by LJ Baker
Ronnie slumped down onto the floor and dropped her head into her hands. Everything was falling apart.
And it was all her fault.
***
“So I don’t have to go in for a lineup?” Ronnie stared at Azrael standing in her kitchen and stepped behind the island to keep some distance between them, without paying attention to what she was doing.
“Nope. Luc wanted me to let you know and to check on you.”
“Why didn’t he do it himself?” Ronnie absently twirled a bottle opener on the counter and avoided looking at Az.
He took a few steps closer and eyed the untouched glass of vodka on the counter. “He had some things to take care of. You want me to stay for a while? You look a little… unstable.”
Ronnie laughed. “Do I? I can’t imagine why that would be.”
Az frowned. “Maybe that wasn’t the best choice of words. I know you’ve had a hard time. Not that what you did was right, but—”
“Look, thanks for the message. I think I’ve got this from here.” Ronnie came out from her hiding place and ushered Az toward the door. “Next time just call.”
Az opened his mouth to talk, but Ronnie pushed him through the doorway and slammed the door shut before he could get the words out. Not for any particular reason, she didn’t like Az, and his feelings for her felt mutual. There was something about his perfect body and those blond curls that just irritated her.
It also irritated her that Luc had sent his brother, rather than check on her himself. It was completely irrational, of course. He was her boss, and had already done so much to help her, yet when she opened that door and saw Az, her mood fell even lower. And after the day she’d had, that was saying a lot.
Part of her wanted Luc to care enough to show up himself, to check on her. She wasn’t a child, and she could take care of herself, or at least she always thought she could. But tonight she just wanted to know there was someone else who cared enough to try.
That wasn’t exactly fair though. Lizzie had tried to take care of her. She’d tried to be what Ronnie needed, but she wasn’t. She wanted the unconditional love and protection that only her parents could give her. Liz, or Luc, and absolutely not Az, couldn’t give that to her. Nothing was going to make her feel better. Not that she even deserved to.
Ronnie should have been relived that she didn’t have to do the lineup. Nothing good could have come from that. But what if they had enough proof that it didn’t even matter? Maybe the reason why she didn’t have to do the lineup was something bad? They could have DNA evidence that tied her to the assault. Or they may have done the photo lineup like Luc was talking about. At that very moment, they could be waking up some judge to sign a warrant for her arrest.
It was only a matter of time. Tonight’s triumph was only a temporary reprieve. The arrest wasn’t going away. Not being called in for a lineup wasn’t her saving grace. So she had one more night of freedom. If anyone could call this freedom. Ronnie certainly didn’t.
Exhaustion blanketed her. It was almost suffocating. It also didn’t help that the silence in the house served as a constant reminder that her brother and sisters were gone. She was pretty sure it was the first time ever that the house had been that silent with someone home.
She just needed to get out of her head, to quiet the endless stream of negative thoughts in her mind. There were only two things that did that. One was fighting, which had gotten her into this mess in the first place. The other was an abundance of alcohol.
She headed back to the kitchen for the glass of vodka. It didn’t matter if it was a bad idea, or if Liz or Az didn’t approve. She was the queen of bad decisions lately. Or always. She definitely needed a drink and she was damn sure going to have one.
Or three.
Or five.
***
“You again? Don’t you have anything better to do these days, Az?”
Harley was drying glasses at the bar and preparing for the evening crowd at the club. Her distaste for his brother was starting to get Luc’s attention. Harley rarely went so out of her way to ensure someone knew that she didn’t like them. It was starting to get suspicious.
Az flashed her one of his dazzling smiles and winked. “You know you love me, baby.”
“Call me baby again and I’ll rip out your tongue and feed it to my pet viper.”
“You don’t have a pet viper.” Az laughed. “She doesn’t, does she?” He turned to Luc and the smile faded.
“She does actually.”
Luc left out the part about how she left it back in Hell and hadn’t actually seen the thing in a few years, but he had someone looking out for it in case she ever wanted to collect it. Pet snakes in Hell was kind of like pet dogs on Earth.
“Well I’ll have you know that Luc asked me to stop by.” Az motioned for a drink, but Harley ignored him. He cleared his throat a few times, then finally got up to go pour himself something.
“Is that so?” Harley stood blocking his way so Az had to stretch around her to reach the bottle he was going for.
“It is.” He’d said the words with conviction, but when Harley stood her ground, he shrank back a bit.
Luc sat back and waited until they’d finished their little dance then spoke. “So did you do as I asked?”
“I did. She was a mess and she wasn’t at all happy to see me.”
“Is anyone ever happy to see you?” Harley snorted.
“I’ll have you know, other than you, most people are quite thrilled to be in my presence.” Az puffed out his chest and straightened his back.
“Me and Ronnie Falcon, apparently.” Harley raised a brow and waited for Az to think of a comeback, but he either couldn’t, or had enough of her.
Az shook his head at Harley and came back around the bar to sit next to his brother. “I tried to stay, to keep her from circling the drain, but she kicked me out. Honestly, I think she was a bit annoyed that you didn’t stop by yourself.”
“Was she?” Luc shouldn’t have been surprised, but he was.
“Maybe you should go see her.”
“Maybe.”
Luc wanted to head right out the door that minute and go see her. It was like an itch deep under his skin that ached to be scratched. But he ignored it. Something about that level of need gave him pause. He would go to her. Clearly she needed someone and he wanted that someone to be him. But he wouldn’t go right away. He couldn’t, as much as he wanted to.
He just didn’t know why.
“There was one more thing I wanted to talk to you about.” Az looked uneasy, which was unusual for him.
“Okay.” Luc waited for Az to answer, but he didn’t. “Are you going to tell me what it is?”
“It’s about Cupid.”
“What about him?”
Az looked at Harley a few times, who was pretending to be busy with work and not paying attention to him, then continued. “He insisted on meeting with me.”
“About what? Azrael you really must spit it out. I have a number of things to do before the club opens and you’re taking forever here.”
“He seems to be insulted that you didn’t come to him for help with this whole true love thing.”
“Too bad for him,” Harley said without looking up.
“I don’t require that idiot’s assistance. Why does he even know what’s going on in my life. You didn’t mention it to him, did you?” Luc tensed. The last thing he needed was his business being spread around like schoolyard gossip.
“Of course I didn’t tell him, but you know he manages to find out everyone’s business, no matter how hard you try to keep it under wraps.”
“Well either way, I don’t really care if Cupid has his little feelings hurt. This doesn’t concern him.”
“Except that you know he can be vindictive when he feels slighted. And I think he was the one who alerted the police about the video that got Ronnie arrested.”
It had occurred to Luc that his idiot cousin might have been involved with that little bit of na
stiness, but he had no proof. In fact, when he hunted down the actual caller, he’d dropped the idea that Cupid was involved since it was the bodega owner who made the call. That didn’t exactly absolve Cupid, but since he’d taken care of the video, the thought had left his radar.
“Do you have any proof that he was involved?”
Az shook his head. “I don’t, but when we spoke, it seemed likely. He did deny it, but you know how deceiving he can be.”
“Kind of like you, Az.” Harley raised one brow and shot him a look that said I dare you to challenge me.
Az opened his mouth to speak, then closed it and turned back to Luc. “I got the feeling that he was going to be trouble, so you might want to be aware. Maybe you should give him a call back and make nice so he leaves you alone.”
“I’m not afraid of Cupid and I do not intend on calling him back at this time. Maybe when I get around to it, but I’m rather busy right now. As for him causing trouble, I’m not concerned. If he does any real damage, he will certainly regret it.”
Az shrugged. “Okay. If you’re sure.”
“I am.”
Az downed the last of his drink and headed out the door. Luc was glad he’d let him know what Cupid was up to, but it wasn’t high on his priority list right now.
He had more important things to tend to.
***
The house was dark and quiet. If he didn’t already know better, Luc would have thought no one was home. But he did know better. He could sense her inside, feel her slight intoxication through his powers. He pressed the doorbell and waited. When she didn’t answer, he pressed again, and again, until she stomped to the door and swung it open.
“What?”
Luc stood with a raised eyebrow, waiting for her to take a breath and realize who was standing in front of her.
“Sorry. I… it’s been a shitty day. Why are you here?”
“You didn’t show up for work.” Luc pushed passed her and found his way into her living room, where he made himself comfortable on the sofa.
Which of course, irritated her, but he didn’t mind.
He wasn’t about to let another day go by without checking in on her in person. He’d taken a few peeks through the mirror at her. It was enough to know that she needed some sort of intervention. She was falling further and further apart by the day.
“I pretty much assumed I was fired.” She stood in the doorway with her hand on her hip, in little girl’s penguin pajamas, which were entirely too small on her, and her hair a wild mess. Something about the sight of her forced emotions in Luc that he wasn’t quite used to. It was a strange mix of protection and lust. It wouldn’t be something he’d share with Harley.
“When I want to fire you, I will say so. You need to stop assuming that and show up for work when you are scheduled. Not coming in, is one way to lose your job.” Luc picked up the half empty bottle of cheap tequila from the coffee table and sniffed it. He winced.
“Well, maybe you should just go ahead and get it over with. I’ve been nothing but trouble anyway.”
Luc put the bottle down and walked over to Ronnie. “I know you’re having a hard time, but that’s no reason to fall apart. You need to get over the pity party and pull yourself together. I thought you were a fighter?”
“When I had something to fight for, sure.” She dropped her arms to her sides and sighed. “Without the kids, what does the job even matter? What does anything matter?"
Giving up did not look good on her and Luc fought the urge to tell her so.
“What if you just trusted me a little?” Luc lifted her chin in his hand to force her gaze upward. He wasn’t sure what he was getting himself into, but he wanted to help the girl more than he’d ever wanted to do anything in longer than he could remember. He would keep that to himself. He’d never hear the end of it if Azrael found out. And Harley, hell she would insist he was turning soft and call off the whole game.
“I don’t even know you.” Her dark eyes looked up at him and melted him just a bit.
“Start coming to work and we can remedy that.” Luc winked with his crooked half smile. It was enough to take Ronnie’s mind off the last few days, hell even the last six months, but she pushed off his charms and straightened her resolve.
“Why didn’t I have to do the lineup?”
“Because I’m amazing.”
Ronnie rolled her eyes. “Seriously. Are things worse than we thought? Did they find more evidence? DNA?”
“Nothing like that. I’m your lawyer. Have a little faith in me.”
Luc knew Ronnie didn’t put her faith in much anymore. Every time she did, it seemed that the rug was pulled out from under her. There were only so many times that she could go through that. But he got the feeling that there was something about her when they were together that made her want to try. Not because he was her lawyer, or her boss, or anything specific. There was something about the two that connected on some deep level and he could tell it scared the shit out of her.
Luc wasn’t sure he didn’t feel the same way.
And he was the God damned devil.
What did he have to be afraid of?
“Luc?” She looked up at him all lashes and uncertainty.
“Yes?” He hoped she wouldn’t ask him for anything. He would have given it to her in that one weak moment. Anything her heart desired, he would have found a way to make happen. That wasn’t playing by the rules. That was cheating and he wanted to do things the right way.
“Can you stay for a while?”
“I’m not sure that’s the best idea. You need to sleep and I’m afraid that if I stay, there won’t be much of that going on.”
She blinked a few times and he was sure she was fighting back tears.
“It’s just that the house is so quiet. It’s too hard to sleep without—” her voice hitched and she swallowed hard. “It’s just so quiet.”
Luc understood, and there was no way he could look at her like that, and deny her.
“Of course.”
Luc tossed the junk on the sofa to the floor and patted the cushion for her to join him. She snuggled up against him and immediately closed her eyes. He cheated just the tiniest bit and helped her find her way to a happy dream.
Once she was settled, he could have locked up and left her to enjoy the rest of her night, but he stayed. He told himself it would only be for a little while. And then he told himself that if he moved her, she might wake. Then he gave up on his excuses and just listened to her breathe until the sun started to rise.
As long as he snuck out before she woke up, no one would ever know.
Except for Luc himself.
Chapter Eleven
“How did you make out tonight?” Harley poured two shots of whiskey and pushed one at Ronnie as she counted her tips from the night.
“Better than last night, which was about twice as much as I expected.” She tipped the shot back and shoved the cash into her pocket, leaving a thick bulge in her jeans.
“It’s the uniforms, I swear. Those horn dogs see a little ass cheek and cleavage, and they will not only drain their wallets, but sell you their souls.” Harley winked at Luc as he joined them at the bar. “Literally.”
“Oh yes. It is amazing how little one can acquire a soul for these days.”
Ronnie watched Luc’s eyes swirl from green to black and she took a moment to lose herself in them. Over the last two days, she’d seen it happen a few times, and the effect was becoming less insane each time. It made no sense that his eyes changed like that, or that he seemed to know everything about everyone, whether he knew them or not, or that he had an effect on people that couldn’t be explained. There was something off about Luc, but she’d lost the motivation to figure it out. Just getting through the night at work was all she could handle.
“I guess from that bulge in your pocket, you’re happy to be back at work?” Luc let his eyes fall to her lap, but it wasn’t the wad of cash he was looking at.
“It ke
eps me busy. And I guess I’m going to need some money to pay for my big time lawyer if I want any chance of staying out of jail.” Ronnie elbowed Luc in the side and smiled. It was probably the first genuine smile she’d had since the morning she was pulled out of her house and had handcuffs slapped on her.
“Oh, you can’t afford me darling. So it’s a very good thing I won’t be charging you. Are you ready for court tomorrow?”
Ronnie downed the second shot Harley slid in front of her and shook her head. “No, but I guess I don’t have much choice about that.”
She was surprised they’d even gotten a court date so fast. Luc said he had connections and since they apparently didn’t have enough evidence, there really was no case left.
“We are petitioning to have the case dropped for lack of evidence. It’s not a big deal, so don’t be nervous. I’m good at what I do.” Luc winked and Ronnie’s face heated. There was little that Luc wasn’t good at it seemed.
“Well I better get home.” Ronnie got up to leave, but Luc grabbed her wrist.
“I’ll give you a ride. I don’t want you walking this time of night.”
She could handle herself. He was probably worried that she would strangle a homeless man, or knife a nun, or maybe even kick a few puppies into the gutter on the way. But the twinkle in his eyes when he looked at her like that was enough to make her nod her head in agreement.
Once they pulled into her driveway, the dark emptiness of the house looming above her was enough to make Ronnie want to be anywhere but there. Even though the kids would surely be asleep by that hour, knowing they weren’t there, that the house was completely empty, sent a chill down her spine.
Luc put the car in park and shut off the engine. “Want me to come in with you?”
“Yeah. Just for a minute, okay?”
Or maybe until morning.
Or until the house was filled with the incessant arguing and yelling of a pack of brats.
Luc was around the side of the car before she could gather her thoughts and opened the door, ushering her inside. Jen always left the light in the foyer on. She said it was so when Ronnie came in she wouldn’t trip over Freddy’s sneakers, because he always left them out. But Ronnie knew it was because Jen was afraid of the dark and liked the extra light.