Protect Her: Part 11 (8 page)

That was one reason I’d never trust angels. Even when you thought they were the good guys and on your side, you had to remember that they played a long game that you rarely could see.

“I’d like it if you and your brethren would leave me and Paige alone from now on,” I said. I was okay that there was a slightly menacing wavelength being conveyed in my words. “I won’t say that we’re exactly on the same side, but we’re not on the opposite ones either. As long as you stay out of my face, I’ll stay out of yours.”

“Is that really a guarantee that you can make, Riley?” Samuel asked.

“I want to make good for the wrong I’ve done over the last ten years,” I said. “I want to live in peace with Paige, and not have to worry about angels showing up on our doorstep wanting to smite us. Given how I’ve just helped you, that seems like a much better deal than continuing to fight and possibly injuring more innocent people in the process.”

Samuel seemed to consider my words as he examined the rock in his hands. Then he finally gave a short nod. “I will speak to Ezekiel about it. I will offer my recommendation that we agree to your terms. However, don’t think that he won’t have terms of his own. That’s just the way that Ezekiel is.”

“You know where to find me when you’re ready to negotiate those further,” I said.

“Until then, goodbye my brother,” he said. Giving a small gesture of a wave, he disappeared.

Paige breathed a sigh of relief, and she untangled herself from my arms. She crossed to the body that still lay broken and bleeding next to the road. I could see the tears forming in her eyes as she slid to her knees.

“Oh, Benjamin. Why?” she whispered.

I moved to stand behind her. I wanted to give her the space she needed to say goodbye. I didn’t understand or approve of her feelings toward the archangel, but I did understand the sentiment of losing a friend. Paige had suffered nothing but loss in her short life. I wanted to make sure that she never lost anyone important to her ever again.

Looking up at the sky above us, I saw the clouds parting to let the mid-afternoon sun through. The rays warmed my flesh, and I thought for the first time in a long time that everything was going to be all right. Then I heard Paige’s gasp, and my wings flew out behind me.

Benjamin’s fingers were wrapped around Paige’s wrist. Stunned, I watched as he sat up. The hole in his chest was gone. “Holy shit,” I said. It hadn’t occurred to me that Paige’s ability to heal would extend to a dead archangel, but I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised. She had healed me, body and soul. I pulled her away from him, though. Benjamin couldn’t be trusted when it came to Paige.

“Thank you, Paige,” he said as he climbed carefully to his feet. “I don’t quite know how you did what you just did, but thank you.”

Paige trembled in my arms. “You’re welcome, Benjamin.” Her chin rose. “Now, we’re even. You brought me back to life when I lived with you on Calamata. I’ve brought you back to life now. No more interference in my life. Go back to your brothers. Please leave me alone.”

There was a sadness in his eyes. I almost felt sorry for the guy. Almost. He nodded, and then he was gone.

I squeezed Paige in my arms and dropped a light kiss on the top of her head. Suddenly, I felt bone-weary as if I hadn’t slept in weeks. “C’mon, babe. Let’s go home.”

CHAPTER TEN –
PAIGE

Looking back on everything that had happened in my life since that fateful night I met Riley in the graveyard on Calamata Island, it could easily be mistaken for a crazy dream. One that was part nightmare. There was a part of me that thought each day when I woke up that I’d be back in my bed in that small apartment above the flower shop, and I’d find that it wasn’t real. I was more grateful with each passing day that it was not.

As I stood beside Riley on the gently sloping hill that eventually led to the Protector’s final resting place, I couldn’t help but feel joy and hope for my future. Our hands were clasped together as we stood and listened to Elder Flynn speak the words that bound us together as man and wife in the Hopekee tradition.

I heard the sniffles of our small assembled crowd behind us. Riley’s adopted mother Joanna and his sister Gabrielle stood with Alice. Klein had agreed to stand behind me and act as my family. I was grateful for all of them and had even started to grow close to them. My only regret was that my own parents couldn’t be there to see it.

I felt a swelling of love and gratitude as Elder Flynn finally pronounced us man and wife. I turned to Riley, and he smiled at me with a wide grin. He leaned over and placed a rather chaste kiss on my lips, which just wouldn’t do. I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him close to me. There wouldn’t be any more half-baked, pale emotions in our life. We’d meet everything we encountered with passion and life.

Riley was the man I had always wanted in my life. He was my safety net. My protector. And for the rest of my lifetime, he’d be bound to me.

As our lips parted, and I grinned back at him, I heard the claps and catcalls, which sounded much louder than what could be produced by four people. Then I saw the assembled group of Hopekee residents making their way up the hill toward us. They were calling out to us words of congratulations, and I felt blessed again in a way that I had never imagined.

Riley and I had started our journey together without families to call our own. Now we had a multitude of people who loved us and wanted us to be happy. It was overwhelming in a way.

I fell into Joanna’s arms even as Alice hugged Riley. Then I was passed to Gabrielle as Riley gave Klein a gruff embrace. Everything seemed perfect. Except for one small thing.

“Don’t worry about that today, dear,” Alice said as she hugged me. I gave a start and looked at her with a question in my eyes. She nodded in a knowing way. “You are human, and your new husband is an angel. You have a normal lifespan, and he is immortal. Things have a way of working out. Don’t let that diminish what you are feeling today.”

The woman was nothing if not astute, and she had hit on the one thing that was the only nagging doubt in my mind. But she was right. I would put it aside for today. I owed Riley that. I owed myself that.

The laughing and joyful celebration pulled us down the hill and into the main square of the reservation. While we had been up on the hill, I saw that they had put up a tent, and there were platters of food set out underneath it.

Elder Flynn took my elbow as he led me toward the serving line. “The women are always searching for a reason to have a party,” he said with a chuckle. “It’s amazing what they can throw together at the last minute.”

“We appreciate you being willing to marry us,” I said. “This has been wonderful.”

“We welcome those of our own,” he said as he nodded to Riley. “I knew his father many years ago. He was a good man.”

It made me sad to think that Viho wasn’t with us today, but I guessed that he was smiling down at us from wherever he was in Heaven. I wondered how strange it must be for Alice to be back in this place, but she seemed completely at ease as she moved through the throng of people. I noticed even Klein was talking to one of the younger Hopekee women. Everyone was happy. This was how life was supposed to be.

The party lasted well into the night, and finally I had to tell Riley that I needed to sleep.

“I don’t plan on doing much sleeping tonight,” he said with a wink.

I laughed at his not-so-subtle innuendo. “Then you’d better take me back to our room soon, otherwise my poor human body is just going to pass out from exhaustion.”

He put his arm around my shoulders, and we began the process of saying our goodnights to all of the people gathered in the street. We waved at Klein, who was dancing with the girl I’d seen him chatting with earlier. “It would be nice if Klein found a girl,” I remarked.

“That kid isn’t anywhere close to settling down,” Riley said. “But you never know. When you meet the right person, even your best-laid plans go to shit.”

I bumped him on his arm. “It wasn’t a very good plan then, in my opinion.”

He leaned down and kissed me softly drawing a long sigh of contentment from my lips. “My plans get better all the time.”

His arm around me, we made our way toward the cabin that Elder Flynn had given to us to use during our stay on the reservation that was set off from the rest of the main buildings. When I felt Riley stop abruptly, I looked up and felt my chest tighten. Benjamin stood in front of us staring at us impassively.

“I thought we were pretty clear on the topic of no further interference,” Riley growled.

“I’m not here for you,” Benjamin said. His eyes settled on me. “I’m here to give my gift to the bride for her wedding day.”

I didn’t know what to think or say. “What are you talking about, Benjamin?” I knew that Riley didn’t trust the archangel, and I didn’t really trust him that much anymore either. But there was a sincerity I read in his expression that made me think that perhaps we had finally moved past everything that marred our friendship from the beginning.

He moved toward me, and I put my hand back on Riley’s chest. “It’s okay, Riley.”

Benjamin smirked at Riley. Whatever happened in the future, it was clear that these two would never be friends. That was probably for the better. Then Benjamin looked down at me. He offered his hand. Cautiously, I put mine into it. I felt a tingle of energy, and I gasped.

Riley immediately put his arms on my shoulders to draw me away. I stared at my hand. There was a small mark there that was already fading. “What did you do?”

“I gave you a small bit of my life force,” Benjamin said. “Combined with your healing abilities, you will live a long and fruitful life, Paige. And I give you my word that when the times comes, and you do pass into Heaven, I will ask that there is a consideration given to Riley to allow him to join you there. Assuming he has stayed on the path of light, of course.” His glare in Riley’s direction told me that he wasn’t sure that was possible.

My eyes widened even as I felt the tears form there. It was a gift unlike any other. “Why would you do this for me?”

His eyes fell to the ground. Then he looked back at me with a piercing look that drove straight to my core. “Because I love you, and you saved my life. Because I want you to be happy, even if it isn’t with me. You deserve it, Paige.”

“Thank you,” I whispered. I knew how much it had to have pained him to give me this gift, but it was one that I would cherish forever.

“I still don’t like you, but I also thank you,” Riley said gruffly.

“Don’t worry. The feeling is mutual. But the common bond we share makes up for it,” Benjamin said. Then he bowed his head. “I’ll leave you to your celebration now. Congratulations, Paige.”

He was gone. I felt my heart pounding in my chest and realized that I had been holding my breath expecting the other shoe to drop. But it hadn’t. For once, something good had happened, and there wasn’t a single string attached to it.

“Let’s get you back to the cabin,” Riley said.

“I’m feeling a bit more energetic now,” I said with a sly smile.

Riley laughed and swept me up into his arms. As his wings closed around me, I knew that there was nowhere else in the world that I’d rather be.

EPILOGUE –
RILEY

I stared at the stack of manila file folders on my desk and groaned. I leaned back in my chair and rubbed my face. “I don’t understand how this is possible.”

Klein dumped another stack on top of the ones that were already there which caused an avalanche of paperwork to slide across my desk. I caught several of the files before they slipped to the floor.

“Ten years of bad deeds is a lot when you just look at the ones involved in the act itself,” Klein said. “But you didn’t want to look at just those. By the way, that stack by itself would still have been pretty big.”

I sighed. “I know.”

“But you wanted to look at the ripple effect of those actions outward to first and even second stage impacts of your actions which increased the amount substantially. This is just the first round of what will probably be a million other files. It’s going to take a while just to backtrack everything on every case and situation you’ve been involved in. I gotta hand it to you, though. You were a busy guy.”

“I really don’t need to be reminded of that,” I said wryly.

I heard a knock on the door just before Paige came in. She looked tired. She rubbed her hands together with a small smile. “All done,” she said.

“I hope you collected a fee this time,” I said.

“I only collect money from the demons, and that’s after I bind them to an agreement to only do good deeds,” she said. “This one was a woman who had stage 4 breast cancer. The doctors had given her a month to live.”

Ever since the events at St. Joseph six months ago, the rumor mill had started to churn whispering of an oracle who could heal all kinds of wounds and diseases. It had been by accident that Paige had discovered she could also heal demons who had been infected by the mysterious illness that had been plaguing them. Although we still didn’t know the origins of her power, she had been willing to heal them if they agreed to her terms.

My wife. She drove a tough bargain.

I stood with a stretch. “I suppose it’s time for me to do my rounds,” I said. I made my way around the desk and gave Paige a hug. I loved how she relaxed in my embrace. She scooted up on her tiptoes offering her lips to mine, and I gladly took advantage of the position to ravage them.

“Um, hello? I really hate it when you guys forget there are other people around who don’t need to see that,” Klein called out from across the room.

Paige laughed while I chuckled. She peeked out at him around my arm. “What about that girl from the wedding. Sasha? It seemed like things were getting pretty serious between the two of you.”

Klein shrugged and turned back to his computer terminal, but not before I saw the flush of red in his cheeks. “That was just a thing.”

“What’s a thing? You mean a fling?” Paige pressed.

“You guys wouldn’t get it,” Klein said. “What with your whole epic, once in a lifetime love story and all.” He used air quotes around ‘epic’, which amused me.

“You never know if you can find it unless you try,” I said, giving Paige another squeeze before untangling myself from her limbs. I settled a light kiss on her forehead. “I’ll be back for dinner. Keep the kid in line.”

“I will,” she said. She practically glowed from happiness, and it made me feel good to know that I was the reason for it.

I closed my eyes and let my energy spin around me. When I opened my eyes, I was in a familiar cemetery. I always came here first when I made my way to Calamata Island. Today, she was here first. It wasn’t unexpected.

I trudged to the newest tombstone in the Hopekee cemetery on Calamata Island. The Hopekee had been one of the first to start burying their dead on the island. As more and more settlers started doing the same, they stopped. But there was one man who deserved to be remembered here.

“Hello, Riley,” Alice said. She stood in front of Viho’s tombstone and placed a new bouquet of flowers in front of it and straightened the small solar lights in the shape of angels that were planted around it.

“Hello, Alice,” I said. We stood there in silence for several long moments absorbed in our own memories of the man who had been such an integral part of our lives. I hoped that when the day came, and Alice passed on, that she and Viho would be reunited for their afterlife. They had sacrificed so much. They both deserved peace.

“How is Paige?” Alice asked after a time.

“Doing well,” I said. Since we had resettled in my home in Charlotte, and Alice had moved to Calamata Island, Paige didn’t get to see Alice unless she came with me during my rounds. Alice was no longer ‘Sister Alice.’ After the devastation at St. Joseph’s, she and the church had decided it was better for them to part ways. Alice said she really didn’t mind. Her purpose for being there had been fulfilled, and now that I was safe, she could move forward with her own life.

So she moved to Calamata Island and had quickly taken charge of the care and maintenance of several cemeteries there, including the old Hopekee cemetery. It had been her idea to give Viho a tombstone there, even though his body had never been recovered. I understood that it was symbolic of her closing the chapter on that part of her life.

“I’ll bring her around for tea the next time I come out,” I said.

“I assume you’ll be announcing her pregnancy soon,” Alice said.

My jaw dropped open even as I saw her knowing nod. “How did you know about that? We’re still trying to process how…how that could even happen.”

Alice chuckled. “The two of you have bent or circumvented every theological and physical law that I can think of. Add to that the fact that God works in mysterious ways, and I think you have your answer.”

“We just found out yesterday,” I said. “How did you know?”

Alice squeezed my arm. “There are just some things that a mother knows.”

I shook my head with a chuckle. “You are one of a kind, Alice.”

“Don’t I know it,” she agreed with one of her rare smiles. “Now get on with your duties so you can go home to your wife. I’m sure you are anxious leaving her alone for too long.”

I gave her an awkward hug and then did as she asked. She was right. I had talked about suspending these little trips to Calamata Island, but Paige had insisted that I continue them since it was one of the terms that Ezekiel had required in our agreement for the archangels to stay out of our hair.

Both the Heaven and Hell gates were closed on Calamata Island, but with demon officials out there in the world still bent on causing mischief, it was important to remain vigilant. Heaven was a clusterfuck at the moment with all of the archangels jockeying for a position now that Benjamin was back in the mix. Somebody had to keep an eye on things in this world while they figured their shit out. For some reason, they all thought that should be me.

It was quite the turn of events; that was for damn sure.

After doublechecking both gates and ensuring that everything appeared quiet and above board, I made my way back to my little piece of heaven on earth.

I arrived in my kitchen and watched as Paige moved around the room humming a tune that I couldn’t quite recognize although it sounded familiar. “You trying to give a pregnant woman a scare? That doesn’t seem all that smart.” She hadn’t even turned around.

Making my way to her, I wrapped my arms around her and drew her back against me. I let my hands settle on her stomach. I was still in awe that I was going to be a father. I hadn’t had time to fully process the news yet, especially as it was something that I never expected to be. I was scared shitless that I was going to fail at it like I had failed at everything in my life.

“I know that I could never sneak up on you. You’re too good,” I said as I nuzzled her ear. “By the way, you can probably expect a card of congratulations in the mail from Alice soon.”

She turned in my arms and locked her arms around my neck. She had a pouting expression on her face. “You told her already?”

I shook my head and shrugged. “You know Alice. I swear she was meant to be a fortune teller or something in another life.”

“Well, she’ll be a grandmother, so hopefully she can start learning how to smile more often or else her grandchild will be scared to death of her.”

“She’s not so bad once you get to know her,” I said.

“Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes,” she said. “Are you planning to work tonight? Tomorrow’s a big day.”

“Every day is a big day, and yet the biggest is yet to come,” I said. As I looked down at her, I thought that I was the luckiest man in the world. “You ready for a whole lot of redemption work?”

Tomorrow was the day we started reaching out to everyone on our list and making amends. It was a process that would probably take the rest of Paige’s lifetime, if not longer. But we were going to try.

“As long as I’m with you, I’ll do whatever it takes.”

I let my wings loose and enveloped her. My gift to her was that by the time she passed on from this world, I would have banished all my darkness away forever. It was time for me to start walking fully in the light. It was time for my redemption.

THE END

Riley and Paige have found their happily ever after ending, but there might still be sneak peeks into their work in redeeming Riley’s misdeeds in the future. Make sure you’re signed up for
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