i ve got bills to pay and mouths to feed

#I VE GOT BILLS TO PAY AND MOUTHS TO FEED HOW TO#

He leaned in, dark eyes fixed on mine, smiling softly. Something had been eating him since he came in the door, I could feel it in my bones like a sailor could sense the wind changing, but he kept his anxious energy held tight to his skin, a storm in a devilishly attractive bottle. To my surprise he didn’t jump to spill out his woes. I took the money, counted it out, made a note of it in my book, and fixed Lucifer Morningstar with a solid stare. For now I had lawyers bills to pay, rent due next week, and a little girl to keep fed on a single salary. Hells with it, I could deal with the repercussions later.

Neatly folded notes were pushed across my desk toward me, and I realized it was all one hundreds. Morningstar must have sense my reluctance, because he dug deep in his pockets and pulled out more a botanical garden worth of green. A hundred dollars an hour was good money, and Trixie ate like a starving dog these days, and was growing faster than I could keep her in clothes. He was so damn proud of himself it made the mind wonder what could have him keeping secrets. “Sodomy, adultery, solicitation of almost everything and possession of more drugs than you could name, darling.” he answered, looking like the cat that got into the creamery. Cheekbones like that deserved some sort of warning “Keep away from children and easily influenced souls”. He looked arrogant, sounded obnoxiously British, and had a face that would make anyone act rash. Embezzlers and small time thieves were judged case by case. Murderers and their ilk would have no help from me. No one in Los Angeles was innocent of everything, but I had to have some standards. “Are you guilty of any major crimes that I need to know of?” I asked him. In return I expect you to keep quiet about this. His brow wrinkled, but he accepted it without any further comment. She deserved better than a mother with an office on the seedy side of town who came home from work smelling like steel and death. That had lost me a lot of clients, but Trixie came first. I don’t do Saturdays, Tuesday nights, or school mornings Monday to Wednesday.” I work until there’s nothing left to turn up, and I want a deposit up front. “A hundred dollars an hour, and that’s better than you’ll get anywhere else.

#I VE GOT BILLS TO PAY AND MOUTHS TO FEED HOW TO#

In this city you learned how to spot wealth fast. I work for…” I surveyed his outfit again, appraising the linen with an amateur's eye. Morningstar, I’d appreciate it if you’d restrict your comments to ones pertinent to your case from now on. “Morningstar, Lucifer Morningstar,” he supplied helpfully. Everyone forgot that man was the apex predator these days. His smile revealed even white teeth, human but still sharp. One of the ones with teeth like daggers and eyes that glowed in the dark, beautiful and dangerous and probably about to get shot. He didn’t sit, he lounged, like some sort of cat.

Morningstar flopped into the chair in front of my desk. I couldn’t fall much farther without the help of a pit. My father would have said that pride always came before a fall, but I was a fired cop. I got results, even if they weren’t always the results they came looking for, and I always got my guy. People didn’t like me much, but they couldn’t deny that I did my job. “All good things, I’m sure,” I shot right back.

You’re detective Decker, aren’t you? I’ve heard a lot about you.” I leaned back in my chair and looked him over. We weren’t forecasted for lightning, but at that moment I swore I saw the electricity arcing off of him. He seemed to bring the clouds with him, and he smelled like the air right before a storm. It was a cloudy Monday, and a slow day for work right until Lucifer Morningstar walked into my office wreathed in smoke and sin, and put out his cigarette in the homemade ashtray next to the door.

I ve got bills to pay and mouths to feed