The Lost Soul Trilogy (Primani Book 5) (114 page)

Rubbing his hand over the thick growth on his jaw, he frowned. Probably he looked like a werewolf.

“So, are you dead or not?”

Sean shoved away the last bit of drowsiness and sat up, while pulling the sheet across his lap. As the boy patiently waited for an answer, he squinted at his cell phone.

Holy hell. He’d been asleep for two days.

An impatient tugging grabbed his attention, and he smiled at the boy for the first time.

Sean Michael.

His son.

Unable to believe it, he studied the perfect little features and felt a rush of tenderness that overwhelmed him. I have a
son
. He rolled the word around in his head trying to add ‘father’ to his identity. It was such a foreign concept for him. In all of his years, he’d had no children. None that he knew of anyway. Mica and he almost had a son, but the baby had died. The loss still pained him, but it hadn’t been meant to be. After that, he’d assumed he’d never have another shot at it. His line would die out with him one day. That was to be expected; that was his life as Primani. His work was supposed to come first.

But now? He had another chance. Swallowing against the tightness in his throat, he cupped the child’s soft cheek and whispered, “No, Sean. I’m not dead. I was very tired and needed to sleep.”

Mini Sean nodded solemnly. “You’re furry.” He reached out and touched the beard and drew back his fingers with a frown.

Sean Michael spotted Aisling hovering just inside the door and ran to her side. “Mommy! He’s not dead!”

Flushing slightly, she nodded seriously and said, “You’re right, sweetie. Now let’s leave him alone so he can get dressed.” To Sean, she said, “Dinner’s almost ready and Mica says you need to show up. She’s in a mood...you shouldn’t keep her waiting.”

Aisling knew she should leave immediately so Sean could get dressed. But she couldn’t seem to move her feet or her eyes. The man was gorgeous lying propped on one elbow. The shaggy black hair and three days’ growth on his jaw only made him darker, dangerous...hot. His shoulders were wide and he had pecs to die for. With a will of their own, her eyes followed the light sprinkling of fine dark hair that divided his eight pack and disappeared into the sheet.

He made a sound like a soft growl and her eyes flew up to his face. His eyes were burning with something she didn’t want to think about. Blushing hotly, she backed away and he chuckled darkly.

“Yeah, you should go.” His voice came out like a snarl and she blanched.

Sean was stunned. She’d been staring at him like she wanted to crawl into the sheets and eat him like a snack. Not that he’d mind, but he wasn’t expecting that. She’d been avoiding him like the plague. He held her stare until she bolted from the room. Glancing down, he sighed at the familiar throbbing.

Groaning in frustration, he scowled and said, “You go back to sleep!”

“IT’S A MIRACLE!” I mumbled to myself. The sun was actually shining in a clear blue sky! I swear my pores went vacuum and sucked in all the vitamin D they could.

I shifted my butt on the stone bench and leaned back for a little more sunshiny goodness. The temp had finally warmed up into something like spring and it was comfortable enough to go without a coat. The house was getting too crowded and everyone was cranky. This morning Aisling had snapped at Sean who snapped back. That led to a nasty argument that EVERYONE got to hear thanks to the thin walls. Sean Michael was climbing said walls and had a major meltdown. It wasn’t his fault. Poor kid didn’t have anything to do. We needed to get him some toys. I wasn’t cranky really, just uncomfortable. My back ached constantly now and I was sure my feet were gone. Killian tried not to laugh, but I caught him constantly smothering a smile. It’s his fault I can’t see my feet.

In the beginning of my pregnancy, I was able to do yoga and tried to walk every day. The constant rain and cold of winter really killed my motivation to walk though. Dec had been a good sport and took me out whenever I wanted, but it wasn’t too often. I didn’t want to get sick and Killian stressed about it. So here I was five months along with three thriving fetuses doing their best to break size records. Yoga wasn’t happening now.

Bending over wasn’t happening either.

As we cringed at the yelling coming from the upstairs hallway this morning, my loving husband and genius leader declared today a day of rest.

So it was off to the park.

It was peaceful here. The sun was warm, bare trees swayed with a gentle breeze, and ducks quacked happily on the pond. Every few minutes, childish giggles popped my bubble of drowsiness.

Sean Michael. The boy was adorable. I peered at him now and couldn’t resist smiling at his enthusiasm. Considering he’d been raised with only his mother for company, he had adapted remarkably well to modern day England. He still started at loud noises, like car horns and dogs barking, but he mostly bounced from point A to point B with wonder and joy. Open and friendly, he had a zest for life that made every one of us love him.

Dec and Sean had always had a weakness for children and this one wrapped them around his tiny finger. Poor Aisling never got to hold the kid anymore; she had to wait in line.

“He looks better already.” Killian interrupted my musing. Dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, with weapons stashed from public view, he lounged at the other end of my bench.

“It’s amazing what Raphael’s powers can do. His mama looks better too.” It was true. Both of our patients were well on their way to normal weight. All signs of the sickness were gone. According to Raphael, they’d inhaled spores from a type of mushroom that must’ve been growing close to their cabin. The spores had settled into their lungs and grown into a sloppy mess that led to pneumonia. I couldn’t believe that could happen, but Raphael explained that it was actually not uncommon in our plane. Ewww! Apparently people died from it every year. Who knew? They’d been here for two weeks and looked 100 percent better. The little guy’s tall frame was filling out, giving us a good idea of who his daddy was.

“There’s no doubt about that, Princess. It’s uncanny.”

I leaned over and pinched his leg. “Stop reading my mind!”

Laughing at me, he scooted over and kissed the tip of my nose. “You know you love it. How are our babies today?” As usual, he’d laid his palm across my belly.

Jumping at a sudden pressure against my ribs, I gasped and said, “Oh, they’re trying to climb out! Oh, ow! Stop that!” I pressed my palm against a large lump and the baby shifted into a more comfortable position. “Have I mentioned that I want drugs for the delivery?”

He placed his cheek against the bulge to listen. “It’s up to you, but we could ask Raphael for help. You know he’d do it.”

Cue the image of the dignified archangel squatting with his head between my legs holding a catcher’s mitt.

That was sooo not going to ever happen. There were just some things a man, or angel, didn’t need to know about a woman.

“I know, but I think he’s done enough. Let’s stick with the plan.” The plan was delivering in a hospital with my doctor, several nurses, and lots of drugs on hand. Having triplets was risky enough. I wasn’t taking any chances.

“Oh, come on, Aisling! I was kidding!” Sean’s exasperation was clear even from 30 feet away.

“Uh-oh. Trouble in paradise.”

Killian glanced over with hard eyes. “That woman has no sense of humor. I wish she’d lighten up.”

That was a colossal understatement. Dour, bitter, angry...these are words I’d use to describe her.

“The female part of me wants to defend her, but I can’t. It’s like the only time she smiles is when she’s with Sean Michael. Even then, she’s not really happy. Her smile seems forced. You’d think she’d be thrilled to death just to be back in the real world. At least now she has options for her life. No one is expecting her to stay with Sean. She can get her own place as soon as she’s ready to go. And for the record, that should be soon.”

With a disgusted sound, he agreed. “She’s got a lot of issues to work through and my gut tells me she needs more privacy.”

“And Gabriel?”

He nodded grimly at my perception. “And Gabriel. He’s her maker and he hasn’t come to find her. That would piss me off if I was her. She mentioned her ‘sins,’ but I don’t know what she means. Having sex with Sean? Maybe she considers that a sin? Doesn’t ring true to me though. There’s gotta be something more to it. What do you sense from her?”

I scooted down so I could rest my head against his shoulder. He tucked his arm around me and pressed me into a comfortable angle. “She’s got her emotions on lock down, but I’ve caught traces of betrayal, hurt, fear, and...”

“Go on, say it.”

“Darkness.”

Killian sighed heavily and asked, “Walk with me?”

“Help me up?” I countered with a hand on my back.

Taking my hand, he turned towards the gravel path that circled the park. “I hoped I was wrong, but you’re sensing it too.”

“At first I thought it was just the overwhelming tangle of emotions. I wasn’t able to isolate them; they all ran together when you first brought her here. But I’m still sensing a shadow, a darkness in her that sets my teeth on edge.”

It was a darkness that I didn’t want to talk about. I didn’t want to put my thoughts into words for fear they would become fact.

I wished my empath side could be wrong just this once.

Killian stopped and gazed at Sean and Aisling. They were taking turns pushing Sean Michael on a swing. The little boy hooted with joy, but his parents stood stone faced, each wrapped in their own thoughts.

“Do you want to tell me what happened when you found them?” I asked. We had plenty of time to kill and I wanted to hear the whole story. He’d started to tell it a few nights ago but Sean, the toddler, got grouchy and had to go to bed. Killian got sidetracked and we never did hear the whole story.

“All right, but let’s walk a little so you can stretch your back.” He dug the heels of his hands into my lower back as he spoke. It was heavenly.

Dec and Domino trotted up to us then. He’d been throwing the hacky sack to her and she finally refused to give it back. It hung from her right canine in a sloppy mess. Her tongue lolled to the left.

“I swear the air is toxic over by the playground. It makes me want to throw Aisling into the pond. Man, she is something else. I don’t get her.”

Those were strong words coming from Declan. He never had a mean word to say about anyone. She was really getting on everyone’s nerves.

Killian snorted a laugh and said, “Yeah, she’s something, all right.” His eyes were troubled despite the laugh, and he rolled his shoulders to shrug off the bad feeling. “So anyhow, I was moving from one plane to another and landed in a creek bed when I rematerialized into that plane. The creek was running high and the bank was pretty muddy. It had been raining for a while. Clouds were low and rain was still coming down, but soft, like it was almost done. I could tell right away that it would be habitable. Then I spotted the homestead. It was just like Sean described--a small cabin with some sheds scattered around it. The cabin was a few hundred yards from the creek, set back close to the trees. I thought it must be the right place.”

“Were you sure it was Aisling? I mean, how could you tell it was her and not some other...life form?”

“That’s easy, babe.
Sgaine Dutre
recognized the
saol
of a Primani as soon as we got there, and warned me. It could’ve been another Primani, but I was betting on Aisling. After all the running around I’d done, I was hoping the angels would show some mercy and help me out!” He wasn’t kidding now. He had been praying for a break for weeks. Raphael was in his corner but hadn’t been able to sense the lost Primani.

Dec asked, “Could you tell there was something wrong? Did you know she was sick?”

Killian frowned at the memory and tightened his grip on my hand. “Yeah, I sensed the sickness. You know it lingers in the air. I could tell something wasn’t right.”

“Oh, for God’s sake! You’re impossible!” Sean’s exasperation was morphing into anger and I glanced over at the couple.

“They’ll be fine, darlin’. Let Killian finish before we get interrupted again and never hear the flippin’ ending.” Dec was getting testy too.

“So anyhow, the rest is pretty simple. I knocked on the door and no one answered, so I pulled out my Sig, just in case, and went in. Aisling and the boy were on the bed asleep. I checked to make sure they were alive and got them up and moving. It took a few minutes to help her get some things together and then we left.”

“Wait a minute. What did she say when she saw you? I can’t believe she just left with you.” Dec was glaring at the female in question who was now yelling at his best friend.

Killian grinned and said, “Yeaaahh. It wasn’t that simple. Basically, she took one look at me and demanded, ‘Who the hell are you?’ and then threw a pot of piss at me. Lucky for her, it missed. I probably would’ve left her there if she’d hit me.”

Dec burst out laughing. “Damn, I mean, darn, dude. That’s harsh!”

It was my turn to glare at her. That woman was getting on my nerves too. Ungrateful wench!

“It took a few minutes to convince her I was Primani and there to rescue her. She doesn’t much like us these days. I’m guessing Sean wasn’t the first one to disappoint her.”

Sean risked his life for thousands, no, millions of humans, and she was hung up on the fact that he left her? Geez. What an idiot. He didn’t leave her on purpose! She was lucky she’d been with Sean to begin with! If it wasn’t for that, no one would’ve ever found her! She should be thankful. Plus she had a great kid. You’d think she’d be a little nicer to the baby’s daddy. Ugh!

Killian nudged me and said, “She’ll come around. It’s a tough adjustment for her.”

Dec’s eyebrows disappeared into his bangs. “Are you defending her? You? Mr. Hard Ass? She’s Primani; she’s supposed to be a warrior, like us. She should be able to adjust without ripping Sean’s head off over every little thing.”

“Whatever, little brother. I’m just saying we don’t need to add to the drama by taking sides. We need to help her get her own place and get settled. She and Sean will work out something in time.”

“Sooooo, why did you show up in a car that night? Why didn’t you travel to the safe house?” I interrupted the argument that was about to break out.

Our hero looked a little annoyed at the question. “I’m lucky I got them as far as I did. It was hard trying to concentrate my powers to bring both of them with me. I got us to the area but my powers dropped and I couldn’t dematerialize again. I borrowed that car and drove us the rest of the way here.”

Dec whistled softly, “Note to self--”

“Don’t try to teleport with a set of hot Swedish twins!” I joked.

Later, I dragged Sean out to help me with shopping. You’d think I’d asked him to donate a kidney, but he came along with minor grumbling. Aisling watched us from the kitchen and I waved as the screen door swung closed. She didn’t wave back.

Unaware of Aisling’s expression, Sean perked up when I handed him the keys to the McLaren. Like a kid with a new toy, he spent way too long touching all the buttons and adjusting the seat, the steering wheel, the mirrors, and the stereo. The engine growled when he pressed the gas, and he grinned like an idiot and settled into the buttery leather.

As soon as we got away from the house, I turned to him and said, “We need to talk.”

His sigh was long and meaningful. He looked down his nose at me, trying to be stern. “We’re not going shopping, are we?”

“Of course we are! We can’t go back empty handed. She’ll know I lied. I get the feeling your baby mama doesn’t like me much.”

He snorted and said, “She doesn’t like any of us too much!

“What gives? Have you been a dick?”

“Oh, sure. I’m just always a dick, so you naturally assume I’m being one now? Jesus, Mica. Give me some credit!”

“Whoa! Hold up, I didn’t mean it like that.” I giggled and added, “Well, not really! You have to admit you can be hard to deal with.”