Heroes Among Us: A Paranormal Romance Collection

by Ditter Kellen

  Leviticus stepped up beside him, brushing at some unseen particle on the sleeve of his shirt. “What on earth are we doing here?”

  X rounded the bed and placed a soft kiss on Niki’s cool, pale lips. “I had to be sure she still lived.”

  “Surely the machine beeping behind her gave you an indication?”

  Ignoring Levi’s sarcasm, Exodus straightened and tucked some of Niki’s hair behind her ear. “She nearly lost her soul because of me.”

  “No,” Levi murmured, moving to stand next to him. “Her soul was already lost.”

  X refused to believe that. “If I had a little more time with her, I—”

  “Will you listen to yourself? You’re here by the sheer grace of God. You need to be concerned about your own fate. We have no guarantees that you won’t be sentenced to Hell yourself.”

  “I don’t care about what happens to me,” Exodus growled low. “She is all that matters.”

  Levi’s expression softened. “It’s true. You really do love her.”

  “I don’t know how it happened,” Exodus softly admitted. “I’ve known her such a short time. But yes…I love her.”

  “Ah, Exodus, my friend, how could you let this happen?”

  Exodus exhaled a shaky breath and moved to stare out the window. “I wish I knew. But if I could go back and change it…I wouldn’t.”

  The door abruptly opened, sending Levi and Exodus fading from sight.

  X turned to watch two women enter the room, speaking low to each other. One was apparently a nurse and the shorter of the two, in training.

  The nurse informed the trainee, “This is Niki Stanton. A twenty-five-year-old female with a heart condition known as Atrial Septal Defect. It presents with a hole in the wall that separates the top two chambers of the heart.”

  “I’ve heard of that.” The trainee glanced at Niki before meeting the nurse’s gaze once more. “What’s the prognosis?”

  “Well,” the nurse began, only to shake her head. “It’s not good. In most cases, the hole can be surgically repaired. But in more severe cases such as this one, there’s not much that can be done.”

  The trainee moved closer to Niki’s bed. “She’s not going to make it?”

  “I’m afraid not. I doubt she survives the night. Her parents have been informed…”

  The nurse continued speaking, but Exodus was no longer listening. His heart had shattered into a million pieces. Niki wasn’t going to survive.

  Exodus waited for the two women to leave the room and then reappeared next to Niki’s bed.

  He took her small hand in his and brought it to his lips. A lone tear slipped from the corner of his eye.

  This couldn’t be happening. Niki couldn’t die, not like this and not on this day.

  “You can heal her, Levi.”

  He felt more than saw Levi approach. “You know I can’t do that. Manipulating a mortal’s destiny is strictly forbidden.”

  Anger swirled inside Exodus. He lifted his head and locked gazes with his long-time friend. “Healing the human body is not manipulation.”

  “It is when faith isn’t involved. She doesn’t believe that she can be healed, Exodus. Therefore, she can’t be.”

  Levi turned and walked away. “Say your goodbyes before it’s too late to do so.”

  “Do you want me to beg?”

  The other angel slowed but didn’t stop.

  Exodus swallowed around the lump in his throat, his voice breaking, “Leviticus!”

  Levi stopped, his shoulders stiff. His head tilted back on his neck, and a defeated sigh escaped him. “Do you know what you’re asking of me?”

  “I do. And I take full responsibility for it.”

  Leviticus lowered his head and turned back to face him. “You cannot take responsibility for my actions. I was given free will, which means this is on me.”

  Without another word, Levi brushed past Exodus and approached the bed. He pulled the sheet back from Niki’s fragile body, placed his palm against her chest, and spoke something that Exodus couldn’t hear.

  X didn’t dare speak as the air in the room shifted, a powerful energy swirling from that bed.

  As fast as it came, it suddenly left…and Leviticus vanished with it.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Niki clawed her way up from the darkness, acutely aware of an unearthly presence in her room.

  She silently screamed, images of demon eyes flashing behind her closed lids.

  Niki had no doubt that Delia had come straight from the pits of Hell, just as she had no doubt Exodus was an angel.

  Everything made sense to her now. It had since the night in her office when Delia had appeared and thrust her hand inside Niki’s chest.

  Niki had been trapped inside her own mind, unable to move or communicate with those around her.

  Her parents had been there to say their goodbyes, their tears and heartache a tangible thing.

  Niki had known she was dying as surely as she’d known Exodus and another being had appeared somewhere nearby. She wasn’t sure how she knew that; she only knew that she did.

  X’s desperation pierced Niki’s terrified heart. If she could only open her eyes…

  Something warm touched her chest, leaving the sensation of hot liquid coursing through her veins.

  The feeling comforted her, and the muscles that had involuntarily been locked up beneath her skin slowly began to relax.

  She was floating in a place between sleep and wakefulness when lights began to flash behind her closed eyes.

  Niki fought to wake up, her eyelids straining to open.

  Her back bowed from the surface she lay on, and the sound of a loud gasp brought her out of the darkness.

  It took her a second to realize the gasp came from her and another to notice Exodus hovering above her.

  Tears dripped from the corners of his eyes. “Hi there, beautiful.”

  “X,” Niki wheezed, more than a little relieved to see him.

  He bent and pressed his lips to hers before rising up enough to look into her eyes. “I’m here, sweetheart. You’re okay now.”

  “You,” Niki began, her throat dry as the desert sand. X was an angel. Of that, she had no doubt. “You can’t be real…”

  He took her hand in his. “I’m as real as you are.”

  And then, memory came flooding back with a vengeance. Niki’s heart lurched. Her gaze swung around the room, checking every corner she could see. “She— Delia! She—”

  “Will never touch you again,” he swore, bringing her hand to his mouth. “I swear it!”

  Niki stared up into X’s whiskey-colored eyes, her own filling with tears of awe. He was an angel. A supernatural being who had saved her from the clutches of a demon. “You’re truly an angel?”

  Anxiety and hope appeared on his handsome face. He nodded, kissing the back of her hand.

  Niki’s entire world tilted on its axis. Everything she’d always thought a myth stood before her now, in the form of Exodus Brooks.

  More tears flowed the longer she stared up at him. “How could I have ever doubted?”

  “Shhhhh,” he shushed her, rubbing her palm against his cheek.

  She wiped at her tears with her free hand. “Am I going to die?”

  He half choked, half laughed. “No, my love. You’re going to live a long, healthy life.”

  Niki dared to believe him. “But my heart…”

  “Your heart has been healed, sweetheart. Leviticus—”

  The door flew open, cutting off the rest of X’s words.

  Niki turned her head in time to see several nurses rush in, their eyes huge in their faces.

  “You’re awake,” one of them breathed, disbelief evident on her face.

  Niki sent her a weak smile and moved to squeeze X’s hand, but he was no longer there.

  Panicked that she’d dreamed him up settled in her gut, leaving her anxious and more than a little nauseous.

  But the reality of her situation c
ouldn’t be denied. Not only was she alive, but she’d survived the clutches of Delia the demon and managed to come out unscathed.

  One thing was for sure, Niki had no doubt that God existed, as did angels… She was in love with one.

  * * *

  The Stantons were beside themselves with happiness. They spent the next two weeks in town, visiting Niki every chance they got.

  Niki, on the other hand, had been to X’s cabin every day since she’d returned home from the hospital with a clean bill of health, only to find it empty.

  Every day, his Jeep remained parked in the drive, but Exodus was nowhere to be found.

  Was he gone for good? And if so, why would he leave without saying goodbye? she wondered, blinking back tears of heartache. She never got a chance to thank him for saving her life or to tell him how much she loved him.

  Sick with grief, Niki returned to the diner to find her parents loading up their SUV.

  She switched off her engine, climbed from her car, and approached her dad. “I didn’t know you would be leaving today.”

  “Your mother has a doctor’s appointment in two days. Figured we’d head on back. Why don’t you come home with us, sweetheart? We sure would love to have you.”

  Niki’s parents had spent the last couple of weeks doting on their only child. They were over the moon to see her healthy. All her tests results showed the same thing—the hole in her heart had mysteriously closed.

  They’d also noticed the fact that Niki hadn’t been wearing her glasses. Though they’d asked her about it a dozen times, Niki had simply smiled and assured them she could see just fine.

  And she could…ever since that magical day in the hospital when her heart had been healed. Apparently, her eyes had been as well.

  “I’ll come visit soon,” Niki assured her dad. “Besides, I have to be in court on the twenty-ninth for Ellen Martin’s hearing.”

  George Stanton shook his head. “I still can’t believe that Ellen had been skimming from the register for the past two years. I don’t know how Mother never suspected it.”

  “I wouldn’t have suspected Ellen either,” Niki admitted. “Had it not been for the security camera I had installed catching her in the act.”

  Her father nodded. “Best investment you ever made.”

  Niki kissed her parents goodbye and stood in the driveway to watch them leave, her mind jumbled with thoughts of Exodus. She couldn’t seem to think of anything else.

  Once the SUV disappeared from sight, Niki turned and trailed across the yard to the stairs.

  “Niki…”

  Niki’s heart stuttered. She froze, her hand on the railing to her stairs.

  She was afraid to look back for fear she’d find him not there.

  And then it came again, closer this time. “Niki.”

  Niki slowly turned at the foot of those stairs to find a very handsome Exodus Brooks standing not far behind her.

  They stared at each other for long moments before Niki found her voice. “You’re really here.”

  “I’m really here.” He took a hesitant step forward.

  He was so beautiful it hurt Niki to look at him. “You left.”

  “I had no choice.”

  She swallowed hard. “Did you come to say goodbye?”

  He shook his head and lowered to one knee. “I came to propose.”

  Pulling a small black box from his shirt pocket, Exodus opened the top and held up a very large, very incredible-looking diamond ring. “Niki Stanton, will you do me the honor of being my wife?”

  Niki slapped a hand over her mouth, attempting to hold back the cry she felt rising. Tears of joy and disbelief welled up in her eyes.

  “Niki…?”

  She moved her hand enough to speak. “You—you want to marry me?”

  “I want you by my side until death do us part. After that, we’ll have eternity.”

  Niki couldn’t find the words to answer. And then a terrible thought entered her mind. “But, I’ll age, and you won’t. I—”

  “I’m mortal now,” he whispered, still holding up that ring.

  Niki took a staggering step forward. “What do you mean, you’re mortal?”

  Exodus rose to his feet, still holding out that little black box. “The story is a long one. One I’ll be happy to tell you if you’ll agree to marry me. I sure hope you do, because I can’t imagine my life without you by my side.”

  Niki thought for sure her heart would explode from happiness. She allowed her tears to fall and held out her hand. “I can’t imagine a life without you in it either, Exodus.”

  “Is that a yes, then?”

  “Yes! A thousand times…yes!”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Exodus spent the next two hours in Niki’s apartment, explaining to her how he’d been cast out and why. He also informed her that Delia was chained at the bottom of the lake of fire, never to return again.

  Niki held up a hand. “So, God punished you by making you mortal?”

  “No. Luckily, God wasn’t the one who judged me.”

  Lifting an eyebrow, Niki asked, “Then who did?”

  “Leviticus.”

  “Who is Leviticus?”

  Exodus leaned back in his chair. “He’s the angel who healed you. He was also a close friend of mine. Had it been any other angel who judged me, I might very well be in Hell right now, roasting alongside Delia.”

  Niki visibly shuddered. “Will I ever have a chance to thank this Leviticus? Not just for saving my life, but for sending you back to me as well.”

  Leviticus picked that moment to appear behind Niki, his countenance solemn and sad. He held X’s gaze for several heartbeats before lifting a hand to his brow in a farewell of sorts and then slowly fading from sight.

  Exodus cleared his throat in an attempt to dislodge the lump forming there. “Somehow, I think he knows.”

  * * *

  “Do you, Exodus Brooks, take Nikole Stanton to be your lawfully wedded wife…”

  Exodus could hear the pastor of the local Baptist church speaking the words required to wed him to Niki Stanton, but his focus remained on his bride to be.

  She wore a sleeveless white gown that spilled out behind her in a pool of shimmering silk.

  The veil covering her face did little to hide her excitement. He could see it in the form of the tears tracking down her cheeks.

  “I do,” he stated, strong and clear enough for all the room to hear.

  Niki’s vows came next. And though the tears were evident in her voice, she didn’t falter once.

  “You may kiss the bride,” the pastor instructed.

  But Exodus was already reaching for that veil. The emotion he saw shining from her sparkling green eyes took his breath. This was love, what he’d never felt in his previous life.

  As an angel, Exodus had known the purest love for a mortal. And as a mortal, God had blessed him with the purest love of an angel.

  Niki Stanton might not be immortal, but she was the closest to any angel Exodus had ever known.

  He leaned down and closed his lips over hers, drinking in her soft moan and tasting her need for him. She wanted him; he could feel it in her touch.

  Cheers erupted throughout the crowd, reminding Exodus that they weren’t alone.

  He reluctantly broke off the kiss and moved his mouth next to her ear. “I want to be alone with you.”

  “Me too,” she breathed, nuzzling his cheek with hers.

  Backing up a step, Exodus took her hand in his and turned to face the crowd.

  The pastor called out over the murmuring of excited voices, “I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Exodus Brooks!”

  The reception was held at the diner, which was where Niki wanted it. She claimed her grandmother would want it to be there.

  The fine hairs on the back of X’s neck stood on end. He looked up in time to see Hazel staring back at him from the window.

  “Will you excuse me?” he murmured to the woman speaking to him from
across the table.

  He stood without waiting for a response and made his way through the throngs of people and out the kitchen door.

  His gaze scanned the tree line, touching on every shadowed copse he could see, but Hazel was nowhere to be seen.

  The door opened behind him, and his beautiful bride stepped out. “I saw you come out here. You aren’t running off without me, are you?”

  “Not a chance.” He chuckled, drawing her into his arms. “I thought I saw someone, is all.”

  Niki stood on tiptoes and softly kissed his lips. “What are the chances of us sneaking out of here undetected?”

  “Wait here.” Without another word, he jogged up the steps and opened the apartment door. “Come on, Lucky!”

  The yellow Lab raced him back down, his tail wagging as he bounded around Niki’s feet.

  Exodus stopped at his bride’s side, bent, and swept her up into his arms. “Come on, Mrs. Brooks. I’m taking you home.”

  X would give anything in that moment to have his wings. He didn’t think he could survive the twenty-minute drive home without pulling his beautiful wife onto his lap.

  God, but he loved her.

  It still blew his mind how he could feel such powerful emotions for someone he’d known a little over a month. But he did. Man, did he ever.

  Perhaps it had to do with the fact that he’d fallen for her in an angelic form. But he didn’t think so. That love had grown even deeper since he’d become mortal.

  He could feel Niki’s gaze on him. “I love you, Mrs. Brooks.”

  “I love you too,” she whispered, unbuckling her seatbelt and leaning over to kiss his neck. “Hurry.”

  X’s shaft hardened instantly. It pulsed to life behind the zipper of his pants. “Jesus, Niki.”

  She kissed her way up to his earlobe, tormenting him with her tongue and teeth. “You smell so good.”

  Exodus grew even harder, if that were possible. He shifted in his seat, attempting to relieve some of the pressure building in his sex, to no avail. “You’re killing me, babe.”

  His cabin finally came into view, sending relief pouring through him. He threw the Jeep into park, jumped out, and rounded the front.

  He opened Niki’s door and reached for her, but she shook her head. “Out here. I want our first time to be out here, under the stars.”