Precious Time

by W. J. May

  Rae watched them with a tender smile.

  It was good practice for when his own little girl arrived, in just a few weeks’ time.

  Julian had already begun sketching her. An exquisite little girl with white-blonde hair and dark, knowing eyes. The most recent of the drawings was currently hanging above her crib. Just waiting.

  It wasn’t until the kids began to graze the tips of the trees that she and Molly called out at the same time. Julian set them down with a grin and headed over, Angel following by his side.

  “Nice daisy.”

  His hand lifted to the paint, and he glanced back at the children with fond affection. “Thanks. I’m thinking of keeping this one.”

  It was hardly the first.

  Yesterday, when Rae and Devon had gone out for a rare night on the town, they had come back to find Julian passed out on the sofa, Aria tucked safely in his arms. They had come home on similar nights to find his hair braided. His nails painted. The list was endless. On one particularly memorable occasion, they had found the hint of eye shadow still glittering across his skin.

  “Just wait,” he’d warned when Devon had laughed. “Just wait until it’s your turn. And, rest assured, my kid will paint a hell of a lot better than yours.”

  The two of them locked eyes across the yard, and Devon jogged over with a smile.

  “Hey, you made it.” He handed Julian a beer, tilting his head back towards his daughter. “Don’t get my kid stuck up a tree.”

  “No promises,” the psychic replied with a grin. “Feel free to do the same to mine. You are her godfather, after all.”

  Devon’s face soured with a look of boyish petulance.

  “One of two godfathers,” he muttered resentfully.

  Julian lifted his hands innocently.

  “It wasn’t up to me. Not entirely. I wanted you, but Angel wanted Gabriel. Said that when we go down in a fiery gunfight, she wants him to protect the baby.”

  Motherhood was going to be interesting for Angel. She was full of things like that.

  “So,” Rae interrupted excitedly, “Devon told me that you guys finally settled on a name!”

  Julian quieted thoughtfully, while Devon clapped him on the shoulder, looking proud.

  “Lily, huh?”

  Julian hesitated a second before his face brightened with a gentle smile. “Yeah. Time for a fresh start, right?”

  Devon’s eyes twinkled. “Right.”

  They shared a fleeting smile, and Julian glanced casually at the grill. “That’s about to catch fire.”

  Devon hurried off to save the food, while Angel followed automatically to freeze the flames.

  “So…” Rae bit her lip with a mischievous grin. “How’s life in the asylum?”

  Julian raked his fingers back through his hair with a tired chuckle.

  Two years ago, he and Angel had bought a house on the other side of the park. It was just a minute’s walk away from Rae and Devon, and the men swore that if you stood at a certain angle at a certain time you could actually see the other through the trees. It was a lovely cottage. Very similar to the one Rae was living in herself. Except that it wasn’t always just the two of them.

  Since Gabriel sold his apartment, he’d made a habit of staying with them whenever he was in London. Meaning that Julian was getting to know the strange little family a lot better than he’d ever expected. Sometimes, it was a lot more information than he ever wanted to know…

  Rae remembered a specific occasion just a few weeks back, when Julian had showed up one evening—looking very concerned.

  “Gabriel… He named Angel.”

  Devon spat out a mouthful of whiskey, while Rae shot forward on the couch.

  “What?”

  “Yeah.” Julian stared into the fire, looking deeply disturbed. “Apparently, she didn’t have one when she got there, and Cromfield didn’t care what they called her, so he told Gabriel to give her a name.”

  “And he picked ‘Angel’?” Devon was trying very hard to be supportive, but the irony was too much to bear.

  Julian flipped him off with a grin, gazing thoughtfully into the fire. “He said he based it off a character in a children’s book—the only book he had down in the cave. Said she looked like the angel on the cover.”

  The flames flickered in his dark eyes as he watched them with a thoughtful frown. Trying to imagine what life must have been like in the darker places in the world.

  “They said these things so casually,” he murmured, shaking his head with a frown. It was a far cry from the way he looked now. Lit up from the inside out as he counted down the days until he could meet his own child. All golden smiles in the setting sun. “It’s…interesting,” he said with an evasive grin. “There’s something new every day.”

  Rae chuckled as they stared out at the kids. “Yeah, I’ll bet.”

  She knew firsthand what it was like to try to balance their supernatural lives with a normal pregnancy. The day she’d found out she was pregnant, just a few weeks after their big showdown at the factory, she thought she was going to have a heart attack right there on the living room floor.

  Things were looking the same for Julian and Angel. But Rae and Devon were more than willing to help. In fact, one could say they were slightly over-enthusiastic at the news that their best friend was expecting a child. They had even taken to tagging along to them monthly ultrasounds.

  Those were also…interesting.

  “Now, this is going to be a little cold, but I’m just going to rub it all over your stomach, okay? It’s going to help us see that bouncing little bundle of joy!”

  Julian and Angel froze in unison, staring warily at the strange woman wielding what looked to be a bottle of lube. Angel’s eyes narrowed, and Julian cleared his throat nervously.

  “Where’s, uh…where’s our normal doctor?”

  “Oh, she’s out at lunch!” the woman replied, bouncing foot to foot as her springy hair danced around her. “I’ll be helping you today. It’s only my second shift, so I’m a little nervous!”

  Julian lifted his eyebrows, while the others glanced contemplatively at the door. It looked like they were actually considering making a break for it, when she reached out and grabbed his arm.

  “What an interesting tattoo!” she cried, as cartoonishly chipper as she was wildly oblivious to other people’s personal boundaries. “And you!” She spotted Devon at the same time, doubling her delight. “You have one in the same spot! Did you get them at the same time?”

  Julian cautiously reclaimed his arm, while Devon shifted nervously on the spot. “Um…kind of, I guess.”

  Only Rae seemed to find the entire experience greatly amusing. She clapped a hand over her mouth, but not in time to hide the small explosion of giggles that followed.

  “They certainly did get them at the same time—these two do everything together. Going to the dentist, combing each other’s hair. Matching tattoos are just the tip of the iceberg…”

  The boys shot her an identical scathing glare, and Angel gestured angrily to her stomach.

  “Can we make this a little more about me?” she demanded.

  “All right, that’s enough!” The door opened just in the nick of time, and Alicia breezed into the room. She took one look at the scene in front of her before dismissing the bubbly technician with a brisk smile. “Kerri, thanks for your help. I can take it from here.”

  As Kerri waved enthusiastically and skipped outside, Devon turned to Alicia with a low undertone. “Aly, that woman should not be working in medicine.”

  Julian shuddered in agreement, wiping his arm distractedly against his shirt. “She should be in a banana costume, selling ice cream on the pier.”

  “Enough, already.” Alicia shook her head with an exasperated grin, locking the door behind her. “It’s bad enough you guys always have to come on my lunch.”

  Instead of bothering with the blinking machine in the corner, she ran her hand gently over Angel’s stomach. Trancing in
and out for a moment, she looked up with a warm smile.

  “Congratulations! You have a healthy baby girl. I couldn’t even see its little horns…”

  Rae returned to the present with a grin, just in time to see her dinner go up in flames.

  “Jules?” Devon called suddenly. The world’s greatest warrior was staring down at the grill with a rather defeated expression. “I’m in over my head here…”

  As Julian went over to help, the children squealed again as someone new came into the yard.

  “Uncle Gabriel!”

  Rae glanced up in surprise as Molly rolled her eyes with a grin.

  “What a shocker. He’s late.”

  As Gabriel greeted the children, Rae abandoned the children and headed quickly across the yard. It wasn’t often they saw him these days, and not a moment was to be wasted.

  “Hi,” she said breathlessly, letting out a little shriek as he scooped her up in the air. “I’m so happy you’re here; we weren’t expecting to see you!”

  His arms wrapped tight around her waist, sneaking ever lower as he clutched her against him, eyes lit up with a mischievous grin. Before Rae had the chance to say anything else, Devon called out routinely from across the yard, his eyes still locked on the smoking grill.

  “Gabriel, get your hands off my wife.” The children glanced up curiously, and he added a cursory, “please.”

  Gabriel released her with a grin. “You know, I think he’s finally starting to come around to the idea.”

  Rae shook her head with a smile as the two of them stared out across the yard. By now, the kids had stopped being friends and had decided to destroy each other instead. Benjamin was accomplishing this by shooting pretend sparks out of his hands—accompanied by a series of sound effects—while Aria ran in circles, pelting him with sticks.

  A faint grin lit Gabriel’s face as he watched them play.

  “Our kid would have been cuter, you know.”

  Impossible. Aria was perfection and they both knew it.

  “Doesn’t matter who I have a kid with,” Rae answered flippantly, tossing back her long raven hair. “The thing’s going to look exactly me.”

  “And thank bloody goodness for that,” Gabriel teased.

  The two of them laughed quietly before it faded into silence. A minute or two later, Rae glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

  “You’re leaving again, aren’t you?”

  Gabriel didn’t answer. He simply stared across the lawn.

  Rae’s chest tightened with a sigh. “I wish I could come with you.”

  He looked down with a gentle smile. “No, you don’t. You’ve fought hard for this, Rae.” His eyes flickered across the lawn, coming to rest on her little girl. “You can’t walk away now.”

  “Then why won’t you stay?” she reasoned quietly. “And don’t give me your usual bullsh-crap answer. You know that doesn’t work on me.”

  He chuckled quickly, still staring out at the lawn. “You never know.” When she sighed again he turned to her at once, tilting up her chin with that same sparkling smile. “I meant, you never know what might happen.”

  Her eyes lit up hopefully and he gave her a wink.

  “I can think of one or two reasons to stick around…”

  “Dinner’s ready!”

  Without another word, they joined the others at the table. The adults helped settle the children, while the older generation sat back with a knowing smile. They were right about to start passing around the plates, when the door burst open and Carter rushed into the yard.

  “I know, I know. I’m late! I’m sorry!”

  Aria let out a squeal of joy when she saw him, leaping quickly out of Devon’s arms and racing across the yard. Carter scooped her up without a moment’s pause. The stress and tension vanished from his face the second she was in his arms. “How was your day, sunshine?”

  Her face brightened impossibly as a tumble of raven curls danced across her cheeks.

  “I ate a bug!” she declared proudly.

  Rae and Devon looked up with a start as Carter passed her off to Beth, sinking with an amused chuckle into his chair. “And that…is the perfect end to a horrible day.”

  “That’s what you get for being president,” Rae chided teasingly. “Horrible days.”

  He poured himself a drink, and leaned back in his chair. “Would you like to try it?”

  “Are you kidding?” She shuddered at the very thought. “Not for anything in the world.”

  His eyes sharpened slightly as they fell upon Devon at the far end of the table. “Of course, my day would have gone a lot better if your husband had finished his mission report on time.”

  Devon set down his beer with a look of supplication. “I had to get back for Aria’s dance recital. I said I’d finish it in the morning.”

  Carter rubbed his eyes with a long-suffering sigh. “A dance recital. My top agent comes to me with a dance recital. The world we live in…”

  “Sir, it really wasn’t his fault,” Julian intervened gently, coming automatically to his best friend’s defense. “I can help him finish it up in the morning.”

  Carter glanced up, his eyes flickering down to the daisy on Julian’s face. “I rest my case.”

  “Enough work talk,” Beth demanded, raising her glass with a twinkling smile. “We came here today for a reason. Three years ago, my beautiful daughter married the world’s most wonderful man. Congratulations, sweetie. It looks like you finally got that future you always wanted.”

  Three years. Has it really been three years?

  Rae remembered it like it was only yesterday…

  The ceremony had been small. Intimate. A far cry from the extravagant royal wedding they’d attended just a few months before. They had gone back to the cliffs of Scotland. To the very same place, in fact, where Devon had gotten down on his knee at sunset and proposed.

  He had been so nervous.

  A nostalgic smile flashed across Rae’s face as she remembered. Even with a gun pointed to his head, Rae had never seen him so scared. He fidgeted and twitched nervously in his suit until, finally, Angel offered to give him a dose of her blood to steady the nerves. He politely declined.

  “Okay, are you ready?” Molly had said, smoothing down the back of Rae’s dress as her mother handed off the bouquet. “I can tell Carter to hold off if you want to take a minute.”

  They had gotten the dress together in a boutique just a few weeks before. The same boutique where Molly returned a few days later to purchase a dress of her own.

  “No, I’m ready.” Rae took a deep breath as she stared outside the conjured tent at the beautifully breathtaking ocean view. “More than ready.”

  “It’s a good thing, too,” Beth teased gently. “Andrew has been practicing the ceremony day and night. He’ll have a coronary if you make him wait.”

  Both women kissed her gently on the cheek before walking down the grass aisle. They had kept things simple. No ornamentation. No frills. Just the people they loved most in the world gathered together on the rocky cliffs. Their beloved family, standing by their side.

  Rae wanted until they reached the end before stepping slowly from the tent. The warm summer breeze swept her hair around her as she stared towards the horizon, and into Devon’s eyes.

  He was enchanting. Her own fairytale prince come to life.

  Standing tall against the brilliant sunset, his entire face was haloed in a golden glow. From his dark hair, to his breathtaking smile, to his sparkling eyes—eyes that stared back at Rae as if he was lost in a dream.

  The music started, and with a little smile she started walking towards him…

  “To the future!”

  Rae snapped back to the present as the others echoed the chant. Her eyes flickered automatically to her husband before coming to rest on his ring. It was a ring she had conjured herself. Made with all the best parts of her. Made with the deepest kind of love.

  “To the future.”

  Their
eyes met and they shared a radiant smile.

  Because we finally have one. A future to call our own.

  A silent tear slipped down her face as she turned to the psychic sitting by her side. “What do you think, Jules? Is it going to be a good one?”

  He laughed quickly, shaking his head with a little grin. “Well, of course I can’t tell you that. But I can tell you this...” His eyes twinkled as he and the rest of the friends gazed into the horizon.

  “Wait!” Rae grinned. “Let me tell them.” She inhaled, taking in the view. “It’s going to be worth the wait.”

  THE END

  (but turn the page)

  GABRIEL – BOOK 1 BLURB

  How can you build a future, when a part of you is trapped in the past?

  Gabriel Alden’s problems were supposed to be over. The man who had enslaved him had been destroyed. The girl he was supposed to kill had become his saving grace. And the people he had been sent to infiltrate had ended up as family. So why, when everyone else had found their happily-ever-after, was Gabriel still out in the cold?

  Dark memories, hidden shadows, and secrets too terrible to imagine haunt his every breath—chasing after him as he races around the globe, searching for the truth.

  Can he ever truly escape his past? Will he ever have a shot at a future? How far can you run before your ghosts finally catch up with you?

  One thing is certain: Gabriel’s problems are just getting started…

  ** Chapter Excerpt **

  Chapter 1

  Gabriel Alden stared silently up at the ceiling, watching as the golden sunset cast long shadows along the wall. It was getting late. Around six or seven in the evening, but one of the good things about never having a place to be was that you were never in a hurry. His bright eyes locked onto the progression of the sun, following in a slow arc as it leisurely made its way across the room.

  The air was thick and warm, scented with the intoxicating fragrance of the thousand climbing flowers that lined the streets of Prague. He breathed in deeply, closing his eyes for a moment as it washed over him.