Wrath's Patience (Seven Deadly Sins Book 3)

by R. A. Pollard

  Tan watched Annabelle. The little girl was quiet for a few moments as she peered at him carefully with those eyes that held far too much intelligence. It was a bit intimidating. Rolling his shoulders and finally remembering how to move his legs, he turned to fully face her. Then he walked slowly toward the pair of ladies and took in the child, almost a carbon copy of her mother—all but her eyes; he swore she could see into his very soul.

  “Before you answer, child, I want you to really think about it. I don’t know the first thing about children.” His eyes met her mother’s and his chest felt tight. How could he feel so weak before these two females? How had one small child and this wondrous woman sunk into his soul so quickly?

  “Neither did Mommy. She learned.” Of course Bella would come up with an answer like that. Tan nodded, a smile on his lips.

  “Good point.” Grudgingly, he admitted he just got bested by a five-year-old.

  He watched as Layla let her daughter down to the floor and the small child walked up to him. She looked down at her feet, her tiny toes sticking out from under her long pink nightgown. Little fingers pulled at a stray fiber on the shirt until finally she looked up at him and pointed at the floor. She waited patiently until he got the message and moved down to his knees. He was being judged, at least that was what it felt like. The girl before him crossed her arms over her chest and began to speak—and in that second, she looked very much like her aunt.

  “Daddy’s have rules. Daddy’s tuck in at night, and they check for monsters. That is very important. If they find them they have to chase them away. My Daddy will play with me, anything I want, even tea party. Daddy’s give hugs, the best bear hugs. But only Mommy gives the bestest hugs.”

  He blinked. He was being given rules? Seriously? And she was not done, she just kept going. Something about building a treehouse, giving her ice cream when she wanted it, which her mother quickly vetoed. Watching whatever Disney film she wanted as many times as she wanted—Layla announced that was all on him.

  He was a little overwhelmed by all this. Did all potential fathers have this? Someone needed to write that damn manual for dealing with kids. Finally, she stopped and looked at him expectantly. Eyebrows raised, he stared at her and opened his mouth to speak.

  “Before I agree… I want you to know, I really like your mother—”

  “Like as in, like-like?” Her little eyebrow rose, her eyes bright. She had a brilliant smile on her face, and he was pretty sure she was talking to him in English. How was he supposed to do this when he couldn’t even understand half the stuff that came out of her mouth?

  He looked imploringly at Layla. The damned woman was laughing at him, her hand covering her mouth to hide the sound, her eyes shimmering with the tears of laughter. Clearly, she knew what the child was talking about. She must have felt pity on him; moving to kneel beside her daughter, she stroked down her child’s sunlight hair with a smile.

  “Be gentle with him, Belle. I don’t think he speaks little girl.” Her eyes glittered as she held back the laugh by pressing her lips together tightly. Annabelle looked at her mother and nodded. She turned her eyes back to him and reached out, patting his arm.

  “It’s okay. I can teach you.”

  Tan felt like he had just stepped into some kind of hidden world with new rules and a new language, and he was totally lost. These two females looked at him with smiles that made his heart ache, and the fact his mind was a thousand-piece puzzle scattered to the wind suddenly didn’t matter so much to him.

  “I think I can work with that, Bella. Are you okay with me liking your mother? With me being in your family?” Something told him it was important to ask for the child’s permission. She was, of course, the most important thing in Layla’s life.

  “Yes. You make Mommy happy. She needs to be happy. She needs you, I always knew that. Grammy Annie told me so when you first arrived. She said I just had to wait for you to catch up with everyone else.”

  He wasn’t sure how he felt about “everyone else” knowing about this fate of his before him. But clearly something bigger than just his life was happening here. Had all this been planned? Someone somewhere was weaving his future like some twisted macabre rug with the odd amazing gift thrown in. That gift happened to be watching him carefully, her eyes wide at her daughter’s words. She seemed as shocked as he did.

  “Mommy, breakfast went cold again. I’m going to get dressed and feed the animals. Wolfie can help me.” Her smile lit the room and she threw herself at the demon, wrapping her little arms around his neck. “I think I will like having a daddy.”

  She let him go and bolted from the kitchen, taking the stairs two at a time back to her room. Tan watched her go, blinking at the impromptu hug. His memory might be like Swiss cheese, but he knew for a fact no child had ever hugged him before.

  Layla watched as Annabelle dragged the large male from the house. His hand looked huge in hers, but she was a determined little beast when she wanted to be. She almost felt sorry for him; the look on his face when Annabelle hugged him had been precious. He had been so lost it was totally endearing to watch.

  This would be tough for him. She was not naïve enough to think he would just step into the role of father figure without issue. He looked utterly stumped, but he was adamant this was going to work, that he would do this no matter what. So when the overly excited child came bounding down the stairs dressed in bright pink winter clothes, grabbing him and yanking on him until he moved, he let her drag him away.

  Layla felt her heart jump into her chest. She had seen this man in the throes of rage and madness. Seen the beast he could become, and felt his teeth tear into her hand. Yet watching him with her daughter he was someone else, someone she could clearly see even he did not recognize. Even as his memory returned to him in bits and pieces, she could see within him this new calm that he did not understand.

  “So you fucked him then?” Turning around quickly at the bitter sound of her sister’s voice, Layla sighed and dropped her drying cloth on the counter.

  “Don’t be so crude, Lexi.” She did not want to get into this with her sister right now.

  “Crude? You did fuck him though, right? I figured when I came home last night and he wasn’t on the couch. Who am I kidding, not like I couldn’t hear you two this morning. Seriously? With Annabelle in the house?” Layla gritted her teeth and lifted her head, locking her gaze to her sister’s.

  “I would watch your tone, Lexi. I’m an adult. If I want to sleep with him I damn well will. Understand? I don’t need your permission.” Layla could feel her heartbeat hardening in her chest. The wind began picking up outside the house. She needed to calm her anger now or something bad might happen on the mountain.

  Her sister’s eyes flicked to the window behind her, then she walked toward the counter that separated them. Layla stared at her sister. The usual blue of her sister’s eyes was now grey and angry, like a gathering storm. Layla knew why. Her sister had developed trust issues to rival an international spy when Richard ran off. Layla never fully understood why, considering she was the one Richard left while pregnant. Lexi had shut herself off from everyone but her family, and trusted no man from that day on. Now one had come into her family, and swept her sister from her feet. Layla suspected Lexi was more than a little jealous.

  “You don’t know what you’re doing, Layla. You know nothing about that man. For the love of god, he is not even human! How can you let that thing into your bed?” Lexi spoke with such a vile tongue that Layla took a step back.

  “Neither are we, in case you forgot, and neither is Annabelle.” She had never heard Lexi speak like this before. Who was this woman before her, spitting such hate?

  “Layla, I didn’t mean it like that.” She watched her sister shake her head and step back from the counter. “He’s dangerous, Layla. If the people looking for him come here they could hurt Annabelle to get to him.”

  “He is no more dangerous than I am. I trust him not to harm her, and I know he
would never allow anyone else to harm her either. Why can’t you see the good in him? Why do you only look for the bad?”

  “Because he will bring ruin to this family. I won’t stay in this house as long as he is here.” Layla watched as her sister turned to head up to her room.

  “So you’re going to leave? You want me to tell Annabelle why her Auntie Lexi has run off to stay in the old cabin, or will you grow a pair and do it before you take off in a tantrum?” Layla took a breath, looking down at her hands now gripping the counter. The wind outside had picked up again. Closing her eyes, she took a slow breath in and out to calm her raging emotions.

  “You can say what you like. She has a new daddy after all, right?” Layla growled—actually growled—as her sister vanished up the stairs. The tell-tale sound of drawers being opened and closed signified that, yes, her sister was following through with her threat.

  It seemed to only take moments for her twin to pack and then she was back downstairs. She carried a large pack on her back, along with her camera equipment and sleeping gear for the old hunting cabin farther up the mountain. Lexi looked at her but did not say anything. They’d had arguments before, but nothing like this. Lexi had never actually packed to leave; she always threatened. They were twins after all. Eternally linked together, two halves of one whole—they could be miles from one another and never really be apart.

  “Lexi, stop being a bitch. Yesterday you seemed to be getting along with him. What the hell happened?” Her sister just shrugged the bag onto her shoulders and turned her eyes away from her twin. She had never been like this before—not this cold, this distant.

  “I hope you know what you’re doing, Layla. I have a feeling when they come for him, they will not be gentle with the ones who harbored him.” What in the hell was that supposed to mean?

  “Lexi!” Her sister ignored her and left the cabin. Layla watched the door close, her heart tight, like someone had a fist around it and they just kept squeezing. Something was terribly wrong with her sister. She should go after her, but her daughter was outside with the demon and she couldn’t just leave her.

  Fine. If her sister wanted to act like a child, she would let her cool off. Layla would gather everyone and head into town. She needed to get Tan some winter clothes so they could follow Lexi to the hunting cabin. That would be the best plan. Her soul told her something had happened to her sister, and she needed to find out what She needed to fix it.

  Her mind made up, she headed toward the stairs, a sudden knock at the door pulling her up short. Swearing low under her breath, she turned and moved quickly. She needed to get to Lexi, and could not be distracted by visitors right now. She pulled the door open and spoke without even looking at who stood there.

  “Yes, how can I help you?”

  “Hello, gorgeous.”

  Layla felt her stomach drop out and her heart stop beating. That voice chilled her very blood Her brain went offline. It couldn’t be him—this was some terrible nightmare or something. The argument with her sister and now this, it was all a horrible nightmare.

  Lifting her head, she turned and swallowed hard. Her throat had stopped working—either that or she could not remember how to swallow. He was real. He stood at her door dressed in a thousand-dollar suit, still looking every inch the quarterback he had been in school.

  He still had the chocolate brown hair, yet a few strands of grey already peppered the depths. And those hazel eyes that every girl in school had fawned over; the ones she had hoped to never see again. That strong jawline had been in many girls’ dreams more than once, and she had been the one to bag him and date him. The only other change she could see was the extra thirty pounds he now carried around his waist.

  The shock gave way to anger, giving her mind the kickstart it needed. She narrowed her eyes at him and his cocky smile faltered. Somewhere in his caveman brain he could sense danger.

  “What the fuck are you doing here, Richard?”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  “Layla, sweetie. I was in town, thought I would come and see you and, you know, my daughter.” His voice, god, had his voice always been so nasally and whiney?

  “One—I’m not your anything, least of all your sweetie. Two—you don’t have a daughter, remember? I believe the last thing you told me before your ass vanished into the sunset was maybe it would be best if I ‘took care of it.’ Am I getting that right?” Years of pain and anger just came spilling out of her. The wind rushed past the man before her, almost taking him off his feet. His hand shot out to the doorframe, preventing him from falling—and didn’t that just annoy her.

  Layla had never had the chance to tell him how she felt before he had hopped into his car and vanished from the town, leaving her pregnant and pretty much a laughingstock. It took years before people started talking to her again, for them to realize what a good mother she was, and what a wonderful child her daughter was becoming. She did not believe for one millisecond that he was just “in town” and wanted to see her.

  “I was young, Layla. I made a mistake. I’m sorry, okay?” He stepped back from the door, putting his hands up in surrender. She moved forward, backing his ass up to the edge of the porch. He looked a lot less arrogant and cocky right now, his eyes wide as he faced off against a seriously pissed off ex-girlfriend whom he had left with a bun in the oven. The fact the trees were groaning in the wind and his long coat was being whipped around him while she remained untouched seemed lost on him.

  “You were young? You were young! And what was I? You left me, you asshole; jumped in your car and didn’t look back. For what? Your football career? Fat lot of good that did you. Blew out your shoulder from what I heard. Karma is a bitch, isn’t it?” Okay, even she admitted that was a bit below the belt, but damn, it felt good to get it out. Still, she hated that guilt bit at her at the pain she saw pull at his eyes.

  “You’re right, Layla. I didn’t think about you when I left. I was thinking about me. Would it help if I told you I regret it? Regret not being a part of your lives?” That small part of herself that had once loved this man wanted to believe him. But she was no longer a lovesick school girl following him around. She was a woman who raised a wonderful child without him.

  He was saying all the right things, all the things she had at one time longed to hear. Problem was, she no longer needed him in her life, and she certainly didn’t want him in Annabelle’s. Not now, when she had just found Tan, and Annabelle had picked him to be her new father. Everything just seemed too perfect—his words, him showing up now, after all this time. She didn’t believe he was here for her, but a horrible thought occurred to her. Had he seen the video on the internet? Had he recognized Lexi and put two and two together? She needed him gone, now.

  “You need to leave, Richard. You can’t be here.” She turned to leave, grabbing the door to close it in his face. But his strong arm grabbed it and held it open. She turned to see the look in his eyes had turned from warm hazel to panic ridden.

  “Seriously, Layla? I came all this way and you are not going to let me see my daughter?” His voice was tight and urgent, and that put her on edge. She tugged on the door, but his strength far outweighed hers and his grip was rock solid.

  “I told you before, you were a sperm donor, nothing more. Now get off my property.” She would not cower before him—not ever again. God, she hoped Tan kept Annabelle in the barn away from Richard. The door creaked under his grip, the look in his eyes cold and calculating.

  “I’m not leaving until I see my daughter. Bring her to me now, Layla, or you will force my hand. I’m sure Child Protective Services would like to know how a five-year-old is living out here and still not attending school.”

  “And then Snuffles gets the smelly food like this.” Tan watched the little girl drop the rabbit food all over the barn floor as she overfilled the rabbit’s bowl.

  Annabelle was showing him how to look after the animals. She was determined he would learn how, and had meticulously been going around stall
after stall giving him instructions—while dropping half the food onto the floor, spilling water on the ground, and making a mess of the straw which would now need replacing. He would make a note to do that before they left.

  It was apparent to him that Annabelle had the same gift with animals as her mother. Each one had a name, and each responded to her with gentle kindness. Less kindness to him, however. Some growled and snarled. He got no aid from the child; evidently she thought it was funny to watch him struggle. She had a mean streak like her aunt.

  “Okay, all done.” She turned around and waved her arms in the air. Her once pristine pink winter jacket was covered in wet patches and animal feed. He hoped Layla was not going to drag him over the coals for that.

  A smile pulled at his lips. Damn, this little human had a strange effect on him. A peace rolled over him, calming that beast that dwelling inside. He could still feel it under his skin, ready at any second, but it did not threaten his sanity; rather, it was ready to protect. He liked it.

  “Go wash your hands, Bella. I think you got more feed on you than you did in the bowls.” She gave him a bright smile and ran toward the little office at the end of the barn. The doors rattled loudly as the wind whistled through the openings. He frowned, wondering where the wind had come from. The day had been so calm when they had come out earlier.

  Shaking his head, he closed his eyes and reached for the woman that had come to mean so much to him. Most of the time he kept this strange bond between them locked down. He did not understand it yet, and until he could control it he wanted it closed.

  The rush of conflicted emotions that hit him doubled him over. His first instinct was to shut it down, but the surge of sorrow and pain stopped him. She was crying inside, fear was rushing through her blood. Someone was in the house, she was reaching for him, unknowingly begging him to keep Annabelle hidden from Richard. Who the fuck is Richard? His eyes turned to Annabelle as she ran toward him, showing off her clean hands.