He tried for a smile and failed. "Yeah, I get that. Don't think I don't appreciate what you've done. I hit a low. Falling off the stage may have knocked some sense into me." He glanced at Rafe, then pulled me into his arms. "Thanks, Glory girl, for everything." He gave me one of his "you can have all I've got" kisses and my knees buckled. He grinned, settled me into Penny's computer chair, and saluted Rafe as he walked to the door.
I watched him go, not sure it wasn't to his doom. God, if Caryon or Spyte decided to approach him themselves and offered a trade - soul for sunlight - what would happen? I didn't want to think about it. And then there was his drinking. He closed the door and I tore my gaze from it to Rafe. How many times had he watched a scene like that and felt left out of the mix?
I shoved myself to my feet and stumbled over to him. I collapsed on the couch and leaned against him.
"Rafe, hold me a minute? I swear I didn't feel a thing just then."
"You know, you could go to hell for lies like that."
Chapter Eleven
I didn't bother arguing with Rafe. When he was right, he was right. I just headed down the hall and scooped up a frantic Boogie who'd started clawing at Penny's bedroom door.
"I have fifty-three white rats in my apartment. I think I'm already in hell." I sat on the couch again and kept a firm grip on the cat, trying to soothe him.
"You're kidding." Rafe laughed. "I thought it reeked in here."
I punched his arm. "Penny related to the little things after the hilltop encounter with our demons. Now she's rescued the batch in her lab. Jerry's gone with her to get more cages." I sighed when Boogie finally relaxed and began to purr.
"I've been thinking about getting Simon away from his EV goddess. I sure hope he knows of a way to take her out, because gods and goddesses are notoriously hard to kill." Rafe tried to pet Boogie and was rewarded with a paw swipe that drew blood.
"But if anyone knows how it can be done, it would be the king himself. That's Simon. If he decides he wants to be free, maybe he can take Honoria out himself." I fought back my fangs as I inhaled the rich scent of Rafe's blood.
Rafe grinned and waved his bleeding hand close to my lips. "Go ahead, taste. I can see you're dying to."
"No, we're having a serious discussion."
"Which you can't concentrate on because you're staring at my blood." Rafe shook his head. "Go for it."
"What can I say? It's my thing. Thanks." I pulled his warm hand to my mouth and licked off the too few drops. "Now where were we?"
"I think this all hinges on whether Simon is willing to leave the EVs to have a relationship with his son." Rafe leaned back into his corner of the couch like feeling my tongue on his hand was no big deal. Oh, yeah? Fine. I stayed in my corner and kept Boogie happy rubbing his ears.
"Who wouldn't want to be close to a man like Freddy? He's smart, successful and handsome. Any father would be proud to call him son. Simon even offered him the post as his second in command." I realized that was a huge deal. There were others in the EV ranks who would have squawked about that if Freddy had accepted.
"All right then. But clearly the demons aren't going to be satisfied with just one soul. Shutting down that goddess should give Lucifer a shot at all the Energy Vampires."
"I get the heebie-jeebies just thinking about that hole in the ground with the strange noises."
"Yeah, well, I was hooked up to the legendary energy vacuum pump once. Not that I actually remember it. Just woke up with an empty stomach, what looked like a burn there, and Simon gloating over the fact that he'd just about drained me." Rafe glanced down at his hand. "Sorry it already quit bleeding. But if you want more, you can always bite me. Anytime, anywhere." He leaned closer and the cat hissed.
"I think the cat senses your former dog persona." I smiled, tired of worrying about Simon, demons, all of it. "Usually when someone says 'Bite me,' it's not a come-on." I shook my head. "Let's stick to business, Rafe. I'm with