Page 79 of Conflicted

“It doesn’t matter why it happened,” he said sharply,his shoulders rising and falling rapidly. “It’s none of your business.”

That was what he thought. But someone hurting Micah was very much my fucking business. “I’ll take that as a yes then.”

He flinched as my exploration touched a spot near his shoulder.

“Are we done here?”

My fingers curled in instinctively. Shit. Had I been hurting him? “Does it hurt still?”

He shrugged. “A little, but nothing like it did before. I think the ointment is finally wearing off.”

The memory of me fucking him on the table flashed through my mind. “Oh Satan. That day on the roof, did I hurt you?”

“No. I was fine.”

I didn’t buy that for a second. All this time, I’d wondered why Micah had refused to undress around me. I’d thought maybe it was too intimate a step for what we were.

Satan, how I wished that were the case. I’d suspected my little angel was hiding something from me. That he was taking on too much in his role and not being honest about the weight he was carrying.

But I’d never suspected this. That someone was repeatedly flaying the flesh from his bones before making sure he wouldn’t heal fast or cleanly.

It made me want to burn down the world out of spite. How dare everyone go about their lives as normal when someone as good as Micah was suffering? How could an institution that claimed their foundation was based on kindness and compassion be so callous? It was even worsewhen you considered thatMicahwas the one being punished. He was the most powerful arch in millennia, the leader of God’s most loyal soldiers.

But he was being punished the same way a human sinner in Hell would be.

“You need to let me leave,” Micah said quietly, facing the wall. This whole time, he hadn’t looked back at me once.

“Not until you tell me who did this.” Frustration bubbled through me. “Not until you look at me, Micah.”

He turned at that, his nostrils flared, fury flashing in his eyes. “Are you happy now, Nox? You know my dirty little secret. My shame. You can walk out of here knowing I’m a failure. That I’m not worthy of someone as perfect as you.”

My mind was spinning as I gaped at Micah. Where the fuck did I even start with that? He opened his mouth to no doubt spill more self-hatred, but I’d heard enough.

My hand went over his mouth, holding firm as I glowered at him. “Abso-fucking-lutely not. What the fuck are you talking about? You havenothingto be ashamed of.”

The way his eyes narrowed told me how little he believed that, but I barrelled on regardless.

“I refuse to believe you did anything to warrant this level of punishment. And trust me, I’d know. I’m a demon, Micah. My job was doling out tortures to those who deserved it. You didn’t deserve this. There’s no justification for this.”

He tried to speak but my hand muffled the sound.

“No,” I repeated softly. “Youdidn’tdeserve this. You’re good, Micah. I mocked you for it before, but now I know how true it is, I regret everything I said. You’re the purest soul I’ve ever met. Everything you do is to make those around you happy. Even tonight, you held back from whatyou truly wanted to say, because you wanted me to be happy.”

He blinked, silver lining his eyes.

“What’s been done to you is horrific. As for not being worthy of me?” I choked on the final word. It took me a breath to be able to say the rest. “That’s bollocks. I could live the most saintly existence for a thousand years, and still not deserve an hour of your time. You’re the best man I’ve ever met, Micah, and it has nothing to do with you being an angel.”

With the hand not on his mouth, I tapped on his chest. “It’s what’s in here that elevates you out of my league. You’re worthy of all the love in the world, and I pray that someday you’ll find it.”

A tear slid free from one of his eyes. I removed my hand to give him a chance to speak. When he did, he said the last thing I was expecting. “But not with you?”

Our shot at happiness had been slim before, but with this new knowledge, it was non-existent. “No, little angel. If this is what they did to you for simply assisting demons, what would they do to you for mating with one?”

He didn’t reply, but he didn’t need to.

We both knew the answer.

“Does your unit know?”

---