Page 60 of Providence

I reared back, my eyes wide as I stared into his eyes. “Your voice.”

He nodded. “Had help with the back from the dead thing. He got a little overzealous.” His voice was rough and strained, like it was unused to the action of speaking, like his tongue was still relearning how to make words. But he could speak to me, and that just made me cry harder.

I pulled back. “The basement. I put the kids in the basement.”

Cain nodded, stepping in front of us both and leading the way. We ran down the stairs, and were met with carnage. Dead bodies littered the floor, some decapitated, some hacked to pieces. The door to the safe room stood open and empty.

“No. Too late.” Marco whispered, but I shook my head.

“No. Burns said he lost the kids,” I ground out.

“Burns?” Cain asked, but I shook my head, searching through the safe room like they might just appear. Empty. I raced back into the basement, searching faces.

“Goose was here. He wouldn’t have just let them take the kids. He’d die first. I know it in my soul,” I said, desperate.

I screeched when another fucking angel popped into the basement. “Memphis. Thank God.”

He let out a mirthless laugh. “Probably not the Father you should be thanking. Luc heard you call. He says there is no bargain necessary for the Fallen Child. Direct quote. I have sent your child to Hope. Azriel and Blue will protect him. Unfortunately, I could not sift with the other little ones, so your consort Solomon and Lucifer have delivered them to safety. The Lord of Hell himself watches over their safety, along with the ferret shifter.”

“Mongoose,” I corrected absently. Luc had come. I shook with relief. The kids were safe. Marco was alive. It was going to be okay. I climbed the stairs, the fear morphing into something worse. Rage.

I burst into the hallway. “Dippy!” The cry had me whirling around, my beautiful blond god racing down the hall toward me. Solomon encased me in his arms, kissing every inch of my face until I struggled to get air. “Thank fuck.Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

I didnt know who he was thanking, but the feel of his arms around my body, pressing me tight to his chest, made my heart start to beat again.

“The kids?” Marco whispered, and I noticed Sol’s eyes go wide. Yeah. It was trippy as fuck. I could only imagine what Marco was feeling right now.

Solomon lifted his hand from my spine and wrapped it around Marco’s bicep, squeezing it reassuringly. “Safe.”

A relieved breath whooshed out of Marco, whistling between his teeth. It was a testament to how close we had all gotten that he trusted Sol’s word, but not Memphis’ when he’d said the exact same thing.

The big angel didn’t seem to mind though. “I shall go help Death and Ace clean up the remaining combatants.”

Poof. Gone.

I led them across the hall and into the guest room. Gusion was still sitting on Burns, who was looking a little worse for wear. His fingers and wrists were at odd angles, and Gusion was working on his toes.

“Gusion,” I said softly, and when he looked up, his face was haunted and feral. He looked every bit the demon of Hell, but behind that was a tortured soul. “That’s enough now.”

He took a deep shuddering breath and stood. But not before breaking both of his ankles.

“And they call him the soft one,” Solomon whispered into my ear. It was easy to see that he tormented the deranged souls of hell every day for a living. He was a tortured, immortal soul himself. Hope had humanized him, but he was still a Prince of Hell. It was best not to forget it.

He walked over to me. “Is everyone okay? The baby?”

I nodded softly, relaying Memphis’ words and then I did something that I never thought I would be capable of. I wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged him. I forgave him. His body vibrated with emotion as he hugged me back, and something healed inside my soul. I stepped back and cleared my throat. “Thank you.”

His jaw flexed again. “You only need to call and I’ll be here. I’ll return to Hope and my grandson. Call when it is safe, and we’ll return him. Hope will spoil him rotten first, I promise you.” Like he couldn’t help himself, he hugged me tight to his chest once more. “I will keep him safe. I’ll keep both of you safe, daughter.”

Then he was gone. I believed him with every fiber of my soul. He’d lay down his life for Madoc. Now it was time to find out if there were still threats to his safety.

I looked down at Burns, and I gritted my teeth. “We should talk.”

34

Marco

My woman was perfect. She was fierce and loyal. But she had no stomach for torture. Luckily, I did. And Goliath made it look like an art form. It had taken fifteen minutes in the careful hands of Goliath for Scott Burns to sing.

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