Hell's Redemption- The Complete Series Boxset

by Grace McGinty

  Oh, that’s the funniest thing ever. I can just imagine you stomping up there like a baby hippo and doing what? She wouldn’t even have to run away. She could power walk away and you wouldn’t be able to catch her. More hysterical laughter. I wanted to be mad but I was just happy she was happy.

  I do not look like a baby hippo, I pouted back. Ace had distracted me for long enough that Ri had managed to extract the parking ticket from Bimbo-Deluxe and pulled into the multilevel carpark.

  “Whoa Cady, that look isn’t directed at me right? ‘Cause I’m innocent. I wasn’t using any of my lust juju or anything.”

  We pulled into the empty parking space, and Ri leaned over to unbelt me. “No. I’m not even mad. It's just-”

  “The hormones. I know, sweetheart.” I leaned over and kissed him again. I could never get enough of him. We held hands all the way to my high risk obstetricians waiting room, and by a minor miracle, they were running on time and we went straight through.

  The nurse had me undress, and I hopped up on the bench. Well, maybe hopped is a bit of an exaggeration. I used the step and Ri’s arm and wiggled my way up. Gravity was now my foe.

  The doctor bustled in, a middle aged man with attractive graying hair and artificially white teeth, but extremely kind eyes. Ri gave him the stink eye. My seven hadn’t been impressed that the man rummaging around in my lady parts was attractive. If he hadn’t been the best in the State, they probably would have protested more. To Doctor Hamilton’s credit, he didn’t even seem shocked that there was a different man with me at my ultrasound. The guys had a steady rotation taking me to my appointments, so it was unusual to see the same face twice, except maybe Oz or Eli.

  “How are we doing today, Arcadia? I see in your notes that you’ve started chemo.”

  “Well, being bald wasn't a fashion choice, Doc.” I pointed to my nearly smooth head. “But yeah, I'm heading into my third week.”

  He checked my vitals, and then listened to my belly. “Sounds good. Let's have a look at the little ones, shall we?”

  He got the ultrasound wand and squirted jelly on my stomach.

  I held my breath. The first beats of two little heartbeats was always a relief. They’d unsynced, so identifying the two was easy now little Hope was bigger.

  “You're in luck, both babies are facing outwards, ready for their close-up.” And then I saw the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. A perfect nose, closed little eyes, curling tiny fingers. Ten of them.

  “Baby one. She’s got good growth. A miracle really, considering your overall health.” A miracle named Ace.

  Are you seeing this, Ace? This is all your hard work. I can’t thank you enough.

  Silence for a moment. I see her. She is beautiful. The level of awe in her voice made my heart swell.

  “Okay, and here is Baby Two. She's a little smaller than her sister but she's still a good size. Everything looks good, developmentally, for both babies, but how about we just have a tour around the womb to get a good look.”

  Hope. My beautiful little Hope. I smiled at Ri. His eyes were brimming with tears, and he wiped them on the back of his arm.

  “They are perfect, Cady. Just like their mama.” We sat there for thirty minutes, counting toes, and watching tiny limbs kick, and when Hope yawned, I thought my heart would burst.

  Thirty minutes went way too fast, and soon the doctor was handing me a disk.

  “Okay, the babies look good. Your heart rate is a little fast, though. Do you have an appointment with the cardiologist soon?”

  “Next week.”

  Doctor Hamilton scribbled notes on his file. “That should be fine. As the babies get bigger, the strain on your body will increase. Now is the time to be vigilant. Bed rest will be important from thirty weeks, so be prepared for total bed rest until the babies are born. Can you do that?”

  I screwed up my face and nodded. Six weeks in bed was a small price to pay.

  “Other than that, your pregnancy is going perfectly, even for a healthy mother. For you, it's practically divine intervention.”

  I laughed. “Doc, you have no idea. Thanks so much for the scan.”

  “My pleasure, Arcadia.” With that, he left me to change. Ri was practically dancing with excitement as he helped me get my feet into my yoga pants. Sexy. I hadn’t seen my toes in a month, and my belly poked out like I’d eaten Shamu.

  “Did you see the baby suck her thumb. We need to name her. Hope has a name, and our big girl needs a name too.”

  I agreed. Maybe tonight we could decide on a name. Between the eight of us, nine including Clary, we could pick a name.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, and Oz. Welcome to the Naming Knockout Tournament. The rules are simple. Everyone gets one suggestion including Ace and Clary, so make it count. We will have sudden death rounds with votes, and in the case of a draw, Cady’s vote prevails, because she’s the one doing all the hard work. Are we ready to rumble?”

  Ri was way to into this. The guys were all sitting around with beers, and Clary had a glass of red wine. We’d watched the ultrasound DVD in preparation, twice.

  No one had a hat on hand, so the suggestions went into one of Oz’s replica Hulk gloves. I liked Sasha, so I wrote it down on the small slip of paper Ri had handed around.

  How are you feeling, Ace? Are you going to play?

  There was a snort, and then Ace was filling my chest. It was comforting to have her back.

  Of course. If I don’t get compete, she’ll end up with a name like Sasha.

  Hey!

  “Is everyone nearly done? Beautiful Girl, do you want a sparkling water or crackers or something while we’re waiting?” Ri asked, heading toward the kitchen. Sweetheart.

  “Sure. I’ll have a scotch on the rocks please. Hold the rocks.”

  “Soda and ice it is.”

  Estrella, Ace said.

  I wrote it down and put the squares of paper in the Hulk hands.

  That's really pretty. What does it mean?

  Ace was beginning to fade away, her voice barely audible over the sounds of the room. Estrella means Star. I thought Ace Junior might be a hard sell.

  I smiled. I mightn’t have been too hard to convince. I felt a lot of gratitude.

  “Alright, alright, alright! Everyone’s in. Let’s go.” Ri handed me a drink and I snuggled between Sam and Eli. He picked up the hulk hand and pointed toward me. I plucked out two folded pieces of paper.

  “First contestants are…” I wrinkled my nose. “Zelda.”

  Lux smacked Oz in the back of the head. “Seriously?”

  Oz scowled. It was adorable. “What? It's a good name!”

  I pulled another out of the glove. “Shae”

  I winked at Clary. Such a traditional Irish name could have only come from one person.

  “All in favor of Zelda?” Oz raised his hand. He was the only one. He threw me a mock hurt look. I mouthed I love you, and he blew me a kiss.

  Ri wrote down the winner on the tournament sheet.

  “Well, that was easy. The next contestants are…”

  “Isadora and Wilhelmina. It says in brackets that they will accept Billie.”

  Eli leaned over and kissed my cheek. “It was my mother’s name.”

  This time the votes were split. I liked both, but in the end I’d voted for Billie. “Billie it is.” He held out the hulk hand to Clary.

  She pulled out Estrella and Sasha. Ah damn. I voted for Estrella, even though Sasha was my nomination.

  Estrella won easily, and I was glad we were doing this anonymously.

  It was back to my turn. “Lulu and Odette.”

  “I vote for Lulu. That ones mine. It means pearl in my native language. I’m going to go out in a limb and say the French one belongs to Valery,” Ri suggested.

  “These are meant to be anonymous, Orion,” Valery scowled, but nodded.

  This one was tough. I liked both but… “Odette.”

  Ri pouted when Odette won.

  Ri pulled th
e last two out. “Okay, we have Lara and Bryn.”

  Sam kissed my temple. “It’s short for Brynhilde. A fighter who wears chainmail. A name worthy of our tiny warrior.”

  Ri whacked him with the hulk hand. “No trying to sway the swing vote.” Even though he’d literally just done the same thing.

  “I like Bryn. As long as she’s never Brynhilde,” I shuddered.

  Honestly, they shouldn’t let you lot name a puppy let alone a child. Wilhelmina and Brynhilde. Seriously. You may as well buy them a crazy cat lady starter pack for their first birthdays.

  The vote went the other way, Lara coming out on top, and Tolliver gloated a little that his suggestion trumped Sam’s.

  “So our options are Shae, Billie, Estrella, Odette…”

  “I like Estrella,” a voice said from the kitchen.

  Luc, Ace whispered.

  Luc swaggered out of the kitchen, a leather jacket open on a bare torso and his abs rippling in a way that can only be supernatural. He was devilishly sexy.

  Does that count as calling you the Devil, because if it is, I totally meant it as a compliment

  I'M OKAY WITH THE ADJECTIVE. MY LOVE, YOU ARE HARDLY EVEN A FLICKER. PLEASE GIVE UP THIS NOW. YOU HAVE ENSURED THE BABIES WILL SURVIVE. THEY COULD BE BORN TOMORROW AND THEY WOULD LIKELY SURVIVE WITH THE CURRENT MEDICAL ADVANCEMENTS THE HUMANS HAVE.

  I’m almost ready, Lucifer. One more week and Hope will be safe.

  Luc sighed as he walked toward me. There was such love, such heartache, that I almost cried for Lucifer.

  He placed a hand on my stomach, looking past me to Ace. “Okay, Acerezeal. Okay. But remember, I need you too.” It was a plea.

  I need you, as well. And I need to do this. We will be together again.

  “I like the name Estrella. You should name her that,” Luc said again, this time to the room. A glass of scotch appeared in his hand.

  “Well, it's better than Lucia. No beer today?”

  I edged toward Sam, creating a space for him to sit. Luc sat down and Lux eyed the space between us, which was barely inches. A nerve in his cheek twitched, and his hand flexed, like he was imagining slicing Luc in half.

  “Today is definitely a scotch day. Relax, Lux. I have made my peace with this situation. The irony of it all isn’t lost on me. I grant the Redeemer freedom from the master plan, free will in its purest form, and now she’s the greatest threat to the love of my life. The Father would be having a good laugh up there.”

  I reached over and squeezed Luc’s knee. “It’ll be okay.” I turned to the room. “All in favor of Estrella? It was Ace’s choice.”

  Everyone raised their hand. “Okay then. Estrella it is. Estrella Odette Lara, and Hope Billie Shae.” I rubbed my belly and smiled. “They’re good names. We should toast.” I lifted my glass of seltzer. Luc magicked a glass of champagne into each of the guys hands.

  “To Redemption.” Luc tapped his beer to my glass. “To life.”

  We sipped our drinks in silence, but silence and Oz don’t mix. “Can I ask you a question? Are all angels as douchey as Azriel, or did a bug just crawl up his ass? Do angels even have assholes? Where do they pee? Are their like heavenly public toilets? Or are you just smooth down there like…”

  “Oz, for the sweet love of all that’s holy, just stop.” Valery smacked his forehead.

  Luc smirked as he sipped his beer. “Which question would you like me to answer?”

  Oz opened his mouth, but I interrupted. “Just the first, please. I’m not sure I’m ready for the answers to the rest.”

  Luc tapped his beer against his chin. “Azriel is a spectacular example of douche baggery, however, not all angels are like that.”

  “I can vouch for that. Michael seemed quite nice.”

  Luc’s face whipped toward me. “Michael? The Archangel Michael? When did you see him?”

  I shrugged and sipped my seltzer. “A couple of weeks or so ago. It was no big deal.”

  Now everyone was scowling at me. “What? It was like three minutes. It was hardly worth mentioning. He was just curious.”

  “Arcadia, angels do no get curious. Especially not Archangels. And especially not Michael. He cast me into hell for my curiosity.”

  I hardly call boning a bunch of cavewomen ‘curiosity’ Lucifer Morningstar, Ace said primly.

  I cackled. Oh, she’s using your full name. Trouble in paradise? I lived for these moments of payback. All that snarky commentary for years. Every snide comment, every disapproving comeback, paled when she was arguing with Lucifer like an old married wife. It was perfect.

  WATCH YOURSELF, ARCADIA JONES.

  I laughed out loud. “Don’t be such a grump.”

  Eli sighed. “I really wish you guys wouldn't do that thing where you talk in your head. It’s... disconcerting.”

  It finally got too much for Lux, and he came over, pulling me off the couch and into his arms, and sat me in his chair. He perched on the arm, his body poised and ready for a fight. I laid my hand on his arm, the muscles under my fingers tight. I gave him a little squeeze. Luc was not our enemy, had never been our enemy. Our enemy was time. And there was no beating that. There was no one to fight, except maybe Azriel the asshole.

  “You never told us why Azriel is a dick.”

  Luc downed his glass of scotch, and another one appeared immediately. “Azriel, Acerezeal and I used to be friends. Maybe friends is too strong a word. Comrades perhaps? I was Ace and Azriel’s squadron leader. I fell in love with her the first day I saw her. Even as an angel, she held this spark. This something that no other angel had, and it burned in a heart bigger than any I’d ever seen. That spark was passion. A completely unheard of emotion in angels. I wanted to spend time with her, so I raised her up the ranks to the same level as Azriel, the rank below mine as commander. He was not a fan, but it was hard to resist Ace’s special joie de vivre, even though none of us could label the emotion.

  “We became friends by proximity, and then confidantes. When I fell though, he changed. When Ace fell also, it pushed him into being even more...what is the phrase the humans use? Ah, by the book. I think that he thought the taint of our unholy thoughts coated him like a layer of filth that he just could not shed. That he had to be an extra douchey asshole angel that did everything perfectly and without question, or else he would fall too. And he was terrified. Another sensation that was unfelt by angels before.”

  “Before what?”

  “Before I fell. Now they all know fear.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Lux drove me over to Brooklyn, and double parked outside a skinny little building with big plate glass windows. Ri was standing on the curb, with a huge smile on his face. Oh god, he looked handsome. The sun glinted off his olive skin, and his dark hair shone until it was almost blue.

  “You know what, I’m pretty sure you guys must contribute a little to my heart troubles. Just look at him,” I pseudo complained to Lux. Honestly, I was a little breathless.

  He just rolled his eyes. “Damn pretty boy,” he leaned over and kissed me goodbye.

  Ri opened my door and helped me out, leading up onto the footpath.

  “Have her home by six!” Lux yelled out the door.

  “Or what?” Ri taunted back.

  He gave Orion a menacing look and I couldn’t help but laugh. Lux was not the boogeyman. I preferred him in my bed rather than under it.

  Ri flipped him the finger and Lux was smiling as he pulled back into traffic. We turned and walked toward the restaurant door.

  “Are you ready for this? This is gonna blow your mind.”

  “I’m ready!”

  He pushed the door open and walked in first, guiding me in with a flourish of his arm. It was a sushi train. But…

  “Is that a cake?”

  “It’s a dessert train! And also tapas. Dreams can come true.”

  I stared at the desserts and tapas going around the small track. They looked delicious.

  “How’d you know I loved sush
i trains?”

  Ri helped me up onto one of the stools that ran around the train track and grabbed us down two plates of tapas. One had small deep fried balls of something, and the other was small pastries.

  “I may have asked Clary about your fave restaurant. I was going to take you back, give you a little piece of the normalcy from your old life for a night. But when she told me you loved sushi trains, I knew this was the place.”

  Ri was right. I did crave the normalcy of my old life sometimes. Not that it was very interesting, and I loved the guys and the babies and wouldn’t go back for the whole world, but sometimes it’s just nice being a normal person doing normal things. Like talking to a hot guy as the tiny plates stacked up in front of you.

  We talked about normal things, things you would talk about with a man on a date. It was a balm.

  “How’s the club?”

  Ri stuck a third marinated mushroom into his mouth. Two quick chews and then he swallowed them almost whole. I resisted giving him a speech about good mastication. It could go nowhere good.

  “The club is great. After the incident with you, I thoroughly vet every person who comes into the VIP area. Everyone goes on the waiting list. Somehow it’s made the whole thing even more exclusive and popular. Go figure.”

  “And S&M night?”

  He gave me a lustful look. “Still as popular as ever. I look forward to showing you myself. As it is, I spend that night doing my paperwork. Alone. Naked but alone.”

  “Why naked?”

  He grimaced. “All the lust flowing around makes my skin tight and other things hard. It’s just more comfortable if I’m not chafing against my clothes.”

  Respect filled my chest. I leaned over and put my head on his shoulder. “I love you, Ri. Soon I’m going to make love with you until neither of us can walk for a week.”

  He kissed me gently, but with tongue. That was Orion though. He didn’t believe in pecks on the cheek. It was always maximum effort and his kisses always left me breathless.