Sloth

by L-J Baker

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Rain beat down against the windows of Luc's apartment, drowning out all other sound, as well as his own thoughts. It was exactly what he needed, peace within his mind. Over the past weeks, he'd lost a good friend, as well as several employees, and had his personal space violated more than once. He'd also had his closest friend abducted and had to worry if he would ever see her again. Then he had to go see his father, for the first time since he'd been banished from Heaven, and had to practically beg for his assistance to get her back.

  Even without the game going on, it would have been a trying time.

  With the game, it was enough to make even the strongest devil start to lose it.

  Talia was sin number four, sloth. She was broken in ways that Luc didn't like to think about. Any male that would take from a woman, what that asshole took from Talia, deserved the punishment he would receive in Hell. Luc almost looked forward to going back there to personally oversee the torture that would be inflicted upon her attacker.

  But he wasn't supposed to know what happened.

  He couldn't exactly tell her he'd spied on her with a magical mirror and seen most of the events that shaped her life. And she wasn't likely to talk about it with him, if she hadn't even told her own brother. She only barely trusted Luc enough to be alone with him. He doubted she would open up about her darkest secret in the next couple weeks.

  When they'd started the game, Luc thought four weeks was an eternity. He thought he would meet the girls and know almost immediately if they were his soul mate. Now of course, he knew better. Even a month wasn't long enough. Maybe six months wouldn't be. Or maybe it was just that none of the girls were the right one.

  If he could have a do-over, Luc would make the time with each girl longer. Six weeks? Two months? It had to be better than the short amount of days he had with them now. Maybe he would bring that up with Harley for the next sin. Since it was lust, that might not be such a bad idea. Soul mate or not, extra time with a lustful woman had to be a good thing.

  The doorbell rang, pulling Luc from his thoughts and the window. Anyone getting past the security team had to be pre-cleared, so whoever was out there could only be a small number of people. His siblings wouldn't have bothered with formalities and Harley would have banged on the door with her fist, if she bothered to knock at all. Opening the door, he was still surprised though.

  "Hi." Talia stood, soaking wet, with tears in her eyes, dripping in his doorway.

  Luc wanted to pull her into his arms, take away everything that had ever hurt her, but all he could do was invite her in.

  "What's wrong?" he asked, closing the door behind her. She didn't answer, so he went to grab her a towel from the bathroom. He offered it to her, but she didn't take it, so he used it to dry her off the best he could.

  Once she was a bit less drippy, Luc led her over to the couch and they sat. She still wasn't talking and Luc didn't want to rush her. It was harder than usual to keep from looking into her mind and seeing what it was that had her so upset. After the things she'd been through, Luc worried something awful happened.

  Talia leaned against Luc, resting her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and let her snuggle into him. After a long time, she looked up at him and spoke. "I'm sorry."

  "What for?"

  She pushed off him and sat back from him on the couch. "Coming here out of the blue, soaking wet. Oh, and you know, being crazy."

  "I don't think you're crazy and you can drip on my floors anytime you like."

  "Why are you so nice to me?"

  "Because we're friends."

  Luc wanted to say because he liked her, or because he thought they'd be great together, but he didn't. That wasn't what she needed to hear and it wasn't what she was ready for. She'd come there needing a friend, and as much as Luc wanted to see if they could have been more, he knew that was what he needed to give her.

  "I know you're probably going to think I'm a complete nut case, but can I stay here tonight?"

  "Of course." He wanted to ask her what happened again, but if she'd wanted to tell him, she would have. Instead, he got up and grabbed some sheets, a blanket, and pillow. "I'll take the couch. You can have my bed."

  "No, I couldn't. The couch is fine." She stood up so he could cover the couch with the sheet.

  "I insist. Besides, you look exhausted and I was going to watch some television for a bit."

  She couldn't argue with that.

  "Okay." She let him lead her to the bedroom and she sat down on the edge of his bed.

  "I have some t-shirts in the dresser if you need something to sleep in. Help yourself. If you need anything, just let me know." She nodded, so Luc left her to get settled. He didn't want to. He wanted to hold her until she fell asleep and tell her everything was going to be all right.

  But he didn't.

  He left her alone and went to settle in on the couch. There was a twinge of worry that Michael would pick that night to show up and make his move, but Luc pushed it from his mind. He texted Jason to let him know Talia would be staying, and to have extra personnel on hand, just in case.

  There was work Luc was planning on doing, but he wasn't about to leave Talia alone. Work could wait. He texted Harley, so she would know what was going on, and she said she'd take care of things. He had full faith in her ability to handle the club and paperwork for the night. Cupid was another story.

  The spoiled prick wasn't happy about being put in the basement. He was even less happy about having to share the space with the mage. Luc wasn't about to worry about that tonight. Talia was his priority for now. He would stay in the apartment with her until she left, whether or not she needed him.

  At some point, Luc dozed off. He woke to Talia climbing onto the couch with him and snuggling up against him. She didn't say a word and he didn't question it. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her and together they fell back to sleep.

  ***

  "Well, isn't this cozy."

  Talia forced her eyes open to find a woman, who looked to be Luc's twin, standing over her. She had the same jet black hair and emerald green eyes. She was also unnaturally good looking. There had to be something off about this family. No one could have this many children who looked like super models. Someone had to be the ugly duckling.

  There had to be some deal with a crossroads demon or something.

  "What are you doing here, Uriel?" Luc asked.

  Talia recalled the name. It was Luc's sister.

  "I was bored." She pushed her lip out in the same sexy pout that Luc had. It was hard not to be attracted to the woman. A brief thought of the two of them together, in a very compromising position with Talia, flashed through her mind. She pushed it away as fast as it came and rolled off the couch.

  Luc reached out for her, but she was out of his reach. "Hey, don't go."

  "Sorry, nature calls," she said and hurried to the bathroom. Really, she just wanted to get out of there.

  She wasn't even sure why she'd come to Luc last night to begin with. The thought of facing Ethan when he returned, was more than she was ready to handle. She needed somewhere safe to go, where she knew she could forget reality for a while and not deal with the things she wasn't ready to talk about.

  And Luc had given her exactly what she needed. Even when she'd climbed onto the couch with him, he didn't question it, or ask for more. He just made her feel safe, so she could get some much needed sleep.

  But now it was a new day. The harsh sunlight that filled the room reminded her that she couldn't escape from reality forever. She would have liked to stay in her bubble a bit longer, but Luc's sister got in the way of that.

  After using the bathroom, running a brush through her hair, and finger-brushing her teeth, she inched out of the bathroom and made her way back to the living room, fulling expecting Uriel to be standing there staring at her.

  She was gone.

  "Where did your sister go?"

  "I sent her away. What would yo
u like for breakfast?" Luc asked, from the kitchen with the fridge door open.

  "Nothing. I've imposed on you long enough." She realized she was standing there dressed only in Luc's over-sized t-shirt and her underwear, and wanted to melt into the floor. "I better get dressed."

  "Okay, but I'm not letting you leave without food, so think about what you want."

  Talia heard pans, and eggs cracking, while she threw on her clothes. They were mostly dry from the rain the night before, thankfully. After she was fully dressed, she went out to see what he was up to. It would have been less awkward to get out of there as fast as possible, but to be honest, she wasn't looking forward to facing Ethan either.

  One more hour wouldn't be so bad.

  "I was impatient," Luc said. "So I started an omelet, some pancakes, and sausages. If there's something else you'd like, I can throw that on too."

  "God no. This is plenty."

  "Leave him out of this. Now sit down and let me feed you."

  "Oh no. You have to at least let me help." She wasn't about to take no for an answer. If he was going to insist on being so amazing, the least she could do was flip a few pancakes, or wash out some bowls and pans.

  "All right then, grab a spatula." He pointed to the place where he kept the cooking utensils and she grabbed the closest one.

  Without asking what was wrong last night, or why she invaded his sleeping space, Luc put her to work with the breakfast. He kept to the omelet, dicing and chopping vegetables and sprinkling shredded cheese. He added a few spices, and when it was ready, flipped it in the air, perfectly.

  She wanted to ask him where he learned how to do that, or even how to cook so well at all, but talking meant he could also ask her questions, and she wasn't ready for that. So she pushed sausage links around one pan, and flipped over pancakes in another. She wasn't the amazing cook that Luc was, but she could handle a simple breakfast. She could even make a damn good lasagna when she wanted to.

  Once the food was ready, Luc plated it and set everything up at the table. It smelled amazing. She couldn't wait to dig in.

  "Does your brother know you're here?" Luc asked just as Talia was about to shovel egg into her mouth.

  "No?" She swallowed hard. No one knew where she was and she'd turned her phone off on her way over. She didn't want to deal with anything, but in escaping from all of it, she'd left the people closest to her with no way of knowing if she was all right.

  Luc frowned, but she didn't feel judged by it. He didn't need to judge her. She would beat herself up enough. She forked a piece of sausage into her mouth, but her taste buds didn't register.

  "Maybe I should text him now." She got up to find her phone. When she turned it on, she was bombarded by messages and missed calls. There were forty-seven from Sasha and fifteen from Ethan. Without reading any of the messages, she sent off a quick text to both saying she was safe and would be home later. Then she turned her phone off again. She owed them that much, but she couldn't deal with that mess just yet.

  "Everything okay?" Luc looked up as she slid back into her seat and stabbed a sausage with her fork.

  "It's fine."

  Luc pressed his lips together into a frown. He didn't push her and she was grateful.

  They ate together in silence for a few minutes, then Luc popped up to pour them both juice.

  "Orange okay?" he asked, handing the glass to her.

  "Perfect." She took the juice and sipped. Fresh squeezed she was sure. Not that she expected anything less from him. He was a top-quality kind of person, yet he never made her feel out of her league.

  "What movie are we watching later?" Luc returned to his seat and sliced a sausage into pieces.

  "Huh?"

  "Our not-date. You, me, dinner, and a movie? You pick the movie and I make burgers? Remember any of this?" Luc stuck his pinky into the whipped cream on her pancake and dabbed it on her nose.

  "Oh," she said, ignoring the whipped cream for a moment, then wiped it off on a napkin. "I'm not sure that's gonna work out. We should reschedule."

  "Nope. You're coming over." Luc finished his last slice of pancake and brought his dishes to the sink. "No take-backs."

  It might not be a bad idea to have an escape plan after she had to face her brother. He was going to be pissed that she didn't tell him about the assault. Even more, he was going to be livid that she disappeared all night after it and didn't even let him know she was okay. The more she thought about it, the more she thought it would be good to run back to Luc's place and hide from reality just a bit longer.

  Hell, she didn't want to go home at all.

  "Fine. As long as my brother doesn't kill me when I get home, I'll come back tonight."

  Luc kissed the top of her head. "I can't wait."

  ***

  Luc wasn't sure what he walked in on, but the whole Scooby Gang was there. Harley, Az, Uriel, Cupid, the security team, even the mage, sat around the velvet sofa in his VIP section of the club. He hadn't gotten an invite to the party, so he assumed he wasn't needed, but as soon as he tried to walk in the other direction, Az waved him over.

  "What's going on?" Luc settled in on a plump chair set apart from the others. He wasn't really in the mood to discuss business, or to find out any more bad news. Luc wasn't used to everything going wrong. He was used to getting his way and having a good time. These last few months were dragging him to a new place and he didn't like it there.

  "We were just discussing our wayward brother," Uriel said, dressed like she was going to a cocktail party at eleven in the morning.

  "What about him?" Luc feigned indifference.

  "The mage said someone was picking at her wards," Harley motioned over to the quiet woman, with her lip curled. Harley didn't try to hide her disgust of mages. It wasn't like there was a great track record between them and demons. Unless one forged an alliance and agreed to make weapons for them, demons usually avoided their kind.

  "What exactly does that mean?" Luc looked from Harley, to the mage, and back. He wasn't even sure what the small woman's name was. She almost never spoke and he'd only seen anyone refer to her as 'the mage'. It probably didn't thrill her to be treated like an object, but Luc couldn't be worried about her feelings just then.

  "It means, dear cousin," Cupid stood and puffed out his chest. "That Michael is trying to find a way in. Maybe not him personally, but indirectly if not."

  "And?" Luc made a bored yawn and blinked a few times at Cupid.

  "And what are you going to do to keep him out?" Cupid took an indignant stance and stared right at Luc.

  Luc shrugged. "I thought that's what your mage was for."

  He had to admit, he enjoyed pissing Cupid off. Luc wasn't thrilled that Michael was back at it. He'd hoped there would be more time, but knowing what was coming was a little better than being blindsided.

  "She has done her job," Cupid looked at her and she nodded. "But that may not be enough. We need a plan."

  "Okay. What is it?" Luc kept a straight face and watched Cupid turn a deep shade of red. He just made it way too easy.

  Just as Cupid was about ready to lunge at Luc, Az put his hand on Cupid's shoulder and brought him down a notch. "I think what Lucifer is trying to say, is that this isn't just his ass on the line. We're all here to help and we all need to come up with something."

  Luc wanted to tell the asshole that it was him that Michael wanted to slaughter, so he could come up with the plan, but Az's face kept him from having any more fun.

  "Fine." Luc stood and grabbed the bottle of whiskey from the table to pour himself a drink. "I'm open to ideas. What about you?" He nodded his head at the mage and she blinked a few times before speaking.

  "I have done my part." Her voice was small, but confident. Luc was sure that was all they would get from her. To make that point clear, she simply got up and left them there, heading in the direction of the basement.

  "And you?" He motioned to Uriel. "You're supposed to be a warrior, so what do you suggest?" />
  Uriel pursed her lips and ran one hand through her long, dark hair. "The fact that his location is cloaked means that we can't bring the fight to him, which is what I'd prefer to do. So we need to wait for him to bring it here. All we can do is be prepared when that happens."

  "I'll be prepared," Harley said, tightening her fists at her sides. She had the biggest reason to want to see pain come to Michael.

  After what he'd done to her, Harley definitely deserved first crack at him, but Luc wasn't thrilled with the idea. He'd gotten the jump on her already, and the thought of anything happening to her, was more than he could bear. Problem was, they needed all the help they could get. The Hell Tablet was too important to risk.

  "I think you're right, sister," Luc said. "But the problem is, that if we just sit around and wait for him to attack, he has the upper hand, and we're sitting ducks."

  "Not necessarily," Uriel said, bringing one hand up to inspect her nails, as if she wasn't already sure they were perfect. "Michael wants the Hell Tablet. He knows you have it in your safe, or I'm assuming that's the case since he is so bent on getting in there. So what if you moved it? Then even if he does get in, he will be utterly disappointed for his trouble."

  "Hell Tablet?" Cupid looked from one angel to the next, letting his eyes settle last on Luc. "That's not a myth?"

  All this time, Luc assumed Cupid had more information than he'd admitted to. He also assumed he knew what Michael was after. The confusion on his face though, told Luc something different. Cupid wasn't a good enough actor to fake that level of ignorance.

  "Of course not," Uriel said waving a hand at Cupid, like he was a dog begging for scraps at the dinner table.

  "Don't you think I've thought about where the safest place for the tablet would be? I've had the damned thing for six thousand years. It's been kept in a number of different locations and I feel this one is the best. Besides, moving it isn't an option. That would be the least secure thing to do." Luc drank down the remainder of his whiskey and slammed the glass down.