Page 14 of Christmas Trouble

The only one missing was Real.

The man had decided not to stay at the lodge. Seven knew that Azrael was disappointed, but he also knew that Real had his reasons.

Leaving the lights off, Azrael found a spot in the dim corner of the bedroom he shared with Boston. He didn’t care what Real’s reasons were for leaving.

Sitting on his hands to keep them from shaking, Azrael tried to get Paul Stent’s face out of his mind. Even now, the sound of the man’s ragged breathing filled Azrael’s ears. Paul Stent’s hitching breath as the gun pressed into his temple was a stark reminder to Azrael that he had almost taken another life tonight.

Not that Stent had been innocent, but sometimes shit in life made people do desperate things. Azrael couldn’t imagine having a large family to take care of.

Azrael and his twin brother, Apollo, had been placed in foster care shortly after their mother had overdosed for the fifth time. She ended up in jail and hadn’t given a shit about them. A few weeks after entering the system at the age of fourteen, Azrael and Apollo had run away from the foster home.

Living on the streets hadn’t been so bad.

The door clicked open, interrupting his thoughts, and Boston’s silhouette flashed briefly before the door was shut. The teenager left the lights off even though the afternoon sun was coming through the closed blinds. Making his way soundlessly on socked feet, Boston dropped down to sit next to Azrael.

“That was some crazy shit,” Boston murmured.

That was putting it lightly, Azrael thought.

A knock sounded on the door just before Beck stuck his head inside. “Everyone is gathering for food, and I think there’s going to be pie for dessert,” Beck said.

Boston gave Beck a thumbs up and the older boy left, shutting the door.

“You okay?” Boston asked Azrael.

“I almost killed a guy who didn’t deserve it,” Azrael whispered.

Boston slipped his arm around Azrael’s shoulders. He was younger than Azrael by a couple of years, but that didn’t matter to them. The minute Boston moved into Dave’s place, he and Azrael had become best friends.

Most days and nights, Boston had found the quiet and rather lonely teenager sitting on the roof. That first night, Boston had joined Azrael beneath the stars.

At first, Boston had silently sat without saying a word. As the days, weeks, and months passed, they began to talk about life and the shit that had happened in their pasts.

“Youdidn’tkill him though,” Boston said. “You were able to stop yourself.”

“I was scared for a minute.” Azrael plucked at a ripped hole in his ratty jeans.

“Me too,” Boston said. Even though he hadn’t been inside the store, he had heard the story.

“Stone told me that fear is what keeps us human,” Azrael said, tipping his head back against the wall.

Boston scoffed on a quick laugh. “What are we, if we’re not human?”

“Monsters,” Azrael whispered.

Boston couldn’t argue with that.

Two Days Before Christmas

It was mid-morning, the sun glinted off the snow that had fallen overnight. The place truly looked like a winter wonderland.

“Who’s hungry?” Dave called from the direction of the kitchen.

The former SecDef stood in the open archway next to the large counter that served as a bar.

Behind Dave came Stone, who took off a red-and-white-checkered apron and tossed it onto one of the many barstools.

“I’m fuc—er starving,” Boston said, jumping up from where he was playing a game with Tyler and Beck on the television.

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