by Julie Hall
I fist pumped in my confined space. Way to go, Grams!
“Audrey, will you please get out from under the bed now?” Romona’s voice was authoritative.
“No thank you. I’m good.”
“Audrey—”
“I’m too young to get married,” I moaned, cutting off Romona’s censure.
“That’s right. You’re obviously too immature to make a commitment like that.”
“Yep, not even offended by that comment. You’re totally right. One hundred percent too immature.”
Logan huffed out a frustrated breath. “Romona, you’re right, I should have handled the situation with a little more finesse. But in all honesty, Audrey was all over me, so it was kinda hard to think straight.”
“What?” I squawked, nailing my head on a metal beam. I flipped over again and kicked the mattress where I thought his butt might be. “You did not just say that out loud.”
The bed squeaked, and Logan’s upside-down head appeared. The tips of his golden hair brushed the ground.
“I’m just keepin’ it real, babe. You know that’s how it went down.” His eyes twinkled, and a grin lit his face.
“Ouch.” I twisted an arm to rub my back, feigning pain. “Oh my gosh, can you see them?”
Logan’s eyebrows pulled together, and the smile slid from his face.
“What happened? Are you hurt?” His hands landed on the floor by his head while I twisted my face to a mask of agony.
I blinked, and Logan was off the bed and on his belly on the floor, his head right-side-up and peeking under the bed at me.
“It really hurts,” I whined.
“Did the mattress squish you?” He assessed the amount of space between the bed frame and me.
“No, no, it’s just . . . the tire marks on my back from the bus you just chucked me under!” I screamed at him.
At my outburst, Logan’s head jerked up and he nailed it on the bed frame. He gave me a side-eye while he rubbed the sore spot.
Kaitlin lost it. Her hysterical laugh was broken up by the occasional snort.
Logan army-crawled under the bed after me, which was quite a feat considering his size. The dude was a lot bigger than me.
“Wait, stop,” I protested.
Ignoring me, he wrapped an arm around my waist and hauled me out from under the bed with him. We ended up grappling on the ground for a few minutes before a loud throat clearing reminded me of our audience.
Straddling Logan’s hips with my hands planted on his chest, I froze. A quick check over my shoulder revealed Romona staring me down. Logan wore a smug smile, the back of his head rested on his crossed arms. He looked as if he enjoyed this spot on the floor immensely.
“You see what I mean?” he asked Romona without taking his eyes off me.
I was about to throat punch him when I noticed red blossoming on his white t-shirt.
“Oh my gosh, Logan, you’re bleeding.” Twisting, I scrambled off him and tried to tug his shirt over his head. I needed a better look at where that blood was coming from. How stupid was I? He was still injured, and I was wrestling with him.
A belly laugh rocked his body as he swatted my hands away. “Audrey, stop trying to undress me. This is exactly why I suggested a short engagement.”
Did he not have one iota of self-preservation? He was so close to a throat punch right now. All it would take was one quick jab. But another look at the blood blooming on his stomach had me pushing aside my annoyance and renewing my search for the source.
“Stop fighting me. I’m trying to check out your wound.”
“You’re definitely trying to check something out,” Kaitlin added.
Logan grabbed my hands and captured my gaze. “Audrey, I’m all right, I promise. How about you let me up and I’ll go take a look?”
I chewed my lip in indecision but nodded, the concern for him threatening to overwhelm me.
We both stood. Logan let out a quiet grunt. “Hey”—he placed a hand on the side of my face—“I promise, I’m fine. There are just a few places still healing. You’re here, you’re safe. That means I’m all right too.”
Oh. That was sweet.
He bent forward to kiss the corner of my mouth, and even that chaste contact sent my heart rate into overdrive. When Logan pulled back, his eyes broadcasted he’d been affected as well. Black pupils nearly swallowed the blue.
Someone cleared their throat, and he headed to the bathroom in the corner. I caught a glimpse of his smooth back as he tugged his shirt off and tossed it to the ground. Stepping into the bathroom, he turned and grasped the door. A bandage taped to the left side of his . . . I tilted my head—was that an eight pack?
One, two, three, four, five six, sev—
“Hey, Audrey. My face is up here.”
Words tumbled from my mouth in a guilty rush. “I was checking out your bandage. Obviously. What else did you think I was doing?” The bandage was almost completely soaked through. His eyes danced with laughter as he closed the door, blocking his body from view.
Holy smokes. As in—Holy. Smoking. Hot!
I fought the urge to fan myself.
“Hey, Audrey,” Kaitlin called to me, breaking my hormone-induced daze.
I spun to face her.
“Yeah? Huh? What?” My voice was fast and breathy.
“You have a little something-something right here.” She indicated the corner of her mouth.
“What?” I scrubbed a hand over my mouth, but there was nothing there. “What are you talking about?”
“Don’t worry. You got the drool wiped off.”
“Funny.”
“I thought so.” She giggled.
I shot her a look that said you can shut up now, but she just laughed harder. Brat.
“How’s Morgan, Kaitlin?” Her laughter turned into a choking sound.
Kevin started slapping her on the back.
“Pfft, I don’t know.” She shrugged and looked at the empty wall.
“Sure you don’t,” I said with a smirk.
She stuck her tongue out at me.
“What, Morgan’s here?”
Shoot, how had I forgotten Romona hadn’t been there? She’d been taken out of the fight before we’d found Morgan. Kevin, too, for that matter, but he must have been filled in because his face reflected a look of resignation rather than surprise. But she was my best friend, and here I was ignoring her.
“Romona.” I rushed over and squeezed her.
“Ow.”
I pulled back and scanned her from head to toe. She was in a tank and loose-fitting pants that reminded me of scrubs. “I’m so sorry. Are you still hurt?”
“Just a bit sore.”
I cringed and looked at the floor, toeing a spot that didn’t exist. I was the worst.
“Audrey.” Romona’s soft voice brought my gaze up. She gently placed both hands on my cheeks. “You did it, baby girl.” Were those tears gathering in her eyes? “I’m so proud of you.”
Guilt slammed into my gut like a Mack truck, knocking the wind from my lungs. I was incapable of speaking for several seconds. New unfeeling and blessedly numb Audrey wanted to take back the reins.
“You shouldn’t be,” I whispered back. Yeah, we’d brought Logan and Morgan back, but at what cost exactly? Besides my soul that is.
“Of course she should be,” Kaitlin interjected from across the room. “She was amazing, Romona.”
I craned my neck in Kaitlin’s direction. “How do you even know? You were sent back with Morgan.”
Kaitlin gaped like a fish. “You’re joking, right? You single-handedly took down a demon the size of a yacht. You marched through that desert of—whatever those things were—with determination. You were fierce, girl. Tiger on steroids fierce.”
“You weren’t there at the end,” I argued. “And if you had been connected to Logan and experiencing what he was, you’d have been laser focused on getting him out of there too. If you had seen what that . . . that abomination was doi
ng to him, then . . .”
Logan wiped away the wetness on my cheeks with his thumb, and he rubbed my back. I hadn’t even realized I was crying—or that he’d re-entered the room, where I could bring up all his horrific memories for him to relive.
Stupid old Audrey and her stupid emotions.
The fact that Logan wasn’t rocking in the corner somewhere, but was comforting me instead, was a miracle. In fact, why didn’t he have any scars? I saw his smooth back in my mind’s eye. His old scars were completely gone.
I sucked in a sharp breath of air. He was standing in front of me now, gently cradling my face.
“Would you mind giving Audrey and me a few minutes?” He glanced over my shoulder, and the smallest of smiles ghosted across his face. “I promise, no more bed cuddling.”
While Logan spoke, I caught the fast-paced clicking of heels in the hallway. As my friends started to get up, I cocked my head—the clipping grew louder and then abruptly stopped.
“Just a minute, everyone. I have some news.” Shannon’s voice made my blood run cold and struck fear in my heart, because deep inside, I knew what her announcement would be. And it wasn’t going to be good.
16
Half-Truths
I twisted to stare at the formidable angel. Shannon stood in the doorway, barring retreat. I’m sure she wasn’t actually trying to restrain anyone from leaving the room, but considering I had a fairly good idea what this announcement would be, unease twisted in my gut and crawled up my throat. Were the walls closing in on us?
Logan wrapped his arms around my waist. I itched to pull away—unworthy of his silent support.
Shannon glanced our way, the frown on her face deepening for a moment before her lips straightened. She surveyed the rest of my friends and then jumped right in. “I’m glad you’re all back safe, but there’s been a development. Satan’s broken free of his chains.”
There was a beat of silence, and then the room erupted in shouting.
I stayed quiet as everyone bombarded Shannon with questions. Eventually my transgressions would come to light . . . time was my enemy. My friends’ voices turned into a steady buzz in my ears.
Shannon held up a hand, silencing everyone. Logan tightened his arms around me.
“You’ll be briefed more thoroughly. But as you can imagine, this means all hands on deck until we neutralize the threat.” Shannon’s gaze landed on Logan and me. “That is except you two. You’re both benched for the time being.”
I shrank back into Logan’s embrace. Shame filled my being.
Logan wasn’t as compliant as I was. “Wait a minute. You need all able-bodied hunters. Forcing Audrey and me to sit this one out doesn’t make sense.”
“There will be no debate about this decision, Logan.”
I didn’t have to view Logan’s face to know his eyes were narrowed in determination and that there was no way he’d let this go. But for the moment, he held his tongue.
“How do we know about this?” Romona asked.
Did Shannon’s eyes linger on me a moment before turning to Romona to answer? “The Son himself confirmed the news.”
I sagged in Logan’s arms. The injury I’d inflicted on him hadn’t prevented Joe’s return.
“Shh, everything will be all right,” Logan whispered in my ear, wrongly interpreting my body language as fear, when in reality relief pumped through my veins. Joe was back, which meant one less stain on my soul. Goodness knows it didn’t clean my slate, but a weight lifted none-the-less.
“What does this even mean?” Kaitlin asked.
Shannon’s gaze shifted to Kaitlin. “It means we need to prepare for the possibility of an attack.”
Kaitlin’s gasp filled the silence in the wake of Shannon’s words.
“How is that even possible?” Logan asked. “Satan can’t enter this realm.”
“His chains kept him bound to Hell and Earth. He’s now free of those restraints. We have to assume he’s set his sights on us. We aren’t sure of anything yet, so I ask you all to be very discreet about this information. We’ll be disseminating emergency protocol methods throughout the realm, but without further information, we’re not looking to insight panic.”
“So, you’re not telling everyone about this?” Romona asked.
“No.” Shannon scanned the room once again. “You are all hunters. As such, it’s your job to defend people against evil—and that extends to our home as well. Along with the warrior angels, you’ll be our defense.”
“But that means you need—”
“As I mentioned, there will be a full briefing.” She didn’t let Logan finish his sentence. “We’re currently collecting data. Those of you who can, get cleaned up and meet at the training center in an hour. Strategy planning for all scenarios starts immediately.” Without allowing further discussion, Shannon turned on her heel and left.
“How does she deliver news like that so calmly?” Kevin wondered out loud.
“I’m pretty sure she’s stripped of regular emotions,” Kaitlin answered. “My gosh, how did this happen?”
“I expect we’ll find out soon enough. Come on.”—Romona motioned to Kaitlin and Kevin—“let’s get going.”
They nodded, and chairs scraped the floor as they left. Before shutting the door behind her, Romona said she’d update us on as much as she could.
Logan nodded. “Thanks.”
When the door clicked shut, he gently turned me in his arms. I knew he wanted to talk, probably to reassure me everything would be okay. But I didn’t want to think about Satan any longer. In an hour’s time, there was a solid chance my ugly secret would be exposed to everyone.
Joe was safe, but I wasn’t.
I slipped my hands up the back of Logan’s t-shirt.
“Whoa, Audrey—” He moved to extract my hands.
“No, wait. Just give me a second.”
He froze, and we stared at each other. His blue depths connected to my brown gaze. I whispered my fingers over his back, starting at his waist and then moving both hands up toward his shoulder blades. When I reached his shoulders, I lightly brushed down the center of his back. I didn’t miss the tremble that passed through his body. But he held my gaze and stayed still, allowing me my innocent exploration.
Okay, mostly innocent. I didn’t have to linger quite so long on his skin to verify he wasn’t scarred anymore—but he felt so good. The muscles and contours of his back were like warmed steel.
I dragged my hands off his flesh and brought them up to rest lightly on his shoulders. This time on top of his t-shirt.
“You’re not scarred anymore.” This was as good of a distraction as any.
He bit his bottom lip and then smoothed it with his tongue before shaking his head.
“Why not?”
He transferred his gaze to my lips. I unconsciously nibbled my bottom one. I freed the lip, and he ran the pad of his thumb over it. A small spark of his special brand of electricity pricked the tender flesh before he moved his hand away. Blue fire blazed in his eyes, but for the first time, I realized, he’d used his gift with no guilt.
“I let go.”
“Huh?” What were we talking about again?
A smile touched his lips. One that said he knew exactly why I was discombobulated. “The scars aren’t there anymore because I’ve forgiven myself. And I no longer believe that this”—he lifted his hand and formed a small blue globe of flickering lightning—“is because I’m cursed. I know I’m forgiven. I don’t know what this is all about, but I don’t believe it’s from Satan.”
“What changed your mind?” I asked.
“Love.”
I scrunched my eyebrows.
“Love that I don’t deserve but am given freely anyway. Truly accepting God’s love and forgiveness gave me the strength to forgive myself and simply . . . let go.”
“But how did you feel love and forgiveness when you were chained to a wall and tortured in Hell?”
He brushed a clump of hair behi
nd my ear. I really needed to get cleaned up. “I was not forgotten, Audrey. I was not forsaken. Did I suffer? Yes. But it brought me you, and you are worth it. Worth facing whatever Satan tries to throw at me.”
I was melting again . . . but the rush of emotion was quickly chased away by the sound of a clock tick, tick, ticking down to the moment I’d be forced to leave this realm—leave this amazing man I’d finally let into my heart.
I just . . . How was I to live with that?
I suppose the answer was that I wasn’t. Life was more than just the time we spent living on Earth. The moment I became a slave to that fiery realm, that’s the moment I’d truly lose my life.
Until that time came, I would live to the fullest. I didn’t want to suffer through an eternity of regrets. The black mark on my back was proof I was here on borrowed time.
I knew exactly what needed to be done.
With a hand placed on his heart, I let my eyes sweep Logan’s face. His strong jawline, the hint of stubble around his mouth, cheeks, and chin, his straight nose and masculine brow that led to his soft and beautiful sun-kissed hair—hair that was currently sticking up all over the place from our tussle.
I sucked in a deep breath, inhaling the woodsy and spicy scent that I would forever associate with Logan, and then finally I brought my gaze back to where they’d begun. Meeting Logan’s. I saw a slight question in his eyes.
I smiled, at peace. Laying a hand on his softly prickled cheek, I inhaled in a quiet breath of air.
“Marry me?” I asked.
17
Soul Fusing
“Hold up a sec here.” Kaitlin raised her hand to quiet us. “You mean he asked you to cement your bond and you freaked out so bad you passed out, and then you turned around and asked him to marry you like thirty minutes later?”
Kaitlin, Romona, and I were sitting in Romona’s apartment on her plush antique couches with a full tea setting in front of us. I was chewing a cucumber finger sandwich . . . okay three sandwiches. I’d shoved one in my mouth right after the other. Those things were small, and I was hungry.
