Chapter 69

Gryph

Part of the reason I’d been so resistant to agreeing when Julia had insisted we go to the club was I’d never done anything like this. There was definitely my fear for her safety, but I was also stepping out of my comfort zone. At my age, that wasn’t nearly as easy as it had once been.

Despite all that, I was enjoying myself. The band was good, and I agreed that all members of the demon band were attractive in an inexplicable way. Now that the band had finished their set, the music was much quieter than it had been when we’d arrived. That meant we could finally talk without shouting.

Despite the initial tension between Evie and Rainer, there’d been no issues. They’d avoided each other all evening.

I liked Rainer. The first time he’d come to Bliss, I hadn’t spoken to him, so I’d had no strong opinions either way. I’d also been distracted by the fact that Lucifer had been standing in the Bliss offices.

The second time Rainer had come in, he’d looked almost embarrassed to be asking Allie if she and Julia would reconsider helping his boss. I was still having trouble believing Lucifer had trouble finding a date, and I’d been unable to keep that thought to myself. Rainer had laughed and told me all the problems Lucifer dealt with when it came to dating. It seemed he hadn’t dated in many decades. When I’d mentioned our outing and my concerns about Julia’s safety, Rainer had offered to come along. Having already arranged werewolf security outside the club, I had enough muscle on our side. My concern was more of the magical variety. I needed someone who was extremely powerful and respected in the witch community. Rainer Vigil was more than just Lucifer’s assistant; he was also a high-ranking warlock.

“I feel bad for Evie,” Julia said as she looked over at the others. We were near the bar, away from the rest of our group.

“Why?” I asked with a raised eyebrow. I knew Evie was uncomfortable around Rainer, but he didn’t seem to be pushing things.

Julia rolled her eyes and regarded me as if I’d said something really stupid.

“He hasn’t harassed her, and he’s been extremely polite the entire time we’ve been here,” I pointed out.

“He’s constantly staring at her,” Julia argued. “That makes her uncomfortable.”

“It’s hard to avoid looking at the woman you love,” I pointed out.

Julia considered what I’d said before responding. “What makes you think he’s in love with her?”

“It’s just the way he looks at her,” I explained with a shrug. “I’m sure I used to look at you that way before I understood I was falling for you.”

Julia’s smile was sweet and warm. “So, you think you were falling in love with me months ago?”

“I’m pretty sure I was falling in love with you from the day we met,” I admitted.

“This is really hard for you, isn’t it?” she asked.

“I just worry I’m going to say the wrong thing,” I admitted.

“You are,” she assured me.

“That’s not comforting, Sass,” I grumbled.

“It should be,” she began. “I already know you’re going to say the wrong thing, so I’ll be prepared when it happens. Even more important than that, I know you’re going to say the wrong thing, and I’m still here.”

“That’s because you’re a crazy witch,” I accused.

“Wrong thing to say,” she told me.

“The truth is wrong?” I asked.

“Never call a witch crazy, or she’ll cast a binding spell and do something horrible to you,” she warned.

I laughed at her response. “You’re doing nothing to disprove my point,” I teased. “Before you consider following through with your threat, keep in mind, I like your brand of crazy.”

She snorted. “Not helping, Gryph.”

Before I could dig myself into a deeper hole, all my claims that Rainer was behaving himself around Evie flew out the window. I had no idea how the argument started, but when I looked over, Rainer was looming over Evie. He looked seriously pissed. Since Evie’s back was to me, I had a harder time judging her emotions. With her rigid posture and her hands on her hips, I’d say she was telling him off.

“Damn,” I muttered. “Those two need to get it together.”

I stalked across the room with Julia at my side, ready to remind them both we didn’t have time for petty drama. There was already too much going on. Since we were leaving in an hour, I needed everyone focused.

“What the hell is going on?” Julia demanded as soon as we reached them.

I frowned when I looked over at her. That had been my line.

“Evangalina seems determined to rewrite the past,” Rainer ground out. His eyes had turned an unnatural shade of silver.

“Now isn’t the time to talk about this, Rainer,” Evie snapped.

“When should we talk about this, Evangalina?” Rainer demanded. “You’ve avoided me for more than a decade. This may very well be my only opportunity to discuss this with you.”

“I need you focused on keeping everyone safe,” I told him.

Without taking his eyes off Evie, Rainer visibly struggled with his control. Since I was no stranger to those types of internal struggles, I gave him time to pull himself together.

When Rainer looked over at me, his eyes were back to normal. “I’m going to get a drink,” he announced before heading off to the bar.

“I’ll be right back,” I told Julia before giving her a quick kiss and following Rainer to the bar.

When I got there, he let out a frustrated sigh. “I’m sorry about what happened back there. Evangalina has always had a strong effect on me.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked.

He considered my offer before responding. “Yes, but this really isn’t the place. Perhaps, we could get together another time,” he suggested.

“Sure,” I agreed.

“I like you, Gryph,” Rainer said thoughtfully. “I get the impression you know how hard it is to get the two halves of yourself to work together.”

“That’s pretty common with werewolves,” I told him. “I’ve met half-demons before, but I never realized you also struggle with that.”

“I’m not exactly a half-demon,” he admitted. “While I’m a demon lord, I got that title because my mother is a fallen angel.”

“So, does that make you an angel?” I asked. Other than my brief meeting with Lucifer, I’d never met an angel, fallen or otherwise.

“Half-angel,” he replied. “Most with only one fallen angel parent are demons. I’m not, and neither is my brother.”

“What’s the difference between fallen angels and demons?” I asked curiously.

“Fallen angels are much more powerful. We also have wings,” he explained.

“Now, that’s something I’d like to see,” I told him.

“Unless you’re interested in taking a trip to Hell, I’m afraid that won’t happen,” he replied.

“I think I’ll avoid Hell,” I stated. “I’ve always wondered why some call it Hell and others call it the demon realm.”

“Hell creates a more negative image in the minds of most, so we started calling it the demon realm,” Rainer explained. “I suppose you could call it rebranding.”

I chuckled at his response. “You make it sound like the marketing team from Hell worked on this.”

“They did,” he replied before looking across the room. “Based on the angry looks your witch is sending my way, I’d say Evangalina has nothing nice to say about me.”