by J. J. Dean
"Now that was evil," he growls, making a move to hold me down on top of him. I move just in time, his hands missing me by a mere inch.
Laughing, I was towards the door and offer him a wink in return before exiting the bedroom and walking slowly down the aisle of the plane to where Devon is sitting, elbows on knees. His head rises, and my steps slow. As soon I'm close enough, I take the seat opposite him, crossing a leg over my knee and folding my arms around my chest.
"You wanted to talk, so talk," I tell him bluntly, watching him impassively. What hides beneath is a sick churning in my gut and worry in my chest. I can’t explain why it is there, but the feeling doesn't seem to be going away any time soon.
He clears his throat and begins. "I'm going to help with the mission to bring your friend home, but once that's complete I'll be returning to Heaven."
The sick feeling in my stomach intensifies, and I suddenly feel like my heart is seconds away from stopping beneath my rib cage. I blink at him, completely dumbfounded. I mean, I don't know what I was expecting, but him telling me he's leaving after we find Francis didn't even pick up on my radar.
"What do you mean, you're going back?" I ask, my voice quieter than I planned for it to be.
"It means that as soon as I'm done here, I'm heading back. I've failed my only job, so once I'm done helping you find your friend, I'll be returning home. That's all there is to it."
He says it so lifelessly, like he's reciting some measly worn-out script. He's bland and indifferent, his eyes empty and cold. Who is this man? I've only ever seen him angry and frustrated. Only once have I seen him happy. This man? I don't know him, and it's sending horrible pains through my chest. Pangs I wish I wasn't receiving.
I clench my teeth and nod slowly, looking down at my lap instead. Looking at him is proving rather difficult, especially when tears prick my vision, and a chip seems to break off my heart. This is bizarre. Surely I don’t care for him that much. Right? The tear that streaks down my cheek tells me differently. I don't even know when that happened, but I suppose it was inevitable since the others got under my skin, too.
"I'm sorry, Luna. Earth isn't the place for me. I belong next to Him. I wasn't made to stay here. I was here for a job, I failed, and so I have to go back. It's just how it is," he tries, not sounding one bit apologetic or remorseful. It's as though he's trying to explain something so generic and dismal that it doesn't even require enough emotion to make it believable. It's as though he can't feel the tiny needles digging into my chest with his words. I school my features before looking up and catching the first reaction I get from him. He flinches as though I slapped him, his eyebrows drawing down briefly before his entire face turns blank once more. Nodding a little stiffly, I tell him, "Fine. Do what you think is best. Thanks for letting me know."
Deciding I don't need to hear anymore, I stand from my seat and turn to walk toward the cockpit. Devon stops me, his hand reaching out to grasp my arm gently. Without looking at me, he says, "For what it's worth, Luna, I wish things were different."
Snatching my arm from his grip, I turn my head to look at him, feeling my eyes sting with unshed tears. His head snaps to mine, and I see guilt for the first time since I sat down. I see the remorse I wanted, but now I wish he'd shove it up his ass.
"For what it's worth, I no longer give a shit. Go home now, for all I care. We'll get Francis with or without you. Go back to your precious God and leave me the fuck alone," I tell him, feeling twin tears fall and streak down my cheeks. He looks like I've slapped him again, but I don't care at this point. If he wants to return to His side and do what He demands of him, that's his prerogative. I won't compete with a God who so mercilessly kicked me out of Heaven when my opinion differed from His.
Turning quickly so he doesn't see the rest of my tears, I walk towards the cockpit and knock. The door opens, and Tony's aged face looks up briefly. "Can I help with anything, Miss?"
"Just wondered how long we had left until we get to England," I tell him with a small smile.
"Not too long. We have roughly four hours until we land, Miss," he curiously replies, flicking a few switches and pressing some buttons as he does so.
I clap him on the back. "Great, thanks, Tony."
"Very welcome, Miss," he replies, sending me a quick smile before I leave.
As I'm leaving the cockpit, I mutter as I walk by Devon, "Four hours until we land. Don't talk to me until then. When we’re off the plane, the only time I want you to talk to me is if it’s concerning my best friend. We’re going to pretend this didn’t happen until Francis is found, and then you’re going to leave." I then take my own leave, heading back to the bedroom to grab a new set of clothes.
When I enter the bedroom, three sets of eyes turn to me. I pay them no mind, deciding I need a little time to myself. I ignore their looks, the questioning atmosphere, and snatch up a black t-shirt and leggings with a new set of underwear and gather them in my arms.
Without turning around to look at any of them, I walk straight back out of the bedroom and into the bathroom, feeling their eyes on my back the entire time. Safe in the privacy of the bathroom, I let my silent tears fall as I get undressed and redressed in my fresh clothes. I feel utterly stupid, acting like I've just lost something I never had. If anything, I should be glad to be rid of the pain in my ass. He's been nothing but an asshole to me most of the time he's been on Earth. Only a small handful of times has he been anything close to sweet and kind.
And now he's telling me he's leaving. Whatever then. I'm not his keeper. If he wants to go, who am I to stop him? It's not like I expected them all to stay anyway.
The half-truth sours in my mouth, and I finish dressing with a gray cloud hanging over my head. Damn that stupid white-haired angel for fucking up the good thing I had going on.
With a deep sigh, I wipe my face, ridding my cheeks of my sadness, and fix my hair, re-braiding it before leaving the bathroom and sitting at one of the seats furthest away from Devon. Call me childish, but I'm hurt and would rather spend as little time as possible with the man who caused it. It just so happens that the seat furthest away is the couch with a table in front of it. Moments later, Asher, Eli, and Noah exit the bedroom, all eyes coming to rest on me. Noah takes the seat beside me, while Ash and Eli take the couch opposite, not a single word spoken between them. Devon stays where he is.
"Everything okay, Luna?" Noah asks softly, stacking a pile of my books on the table in front of us.
Nodding, I mumble, "Mmhm."
"Don't look okay to me, Peaches," Asher points out, ever the observant fucker when I really don't want him to be. I should really start remembering that man can pick up on anything. He really is good at reading people.
"I don't want to talk about it," I explain quietly, looking over the selection of books that I've come to realize I didn't pick out or bring onto the plane. It's taken me this long to figure out it wasn't me who picked out the book I'd been reading either. Which sneaky angel kidnapped my books and brought them on a trip? "Who brought my books?"
"That would be me. Hope you don't mind, Flower. Ten hours is a long time to fly with fuck all to do," Eli explains, looking a little sheepish with his cheeky dimpled grin.
"No, it's fine. We'll read one after we come up with a plan," I tell him, offering the weakest smile ever. It's all I can manage, and his own smile dims as soon as I make my poor attempt.
Eli leans forward, resting his crossed arms on the table, and asks, "Sure you're okay?"
My smile drops completely, and I sharply tell him, "I don't want to talk about it."
He frowns, and I immediately feel bad. I shouldn't take it out on Eli. He's done nothing wrong. None of them have. It's my problem, and they shouldn't have to deal with it. "I'm sorry. I'm just getting antsy about finding Francis now. I just want to know if she's safe and bring her home."
"That's alright, Luna. We understand. We'll do everything we can to find her and fetch her home," Noah says, reaching for my hand and rubbing
a thumb over the back of my tattooed skin.
As a reflex, my eyes dart to Devon, only to find him watching me already, looking as miserable as I feel on the inside. His jaw tightens, and I look away promptly. Nodding, I change the subject and ask, "So, anyone have a plan in mind? All I've got is winging it, and I don't think anyone wants to do that. I'm all ears if anyone else has an idea."
All three share a look I'm not exactly loving, but Asher dives in on the half-baked plan they've concocted in what little time I gave them as I got dressed. "As soon as we touch down, Eli and I are going to ask around the airport, check if anyone saw anything out of the ordinary. Noah is going to check outside while you and Devon see if you can find the security office and check the cameras. We're not sure when they brought Ms. Frenchie to England, but it's worth checking. After we check the airport, we'll go to the hotel, ditch the bags, and then go out hunting."
I don't particularly like partnering up with the asshole, but I don't mention it. I don't want to bring more attention to my bad mood, nor do I want them asking questions. I'll suffer through it, but that's it.
"Alright, but where do we start after we leave the hotel? We don't know where Lucifer would be," I tell them, pointing out the obvious.
Moments later, I feel stupid when Eli says, "You wouldn't know where he would be, Flower. Asher and I can suss out a few clubs and whatnot. We worked for the dick long enough to know what scenes he's into."
I nod. biting my lip as I think it over. "So, we check out the airport, look over the cameras, then go out looking for Francis? How are we going to convince anyone to let us check the security cameras? They don't just let people waltz in there and demand to check their tapes."
"That's where your powers come in. You can warp reality. When you reach the security office, use that power to get your way into the CCTV room. Get what you need and get out. That's it," Eli explains, grinning at me like he's a genius who deserves a medal or trophy.
"Oh, yeah. Piece of cake," I grumble, rolling my eyes and dropping backward onto the couch.
Noah's hold on my hand tightens a little, and he says, "You can do it, Luna. We've got this."
I'm glad one of us is optimistic about this entire thing because the churning in my stomach has grown a stupid amount, and the worry that's plagued me since waking up this morning has grown tenfold.
Chapter 26
Luna
The hours slip by as we wait to land. Devon keeps to himself after being updated by Noah on what's to happen once the plane touches the ground. The last two hours I've sat in Eli's lap as we read one of the books he picked out. Despite my protests about his back, he demanded I get my ass on his lap before he forced me. His words, not mine. I took pity on him when he gave me the puppy dog look with the added dimples I'm pretty sure he knows are my weakness.
"She's totally going to bang them," he whispers in my ear as we read along.
Laughing, I tease, "Bang? Really?"
"Yeah. You know, do the horizontal tango? Do the bump and grind? The-" Eli babbles before I cut him off.
"I know what you meant, asswad. It was the phrasing you used," I explain, sending him a look over my shoulder.
It took another hour to go over every aspect of this so-called plan of ours, so much so that I have every part memorized. Every detail, small and large, is fully ingrained in my mind. The remaining time left on the plane has been spent trying to pretend like everything is okay and normal and keeping my emotions in check. I've been doing good for the last two hours, and we're now creeping up on the last hour we should be in the air.
"What can I say? I'm a master with words," Eli says, resting his chin on my shoulder as we finish the chapter we've been reading.
Snorting, I close the book and turn in his lap, hanging my legs over the side of his as I look at him. My eyes scan his features, the dip of his dimples, the straight teeth and messy red hair. He's perfection personified. Or at least to me. And I've never taken the time to fully appreciate the beauty that is Elijah Vaughn.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" he asks, his own eyes roaming over my face with concerned amusement.
"Like what?" My hands take on a mind of their own, cupping his face in my palms as my thumbs run over his stubbled jaw. My eyes drop to his mouth briefly, remembering the damage that thing can cause before flicking back to his heated eyes.
"Never mind," he mutters before dropping those soft lips on my parted lips.
His mouth moves over mine, sending my mind into a frenzy and a sharp need pulsing under my skin. One of my hands crawls into his hair, tugging him closer while he devours me.
There's an amused cough before Asher grumbles, "Don't go starting shit you can't finish. We have only a little more than an hour until we land. I think we all know an hour isn't enough."
"I don't know, bro. Seemed like ten minutes was enough before we left the apartment," Eli mutters, mischief dancing in his eyes as his lips brush mine when he talks. That little shit.
Asher perks up, sending me a narrowed look before turning a scowl on his brother. "What does that mean?"
"Why would you do that right now?" I whisper growl at my copper-headed trouble maker, not really frustrated since I love winding Asher up as much as the next angel. It's just something that I need to do now. It settles something within me.
"Do what? What are you two hiding?" Asher's eyes narrow further, turning into dangerous slits. I have no room to run away this time, so I'm just going to go ahead and consider myself fucked now rather than later like I planned. Damn it all.
"Nothing," I say at the same time Eli opens his trap.
"A dirty secret that I'm keeping to myself."
Damn. It. All.
"Why does he have a dirty secret and I don't?" Asher asks, moving his head to glare at me as his voice turns growly and sexy. Honestly, if I wasn't enjoying the possessive tone to his voice and the way it heats me up from head to toe, I'd laugh at how competitive he's sounding about Eli having a secret that he doesn't.
I shrug. "I dunno. He caught me by surprise."
Eli laughs, smothering his face in the back of my neck and tickling the hairs at the nape of my stomach with his breath. Asher rolls his eyes, but his hand comes to rest on my thigh, squeezing briefly with a promising touch.
The rest of the flight goes by pretty quickly, Noah joining us after a few minutes of talking with Devon. We sit around discussing the plan one more time, going through all the possibilities of what could go wrong and doing quick research on the airport so we know where to go before we get there. By the time we get to the ten-minute mark before landing, I'm sure my head is going to explode.
"Guys, can we please give it a rest now? I have a migraine the size of Texas, and I'm pretty sure we all know the plan by now, okay? Let's just get our bags ready to go and get this shit done." Sure, I sounded grumpy, but there's only so many times you can listen to the same sentences and answer the same questions. If I have to say I'm going to work with Devon one more time, I'm going to throat punch someone, and I refuse to feel guilty about the admission.
A ping sounds out through the plane before Tony's voice comes through the speaker that's installed in several places in the ceiling. "Landing in T-minus five minutes, folks. Strap in and get comfortable. We will be touching down in no time."
Lifting myself off Eli's lap, I sit in the seat opposite. Noah comes over, taking the one beside me and strapping himself in. Like a mother hen, he leans over and straps my belt for me without missing a beat. I send him a funny smile, and when he looks up, the realization dawns on him, and his cheeks glow red. Stuttering over his words, he says, "Sorry. I have no idea why I did that."
I can hear Eli choking on his laughter, but I lean over and press my lips to Noah's warm cheeks. "Thank you. That was sweet."
He gives me an adorably awkward smile before sitting back in his seat, a blush taking over his entire face. I have no idea why I find it so endearing, but I can't seem to look away until I hear Eli
snort a little more. I'm going to blue ball the crap out of that man.
Tightening my belt, I sit back and feel the plane dip. As though Devon is a magnet for my eyes, they dart over to him and find him gripping the armrests so firmly that I can almost hear them strain from here. His eyes are shut so tight they've crinkled at the edges, his mouth has flattened into a thin line, and his jaw is locked so tight it looks painful. He seems terrified, and despite my earlier refusal to help, seeing him so scared triggers something in my chest.
Quietly, I begin to hum under my breath, balling my power in my voice before sending it toward Dev. The entire landing I find myself singing or humming, doing what I can to ease Devon before we come to a stop. At some point, his eyes open and rest on me. I can see conflicting emotions swim through his mint-colored eyes, but I block them out before I can figure out what they are.
The moment we land and the plane stills, I cut off my humming, the power coming straight back to me like a rubber band. When I feel my power snap back, I look away just as quickly, avoiding his stare as we all gather our things and get ready to depart.
It takes a couple of minutes to get everything in order, but we find ourselves leaving the plane shortly after, our feet finally hitting UK soil. It's been years since I've been here even though I've been meaning to come back. I'd loved my time in London, and I wish we were here under better circumstances.
Hooking my bag over my shoulder, we all make our way to the airport. Since I was the first off the plane, Eli hurries to catch up with me, linking his hand with mine as we walk side by side. I glance down at our hands, feeling a small smile appear on my face. I look up, and Eli winks, already watching me with a twinkle in his eyes. "Told you you're stuck with me."
I smile bigger, holding his hand tighter as we walk through the doors and steadily stroll through the airport. It’s eerily quiet, the silence almost deafening. We walk through the airport, our footsteps on the white-tiled floors the only noise that can be heard. The others follow behind us, close enough that I can feel Asher's footsteps. That's not going to look weird or anything.