been pissed off by the insult that she thought this would be enough to take me down.
“Oh, Lilith,” I called, whistling as I began my search of the lower level.
I was banking on her penchant for entertainment. She’d want to punish me by making me watch Damien die rather than have me walk in to find him already dead. It was her fatal flaw—her need for attention.
“Come on, darling,” I said, peeking into the administrative area behind the reception desks and finding it empty. “I thought we had a date?”
A muffled grunt met my commentary, causing me to grin. Thanks, Damien, I thought at him, following the sound. He always did find me amusing, or at least, that was how I interpreted his reaction.
“Why are you playing hard to get?” I asked, entering the restaurant. Lilith stood near the center of the room beneath the unlit chandelier. Damien sat in a chair beside her, bound and gagged and missing an eye.
They were otherwise alone, implying she thought this would be enough to bring me to my knees.
Or perhaps she had reinforcements coming.
That would explain her prolonged silence.
“Have you completely lost your mind?” she demanded, arching a perfect blonde brow. It sort of matched the rest of her—all glorious perfection in an exquisite white gown. She capped off the purity act with a battle-axe in her right hand, really driving home the whole avenging angel facade.
“I’m not sure it’s wise for you to question the sanity of others, Lilith,” I said conversationally. “I mean, you did lead a revolution to enslave the human race, all to what? Avenge your Michael?”
She growled. “Do not speak his name.”
I looked around. “Oh, if I say it three times, will it make him appear?” I asked in a conspiratorial whisper. “Or is that another old wives’ tale? I’ve mixed them up over the millennia. I think a mirror is required?”
“You dare make jokes about my loss?”
“Forgive me,” I drawled. “I tend to make light of situations that piss me off. Such as you removing the eye from my progeny. Is that supposed to be a metaphor? An eye for an eye? Because I’ll be needing your eye now as payment.”
She tapped the battle-axe against her ankle, a sign her patience was beginning to run out.
“You’re stalling,” I observed. “Are we expecting company?” I wasn’t naive enough to think it would be this easy. While her ego served as a serious weakness in her decision-making, she wouldn’t leave herself this vulnerable without a purpose.
Of course, I held two guns and had a third on a belt.
So maybe it was that easy.
All I had to do was lift and aim.
Which I did now. “Will they save you in time, Lilith?” I asked her, no longer smiling. Because unlike her, I didn’t believe in long, drawn-out shows of amusement. I preferred action and death.
“You won’t shoot me, Ryder,” she said, sounding bored.
“I won’t?”
“You can’t.”
Her tone implied such confidence that I almost wondered if she knew something I didn’t about my weapons. Which was utter insanity. I’d just used them to take down her pitiful excuse for an army.
My mind whirred with quick math.
And yeah, I had plenty of ammunition left to send a few bullets into her skull.
“Pretty sure I can, Lilith,” I informed her.
She shook her head as though sad. “I had no idea you’d grown so delusional over the years. I should have come to check on you. Old age can really alter the mind.”
This nutcase was calling me delusional? I almost didn’t even know what to say.
She pulled out her phone then and set the battle-axe against Damien’s leg. Within seconds, the power returned, flickering to life and momentarily blinding my senses. But it wasn’t enough to derail my focus. My aim didn’t waver, my suspicion mounting.
“We’ll need to record this for the trial,” she explained conversationally.
“Trial?”
“Yes, your upcoming trial,” she replied, her attention on her phone. “You’re clearly unfit to lead, and after your display of disobedience tonight, I’ll also be moving to have you terminated.”
My eyebrows shot up, and a laugh left my throat. “Terminated?”
“You’re a danger to our society, Ryder,” she said, her tone severe. “You’ve slaughtered countless members of our kind over your very short tenure, and now you’re pointing a gun at my head as though you have the authority to shoot me.” She tsked sadly. “I take part of the responsibility for this. It’s clear to me now that I never should have left you alone.”