Sweet Reckoning (39 page)

“He’s awful cute, isn’t he?” Kaidan asked, grinning at me in wonder. Then Mandala sidled up close, holding his new toy, which nobody was allowed to touch, and he gently petted his baby brother’s head, looking up at Kai for affirmation.

“You’re a good boy,” Kaidan said to him.

Then my heart officially melted.

Kaidan earned major hot points with me that day.

When a new group of kids came into the room, one of the little girls stood at the door and stared at us. Specifically, she stared at Kaidan. She looked about three years, no older than four, with thick braids.

“Would you like one?” I asked her, holding out a lollipop.

She eyed the candy, considering, but then her eyes went back to Kaidan and she shook her head.

The auras of children were always interesting jumbles, because they couldn’t process all those emotions. But this girl’s were pretty clear and unwavering. Underneath, stirring like a low storm, were dark emotions. When I opened myself to her I felt fear, and it made me gasp. I pulled back and watched her, surprised. Because on top of that fear was pure, light pink love, swirled with light gray apprehension, and sparks of orange excitement. It was the love she was so clearly feeling as she stared at Kaidan that I couldn’t quite understand. Zania and Kope came back into the room after some time, and they noticed the girl right away. They looked back and forth between her and Kaidan, who hadn’t noticed what was happening yet.

“Are you all right?” Zania asked, crouching next to her.

She looked up at Zania with big, dark eyes and nodded, then looked back at Kai. Something strange was going on.

“Kai,” I said softly. “I think someone wants to meet you.”

He sat up from where he’d been lying, playing, and his eyes went to the girl. He looked confused as he took in her colors, but he smiled at her.

“Hi there. What’s your name?”

Her voice was soft but rich when she answered, “Bambo.”

We looked at Zania, who appeared perplexed, and she looked up at Kope.

He crouched down now, too.

“Her name is Alile.” He said it like
Ah-LEE-leh
. “It means ‘she weeps.’”

She weeps
. What a sad, beautiful name.

“Alile,” Kopano said to the girl. “
Zikuyenda bwanji?
”

Z whispered to Kaidan and me, “She speaks Chichewa.”

Alile gave Kope a small smile, but didn’t answer. In that moment her guardian angel leaned down to whisper, and her apprehension disappeared, which showed me she was very in tune with her angel. In slow movements she went to Kaidan. He stayed very still as she touched his face and searched his eyes. In fact, he was searching hers in return. And then she sat right in his lap as if it were her home. She looked up at Kai and again said, “Bambo.” The moment felt delicate and precious. Kaidan stayed very still with his palms on the floor next to him as if afraid to touch her.

“What does
bambo
mean?” I whispered.

The four of us stared at one another, still crouching.

“It’s a word for ‘father,’” Kopano said.

Kaidan’s chest rose and fell faster as he looked down at the girl in his lap.

And then Zania signed to us,
She came to us from another orphanage that shut down because of sexual abuse
.

Kaidan looked at me with big eyes, and I knew the same appalling feelings coursed through us both. What had this poor girl been through? I watched Kaidan’s jaw clench, just thinking about it.

Kopano spoke to her again in Chichewa. I heard him say Kaidan’s name.

“He tells her Kaidan is his friend and wants to know why she calls him father,” Z whispered.

The girl answered, causing Kope and Z to go still.

“What did she say?” I asked. Kaidan was looking a little green, like he’d rather not know at this point.

Kope cleared his throat. “She says, ‘In my dream, he was my daddy.’”

Goose bumps broke out across my skin.

Kaidan’s eyes met mine and we stared.

And then something happened that I thought I’d never see. Kaidan and I had been through so much together, but one thing he’d never, ever done was cry.

At that moment, as he looked down at Alile, and his arms circled her, pulling her closer, I watched the first tear streak down Kaidan’s cheek, followed by another. His face grew serious and his entire demeanor surrounding Alile shouted fierce protectiveness.

No daughters
, Kaidan had told me so many years ago. Over the years I learned that having a girl would force him to face down his invisible demons who whispered of inadequacy. But I knew at that moment that Alile would be our daughter, and Kai would beat his fears. Nobody would
ever
hurt this little girl again and get away with it. Because she had a daddy now.

I reached out for Kaidan’s hand and he took it, holding it tight.

Life could be so cruel, so ugly. And then, in the midst of all the madness, a precious gift would be placed in your lap.

Because life could also be so sweet.

Duke Name: Job Description: Their Children (Neph we meet)

Pharzuph
(Far-zuf),
Lust
: craving for carnal pleasures of the body; sexual desire outside of marriage : Kaidan (Ky-den)

Rahab
(Rā-hab),
Pride
: excessive belief in one’s own abilities; vanity; the sin from which others arise

Melchom
(Mel-kom),
Envy
: desire for others’ traits, status, abilities, or situations; jealousy; coveting: Blake

Mammon
,
Greed
: desire for earthly material gain; avarice; selfish ambition: Flynn (deceased)

Alocer
(Al-ō-sehr),
Wrath
: spurning love, opting for destruction; quick to anger; unforgiving: Kopano (Kō-pah-nō)

Kobal
(Kō-bal),
Gluttony
: consumption of more than one’s body needs. Sloth: avoidance of physical or spiritual work; laziness; apathy: Gerlinda (deceased)

Astaroth
,
Adultery
: breaking marriage vows; cheating on one’s spouse: Ginger and Marna

Jezebet
,
Lies
: being dishonest or deceptive: Caterina

Thamuz
(Thā-muz),
Murder
: taking the life of another person: Andre and Ramón

Shax
,
Theft
: stealing: Marek

Belial
(Beh-leel),
Substance Abuse
: physical addictions; primarily drugs and alcohol: Anna

Sonellion
,
Hatred
: promotes prejudices; ill will toward others; hostility: Zania

I can’t believe it’s over.

I first want to thank my readers, my “sweeties,” who push me daily to do my best—whether you Sigh for Kai, Hope for Kope, or Ache for Blake—I thank you for the constant stream of encouraging messages. I read every single one and soak in the love, though I cannot always respond. Your enthusiasm is much needed and appreciated. I heart you something fierce.

Thank you to my loving and supportive family, near and far, for sharing me with the Nephilim world these past four years, and being interested in every detail of my journey. I could not have done it without you. I mean that. My husband, Nathan. Our kids, Autumn and Cayden. Our parents, Nancy and Dave Parry, Jim and Ilka Hornback, and Bill and Jane Higgins. Our siblings, Frank Hornback, Dan Parry, Jeff Parry, Lucy Hornback, Bryan Higgins, Andrew Higgins, and all of their wonderful spouses.

Thank you to Manassas Baptist Church and Preschool for allowing me to use their facilities to write while the little guy was in class.

A huge cup of overflowing gratitude to my hardworking agent, Jill Corcoran.

Thank you so much to my team at Harper! I must say, I am in serious awe of my editors. A huge thanks to my lovely editor, Alyson Day, and those amazing behind-the-scenes copy editors who polish the story into something so much worthier. Lastly, a big hug to Alana Whitman for always going above and beyond to make me smile.

To the cover-design team—thank you Tom Forget, Howard Huang, the gorgeous model Alexa Benk, and everyone who had a hand in the three Sweet covers. Such fun! (PS, if you know who the mystery male model is, I’d love to know, too, ha-ha.) It’s
not
Wade Poezyn, but I do want to thank him for being a great sport about all this book stuff. :)

A world of gratitude goes out to my friends (many of whom are early readers whose feedback rocked my writing world): Kelley Vitollo (aka Nyrae Dawn), Jolene Perry, Evie J, Carrie McRae, Jen Armentrout, Chanelle Gray, Courtney Fetchko, Jill Chamberlin Powell, Brooke Leicht, Carol Marcum, Jill Wilson, Hilary Mahalchick, Holly Andrzejewski, Christine Jones, Danielle Daniels, Valerie Friend, Meghan Lublin, Ann Kulakowski, Joanne Hazlett, Janelle Harris (and Jimmy, for more drummer jokes), Daniela Meilinger, and Carolee Noury.

And back to where it all began, thank you, Google, and thank you, God.

It’s been a wild ride. Thanks for swooning, laughing, and crying with me. I’m not sure what’s next, but I’m sure looking forward to finding out.

Melissa Harris Photography

WENDY HIGGINS
   is the author of
Sweet Evil
and
Sweet Peril
, the first two books in the trilogy, as well as
Flirting with Maybe
. She was born an Army brat and spent her childhood moving across the United States, finally settling in the Washington, DC, area. She attended George Mason University for her undergraduate degree in creative writing and Radford University for a Masters in curriculum and instruction. Wendy taught high school English before achieving her dream of becoming a full-time author. She now lives in northern Virginia with her husband, daughter, and son. You can visit her online at www.wendyhigginswrites.com or follow her on Twitter @Wendy_Higgins.

HarperTeen is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

S
WEET
R
ECKONING
. Copyright © 2014 by Wendy Higgins. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

www.epicreads.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Higgins,Wendy.

Sweet Reckoning / Wendy Higgins.- 1st ed.

p.cm.

summary: Evil is running rampant and sweet Anna Whitt is its target. Nobody knows when or how the Dukes will strike, but Anna and her Nephilim allies will do anything necessary to rid the earth of the demons and their oppressive ways.

The stakes are higher than ever, and Anna is determined that the love she feels will be her strength, not a liability. But trying to protect the ones she loves while running for her life and battling demonic forces proves to be perilous—especially as faces are changing and trust is fleeting. When the Duke of Lust sends Anna’s great love, Kaidan Rowe, to work against her, Anna must decide how much she’s prepared to risk

.ISBN 978-0-06-226597-5