Page 13 of Broken Obsession

Someone had entered their small convenience store and basically tortured them to death. At the time, police had called it a robbery gone wrong, but the case wrapped up after only a month or so with no suspects and only dead ends. By the end of the year, even the last officer who’d been working it had called it quits. They’d given up, and they expected Eden to understand and do the same.

Tolet it go.

He slammed the door to the restaurant with more force than necessary, the bell above the door jangling in protest. They were meeting at a popular place on the Upper East Side, and given the time, it was already bustling. His eyes scanned the first level, searching for a familiar face, but the moody lighting and the packed tables didn’t make it easy.

“Can I help you?” A hostess stepped forward, her smile clipped, no doubt because of his entrance.

Shit. It wasn’t fair to take out his frustrations on other people.

“I’m here for the Astral Realms Innovations party,” he replied, making sure to keep his tone friendly. He wouldn’t call himself a good person, not anymore, but he tried to at least be decent where he was able to.

Maybe he should have called the police about Galen Stone’s death. That definitely would have been the decent thing to do.

But he hadn’t.

And he didn’t want to.

So that was that.

Asshole had it coming if what Lucifer claimed was real anyway. If he’d just been playing with Eden all this time, sendinghim on a wild goose chase to protect some rich fucker in a penthouse.

“Right this way. They’re on the upper level.” The hostess turned and led him down a center aisle between packed tables to a stairwell set against the far right of the space.

The restaurant was colored in burgundies and blacks, with sleek surfaces and light orbs that floated dreamily around the ceiling. They cast various glows, some more vivid white, others yellowish or gold. A soft jazz tune played from hidden speakers set high on the walls, and laughter and the clinking of cutlery almost drowned it out.

This was the type of place people went to after work to unwind. The place one went to catch up with friends or enjoy an intimate meal with family. Warm. Inviting.

Wrong.

It reminded him too much of the things that he’d lost.

Maybe he’d check Enraptured later. Find someone willing to play with him and take his mind off things.

“Here you go, sir.” The hostess dipped into a small bow and held an arm out toward a long table at the back of the room.

“Eden!” Noon spotted him first and waved, the goofy grin on his face making it obvious he’d started drinking without him.

“Thank you.” Eden excused himself from the hostess and made his way over, scanning the table for an empty seat. There was only one, which happened to be on Noon’s right, so he assumed his friend had saved it for him. “Hey, sorry I’m late.”

“Ismay was about to blow a gasket,” Noon mumbled to him, turning so the woman at the end of the table couldn’t see his mouth.

A waitress appeared and asked for his drink order, and Eden got himself a hot coffee. He’d need the buzz to stay present tonight after losing out on the job. It wasn’t until she’d steppedaway that his head turned, and he realized he didn’t recognize the man seated at his elbow.

Eden opened his mouth to introduce himself, but the second their eyes met, his mind went completely blank.

Somehow, he’d found himself sitting next to an angel.

Or maybe it was a devil.

No,thedevil.

Only the real thing could invoke sex and sin at a mere glance.

Maybe the devil had finally come to drag him to the afterlife, where his family was waiting.

Angel or devil, it didn’t really matter.

The man at the head of the table was the most beautiful person Eden had ever seen.