you, man—”

In other words, he knows. “Call her. Tell her—”

“No,” he says. “Fuck no. I’m not getting involved. Let me drink my beer and eat my pizza. I only answered to say no.” He hangs up.

I curse and ball my fist. “Idiot,” I murmur, thinking he too could be on the hitlist, and Ana will never forgive me if he ends up dead. I text him: Listen to the message I left you, dickhead, before I tap Savage’s seat and say, “Drive,” praying I’m not too late to save Ana. And her dipshit partner, who claims to be her ex-partner.

CHAPTER FIVE

Lucifer

Darius is not going to open his door for me, of that, I’m sure.

Therefore, thirty minutes after that call where he hung up on me, we roll into Littleton, where he lives, which is basically just one of the many extensions of Denver. We have a plan in play. Adam, Mr. Master of Disguise, The Invisible Man when he wants to be, despite being six-foot-four and you’d think hard to miss, is our key player. He’ll pretend to be a food delivery guy at the wrong house. Savage is presently in the bushes near the porch. I’m on the right side of the house. Adam pulls the sedan into the driveway, climbs out, his baseball hat backward and a McDonald’s bag in his hand, compliments of a drive-thru as he heads for the front door.

Since I’ve been here before, and I know the lay of the land, this is my cue to head to the rear of the house with the intent to enter through the back door while Darius is dealing with a seemingly confused Adam. Since Darius is Mr. Bad Ass FBI agent and doesn’t think he needs a security system—which is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard, considering how many people he pisses off—breaking into his house should be the easiest part of this encounter. Once I’ve opened the screen door, I use a hand tool I carry with me, and bingo, the door is open. I slide it to the left and at the sound of an obvious scuffle going on inside, I tense. Damn it, I can’t be too late to save her. I refuse to accept that answer, but it makes sense that I’m not the only one thinking Ana’s partner, or ex-partner, or whatever the fuck he is, is the way to find her.

With my gun drawn, I charge through the kitchen and clear the doorway, adrenaline spiking with the sight before me. Ana is here, her long blonde hair tied at her nape, sitting on top of Adam, her gun pointed at his face.

Meanwhile, Savage has Darius on the ground, his foot on his chest, his gun pointed at his head. “You shoot, sweetheart,” Savage warns Ana, “I promise you, Darius won’t walk out of here alive.”

Ana’s green eyes meet mine, cutting and angry, and yet there is a charge in the air between us that is everything and somehow not a damn thing.

“You,” she hisses, her shock making it clear that she has not heard any of my messages. “What do you want?”

“Well, for starters, and even though seeing you straddle another man makes me want to shoot him more than you do, I’d rather you not. He’s here to help me save your life.”

CHAPTER SIX

Lucifer

“Saving my life was never what you were good at, Lucifer,” Ana says.

I flinch with that name on her tongue and all the reasons it became who I am to her. And she’s still straddling Adam, damn it, right across his hips. “Get off of him,” I order softly.

“That’s your brilliant plan?” Adam challenges, and while I can’t see his eyes and his intent, his fingers flex by his side, ready to move. “Handle her, or I will.”

“You’ll handle me?” Ana asks, laughing. “I have the gun, and I know how to handle it and you a whole lot better than you think I do.”

“I’m aware of your skills and your anger issues, sweetheart,” Adam replies. “And we both know I’m the wrong guy. You and Lucifer need to deal with your dirty laundry and do it now because some worse shit is headed our way any minute.”

The exchange is an opportunity I put to good use. Just that quick, I’m in front of her, eye to eye with the woman I loved and lost, kneeling at the top of Adam’s head. And she does exactly what I expect her to, shifting her weapon to target me instead. “Do not even think about getting closer.”

At this point, size matters, even if Ana doesn’t want to admit it. Adam is huge, and she is petite. He could overpower her and escape, but he doesn’t move. He’s waiting on the right moment, which Darius creates as he shouts, “I’m going to kill you, Lucifer, you bastard. You are the devil.”