Page 30 of Demon's Angel

A movement, a snuffle, we both freeze, then I sigh as Theo goes silent.

“Remind me,” Demon hisses. “Where would you be without me, Vi? Where would you fuckin’ be right now?”

He knows the answer. I’d be somewhere where I wouldn’t care about anything, content my son would be well looked after. Dying inside, if not physically. Maybe already dead. I wonder if I’d have had the guts to go through with it, driven by despair.

He backs away, stands and starts pacing the room. Suddenly he turns my way.

“Tell me, Vi. Would you prefer that? Get back in contact with the woman again, hand Theo over? Is there a way to restart that process if you absolutely think that’s in his best interest? Tell me Vi.” He runs his hands back through his hair, his head moving side-to-side. “How the fuck do I know what’s best for you and the kid?”

“D?” My voice sounds small, weak, as if I’ve reverted back nine years, and oh, how I wish I could. Nathan home on leave, back at the house, me sneaking in and trying to flirt with Dave. Both men rolling their eyes. I’m sure Dave found my naïve teenage attraction to him amusing. I’d give anything to turn back time, to tell Nathan not to go on that final tour, or to keep out of the path of that bullet. But I can’t go back. I need to deal with the present.

“D.” I repeat his name. “I haven’t said thank you, and I should have. I want Theo with me. I got so caught up in getting him out of his father’s hands, I couldn’t see any other way out. I just need a minute to get my head around things I never expected to be; a chance I didn’t expect to have. I am grateful to you letting me stay until I get sorted.”

There’s a strange look on his face as he turns. His voice is gravelly as he says the last thing I expected him to say.

“Never,everrefer to that fucker as Theo’s father again, you hear me?” His eyes flare as they fix on mine. “You fuckin’ got me, Vi?”

I can’t remember ever seeing him so serious. Not even earlier when he’d started questioning me.

Why should it mean so much to him?

Then it dawns: he’s schooling me. Giving me a lesson I should take to heart. If I’m going to stop Angel getting custody, or any rights at all, I have to deny his parentage, even out of his hearing. That starts today.

“Got you, D.”

Chapter Eleven

Demon

Fuck!I shouldn’t have lost my temper with Violet. After the day she’s had, I should back off and give her space to realise what I’m offering her, the chance for her and Theo to stay together. My support to enable that. How long is it since she’s been able to rely on anyone but herself? It’s been well over a year since her father died, and while her mom was there physically, mentally she’d have been no help at all, only adding to her burden. Christ, I can’t believe how the little girl I remember has grown up to be such a strong woman. Just half of her problems would leave most women reeling, but she stood up straight and handled everything life threw at her. She’d done the best that she could, and that includes the actions that had shocked me today.

She’d had to deal with the aftermath of being raped, is probably still doing that. Had to cope with giving birth alone, raising a child as a single mother, caring for her mom who was losing her mind. Topping all that off, facing being homeless and penniless. And all that’s without considering the court cases and that Theo’s sperm donor had been making threats. Under the circumstances, with no home, no money, and with records of the hospital visit when Theo had gotten burned, Angel could very well have been awarded custody.

Even I’d have found all that hard to deal with, but I wouldn’t have had to go through it alone. I’d have had my brothers behind me. Well, she might not yet appreciate it yet, but from this point forward, so has she.

When I’d brought her dinner, I’d wanted to have a conversation, but things hadn’t gone the way I’d planned. I wasn’t going to share all our discussions at church with her, especially not some of the more far-fetched suggestions, but I had been planning a longer talk about her expectations now. I’d been going to explain our offer of hospitality to her, that we’d be there to support her trying to get the millstone of Angel off her back.

My plans had gone awry. She’d been in no mood to listen. Why doesn’t she understand I’m gladly stepping into the role her brother would have played were he still alive? Nathan would have expected nothing less. Of course, I should have stepped up earlier, but too wrapped up in my own life, I admit, Violet had been put to the furthest recesses of my mind.

I’d taken her empty plate back downstairs and had left her, giving her time to herself. Tonight, I can give her the luxury of being with her kid and not having to worry about where her next meal’s coming from, or where to lay her head. Hopefully she’ll relax and get the sleep she’s probably not had for weeks.

Now, she needs the help I can give her, and I’m going to step up to the plate. As a brother. I don’t have it in me to be anything else. There’s no way in hell I’m going to marry her. Why Hell had come up with that suggestion, I’ve no idea. Except… that’s what he’d done, wasn’t it?

But my feelings for Vi don’t come close to resembling what he felt for my mother. Fuck Vi? See her naked?

I could have gotten a glimpse of her tits when she’d been feeding Theo if I’d turned around…

Nah, the thought makes me think of seeing Kennedy, my own sister, naked. Nope, no way. Never want to do that.Eww. Well, that’s what that idea should make me feel. Unfortunately, it doesn’t.

What would Vi look like under her clothes? Would her body bear the marks of the miracle of childbirth? Would her ass feel as good in my hands as my eyes suspect? Would her tits…

Fuck it. That’s why I have to keep reminding myself that she sees me only as a Nathan substitute.

She’s not helping. Mentioning my brotherly concern seems to be some kind of a trigger. Leaving aside my unwanted sexual attraction to her, her predicament has rekindled the affection I’d had for her as a kid. Sure, she’d been annoying, but Nathan had loved her despite all that. And I, as his friend, had copied his example, treating her much as I’d treated my own little sister. But Vi seems to hate any reminder of our relationship in the past. I can’t read her at all.

Maybe it’s that I don’t understand women, and that’s why I’m a happy single man.

“Prez.”

---