“Your lips say that, but your heart…” Lucifer sighed. “It really needs a bypass.”
“My heart is fine. And so is my life.”
“Your life sucks.”
“Says the man who smells of baby shit.”
Lucifer glanced down at his feet. “Gaia warned me about feeding Jujube hellapeno poppers. Next time I’ll stick to beans, the magical fruit.”
“Why are you here? I’m doing as you asked. I delivered the puppy. They’re learning to handle it and will probably be eaten, I predict, by the end of the week.”
“No, they won’t. You underestimate Merry and Miguel. Especially the boy.”
“The kid?” Marduke snorted, and at that moment, Miguel turned to look right at him. Then the devil. The child stared right at him, and Lucifer waved in reply. Miguel nodded before paying attention to the hound once more.
“He can see you.”
“The boy and I are already acquainted because of his father. I predict he’ll have a long and sinful future. If he survives childhood.”
The screeching of tires had Merry turning too slow to see the car as it sped past, one window down, the muzzle of a gun poking from it.
And what did the fool woman do?
Threw herself over the dog and her kid, singing loudly.
9
“Fa-la-la-la!” Merry sang at the top of her lungs to counter the crackle of gunfire while she covered puppy and Miguel, with no thought other than that of a mother to protect. The expected bullets never hit because suddenly, there was another body on top, a big one with a large coat that fell on either side like a drape.
The moment lasted an eternity of a second before a gruff Marduke declared, “They’re gone.”
“They’ll be back,” she chirped.
“What makes you say that?” He glanced down at her. “Do you know them?”
“Not exactly.” She handed the leash to Marduke before she scooped Miguel into her arms. He was getting too big to carry, and yet she needed to hug him. She whispered against his ear, “It’s okay, baby. Mama’s here. You’re okay.”
The same words she’d said the night he saw his father shot by Santa. A case of Brian in an alley at the wrong time. A robbery gone wrong the cops claimed.
It should have ended there, only it appeared Santa had a lot of cash and drugs on him when he died in a hail of gunfire. Also in front of Miguel.
The cops took it into custody, meaning the gang relying on it didn’t get paid. And they blamed Merry.
She’d moved to get away from them, only it appeared they’d found her. But what would killing her accomplish?
Marduke kept pace with her and grumbled, “Why are you being shot at?”
“Because of a misunderstanding. Unfortunately, they’ve yet to listen.”