Page 31 of Infernal Secrets

I hated liars. I didn’t understand why, but it upset me more because I didn’t want to hate him.

“Don’t lie to me.” I stood, drawing Ezra’s gaze, but he still said nothing. “I get that you’re demons, and I don’t know how your social rules work, but no.” I rubbed my eyes and sighed, softening my tone when I saw Zeke’s discomfort. “I can’t deal with it. So just don’t.”

I turned away, ready to escape into the kitchen. If I didn’t get a cup of coffee, I might turn into a demon myself. No one wanted to see that.

“Whoa. Hey.” Zeke grabbed my upper arm, bringing me to a stop. He immediately released me when I glanced at his hand. “Um.” He scratched the back of his head and looked at Cyn across the counter, panic on his face. “Fuck. I—”

Cyn shoved the spatula at Ash. “Finish these.” He stormed around the counter, stopped in front of Zeke, and cupped his cheeks. “Stop.”

“But she—”

“She’s nothing,” he spat.

“No. She’s—”

“Noth-ing. She’s a stupid human. Don’t let her upset you.”

Cyn’s words stung, but Zeke’s distress was impossible to ignore. It unsettled me. If I’d caused him to have a panic attack… Do demons have panic attacks? They acted as human as I was.

My gaze ping-ponged between Ash, Ezra, and Cyn. “Did I do something wrong?” My tone came out harsher than I intended.

Ash sighed, plating the scrambled eggs. “No. Zeke’s just—”

“Yeah, you did.” Cyn glared over his shoulder.

Zeke took a deep breath and shook his head. “Stop it.” His hands covered Cyn’s and pulled them from his face. “She didn’t do anything wrong. I overstepped, and I also lied. She’s got every right not to like it.”

My shoulders dropped when his sad eyes met mine.

“I wasn’t thinking. I’m used to these guys, and I dunno… I can’t explain it.”

Ash chuckled, leaning on his hands braced at the counter’s edge. “We let him get away with far too much.”

Nothing about Zeke aligned with what my family’s church taught me demons were supposed to act like. He wasn’t a fearsome, cruel, and destructive force. He appealed to me in all the ways the church warned temptation would.

Still, his behavior contradicted their teachings, reminding me of why I never embraced organized religion. There wasn’t anything wrong with institutionalized religion, but it wasn’t for me.

“You don’t have to explain anything,” I said, hoping to reassure him.

Cyn glared at me.

I averted my gaze. “I didn’t mean to upset you with the personal space comment. It was just a question. I’m sorry if it sounded rude.”

Ash shifted in his seat, studying me.

“I don’t really understand why it upset you, but I hate that it did.” I drew a deep breath through my nose and let it out sharply. “And I could’ve chosen a better way to say I didn’t like lying. I let little things put me in a bad mood.” I looked up at Zeke. “I’m sorry.”

He pushed his way past Cyn and approached me. “I didn’t mean to lie. I mean, sure, it wasn’t true, but it wasn’t meant to be bad. You know what I mean?”

I blinked. “No?”

“Uh…” He glanced at the others.

“I think he meant it as malicious deception,” Ash said. “Got any juice?”

“There’s apple and orange juice on the top shelf of the fridge.” I looked at Zeke. “I get it. But just say you don’t wanna answer. It’s better than lying. While you’re here in my home, at least give me that respect. I’ll do the same for you.”

“I can do that. I won’t touch you anymore, either.”