My lips tilted up, and I found it funny that we’d switched roles. Normally I was the one trying to be upbeat in the face of tragedy.
“Seriously, Joseph, you’re going to be the death of me. All the swooping in and saving you that I have to do on a regular basis.”
My grin widened. “Awe, but if you die, who’s going to keep me out of trouble? You’re one of the only friends I have with super powers.”
“Well, the only reason we’re friends is because you can rock a tweed suit,” she informed, tone mock serious. “So if you want to keep me around, I expect more tweed.”
“And here I thought it was my charming looks and personality that kept you around,” I said. But then the smile melted away as I asked the dreaded question burning in the back of my throat: “Firen, who did this?” I gestured toward the pile of wood that was once my house.
Andrew stepped into our little circle. He glanced between Jenna and me, and he grinned suddenly. “I’m going to go out on a limb and say it was the ex-girlfriend,” Andrew said, winking at Jenna.
For a few seconds, no one said anything, but then Jenna burst into a fit of hysterical laughter. Gabby joined in, adding, “I’ve been teaching him new phrases.”
I smiled at them, knowing they were just trying to break the tension, but I had to know who had almost killed my family. “Firen, was it Sara?” I asked, having to speak over the giggling sisters.
Firen nodded, and my fingers curled into fists at my side. Sara had finally gone too far, and I had no one to blame but myself. The laughter hastily cut off, and Jenna and Gabby shared the same look I knew was splayed across my face: rage.
CHAPTER 9: HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD
I needed a vacation. Understatement, to be sure, but it needed to be said. There had been so much crap piled on me, I was honestly surprised I hadn’t broken in half already or, at the very least, crumbled to dust under the weight. It was probably a good thing I was Gabby’s Keeper and had some kind of mystical protection, though I still didn’t fully understand what that meant. I just hoped Jenna never had to go through all the trials and pains I already had. If I could, I’d go through them for her. Between the battles, the hospitals, multiple deaths, the healing, and the wild, crazy media, I hadn’t seriously considered the idea that things could get any worse, even though all signs had been pointing that direction for some time. What was that saying again? Everything that can go wrong will? Yeah. That described my life a little too perfectly.
And then—drum roll please—my ex-girlfriend showed up. Sara’s visit was mild compared to everything else, but I had yet to truly grasp how certifiable she really was. How should I have known she would return to get revenge on me—she was the one who’d forced herself into my home, not the other way around. What was that other phrase? The one about a woman scorned? Warning fully comprehended, acknowledged, and memorized. I’d never make that mistake again.
Everything I’d worked so hard for was now ash. My home, my car . . . it was all gone. Hell, I didn’t even have an extra pair of boxer-briefs. For some reason, that last thought made it seem all the more devastating. As I watched the flames devour what was left of my home, I thought of all the things I was losing. I didn’t completely understand how much stuff I’d amassed over the years until I started the inventory in my head. The small things were what really got to me, like my World’s Best Uncle mug, the boxes of birthday and Christmas cards, or the stacks of photos sitting in the garage. I didn’t even have a toothbrush. What kind of insanity was that?
The frame of my house crashed to the ground, shrinking with each second that passed, the wild flames refusing to be tamed by the torrent of water. Everything I’d known for years was disappearing before my eyes. I was in shock, though that word didn’t adequately describe the emotions I felt. Even through all of this, I was lucky. I automatically sought out my family, releasing a sigh of relief that they had made it out without a single burn or scorched lung. I didn’t know when I’d started to think of Firen as family, but she undoubtedly was. She’d woven her way into my life just as easily as Gabby and Jenna had.
Jules had fallen asleep in my arms sometime between four and five in the morning. Even though my arms were tired and sore from her weight, I couldn’t let her go. A blanket covered her from head to toe, and her head was tucked into my neck. She felt like my daughter, and I knew I couldn’t hold off on the adoption conversation with Jenna any longer.
At sunrise, the sky lit up as orange and vibrant as last night’s fire. Seeing the damage in daylight was like a punch in the gut. My car, once sleek and beautiful, was now a skeleton poking through the remains of the garage. I needed a more family-friendly vehicle anyway. The wooden fence in the backyard was half gone, which I’m sure my nosy neighbor would have appreciated if I still had a house he could snoop around, and the shed in the backyard had crumpled in like a soda can. Smoke rose hauntingly into the cold morning air. On closer inspection, I realized nothing would be salvageable. The water had turned the ashes into mush, mixing together and hardening as it dried.
Fire trucks, ambulances, and police cruisers littered the street, and uniformed people were everywhere. Through all the chaos, reporters had found their way past the barricades, and they rushed me. For a moment, I thought they might not stop and braced myself to be trampled, trying my best to protect Jules with my body. Instead, microphones were shoved in my face, and the media screamed at me as if their mad dash in my direction hadn’t already gained my attention.
“Joseph Carter! Joseph Carter! Over here, over here!”
Stupid vultures. They wanted one thing: my life. It all came down to what they could get from me, what I could offer them. What news story could they break by recording and manipulating everything I said? Had I mentioned I needed a vacation? I pushed and shouldered my way through the crowd sideways, hoping they’d back off as not to jostle the sleeping Jules. They threw question after question at me like tiny missiles.
“Was it arson?”
“Who did it?”
“How did it start?”
“Was anyone killed?”
“Is everyone okay?”
“Are you okay?”
“What about the angels?”
“Why didn’t the angels stop this?”
On and on and on . . . My head spun, and I knew a headache was just around the corner. In that moment, all I really wanted to do was curl into a ball small enough to disappear. It wasn’t very manly of me to think that, but a man could only take so much. Jenna reached for me and helped pull me out of the crowd. Realization hit me so suddenly and swiftly I nearly tripped. Jenna and Jules had become the most precious and important people in my world, and if I had them, I’d be okay. As long as I had them, I would survive this.
A magical bubble popped up between the media and us. The outline of it caught the sun’s rays and reflected colors all around us like a prism of light, all rainbows and shimmering surfaces. When I glanced up, Gabby and Andrew were grinning at us, pleased with themselves. Before I had a chance to thank them, Lucia was there, forming a portal. I couldn’t wait to step through it, not caring where it took me, as long as it transported me far, far away from here. I didn’t want to look at the ruins of my life anymore. I didn’t want to have to deal with the press or my boss or protestors.
Once the portal was formed, the media went wild. I didn’t waste any time stepping through, leaving it all behind. Mentally, I was laughing. Hah, let the media chew on that! I wondered what the headlines would say. “The Angels Disappear and Take Agent Carter With Them!” or “Angels Are Actually Aliens, Here To Invade Earth!” or “Stay Inside: Angels Will Kidnap Your Children!” Who knew what kind of spin they’d put on it. Maybe they’d think I was dead. Now that I thought about it, that wouldn’t be such a horrible idea if it would get them to leave me the hell alone.
Before exiting the portal, I made sure to claim my frequent flyer miles with Lucia. Hah-hah. Once on the other side, I was greeted with the rhythmic poun
ding of waves wearing at the shoreline. My feet shifted in the sand as I took in the miles of beach, barely visible in the night. The sun hadn’t risen yet here, and it was warm outside. We were far from D.C., which made me smile. Jules was still asleep in my arms, and it didn’t even surprise me. She could sleep through a marching band doing circles around her bed.
“Aloha, and welcome to Hawaii,” Gabby said, gesturing behind me. She sounded just as tired and exhausted as I felt, but relief underscored her words.
“It’s the best we could do on short notice,” Andrew added. He said it as if apologizing for bringing us to Hawaii. Was he crazy? It was Hawaii! How could you do any better than that?
I turned; the rental house she and Andrew had shared not long ago was a shadow in the night. “What are we doing here?” I asked. I was nervous all of a sudden, remembering the events that happened here before we fled.
“Well, seeing as how everything’s gone to shit, I figured a vacation rental would do you some good,” she explained.
I wanted to laugh, but I was too exhausted to exert the effort. “You hit the nail on the head with that one.”
Andrew shared a grin with Gabby, actually able to decipher our strange language this time. I caught Jenna’s weary and tired expression transform with a wide smile.
“What about the Empyrean Guard?” I asked, my gaze suspiciously searching every shadow. “Won’t they come looking here for you?”
“That ship’s long since sailed,” Gabby said. “They’ve known my location for a few days, yet they’ve kept away. This will be the last place they’ll look. Besides, we’re on a completely different island.”
My eyebrows rose. “But—” I squinted, trying to make out the rental house’s features.
Andrew must have understood my hesitation because he stepped forward and tacked on, “It’s like the same place we stayed, but it’s not. It’s owned by the same company—that’s why it looks similar.”
“Wow.” That was about as much as I could spit out, my tongue tied in gratefulness over their kindness. “Anywhere would have been perfect, as long as it’s far away from—” I almost said “far away from my home,” but I didn’t have one anymore. It was now my pile of ash, or the barbecue pit that was once my home, or Ashty McAshterson. I mean, what did I call it now? My lot?
I received looks of pity, and the silence turned awkward. No one wanted to say it, so I did. “As long as I’m far away from my pile of ash.”
No one laughed.
<>
After a dreadful, thirty minute conversation with my mother, followed by the five minute one with my father that was full of condolences about my home and apologies for my mother’s behavior, I was spent. All I could think about was sleep—I needed a break from my reality—but I had a feeling sleep wouldn’t come so easily. I made myself focus on Jenna and Jules. Guilt ate away at my insides; it was my fault they were ever in danger. When that brick came through the window, my reaction shouldn’t have been “tomorrow.” I shouldn’t have waited even a minute. In fact, I should have demanded we leave that second, but I didn’t because I was a moron.
I sighed as I sat next to Jules. She was fast asleep on the couch, and the angelic look on her face put me at ease; I was glad her sleep wasn’t being wracked with nightmares about fires or angry mobs of people throwing bricks. Ah, to be so oblivious and unaware. Jenna was in the bedroom, and it wouldn’t have surprised me if she were already asleep herself. Firen towered over me, her presence comforting. If Firen hadn’t rescued her from the fire, I would have been stuck in that back room with Jules. Hell, if it weren’t for Gabby and her abilities to save and heal me, I’d be in the hospital right now with horrific burns. The thought of those same wounds being inflicted on Jules nearly crippled me.
I had planned to ask Jenna about adopting Jules a while back, but things had gotten so crazy and hectic that the timing never seemed right. After last night, there was no right time anymore. It was now—now was the time. I wanted to be her father. Though I knew I’d never be able to fill the void of her real dad, I hoped Jenna and Jules would let me try. It would be impossible to walk in the shoes of a hero, which was exactly what Dave was. He’d died fighting in Iraq before Jules was even born. How did one live up to that?
I rose, leaned over and kissed Jules on the forehead, and waved goodnight to Firen as I made my way to the bedroom. Jenna was cuddled under the covers, barely awake. The sun was finally rising, and it was weird to think it was time to sleep. Though I’d normally not find this gloomy weather pleasant, I appreciated the cloudy sky, sprinkling rain over the lush, green landscape visible outside our window.
“Hey, I wanted to talk to you about something,” I said softly.
Jenna scooted into a sitting position, seeming uncertain. “What is it?” Her tone was worried.
I perched on the side of the bed, turning to face her. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad. I just . . . I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something for a while, but I didn’t know how to approach the subject. So . . . I’m just going to say it.”
Her eyebrows furrowed.
I pulled her hands into mine and looked her right in the eye. I wanted her to know that what I was about to say wasn’t because I felt like I had to do it, but because I wanted to be Jules’s dad. “Jenna, I want to adopt Jules.”
Silence.
Her eyes went wide, the only reaction. She stared at me in shock.
“Now would be a good time to say something,” I said nervously, followed by a strange little chuckle I couldn’t believe just exited my throat.
Jenna still didn’t say anything, but her mouth moved as if she wanted to. I didn’t know what to do. Was she upset? My stomach twisted at the thought. Was she afraid I was trying to replace a dad Jules had never known? I felt sick, and now I didn’t know how to back pedal from this conversation. I didn’t want to take it back, but I certainly didn’t want Jenna to think I was trying to replace Dave.
“Jenna? Did I say the wrong thing?” My voice didn’t sound like mine. It was shaky and afraid. I couldn’t remember ever feeling so anxious around someone before, so unsure of where I stood.
“Y-yes,” Jenna spluttered. “Yes. Yes! I want you to be her father.” The words came out all flustered and breathy.
I eyed her carefully, trying to determine if her agreeing was because she truly wanted me to fill that void in Jules’s life, or if she felt obligated to say yes.
“Are you sure?” I barely whispered. I was giving her an out. If she didn’t want me to adopt Jules, now was her chance to say so. If she said no, it would break my heart in ways I didn’t know it could be broken, but I had to know for sure that this was what she wanted too.
“Jenna?” I prodded when she didn’t respond.
Her lip quivered, and her eyes watered. Suddenly, she burst into sobs. My mouth flew open; I didn’t know what to do. Women and tears were something I’d never dealt with well, so seeing Jenna that way nearly broke me in half. Hell, it almost made me cry.
“What’s wrong?” I demanded. “Is this about Dave?” I mentally went over the conversation again, making sure I hadn’t said something to offend her.
She shook her head. “No, that’s not it. I just never thought you’d ask.” She barely got the words out between her tears. “Yes, I want you to adopt Jules,” she cried. “I’ve never wanted anything more in my life.”
“So these are happy tears?” The words tumbled out on a laugh, relief flooding into me.
“Yes, you idiot!” she exclaimed. “Of course they’re happy tears.”
That was when I became the speechless one, but Jenna didn’t care. She practically tackled me, hugging me with all her strength. I held her close, hardly able to believe how perfect everything was. I’d thought my life had burned to ashes along with my house, but as I soaked up the moment, feeling more joy and love than I could ever remember, I finally understood the statement: home is where the heart is. She was home, not the brick and mortar house I used
to have back in D.C.
I couldn’t believe I had this woman and her—my—beautiful daughter. They were going to be in my life forever. The mere thought sent me into euphoric laughter.
CHAPTER 10: NOT PLAYING WITH A FULL DECK
My sleep was rudely interrupted when I fell to the floor with a thud, taking part of the blankets with me. Standing over me was Lucia, the last person I expected to see in my bedroom. That was when I realized she had shoved me off the bed.
“What’d you do that for?” I mumbled, still half asleep. “What do you want?” That came out angry and grumpy. Shaking off the last remnants of sleep, I’d finally come to grasp the fact that Lucia being in my room wasn’t a good omen. “What’s wrong?” I demanded, fully awake now.
Lucia cocked her head to the side and glared down at me, sprawled on the floor. “It’s about time you woke up. Director Morris has been trying to call you for fifteen minutes.”
“Okay,” I said caustically. “Then why are you in my room? Ever heard of knocking?”
Lucia gave me a look that clearly showed how big of a moron she thought I was. “They’ve found Sara.”
Jenna started to wake, and I knew the last thing she wanted to hear about was Sara. Hell, that was the last thing I wanted to hear about.
“Um, thanks for telling me?” It came out as a question. I still wasn’t a hundred percent sure why Lucia needed to dump me on the floor to tell me this news while I was busy getting some much-needed sleep. Of course I was thrilled to hear they’d captured Sara, but couldn’t it have waited until later? Hadn’t I been through enough?
“The thing is, Joseph, Sara’s refused to come . . . quietly,” Lucia said slowly, as if explaining it to a child. She paused. Waited.
I made a gesture for her to continue. “And? Tell the agents to man up, slap the handcuffs on her, and drag her to prison. You’re an angel, why don’t you help out?”
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