Knox would bet that most humans would be surprised to find that Lucifer was not actually the ruler of hell. Lou moved there and brought order to it after having some sort of dispute with God. He wasn't a one-dimensional malevolent being either. Harper had once described him as a psychopathic child with bi-polar and OCD. That about summed him up.
Lou didn't ask much of people, but he did have three laws. One, demons needed to conceal their existence from humans. Two, they must not be caught breaking human laws. Three, they must never cause harm to a child – human or demon.
"You have a nice tan going on. I hope you spent your vacation trying to get our Harper pregnant."
Knox rubbed his forehead. "This again?"
"Why wait? It's a logical step to make in a committed relationship." Lou narrowed his eyes. "You are committed to her, right?"
"Of course I am. Now why are you here?" Hearing footsteps, Knox turned to watch as Harper walked into the room.
Lou took one look at her round stomach and grinned like a loon. "Well, would you look at that." He stood. "We're gonna have a baby! Score!" He patted Knox's back. "I knew you'd come through in the end." Crossing to Harper, he bent down. "Well, hello there, baby Luc -"
"Don't say it," she snapped.
"You haven't yet told me why you're here," said Knox.
Lou looked affronted. "Do I need a reason to visit my friends?"
Knox shot an impatient look at the most antisocial being he'd ever known. "You don't consider us your friends. You don't want friends."
"I told you, I'm branching out from cold and pure evil." He turned back to Harper, smiling. "How far pregnant are you?"
"Twenty-one weeks."
His excitement was quickly replaced by irritation. "You have nine weeks left and you're only telling me this now?"
She pursed her lips. "Well … yes. But you're still one of the first to know."
And now, mercurial as ever, Lou was once again delighted. "How've you been? Cravings? Backache? Nausea? Mood swings? I've heard that eighty percent of pregnant women have seriously bad mood swings. Like scary bad."
"I am not having mood swings."
Knox folded his arms. "While you're here, Lou, answer me a question. Why do you think Jonas wanted to meet with you?"
"No idea," said Lou, retaking his seat.
"You're not even curious?"
"Nope." Lou drank some of his smoothie. "Earth business does not interest me."
Yeah, Knox knew that, but still … "We need to know what Jonas wants from you. Talk to him. Find out."
"I can't. See, I have this thing. I don't do things that bore me." Lou set down his glass. "Deals are boring. Jonas wants to offer me a deal. Ergo … "
Knox ground his teeth. "Lou -"
"I don't concern myself with what goes on between the Primes. It's all mind-numbingly dull. Now a baby who can singlehandedly lay waste to the universe, on the other hand, has me fascinated."
Harper's mouth tightened. "He or she will not lay waste to anything – nor will you attempt to teach them to do so."
"We're keeping the pregnancy quiet for now, Lou," Knox told him. "We need you to do the same."
///
Lou lifted his hand, as if to pledge an oath. "You can be sure that I will do nothing to threaten the upcoming birth of our little Luc -"
"We are not calling the baby Lucifer," growled Harper, fists clenched.
Lou leaned toward Knox and said quietly, "Notice the mood swing? The stats don't lie."
Harper let out a long breath. "Why are you even here?"
Lou lifted a brow. "Expecting someone else?"
"Preferably someone who doesn't come uninvited, rifle through our kitchen, and help themselves to stuff. It's like having a stray dog turn up all the time."
Lou sniffed at her. "That's unfair. I don't shit on your floor."
"It's important that we find out what Jonas wants from you," Knox interrupted. "It could be related to the attack on Harper."
Straightening in his seat, Lou frowned. "What attack?"
"Someone hired hunters to steal her wings."
His eyes widened. "Get out of town! Really? Someone out there is honestly that stupid?" He pouted as he looked at Harper's stomach. "Poor baby must have been in such distress."