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  “I know,” Devon said quietly. “And there’s nothing in the world he can ever do to make it right. No reason in the world you should forgive him. But, Jules, we’re talking about taking a man’s life. You of all people should know what kind of future that would bring—”

  “But we’re all just standing by! We’re all doing nothing!” Julian had stopped trying to fight back. Had completely ceased his struggles. Instead he simply lay back in the pile of debris, his eyes shining with a hundred tears that would never fall.

  “And it’s not just me, or you, or Rae,” he insisted, shaking his head as a silent wave of misery crashed over him. “Do you have any idea what he did to Angel? To Gabriel?”

  Rae’s head jerked up with dread, as a question she had long since wondered floated suddenly to the surface. “What did Angel tell you he did?”

  Julian shot her a sideways glance before staring back up at the ceiling. “She’s told me enough.” His eyes flickered back to Devon, silently pleading his best friend to see things his way. “I don’t care if he says he’s reformed. I don’t care if he actually has been reformed. I don’t give a shit about anything he says. He DID those things.” His lovely eyes tightened with exquisite pain. “We held a trial. He was going to prison for life. And now, all of a sudden…he’s living in a mansion in Kent. Waiting for his probation to lift permanently so he can walk away free.” A pair of tears slipped down his face as he clenched his jaw with all this might. “He’s going to walk away free, while my dad is still…” His voice trailed off, and all the fight rushed out of him in a single moment. Bowing his head to his chest, his breath came out in a broken sob.

  Rae’s eyes spilled over in tears and Devon pulled him instantly to his feet, gripping his best friend in an impossibly tight embrace.

  One was covered in splinters and condiments, the other in broken bits of glass.

  “I don’t know how to handle this…” Julian’s hands trembled as he struggled to keep his head above water. “I don’t know what to do…”

  “I know,” Devon replied softly, tightening his arms. “It’s impossible to know what to do. I only know there are certain things that you shouldn’t. No matter how justified they might be.”

  “But I would have.” Julian pulled away with look of utter heartbreak, his eyes flickering up for good measure to the cut on Devon’s face. “I would have killed him if you hadn’t—”

  “I would never have let that happen.”

  It was impossible to doubt the sincerity in his voice. Impossible not to take some small degree of comfort in the security there. Julian nodded shakily, and Devon clapped him on the back.

  Then the door burst open and they glanced over at the same time.

  Angel and Gabriel rushed inside, freezing suddenly in the doorway. Rae’s pocket call had obviously done the trick because the two of them didn’t seem surprised by the mayhem before them, only that the fighting seemed to have already calmed down.

  “Angel,” Julian took a step forward, brushing pieces of glass from his dark hair, “what’re you doing here? I thought you guys were spending the day—”

  She was in his arms the next second, stepping deliberately over the fallen manila folder to gaze up into his eyes. “We finished early, decided to head back.” Her sapphire gaze swept over the general wreckage, returning to him with a twinkling smile. “I see you’ve been redecorating.”

  A guilty flush darkened his cheeks, but Gabriel clapped him casually on the shoulder. “Want to leave the cleaning to the rest of them? Go grab a drink?”

  Julian’s head snapped up in surprise. Even though he and Angel were clearly head over heels for each other, it was the first time her brother had ever made such an offer. “Uh…yeah. That would be great.” His eyes quickly flickered around the room, clearly unwilling to just leave it alone. “Just give me a second to—”

  “Go,” Devon cocked his head towards the door in a casual invitation. “We’ve got this.”

  Julian flushed guiltily once more, raking his wavy hair out of his eyes. “Are you sure? I can—”

  “Jules, go.” Rae flashed him a reassuring smile, stretching up on her toes to kiss him on the cheek. “Have a shot for me.”

  Before he could protest Gabriel steered him towards the door, flashing a mischievous grin over his shoulder. “Oh, he’ll have several.”

  With that, the three of them disappeared out the door, leaving Devon and Rae standing in their wake. They glanced around at the broken furniture, still trying to catch their breath after what happened. Rae opened her hands and conjured a mop and a broom.

  Then, without another word, they got to work.

  * * *

  By the time Julian, Gabriel, and Angel got home, it was around four in the morning. As quiet as they tried to be sneaking up the stairs they were clearly drunk out of their minds, and the entire journey was peppered with gasps of surprise, followed by bursts of muffled laughter. Devon and Rae awoke at the same time then listened to their progress with matching smiles, curled up together in the center of their bed.

  It wasn’t until the door to Julian and Angel’s bedroom had swung shut that Rae pulled herself out of bed, slipping a bathrobe over her shoulders at the same time.

  “I’m going to go thank Gabriel,” she murmured, sliding her feet into slippers. “Make sure everything’s okay with Jules.”

  Devon nodded sleepily, then lay back down and closed his eyes. It was a testament to how far the three of them had come in the last few weeks that he would have condoned such a course of action. Let alone felt relaxed enough to fall back to sleep.

  Rae slipped out into the hall and tiptoed down the stairs at the speed of light. Gabriel was by the front door, slipping a leather jacket over his shoulders. Rather, he was trying, but the river of whiskey he’d consumed was making the simple task a bit more difficult than usual.

  Rae folded her arms across her chest, watching with an amused grin. “You know that’s Molly’s coat, right?”

  Gabriel jumped out of his skin and peered into the darkness. A second later he glanced down at what was clearly a woman’s jacket, and placed it back on the coatrack. “I don’t suppose it would do any good to ask you to keep that to yourself?”

  Rae flashed him a wicked smile. “Not a chance.”

  He laughed quietly and found his own coat, beginning the process all over again.

  “Gabriel,” she flitted up beside him, helping guide his arms into the sleeves, “thank you for coming over today. And for taking Jules out. That was really sweet; you didn’t have to—”

  “Of course I did,” he responded shortly. “He has a permanent place in Angel’s life. That makes him…something to me. And I understand what he’s going through.” His eyes flickered to the manila file, sitting innocently in the center of the table. “I’ve been there myself.”

  She followed his gaze, and a chill ran up her arms. No matter how much time had passed, or how calm things currently were, she couldn’t get that afternoon out of her head. The way the two best friends had collided in the middle of the floor. The look on Julian’s face.

  “It was really bad,” she whispered, folding her arms protectively across her chest. “I’ve never seen them…it was really bad.”

  Gabriel paused his departure, and gazed down at her in the soft moonlight. “You can’t expect anything different,” he said softly, swaying slightly where he stood. “Some things can’t be swept away. Some things are too painful to ignore. Julian grew up without a father because of what Simon did. Things like that leave a scar. Trust me.”

  Something about his words jogged Rae’s memory, and she peered up at him in the dark. “You never told me…what happened to you.” He remained silent, and she cautiously pressed forward. “Julian said something about it today. Some vague hint—”

  “And you think I’m going to tell you now?” Gabriel asked. He spoke with a bit of a slur, and a little grin sparkled in his eyes as he stared down at her with amusement. “You think just
because I’m wasted, I’ll break down and tell you whatever vile thing you want to know?”

  A blush colored her cheeks and she shook her head quickly, dropping her gaze to her feet.

  Gabriel had a way of shutting things down. If he didn’t want to talk about something, it wasn’t going to happen. That being said, Rae usually got more out of him than most.

  “No, of course not. I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to put you on the spot. It’s just that…”

  There was a fleeting silence before Gabriel lifted her chin with two fingers. “…not knowing leaves you to imagine the worst.”

  Rae’s heart skipped a beat as she sucked in a quick breath. Yes. That was it exactly.

  Gabriel’s shoulders fell with a little sigh as the grin faded completely from his eyes. A second later, he looked a bit like Julian had that afternoon. Cold, detached, and entirely too sad. “Your dad…tried to take my ink.”

  There was a beat.

  “Your ink?” Rae blinked in confusion. It certainly wasn’t the answer she’d expected. “But weren’t you just a kid when he started coming to the church?”

  “I was five.” A faint shiver trembled Gabriel’s hands. “He tried anyway.”

  Rae was still at a complete loss, staring up in shock.

  “I don’t…” She shook her head and tried again. “How did he even—”

  Gabriel’s arm jerked impulsively. As if it understood what they were saying.

  “The way you would expect.”

  It was the end of the story.

  And the only answer Rae was going to get.

  “Try to get some sleep, Kerrigan.” He flashed her a little wink as he headed outside into the cold, pulling up his collar against the rain. “You have a busy week ahead of you.”

  Rae waved goodbye, then shut the door behind him with a little sigh.

  Yes…they most certainly did.

  Ahead of them, the road looked dreary. Behind them, the past was shattered with pain. Were things ever going to be normal?

  At this point, Rae was willing to even settle for okay.

  Chapter 13

  The next few days flew by in a sort of hazy blur.

  On the first day, Julian was kept away from Simon at all costs. The two of them stayed, casually supervised, at opposite ends of the house. Although only one of them knew why. Until Beth arrived the next morning to take Simon back to Kent. He left without a word of protest, glancing adoringly at his estranged wife as he slipped into the car. He didn’t even notice the punishing eyes of the psychic watching from the upstairs window.

  Rae felt the house able to breathe when Simon left.

  Annie—the impossibly-energetic puppy—had officially become the belle of the ball. She made quick work of the people living in the house, as well as all of their regular visitors, trapping them all under her little canine spell. The first time Gabriel came over to see her, Rae thought he was going to have a heart attack right then and there. The others stared on in wonder as the lovable sociopath of the group had hung up his guns and knives, and dropped to his knees in the center of the grassy lawn, kissing, cuddling, and playing fetch for hours on end.

  Molly and Luke made short work unpacking their new luxury apartment, and then spent every waking second over at the house. The royal wedding meant all hands-on deck, and although no one was willing to admit it they were all thrilled to be going back out into the field.

  No one more so than Rae.

  It felt like old times. The way they all gathered around the newly fixed coffee table, sipping coffee as they studied blueprints and argued back and forth. The way the rest of them started to automatically complain when Molly pulled out her tape measure to have them outfitted with new undercover clothes. The way Devon and Julian took one look at the designer cummerbunds, discreetly tossing them out the window and into the trash.

  It felt like home. In a way Rae had never missed home before. By the time the morning of the wedding finally rolled around, she felt almost like her old self.

  “Wake up, love.” She perched on top of Devon’s sleeping chest, grinning from ear to ear as she tickled his face with a lock of her hair. “It’s time to get up. The palace awaits.”

  His face twitched and he made a semi-conscious effort to push her away. She held firm.

  “There’s going to be music and dancing. Presents and cake. And those little crab appetizers that you and Molly love so much…”

  Nothing. He refused to open his eyes.

  Okay, new strategy.

  “And what’s a wedding without grappling hooks and biometric scanners. Scythes and scimitars. And a Walther PPK with that new silencer I know you’ve been wanting to try…”

  Still nothing.

  Time to bring out the big guns.

  “And when it’s all over and we get back home, I’m going to take off the beautiful dress that Molly got for me. Tossing it on the floor, so all I’m wearing is the little lace slip underneath…”

  One eye opened. Then the other. Then his lips twitched up in a boyish grin.

  “Oh, good morning!” Rae pretended to be surprised. “I’m sorry, honey, I didn’t even realize you were here. I’ve just been talking to myself.”

  His eyes swept her up and down as his hands came up to grip her thighs, still straddling his chest. “Is that right?”

  She nodded apologetically. “I guess I’ll just be going then. It looks like you wanted to get a little more sleep—”

  Before she could even finish the sentence, she was spinning through the air with a little shriek. A hand flew out to catch her head as she was flipped back onto the mattress, cradled delicately in Devon’s arms.

  Despite having just woken, he couldn’t look any more beautiful. There was a golden flush to his tan skin, an adorable chaos to his bed-hair, and a mischievous twinkle dancing in his eyes.

  “By my estimation, we still have a good twenty minutes before the alarm goes off.” He took her by the wrists and pinned them innocently above her head. “More than enough time to—”

  A frantic banging on the door interrupted his indecent proposal.

  “Rae! Are you in there?! Are you awake?! Do you realize what time it is?! Do you realize how long it takes to do your hair?! What—are you trying to give me a heart attack?! Did you forget that I’m pregnant?! Am I talking to myself here?! RAE!”

  Devon closed his eyes with a painful grimace as Rae fought to conceal her smile. “—to finally kill Molly Elizabeth Skye.”

  The banging continued. More frantic than ever.

  “Oh, come on,” Rae giggled as he started looking around for his pants, “you’d miss her if she was gone.”

  “Maybe,” he conceded, yanking them on with a rueful grin. “But I bet I’d live twenty years longer.

  The door rattled in its frame, then the noise abruptly stopped.

  “Wait a minute…is Devon in there with you?!” Molly sounded highly affronted by the entire idea. “Rae, if he’s keeping you from getting ready, just use my power. Go for one of the medium levels so no one will be able to see the burns when he puts on a tuxedo—Oh! Hi, Devon!”

  Rae giggled, watching the surprise on Molly’s face from the safety of the bed.

  Molly flounced cheerfully past him as he opened the door, completely ignoring the fact that she’d just threatened to do him bodily harm. Instead, she settled herself in the middle of the bed, folding her hands in her lap as she stared at the closet with great anticipation.

  When nobody moved, she glanced impatiently over her shoulder. “Come on! What are we waiting for?”

  As Rae hopped excitedly to her feet Devon slipped out into the hall, muttering under his breath with a long-suffering sigh. “Why did I think things would be any different when we moved out…”

  * * *

  Two hours later, everyone in the house was dressed and ready to go. Given that the affair would not be televised—not to mention the fact that they were all going to provide discreet security—Rae had assumed that Molly
might scale back a bit on the clothes.

  She could not have been more mistaken.

  “I still can’t believe you got the PC to approve this,” she murmured, gazing down at the shimmering fabric. “It had to cost half a year’s rent.”

  It wasn’t an exaggeration. In all her life, Rae had never seen a more beautiful dress. It was a deep violet. The kind that almost looked black under certain lights, but sent watercolor-looking hues dancing all over the wall when it caught the sun. The fabric itself had been inlaid with a million little crystals, designed to accomplish just that. While the cut was conservative enough to appease the censors at a royal wedding, the sweetheart bodice still hugged around her skin in a way that was impossible not to catch the eye, before trailing down her legs in strategic strips that whispered across the floor whenever she took a step.

  That, and a pair of lethal-looking stilettos, and she was ready to go.

  “Seriously,” she continued, still rather baffled by what she saw, “the finance department is going to write you up on some sort of disciplinary action. This must have drained the entire budget.”

  Molly, of course, took this as a compliment. “Pretty close. Between yours and mine, we didn’t leave much for the men.” She beamed with pride, then bit down nervously on her lip. “Let alone the weapons…”

  “And that is why the founders saw it prudent to separate the budget for the mission from the budget for the wardrobe.” Devon breezed back into the room, looking like a reluctant movie star in his fitted designer tux. “They must have had lunatic stylists back then, too, Molls.”

  She shot him a bitchy smile and hopped off the bed to examine his ensemble, giving the sleeves and vest a little tug as she muttered things the rest of them would never understand.

  Devon waited patiently for the examination to be over. He had been there many times before. It wasn’t until she vanished into the bathroom and came back with a razor that he abandoned his post, casually hiding behind his fiancée.