silent for a moment. "Her place." He ended the call.
I sat up. "Jerry, quit blocking your thoughts. I can't - " "I am only doing what you asked me to do. Putting aside my personal feelings and letting you have your life. I called a friend for you. Someone who can help." He sat beside me on the bed. His eyes were hot, his fists kept clenching and unclenching like he ached for a broadsword. Yet how could he fight the king of the Underworld? How could we?
I put my hands to my head. That question seemed to roll inside my brain endlessly. How do you fight a being so powerful, so impossibly evil? Just by being good? I could almost hear Lucifer's mocking laughter in my head at the thought.
The hall door opened and Jerry jumped to his feet. He strode to the living room and low voices kept me from hearing what he said. Then there was a crash.
I jumped up and wrapped one of the blankets around me. I staggered to the doorway and saw Rafe, his fist bleeding as he pulled it from a hole in the Sheetrock next to the hall door. He looked at me with bleak eyes.
"I thought . . ." I took a shaky breath.
"That we'd got into it again?" Rafe glanced at Jerry. "No, we have a common enemy now." He had a sheen of tears in his eyes as he walked toward me. "Damn me, but I'd have done anything to spare you this."
"I know, Rafe. Please don't blame yourself." I fell into his arms but kept my eyes on Jerry, sending him a message, thanking him. "Shit happens. Am I right?"
"Not this kind of shit." He said it into my wet hair and I felt a shudder go through him. "I will carry this guilt with me for the rest of my life."
I saw Jerry nod, as if this was right and proper. I couldn't get into that. Who understood the workings of hell or demons? But I knew now why Jerry had called a man he would rather I never touched again. I eased out of Rafe's arms.
"Give me some credit here. I actually stopped that creep from crossing the finish line and I bet all of hell has a nice lavender scent now. If they weren't afraid of getting sent down to test the latest torture device, the demons would probably be laughing it up at Luc's expense."
"Not much laughter down there, Glory. And you can't fool me." Rafe didn't crack a smile. "You're reeling. He invaded your privacy. Not crossing the finish line is a technicality. Blade and I figure the asshole's gone way too far. Way too far. This is war, baby, and we'll do whatever it takes to see that something like this never happens again."
"Now, Rafe, don't make me worry about you. Calm down. Let me get dressed. I need to call Simon and get moving on our plan. I've been stalling. Maybe we need more information." I managed a smile for both of them, though I was sure it was a poor effort. "Rafe, you must know something about Lucifer and the workings of that world. As Jerry would say, we need to know the enemy to defeat it."
"Exactly." Jerry stared at the hole in the Sheetrock. "Need to get someone to repair the wall. Gloriana's supposed to have company tomorrow night, Penny's parents." He glanced at me. "Unless you plan to cancel."
"No, got to do that." I sighed. "Business as usual. I can't let Lucifer think he got to me. And - " I looked down at the hardwood floor. "If you're listening, asshole, you're pathetic, needing to sneak up on women who don't want you." I shook my head, tears coming and not wanting the guys to see them. "Forget it. Taunting him is probably stupid. Am I right, Rafe?"
"Afraid so, Glo." He glanced at Jerry. "Go, blow your hair dry. Do something to make yourself look pretty. We can wait."
"Yeah, I'll do that." I smiled at Jerry, meaning it this time. "Good call, Jer. I like seeing you two work together." I gestured toward a black-and-white photo of Ray that hung in my shrine to him near my CD player. I'd set it up long before I'd met him, a total fangirl. Since it bugged Jerry and Rafe, it had stayed. "Move that over and cover up the hole while I'm getting dressed. It'll do for now." I staggered