Chapter Twenty-Three
The next day, we were leaving one of the local diners when a dog ran out into the road. Someone shouted a name, but I didn't hear it. I was staring at the pickup on a collision course with the animal. It was going to get hit. No question. And I couldn't look away. Not enough time. Oh, this was going to scar me.
A blur passed on my right and then Gideon was across the street, holding the dog. And it was a big dog. A husky, I think. I don't know. I've never had a pet. The pickup came to a screeching stop, and the driver gaped at Gideon while another man ran across the street with a leash in his hand.
“Oh, fuck,” the man exclaimed. “Thank you. Thank you so much! The clasp on his leash broke. Shit. Eddie.” He crouched and hugged the dog. As the dog licked his face, he looked at Gideon again. “Thank you. You were so fast! That was insane!”
“No problem.” Gideon petted the dog, then got up and ran back to us across the street.
The traffic had stopped in both directions and as Gideon crossed the road, people applauded. It started with the ones in the cars and spread to everyone on the sidewalks. More people came out of the shops to add their cheers to the mix. I started to clap too. I couldn't help it.
Gage snorted. “Shit, the only thing he could have done to impress the people here more than that would be to save a baby.”
“They do love their dogs here.” Garret smirked. “We fit right in.”
“That was incredible!” I exclaimed as Gideon made it over to us. Then I hugged him. “You're a hero.”
Gage snorted. “We save the world all the time, but she's impressed with you grabbing a dog.”
“Don't be bitter because he reacted first,” Garret said. Then he shoved Gideon. “Show off.”
Gideon held out his arms and gave Garret a WTF look.
“You saved that dog and you saved me from nightmares,” I said. “I think that deserves ice cream.”
“It's like fifty degrees,” Gage said.
“And we just ate,” Garret added.
“Yes, please!” Gideon took my hand, and we headed down the sidewalk together toward our favorite ice cream shop. Gideon and I loved ice cream. Any time of day or night, in any weather, and no matter how full we were.
I smiled at Gideon and all the people who complimented him on saving that dog. The accolades kept coming, word spreading as we walked. By the time we got to the ice cream shop, they already knew what Gideon had done. Helena wasn't what I'd call a small town, but it had a small-town mentality, and, as Garret said, they loved their dogs.
“The hero is in our shop!” a guy exclaimed from behind the freezer. “Ice cream is on the house! Whatever you want, man.”
“Wow. Thank you,” Gideon said.
“Unbelievable,” Gage muttered as he came in behind us. But he was smiling a few minutes later when we were all seated at a table, eating our free sundaes.
The camaraderie between the men was unmistakable, and I couldn't help thinking, yet again, that they couldn't be demons. I don't care what you say about the Devil being beautiful and the King of Lies. These guys were just too real and true to be demons. Too normal. It was obvious that they'd been human once. And that humanity was in their souls. It came with them into their new bodies.
As we ate and talked, I watched them and really considered being with them. Not as their mate. As their girlfriend. I needed to simplify things. Take it one step at a time. I think that's what my problem was. I couldn't accept either situation because they were both too much. Too out there. But I'd been around the hounds long enough to be desensitized to the strangeness of what they were and who I might be to them. Now, I could take a step forward. Turn up the strangeness just a touch.
I decided I was going to have sex with them. No, wait. That's not turning it up just a touch. Reel it in, Indie. Second base. Maybe some oral. Oh, God! What am I thinking? They're going to scent my arousal.
I jumped up and excused myself to go to the restroom. Once I was out of smelling range, I relaxed a little. I went into a stall, did my business, washed up, and then stared hard at myself in the mirror over the sink. In there, I could consider things without worry.
Am I really going to do this? Yes. Yes, I am. I still didn't think I was their mate. That would be too wonderful to happen to me. But that made it even more important that I have sex with them. I wanted to have that memory. I had a feeling that no other sexual encounter would be as great. Maybe that would make the rest of my life a letdown, but I didn't care. You had to rise before you could be let down.
When I stepped out of the bathroom, someone grabbed my hand. I was about to shout and jerk away when I saw it was Jake.
“Jake?” I asked in surprise.
“Indie.” He let go of me, then glanced over my shoulder. The corridor curved sharply, hiding us from the shop. “I'm so sorry.”
“Jake, I'm glad you're here.”
“You are?”
“Yes. I couldn't call you since you tossed my phone out of my car.”
He winced. “Sorry about that too.”
“Jake, I love you.”
“I love you too, Indie.” Jake grabbed my hand again. “So much. I was just scared. I'll never be like that again. I swear. And I'll never let Michael near you again.”
“I don't think that last bit is possible,” I said. “He'll use you until he's finished.”
“He's not here now. Michael doesn't need to be inside me constantly. I asked for some space, and he gave it to me. I've been following you all day, waiting for a chance to get you alone.” He glanced behind me again. “They take you out a lot but not to places I can sneak into. This is the first shop that had an unlocked back door.”
“Look, Jake, I'm done.”
“What?”
“I don't know for absolute certain who's telling the truth. From what I've seen, the hounds aren't demons. They're—”
“Not demons? You just called them hounds.”
“They're shapeshifters sent here by Hades, not the Devil. He has teams of them stationed all over the world. Their job is to retrieve escaped souls. Michael is one of those souls, but he's learned how to jump bodies, and he's given several teams the slip. He's not an angel, Jake.”
“They're brainwashing you, Indie. Damn it! I knew this was a mistake.”
“You're the one who has fallen for lies. Think about it. Is it godly to drown people and bring them back to serve as soldiers? Why would God have to do that?”
“Because—”
“Never mind,” I interrupted. “You have to come to it yourself. And, as I said, I'm not a hundred percent sure who's telling the truth. It doesn't matter to me anymore. I don't want to help Silas. And I'm sorry, Jake, but I don't want to be with you either. You and Silas are interwoven. And you and Michael are more than that—you're a package deal. I'm done.”
“Indie, no! You're not thinking clearly. Come back with me. I never should have let you go in—”
“ Let me?” I jerked my hand out of his grasp. “You didn't let me go. I ran away when Michael tried to rape me!”
“Um, is everything okay here?”
I turned to see the ice cream guy standing behind us.
“We're fine,” Jake snapped. “Mind your business.”
“Right,” the man said crisply and headed down the corridor. His voice came to us a few seconds later, “You may want to check on your friend. Some guy is grabbing her, and he's acting like a real asshole.”
The sound of screeching chairs, then running footsteps came.
“Fuck!” Jake snarled and grabbed my wrist. He started dragging me toward the back of the shop.
“Help!” I shouted.
They were already rounding the corner when I cried out. None of them paused. They flowed around me—Gage to my left, Gideon to my right, and Garret grabbed me around the waist to yank me away from Jake. Jake stumbled backward and kept going, thanks to the precise shoves of Gage and Gideon.
“Don't you ever come near her again!” Gage snarled and gave Jake one last push while Gideon opened the back door.
Jake went sailing through the doorway.
I watched in horror as Jake fell, his eyes wide and expression haunted with betrayal. He didn't see things as I did, so I was the traitor. That stung, but not as much as him trying to abduct me. Jake had told me from the beginning that I was free to go at any time. But when push came to shove—literally—the truth came out.
“Come on, Indigo Darling,” Garret said gently. “Let's finish our ice cream.”
“Finish? You don't want to leave?”
“Why? We're not worried about him. We'll just keep you close until we get home.” He nuzzled my cheek and grinned. “If that's all right with you.”
I stared at him, then nodded. “You'd better stay real close, Garret.”
Garret blinked, then a slow smile spread over his face, one infused with pure joy and hope. “You've got it, Indie.”
Then we went back to our table and finished our sundaes, thoroughly enjoying them.