Fourth Fight
Page 29
He glided his lips across her head and took in her scent so he could remember it always. The clean minty shampoo perfume wasn’t her normal one, but that was okay. He needed the memory of her beaten and bloody so it would remind him of the danger he brought to her.
“I love you so much. I will see you again. I promise. I will fight to get you into heaven.” He pressed his lips to her cool ones. “Be happy and enjoy your life. You only have one.”
He gently caressed her cheek and traced around her mouth with his thumb. He would never forget how soft she was, how beautiful, how strong and resilient. No woman could ever take her place in his heart.
After one last kiss to her head, he stood. He wiped the moisture from his face as he turned away from her. With each step he took toward the door, his legs wanted to give out to force him to stay. He wiped his eyes and then cleared his throat before he left the room and the only woman he would ever love.
“Take care of her,” Andrew said to Troy, standing by the sofa.
Troy put one hand on his hip. “Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to?”
Andrew was half tempted to punch him, but he decided to be a better man and offered his hand instead. Troy looked at it. Following a short pause, Troy accepted his gesture.
“Keep her out of your affairs too. She doesn’t need to be risking her life to help you. Deal?” Andrew gripped his hand firmly.
“Let me guess, you’ll send some demon after me if I do. Right?”
“I will do whatever it takes to make your life a living hell.”
“Then I guess we have a deal.”
Andrew released Troy from his grasp. Saying nothing, Troy strode toward the bedroom. Bill finished talking to Matt before he headed in the same direction.
Matt walked up to Andrew. “What the hell is going on?”
“I’m leaving.”
“What do you mean you’re leaving? Your wife needs you.”
“She’s technically not my wife.”
“I don’t give a damn about technicalities. You two love each other. You can’t leave her. Not like this. Not now.”
“I have to. It’s for the best.”
“Are you stupid? Because the minute she learns you left, she will be heartbroken. And that will feel ten times worse than what happened to her back. Then once that fades, she’s going to be pissed.”
“I realize that, but now is the best time for me to leave. As long as we’re together, she’s going to make decisions that will lead her to get hurt or killed. Every time we’ve gone after a demon, she either got hurt or came close to dying. She wants to help save lives, but it’s costing her too much. It would devastate me to see her die. Life is too short. If I leave now, she can take the time she has to be happy and live a regular life.”
“How do you know she’s not already happy and living the life she wants?”
Andrew shook his head. “I don’t want her to end up dead because she’s helping me get close to a demon.”
“I get that, but you should let her make her own choice. Don’t walk out on her like this.”
“Troy is her best friend. He’ll help her heal and get back on her feet.”
“You’re making a big mistake.”
Andrew’s heart agreed, but he knew she would be safer on her own. “I don’t want her to get hurt anymore.”
Matt stepped closer to him. “Tell her how you feel. Give her another chance. Tell her you’ll leave if she makes some crazy decision again.”
“I talked to her before and she promised me she wouldn’t go off without me. She did anyway. I know how she is and how she thinks. If I give another chance and she ends up getting killed, I will hate myself and have that guilt hanging over my head forever. Leaving now is the best option.”
“This is wrong.” Matt shook his head as he sighed heavily. It seemed clear he wouldn’t agree with Andrew’s decision no matter how much he tried to convince him to stay. “Where will you go?”
Andrew lifted his bandaged arm. A name hadn’t appeared when he’d wrapped in Borrego Springs. He peeled the tape back, unrolled the gauze, and then pushed the pads aside. New writing appeared on his arm.
“Jesus,” Matt said with wide eyes as he stared at the ink.
“Looks like I’m heading to Louisiana.” He pushed the bandages back into place before he rerolled the gauze.
“Wow. Okay. How will you get there?”
Good question. The Jeep belonged to Emily and he didn’t want to take it from her. As for money, he had enough with him to get to a casino. Once he played, he could win more cash unless his luck had suddenly disappeared. Emily’s funds were in a safe deposit box back in Borrego Springs.
“I guess I’ll hitch a ride,” Andrew said.
Matt dug into his pocket. He withdrew his keys. “Take my car.”
Andrew took a step back. “I can’t—”
“I want to help you.” Matt took his hand and placed the keys in it. “Let me help.”
“Thank you.” The words didn’t fully express the appreciation he felt, so he gave Matt a quick hug. “You’re a good man.”
After a tap on the back, Matt stepped away. “I’ll watch over her until she can make it on her own. I’m sure she’ll want her belongings from the apartment too. I can get those for her.”
Andrew took his cell from his pocket. “Here, I don’t want her to be able to contact me.” He’d left her phone in the Jeep, so she could still get to it later.
Matt hesitated to take the device from Andrew. “She loves you. This is going to crush her.”
It was tearing Andrew’s insides up and his heart to shreds. “She’s strong. She’ll recover.” But he doubted he would.
“Buy a cheap phone and contact me if you need anything. My number won’t change. I’ll help you anyway I can.”
Andrew tried to smile, but his emotions were a mess. “If I don’t see you again in this life, I will look for you in heaven.”
A grin slid across Matt’s face. “I hope so.”
Without anything else to say, Andrew headed to the door. His heart would never heal for leaving Emily, but it was the best choice so she could live a longer, safer life. He agreed with Matt—once she made it through grieving, she’d likely grow irate. Maybe anger would keep her away from him for good. Regardless how she felt toward him, he wished her the best. She deserved it.
Heart thudding, he walked out of the suite. Big drops of rain poured from the sky. He recalled when he had been a young child and his mother had told him heaven’s tears fell when someone upstairs was sad. Considering he’d reached the most miserable and gloomiest part of his life, maybe someone in the kingdom above was sympathizing for him.
With a deep breath, he dashed to the car. Heaven had returned him to Earth to destroy demons. And so he would.
The End
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