Page 41 of Serendipity

My chest felt weird. I thumped it with my fist, and realized it was because my heart was racing.

18

SERENDIPITY

The aftermath of the battle was a blur to me. Lucifer had cleaned up his own mess apparently, the dead bodies of Uriel’s Army just poofing away like dust in the wind. I was in bed, squashed in between the warm bodies of Cain and Solomon. My body had trembled for hours, apparently my immortal body's way of coping with very human shock. The guys had eventually taken off their shirts, pressed me between them, and whispered barely audible promises.

Eventually, the trembling had stopped, and reality had begun to sink back in. Fucking Uriel. Even damned, he was making my life hell on earth. I’d wanted this to be the end. I just wanted the whole thing to be over.

But I realized now that it would never be over. I’d been kidding myself. Delusional to think that it would all end with Uriel.

The whole day had been a lot to unpack. I’d been in the same room as the Devil and the Archangel Michael. The Fallen had been here. Hope had been here. My fa-. I cut the thought off. I didn’t even want to think about how close that had been.

Then there was the warning about Tenebrae, whoever the fuck they were.

Kissing Goliath. That kiss…

So much had been said with that kiss. Long remembered pain, promises and threats. I tasted the desolation on his lips and I wanted to taste it again.

The baby moved restlessly, hopefully oblivious to the fact that it was the cause of so much of my turmoil. I didn’t want to give the poor little thing a complex so early in life. I rolled on my back, searching for a position where we were both comfortable.

Cain put his big hand on my stomach, and the baby slowed its movements. I think it liked Cain. As if a baby could like anyone in there. It liked it when I put my electric toothbrush on the outside of my belly and that's about it.

Cain kissed the back of my neck, and I had my head on Solomon’s chest. It was a damn good chest, muscled and inked, mostly smooth. His fingers were threaded through my hair, his nails scraping gently across my scalp.

I was perfectly content and totally lost all at once, the two sensations threatening to tear me in half. What did I do now?

Someone knocked on the door of Cain’s room, and then Trigger let himself in. His dark eyes took in our positions, the guys’ state of undress, and although I was still fully clothed, the intimacy was glaringly obvious.

“What?” Cain said softly, his tone gentle though his eyes were hostile. He was trying not to startle

me so I didn’t turn into a quivering fucking wuss again.

I was disgusted with myself. Once upon a time, I'd been a badass. A warrior queen. A survivor.

Now I’m knocked up and crying on a man’s shoulder.

I was suddenly uncontrollably mad at myself. At the situation. At every fucking shitstain who thought they could come in and take me, take my baby, like we were merely possessions to be had.

Trigger looked between the three of us once more, then shrugged. He walked over and slumped on the end of the bed, picking up my feet and placing them on his chest.

“That was some crazy shit, Hombre. Some fucking crazy ass, wild, LSD while on crack, shit.

There were angels with huge ass wings. I saw…” he trailed off, and I understood. I petted his chest with my foot, and somehow, I felt a little better about being a wreck. We all saw shit we shouldn’t have seen today. The war between Heaven and Hell wasn’t ours to fight.

Then I remembered what Michael had called Goliath. Horseman.

What the hell did that mean?

“Yeah. Fucking nuts. But if you keep touching my girl, Trigger, I’m going to rip off an appendage you’d like to keep,” Cain said pleasantly.

Trigger looked up at me and winked, but he gently shifted my feet back onto the bed and sat up.

“The Pres wants to hold Church. Wants to know what everyone saw. Probably to ensure people keep their mouths shut about the angels and you guys being the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse,” he said nonchalantly, like they brought it up in conversation all the time, but I felt both Cain and Solomon’s bodies go rigid.

“I don’t know what you mean, kid,” Cain growled.

Trigger waved a hand, rolling his eyes. “Come on, Cain. I’m not stupid. And neither was my dad.

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