“Fine. Michael and I had a bit of a tiff.”

“The archangel?”

“That’s the one.”

“You had a tiff with an archangel?”

“Just a little one. Nothing to worry about.”

“And it’s like angel stew on Earth because?”

“I kind of told him I was taking over the world, but he got all up in my face.”

“Ah. When did this big showdown happen?”

“A few days ago. Right after —” I bowed my head, thinking of that horrible day. Of how many people we could have lost. Of what Reyes had lost. “Right after the incident. Speaking of which, how are you doing?”

He folded his arms. “We’re not talking about me.”

“But don’t you think we should? You lost your sister, Reyes. It’s okay to grieve, you know. We all do it. All of us humans, that is.”

A laugh that was full of sorrow escaped him, but he brushed it off. As usual. “What are we going to do about this?”

“About what?”

“About the angels on your ass.”

“Oh, that. Don’t worry about them. They’re just watching. Waiting. Making sure I don’t actually follow through on any of my threats.”

“There was more than one?”

“Well, there was the one biggie and then a few that were more or less implied. They apparently take that crap really seriously.”

“I can’t imagine why.”

“Right?” I took another bite, then asked, “Do you miss her?”

He filled his lungs and eyed me with frustration before giving in. “I miss her. Of course I miss her. How could I not? But just knowing that she’s out there watching over Elwyn helps.”

“I agree.” I said. Having someone like Kim watching our daughter eased the discomfort about one one-hundredth of a percent. But every little bit… “It’s like a salve. Like a Band-Aid on an open, gushing wound.”

He looked away, unwilling to give me any more. I didn’t push.

“I’ve come to a decision,” he said, looking back at me.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.” He gave me a long, slow once-over. “I think you need a bodyguard.”

I laughed out loud that time. “A bodyguard?” I thought about it while poking my carrot with a fork. “Well, I already have a guardian, and she’s pretty awesome.” That guardian was a departed Rottweiler named Artemis.

“I know, but she can’t protect you against an angel. They’re powerful, Dutch. Very powerful. And just because they can’t kill you doesn’t mean they aren’t going to give it their all. I don’t think you’d be willing to do what was necessary to stop one if it came after you.”

“But they’re the good guys.”

“In most situations, yes. But in this situation, I’m not so sure.”

“I did threaten Him.”

“You had a legitimate complaint. Jehovah – that’s not His real name, by the way – knows that better than anyone, but I don’t think He’s going to give up His toy box just because you’re angry with the way He governs His action figures.”

“Yeah, I didn’t expect He would. Wait. That’s not His real name? What’s His real name?”

“I’m not going to tell you something you already know. When were you going to tell me about your conversation with Michael?”

“That is an excellent question. Are you going to tell me His name or not?”

When he looked at me that time, his irises shimmering with something deep, something dark, he asked, “Why? So you can trap Him in the god glass, too?”

I gasped, completely offended. Not that I’d had any doubt that our conversations would one day lead to the pendant I carried in my pocket 24-7. The 600-year-old pendant that contained a substance called god glass, an opalescent stone that shimmered like a thousand galaxies. Inside it was the aforementioned hell dimension, the one Jehovah created for His rebellious little brother, a.k.a. my husband. And it all sat in an intricate glass-covered pendant, barely bigger than a quarter, with delicate scrolls and ornate markings.

Because I hadn’t known how Reyes would take the news when he found out he, too, was a god, because I hadn’t known if he would change into the malevolent being I’d been led to believe he was, I kept it hidden. Until I had to use it, that is. I’d trapped one of the two truly malevolent gods who’d joined Team Satan in it. And now that god, along with a nasty demon named Kuur, was locked in a dimension with dozens of innocent souls.

Getting them out without releasing the evil entities inside had been on my to-do list for a while. But Reyes had figured out I’d kept the god glass a secret from him. And why. So, I decided to do what I did best. I changed the subject.

“About this bodyguard position, you offering?”

He sat watching my mouth for the longest time, causing my insides to tingle. Then he bit his bottom lip and wet it. The movement was so innocent, so everyday, yet it sent a jolt of pleasure straight to my core.

“I don’t know,” he said at last. “What does it pay?”

I cleared my throat. And my dirty mind. “I can’t afford much. I’m already having to switch to cheaper toothpaste just to keep Cookie on.”

He tsked, the sound both humorous and sensual. “The sacrifices we make.” He had yet to lift his gaze from my mouth, and I could’ve cut the pheromones hanging thickly in the air with a switchblade.

The way I saw it, I had two choices. I could take him to the broom closet and tear off his clothes, or I could wish that I’d taken him to the broom closet and torn off his clothes for the rest of the day.