Page 81 of Bones

“Lea was Juno’s prematurely expired friend and employee,” Denny filled in. At my lowered brows, she mouthed, “Ghost.”

“And she was the best damn prematurely expired friend a gal could ask for,” Juno said before telling us about how Leahad sacrificed herself to a member of Absolve. It turned into a bizarre ramble about cotton candy flavors. I must’ve missed something because it also included cheese. She ended it by wiping at her eyes. “I just hope she’s shredding gnarly waves with Chamuel right now.”

“Or eating the cream cheese-filled mouse pretzels with Michael,” Nate said.

At Juno’s weird comment, Aurora perked up. But at Nate’s even stranger one, she frantically scrawled, her hand a blur even without the magicks assist.

Who is Chamuel? And Michael?

“You know how people talk about guardian angels?” Juno asked.

Aurora rapidly nodded.

“In our case, it’s literal. Guardianarchangels, to be precise. Michael for Nate, Chamuel for me, and Rafe for Lilith. I wonder who you’ll get, Deke.”

And where’s that bastard been all this time?

I thought about her words again, and my brows lowered. “Why Lilith?”

“Wow, I’m not allowed to have a guardian archangel?” At my likely panicked expression, she let me off the hook. “I’m kidding. I’m still surprised, too. They gave me one because I was the only one who could reach Lennon.”

Aurora released my hand for the first time since the twisted story started. She brought her bent legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them in a defensive pose.

I leaned close and brushed her hair away from her face. “Let’s take a break.”

She shook her head as she wrote.

I’m good. Just getting comfortable. Keep going.

“You sure?”

A nod.

A lie?

I split my attention between my mate and Lennon as he shared about living over and over, each time as a doctor. Growing more cynical and removed with every lifetime until he lost a vital part of who he was.

Until he no longercared.

The Four had our specific roles. Our places in the world. We fit together, four parts of a whole. We’d all been close, but Lenuson and I had shared a slightly stronger bond because of our similarities.

I never felt it more than at that moment.

The lengths he went to avoid people. How he’d secluded himself away. How he’d nearly taken a research job across the country just so he wouldn’t have to deal with patients on a daily basis.

It was basically what I’d done when I’d settled up in the woods in Maine. I’d planned to hide there, only leaving the cabin for what limited supplies I couldn’t have delivered. I hadn’t been able to fight who I was, though. Before long, I’d started Black Horse, but the intention had been there.

Luckily, Lennon hadn’t moved, or he wouldn’t have gotten stuck in an elevator with Lilith. He’d been what she needed on one of the worst days of her life, and she’d reminded him why those connections were important.

“To be fair,” Lennon said, “I thought I was dying at first. My memories were trying to push through every time I was near my mate. And they did it by stabbing my brain until I feared I had abrain tumor. I even got an MRI, but thankfully, Juno interrupted before I had to explain why my brain doesn’t look normal.”

Juno held her index finger and thumb close together. “It’s tiny. Like a shriveled raisin rolling around in that giant head.”

Lennon gave her the finger—making it even harder to unite the reserved, empathetic man I remembered to the modern one sitting on the other side of the couch—before wrapping his arm back around Lilith. His smile was proud as he spoke about how fiercely she protected those who needed it, and that he was lucky she didn’t kick his ass for being a cold bastard.

She patted his hand. “There’s still time.”

“Here’s what I don’t get,” Juno said as she stood to pace.

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