Page 5 of Falling for Lucifer

“ L il nigga, you need to slow the hell down before my size fourteen foot goes upside ya head.”

Hade’s booming voice startled Dante so badly he tripped and fell right on the hardwood floor of the dining room.

Eris hopped up while Cade’s shoulders shook with laughter.

“Hades, cut it out. You’re always startling my baby,” Eris complained as she helped Dante stand up.

He was a tough boy who didn’t cry much, not even when it came to his uncle Hades.

He did, however, mean mug Hades as he slowly walked out of the dining room to go play with his Switch in the living room, no doubt.

Lucifer shook his head and shoved a heaping forkful of sweet potatoes into his mouth.

Family time was always chaotic, but Lucifer loved it.

All he had was his family, and if it wasn’t for them, he probably wouldn’t have much of a social life.

It wasn’t that he disliked people. He just grew up with a strange family dynamic.

His father had two faces. He always ran in the political circles in Ellwood and served as a judge for many years.

He could charm the panties off a nun and make a crook look like a saint.

When he got home, he had a problem keeping his hands to himself though.

His mother and Hades were always on the other end of his fists.

The two of them worked overtime to keep his father from turning his rage toward him and his sister.

It was always a big family secret that caused Hades, Lucifer, and Eris to stick to themselves.

When their mother killed herself when Lucifer was only fifteen, Hades immediately took them away from their father and made sure they wanted for nothing.

He and Lucifer started slanging dope, and within a year, Hades was able to buy them a big ass house—the very house they currently occupied for their family dinner.

They didn’t stay in the game long. They made enough money to open Underworld Customs. It was their custom motorcycle shop that doubled as headquarters for The Obsidian Riders, which was the motorcycle club Hades founded. They never looked back on the street life after that.

Lucifer helped Hades work on bikes from time to time, but mostly, he invested his money and made a healthy nest from that.

Lately, he had been wondering what kind of legacy he would leave behind.

He’d been fine with being his brother’s right hand since they were kids.

He was his brother’s keeper and felt he owed him for giving him a better life than their father ever could have.

But that line of thinking had gotten old to him.

He loved designing and customizing bikes with his brother.

He loved being a part of a motorcycle club founded by his brother.

He loved being the glue that held his family together.

But his passion was with fixing things. Since he was a kid, fixing things had been Lucifer’s thing.

It was why he made such a good right hand for Hades’s hotheaded ass.

Lucifer not only always had a solution for everything, but he was good with his hands, which was why opening up an auto shop for motorcycles had been on his heart lately.

He hadn’t spoken the words to anyone yet, because he didn’t think the timing was right.

Hades and Harley were getting ready to welcome their baby into the world, and Hades needed him to run things at Underworld Customs and with The Obsidian Riders while he was on paternity leave.

“Why you so quiet, Lu?” his sister, Eris, asked, knocking him out of his thoughts.

“Just thinking. What y’all up to the rest of the night?” Lucifer asked to get the attention off of him. He pushed his plate away from him since he was good and full. At the same time, he felt a nudge on his calf.

One peek down at his feet confirmed what he already knew.

Hades and Harley’s dogs, Pixie and Gotham, sat under the table, looking up at him with puppy dog eyes.

He chuckled and discreetly cut a piece of baked chicken off from the platter in front of him.

He split it into two and fed them while listening to his sister list off their plans for the weekend.

It sounded like a busy one filled with karate lessons, swim lessons, a movie night, and a day at a local theme park.

“Well,” Harley announced after Eris finished, “I’m happy to say that I’m about to go to my final appointment before I’m officially on maternity leave.”

“Congrats, sis,” Eris cheered as she beamed at Harley. “I bet that means Cati will be moving in soon.”

Hades mugged Eris. “Ain’t nobody moving in here.”

Lucifer chuckled. “Ain’t you the same man that forced Eris and Cade to move in here when she gave birth?”

Hades glanced at Eris before landing his mean mug back on Lucifer. “Exactly. That shit was my choice. My house. My decision on who stays here. Cati ain’t coming.”

“Hades.” Harley’s voice came out as a cross between a hiss and a whine. “She’s my sister. I was there for her when she gave birth?—”

“And I ain’t want you to be.” Hade’s words sounded more like an irritable groan, and Lucifer laughed again.

When Cati gave birth months ago, Hades had been hell.

He and Harley bickered nonstop because she had practically moved in with her sister to help out, and Hades acted like a damn neglected pit bull the entire time.

He had been insufferable, but Harley didn’t back down.

One thing about those Cruz sisters was they did not play about each other.

“We talked about this already, Hades. She’ll be around a lot, so get used to it.

” Harley rubbed her stomach lazily, ignoring Hades’s glare at the side of her face.

It always amused the hell out of Lucifer to see someone put Hades in his place.

She was the only person on the planet that could.

Lucifer had the power to calm his brother down and deescalate, but put him in his place?

Lucifer always thought that was impossible.

Harley turned to look at Lucifer. “You got anything going on after this?”

Lucifer shook his head. “You know me. I’ma go home and chill.”

She shook her head. “You’re coming with me to this house visit.”

“Why?” Lucifer’s brows pulled in, but before she could respond, the answer came to him. He quickly realized the home visit she had to do was for Ellodie.

“Because you helped me deliver this baby, and I thought you might want to go see about her and her mama.” Harley had a knowing smirk resting on her face, and Lucifer smiled while shaking his head.

He had texted Ellodie a couple of times over the past few days, but he had yet to really make a move.

He definitely planned to though. He had been mesmerized by her when she gave birth.

Strong . A beautiful, strong Black queen.

Those were the words that circled his mind those few hours that she worked on bringing life into the world.

And what a beautiful life it was. Antoinetta Glover was as beautiful as her mother.

His heart did a funny dance in his chest when he laid eyes on her.

He longed to hold her, but he refrained.

It wasn’t his moment, and he was a complete stranger, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to get to know Ellodie so he would no longer be a stranger.

“I can do that.” He tried to play it cool, like it was no big deal, but the thought of seeing Ellodie and Etta again had him happy as hell.

Lucifer felt Hades staring at the side of his head, so he sighed heavily, preparing himself for the bullshit that was about to come out of his brother’s mouth, and asked, “Is there a problem?”

Hades blinked at him before responding. “Yeah, you’re a bitch.”

Lucifer’s eyes bulged. “Man, what?”

Hades shrugged. He wasn’t one for repeating himself, but Lucifer could tell he definitely had more to say. “You watched a bitch give birth and you don’t even know her? Ol’ life is precious, bitch ass nigga. You held her hand, too, ain’t you?”

Harley hit him on his broad shoulder. “Hades, shut up. There’s nothing wrong with what Lucifer did to help Ello.

For as long as I’ve known her, she’s been alone, aside from when her cousin could make the appointments.

Lucifer did a good thing. Besides, that’s going to be you soon, helping me give birth. ”

She snuggled up to him as best she could from her seat beside him, and he put his arm around her possessively. “Yeah, but you’re my wife, and I’m not going to be holding your hand.”

Harley pulled away from him as Lucifer watched them in amusement. He truly got a kick out of the way they interacted.

“Boy, what the hell do you mean you aren’t going to hold my hand?”

Hades screwed his face up as if she had offended him. “I’m going to deliver the baby.”

Lucifer couldn’t hold it in anymore. He barked out a laugh so loud it startled the dogs under the table. They scattered and left the dining room altogether. “Nigga, you can’t deliver no baby.”

“Hades, you are not delivering my child,” Harley argued.

“Boy done lost his mind,” Eris mumbled.

Cade simply chuckled, his shoulders shaking. This was normal. Hades always said the most off-the-wall shit like it was the most normal thing in the world, leaving everyone around him gawking at him. Lucifer would have thought they’d been used to it by now, but that simply wasn’t the case.

Hades stared at everyone as if they were dumb, and it was at that moment Lucifer knew he would pay big money to be in that delivery room because his brother was definitely about to act a fool.

“If y’all think I’m going to trust anyone else to deliver my baby, you got fuckin’ beans for brains.”

Lucifer snorted and stood up before anyone could respond to his ignorant ass brother. “Hades, I’m going to take your wife to this appointment. You can clean up and be ready to rub her feet when I drop her off.”

Hades glared up at his brother. “How the hell you gon’ tell me what the fuck I’m ’bout to do in my own home?”

Harley stood and used her pointer finger to lift her husband’s chin. “He isn’t. I am. Do as he says.” She pecked his lips and whispered something into his ear. Hades smiled, something he only ever did for his wife, before he smacked her ass.

“Remember you said that, Tink.”

Harley winked at him and turned to Eris and Cade. “It was good seeing y’all. I’ll text you later, E.”

“Bye, bookie.” Eris waved and then turned and grinned at Lucifer. “Have fun, Lu.”

Eris loved teasing Lucifer about his love life, or lack thereof, so he knew she was taunting him. He ignored her and simply nodded at everyone at the table before making his way out of the dining room.

“Gimme a hug, Nephew,” Lucifer said to Dante, who was sprawled out on the couch playing his game.

Dante hopped up and hugged Lucifer around the waist. “Love you, Unco.”

“Love you too, kid.”

Lucifer always got the best energy from his nephew’s hugs.

He wondered if he would ever have his own kids.

His mind drifted to Ellodie and Etta, and a smile graced his face, but he let it fall pretty quickly.

They were still strangers, and he needed to keep his cool.

Those thoughts didn’t quiet the small voice in the back of his head that told him that Ellodie and Etta would become his family sooner than he thought.