Page 34 of Sleeping Redemption
Who the fuck is Rook?
“Rook? Like the chess piece or the bird?”
The heavy sigh on the other end of the call gave me the impression that there was more to it than Sylas wanted to get into. Gruffly, Sy answered my question. “Trickster demon and a pain in my ass. He’s been keeping a close eye on her. As much as I hate to admit it, he may actually be doing her some good.”
A spark of jealousy lit up in my chest. I hadn’t expected Kinley to become celibate after my death, but having another demon potentially consoling her was…unsettling.
With distrust coating my words, I didn’t bother hiding how I felt about that. “Tricksters aren’t known to be upstanding members of the demon community.”
“Normally, I’d agree with you, but he seems to get through to her. However, things are a bit more complicated than I expected.” Sylas filled me in on Kinley’s latest outbursts, including that of the stuffed angel doll.
Fuck, this is bad.
“That’s not all.” Sy’s words came across as partially muffled like he had just run his hand over his face.
I turned and leaned back against my kitchen counter, wondering what the hell else could be going on.
His words were blunt. “Her Divinity Sword is missing.”
My stomach dropped into my feet. “Missing as in lost? Or stolen?”
“Fuck, I don’t know, Atlas. She insists it’s around here somewhere, but I’m getting this feeling that it’s long gone.” His frustration was strong enough that it was palpable through the phone. “That’s why I need you to come over to her place.If someone took her sword and she’s getting tokens of a psychopath’s affection, I doubt it’s going to stop there.”
Midway through his explanation, I’d already grabbed my keys off the counter and unhooked my leather jacket from the wall-mounted coat rack at the front of my apartment.
“I’m on my way.” I slammed the door shut behind me.
With my bikeparked in the driveway, I stood on Kinley’s front stoop, waiting for someone to answer the door. Just as I was about to knock again, the door swung open, and Sylas stood there in a dark green henley and pair of jeans. A hint of relief reflected in his eyes.
“Took you long enough,” he grunted and stepped away from the entrance into the foyer I was already familiar with.
Shaking my head, I stepped inside, closing the door behind me softly. “Not everybody has the authority to come and go as they please in the blink of an eye.” My not-so-subtle reminder that we all didn’t get the same privileges as he did.
I had been trying to stick to Evangeline’s good side. My direct supervisor was stingy with granting permission for guardian angels to just teleport around the globe at will. While I wasn’t banned from doing so, it was greatly frowned upon. Just the fact that I was an anomaly was already a strike against me; I didn’t need another one.
Looking around, things were quiet inside the luxurious home. My nerves made themselves known as it struck me that I was finally going to see Kinley again. Hopefully this time without it resulting in murder.
No part of me didn’t want to just hold her and tell her how sorry I was for abandoning her on that snowy mountain peak.There was so much to tell her and yet I still wasn’t sure how I was going to do it. Was she going to be receptive to my presence this go around?
“Where is everyone?” I had at least expected some of her stellar housekeeping staff that she had briefly mentioned at Wanda’s Waffle House before shit went sideways.
“Kinley is upstairs in her room. I’m not sure when Rook will be back; he left to go see if he can track down who left their spunk on the delivery. As for the humans,” he ran his fingers through his shortly cropped light brown hair, “we figured it was best they have some time off until we’re sure there won’t be any avoidable casualties.”
Prepared to march up the stairs just beyond where Sy stood, he grabbed my arm before my foot hit the first step. I looked down at his hand and then at him, ready to shove him to the side if it meant getting to see my angel again.
He cast his warning. “Atlas, remember why you are here. This isn’t about you; it’s about her.”
Lightly growling, I jerked my arm from his grasp. “Don’t think for one second that anything I do isn’t for her.”
Not waiting for him to respond, I jogged up the steps until I reached the top and realized I wasn’t sure which of the many doors led to her bedroom. Sylas joined me and hung a left, muttering something about being a bullheaded asshole on his way past.
Quickly trailing behind, we stopped at a closed door. Just as Sy was about to knock, I heard Kinley on the other side.
“Ohh, God, yes,” filtered through the door followed by a tender gasp.
I looked at Sylas, whose hand froze in its pre-knock position. He was as taken off-guard by the pleasure-laden sounds beyond the door as I was.
Another more excited moan came from her, this time the pitch of her voice higher, indicating she was inching closer to her release. I’d be lying if I said I was torn between standing there with my dick hardening in my pants or pushing my way into the room to help her the rest of the way to her orgasm.
