Refresh

by Suzanne Steele

  A loud knock on the door made her jump to her feet, gasping in fear as she turned to face the door. She’d done enough running for a lifetime. Time to face whatever awaited her on the other side of that door.

  “Let us in, Candy. It’s over.”

  She opened the door to find Wolf and Reese standing on the front stoop. “Hey, what are you doing?” she yelped as the cat ran to the door. He sat on his haunches and stared at the visitors, his tail swishing side to side with a sense of purpose.

  “Come here, Pumpkin. You silly thing!” She bent down and picked up the orange cat she’d just named. She pulled him close and peered suspiciously at the two detectives from behind his furry head.

  “I see you’ve got a new friend,” Reese smiled, reaching over and petting behind the cat’s ear. Pumpkin purred and leaned into his hand.

  “It’s over, done. You’re safe now,” Wolf said.

  She backed up into a chair and sat down, shaking her head as if in a daze. “What just happened?”

  Wolf sat down across from her with a grim glance up at Reese. “So you saw that. You weren’t supposed to. Are you gifted? You know, psychic?”

  She didn’t have to ask what it meant. Her grandmother had psychic gifts and many times as a child she had told her stories of angels and demons. She had always assumed they were just…stories. She nodded and shrugged helplessly. “My grandmother used to tell me I had at least one guardian angel; maybe she was right.”

  Wolf grinned. “Well, it’s probably best if we just leave it at that. What’s important is that you’re safe now. Both of you,” he said with a glance at the cat, “and you have a new lease on life. If you need us, call us and we’ll be here. No waiting. I think for now it’s better if we just keep this to ourselves. You okay with that?”

  “Sure. Nobody would believe me anyway.” She got up and let the guys out, being sure to lock the door behind them. Wolf had been right; she had a new lease on life. She could finally live without being afraid.

  “Well, I guess it’s just you and me now, Pumpkin. C’mon, let’s find you something to eat.”

  The cat followed her into the kitchen where Candy opened the pantry door and retrieved a can of tuna. Then she got to work spoiling the cat rotten.

  “Do you think she’ll be okay?” Fey asked, squeezing Reese’s hand as they walked down the street.

  “Well, you can always check on her. I know you will anyway.”

  “Yes, I will. Even though she’s safe now, we know there will be more battles. Phenex isn’t dead, just wounded.”

  “You of all people should know there will always be a fight between good and evil.”

  “And we’ll probably be right in the middle of it.”

  Epilogue

  Rain’s eyes jerked open. Something had awakened her: a shuffling noise.

  There it was again.

  She sat up in bed and looked around the darkened bedroom, her heart thundering in her chest. As expected, the space next to her was empty. Blaze had gone out earlier that evening with no warning or explanation. He’d simply told her to stay put and wait for him.

  She had waited as long as she could, but eventually the pregnancy fatigue got the best of her and she’d gone to bed. She had slept fitfully, though, as her mind had raced with indistinct images of angels and demons facing off in an epic, celestial battle between good and evil.

  “You’re back,” she said to the shadowy figure that leaned heavily against the doorjamb.

  “Mm-hmm. I’m back. Got room for one more in there?” Blaze joked as he straightened and took an unsteady step toward the bed.

  “Blaze! What happened to you?” Rain scrambled off the bed and took his arm, guiding him to sit down on the edge of the mattress. She helped him remove his shoes and clothes, and checked him over for injuries, but only found traces of cuts and bruises that were partially healed and seemed several days old–which made no sense because she’d seen him only hours earlier and he’d been unmarked then. “Okay, I’m looking at you and nothing about you makes any sense. What gives?”

  “The battle was joined.”

  “Oh, God,” she gasped as her strange dreams suddenly made sense. She cradled his face, looking at him with fresh eyes as if she might have somehow missed an injury before. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “We had agreed, you are to stay in the background to protect the child. If I had told you where I was going and why, you would have only worried, which is not good for you or the babe.” He leaned down and kissed her, lingering to taste her lips, needing her softness after facing the dark perils of Phenex and his legions in the night skies.

  “So…is it over?” she asked tentatively.

  He gave her a wistful smile and shrugged. “Phenex took heavy losses, but he’s still out there. No doubt we will see him again. But for now, he has been weakened considerably. So we go on.”

  She caressed his cheek and they shared a long look, then she stood before him and slid her nightgown off her shoulders. The black silk puddled on the floor around her feet as the moonlight gleamed against her skin. She stepped between his legs and hummed with pleasure at the feel of his hands and lips on her breasts.

  “I do believe they’re bigger. Lucky me,” Blaze murmured. “Ah, there you are, little one.” The new curvature to her midsection was barely discernable, but it was there if you knew to look for it. He pulled her close and kissed her barely-there baby bump before saying with mock sternness: “Off to bed with you now. What I’m about to do to your mother is not for innocent eyes or the faint of heart.”

  “Blaze, you can’t possibly… You’re hurt and tired and–”

  “You have much to learn, my love. Angels are fast healers. By the time I’ve given you an orgasm and fucked you properly, you won’t even be able to find a scar.”

  “I don’t believe it.”

  He lowered her to the bed and followed her down. “Well, then, I shall simply apply myself to the task and convince you otherwise…”

  The End…For Now.

  Check out these standalone dark romance thrillers by Suzanne Steele.

  Available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/default/e/B00C9L6YRQ