I shoulder-bumped Marco. “Here I thought you were hanging out to be the fifth leg in my merry band of men. You’ve been turned by a pretty pair of violet eyes.”
Marco scowled so hard, I thought his face might crack. She is trouble.
“Beautiful trouble.”
He grinned. Just like you. I should have known she could bring nothing but misfortune when I answered my door and you were there.
“Hey, I’m not trouble.” Blue let out a strangled cough that was badly hiding a laugh. I shot him a dirty look. “Well, not on purpose. Besides, I think she likes you,” I added, and I was satisfied by the small stain of red on his cheeks.
The woman in question reappeared, a small plastic shopping bag of stuff in her hand. She looked at Marco. “I just want to say bye to the kids, if that’s okay. I’d like…” she took a deep breath, “I’d like to come and visit them some time, if I could, after this is all over and I’m still alive.”
I was close enough to feel the jolt of panic that shot through Marco at the thought she might be killed, but his face betrayed nothing as he inclined his head.
“I won’t let anything happen to her. To them, I mean,” I said quietly, and Marco just nodded, careful not to touch me. I respected his privacy.
We all walked to the front door, and Blue went out to bring the car around. Azriel had been strangely quiet since the revelation that Uriel had impregnated a woman. Would this change things for him, for us? Had the sterilization ban on angels been lifted?
My heart did a weird flip-flop at the idea at tiny Memphis’, or Azriel’s or little golden Gus’ running around. I squashed the longing. I didn’t think it was that easy, despite what Sera said. I think it had more to do with her than Uriel. She was the odd link right now.
Besides, I was happy. Kids were not something I wanted to think about right now. I was way too young and I’d been through way too much shit to be someone's parent.
I grabbed Azriel’s hand, and threaded my fingers through his. He looked at me with faraway, haunted eyes, but eventually they softened.
“Call me if you need anything,” I said to Marco as the car pulled up. “Take care of the kids, they are your first priority, but I don’t need to tell you that.”
He nodded.
Sera signed something in his direction, and a small smile broke through his scowl. But it was so fleeting that I might have imagined it.
Azriel slid into the front and I hopped in the back with Sera. As we pulled away from the curb, she seemed to curl in on herself.
“I want to fight,” she said in a low, growly kind of voice.
“You can’t,” I said, though she was kind of scary, definitely giving credence to my valkyrie theory.
“Why not?” She uncurled a bit, and I could see the steel return to her backbone. I shuffled a little closer to the window and pointed to the roundness of her stomach.
She glared at her midsection. “This is the spawn of evil.”
Now it was my turn to get some steel in my spine. “Do you really believe that?” We weren’t our parents. Genetics meant nothing when it came to evil. It was the choices you make, the people you surrounded yourself with, that was what made a person evil. Not simply genetics.
Sera curled back around her protruding stomach. “No, I don’t. You can’t judge a child by their parents. I am proof of that,” she laughed mirthlessly. “I will love it, no matter who its father is.”
I gave Blue the address, and he raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything about it. We drove through town, through traffic and we were all silent, lost in our own thoughts. Sera was an anomaly, but she wasn’t my biggest problem right now.
“Is that a sword in you pocket, or are you just happy to see me?” Sera asked, breaking the silence, and I grimaced. Damn sword.
“It’s a sword. Can never be too prepared, for you know, ninjas and really large steaks and stuff. Oh look, we’re here!”
We pulled up in the alley, and parked in front of a hydrant. A parking fine was the least of my troubles now. I was going to hell for stabbing an angel to death. Everything else pretty much paled in comparison.
I stepped out onto the street, and opened the heavy door to the shopfront. The bell above the door tinkled, just like last time.
A familiar figure stepped through curtain that led to the rear of the shop. “Can I help… it’s you!” The giant man was genuinely glad to see me.
“Hi Cain, it’s good to see you,” I said, and I genuinely meant it.
“Back for another tattoo?”
“Tattoo?” Azriel asked, and I shushed him. But he’d drawn Cain’s focus, and so had Sera.
“Not today, Cain. I was hoping for a different kind of favor. You see…”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Cain had closed up the shop once Blue had emerged from the car, and strolled inside. I expected Cain to take an instant dislike to Blue, who had an air of violence he couldn’t shake, but he invited us out back, got Sera a juice from a small mini fridge he kept in the office, and asked for details.
In this case, the Devil was actually in the details, so I painted a story that was close to the truth. Sera had a one night stand, and now the guy was now obsessed with her and had kept her captive for two months. We couldn’t go to the cops because he was part of an organization that had spies everywhere. Close enough to the truth that he wouldn’t ask questions and hopefully he wouldn’t die for the answers.
I’d forgotten how huge he was. Easily taller and wider than both Azriel and Blue, it looked like he swallowed his twin in the womb and they’d both grown together. But his face was soft when he looked at Sera, then at the small roundness of her stomach. He nodded.
“She can stay with me. I have somewhere she’ll be safe. But if you just give me the name of the guy, I can make the whole problem go away permanently,” he growled, and I almost believed him. Sera smiled at him bemusedly, but she seemed comfortable with the big guy. I was glad she could see his mushy insides, without the bonus of my empathy. Cain looked scary, but I knew in my gut that he was a good person.
“I live above the shop, but I’ll close down for a few days. Take her somewhere she can be protected.”
Sera began to protest, but he just shook his head. “No. I will lose a few days profit. You could lose your life,” he said in a low voice, and I could see the swell of sadness in his emotions.
I leaned over and gave him a hug. He stood stiff in my arms, but I expected that. He was too tough to hug me back, but he still needed the contact.
I won’t let another one die. I’ll protect her and the baby. It won’t be like-
Cain pulled away, and I frowned. The big man had secrets. I thought about the sword still strapped to my back.
We all had secrets.
I stepped back into Azriel’s arms. Cain raised an eyebrow. “Done with the pretty one?”
I laughed at his mention of Gusion. “My heart is too big to love just one person.”
He let out a loud, booming laugh that scared the hell out of me. Even Sera jumped.
“If you were any other woman, I’d say that was an excuse to cat around. But with you, I think it may just be the truth. You seem to have no trouble finding trouble. You may need two,” he looked at Blue, “three men just to fish you out of those tight spots.”
I was about to correct him, that it was actually four, but I resisted. It was time to go anyway so I just did my best impression of a Mona Lisa smile.
I looked at Sera, giving her a questioning glance. If she wasn’t comfortable, we would find another solution. But she seemed pretty fond of Cain already, not even in the least bit scared. Actually, Cain fussed around her like a mama hen. If she was happy, so was I.
We said our goodbyes to Cain and Sera, and I gave Cain all the details he would need to contact me, just in case.
I hugged Sera on the way out too, but unlike Cain, I picked up no stray thoughts. She was so muted my empath powers were no use. What was she?
; Chapter Thirty-Six
I asked Azriel that very question when we got into the car. But he had even less answers than me. And seemed way more perturbed.
“What, are you worried about another ‘aberration’ roaming around the planet?” I teased, although I leaned in close to him so he knew I wasn’t mad. His eyes got soft, and he wrapped his arm around my shoulders.
He shook his head. “No. I have seen lots of races walk this earth, more that have died out completely. The Gargoyles, the Atlanteans, the Annukaki, the Orisha, the Skinwalkers, the Mer and the dual-natured. All gone. But she fits with none of those. She is not the last relic of a long dead species. She is an anomaly.”
I was silent while I mulled this over. Also, I made a mental note to google some of those races. All of a sudden those crackpot conspiracy theories didn’t seem so far out. “Do you think she is a risk?”
Probably should have asked that question before I dropped her off with a perfectly defenseless human man, but you know, hindsight and all that.
“Yes, her soul is reasonably pure. Well, as pure as you can get in modern times. Odd, but not malevolent.”
She was just another piece of the puzzle. Sometimes I felt like I was trying to solve the puzzle blindfolded in a hurricane. I sighed and rested my head on Azriel’s shoulder. He sat stiffly, like no one had ever rested their head on his shoulder before. Maybe they hadn’t. So many firsts with this angel. As much as I wanted all his firsts, I still wasn't sure about what I could give him that would be even as remotely important as his wings.
Yeah, he was definitely another problem.
I tilted my head up to look at his face, and when he moved his head, I caught his lips with mine. He was a beautiful problem though, with the softest lips that I’d ever kissed.
I ran my tongue along the seam of his mouth until he opened and I could tangle my tongue with his.
I desperately wanted to be his first everything.
“Where to now, love birds?” Blue said from the front, his tone gruff but not jealous. Blue had changed. His wall had dropped until it was possible to climb over it if you tried.
And still, I was sitting here, happy and terrified, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“Home, I guess. We’ll have to talk to Gus and Memphis about this. About Sera.”
Blue nodded, happy to give control of the issue over to the Fallen. “She did look a little familiar though, don’t you think? Maybe she's Tenebrae?” Blue sounded as perplexed as me about all this crap. Actually, he was taking the whole supernatural aspect way better than I thought. Even Adnan, who’d known of this world his whole life, never accepted it with as much ease as Blue. Because Blue was fearless. How scary could the unknown be if you didn’t fear death?
I looked down at my watch. Actually, while I was tying up loose ends…
“Blue, I changed my mind. Let’s go to the ballet.” Blue raised his brow, but did an extremely illegal U-turn and headed back the other way. There was one more festering wound that either needed healing, or cutting out at the root.
Blue pulled up at the service entrance of the theater where Adnan was currently dancing. “Want to wait until I park the car and I’ll come in with you?” he asked, his expression kinder than his normal neutrality.
I shook my head. “We don’t have passes. I’ll just get Azriel to sift me in.”
With a single nod and a look that I assumed said ‘protect her with your life or I’ll make buffalo wings with your major body parts’, Blue pulled the car around the corner
Azriel didn’t ask any questions, even though I could see the burning need to on his face. Look, he was learning. I wrapped my arms around his waist.
“I am not an elevator, you do know that, right?” he complained.
I laughed. “You mean a teleporter. And I know that, I’ve never wanted to kiss an elevator until its eyes crossed. Now beam me up, Scotty.”
He huffed, but sifted us the short distance to the other side of the door. Maybe it was all the sifting I’d done lately, or maybe all the angel mojo was rubbing off on me, but I didn’t want to throw up on Azriel’s shoes this time. Maybe it was because we only sifted a ten feet away.
I’d been here enough times that I knew my way around the back corridors of the theater. I could tell from the noises backstage that they were doing rehearsals, and that is where Adnan would be. He was never far from the limelight.
We walked into the main stage area, and I stood up the back, watching the dancers run through the blocking. When the music came on, and Adnan stepped out, I held my breath. He moved with unimaginable grace for a man with a prosthetic leg. He leapt, spun, his body rolling with perfect fluidity it was like he was made of air.
I’d always loved watching Adnan dance. It was beautiful. I looked down at my watch. They’d call lunch soon.
As if summoned by my thoughts, the choreographer called it. I watched the painfully thin but incredibly strong ballerinas stride off the stage. I was going to get a donut on the way home, and eat one in their honor.
I followed Adnan with my eyes as he talked to another dancer, but eventually he looked out into the darkness as if he could feel my gaze. Maybe he could. When he met my eyes, I raised my hand. I saw his shoulders straighten, and he lifted his chin.
Would he just walk away? I held my breath, but he was nodding at the other dancer and moving towards us. I walked down the stairs to meet him halfway.
His face was casual and polite. The expression you would give a stranger. I smiled, trying not to let my sadness show on my face.
“Hey. You look well.” Despite my efforts, my voice still sounded rough.
“Thanks,” he said, a tiny smile on his face. We stood there awkwardly, though Adnan’s eyes kept drifting to Azriel.
“Adnan, this is Azriel. Azriel, this is Adnan.”
Azriel nodded, but stayed silent. Actually, he was acting a little weird too. He was doing his best impression of a marble statue with resting bitch face.
“Hope–”
“Look–” we both started at the same time, but he waved for me to continue. “I’m sorry about this whole thing. You are my oldest friend, and I love you. We’ve been through a lot, but I’d really like if we could start to, you know, rebuild what we had. Your room is still there, waiting for you.”
Adnan’s face hardened. “How could you think I would come back, Hope? My brother is dead. My cousin is dead. All because of your family. There is no way I am coming back to live with you.”
His words were like knives in my chest. “I know, Adnan. Believe me, I know. I lost my twin sister, and one of my oldest friends.”
He took a step closer, and Azriel was suddenly beside me, his blue eyes steely.
Adnan just gave him a scathing look. Maybe I should have told him that Azriel was the Angel of Death. Maybe he’d be a little more careful about who he gives the stink eye.
“There is no repairing our friendship, Hope. Your sister cost me my last living relative, and that is something I can never, ever forgive. I’ll be by to get my stuff. I am going to pretend you and your family don’t exist. It’s better for everyone that way.”
He turned and stomped back down the stairs like he hadn’t just shattered my heart into a million pieces.
I watched him go, the last piece of my childhood, the last piece of that idyllic time I had before. Before I was abducted. Before sociopathic archangels and shady organizations.
“You know, he could just trip down the stairs. No big deal. He could see his brother sooner rather than later,” Azriel said in a low voice.
Despite my pain, I couldn’t help but smile. “He’s an asshole, but he isn’t bad. He’d definitely be going up. Unless the thumpers were right about the whole God hating gays thing?”
Azriel scoffed. “Please. He doesn’t care who you love, as long as you don’t go around murdering innocent people. That book is only half right.”
I was pretty sure there was more to it than not murdering people, but I
was glad to hear it anyway. I gave one more look at my past walking away with a rigid, angry posture.
“Goodbye,” I whispered as I turned away too. I made it all the way to the exit, pushing out into the daylight, still holding myself together, Azriel behind me with a hand on my back. When I saw Blue leaning against a wall, waiting for us, I lost it.
Azriel looked at me shocked, his bewildered stare taking in my shaking shoulders and the tears tracking down my cheeks as I cried.
Blue had me wrapped in his arms in an instant, and I pressed my face into his chest and breathed in the scent that was just wholly Blue.
I could hear them talking above my head. “What happened?” Blue asked Azriel.
“The Mulligan forgot to whom he owed his life. He broke her heart.” Azriel’s words were spoken in that impassive way he had, like he was talking about the weather or the rising price of gas, but I knew that deep down he was simmering.
Blue let out a low, growly noise, and turned me into Azriel’s arms. I hadn’t realized how close he was until that moment. That I’d been pressed between them.
I reached out and just caught the edge of Blue’s t-shirt as he marched toward the doors to the theater. “Wait, where are you going?”
“To teach the entitled little fuck a lesson he won’t forget,” he said, his voice scarily low and full of rage. This wasn’t Blue, the calm and apathetic hitman. This was Blue the protector. The man who had let me close enough to care that someone had hurt my feelings.
The thought, and the fiery way he looked at me, butterfly-stitched closed the hole in my heart, at least temporarily.
Hell's Redemption- The Complete Series Boxset Page 84
