by Elise Marion
Addison snorted. “I highly doubt it.”
Dashing back into the kitchen, Alice quickly returned with two mismatched plastic cups.
“These’ll do.” She plopped onto the couch beside Addison and worked to open the bottle. “As your new gal pal, it is my duty to get in your business and offer you love life advice … even though I’m terrible at relationships myself, and have no qualifications to do so.”
“You wouldn’t be a good friend if you didn’t,” Addison quipped, accepting a cup full of the wine from Alice.
After pouring herself some wine, Alice corked the bottle and set it on the coffee table in front of them.
It felt nice, doing something normal like sharing wine and gossiping with another girl. She hadn’t kicked back like this in years.
Propping her feet up on the coffee table, Alice lay back against the couch cushions and took a sip of her wine.
“Don’t keep me in suspense. What’s going on with you and Jack?”
Addison took her time responding, having a few sips of her own wine before beginning. The warmth it brought to her belly was soothing, and she relaxed as it seeped out into her limbs.
“Remember how you said you noticed that Micah had feelings for me?”
Alice’s eyebrows shot up. “They weren’t one-sided, were they?”
Addison shook her head. “I don’t know what happened. Jack was gone, and I was lonely. Me and Micah … we were both grieving and … well, before I knew it, I ended up like you.”
Only, her legs hadn’t been in the air—they had been wrapped around Micah’s very solid body. The memory made her blood run hot.
“So, Jack dies, and you and Micah have a fling while he’s gone. He comes back, and that makes things complicated.”
“You make it sound so simple,” Addison replied. “And I guess it should be. I love Jack. He died, and now he’s back. It seems like we’ve been given a second chance to be together.”
“Is he mad at you for sleeping with Micah?” Alice asked. “Is that what the problem is?”
Addison took another sip of wine, trying to chase away the bitter taste in her mouth left from remembering the night she’d told Jack about Micah. “I think he’s angrier with Micah than me.”
“Makes sense,” Alice conceded. “Micah totally broke the rules of bro code. You get a little slack for being lonely … and the fact that Jack was, literally, actually, dead for four months. The guy didn’t expect you to turn into a nun, did he?”
She shrugged. “No. He told me he understood that I’d moved on after him. That doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt. I feel like shit over it. If he had been alive, of course, I would never …”
“No, you wouldn’t,” Alice offered. “You don’t seem like a cheater. I didn’t get to see you and Jack together, but any idiot with eyes could see you were having a tough time after he died. It was obvious you loved him.”
“I still do,” Addison admitted.
“Then what’s the problem?” Alice prodded.
Silence stretched between them, during which Addison stared into the depths of her cup. She could feel Alice watching her, but couldn’t bring herself to answer the question. Saying it out loud would make it far too real, and she wasn’t certain she was ready.
“Holy shit,” Alice whispered. “You have actual feelings for Micah, don’t you? It wasn’t just sexual … you care about him.”
With a sigh, Addison nodded, still avoiding making eye contact with Alice. “Am I the biggest idiot on the planet, or what?”
“Maybe,” Alice replied. “Micah isn’t the commitment type, and he’s a user. I can attest to that. But …”
Addison glanced up. “But, what?”
Draining what was left of her wine, Alice set the cup aside. “But, just like I could see that you loved Jack, I can also see that Micah cares about you, too.”
“He told me he loves me,” Addison whispered. “I don’t know what to do with that.”
Alice leaned forward, searching out Addison’s gaze. “I think you need to decide if you love him back, and if you do … is it enough for you to choose him over Jack? I mean, would you have even considered him if Jack hadn’t died?”
No. Addison knew as well as anyone that Jack had stolen her heart completely before his untimely death. The first person to show her any real affection or love, Jack had seemed like the perfect guy. The kind of man she could envision creating a life with. In contrast, Micah had been known to hurt others. A part of her wanted to believe he had changed, or could change for her. He’d seemed sincere in confessing his love, and Addison wanted to hope that it meant she could trust him with her heart. But what would happen when he got afraid or angry? Would she have to worry about him hurting her the way he had Alice? After all the hell she’d been through, she didn’t think she would survive it.
Raising her eyebrows, Alice gave her a knowing look. “I think you already know who you want … even if you won’t admit it to yourself yet. You’re just afraid to actually make the choice.”
Setting her cup aside, Addison buried her face in her hands. “It seems like no matter what I do, one of them gets hurt, and their friendship is ruined forever. I don’t want to be responsible for breaking up such a tight partnership.”
Alice’s hand came down over her knee. “Honey, that friendship was ruined the moment Micah decided he wanted you for himself. That business is between those two men. The matter of what to do with your heart … that’s up to you.”
Addison went quiet again, digesting that little tidbit. The fact of the matter was, Alice spoke the truth. She only needed to come to terms with what needed to be done.
“You know,” she said, as Alice uncorked the wine and began refilling their cups. “You’re not as bad at this gal pal thing as you think you are. Thanks, Alice.”
Alice shrugged one shoulder. “Enough talk about men. Let’s find a cheesy movie to watch … it’ll take your mind off your troubles. For a little while, anyway.”
Taking up the remote, Addison gladly switched on the TV, deciding to take full advantage of this time of reprieve from talk of demons and war. Tomorrow would be soon enough to get back to that.
Chapter Twelve: Ride
When Jack pulled the borrowed motorcycle to a stop in front of Elizabeth Monroe’s trailer, he found Addison and Alice seated on the porch in two worn lawn chairs. Removing the helmet Antoine had lent him, he sat straddling the bike, looking on in shock as the two leaned toward each other, laughing and murmuring like they’d been friends their entire lives. They held cups in their hands, and a lit cigarette dangled from between Alice’s fingers.
A smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth as he studied Addison. She was barefoot, her cheeks a bit flushed, and her newly-cut hair tousled by the soft breeze. The sensation of something squeezing his chest in a vise-like grip made it hard to breathe.
He’d never seen her like this. Despite all that had happened to her, recently and in the past, she looked happy. With all that was coming their way, it probably wouldn’t last, but he mentally promised her that he’d help stretch it for as long as possible.
Glancing up at him, Addison fell silent, then gave him a timid, almost shy, smile. That smile punched him straight in the gut as he finally forced his limbs into motion. Hooking the helmet over one of the bike’s handlebars, he threw one leg over the side of it and stood.
Alice put out her cigarette in the ashtray lying at her feet, then stood.
“What’d you have to do to get Antoine to let you ride one of his girls?” she asked, gesturing toward the bike.
A mechanic and restorer of old cars and bikes, Antoine owned three other motorcycles. It was no secret that he loved them all equally and would barely let anyone touch one, let alone ride them.
“I had to promise him my firstborn,” Jack quipped, pausing at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the wooden porch.
Alice chuckled, swaying on her feet a bit. “Sounds about right. Looks like my time on gu
ard duty is up.”
He raised one eyebrow. “Is someone a little drunk?”
“She is,” Addison replied, rising to her feet and stretching. “I’m only slightly buzzed. Alice, maybe you should hang around until you’re sober enough to drive home.”
Alice lurched, throwing one hand up to brace herself against the side of the trailer before opening the screen door and disappearing inside. “Good plan.”
Through the closed screen door, Jack watched as she flopped facedown onto the couch and became motionless.
Still standing on the porch, Addison continued staring at him. Her fingers worried the hem of her shirt, causing it to ride up a bit and expose a patch of skin between it and her jeans. His mouth went dry as he recalled kissing her there. The urge to do it again, then kiss her other places, hit him hard.
He cleared his throat and took a step toward the porch, pausing with one foot on the bottom step. “Your hair … it looks good.”
“Thanks,” she murmured, reaching up with one hand to touch the shortened strands.
He wouldn’t have thought it possible, but the short hair made the slopes and planes of her face even more intriguing. Her eyes seemed wider and clearer, her lips fuller.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, fighting not to grimace at the awkwardness of such a question.
She’d just come back from Hell … despite how great she looked, he could only imagine how she was feeling.”
“Okay,” she replied. “I was exhausted at first, but a long nap took care of that.”
Jack nodded. “And the pain in your back?”
“Gone,” she answered. “Reniel promised me flying lessons when I’m ready.”
Reniel had called him earlier, filling him in on the details of Lucifer’s so-called gift to Addison. He’d seemed reluctant to teach her to fly, but Jack was of the opinion that no weapon could be shunned if it helped make her stronger.
“Jack,” she said suddenly, her gaze flicking up to meet his. “We should talk about—”
“You ever ridden on a motorcycle?” he asked suddenly.
Her grave tone told Jack that the conversation she wanted to have would be a serious one, and he wasn’t ready to see that warm glow of contentment leave her face just yet.
She blinked and stared at him as if she hadn’t heard him at first. Then, she nodded slowly. “It’s been a while, but yeah.”
He backed away from the porch and gestured toward the bike. “Hop on.”
A small smile began pulling at the corners of her mouth. “You only have one helmet.”
Striding toward the motorcycle, he reached out and retrieved the headgear. “You wear it.”
She moved as if to join him on the ground, but then faltered halfway down the stairs. “Oh, wait!”
Without offering any further explanation, she turned and disappeared back into the trailer. She returned a few moments later wearing boots and a brown leather jacket, holding a pink motorcycle helmet beneath one arm.
At his quizzical glance, she held the helmet up and turned it sideways, revealing the name ‘Lizzy’ etched into the side in black lettering, surrounded by little white flowers.
“Mama dated a guy with a bike before she married Buck,” she explained. “It’s been collecting dust in the closet for so long, I almost forgot she had it.”
She put her helmet on, and he followed suit before leading her to the bike. He got on first, waiting while Addison climbed behind him. The fit of her against him was perfect—her legs on either side of his, her chest pressed against his back—made even more so by the slender arms enveloping his waist as he started the bike. She tightened her grip on him as he circled back toward the dirt road, which lead out to a highway that stretched back toward the city in one direction and farther out into the sticks in the other.
He turned away from the city, knowing this road well enough to remember that there was barely a thing or person to be encountered for miles. The night was warm, but the stifling heat of summer was starting to fade away, giving in to the pleasant coolness of fall. In the distance, the sun had started to drop, turning the horizon into a canvas splashed with shades of orange and pink. The road stretched on ahead of them for miles, with nothing but landscape on either side once the trailer park had fallen behind them.
Before Antoine had offered to let him borrow the bike, he hadn’t ridden in a couple of years. His father’s bike had been sold a long time ago, once Sarah had complained enough about its dangers to force his hand. Being on one again made him wonder why he’d waited so long to buy a bike for himself.
But then, he did know why. Years of putting all his dreams and desires on the back burner had now come to an end. He’d learned the hard way how important it was to go after the things he wanted before it was too late. That included the woman seated behind him … if she still wanted him.
The conversation she’d hinted at couldn’t be put off much longer, so once he found a good place to pull over, he did. Rolling the bike onto the side of the road, he pulled between a thick ring of trees, partially shielding them from anyone who might happen to drive past.
He killed the engine and removed his helmet. Addison climbed off, turning to face him as he dismounted, as well. She gave her head a little shake as she removed the helmet, then ran a hand over the shorter layers of hair framing her face to push them back.
“This is going to take some getting used to,” she grumbled, resting her helmet on one of the bike’s handlebars.
Coming toward her, he paused just short of reaching out to grab her. “I like it.”
You’re beautiful, he wanted to say. I didn’t think you could be more beautiful, but you just proved me wrong.
But, he kept his mouth shut, choking back the words. He didn’t want to influence her decisions one way or another. If Addison wanted him, then she had to say so. She was the one with a choice to make.
“So, how’s my brother?” she asked, leaning against a nearby tree. “What’s he like?”
Small talk. She wanted to start slow and ease into the big stuff. He could do that.
“Drew is a lot like you, actually,” he said, resting against the bike and crossing his arms across his chest. “He didn’t have the best childhood, and he wrestles with dark thoughts. Unlike you, he’s let it control him sometimes. He’s angry and has a temper like you wouldn’t believe. But …”
Addison’s concerned frown deepened. “But?”
“But, deep down, he’s a scarred, lonely kid,” Jack replied. “I think he just needs guidance and people around who care about him. Reniel says a lot of the Nephilim are like that … if they don’t have Guardians around to help raise them, their parents don’t always know what to do. The darkness takes over, and they end up on the wrong path.”
“I thought all Naphil kids are supposed to have Guardians for protection and all that,” she said.
Jack nodded. “They are. You were the first I’d ever heard of going without a Guardian. Unfortunately, relationships between us and demon Naphils isn’t always the best. Naphil kids and teens often do everything they can to rebel, and weaker Guardians can’t always handle it. Once they get old enough to denounce their Guardians, they’re on their own. Free will … we all have it.”
“And we’re supposed to gather them all and convince them to fight with us,” Addison murmured.
“I know it sounds impossible,” he said. “But we’re already gaining good ground. Tomorrow, we’ll take you to meet Harley and her people. She’s got hundreds of Naphils in her den, and there’s a network of more in the city. All over the world, other Guardians are working to recruit, too. From what I hear, it’s going well.”
Addison fell silent for a moment as if trying to take that in. With a sigh, she slipped her hands into the pockets of her jeans. “My mama …”
He frowned when she trailed off, her face taking on a pained expression. The urge to take her in his arms almost propelled him forward, but he fought it back.
“I th
ink she’s in Hell,” she whispered.
His heart plummeted into his gut. “Why do you think that?”
Her eyes snapped up to meet his, and he could see that she fought back tears.
“I saw her. At least, what I saw might have been her. There were so many mind games going on down there, I can’t really be sure.”
Swiftly closing the distance between them, he pulled her toward him. Screw good intentions, she needed him. With a sigh, she came without resistance, resting her head against his chest and clinging to the front of his jacket with both hands.
“There’s a reason Earth, Heaven, and Hell are separated,” he murmured. “We aren’t supposed to know who goes where when they leave this world.”
“That’s what Reniel said,” she replied, her voice a bit muffled. “I know she wasn’t the best person in the world, but …”
“You had hope for her,” he filled in when she trailed off. “You wanted to believe there was good in her.”
She didn’t reply out loud, but her hair tickled his chin when she nodded in agreement. Jack reached up and ran his fingers through the strands, causing the fragrance from whatever she’d washed it with to drift up his nostrils.
“Lilith is skilled at tricks and games,” he said. “Maybe that’s all it was. A trick to make it too hard for you to fight your way out. But, you showed her. She didn’t know how strong you were until she dragged you into the darkest place there is. Somehow, you still managed to find the light … I don’t think she realized just how much light there is in you, Addie.”
“I could never have found my light if it weren’t for you,” she murmured, tilting her head back to glance at him.
Shaking his head, he reached up and smoothed his knuckles over the line of her jaw. “All I did was help you find what was there the whole time. You think too little of yourself. After everything you’ve been through, somehow, you’ve managed to persevere. That light was there from the beginning.”
“Yeah, I got through it because I was too pissed off to let myself be beat,” she said with a roll of her eyes.