“Hannah, we can go. We can leave now. Nobody is here to stop us. We’ll go straight back home and forget any of this ever happened.”
I shook my head. “I can’t do that.”
Brandy looked at me, her gaze steady as it met mine. “I’m going home to my mom and son as soon as I can. I have to. You understand, right?”
I leaned forward and threw my arms around her. “Of course, I do. I wouldn’t expect you to stay. I don’t even really want you to—this whole trip has been about getting you home safe. That’s all I want. We don’t even have to do this spa day if you want to go now.”
She shook her head. “No, Lucifer arranged a car to drive me back to Vista as soon as this is over. I can wait until then. Besides, I think I probably need the pampering. If I arrive at home looking like this, Mom will flip.”
The facialist soon came in and gave us a treatment that was more massage than anything, but both of us moaned our way through it, so we didn’t complain. When it was over, my skin felt like a baby’s and practically glowed. Brandy looked about a thousand times better too.
Next, we were fed a ridiculously huge, fancy lunch, which Brandy devoured. Then we hit the salon and had mani-pedis while the experts did whatever they wanted to our hair. We gave them permission to do their thing, and they managed to give us both luscious waves that made us look like we were about to walk onto a movie set.
After we’d had lunch and another round of appointments, the day came to an end much faster than I wanted. Brandy had to get back to her family, and I couldn't go with her, and that was fine. But I’d just found my best friend, and I didn’t want to say goodbye to her already. Plus she’d been my entire purpose for being in Vegas. With her gone, all I had was my deal with Lucifer. The thought made my pulse race.
Brandy and I stopped in front of a limo in the private parking garage and I pulled her into a fierce hug. Emotions flooded me—thankfulness that she was safe, pleasure that she was with me, and sorrow that she had to leave, even though it was what I wanted most in the world. “I’ll see you soon. I promise.”
She stared into my eyes. “I meant what I said. Just get in this car with me, and we can both leave.”
“I can’t. I promised Lucifer I’d be his for seven days and nights, and this is only day four. I owe him three more nights. I can hardly break a promise to the devil, can I?” My heart hammered with both lust and unease when an image of his face, all dark shadows and focused masculinity, flitted through my mind. Besides, there was obviously something strange happening with me, and I needed to know the truth.
“I don’t know,” Brandy said, eyeing me with brows furrowed. “You’re hung up on him somehow. Has he seduced you yet?”
Heat filled my cheeks. “We kissed. That’s it.”
She let out a hoot. “I knew it!”
“It’s nothing more than you and Asmodeus did!”
“That’s all well and good, and maybe you’ll get some good sex out of this, but be careful. Remember that these people are all about temptation. Guard your heart.” She shot the driver, who waited with the limo door open, a look and lowered her voice. “I’ve seen what they’re capable of, Hannah.”
I remembered last night, and how I’d cut down the gargoyles who’d come for me, and I swallowed hard. “I’ve seen some things too, but I’m handling it. Trust me.” I hugged her again. “Give my love to Jack and Donna.”
“Will do. Come home when you can.” She stepped back with a sad smile and then slipped into the limo. The driver shut the door, and the windows were tinted so dark the car seemed to swallow her up.
I waved as the limo pulled away, thinking about what she’d said.
She was right. I had to guard my heart. But with a man like Lucifer, was that even possible?
14
Hannah
I headed back to the penthouse, completely deflated after saying goodbye to Brandy. When I arrived, with Azazel at my side, I looked around feeling at a loss. The mess from the gargoyle attack had been cleaned up while I’d spent the day at the spa, and even the windows had already been replaced. It was like it never happened. There was no sign of Lucifer though, and I wasn’t sure what to do. I considered spending some time in the library, but in the end, exhaustion claimed me, and I headed to my room for an afternoon nap. Today was about sloth, after all.
Sleep came easily for a change, but it wasn’t peaceful. I woke up curled in a ball and wrapped tightly around a pillow, as I often did. Tense, with my muscles sore and stiff, like I’d spent the day in the gym rather than at the spa. And the dreams… I never remembered specifics, just fear and darkness, pain and death. Only snippets, but always violent and tinged with terror and grief.
This nap was no exception. I was fairly sure my inability to sleep peacefully had gotten worse since I met Lucifer. It was probably being out of my element, in a strange place and a deeply unsettling situation, but I longed
