The Fallen (Angelic Redemption)

by Angela Horn

  Lila turned to face him, grimacing in pain from the movements, but needing to look into his eyes.

  “I did always sense somehow that this was all your fault.”

  Roman frowned which made her laugh.

  “It’s not funny.”

  “I know,” she said, still grinning. “I want you to want me like you did then. You know, all dumb and needy, like I want you now. Do you still feel that way?”

  Roman nodded, yet his gaze focused on her wound again.

  “I’m still scared, but maybe your confession did make me feel less guilty for wanting a vacation. I guess that’s not in the cards. Maybe after we stop the Reaper, find my old pack, free Micah, and close the gateways, we’ll find time for ourselves.”

  “Pretty simple really.”

  Lila took his hand in hers and pressed it against her chest, forgetting the wound and just wishing he could understand how much she needed him.

  “I love you,” she said, smiling.

  Roman flinched at her words and Lila’s smile faded.

  “Do you still love me?”

  “Of course.”

  Unconvinced, she let go of his hand. “I didn’t want to die. You get that, right? I didn’t just stand there and let that demon kill me. I wanted to live, to complete my mission, and be with you. You understand that I would never willingly give up what we have, don’t you?”

  Roman finally forced himself to look into Lila’s eyes, even if it seemed painful for him to do so. She spotted the guilt in his eyes and maybe something else.

  “I’m just tired. These last few days have been difficult and I keep trying to say the right things to you and Sophie and my old pack. I spent so many years alone and now I’m responsible for everyone understanding everything. I’m just tired of trying right now. I do love you and I know God is leading us down a path and I have faith in that. I just can’t focus on anything right now. Does that make sense?”

  Lila nodded, taking his hand again, but this time tentatively, afraid he might pull it away. “I don’t want you to be mad at me.”

  “I’m not mad. I’m relieved you’re feeling better,” he said, kissing her hand.

  Lila smiled, even if she felt his kiss and words were forced. While Roman might just be tired, Lila feared something else was wrong. Something she couldn’t know because in reality she didn’t know him. Whatever caused his distance, she realized complaining about it was only going to make matters worse.

  “I am feeling better, but I’m still essentially defenseless. Will you stay with me?”

  “Of course.”

  Lila cuddled against him. She did sense he only planned to stay because he felt it was his duty, instead of him actually enjoying her company anymore. Without any knowledge of how long she had been dead, Lila realized many things had changed while she was out of the picture.

  “Sophie looked pretty funny with the shotgun earlier. Is she still onboard?”

  Roman nodded with a little smile. “There’s a female hunter here whose pack was killed by the Reaper and Sophie’s just convinced Karen knows more than she’s admitting. Your fragile little friend is now talking about tearing off fingernails to retrieve the info. Yeah, I’d say she’s onboard.”

  “I guess you were right about her being tougher than I thought. Tomorrow we’ll get that info from Karen and start making plans to hunt down the Reaper.”

  Roman frowned, pulling away from her slightly. “You won’t be ready by tomorrow to do much of anything.”

  “I don’t need to be a hundred percent. Joaquin is Sophie’s battle. I think that’s obvious now. We just need to give her cover. I can do that easily at seventy five percent. In a day or two, I can manage seventy five percent.”

  “We’ll see.”

  “Glass half full, Roman. Always half full,” she said, pressing her face against his chest.

  “Two days,” he said with a sigh. “Glass half full. Got it.”

  Lila smiled, pulling him even closer whether he liked it or not.

  “I’m glad you brought me back,” she whispered, feeling fatigue tug at her. “I didn’t want to start over again.”

  “Everything will be alright.”

  As the light faded in the room and dusk shifted into night, the growing darkness terrified Lila. She felt less like a hunter and more like a scared child. Roman though felt warm and powerful against her.

  “Stay with me please,” she said, starting to panic again. “I’m defenseless and I feel…just stay with me, okay? Don’t leave unless it’s an emergency. Not for anything because if I can feel you next to me, I’ll know what’s real and what’s just a dream.”

  “I won’t leave. I promise.”

  Sighing, Lila closed her eyes. Even fearful of what she might dream, she felt more connected to Roman and this world now.

  Her chest wound ached throughout the night, never fading completely. Every few hours, she heard voices, felt movement, and the pain lessened as more medicine pumped into her system. Even with the worst over, Lila knew the next few days promised more hardship. A new plan was emerging though and this knowledge caused Lila to smile all night.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The new family left the church and drove to a town Father Francisco recommended. The downpour continued long after reaching their destination and the whole night through, giving the hotel rooms an eerie echo.

  In the adjoining room, Maximo slept soundly, unconcerned by the storm. Even so, Heidi slipped out of bed every hour to check on him. She always returned with a look of slight paranoia on her lovely face.

  Joaquin felt mesmerized by Heidi’s gaze. Watching her in the dark room, he knew she must be nervous about her first time, but she showed not a hint of fear.

  “I prayed and the Lord brought you to me,” Heidi whispered. “You’re my gift.”

  Joaquin flinched from the enormity of his love for his wife.

  Wife. The word felt strange, almost as strange as the idea of feeling love. For so many years, he took from women as they took from him. No love, no tenderness, often no names. Joaquin never felt pleasure from a woman’s touch though. No heat or relief – for he was empty. Just as he could not enjoy drink or food, he could not enjoy pleasures of the flesh.

  Never gentle before, Joaquin worried he might hurt or frighten Heidi. She thought of him as a gift and he feared disappointing her. How could she not feel disenchanted by the dark man meant to love her?

  Under the sheets, Heidi waited for him as his hand slid over her bare skin. Even in the darkness, her eyes held warmth. When his fingers teased her, she leaned her head back and sighed, trusting him completely.

  Joaquin lowered his lips to her throat and sucked at the beating of her heart. Heidi’s hands were tentative, nervous maybe, but greedy still. She ran them through his dark hair then gripped him as his mouth explored.

  Joaquin had never felt passion before. Now, his heart raced as his body heated. He hungered for Heidi, sucking desperately at her flesh, wanting to hear her sigh and moan. Kissing Heidi deeply, Joaquin was desperate to be a part of her. Heidi moaned into his mouth, her desire soothing his worries as he moved his body over hers. Heidi immediately wrapped her limbs around him possessively. Her hands gripped him, nails clawing at his back while he caressed her.

  “No one before, Heidi. I’ve loved no one before and I’ll never love again. You are the only one.”

  Heidi unclenched her eyes and they soothed his worries. “I love you, Joaquin. Don’t be afraid.”

  A frowning Joaquin hadn’t even realized he was afraid. He was not a gentle man and he feared once he took from Heidi, his own needs would blind him to hers. After a lifetime of taking and never giving, he was terrified to ruin her love.

  Heidi’s gaze remained on his, reassuring him with her confidence as he filled her. Even as she groaned from the pressure, she smiled soothingly.

  He was a man, not a monster. He was the man she viewed him to be and not the way he always viewed himself. As her husband, he
was capable of giving. Joaquin embraced this new life as he relished their first time together. No more brooding, he thought. No more worries about tomorrow. Only tonight. Only Heidi.

  Crying out, Heidi slapped a hand over her mouth to silence her moans of pleasure. Joaquin knew he couldn’t last much longer, not with her cries echoing in his head, her eyes watching him lovingly, and a smile on her sweet face. As he finally gave in, Joaquin felt the pleasure denied to him all of those years. The intensity of two becoming one had all began with a desperate prayer in a filthy motel.

  A night of heady passion left them both sleepy, but content. Just before sunrise, Heidi smiled at him and declared, “You are a good man. No matter what you’ve done before, you are good inside. I see it every time I look at you.”

  Joaquin wished he might say something as tender as her words, yet he knew anything he said would be wrong. Instead he took her hand and kissed it. Heidi smiled wider then with a single sigh, she fell asleep.

  The next morning, Maximo was the only one well-rested with Heidi yawning so often at breakfast, Joaquin felt like taking a nap. Instead of returning to the hotel to catch up on their sleep, the family wandered around town and investigated every store and restaurant.

  In one boutique, Heidi bought a yellow summer dress along with new clothes for both her and Maximo. Now strolling down the road with her fellas, she wore that dress, catching the notice of many of the locals. Maximo also wore his new clothes. While the dark shorts and white shirt weren’t as fetching as Heidi’s dress, at least they fit the boy.

  Joaquin looked at his new family and smiled. There was something altogether perfect about this moment as they held hands and strolled down the road with not a care in the world. He wished he might take a picture of them to remember how blessed this particular moment was in his otherwise miserable life. With no camera, he could only take a mental snapshot and hope this blessing never ended.

  No matter his hopes, Joaquin sensed danger as they approached the hotel. Maximo jerked to a stop next to Heidi and made one of his pronouncements.

  “Monsters.”

  “The cartel?” Joaquin asked.

  Shaking his head, Maximo yanked at Heidi to go back. He suddenly stopped and sighed.

  “Too late.”

  Shots ricocheted off of the nearby building, barely missing Joaquin. Pushing Heidi back behind a wall, he saw her shield Maximo. Neither she nor the boy ran for cover though. Heidi just slipped her hand into Joaquin’s bag and retrieved a gun.

  “Take the boy and I’ll find you,” Joaquin said as shots erupted from a second location.

  “No, I can help. I was good at the prison and I didn’t even know what I was doing.”

  “Yes, she is good at killing monsters,” Maximo said.

  “Who will protect the boy then?” Joaquin asked in English.

  “If we kill the monsters, he won’t need protecting.”

  When Joaquin started to protest, Heidi gave him the scolding frown only a wife could get away with. To his surprise, it shut him up.

  “I also killed more bad guys at the prison than you,” she said, holding the gun up and eyeing the moving targets. “Bet I’ll kill more today too.”

  “We’ll see,” he said with a smirk as he waved away curious locals. “You stay here. I’ll try to get behind them.”

  When Joaquin started to move away, Heidi yanked him back.

  “Hello? You’re leaving without a good luck kiss? How can you mess with a winning formula?”

  Joaquin smiled, kissing her longer than appropriate with danger closing in on them. Letting her go, he fired at a man running towards them. The assailant tripped, falling to the ground. Even mortally wounded, the monster did not stay down. It clawed at the ground as if trying to pull itself up. Heidi fired again, hitting the thing on the top of the head.

  “I need more ammo.”

  Joaquin retrieved a few guns and stacks of ammo from his bag. Shoving them into his holsters and pockets, he handed Heidi the bag.

  “I’m going around back.”

  Heidi smiled as if he said he was going out for milk. Heading for an alley that would take him behind the hotel, Joaquin caught a glimpse of Heidi kissing Maximo’s head. She then ran into the open, firing two guns.

  Sprinting around the building, Joaquin heard a blizzard of shots. He also detected the distinctive sounds of his own guns.

  Turning a corner, he found himself facing two people who were not actually people. What he hadn’t noticed with the monster at the front of the hotel, he could clearly see now. Their distorted faces revealed the monsters underneath. Whatever they were, they lacked the speed to fire first.

  On the move again, Joaquin spotted a shooter on the roof of the hotel. As he aimed his weapon, the figure fell. The number of gunshots lessoned as fewer monsters remained to fire upon Heidi. Joaquin lowered the number even more when he turned the corner at the farthest end of the hotel and finished off three monsters that only had eyes for Heidi.

  Stealing a look around the corner of the hotel, Joaquin spotted Heidi pinned behind a car. His mind returned to the demon’s threat. An urge to rescue his wife overwhelmed him as her dress - so delicate just like his Heidi - fluttered into view. Hurrying to her aid, he was startled as Heidi popped up from behind the car. With a smile on her sweet face, she fired twice at the hotel. Her target fled out the back of the hotel and directly into Joaquin’s fire. Shooting once, Joaquin stopped the thing in its tracks.

  The final monster showed no interest in experiencing the fate of its comrades and took off running down the road. Heidi jumped up from her spot to chase after it. Racing to catch up with his wife, Joaquin flinched when the monster’s head exploded from a shotgun blast.

  Heidi stopped and glanced back at Joaquin who shook his head. Scanning the road, he tried to locate where the shot had originated.

  The shooter stepped out from behind a building and waved at them.

  “Nice work for newbies.”

  The woman was beautiful in a strangely bland way. Her brown hair and eyes were devoid of the shimmer Heidi possessed. Joaquin found her unpleasant, but all women seemed lacking next to Heidi’s beauty.

  “Who are you?” Joaquin asked.

  “My name is Karen and I’m a hunter like you.”

  Heidi frowned, moving closer to her husband.

  “You’re an American,” he said.

  “Yes. I was sent down here to help you guys, but I see you’re holding your own pretty well.”

  “Sent by whom?” Joaquin asked.

  “God,” Karen said, shoving her weapon into a bag. “He seemed worried about you. Demon issues, I heard.”

  “These are demons,” Heidi said, waving for Maximo to join them.

  “No, but I think a demon sent them. Which one of you went and pissed off a demon?”

  Heidi wrapped her arm around Maximo who eyed the newcomer curiously.

  “Yeah, that would be him,” Heidi said, nudging Joaquin. “Now that we’ve killed these monsters, is it over?”

  “Doubtful, so we should leave before the police show up or worse more of these things.”

  Heidi eyed the dead thing in the road. “To be honest, they were pretty lame.”

  “Because they underestimated the threat. The next group won’t. We should go.”

  Joaquin studied the woman, unsure of her motives. Glancing at Maximo, he found the boy staring at Karen unconcerned.

  “We will get our belongings from the hotel,” Joaquin said, gesturing for Heidi and Maximo to join him.

  “Follow me out. I’m in the black four-door. God told me where we can hide out until He shows us how to get into the US.”

  Joaquin nodded, walking back to the hotel with his family in tow. Once in their room, Heidi grabbed a pair of jeans and a shirt and headed into the bathroom. Joaquin packed their belongings slowly.

  “Do you think she can be trusted?” Joaquin asked.

  “She’s like us,” Maximo said. “She kills the monsters
.”

  Heidi emerged wearing her new attire. “Maybe she can tell us what God’s purpose is for us?”

  Frowning, Joaquin was unsure if he wanted a purpose beyond enjoying his new family. No matter his misgivings, Heidi and Maximo appeared excited to learn God’s plan. They cuddled on the bed, whispering while Joaquin created reasons to stall their exit from the hotel.

  Realizing his family wasn’t any safer here than with Karen, he grabbed their bags and followed Heidi and Maximo to the car.

  As the two cars drove away from the hotel, Heidi studied the bloody mess left behind from the firefight.

  “It’s sad that these people don’t have police to protect them. No one’s even coming to see if they’re okay.”

  “They do have police.”

  “Then why haven’t they come to see if anyone’s hurt?”

  “People know the police can be worse than the bad guys, so they don’t call them.”

  Heidi seemed bothered by this answer. “People need good in their lives. They need to feel safe.”

  “Maybe this woman can help us to do good?” Joaquin offered, wanting Heidi to smile again just to calm his nerves.

  “That would be a blessing,” Heidi said, motioning for Maximo to sit in the front between her and Joaquin.

  Turning on the radio, she caressed the boy’s head as the two cars sped out of town and into the unforgiving wilderness of the surrounding lands.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Sophie studied the hole-ridden target then hooked a new one to the tree. After an hour of working with different weapons, she felt confident about her place among these other hunters. The brothers had taken turns instructing Sophie, along with regaling her with old stories from her former life.

  “You were the mellow one of the bunch,” Logan said, reloading his weapon. “That’s not saying much with your pack though.”

  “Yeah, compared to Lila, Ivy, and Anya, Logan’s mellow,” Connor teased. “Gracie was sweet and Nina was Zen, but they were always the first to jump off a building or start shooting. Yeah, compared to them, you were super mellow.”