Page 40 of Providence

“I’m here to make good on my promise to Serendipity. To end the threat to her and my grandson. To protect them from any further heartache.” He settled against the pillar, looking like a fucking instagram model in tight jeans and a tee. The fact this man, this Angel, was Serendipity’s father still blew my mind. If you forgot they were supernatural, he looked like he should still be fucking his way through the Sorority houses. Until you got to his eyes. His eyes were ancient and held knowledge that I was fairly sure would break me. “You know I am the Angel of the Past, Present and Future right?” I shook my head. Maybe I should have googled him. “Do you want to know what I see in your future?” he asked, sounding a bit like a cheesy fairground fortune teller, but a woman with a crystal ball never made dread churn in my stomach.

Did I want to know what happened in the future? What happened to me, Cara and Sammie? Serendipity, even. As if he could read my thoughts, Gusion clarified. “Nothing to do with my daughter. She’s a giant blank spot, obviously. Otherwise I would have been at her side years ago.”

Bitterness tainted his words, and it was something I could understand. I still had nightmares about the things my kids had to endure under those monsters they called parents. But I got there in time, and now Gusion was here when Sera needed him. It wasn’t the first time she needed him, but it was the most important.

I considered it, and in the end, I shook my head. I doubt I could live with a guillotine hanging over my head for years to come. He grabbed me by the scruff of my shirt, and tugged me to him, dropping us to the ground. I stared at him confused, until the familiar pinging of bullets off concrete pierced my awareness like a hammer to my skull. Gusion had just pulled me out of the way of a fucking bullet. I looked down at him, my eyes too wide.

“Like I said, I’m going to protect her from any further heartache,” he said softly.

I mouthedthank you, then I was on my feet, firing back at the security guards who were swarming this level of the parking deck. Gusion climbed to his feet, dusting off his jeans, completely uncaring of the bullets flying around. He walked toward my car, and I crab walked that way too. I’d been made, and it was time to get the fuck out of here. Gusion climbed into the driver's seat of my tricked out SUV, which was thankfully bullet-proof. Fuck, normally I didn’t let people drive my car, but considering he’d just saved my life, he could do what he liked.

He peeled out of the lot, aiming right for the goons firing at us. Unfortunately they jumped out of the way before he could hit any, but it was probably for the best. I didn’t want to have to ditch this car, especially after all the mods I’d added.

Gusion squealed down the curving ramps between the levels, drifting around, and thought perhaps he was trying to warm me that he saw my death at the hands of a Fallen Angel who thought he was a fucking stunt car driver. I unabashedly held the fucking sissy bar, clipping on my seatbelt one handed as he peeled out of the exit, ramming the boom gates.

I wished I could yell at him to slow the fuck down, but one look at the stupidly large grin on his face changed my mind. So we drove it like we stole it out of the city and back toward home and I chose to believe that Gusion wouldn’t just poof into fucking nothingness while driving. Being in the passenger seat was making me suspect that perhaps I had control issues. I stopped trying to slam my foot on the invisible brake every time Gusion took a corner too fast, or ran the red. I tried some deep breathing exercises and thought about what just happened.

That parking deck was a public fucking building, but Tenebrae had armed guards patrolling it. What if I had just been a fucking member of the public? But they hadn’t hesitated to shoot at either me or Gusion, and we weren’t doing anything more suspicious than talking.

What did that mean? Were they watching for us specifically?

Gusion perhaps. Uriel would have warned them about the Fallen Angels, especially if everything I heard was true and Lucifer’s consort, Ace, had gone through the building on a killing spree not too long ago.

I shuddered at the unstoppable power of Angels, Fallen or otherwise. We really were just ants in comparison, chess pieces to move around to suit their purposes.

Gusion cleared his throat as our speed evened out on the freeway. Thank fuck. “So, Marco. What are your intentions with my daughter?”

I choked on my own tongue, my head whipping toward him. I opened and closed my mouth uselessly, trying to figure out if he was fucking with me or actually wanted a serious answer.

I signed carefully.I love her. I love everything about her, from the way she smiles to the way she cries. I would marry her in a heartbeat and I would love calling her my wife everyday, but I know that she loves the Damnation guys just as much as I love her. So, my intentions? To make her as happy as I possibly can, to care for her and Madoc. To give her a family.

I was pretty sure he didn’t read sign language, but hopefully he got the intention behind the actions. I’d let my embarrassing earnestness out just for this one moment, so he could see the depths of my truths.

It was alarming how fast I fell for Serendipity. I blamed it on the supernatural aspect of our situation. It was hard to spend any time in Sera’s company and not fall in love with her, Judas was evidence of that. Maybe even Goliath.

After a moment, Gusion nodded. “That’s all I can ask for, if I have a right to ask for anything at all.”

I raised my eyebrows in surprise.You understand ASL?

Gusion shrugged. “A little. It's an innate ability of angels, to understand all languages of Man. ASL is a language, though it takes a little longer to compute. I’m not sure I could have a regular speed conversation with you, but I understand. But also, I can read your mind.” He grinned wide, and I just stared.

Huh.

We pulled up at the gates to the house, and Gusion got out of the driver's seat. I looked over at him, my face back to its impassive mask.You don’t want to come in?

Gusion shook his head sadly. “Not today. I don’t want to just turn up unannounced like I have some kind of right to her, just because she’s my daughter.” He sighed. “I will see you soon.”

Then poof, he was gone.

I climbed back into the car, waving to the MC kid on the gate. On the way back here, I decided that I’d tell Judas about Tenebrae, the fact that they shot at me today and my contacts suspicions earlier in the month. To keep Serendipity safe, I could submit to his authority, just for now.

We’d turned the garage into a gym, so I parked my SUV under the carport. I was barely out of the driver’s door when the kids came barreling down the front steps, Serendipity behind them smiling widely, Madoc in her arms.

I caught Sammie in my arms first, his long-legged stride outpacing his sisters. She wasn't far behind him though, slamming into my legs like a freight train. I picked her up in my arms, never getting sick of holding her, appeasing the dark beast inside me that needed to know she was safe. I half walked/half dragged myself toward Sera. I put Cara down and she grabbed Sammie’s hand to go play in the quartz stones that lined the edges of the drive.

Serendipity leaned forward to snag a kiss, and I pressed back, tracing my tongue across her bottom lip. I broke away and kissed the top of Madoc’s fiery head.

Were they good?I signed, tilting my head towards the kids, and she nodded.

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