Redemption (Book 4, The Redemption Series) (2 page)

Malcolm notices, of course, and grins back.

“Do you like me dressing you?” he asks, fastening the small button closure at the back of the collar.

“Yes,” I admit. “It feels nice.”

“I have to confess that I like undressing you
so
much more,” he states with a lopsided grin.

“I like that too,” I tell him, “but right now this is just what I need. It makes me feel loved by you.”

Malcolm cups my face with the palms of his hands.

“You are very much loved by me,” he says in earnest. “There is nothing you could do to change how I feel about you, Anna. We’ll find a way to make it through this together. Just remember that you are never alone. You never have to face anything by yourself. I would follow you into the depths of Hell itself if that’s where you needed me to go.”

I wrap my arms around Malcolm’s neck and kiss him tenderly. It’s not a kiss filled with passion like almost all of our kisses are. It’s one meant to tell him how much I adore him and how much he means to me.

Malcolm’s love has helped me regain my sanity. As long as I have him by my side, I’m certain I can face the darkness within myself and force it to slither back into the shadows.

At least for now…

Chapter 2

When Malcolm pulls away from me, he says, “Did I ever tell you I was brilliant? Because I have an excellent idea!”

Amused by Malcolm’s enthusiasm, I watch him walk over to my side of the bed and pull out the drawer in the nightstand there. My husband reaches in and takes out the bracelet Jess gave me as her wedding gift.

“You should wear this and keep it on indefinitely,” Malcolm says, walking back to me as he unlatches the bracelet’s fastener.

I hold my left wrist out to him as he comes to stand in front of me again.

“Whenever you feel like you’re on the verge of losing who you are,” he says, looping the bracelet around my wrist and securing it there, “simply touch me and ask it to let you feel my love for you in that moment. Maybe that will help keep you grounded.”

I thought it was a good idea, but what if, at the time I ask, Malcolm feels frightened of me or disgusted by me. He was allowed to have those emotions, but I wasn’t sure if I could survive experiencing them from him.

I felt like I was standing at the top of a grand staircase that was spiraling down into a bottomless pit. Dragging Malcolm down with me wasn’t something I wanted to do. He said he would travel to the depths of Hell if that’s where I needed him to go, but I didn’t want him to make that kind of sacrifice for me. I knew what such a trip would cost him. There were things I would have to face by myself, but I wasn’t sure if Malcolm understood that. He seemed determined to stay by my side no matter what the personal cost. I just hoped he had the strength to let me go when I needed him to.

Nevertheless, for now, I let Malcolm keep his firm hold on my hand.

“Come on,” he says, tugging on my hand indicating that he wants me to follow him, “I think our son needs to see his mother.”

“What did you tell him?” I ask Malcolm as we walk out of the room to make our way downstairs. “How did you explain all the blood?”

“As you well know, Lucas is an exceptionally bright young man,” Malcolm says as though this is both a blessing and a curse. “He knows that you’re on a mission from God and that certain things have to be done. It was just a shock for him to see you…look the way you did. No kid wants or expects to see his mother covered in blood. He told me he was scared you were hurt when he first saw you. He thought the blood was yours. I explained to him that it wasn’t and that you had to kill a bad man.”

“Only I didn’t have to kill Belphagor,” I say, feeling another ripple of guilt wash over me at the admission.

“He was still a bad man,” Malcolm tells me. “Trust me, he did worse things to other people during his life than what you did to him. And I’m sure he would have done even more if you had allowed him to live.”

When we reach the bottom of the stairs, Malcolm unexpectedly brings me up against him and into the circle of his arms.

“I want you to promise me something,” he says to me.

“What?” I ask, looking into his deep blue eyes, knowing that I would do almost anything he asked of me in that moment.

“I want you to try to stop thinking about what happened and just concentrate on being with our family. I think that, more than anything else, will help get you through this.”

“I’ll try,” I promise, which is all I feel like I can do.

Malcolm kisses me on the lips. “That’s all I ask.”

We walk into the sitting room hand in hand to find our family waiting on us. To my pleasant surprise, almost everyone I care about is nestled securely inside our home.

Lucas and Bai are playing blocks in front of the fireplace with Vala and Luna watching over them. Jered, Desmond, and Daniel are talking amongst themselves in the far corner of the room. Linn and Millie are sitting on the couch looking through my recipe book from Utha Mae and Tara. Brutus stands leaning against the side of Kyna’s chair beside the couch whispering something that makes her smile coyly up at him. But the most surprising guest of all is Lucifer.

He’s standing in front of one of the windows on the other side of the fireplace quietly studying the small front yard between the house and the tall wrought iron fence that keeps the city at a distance from our inner sanctum.

Lucas is the first one to see me. He jumps up from his spot on the floor and runs over, tightly wrapping his arms around my hips. My little man doesn’t say anything. He simply holds me, and that’s all I really need from him in order to feel his love. Everyone in the room turns their attention to us.

Lucas pulls away just enough to look up at my face.

“Are you ok?” he asks in his sweet little voice, placing me on the verge of tears again because of the concerned look on his innocent face.

I muster up a smile for his benefit and say, “Yes. I’m better now. Don’t worry about me.”

“You’re supposed to worry about the ones you love,” he says with more maturity than someone as young as him should possess. I look into his luminous green eyes and wonder just how old his soul actually is. He’s always struck me as having a wisdom well beyond his years.

“Yes, you do,” I agree, knowing just how true his words are.

Looking at Lucas, I realize it’s the connections we make with others that keeps us grounded in the reality of our lives. Without having people to love, who also love us in return, our world could easily crumble into chaos.

I look over at Lucifer and wonder if that was part of the reason why he ended up the way he did. If he had found at least one person to love shortly after his expulsion from Heaven, would he have made better choices in his life?

“Why don’t you go back and play with Bai?” I suggest to Lucas.

My son hugs me tightly one more time before doing as I ask.

“I’ll be back,” I say to Malcolm, squeezing his hand gently before I leave his side to speak with my father.

Lucifer watches me as I cross the room to him. His expression is hard to read as he studies my approach, but I think he’s happy to see me.

“I came back to return your sword to you,” Lucifer tells me in a hushed tone, his eyes glancing over to a sideboard against the wall to his left.

I look over and see my sword lying along its surface.

“And,” he continues, “I wanted to let you know that I took care of …any evidence of what happened. You don’t have to worry about the humans figuring out what actually occurred in that room. As far as the people of Cirro are concerned, their rulers died in a tragic fire together.”

“Thank you for doing that for me,” I say, feeling a guilty relief that my crime has been erased and ashamed that Lucifer had to go through the trouble of covering up my actions.

“I didn’t want you to worry about it,” he tells me, shifting his stiff stance slightly as if he feels uncomfortable to be in my home with everyone else around and simply wants to leave as soon as possible.

“Can you stay for a little while?” I ask, wanting him to know that at least one person in the room genuinely wants him there.

“I should probably go so you can spend some time with your family,” he tells me, briefly glancing at the others. “I’m sure they would feel more comfortable if I left.”

“Hogwash,” Millie says from her spot on the couch.

I look over at her and see that she’s staring Lucifer down just as she’s flipping a page in the recipe book.

“You’re as welcomed in this house as anyone else, Lucifer,” Millie tells him. “You’re Anna’s father and everyone present knows how important you’ve become to her. If we didn’t want you here, you would be standing in an empty room.”

When I look back at Lucifer, he looks almost confused by Millie’s words, but he doesn’t argue with her, which is always a smart move where Millie is concerned.

“I have some things I need to attend to anyway,” Lucifer says, failing miserably at making it sound like anything other than what it is, an excuse.

I hear Malcolm clear his throat, drawing our attention to him.

“You’re, uh, welcomed in our home anytime you wish to visit,” Malcolm tells Lucifer, even though I can see the words are hard for him to say to his longtime nemesis.

“Thank you,” Lucifer replies, sounding as though he wonders if Malcolm’s offer of hospitality comes with any unspoken restrictions.

“Is there any way I can get in touch with you if I need to?” I ask Lucifer.

“You could always just come and have breakfast with us every morning, Lucifer,” Millie suggests. “That way you get to see your daughter every day and offer her some encouragement while she’s completing her mission for God.”

“I’m afraid I wouldn’t be very encouraging, Millie,” Lucifer replies, looking troubled. “It’s not something I want her to finish. It’s too dangerous for her.”

“Well, just come to show that you love her then,” Millie says. “That’s all she needs from you anyway.”

“I would like it if you did that,” I tell him, thinking Millie is a genius when it comes to handling Lucifer. I can't imagine what I would do without her.

“I…suppose I can do that,” Lucifer agrees, although hesitantly.

“Good,” Millie says, “we’ll start having breakfast at eight o’clock sharp each morning. And I expect you to be punctual, Lucifer.”

Lucifer shakes his head a bit as if he’s not quite sure how Millie talked him into such an arrangement, but he doesn’t make any further comment about it.

“I guess I’ll see you in the morning then,” Lucifer says to me.

I smile at him to make sure he knows how happy he’s made me.

“I look forward to it,” I reply.

Before he has a chance to phase away, I lean in and kiss him on the cheek.

“Thank you for everything,” I say.

Lucifer nods but doesn’t say anything else before he phases out of the room.

“Is it just me,” Jered says, “or is anyone else getting used to having him around?”

“It’s not just you,” Desmond responds, sounding conflicted about his emotions concerning Lucifer’s increased presence in our lives, “it’s almost like having the old him back with us.”

“The old him?” I question, finding this an odd choice of words

“The Lucifer we knew before the war,” Daniel explains, looking rather contemplative about his own feelings where Lucifer is concerned. “He was always a bit of a loner, but he was also a great leader. We were all drawn to him just like we were drawn to Michael. That’s one of the reasons why it was so easy for Lucifer to gather supporters when he rebelled.”

“Would anyone mind if I changed the subject to something a little happier?” Brutus says to us. “Kyna and I have something we would like to tell you all, and I don’t think either one of us can wait much longer.”

I turn my full attention to Brutus and Kyna. I notice a slight blush dapple Kyna’s cheeks as Brutus takes her hand and helps her stand up beside him. Before Brutus says even one word more, I notice the large pear shaped diamond on Kyna’s ring finger.

“The lovely Kyna Halloran has agreed to become my wife,” Brutus announces to us, beaming with pride.

“Oh, no,” Lucas says slapping his forehead with the palm of his left hand and falling backwards onto the floor. “Another wedding!”

“Like the first one was so terrible,” I tease him, not being able to stop myself from bending down and tickling Lucas on the belly.

Lucas laughs and the sound of his joy fills my heart with his love for life.

Everyone gathers around Kyna and Brutus to make a fuss over the ring he gave her and to wish the newly engaged couple well.

“So when do you plan to have the wedding?” I ask them.

“As soon as possible,” they say in unison, surprising even themselves, which causes them to laugh.

“You’re welcome to have it here if you want,” Malcolm offers.

“Actually,” Kyna says, “I’ve decided to have it in Alto. Bianca Rossi and I have been best friends since we were little girls. When I told her about the engagement this afternoon, she insisted we have it in her cloud city. She’s already making all the arrangements. I think it would literally break her heart if I didn’t let her do this for us.”

“So when is the happy event supposed to take place?” Malcolm asks.

“Day after tomorrow,” Kyna tells him.

“Wow, and here I thought I moved fast,” Malcolm jokes, slapping Brutus on the back good-naturedly.

“I’ve waited as long as you have to finally find my soulmate,” Brutus replies, looking at Kyna as though she’s the light of his world. “I don’t plan on wasting any time now that I’ve won her heart.”

Kyna smiles at Brutus and twines her willowy arms around one of his rather bulky ones.

My attention is quickly drawn away from the happy couple when I hear Luna begin to growl behind me. I turn around to look at her and see that she’s standing on all fours with her back slightly arched and her body pointed towards the front of the house. In the same instant, I sense a tenseness enter the men in the room as they all go on alert.

Lucas quickly rises to his feet and takes one of Bai’s hands with his own to help her stand beside him. I see him place his free hand on the hilt of the silver dagger I gifted him with not so long ago.

I don’t even bother to ask the others what’s wrong. I head straight for my sword and see them all phase and quickly return with swords of their own.