Redeeming Angel

by JL Weil

  “Lexi,” Kira said in a slow drawl like she was savoring the sound. “What a beautiful name for such a beautiful, young woman.”

  Lexi’s turquoise eyes narrowed. “Are you hitting on me? Because I don’t date demons.”

  Angel choked behind me.

  I just shook my head. What have I gotten myself into? No matter how I played this out in my mind, it all ended with my balls cracked.

  Kira let out a sultry laugh. “Sorry sweets, your dad is much more to my taste. Is your brother around?” Her eyes moved to the house.

  Lexi’s started to glow. “Chase, what is going on?”

  There were whole parts of my brain that were trying to stop me from lying, but the stupid parts won. “Nothing is going on, except this demon isn’t welcome here.”

  Kira leered. “Now, that isn’t any way to treat family. Especially, after everything I did to help you and…Angel, is it?”

  She knew damn well what her name was. There was no need for the coyness. My expression darkened, and I wondered if it had been no accident that I’d stepped foot in that bar.

  Lexi’s attention zinged between us, and I had been dreading this the second I realized who Kira was to my family. A splay of emotions navigated over Lexi’s face.

  “Chase and I spent plenty of time catching up on his little trip to Vegas, didn’t we luv?”

  Lexi twisted up to look at me and flinched. “This is the demon you sought for information? My mother?”

  In the distance, I registered the purr of an engine and tires crunching over gravel, but I dismissed it, wincing. “It wasn’t like that. I didn’t know who she was until later.”

  Lexi’s face pinched. “Just splendid. And that makes it okay? Were you ever going to tell me?”

  She had a right to be angry. I was pissed with myself, with the world, with Kira, and with the Pope. “I don’t know,” I admitted.

  No reaction whatsoever.

  And that alarmed me.

  But Angel had plenty to say as she stepped forward, her chin in the air. “Oh, bless your little heart. I just bet it was difficult for you to come here and throw a big old turd in our faces,” she spat.

  “You got yourself a girl with spunk.”

  “So I’ve been told,” I grumbled.

  A car pulled into our driveway and out stepped frat boy.

  Oh for fuck sake.

  Lexi still was unresponsive, eyes glazed. Kira was smirking, clearly amused. Angel’s mouth fell open. And Colin’s timing was impeccable. “My life is a three-ring circus,” I muttered, eyeing Lexi’s…whatever he was. It was still unclear to me what their relationship status was.

  “What do you get when a human, a demon, and a hothead walk into a bar?” Angel whispered.

  Only Angel would pick a time like this to make a joke. “You’re killing me here, Angel Eyes.”

  “Well, it was either make a horrible joke, or let you tear into both of them. I thought dry humor was better than violence in this situation. Things are already pretty heated and tense.”

  Like a dog with his tail between his legs, Colin strutted over the lawn, completely oblivious to the crockpot of shit he just walked into.

  Or maybe he knew and was willing to risk it all in the name of love.

  Fool.

  “Spring Valley is kind of out of your way, isn’t it, Conner?” I asked when it became clear no one was saying anything.

  He shoved his hands into his front pockets, rocking back on his heels. “It’s Colin, and I’m here to see Lexi,” he said, eyes rotating to my cousin.

  Some people just need a high five. With a chair. In the face.

  Lexi was still staring at Kira. Kira was staring at her. And I was sure a nuclear bomb wouldn’t break the trance. Mother and daughter seeing each other for the first time, I guess I should be glad no one had lost a limb. Travis seeing Kira might be another story.

  Nobody knew what to do or say next. I rubbed the back of my tense neck. “Lexi, get Colin out of here. Stay in the house and lock the doors,” I ordered, taking control of the situation. “Oh, call Emma and Travis. We need to talk.”

  Her lips thinned. “You bet your ass we do.” After one extended glance at Kira, she stomped off, dragging a dazed and confused Colin behind her.

  As Kira started to step forward, Lexi’s name on the edge of her lips, Angel moved in, nothing but a streak of auburn hair as she blocked her path, too fast for a human. “Don’t think about it,” she warned.

  Fear. Real fear, for the first time, popped in Kira’s scarlet eyes. Her body went stiff. I mean, I knew Angel could be scary, but this was unexpected, and then Kira said, “I wondered if this would be your fate.”

  Huh?

  I trailed Angel’s movements, sidetracked by how quickly she had moved from one spot to another. She was glaring wide-eyed at her open palm, a bolt of shock thundering through her body. I averted my eyes downward, and sucked in a sharp breath. All five of her fingers were flickering with fire. Seeing it a second time did nothing to lesson my amazement.

  Apparently Kira wasn’t as floored as the rest of us. “What are you ranting about?” I commanded. It crossed my mind to also add a few threats, like salt in an open wound.

  Kira’s voice came out unusually dry and quiet. “Not until she douses the flames.”

  I glared, feeling as if this might be an advantage. As much as I wanted to give her the middle finger and tell her to stick it, I needed Kira.

  And it burned my butt.

  “Angel, any chance you can extinguish those firecrackers?”

  She looked at me then at her hands, confusion wrinkling her forehead. She didn’t know how to summon the fire, so it only made sense that she also didn’t know how to get rid of it. Her heart rate kicked up, transferring through our bond. I did what came instinctually, calming the panic that just started to eek through her.

  Swallowing hard, she shook her hands like you would a match.

  Kira released a breath, raising her brows. “You might want to work on your control there, luv.”

  I blinked, preparing to snatch Kira by her slender neck. The backstabbing demon owed me answers, and I was going to get them by any methods necessary.

  But she was gone.

  Son. Of. A. Bitch.

  Looks like I’m going demon hunting.

  Chapter 20

  {Angel}

  A dark cluster of clouds moved in front of the pale moon, creating a dull, almost tarnish color. The tips of my fingers were warm, degrees hotter than the rest of my body. “Where did she go?” I did a full circle to check my back.

  “To Hell would be too much to ask for,” Chase muttered.

  I snorted. I loved that he could make me forget, even for a second, that moments ago I’d been the girl on fire. “When do you think he’ll come?” I felt the time clock ticking. I had to believe good triumphed over evil. It kept me sane.

  He came toward me, rubbing his hands up and down my arms. “Soon. Too soon.”

  I shivered, despite the intense heat radiating from his body. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

  “How are you feeling?” He lifted my fingers in the air, examining them for marks or scars. There were none. “Does it hurt you?”

  I felt his unease. Anything that could possibly cause me pain stirred Chase’s alpha tendencies. “I-I don’t think so.”

  He shot me a questioning look.

  “My brain sort of shuts off. I don’t feel anything at all except…” I lifted my head. “Power.”

  He dropped his gaze, placing a kiss on the palm of each hand. “I’m glad.”

  My heart cartwheeled at the intense relief in his words. I pulled back and ran my fingers up his chest. “What are you going to say to Lexi and Travis?” Worry gathered in my stomach. This was not the time to cause strife between us, but maybe that was precisely what Kira wanted.

  “What can I say? I should have told them, but I was so consumed with keeping you safe, and part of me hoped I’d never have to see her
face again. Stupid, I know.”

  “It’s not stupid. Nothing you ever do is out of malice.”

  “She’s different, Angel.”

  “Yeah, I’m starting to understand that.” Lexi and Travis were the only Divisa known to be born from a demon. If there were others, Chase had never met them. That in itself said how different Kira was, but that didn’t mean she was trustworthy.

  I’d never met a demon that was.

  “Does that make her more dangerous? She’s never tried to hurt them before,” I voiced the questions somersaulting in my head.

  His eyes shifted to the house, where Lexi and Colin were having a not-so-calm argument. Emotions were running high. “Not that I know of, but demons don’t usually discriminate. We’re all one and the same to them.”

  “I saw her mark. It’s so strange seeing it on a demon.” I’d only ever seen Travis and Lexi’s demon mark on them. Most of the other demons I’d encountered wore Chase’s mark and were under Alastair’s rule.

  “Makes it real.” His voice dropped.

  I saw the gleam in his eyes. Trouble. I looped my hands around his waist. “Oh no you don’t. Leave them be.”

  He scowled, brows pinching together.

  “I think Lexi can handle herself,” I added, flattening my hands on his chest, not that I would ever in a million years be able to physically stop Chase. If he wanted to get in the house, my little muscles weren’t going to hold him.

  A low growl started at the back of his throat, and his eyes lit up like a comet.

  I rolled mine, and I was about to say something smart, but suddenly I started seeing stars. A wave of intense heat rippled through my body, making my vision go hazy like the Mojave Desert. The darkness came, sweeping over me like a storm, swift and violent. I swore I felt my atoms splitting in half.

  “Angel? What’s wrong?” His voice echoed inside me, muffled by the voices in my head.

  Kill.

  Punish.

  It’s your gift. Your purpose.

  “Everything,” I whispered. My head sliced in two, pain blistering from the center out, pulsing and hammering. I winced, fighting to stay on my feet. The noise in my head was almost too much to bear, and I wanted to drop to my knees.

  Chase’s steadiness and the strength of his biceps kept me upright. My insides twisted with dread as I clung to him. I ransacked my brain, trying to figure out what was happening, why I was suddenly sick and feverish. The first thing that popped into my head was this was the aftereffect from using a power I didn’t fully understand. It was staggering, and if I had to go through this each time, I was less inclined to learn to control it. Something in my molecular makeup had adverse reactions to demons and to my magic fire fingers.

  Fighting a swell of frustration, I felt the other Angel rise up, wanting to come out and play. Wreak some havoc on the world. She’d had a taste of power, and a nibble wasn’t enough. The last thing I wanted to do was fall apart.

  Not in front of Chase.

  I bit my tongue until I tasted blood.

  “That’s it. I’ve been patient long enough,” he rumbled. “You’re going to tell me what is going on.” There was no room for negotiations.

  And frankly, I was too exhausted to argue. The wall blocking my secret came crumbling down, along with my energy level. I was beat.

  He swooped me off my feet, and I squeezed my eyes shut, knowing what was going to come next. Already I was feeling lightheaded, and Chase running only made me close to losing my lunch. I buried my face in his shirt, securing my arms around his neck. The tiniest movement sent a wave of pinpricks.

  As gently as possible, he laid me on his bed, and I curled up, waiting for the room to stop spinning. It was the woodsy scent of his sheets and the room in general that calmed the whirlwind. I knew he wanted answers, but he wasn’t cramming the questions down my throat.

  Sitting on the edge of the bed, he pushed the hair out of my face, his fingers lingering over my cheek, and cursed. “Are you still in pain?”

  “I’m okay,” I answered. “I swear.”

  His mouth went slack. “Is this the first time it’s happened?”

  I swallowed a dry lump and shook my head.

  “I swear to God I’ll kill them.”

  “Shh.” I scooted up on the bed, leaning my shoulder against his. For no feasible reason I was nervous. “I didn’t know how to tell you before…” I started chomping on my nails. “You risked so much for me, never resting until you brought me back. I couldn’t stand to disappoint you.”

  “What do you mean? Why would you think I could ever be disappointed in you?”

  He could be sweet without meaning to. It made me love him that much more. I exhaled. “The darkness isn’t gone.”

  His facial expression didn’t budge.

  “I expected you to be surprised. Why aren’t you the teensiest bit surprised?”

  He gave a one-shoulder shrug. “I had my suspicions.”

  “And you didn’t say anything?”

  His brow shot up, mocking me.

  “Okay, touché. I should have told you instead of trying to hide it, but I wanted to find a way to conquer the darkness before it conquered me.”

  “And did you?”

  Now it was my turn to shrug. “Not entirely, but Lexi’s been helping me.”

  “Lexi?” he repeated.

  My stomach flopped at seeing the swift flicker of hurt in his eyes, gone as quickly as it had appeared. “Yeah. I didn’t want to burden you. You’ve been so focused on Alastair, and I know how important it is to you, to all of us.”

  “Nothing is as important as you.”

  Gulp.

  Dammit. I felt guiltier than ever. I cast my eyes downward unable to look at him. “I thought I could handle it. I needed to.”

  His fingers tipped my chin. “I understand you need to do this yourself, for you. But it doesn’t change the fact that I want to protect you. I want to slaughter every demon who comes within a hundred mile radius of you. As much as it pains me, this is one battle I can’t fight for you.”

  I forced my eyes to meet his, but I couldn’t stop being nervous and had to look away. “The darkness, it’s nothing more than a shadow, but what if I can’t control it? What if everything you did and went through was all in vain?”

  “Don’t think for one second that I regret anything I’ve done. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. I only wish I could have prevented…” He pulled me closer and I climbed into his lap, burying my face in the crook of his neck. His hand stroked the soft material at my lower back.

  We stayed like that for a few minutes, wrapped up in each other.

  “What about the nightmares?” he whispered.

  “What about them?” I whispered back.

  “You don’t sleep through the night, not without having at least one.”

  I frowned, fumbling with the material on the front of his white T-shirt. “Are you spying on me, too?”

  “You’d like that,” he replied, humor in his tone. “But there’s no need. You wake up screaming my name. And Angel, if you’re going to scream my name, I’d prefer it wasn’t in fear.”

  My cheeks reddened in half embarrassment and half shame. I rolled off his lap, needing my own air space. “It’s just a dream. Who doesn’t have them?”

  “I might not always be in the room to comfort you, but I’m there. Our bond makes your fear very real for me. Tell me what haunts your sleep.”

  My gaze was drawn to the network of cracks on the ceiling as I replayed the events of my reoccurring nightmare. “You.”

  Chase, leaned closer, his eyebrows tightly knit with confusion.

  “I’ve had the same dream night after night. I watch you die.” My voice hitched. “And it’s because of me. It’s my fault.”

  He swiped his thumb over my cheek, brushing away tears I didn’t know were falling. “How is it your fault?” he asked quietly.

  “I blast you with these.” I held one of my hands in the air,
wiggling my fingers. “I’ve seen your blood soak my bedroom floor countless times. Sometimes I wonder if I’m even dreaming.”

  His expression was stoic. “It’s not real. The darkness is taking advantage of your mind at its weakest state.”

  “How am I supposed to stop it?” I rushed out the words.

  “I know what works for me,” he said in a melty voice that did little to calm my pulse.

  I cleared my throat, feeling the temperature in the room go up twenty degrees. “Hmm?”

  He kissed me like he had all the time in the world, stealing my breath away, and I couldn’t remember why I’d ever been nervous to tell him. I let my insecurities get in the way, but one kiss from Chase gave me a boost of assurance.

  He would always love me, no matter what.

  I placed my hand on his scruffy cheek. “Are you angry with me?”

  “Not after that kiss.”

  I searched his eyes and then gave him a quick peck on the lips.

  “Just promise me no more secrets. We’re going to face our future together, Angel Eyes. You’ve given me more than I’d ever thought I’d have. No matter what happens, I need you to know how much I love you. How much I adore you.”

  Did he expect me to think when he was looking at me with bedroom eyes? I felt his breath on my face. “I swear it.”

  He kissed me again and I felt him soften.

  My eyes closed and I inhaled. I forced myself to pull away so I could whisper, “You smell so good.” When I opened them again, a rumble came from the back of his throat and his eyes were burning in the darkening room. “Kiss me again.”

  His mouth found the curve where my shoulder and neck met. I let myself melt into him, savoring the warmth filling my veins. And the sweet torture began.

  I felt his fingers dip into the back of my pants, his warm hands cupping my butt. My heart banged in my chest and skipped as my body reacted to his touch. There were so many things we should be doing, preparing for, but this was the only place I wanted to be.

  My fingers buried in his hair. A tickle began at my waist, different than my marks radiating, which they definitely were. It was the feel of his fingers, gathering the ends of my shirt upward. The pads of his fingers occasionally brushed my skin, and I was breathing hard when he finally pulled my shirt over my head. I kicked off my pants, sending them flying off the bed, and then went for his shirt. A wicked grin curled his lips.