Page 69 of Renegade Rift
God, I hope I don’t fuck this up.
“Meeeoooowww.” The feline from hell screechesat the same timehe bats at the hem of my suit pants.
“Hey.” I step back but the orange ball of fur follows. “Stop that.”
As much as I want to yeet the damn thing across the apartment, I don’t think that’s going to win me any points with Juliet.
He looks up at me with his big green eyes and meows again, though he sounds more like he’s dying.
I glance up at her closed door for the hundredth time, waiting for her to appear so she can translate what the heck this thing wants.When it doesn’t happen, I kneel down in front of the cat and try to reason with it.
“Listen, if you leave me alone, I’ll leave you alone.”
That earns me a hiss.
“Well, we’re going to have to figure out how to get along, because I like your girl and even though I’d much rather have a giant ass lap dog than a minion of the devil, I’ll let you stay if it means I get to keep her.”
Lodhi looks up at me as if he is mulling over the idea.
“It’s not like you aren’t happy here. She sold you out with those pictures of you lounging in the window hammocks. That was all me.”
He leaps from the floor to the island, and I almost push him off, but this is the longest we’ve gone between hisses so maybe we’re making progress.
The cat stalks along the island, tail flicking back and forth until he reaches where my phone sits on the edge. It’s almost adorable how he sits so noble, ears perked up, like he knows he’s a handsome fucking cat despite the fact he’s decided I’m his mortal enemy.
I roll my eyes and step forward to pet him. “You’re lucky you’re cute.”
The words aren’t even out of my mouth before his paw connects with my phone like an orange Koolaid man bursting through a wall and sends it flying off the counter.
Dread leaps into my throat as I stare at my phone face down on the hardwood. Maybe it isn’t broken. At least that’s what I keep telling myself as I squat down and pick it up. I inhale a steadying breath and flip it over.
Fuck.
It’s not cracked. It’s completely shattered.
I glare up at Lucifer incarnate who is now sitting on the counter,his leg over his head and licking his balls. He looks up and glares in a way that saysI know you wish you could lick yours too, pitiful mortal.
Fucking cats. “You win this round, but just remember I know where she keeps the catnip, and I’m not above getting you strung out and making you an internet sensation.”
“Are you threatening my cat with catnip?”
I spin around at the sound of Juliet’s voice, ready to plead my case against her fur ball from hell, but lose all the air in my lungs when I lay eyes on her.
She’s…there are no words. Or maybe there are all the words. Beautiful. Stunning. Incredible. Sexy. Demure. Captivating. Titillating. Elegant. Seductive.
The dress looks like it’s straight out of the past. Don’t ask me what decade, I couldn’t tell you, but somehow Juliet makes it look timeless. The way the black velvet dress hugs every delicious curve, and the sleeves sit just off her gorgeous tanshoulders, like it was made just for her.
“Is it too much?” Worry dances in her voice. “I wasn’t sure if this was too fancy.”
“It’s perfect,” I mutter. “I mean you’re perfect. Fuck. I mean you look beautiful.”
Juliet’s painted red lips slip into a frown that has no fucking business being a part of our date. “I was supposed to wear it to the funeral.”
But she didn’t go.
She doesn’t need to say it. I know because I was there, and I would absolutely remember seeing her in this sinful dress.
I take a step forward and offer her my hand. “Well, I’m glad you didn’t. I’m not sure the priest would’ve been able to keep his hands off you if you did.”
