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I found Naomi in our bedroom curled up on the bed with a throw blanket covering her. I leaned against the doorjamb, crossing my arms and contemplated whether to interrupt her sleep or not. Her soft snore permeated through the fringe of the blanket and I sighed, stepping out of the room. She needed rest and I had a phone call to make.
My stomach growled and I diverted from the table to the refrigerator, opening it and scanning the contents. Nothing appealed to me and I closed the door, stepping back to the table and my cell phone.
The thought of calling Valerie’s uncle left my chest tight, and I opted for calling the hospital to find out how she was instead.
“Charlotte Hungerford Hospital, how may I help you?”
“I understand my cousin was brought into the emergency room earlier today,” I started. “The last information I was given was that she was in surgery. Can you tell me what her status is now?”
“What is her name?”
“Valerie Denongalis,” I said and waited while the person on the other end of the phone entered the information.
“According to the notes, she was flown by Life Star to Hartford Hospital.”
I closed my eyes and exhaled. “Thank you.” I hung up and did a Google search, finding the number to Hartford Hospital and repeated the process.
They took down my name and phone number, validating I was on the list of next of kin. Once they were satisfied, they put me on hold. I paced while waiting for a voice, glancing at the clock and calculating the time we first entered the emergency room and now. Seven hours had passed. A hell of a lot more than I thought and the longer I was on hold, the more unnerved I got.
“Mr. Andreas?” a male voice asked.
“Yes.”
“I’m Dr. Browne, the surgeon in charge of your cousin’s case,” he said and papers shuffled. “She is in the recovery room at the moment, but we will be moving her to the intensive care within the hour.”
“Is she... okay?”
The doctor hesitated. “I’ll know more in the morning. I understand her uncle is on the way. If you have the means to get here...” he drifted off.
“Unfortunately, I’m not in the position to get to Hartford at the moment,” I said. “Can you give me some specifics?”
“The knife punctured her right kidney and we were unable to save it. It also nicked the renal artery and she lost a great deal of blood.”
“She can survive with one kidney, right?”
“Yes, the kidney is the least of her worries,” the doctor said. “The blood loss and increased chance of infection are the bigger issues, but now that we’ve contained the bleeding, she should have a better chance to fight off whatever bacteria might have been on that knife.”
I remained quiet. “Chances of survival?” I asked when he didn’t say anything more.
“If she makes it through the night I can give you better odds.”
“What are her odds of making it through the night?”
“A little better than fifty percent.”
“Thank you. I appreciate the information,” I said and hung up. My next call was to Ted and it took a couple of rings before he answered.
“Damian?” he asked after the shuffle sounds stopped.
“Yes, sir.”
“I assume you know what happened,” he said and I heard a blinker in the background.
“Demons, sir,” I said. “They attacked her when we were in Torrington.”
“What the hell were you doing in Torrington?”
“Valerie wanted Naomi checked out by a doctor.”
“Why?”
“Naomi is pregnant.”
Silence. Ted’s breathing filled the line and all the prophecies Michael had told came to the forefront of my mind.
“Naomi’s due in October and Val was worried that she might be diabetic.” I crossed the kitchen and leaned on the window frame, scanning the wood line beyond the fence. “Val took us to the doctor’s office.”
“Let me guess, the doctor was a demon?”
I blinked at the venom in his question. “No. One of the nurses.”
“You think that’s a coincidence?”
“I... uh,” I stumbled on the words.
“They’ve been watching the house ever since Michael dropped the two of you on our doorstep, and you can bet they were laying in wait for this day.”
The mention of Michael’s name tightened my throat. “Michael’s dead.”
“What?”
“Lucifer showed up at the hospital. So did Michael, and he didn’t make it.” Just recounting the day sucked the life out of me and I walked to the couch in the living room, dropping into the soft cushions. “I don’t know how soon after that they sent Val to Hartford, but I’m glad they did otherwise Lucifer would have found her and eaten her heart too.”
“How did you get out of there?”
“Cops converged.” It was the first time in my life I had been truly happy to see a cop in the vicinity. “And I grabbed Naomi and ran.” I paused and licked my lips. “Did you know Michael gave me his grace?”
An exhale filled the line. “No. He didn’t mention that, but I knew bringing you back from the dead nearly did him in,” Ted said and the soft purr of the engine cut off. “I’m at the hospital. I’ll let you know if her condition changes.”
“Thank you.”
“And Damian?”
“Yeah?”
“You and Naomi need to look for another place to live.”
I huffed a laugh out. “What?”
“I have to keep my niece safe, and I can’t with you there.”
“Ted...” I trailed off. He was right and even though the property was mine, it was where Valerie had lived all her life. I couldn’t take that away from her, not when association with me had cost her everything else.
“I’m serious. I want the two of you gone before I bring her home from the hospital.”
There was no leeway in his statement and I closed my eyes. “Fine. I’ll start looking in the morning.”
“I’ll let you know if anything changes with Valerie,” he said and hung up the phone.
I dropped the phone on the table and rubbed my face. Naomi wasn’t going to take this well and I had no clue how I’d get us out of here without being attacked.
* * * *
NAOMI STEPPED INTO the room in the middle of a yawn. I did a quick glance at her and then focused back on my computer without a word. There were so many options on where we could go that I was at an impasse.
“Where do you want to live?” I finally asked, looking up as she took a seat on the couch.
“Here.”
“Not an option.”
“Damian...”
“Ted wants us gone before he brings Valerie home,” I cut her off and glanced back at the computer. “And I have no idea where you want to live.” I returned my gaze to her. “New York is not an option,” I added before she fell back on her usual location.
“What do you mean Ted wants us to go?”
I leaned back and kept her stare. I didn’t need to speak, either. It was obvious after today. Anyone close to us would always be in danger and I dropped my gaze to her stomach before looking back at the computer.
My children would always be on the run.
The reality of that statement shot me to my feet and I crossed, slipping outside onto the patio and the chill of the falling evening. I longed for the simplicity of life. The cluelessness of not knowing angels or demons or things much darker existed. I wanted a normal life for my children, not this hide to survive bullshit.
I glanced up at the stars and sighed. Maybe it was time to go home.
Naomi stepped next to me, glancing up at the stars in the twilight sky.
“What about Greece?” I said still scanning the deepening colors of dusk.
The way she sighed pulled my attention to her. She looked between the sky and my face before turning toward me.
“While I’d love to see Greece at some time, this country is my home.”
I knew she’d say that and as much as I longed for the white beaches and azure water of my birthplace, I hadn’t been back and I didn’t know if it would be the same.
“I can’t talk you into some place like Australia or New Zealand?”
She hesitated, studying the colorful sky before she spoke. “Again, those are places I’d like to visit, but I just can’t see living there. And before you ask, the same goes for South America and Africa. I love my country. I don’t want the devil chasing me out of my home.”
“The west coast?”
“California isn’t my style either. I like having the seasons.”
“Tahoe has seasons,” I said, but her head was shaking. “We already did the mountains and while I loved Colorado, I missed home.”
“That leave’s Alaska or Hawaii,” I said, thinking of places as far away from here as possible.
She laughed and met my gaze with a shake of her head.
She wasn’t giving me much of the landscape to work with. “Somehow, I can’t see you in the south either,” I said and gave her a hint of a smile.
Naomi’s dimples made an appearance. “You can’t see me saying y’all?”
“No, no I can’t,” I actually chuckled and pulled her to me. “You definitely are not a mild-mannered southern belle. I can see you as a kick-ass cowgirl, though.”
She wrinkled her nose at me and shook her head. “I’m not interested in the wild west.”
I tilted my chin toward my chest and raised an eyebrow. “Then where?”
She bit her lip. “Have you ever been to...” She paused and glanced up at the stars. “...Maine?”
I followed her gaze. “It’s still too close.”
“Have you ever been there?”
I shook my head. That was one state I hadn’t been to and the idea of still being in New England didn’t sit well with me. Being on this half of the world didn’t sit well, but I knew I’d never get Naomi to agree to raise children on a deserted island in the South Pacific.
Hell, Lilith found us in the mountains of Colorado, so really, there wasn’t any place safe on Earth and we damn well couldn’t populate the moon.
I sighed. “Okay.”
“Really?”
I dropped my gaze to hers. “Really. But I have to make it look like we are leaving the country.” I planted a kiss on her forehead and led us back inside.
“I’m booking us on as many flights to Greece as I can from airports around here and in Michigan.”
“Why Michigan?”
“I own one of the top automobile museums in the country. I’ll send the majority of the car collection to them so they don’t rot here.”
“I didn’t realize you had more than what’s in the garage?”
“There are a lot of things you still don’t know about me.” I sent a grin her way and refocused. “I’m also going to book one flight out of Louisiana.”
“Louisiana?”
“It’s part of the shell game and he’ll assume that’s where we settled.”
“New Orleans?”
I grinned and nodded.
“Isn’t that a bit... cliché?”
“Absolutely, but he won’t get it,” I said and slid onto the couch. It took me close to an hour to book ten separate flights ranging from as early as the following week out of Boston to the latest from Louisiana next month. The only flights that didn’t have connections in the U.S. originated out of Boston, the rest of the flights had connections in O’Hare, Dulles or Atlanta.
When I finished, I cracked my knuckles and stretched my fingers before switching gears. I sent a note to the museum curator informing him that I had a dozen more vehicles coming the following week, including pieces from ancient Greece and Rome. The response came in less than five minutes after I hit send, and I swear the man must have been close to a fucking orgasm with how much he gushed.
I sent a note back saying the vehicles needed some engine work because they had been sitting for the majority of the last five years, and he assured me that they would be attended to when they arrived.
Next, I arranged for transportation of everything except my Aston-Martin; that would go wherever we went. The next couple of days would be busy loading vehicles and when I was done with the arrangements, I turned the computer to Naomi.
“Your turn. You need to start looking for a place for us to stay,” I said and stood up. “I’m going to make sure I have everything I need to finish up the Aston Martin and hide it from view.”
“Do I have a budget?” she asked as she pulled the computer onto her lap.
“Find a lease for now.”
Disappointment transitioned her mouth into a pouty frown and I turned, leaving her to the task. I found my way through the underground tunnel and stood in the center of the garage looking at the contents. The dozen vehicles, including the ornate chariots would be gone by the end of the following day and the rest of the things needed to be cleared out before we left. The Aston-Martin didn’t have a great deal of storage space, so anything I wanted to come with us had to be compact.
I slid into the seat and turned the ignition key. The car jumped to life, purring like she should. All the work I had done over the past month had gotten her into shape and there wasn’t anything I could think of that she needed. Even the tires had been replaced. I shut the car off and popped the trunk. I packed a toolbox with the wrench set and all the custom sockets I had for the different engine parts. When I had everything I needed for future servicing, I closed the lid and placed the toolbox in the trunk along with the extra oil filters and spark plugs for the car.
I cleared a space in the far right corner, and pulled the car as close to the wall as I dared before putting a fitted cover over the vehicle. Then I moved boxes, old tires and a couple of the rolling tool chests I had around the car, hiding it from view and giving us the room to maneuver the rest of the vehicles.
I stepped back, scanning the area. It needed more and I glanced at the ruined truck. Once I found the key, I yanked on the driver’s door, but it didn’t budge, so I climbed up on the bent foot rail and hauled myself through the empty window.
Despite my skepticism, the truck started and I moved it so it blocked the box barricade. I exited the way I entered and walked around to the belly of the garage. The mangled form did a better job blocking the Aston Martin than the boxes and tool chests. Now it just looked like a normal garage storage space along with a truck that needed serious bodywork.
Satisfied, I wiped my hands on my jeans and headed back to the house.
“York,” Naomi said when I entered the living room.
I raised an eyebrow. “I told you New York is not an option.”
“No, York, Maine. It’s a beach community and I found a couple of rentals that would be perfect and they aren’t outrageous.”
She spun the computer toward me and I scanned the list of available year-round rentals. They weren’t bad and a few of the home rentals were downright beautiful. “Where is York?” I asked, hoping she’d say as far north as possible.
“It’s like fifteen minutes from Portsmouth, New Hampshire.”
I met her gaze and she wet her lips with her tongue and flashed that pleading smile that made it impossible to say no. Fuck it. I tapped the more expensive of the two condo rentals. “See if that’s still available.”
She picked up the phone and I crossed into the kitchen to figure out something for dinner. We hadn’t had much today and I was starting to get that lightheaded feeling that comes with forgetting to eat. Instead of opting for some heavy Greek dish, I went simple and opened a can of tomato soup.
Naomi stepped into the kitchen behind me and wrapped her arms around my waist. Just the feel of her made my heart flutter, despite the day from hell, and I turned my head, catching a quick kiss over my shoulder.
“Do you want grilled cheese with this?”
She glanced at the stove and nodded. “I’ll probably only have grilled cheese.”
“Keeping it light?”
“Yeah, my stomach is still a bit unsettled and not eating today didn’t help.”
I just nodded and continued stirring. Now that I wasn’t actively doing anything, my mind started wondering about what Michael said today.
“Why did Michael give me his grace?” I asked with my back to Naomi. “And what the hell did he mean by now all I need is Lucifer’s?” I didn’t expect an answer and when Naomi didn’t speak, I took a glance over my shoulder. She stood looking out the back window, her profile carved in thought.
I let it go, focusing back on our dinner. When I set our plates on the table, she turned and sighed, taking the seat opposite me. I brought two bowls and spoons along with the soup pot just in case she changed her mind.
The minute I set the soup down, she turned ravenous, like she hadn’t eaten in years. I had the forethought to make her two sandwiches and she decided halfway through the first half to add soup to her meal.
“Maybe he’s setting you up to be a true trinity.” Naomi said around a mouthful of grilled cheese.
“How?”
“Maybe when your father died, you got his grace too.”
I burst out laughing. “I still can’t get over the fact I was the beneficiary of one angel’s grace, I’m certainly not worthy of two.”
Naomi’s brow knit together and she took another bite of her sandwich. “Why do you do that?” Her eyes flared to match the sharpness in her tone.
“Sweetheart, I killed my fair share of people and some of them did not deserve to die. I’m not worthy of grace.”
Her gaze narrowed. “Worthy or not, it sounds like you have it and you need to figure out how to use it.”
My hands dropped to the table and I stared at her. “What do you mean?”
“I might be wrong, but I have a feeling he could have made you better without granting you his grace.”
This wasn’t an idea I wanted to entertain. I didn’t understand why Michael would be so foolish as to put himself in harm’s way for me. “So he died... for me?” I asked, my voice carrying all the incredulousness that filled my brain.
“Angels don’t die, Damian. They just don’t get to leave heaven anymore.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?” I asked her, leaning back in the chair and crossing my arms.
Her gaze turned to a glare. “That isn’t the point. There was a reason Michael gave you his grace, we just need to figure it out and I think his statement may have been the key.”
“Look, right now, I want to get us as far from this house as I possibly can. I want you and my child to be safe and the last thing I want to do is confront Lucifer. You saw just as much as I did. He’s almost back to full strength, which means if we cross his path, we have nothing to defend ourselves with.”
“There has to be a way to kill that bastard,” she said.
“Okay, I’m curious, now that we’re human, just how in the hell do you suggest we kill an angel?” I countered, leaning forward on the table because I really had no clue and wanted to hear what she had to say. After all, she had nearly done him in when she was a vampire in tiger form.
“You steal his grace,” she said like it was an achievable thing.
I started laughing. “You are out of your fucking mind.”
Naomi huffed and pushed her plate in, crossing her arms in that stubborn manner that made me want to take her over my knee. Anger bloomed and I stood, clearing the table before I said something I’d regret.
“I’m serious.”
I spun from the sink. “You had the strength to kill him when you were a vampire; I never had that kind of power.”
She stood and cut the distance between us to nothing but a fraction of an inch. “You’re the stronger one now.”
Her hand landed on my chest and I stared into her eyes. Into the conviction displayed in her deep chocolate irises and laughed. I looked up at the ceiling cursing my bloodline as well as hers. I turned away from her, finishing the dishes instead of continuing this insane conversation.
“Have you heard anything more about Valerie?”
I wiped my hands on a dishtowel, realizing that I hadn’t told her about the conversation I had with the doctor. “I talked to her doctor before I called Ted. Life Star took Valerie to Hartford Hospital once she stabilized enough to travel. Her doctor said they had to remove her right kidney and they could give us a better idea of her recuperation time in the morning.” I left out the fact her odds weren’t ideal for making it through the night. Naomi didn’t need to know just how close we came to losing her. “And Ted said he’d call me if anything changed.”
Naomi just stared at me, her eyelashes batting like she didn’t quite understand. “They flew her to Hartford?”
“Yes. She needed a trauma one center and that’s the closest one. If they hadn’t, she probably would have died from blood loss.” Instead of taking a seat at the table, I left the kitchen and flopped on the couch, turning the laptop towards me. I hadn’t logged into the day job at all and when I opened my business email account, I exhaled at the flurry of activity.
The last piece of the shell game needed to be addressed and I sent a note to my boss, telling him I needed some personal time in order to relocate. He must have been online because my phone buzzed and I glanced at Naomi.
“What do you mean, you need more time off?” Kevin bellowed in my ear when I answered.
“It’s either that or I’ll have to give notice,” I said and pinched the bridge of my nose to dull the forming headache.
“You’re the best damn programmer I have and we need you,” he pushed. “The project will not get done in time if you leave.”
“Kevin, I’m not in a position to give you a whole hell of a lot of time right now. If you can live with what I can give, when I can give it, then we’re good. Otherwise...” I trailed off, trying not to get aggravated with him. I knew I was putting him in a difficult spot, but I just couldn’t see a way around it. Juggling everything I had in the air right now needed my concentration, otherwise I’d screw up.
As trite as it sounded, lives were at stake and failing was not an option.
A project timeline put in jeopardy just seemed so ridiculously unimportant in comparison, but I didn’t want to burn any bridges.
A huff came over the line and I could just imagine him chewing on his lip while overlooking some concrete landscape out the window. He exhaled. “What can you give me?”
I closed my eyes and dropped my chin to my chest. Whatever I promised, I’d have to follow through on, no matter what, and right now that was a nearly impossible commitment. Instead of saying I couldn’t give him anything, I said, “I can commit to five hours a week for the next month.”
“An hour a day? Are you fucking kidding me?”
“It’s what I can commit to. If I find I can give you more, I will.”
“Does this have anything to do with the accident?”
My eyes opened and I met Naomi’s gaze. That was the excuse she gave when I was in a coma. A car accident. I wish it had been that instead of Lucifer playing tic-tac-toe on my chest with a razor, or beating me to a pulp with his fist. An accident would have been cleaner and easier to deal with. Instead, I had nightmares every night and now I had to face that bastard again.
“Damian?”
“Yes, there have been some complications that need to be addressed,” I answered and just left it at that.
“Are you... okay?” he asked in a voice softened with concern.
“I’m not dying if that’s what you’re worried about,” I said.
“Oh, okay, that’s good,” Kevin said, stumbling before he recovered his authoritative boom. “I guess we can work around your schedule,” he added.
“Thank you.”
“Can you take a look at the issue the testers found?”
“Yeah, I’ll take a look now and shoot over my findings in a few,” I said and disconnected the call. “Shit.” The last thing I wanted to do was work.
Naomi stretched out on the couch next to me, using my thigh as a pillow. She flipped on the television while I shuffled through the email chain.
After a few minutes, the irony of the situation hit me and I started to chuckle.
Naomi glanced up at me with her brow scrunched in her what-the-fuck look.
“For someone who’s supposed to save the world, being stuck troubleshooting code is completely fucked up.”
Dimples appeared even before her giggle and she rolled her eyes, settling back down on my lap to catch the rest of the show.
I had the problem figured out and fixed before the half-hour sitcom ended and sent a note to my boss. I folded the laptop, set it on the table, and stretched.
“Are we all set with that condo?” I asked and Naomi rolled onto her back, looking straight up at me.
“They weren’t there when I called and they haven’t called back yet.”
“If it doesn’t pan out, we can always stay at a hotel until we find something.” I cupped her cheek and ran my thumb over her lips, enjoying the silkiness of her skin.
“When are we leaving?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.” I shifted and brushed her hair away from her face, tucking the stray hairs behind her ear. “It won’t be until after all the cars are on their way to Michigan and we may have to stay downstairs for a few days. Just until I think it’s clear to go.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“Besides, I have to reprogram the access to the rooms downstairs. I need to make a failsafe that will freeze the lock if someone attempts to override the commands I put in place. I don’t want anyone getting in, or out of there after we go. I want to make it so they’d have to blast the door off with dynamite to gain access.”
“Why?”
“I’m not worried about Ted and Valerie using the place. I’m more concerned with someone finding their way in from the garage.” I shrugged, leaving the possibilities open and she slowly nodded. “Demon’s can’t get past the entry pipe—but anything else can.”
“If you lock it up...” she started and I raised my eyebrows at her, silently telling her to rethink the statement before she continued. Naomi inhaled and nodded, getting my point.
“I want to leave the garage open. That way they’ll know it’s empty and that we’ve left for good. But before we go, not only do I have to do the reprogramming magic, I also need to solder the door at the bottom of the stairs and do the same to the hatchway so nothing can get through. And, just for good measure, I’ll move the truck over the hatch to make it less obvious. Once we’re in Maine, I’ll make sure the ownership of both the property and the garage is transferred to Valerie and she can do whatever she wants with it.”
Leaving unnoticed wasn’t going to be easy, but if I could pull it off, it would give us time. How much time was the question, and I broke eye contact with Naomi, looking out at the dark settling over the back yard.
If I didn’t succeed at this, God only knew what hell we’d unleash.
Naomi yawned and stretched, pulling my attention away from the outside world and I smiled down at her. I wish I knew what she was thinking. I missed the mind reading abilities we shared as vampires and I sighed, running my fingertips over her sexy lips.
She grabbed my wrist and pulled my index finger into her mouth. Heat stirred inside me and I closed my eyes for a moment as she slowly released it. When she teased me like this, I could feel the fire between us burn bright. I opened my eyes and allowed the slow grin she adored to form.
It had the desired effect, she propped herself up to meet my hungry lips.
Her mouth tasted like caramel and she wrapped her arms around my neck, deepening the kiss. Her tongue danced slowly with mine, turning off logical thought, the animal in me reared up, carnal and wanting and I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her closer.
A distant buzz cut through my lust and I pulled away from her sweet lips, meeting her gaze before transitioning my attention to the phone on the table. It could be Ted and I sighed, pushing her aside and picked up the phone.
Any heat she’d created turned to an icy fury at the caller ID and every muscle tensed into hard knots. I inhaled, closing my eyes before bringing the phone to my ear.
His malignant chuckle drifted over the line.
“What the fuck do you want?” I growled into the phone through clenched teeth. I opened my eyes meeting Naomi’s gaze.
“I want your wife and your unborn child.”
“Not on your life.”
“My plans have changed a bit since you seemed to have already created the first pure trinity. I’ll gladly trade your daughter’s soul for your wife’s. I can’t think of anything more perfect than deflowering a virgin trinity. If you deliver Naomi to me, I’ll let you live to watch your daughter grow and become my concubine,” he purred, pushing dangerous buttons.
“You must be pretty bad off to think I’d entertain the idea of a negotiation. Why don’t we make a deal, you leave us the fuck alone and I won’t kill you,” I said and Naomi shivered in my arms. Before he could interject some more horrifying images, I continued, “Did you know when an angel dies, they get locked in heaven? I wonder what happens when the devil dies?”
Naomi’s eyes widened and she shook her head.
In the back of my mind, I wondered why the hell I was poking a sleeping dragon, but for the first time, I seemed to be in control of the conversation and it gave me the audacity to taunt him.
“I am going to enjoy watching you die,” Lucifer growled, pulling a smile from within my anger.
“Yeah, I’ve heard that before. At least three times, but it doesn’t seem to stick, now does it?” I asked and winked at Naomi, enjoying this more than I should.
A roar came over the line. “I’ll kill you both, you little shit!”
“You will never get the chance.”
“I will hunt you down and rip your heart out,” he growled.
“You’re such a sadistic bastard, you know that?” I laughed realizing somewhere along the way the tides had turned in my favor.
“You think you can hide in Greece?” he asked, his voice barely steady.
“It’s a big world, my friend, and who knows, maybe I’ll organize me a demonic hunting party. I really like killing those bastards and I’m sure sooner or later the path of dead assholes will lead me to you.”
“Damian,” Naomi whispered and I met her panicked gaze. I smiled and palmed her cheek.
“Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to make love to my wife,” I said and cut the call, tossing the phone onto the table.
“Are you out of your fucking mind?”
I raised my eyebrow at her outburst. “What?”
“Do you really think pissing off Lucifer is a smart idea?”
“You know what? I’ve been walking on eggshells for twenty-five hundred years trying not to piss off the legion of angels, and what has it gotten me? I’m done. I’m not taking shit from any of them ever again.” I stood, pulling her to her feet and shutting off her argument with my lips.
Fired up was an understatement, and I focused all the built up frustration on her. I swept her up into my arms and turned off the lights, carrying her to our bedroom.