Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 144404 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144404 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
“She used to say she was allergic to my feet,” Lee said with a grin.
“That was her go to when she didn’t want to deal with something she considered slimy or stinky,” Trent pointed out. “One time Rhys brought home a perfectly harmless garden snake, and you would be shocked how fast Liv Carey was allergic to snakes.”
The memory struck me, sending a sweetness through my system. Rhys had been so proud and wanted to show me his new friend. “He stuck it in my face. I was also allergic to worms and dirty diapers.”
“Though she changed her fair share of those,” Kelsey reminded me with a smile. “She was the best babysitter when we were in high school.”
I’d been the go-to sitter of our whole neighborhood. Kelsey would come by and sit with me after the kids were in bed, and we would talk and do our homework, and her brother Jamie would pick us up because I didn’t have a car. I’d had the biggest crush on Jamie when we were in high school. Not that I would have told her that. I will go to my grave before I admit it.
How long had it been since I’d gotten to sink into sweet emotion? Since it didn’t wreck me to think of the people I’d loved.
Love.
“Liv, you okay now?” Gray asked.
I was. The pressure that had started to build was gone again. They’d turned it away by getting me to think about something else. Something besides questioning the reality of the last dozen years. “Yeah.”
“Good, because we need to figure out what we’re going to do,” Kelsey began. “If you want to blow out Casey’s mouth, try the poppers. Eddie left all the parts that contain capsaicin oil because I crave it right now. The peppers were grown here on the Hell plane, so they’ve got quite a kick.”
“Or you could give peace a chance,” Casey said with a hint of desperation.
I picked up the pepper. It was way more fun to torture my husband than to think about the past. “Like Gray was saying, I think Tix is our best shot at getting some intel. Has anyone besides Tix met Lilith?”
Gray’s head shook. “I haven’t. She keeps a pretty low profile. She’s got sons all over the power structure here on the Hell plane, but she’s not seen much in politics.”
“Seen being the operative word.” Casey’s eyes were still on that popper in my hands. I put it back down, and he seemed relieved. “There have always been rumors that Lilith influences her sons and has a lot to do with the demons who would prefer another leader than Lucifer.”
He’d relaxed his guard and was in his happy place, telling us all the stuff that big brain of his knows. So I bit off half that popper.
I had immediate regret followed by sheer joy because Casey actually hit his knees.
“Please drink some milk,” he begged.
Kelsey’s eyes rolled. “Don’t be a baby. They’re delicious. Right, Liv?”
Well, revenge was. I didn’t know about the popper because my mouth was on fire, and I had to focus to not cry.
“I hope I don’t have this power.” Lee was watching in horror. “Think about it, Fen. If you could taste what Evan eats, you would have to eat kale.”
“It wouldn’t hurt him to eat a vegetable,” Evan groused.
“Yeah, it would if it was kale,” Fen replied.
“Please don’t eat kale.” Casey sounded like his whiny, man-baby self from years before.
I’d kind of liked taking care of him. It only worked because he was the type of boyfriend who got up before me to make coffee he couldn’t drink.
Wait. Something hit me in that moment. Something I hadn’t thought of before.
“You don’t like coffee.” I stared at him for a minute. He’d talked about how his morning drink had been caffeinated cola because he didn’t like coffee or tea. Yet he’d made both for me on a regular basis.
“I don’t.” He spoke slowly, like every word bought him a couple of seconds before I blew out his taste buds with satanic sauce. “I hate it, but I got used to it.”
“But you made it for me every morning and never told me you hated it.” At the time I certainly hadn’t known he could taste what I ate.
“Because you love it, so I love it, too. Not for the taste. It tastes like someone wiped satan’s butthole and brewed it down,” he began.
“It does not,” Evan argued.
“Hey, girl who thinks cilantro tastes like soap,” Casey pointed her way. “We all have our DNA challenges. I can’t stand the taste of coffee, though I quite like the smell. But what really made me happy was how Liv would put her hands around the mug like it warmed her. She would smell it and get this sweet smile on her face, and then she would take that first sip and I would kind of grit my teeth but then I could tell how much she loved it. And I loved her. It’s funny. I always wished my dad and mom had been more demonstrative. They weren’t the kind to kiss in public or to say I love you a lot. But my dad always made sure she had a glass of wine waiting if he got home before she did, and she watched his favorite shows with him even though I know she didn’t like much TV. But he needed someone to talk to. Is it dumb that I can’t stop thinking about what Lucifer said about them?”