Jenna Black - Speak of the Devil

“That’s possible, I suppose. But it wouldn’t hurt to see if we can find out where the burning need to sue is coming from now. Maybe if we do that, we’ll find Abraham.”

“Okay,” I agreed. “I’ll give Laura a call. She might be willing to let me know if there’s someone other than her father pushing the case.” I frowned. “Of course, even if it is Maguire, Abraham could have chosen him as his next host.”

Saul seemed to roll that one around in his head for a moment. “I think that’s unlikely. We’ve already seen how careless he is with his hosts. If he takes Maguire then ends up forced to abandon him for one reason or another, the case will die. I’m sure he’d rather be on the periphery, where he can afford to move from host to host with ease.”

And wasn’t that just a cheerful thought? I was really looking forward to consigning the bastard to an eternity of imprisonment in the Demon Realm.

“So,” I said, trying to sound casual, “Barbie seems to be coming over a lot.” I glanced at Saul from under my lashes as I took a sip of soup.

His lips curled into a half smile. “Yeah,” he said, and his voice was dreamy.

“Did you warn her you’re on the rebound?”

The smile dimmed, and he didn’t answer.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, then shoved a cracker into my mouth to keep it occupied.

“I really like her,” Saul said quietly.

“I can tell. But speaking as someone who’s learned it the hard way, it’s hard to keep a relationship going for very long without honesty, and you can never be even close to honest with her.”

I’m not sure if I was trying to protect Barbie or Saul. Maybe both. It seemed to me someone was bound to get hurt.

“Maybe a little honesty wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

Yeah, she had him wrapped around her little finger all right. “Remember, she started out working for the bad guys. It would be stupid to trust her.”

“I guess I’m stupid, then.”

“Saul—”

“I haven’t told her any state secrets,” he interrupted. “I’m not going to jeopardize Lugh for a woman I’ve known for only a handful of days. But my gut tells me she’s trustworthy.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Are you sure that’s your gut talking?”

He gave me a dirty look. “Do you realize that when Hillerman died, her paycheck died with him? He was paying her in installments, and she only ever got the down payment. She’ll probably get the rest he owed her eventually, but not until the estate gets around to settling his debts, which could take months.”

“And this is relevant why?”

“Because she’s spending practically all her time doing this pro bono work for you and Adam, which means she doesn’t have time for her paying clients. I’d say that’s a good indicator that she’s dedicated to the cause.”

I shrugged. “And I’d say it’s a good indicator Adam is still threatening her with jail time if she doesn’t cooperate.”

Saul made an unpleasant growling sound in the back of his throat. He sneered, an expression I’d never seen on his face before. “You sound just like Raphael.”

I knew he meant that to be a dire insult, but it fell short of the mark. “Every once in a while, he says something I agree with. This is one of those times. Have your little fling if you must, but keep your mouth shut.”

He bristled. “I don’t take orders from you, and I certainly don’t need your permission to see Barbara.”

“But you do take orders from Lugh, don’t you?”

His hands were clenched into fists, and his face was dark with anger. “So is Lugh forbidding me to see her?”

“What about it, Lugh?” I asked, and Saul and I both fell silent as we waited for his answer.

I heard Lugh’s sigh in my head. I think it best for everyone if he refrains from romantic entanglements for the time being . He sounded regretful, but firm.

I made a sympathetic face at Saul. “Sorry, but he agrees with me.”

Saul pushed away from the table. “I don’t believe you. You’re just saying that because you know I can’t check with Lugh directly.”

Unfortunately, I had no way to refute his claim. I didn’t dare let Lugh into control for even a moment. Just the thought made me shudder and made my still-aching head throb harder.

“You’re well enough to take care of your own damn self now,” he said. “Adam said he should have my new identity all squared away in a couple of days, so I’m going to go apartment hunting. See you later.”

He was still mad as hell—though possibly more because he knew he was in the wrong than anything else—but I doubted anything I said to him would make him feel any better. So I bit my tongue as Saul slammed the door behind him on his way out.

Some bodyguard he turned out to be , I thought at Lugh, but he didn’t answer.

After Saul left, I sat on the couch, meaning to call Laura. My head was a little woozy, so I decided I’d better do it lying down. I closed my eyes, intending to gather my strength for the ordeal of dialing.

When I woke up, I don’t know how much later, I wasn’t alone in the apartment anymore. Saul had returned with Adam and Dominic in tow. The three of them were talking quietly in the kitchen, huddled together. Trying not to wake me, I guess.

My head felt significantly better, so I tried slowly pushing myself up into a sitting position. I didn’t puke or pass out. It was almost enough to make me do a little happy dance. My stomach growled noisily, attracting the guys’ attention. Adam and Dom hurried to the living room to see how I was doing, while Saul, apparently still sulking, hung back.

“Feeling better, love?” Adam asked. I might almost have thought he cared about me, except he followed up with, “You look like death that still needs more warming over.”

Dom punched him in the arm. “Be nice.”

Adam made an innocent “Who, me?” face. Instead of being irritated, I actually laughed. The easygoing affection between Adam and Dom always brought a smile to my face, though my smile wilted when I remembered the state of my own love life. I wasn’t ready to give up on Brian yet—even if he was ready to give up on me—but I didn’t have the mental energy to figure out how to solve that problem in the midst of all the others.

“Saul tells me you’ve had broth and crackers,” Dom said. “Do you think you’re up to some more solid food?”

My stomach howled its opinion.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Dom said, then headed for the kitchen. “I’ll heat up some of that soup I brought for you.”

“Thanks,” I called after him.

Adam remained in the living room, slouching on the love seat nearby. “I talked to Laura Maguire about an hour ago,” he said.

“Oh.” So much for my hopes of making myself useful. “Did you find out anything that might be of interest?”

“Maybe. She wasn’t sure, but she thought Jessica Miles was starting to bug Maguire about the lawsuit. Something about how he shouldn’t abandon the suit, for his granddaughter’s sake.”

I remembered that Jordan Junior and Jessica had had a child together. Somehow, I’d forgotten all about that. “So you think Abraham has taken Jessica for his host?”

Adam shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe. But based on her history, she’s not exactly an angel. She could just be pushing it because she somehow thinks she’ll get money out of it.”

“Well, it’s the best possibility we have, isn’t it?”

He huffed out a sigh. “I suppose.”

“So when I get a little better, Raphael and I will try to get our hands on Jessica and hope it goes better than when we went after David Keller.”