Page 65 of These Monstrous Ties

Atlas. Cain. Ezra. Mayhem.

They all have guns. They aren’t aiming at anyone, but they walk slowly to stand beside us, and I see out of the corner of my eye, they glare at Nicolas.

“Nice to see you again, Lilith,” one with a deep voice says. Ezra. My skin crawls and a whimper escapes my lips.

“So you’re not all that stupid, then, huh?” another one asks. I’m not sure who it is. Maybe Mayhem. Maybe Cain. In the dark, I can’t get a good look at them.

Lucifer’s hand twitches against my throat, a low growl comes fromhisthroat. The Unsaints don’t speak again.

Nicolas looks like he’s going to scream. Instead, he slowly lowers his gun. One of the Unsaints chuckles.

Nicolas hangs his head. “I’m so sorry, Sid.”

“Sid?”Lucifer purrs. I feel anger harden in my veins that now he knows that about me. He knows my name. I don’t know if I know his.

“I’m so sorry,” Nicolas says again, sighing. He picks his head up and meets my gaze. “I’m coming back for you. You know that, right? I’ll always come back for you.”

Lucifer stiffens at my back. “Go,”he commands harshly.

I lower my own weapon. My wrist hurts from twisting it to aim at Lucifer’s leg. My hands are sweating in my gloves.

“Go,” I echo him, nodding toward Nicolas. “I know you’ll come back. I’ll be waiting for you.”

“He’ll be waiting a long, long time,” Lucifer snarls. Another chuckle from the Unsaints beside us.

Nicolas looks at me with pleading eyes, but I nod again.

And he walks away.

“That’s a good boy,” one of the Unsaints whispers. Nicolas either doesn’t hear him or pretends not to. He keeps walking, without glancing back. And when he reaches the side of the house, he breaks into a run. We can see, off the side of the house, he gets into the Porsche, starts it, the lights on this time. And then he fucking flies down the driveway. I hope to god he doesn’t get in a wreck before he can get back to my brother.

And I hope to God my brother doesn’t kill him before they find me.

But Lucifer whispers in my ear, and I remember God doesn’t give a fuck about me.

“Welcome back,Sid.” His words are hot against my skin. “I’ve been waiting for you for a long, long time.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Present

We don’t go backinto the house. Instead, Lucifer shoves me forward, toward the woods, after ripping off my gloves and discarding them somewhere I can’t see. I don’t try to resist. The boys come with us, and there’s no way I can fight them all off. One stops Lucifer by standing in front of him, a massive form in a black dress shirt and jeans, the skeleton mask still pulled up over half of his face.

“What, Cain?” Lucifer snarls at him.

Cain grabs the gun from my hand, then nods. I let him do it. I don’t want to put up a fight. I have no idea where the fuck I am, where the fuck we’re going.

No one speaks as we enter the woods, and I stumble over branches as Lucifer still holds me to his back and shoves me forward.

I wonder if Julie is his wife now. I wonder how she can sleep through all of this bullshit happening yards away from her own child. I know I’m wondering the wrong fucking things.

The only sounds are of the guys’ footsteps, my own breathing, and my heart still hammering away in my chest. I see up ahead a clearing, and vehicles, black and white paint shining beneath the moon. That’s why we didn’t hear them. I wonder if my brother will be able to find me.

“Where are you taking me?” I finally ask. Because I need to ask something.

Another dark laugh from someone in the Unsaints.

“You don’t get to ask questions,” Lucifer murmurs.