Page 13 of Sleeping Redemption
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Kinley, I’ve personally escorted more souls than I ever have in such a short period of time. Don’t tell me that you all have been on your best behavior.”
I cocked my head to the side. “Best is a bit subjective, don’t you think?” My chuckle that followed may have been inappropriate, but if he wanted to see my best behavior, the entire planet would be in the shitter.
Opening his mouth to respond, the sound of the doorbell interrupted him.
Chapter Seven
“My date is here,” Kinley explained at the sound of the prestigious chimes echoing through the house.
Poor fucker on the other side of her front door had no idea just what he was getting himself into. I knew I should run him off, for his sake.
I watched as the fallen angel before me sauntered over to the door, her hips swaying with each step. My cock hardened in my pants again despite common sense telling me that Kinley was nothing but bad news.
With her hand on the door handle, she glanced back at me over her shoulder and winked. She knew damn well what she was doing shaking her ass like that. Always fucking pushing the limits, teasing, and looking for new ways to lead others into temptation. In my book, she qualified as the eighth deadly sin.
Folding my arms in front of my chest, I leaned my shoulder against the wall and hung around to see the likely soul I’d be escorting to judgment later.
“Alex, you’re just on time,” Kinley greeted her victim. Opening the door, she stepped back, allowing him inside. “I wasjust finishing getting ready, please come in. I just need to switch purses.”
My jaw clenched when I recognized the man coming in through the door.
Motherfucker…
Atlassian. I didn’t know too much about him on a personal level, but I knew enough to realize he shouldn’t be there. My eyes grew cold as I made eye contact with him. He seemed to carry the same level of tension when he recognized my face.
I didn’t pretend to know all the answers, but I did know that he was given the blessing to be guided into a position as a guardian angel. Specifically, a guardian assigned to watch over Kinley.
One of the first things they taught as a guardian angel was to never interfere with your assignment. I was pretty fucking sure that going on a date with them was a blatant middle finger to all the rules and regulations set in place for a reason.
Kinley gave him such an innocent smile, it was sickening. Approaching me, she patted my arm gently as she whispered, “Behave yourself. I don’t need my client spooked by your mean mug.”
Fuck that, I’d mean mug his ass for all of eternity for the overstep of him simply being in her home. Just wait until the higher-ups found out about his extracurricular activities. He’d be known to have the shortest stint of service in our kind’s history.
Her heels clicked against the wooden floor on her way into another room, leaving Atlas and I in a staring contest with one another.
Atlas’s dark blonde waves were neatly pulled back into a small ponytail at the nape of his neck, his steely blue eyes warily watching me for my next move. His hands remained tucked in the front pockets of his dark-wash blue jeans.
Dropping my arms from in front of my chest and pushing away from the wall, I stalked over to him, nearly bumping into his chest I got so close to his face. His shoulders pulled back under his black leather jacket, squaring up with mine.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing here?” I asked in a low voice, expecting him to respect my rank over him and answer me.
The corner of his mouth drew up in a grin. “Taking a pretty girl on a date.”
My fists clenched at my sides, not taking well to the bullshit. I wanted to knock him back to the century he had come from. Whoever decided to make a cambion – half demon and half human– an angel of any rank must have been out of their mind. The transition may have only been for his human half upon his death, but I still didn’t trust him as far as I could smite his ass, which was pretty fucking far.
“You’re in direct defiance of your orders,” I reminded him. “Or did they not teach you that during your training?”
“I must have been sick that day.” Smirking, he shrugged, unbothered. “Relax, it’s not like she has even recognized me. She hasn’t even figured out I’m not human yet.”
That revelation gave me pause, and I blinked several times. Oh, it wasn’t going to bode well when Kinley realized that her powers were damn near useless on him. Equally concerning was that she couldn’t see past her devolving madness to recognize a former lover—which if you asked me, was a conflict of interest in terms of guardian assignments.
Hearing Kinley’s footsteps drawing nearer, I gave Atlas one final warning. “Stick to the damn rules.”
Tension erased from his face and his eyes lit up as the crazed woman we both had come to see that night returned to the foyer.
Atlas brushed by me on his way to Kin, his demeanor shifting to one of excitement. “You look incredible,” he complimentedher. “We better get going, don’t want to be late for our reservation.”
I watched as Kinley made a show of looping her arm through his, a hand on his bicep as she clung to his side. Her sweet blues looked at me daringly as she did so.
