Her remark was dry. “What a revelation.”
“What is Satan’s hard-on for you about? Is it because you talk people out of choosing Hell as their final destination? Because you cross people over and that pisses him off?”
Shit. Here came another big, fat lie. She’d been a real commandment breaker as of late. Hopefully, in the end, the theory of greater good would outweigh the falsehoods she’d been slinging like breakfast hash. “I don’t know,” she lied, her answer evasive. If she kept it simple, fed him as little information as possible, she just might be able to keep him from finding out too much on the off chance he was a lying sack of shit.
His eyes met hers from behind his square-framed glasses. There was definite doubt in them. Doubt and possibly suspicion. He cracked his knuckles before he spoke. “I’ve never been a great judge of character, Delaney, and maybe that’s because I haven’t spent a lot of time with many people because of my work, but I think you’re full of shit.”
She averted her eyes in case mind reading was on his list of rapidly growing demonic powers. “You can think whatever you like. Whatever Lucifer wants is between him and me, and clearly, he’s not sharing his motivations. So here’s the deal. Seeing as you can’t seem to resist my unbelievable charisma, you can stay here for however long you have to figure out whatever you need to figure out. Go on about your business, keep up the pretense you’re doing what you were sent here to do. If I can help, I’ll give it my best medium’s shot. So ride ’em, cowboy.”
Clyde shook his head, the dark chestnut of it catching the light of her overhead fixture in gleaming chunks. “Well done. I still don’t believe you. There’s something going on here that you’re not telling me, and I get it—believe me. You don’t trust me yet and if I were you, I wouldn’t trust me either. That’s just playing smart, but I don’t want to see you hurt any more than I want to end up back in Hell when this stint is over. This isn’t just about me.”
Damn him and his sense of honor—all noble and moral. It did things to her insides she didn’t much fancy—especially if he was lying to her. “Well, seeing as we don’t know what Satan’s whacked about, let’s just focus on you for now. First things first. You need clothes. You can’t go running around in my pink bathrobe if we hope to find out what happened to you the day you died.”
He leaned an elbow on her countertop. “I think I might like myself a whole lot better if I at least had something that wasn’t so pink. You were right, it’s really the wrong shade for me,” he joked.
Her giggle popped from her lips like a cork from a champagne bottle. “I have to go to my brother’s for lunch today, anyway. We always have lunch together on Sunday at his place. You’re about the same size give or take a couple of inches in height. I’ll see what I can dig up. While I do that, you can puppy-sit.” Maybe her resentment would dull if dog number three spent an hour licking the air for no reason other than she was anxious about absolutely nothing or if dog number four had to have his BeDazzled ass changed a time or one hundred. She’d feel much better if they weren’t so well behaved around him—the sting of their utter compliance with Clyde just might find some relief.
Delaney went in search of her purse, digging around for some singles for the bus. He held out her coat for her to slip her arms into, leaving her with a residual temptation to lean back into the strength of his solidness.
Before she headed out to the storefront, she gave him one last glance. “And Clyde?”
“Yeah?”
“If you’re fucking with me—if I find out you’re full of shit about this assignment business—I promise you, I’ll fuck you up. And when I’m done, I’ll sic Marcella on you. You do not want the Puerto Rican all fired up, heading in your general direction. It’s heinous.”
His stubbled jaw lifted, but without defiance. “I still have the duct tape scars to prove it. I get it. Completely.”
“So long as we understand each other.” She rubbed each dog’s head with a quick token of her love. “You guys behave, though I’m sure the demon Clyde here’ll have no trouble with you bunch of traitors. You seem to listen to him far better than you ever have me. I’ll see you later.” She waved over her shoulder, making her way to the store’s front door.