The Guardian

by Elicia Hyder

  “Yeah. I talked to her husband this morning when I heard you’d be here today,” Nathan answered. “He said they’d be home all day and to text him when we’re on our way.”

  “You ready for this?” I asked with a grin.

  He sighed and shook his head. “I feel like I’m taking my life into my hands. I considered wearing a cup.”

  “Nathan,” Sloan chided, rolling her eyes.

  “Speaking of people taking their lives into their hands…” Nathan pointed at Azrael. “Did you talk to your father about him trying to get himself killed?”

  “I wasn’t trying to get myself killed,” Azrael argued.

  “You were standing in a bathtub full of water about to drop a hair dryer into it, while my daughter watched,” Nathan said.

  “We talked about it,” I said. “And he won’t do it anymore. Right, Az?”

  He rolled his eyes. “Right.”

  Fury cleared her throat behind me. “Sloan, is it true you got your powers back?”

  Sloan looked surprised that Fury was speaking directly to her; they’d never gotten along. Or maybe, like me, she was surprised that Fury was speaking at all.

  Sloan hid her hands in her lap. “It’s debatable.”

  “I saw you do it in Azrael’s memory stone,” I said.

  “Well, something happened in that electrical storm, but no one knows what,” she said.

  “Can you show us?” I asked.

  She hesitated.

  “Oh, come on. It’s not a gathering of friends without Sloan whipping out the party tricks,” Adrianne teased.

  “Only if you want to,” Nathan said gently to his wife. Then he looked over at me. “I’m afraid we’ve all worn her out with it the last couple of months.”

  He probably meant Azrael.

  “Only if you want to,” I repeated.

  Sloan slowly raised her hands, palms facing each other. Then she pressed her eyes closed. A second later, a bright white light sizzled to life, crackling in the space between her hands.

  Azrael was mesmerized. Like a starving man watching the Food Network. Iliana squealed, kicking her feet.

  “Try to summon someone,” Fury said to Sloan.

  Part of Fury’s gift was to see how angels used their powers. If Sloan was, indeed, tapping into her old summoning power, Fury would be able to see it.

  Sloan’s light fizzled out. “Summon who?”

  Fury shrugged. “I dunno. Anyone. It doesn’t matter as long as they’re human. Summon Chimera.”

  “Huh?” Chimera asked.

  “No, she’s not completely human,” Azrael said. “Summon Fury.”

  Sloan chewed on the side of her bottom lip. I wondered if she was nervous she’d fail. Or if she was still afraid of Fury. It was probably a combination of both. Nevertheless, she closed her eyes, and her brow pinched with concentration.

  I scooted to the side so I could watch.

  Fury’s eyes seemed to trace a path between them. “I see it. It’s faint, but the power’s there.”

  “I knew it.” Azrael clapped his hands together.

  Nathan pointed at him. “Don’t get any ideas there, sparky.”

  Azrael cracked a slight smile.

  “Do you think it’s something she can improve?” I asked Fury.

  Fury lifted her shoulders. “We’ve seen her improve in the past.”

  That was probably the closest Fury had ever come to paying Sloan a compliment, even an indirect one.

  “What if it’s harmful for Iliana?” Sloan asked.

  “The Father was there,” Azrael said. “If it was going to be an issue, he would have put a stop to it when it happened.”

  Sloan looked at me for confirmation.

  “I think he’s right.” I looked down at Iliana. She was watching her momma, mesmerized. “She clearly loves it.”

  Sloan was quiet for a moment. “I don’t want to get everyone’s hopes up to just be a disappointment.”

  Nathan and I replied almost in perfection unison, “You could never be a disappointment.” At the same time Fury said, “She has a point.”

  Everyone burst out laughing. Even Sloan. “Thank God,” she said. “You were being so nice I was beginning to worry you’d been possessed by a demon.”

  Fury smiled, crossing her boots at the ankles. “You’re safe another day, Sloan.”

  Picking up Iliana, I sat on the couch again by Fury. “Do I still have a go-bag packed at the command center?” she asked.

  Azrael answered “yes” and I answered “no” at the same time. They both looked at me. “Cassiel and I took your bag with us when we went to Italy. She wore your clothes,” I said.

  Fury scowled, a look she did well.

  “Sorry. Desperate times. We were in a rush to save the world, you know.”

  “I need to go shopping then. Everything I had burned in the crash,” she said.

  “Me too. We’ll go after Shannon’s. Nate, can I borrow my car?” I asked.

  “It’s already here.” He pointed out the window. “We decided to store it in Az’s barn. It’s not really practical with an infant.”

  I kissed the head of the infant in my lap.

  “I heard he’s driving a minivan now,” Fury said, looking across me at Nathan.

  I grinned. “Seriously?”

  He sat back in his seat. “Hey, don’t judge me. Babies have a lot of shit.” He pointed at her. “Just wait. It’ll be your turn soon enough.”

  She smirked. “Over my dead body.”

  “A minivan?” I asked him.

  He pointed at Sloan. “She drives it. I still have my truck.”

  I shook my head, then looked at Fury. “We’ll take my car to Shannon’s, then swing by the store on our way back.”

  “Sounds like a plan. You ready to go now?” she asked.

  I looked down at Iliana. “No.”

  “We’ll still be here when you get back,” Sloan said from the floor.

  “We’d planned to pick up something to grill for dinner and invite a few of the SF-12 guys over, but I’m not sure if that’s still a good idea.” Adrianne’s eyes flashed toward Fury behind me.

  I looked back at her. “What do you think?”

  “You guys can do whatever you want. I’m fine.”

  Her refusal to meet my eyes indicated otherwise, but I nodded. “I think grilling out sounds great.” With a heavy sigh, I looked at Iliana. “Guess I gotta go to work, little girl.”

  “No,” she said perfectly.

  I laughed. “No?”

  “No.”

  I kissed her head. “I’ll be back.”

  Sloan got up and took her from me. Nathan stood and kissed them both goodbye.

  “Az, you coming?” I asked.

  “No. I won’t be of any use at Shannon’s. Just let me know what you think when you see the child. If it’s truly an angel, we’ll need to take precautions.”

  “OK.”

  “Chimera, why don’t you go with them?” Azrael said. “If you and Warren both go all the way to Flat Rock, leaving Iliana here wearing the necklace, we should know if it really protects her or not.”

  Chimera stood. “Sure.”

  “Where are the keys to the car?” Nathan asked Azrael.

  He got up and walked to the kitchen as I started toward the front door. A dark spot on the wall drew my attention. I stopped.

  The wall was scorched black around an electrical outlet near the door. When I looked back at Azrael returning from the kitchen, guilt was etched across his face.

  “Did you do this too?” I asked.

  “It was a faulty cell phone charger,” he lied as he handed me my old key ring.

  “Really?”

  He slowly shook his head.

  I jabbed my finger into his breastbone. “No more.”

  “I promise.” He stepped around us and opened the front door. “Call me when you’re on your way back.”

  “We’re planning to eat around seven,” Adrianne said. “A
ny special requests?”

  I smiled back at Sloan. “Just that my family’s here.”

  “We’re not going anywhere,” she said. “Illy, tell Appa bye-bye.”

  Instead, she blew me a kiss.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Oh no. No, no, no, no, no.”

  Shannon Green—or whatever her last name was now—tried to slam her front door. Nathan McNamara slid his boot in the doorway to stop it.

  A baby wailed somewhere in the house.

  “Shannon, you knew we were coming,” he said.

  “The hell I did.”

  To be fair, it was clear she didn’t know we were coming. I’d never seen Shannon be anything less than camera ready. Perfect hair. Flawless makeup. Clothes straight off a runway.

  Even piss-ass drunk that one time in San Antonio, she’d still looked better than she did right now.

  The blonde hair she usually kept meticulously sculpted was lopsided and matted underneath like it hadn’t seen a brush ever. Her face was au naturale with dark heavy bags under her eyes. And her clothes…hell, both shoulders of her holey sweatshirt were covered in baby puke.

  Inside, the crying waned to a whimper.

  Shannon’s entire body relaxed. “Thank God he’s finally stopped.”

  “He cries a lot?” I asked.

  That was when her tired eyes fell on me. “Warren? Good lord, aren’t you supposed to be dead?”

  I held up both hands and wiggled my fingers. “Surprise.”

  She tried to push the door closed again.

  Nathan flattened his palm against it. “I talked to Reese and told him we were stopping by today.”

  “He did, he did.” A tall black guy walked up the hallway behind her. “Hey, Nate. Good to see you, man.” He stretched out his hand as he moved between his wife and the door.

  Nathan shook it. “Hey, Reese.”

  “Sorry for the confusion. I knew if I warned her, she’d freak out.”

  Shannon put her fists on her hips and turned toward him. “Are you serious?”

  Reese put his hands on her shoulders. “You know what the doctor said. Our son is different. Nate warned us this might happen. We need to hear them out.”

  Shannon’s gaping mouth snapped closed.

  “Come on in.” Reese pulled the door open all the way. He saw Fury and Chimera standing behind me. “You brought friends.”

  “Hopefully, we can get this over with in one trip.” Nathan walked inside first. “Reese, this is my daughter’s biological father, Warren Parish.”

  Reese offered me his hand. “Tyrell Reese. I’ve heard a lot about you lately.”

  I wanted to say I knew absolutely nothing about him or how he wound up married to Nathan’s ex-girlfriend, but I didn’t. I shook his hand as I walked inside. Then I gestured toward Fury. “This is my…”

  I had no idea how to introduce her.

  Shannon beat me to it. “This is Warren’s ex-girlfriend. Her name is Angry.”

  Nathan couldn’t stifle a laugh. He clamped his hand over his mouth.

  “My name is Fury,” Fury corrected her.

  “Same thing,” Shannon hissed.

  I grinned. “And this is our friend, Chimera.”

  “That’s a cool name,” Reese said.

  Shannon rolled her eyes. “I doubt it’s real.”

  “She’s pleasant, isn’t she?” Chimera asked.

  Nathan looked around the floor. “Where’s that demonic ankle biter of yours?”

  Shannon’s nostrils flared. “Baby Dog is at my mother’s until we can handle both the dog and the baby.”

  Reese leaned toward Nathan. “Which will honestly be never.”

  “That dog is evil,” Nathan muttered.

  Reese nodded. “Like Gargamel-level evil.”

  “More like Abaddon-level evil.”

  “Who?” Reese looked understandably confused.

  Nathan’s eyes widened. “Never mind. Where’s the baby?”

  I chuckled. Fury sighed and shook her head.

  “Why do you want to see the baby?” Shannon demanded. “What’s going on?”

  Nathan lowered his voice. “We just want to see him. Nobody will even touch him without your permission. I promise.” He sounded like a hostage negotiator.

  “He’s in the living room, and he’s finally calmed down.” Reese led us down the hall. “The kid has done nothing but cry since he was born three days ago.”

  “Not surprising,” Fury said not-so-quietly behind me.

  “Why?” Nathan asked.

  “Jett cried nonstop for the first few days. The baby’s going through withdrawal.”

  “Withdrawal?” Shannon spun around so fast Nathan nearly ran over her. “Who do you think I am, lady?”

  I looked back over my shoulder and frowned at Fury.

  Fury took a step back. “I really meant no offense.”

  “But you think I’m a drug addict? A drunk?” Shannon was teetering on hysterics.

  Fury looked at me for help? To defuse the situation? I wasn’t sure. I was tempted to leave her out on her limb. I’d reminded her in the car: Shannon didn’t know how very real angels were—or that her newborn son was one.

  “No one thinks you’re an addict or a drunk. But we do agree with the doctors. Your son’s different,” I said gently.

  Tears brimmed in Shannon’s eyes. Reese curled his arm around her shoulders. “Babe, it’ll be OK.” He kissed the side of her head. “Trust me.”

  Good thing he was so confident. Even if their son was an angel, there was no way to tell if he was a good spirit or an evil one.

  “Come on,” Reese said, steering Shannon toward the living room.

  The living room looked almost as disheveled as Shannon. A bassinet was crammed between the coffee table and love seat. A bouncy seat was on its side near the TV. And a diaper bag lay open on the sofa, its contents strewn across the cushions and spilling over onto the carpet.

  “It’s been a rough time for you, hasn’t it?” I asked, genuinely sympathetic.

  “Shut up, Warren,” Shannon snapped.

  Her husband caught my eye and mouthed the word “sorry.”

  “It’s OK.” I didn’t have to ask where the baby was. I could feel his presence in the bassinet. I walked over and looked down into it.

  The baby boy was wide awake, his dark eyes searching as far as his tiny neck would stretch. His gaze locked on me, and he smiled and kicked his feet.

  I spoke to him telepathically. “Can you hear me?”

  The baby didn’t even blink.

  We’d determined when Fury’s son was born, that angels in infancy can recognize the inaudible voices of other angels in their choir. Jett was an Angel of Protection, we were almost 100 percent certain, because it seemed he could “hear” Reuel.

  This kid couldn’t “hear” me, but it was clear from the smile on his face, he knew I was like him. Maybe he was just thankful for the break in the migraine.

  “What do you call him?” I asked.

  “Reginald Nicolas Green-Reese the Fourth,” Shannon answered with a sniffle.

  My brow crumpled with confusion.

  Nathan looked as perplexed as I felt. “Reginald Nicolas Green-Reese the Fourth?”

  “Reginald Nicolas Green is a family name,” Shannon explained.

  “Her family’s name,” Reese clarified if there was any question.

  Shannon began counting on her fingers. “My grandfather was Reginald Nicolas Green the First, my dad was Reginald Nicolas Green Junior, and my brother is Reginald Nicolas Green the Third. It only made sense that I have the Fourth.”

  Made sense. Sure.

  Chimera leaned toward Nathan’s ear. “She knows that’s not the way it works, right?”

  Nathan didn’t move his lips when he replied, “I don’t think so.”

  I just grinned and looked down at the baby again.

  “Don’t get me started. I only agreed if we could call him Nico. The rest wasn’t worth the bat
tle,” Reese said.

  “Nico. I like it,” I said.

  Reese moved the coffee table out of the way, then came over and stood beside me. “Unbelievable. I think that’s the first time he’s smiled.”

  Shannon rushed over, pushing me aside. “What? Smiling?” Her excitement faded quickly. “He’s not smiling.”

  “He was,” Reese said, stressing the past-tenseness of it.

  With a loud whine, Shannon’s knees buckled, and Reese caught her around the waist. “My baby doesn’t love me!”

  Fury swore, and Chimera rolled her eyes.

  “She’s so tired,” he said with an apologetic smile as he dragged her to the sofa. “Shannon, baby, he does love you…”

  I tuned him out and turned toward my friends. Fury had approached the bassinet and was now leaning over it. “Mind if I hold him?” she asked his parents.

  I was so shocked I could’ve fallen onto the floor.

  “Go ahead,” Reese said, still crouched in front of his wife and holding both of her hands. “But if he starts screaming, don’t take it personally. He’s been better today, finally, but it’s pretty nonstop.”

  Fury carefully lifted the tiny baby out of the bed and cradled him carefully in her arms. “He won’t scream. Warren’s here.”

  Reginald Nicolas Green-Reese IV reached his hand up toward Fury’s tan cheek. She bent her head to meet his fingers, and she smiled.

  Holy hell. Watching her with him was mesmerizing. Like she’d suddenly morphed into someone else altogether. Something Azrael had said once upon a time floated to mind. “Parenthood changes people, son. Never discount that.”

  She carried him to the love seat and sat down, making cooing noises at him.

  “You seeing this or am I hallucinating?” Nathan asked quietly beside me.

  “If you’re hallucinating, so am I.”

  “I know I don’t know her too well, but this is weird, isn’t it?” Chimera asked.

  “Oh yeah,” Nate and I said together.

  “Baby Nico is an angel, but I don’t know what kind,” I said. “He’s not an Angel of Death.”

  Perhaps I didn’t speak softly enough because the conversation on the sofa ended abruptly. When I looked past Nate, Shannon and Reese were staring at us with wide, fearful eyes.

  “What did you say?” Shannon asked.

  Shit.

  “Oh boy,” Nathan said with a chuckle.