“And macaroni and cheese,” Sebastian said as he heard the first bedroom door click open.

“Shit!”

“Might want to run,” Lucifer said absently as he stood next to him, sorting through a handful of files.

Beat the shit out of his cousin or save his precious food?

Shit!

No one should ever have to make this choice!

“Seriously, I would run if I were you,” Lucifer said as he finished sorting through the files and glanced up at him.

“Why are you here?” he snapped, already knowing that it was too late to make a run for it. They would be on him before he made it off the front porch.

“I missed you,” Lucifer said dryly, throwing the bullshit excuse that they normally used on him when they went to the Fire & Brimstone to fuck with his head, back in his face.

“You son of a-”

“Thanks,” Sebastian said with a wink and a smile as he swooped in and stole the bag out of his hands.

“You’re the best,” Jonny said, throwing him a wink to match his brother’s as they walked away, carrying the bag that he needed more than his next breath.

“Here,” Lucifer said, pressing something into his hands. “This is for Zoe. That’s all my account information, passwords, employee rosters and everything that she’ll need to take over doing the books for the Fire & Brimstone. She can start in the morning.”

“Books?” was all he managed to get out as his eyes narrowed on the twins setting the food on the living room table.

“Uh huh,” Lucifer said, heading for the door, “I don’t have enough time to do it anymore.”

“Okay,” he found himself saying as he headed for the living room where his sons were standing over the large selection of food that would make any Bradford cry.

As he joined his sons in a moment of silence so that they could truly appreciate the bounty that the biggest asshole on earth had brought them, he couldn’t help but wonder if a certain waitress had anything to do with this.

Chapter 36

“I-I thought you knew,” Patrick said, stumbling over his words as he shot a nervous glance over his shoulder towards the busy dinning area where Rebecca, wearing a black Fire & Brimstone shirt, was smiling as she took a couple’s order.

“Didn’t I tell you not to let her back on the floor until Saturday?” he asked, keeping his gaze locked on the small woman that was supposed to be upstairs chained to her bed.

“Yes,” Patrick said, swallowing hard as he stood there, most likely waiting for Lucifer to take his anger out on him, but tonight his anger belonged to one person and one person only.

“You need to find someone to cover Rebecca’s tables,” he said, keeping his eyes locked on the woman that had finally spotted him.

“I think she was just trying to help,” Patrick said, quickly coming to Rebecca’s defense when it became obvious that Lucifer’s glare was locked on Rebecca, who just happened to be the staff favorite.

“I’m sure that it’s,” he drawled while he watched as Rebecca shot him a nervous smile and a wave while she glanced to the front door and then quickly towards the back, obviously debating which exit would save her ass.

Neither one would, but he decided to let her choose her fate.

If she went for the front door he’d head towards the back door, cut her off and explain in great detail what bed rest meant and if she went towards the back then he was just going to put her over his knee and spank her ass until she stopped pulling this shit.

When she shifted to the right, he shifted right along with her. Smile gone now, she narrowed her eyes on him as she slowly shifted to the left. He mimicked the move so she stopped and shifted back to the right. He met the move and cocked a brow in challenge.

Smiling, because she was the only woman in the world that would think that challenging him was a game, she shifted right back to the left and cocked a brow as she waited for him to mimic the move. He did, but then he upped the game by following through with that move. When she realized that he was no longer playing, she gasped, mumbled a quick apology to the customers that she was waiting on and made him realize that he’d missed the third option.

His office.

“Shit!” he snarled, pushing past Patrick, who looked absolutely terrified, and went after the little pain in the ass.

When she saw him, she mouthed an, “Oh, shit!” of her own, ducked beneath a tray being carried and rushed towards his office. He was gaining on her quickly and would have caught her if it hadn’t been for one of his waitresses jumping in his path with a wince as she waited for him to tear into her, but he didn’t have time for this bullshit.

Not when the love of his life was waiting for him and there was absolutely no doubt in his mind now that he loved her. He loved absolutely everything about this woman from that cocky little grin that she was shooting him to that sad little victory dance that she was doing.

He fucking adored her.

“Please don’t kill me, Mr. Bradford!” the waitress squealed as she closed her eyes and cringed, waiting for the yelling to start.

“You’re fine,” he absently said as he picked her up and moved her out of the way.

“Thank you for not killing me!” she called after him, sounding truly thankful to be alive.

“Oh, crap!” Rebecca said with a wince as she spotted him coming after her.

“Run,” he said, taking his time going after her, because there really was no rush. Sooner or later he was going to get his hands on her and they both knew it.

She must have realized it as well, because her cheeks flushed red while she ran her eyes over him, licking her lips and nodded, “Okay.”

With that, she turned around and rushed down the hall towards his office. The door had barely managed to shut behind her when he caught up with her. He threw the door open, stepped into his office and with a surprised grunt, he stumbled back against the door, slamming it shut in the process when he suddenly found himself pinned to the door.

“You’re supposed to be upstairs,” he said as he watched her work his belt loose.

“You were shorthanded,” she explained, nibbling on her bottom lip as she focused on the snap of his jeans.

“And how exactly would you know that?” he asked, leaning down so that he could kiss the side of her neck as she pulled his zipper down.