“I’d rather not, but if you make one move toward her, I’m more than willing to find out when I tear your wings off,” Zayne warned.

My eyes widened.

Lucifer let out another dark chuckle. “Cocky. I kind of like it.”

“That’s not really a good thing,” Roth commented from the sidelines. “He likes to collect things he likes.”

“And put them in cages,” Lucifer confirmed, and what the Hell was up with the whole putting things in cages obsession? “You didn’t tell me there was a Fallen involved, Prince.”

“I didn’t know there was one,” he replied as I peeked around one of Zayne’s wings. Lucifer was still eyeballing Zayne like he wanted to have him for dinner. “This is the Warden we were telling you about. The one Gabriel killed.”

“Aha, so you were given back your Glory. Restored to righteousness, but you Fell. For her.” Lucifer’s head snapped to his left, and those glowing red eyes met mine. “Peek-a-boo, I see you.”

I shivered. “Hi?”

He dipped his chin, smiling. “How is your dear old father? Haven’t seen him in a spell.”

“I really don’t know.” I stepped to the side and under Zayne’s wing. He cursed, but I ignored it. “He’s kind of an absentee father.”

“Well, don’t we have that in common?” Lucifer’s gaze shifted to Zayne. “And don’t you and I have things in common? But I still have my Glory, Fallen. Step to me, and I’ll have you in chains fashioned from your own bones, and your nephilim at my side and in my bed.”

Zayne tensed beside me as grace surged, overriding my already limited common sense. I took a step forward as the corners of my vision turned white. “If you touch a hair on his head, I’ll cut off what you think you’re going to use in that bed and force-feed it to you.”

Lucifer’s brows shot up as his smile grew. “Now, you shouldn’t flirt with me so obviously in front of your boy. That may hurt his feelings.”

“Boy?” The growl that came from Zayne reminded me of something a very large, very predatory animal would make.

“Guys,” Roth sighed. “Can we not do this? You both have big wings and all three of you have a whole lot of grace. Zayne isn’t going to step to you. Lucifer isn’t going to hurt Zayne, and, Trinity, you’re not cutting off any unmentionable pieces,” he said. “And can I also not be the voice of reason? I don’t like it. At all.”

“I kind of like it,” Layla said. “It’s a nice change.”

“I so wish I was there to see this,” Cayman’s voice came through the phone. “All of this sounds really hot, but it’s me time.”

“What in the Hell are you still doing on the phone?” I snapped.

“Living my life,” Cayman shot back. “Don’t judge me—”

Zayne disconnected the call, and I felt his wings lower behind me. “I wasn’t a part of this decision that brought you here. I’m sure we’re all going to regret it.”

“Probably.” Lucifer smirked.

“But Roth seems to think you can help us defeat Gabriel,” Zayne continued, his voice as thin as his patience. “If you’re here to do that, I don’t have a problem with you, but you come at her—”

“You’re going to hurt me?” Lucifer pouted. “Real bad? Make me go ouchie?”

“She’s going to hurt you real bad,” Zayne warned. “And I’m going to stand by and laugh as she does.”

“Just so you know, Zayne,” I said. “If we were alone and possibly not about to throw down with a naked Lucifer, I would so be all over you right now.”

“There’s always later,” Zayne told me. “And there will be a later.”

I smiled.

Lucifer eyed both of us for several moments, and then I swore he rolled his eyes. “Love,” he spat, the blue returning to his eyes. “How quaint. I hope you all are at least somewhat less sickening than these two.”

Sensing that the immediate threat of Lucifer stripping the skin from our bones had eased, I reined in my grace. Zayne’s wings were still out, though, spread wide behind me. “Did you send demons after me?”

“What?” Roth demanded.

“Ghouls and an Upper Level demon came for Trinity,” Zayne answered. “They’re dead now.”

“That’s a shame,” Lucifer murmured in possibly the most disingenuous tone imaginable. “I learned of what Gabriel planned before my latest and greatest disappointment showed up.”

“Wow,” Roth muttered.

“Bael was acting sketchy for a while now,” Lucifer explained, and my brows lifted. Sketchy? “So, I got curious and put some feelers out. Didn’t take long to learn what the whiniest of all my brothers planned. I knew I had to do something to stop him.”

Surprise flickered through me. “You already wanted to stop Gabriel?” I glanced at Roth and Layla. “Before they even spoke to you.”

“You’re surprised?” Lucifer glanced back at them. “She thinks I wanted to help mankind, doesn’t she?”

“She doesn’t know you like I do,” Roth replied.

“How cute.” Lucifer laughed as he refocused on me. “Make no mistake, I don’t give a flying shit about mankind or Heaven, but there are rules. Agreements. Ones that even I follow. What Gabriel plans to do upsets the balance, and that is one of two things I cannot allow.”

“What is the other thing?” I asked even though I knew I probably shouldn’t have.

“Bael or Gabriel upstaging him,” Layla supplied.