Page 55 of Sleeping Redemption
I didn’t know how we were going to track down this asshole trying to torture our girl, but I did know one thing. I was going to show him who the bigger and better demon was.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Afucking charred body. Wolff had been mine, and now he was nothing but a smoldering mess stinking up my bathroom. This was exactly why he should have never left the safety of my ownership. My sweet boy deserved better.
“Get the fuck off me, Atlas!” I shouted in his face while being nearly nose-to-nose with him while his hands cradled my face.
“Angel, you need to settle down.” His voice was calm, like I was upset over something as trivial as pestilence. His cloudy grey eyes pleaded with me, and I couldn’t bring myself to give a damn.
Didn’t he realize that the demon hadn’t even burned the body properly? The temptation to show the asshole how it was done boiled up inside of me.
If your pet had to suffer, everyone else should know your pain.
I was in agreement with the Devil on this one.
Even standing there in the hallway with Atlas, I could still smell the crispy remains combined with the stench of suffering. As I breathed it in through my nose, it seeped into my bodythrough my lungs until my blood carried it to all the fibers of my being. There wasn’t any part of me that didn’t burn along with it.
Atlas gave my head a firm shake between his hands to pull my attention back to him.
“Breathe. Just breathe,” he repeated to me several times.
My eyes darkened as I inhaled each sickening pocket of air and let it merge with my soul. My psyche vibrated with sick pleasure in picking apart each nuance of the air I sucked in through my nostrils. The accelerant, the singed hair, the caramelized blood, the ashen bones, and even the morbid fragrance of fear that bound it all together.
A dark giggle escaped my lips as I looked deep into my guardian angel’s eyes. His hands loosened on my face at the unexpected sound that I made.
I tilted my head slightly to one side as my eyes shifted into a predatory gaze. “Ahh, I feel much better now,” I said with such an eerie calmness that it could draw a shiver out of a snowman.
It took little effort to break free from Atlas’s hold on my face. In retaliation, I slammed my hands against his chest with enough force that he went flying back into the wall behind him. He stumbled forward after the impact, revealing the massive dent his body made in the drywall.
An odd thought came to me, drawing an amused smirk onto my face.
“I bet your wings would leave such a pretty imprint on my walls,” I mused.
At first, Atlas looked shaken by my sudden shift in demeanor, but it quickly shifted into an expression of concern. His hand stretched out toward me like he was trying to settle down a goddamn velociraptor. Fun fact: those little assholes made great hellhound treats.
“Kinley.” He said my name as though it would command my attention and focus on what else he was about to say to me. “I know you are upset, angel. I hurt for you.”
I bitterly laughed. “Do you, now? I don’t think you do, but I can help make you feel a fraction of my pain.”
His words grew wary as his eyes remained on me. “Go on, share your pain with me. Let me soak up some of the burden.”
Dramatically, I sighed and shook my head. I wasn’t going to play games with a goody-two-shoes angel sent to save me from myself. I didn’t need pity sent from up above. I needed to unleash the urges churning deep inside my body.
One step forward, and I could already see the tension building inside my sweet Atlassian. He was just absolutely adorable when he didn’t have any of the answers.
“Pain is only considered a burden to the weak.” I took another step closer. “Pain is my blessing.”
With Atlas’s eyes transfixed on mine, he didn’t dare move a muscle.
“You know that’s not true, Kinley. Deep down, I know you know this, and I can help you find that part of you.” His voice was still wary and nearly irritating with the urge to find a solution to all my problems I didn’t need fixed. It was goddamn infuriating.
I observed him, my morbid curiosity tickling my immorality. A smirk appeared across my lips before I spoke with a calmer tone. “Let me see your pretty white feathers.”
The command seemed to throw him off guard as a puzzled expression washed over his face.
“Oh, c’mon, Atlas. I will show you mine if you show me yours. Let me see if they are the same shade of white as the snow on St. Cassius.”
He straightened up, his face tightening to conceal his thoughts.
