Page 33 of Give a Devil his Due
“He doesn’t like that,” I murmur for Eric’s ears only, reminding him how skittish Raphael was in the past about being healed by Hell’s energy.
“Well, he can suck it up,” Eric snaps, and my hand moves before I can stop it.
I slap him.
Not that it does anything. His scowl is still firmly in place, and he stares at me unblinking with a muscle in the corner of his jaw ticking like an old-fashioned clock. “He almost died for me.”
“And you thought it was a great idea to repay his sacrifice by jumping headfirst onto a moving train. Is that it?”
“Yes, that is it. And as you can see, everyone survived it.” His features darken more, and I place my hand on his cheek, grazing his cheekbone with my thumb. “I would’ve done the same for you, Eric.” His mouth opens, but I press my fingers over it to shush him. “For all of you.”
Whatever was going to come out through his lips ends up being a harsh breath. “I thought him dying would surely kill you.”
“I have a feeling I didn’t feel his injuries because of the shock and the crippling thought that he died because of me.” Wiggling to get more comfortable in his arms, I don’t ask him to put me down. I can tell he needs to hold me close for his sanity’s sake. “I feel them now, though.”
“Good. Maybe that will teach you to stop doing this, Helena. I hoped …” A lock of hair falls over his face when he shakes his head. “I honestly thought having the two of us tied to you would put a stop to this nonsense.”
“Would you have seriously just left him without knowing his fate if you were able to jump on that train first?” When he doesn’t even blink, I have my answer. “I didn’t think so.”
A torrent of curses rings around us, and we turn to see Raphael sit up, his hands running over his chest and everywhere he can reach on his back. For an Archangel, he sure can surprise us with his vocabulary from time to time.
“Helena.” His head swivels around, and Satanael draws back so Raphael can see me. “It was you.” He exhales a breath of relief. “I didn’t hallucinate.”
“Nope. Just me and my crazy self dragging your ass where it belongs. No jumping off this insane wagon, Raphael. Sorry. If I have to deal with this shit, so do you.” My finger points at him in accusation. “What the fuck were you thinking?” It actually wasn’t his fault since there was no room for him to fit in the narrow space, but my irrational mashed potato brain doesn’t care.
“I have learned my lesson.” He is still black and blue but no longer bleeding. “It will not happen again.” One corner of his mouth twitches for a split second. If I would’ve blinked, I wouldn’t have seen it.
Satanael gives the Archangel such a loaded look I swear I could touch it if I reach my fingers between them. Raphael’s cheekbones turn a pale shade of rose, and Eric growls deep in his chest. My mouth opens to ask what it’s about since I hate being out of the loop with something that’s obviously common knowledge to everyone, but the question stays stuck on my tongue.
My father’s head whips to the side, and he lifts his chin, inhaling deeply like a dog sniffing a fresh bone. Eric stiffens, tightening his arms under me and twisting around as if a horde of demons is rushing at us. The line of stairs leading toward the surface is empty like a ghost town, and confusion has me poking my mate in the chest.
“What’s going on?” His answer is to glance at Satanael. I do, too, with an expectant expression all over my face.
“We are close,” he tells me absentmindedly.
It takes a second to remember the heavenly light he mentioned what feels like ten lifetimes ago. With the adrenaline rush that came from seeing Raphael whisked away and thinking he was dead, crawling over a moving train, and jumping out of one with a half-dead Archangel draped over my shoulders, I totally forgot why we were still playing rats inside the MARTA network of tunnels.
“Well, let’s go find it.” My insistent tapping has Eric dropping my feet to the floor. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I don’t want to be underground anymore.”
A chorus of grumbled agreements echoes around us, and we all spring into action toward the same damn tunnel the train zipped through behind Satanael. My father takes the lead again with his nose up in the air. Despite all my reluctance, my feet don’t falter when we drop on the tracks. I do wait for Raphael to join me before moving forward, however.
“You good?” My whispered question has Eric growling again, but the Archangel gives me the full weight of his gaze.
“I am, thanks to you.” My smile mimics his.
“Let’s go find this thing and get the hell out of here. This part should be easy.”
We plunge into the darkness again without the soft glow from Raphael. I don’t dare mention it because there is no question in my mind that he is barely able to stand on his feet. We will make do without him exerting himself just so we don’t trip. I don’t comment when he falls behind us and takes the rear, either. Maybe he needs time to think about what happened. Linking my fingers through Eric’s, I square my shoulders.
I should know from experience that nothing in my life is ever easy.
I have no idea why I even said it to Raphael.
Eric
“Why does it feel like we’ve been stuck walking through this tunnel for months?” Helena says, her tone so low I think she might be talking more to herself than me.
“Because danger follows you like you are on a personal mission to keep its existence alive,” I answer regardless, still pissed about the whole jumping-on-a-moving-train situation.
