Chapter one.
I want to Ki_ _ you
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T-shirt.
I did the last thing he expected, I smiled.
He starred at me, slightly stunned. Disoriented. I didn't give him time to recover. Leaning forwards in his grasp I pressed my lips to his in a soft tender kiss.
He stiffened for all of three seconds before melting in to me as he kissed back, hungry, demanding.
My tong flitted across his lips, and he opened them with a gasp. I slipped in to his mouth, at the same time my mind pressed in to his. My energy seeped in through the cracks in his armor. And I let my memories fled his vision.
I started with the image of him from moments ago, dabbled over retching, coughing up blood. Then other memories, each and every time he saved me. Every time I'd seen him, watching me from the shadows. And I let him feel my feelings, my gratitude for his protection, for his caring. My memories raced paste, the time he saved me from Owen Vaughn, when hid come when Denies was yelling at me in the park, the first time he saved me, in the apartment building when I was four. And the very first time I laid eyes on him. The day I was born. I let him see my awe of him my complete adoration. And my love.
Reyes pulled away with a gasp. Breath labored he stared down at me a mixture of confusion and wonder in his beautiful dark eyes.
"How?"
"Grim reaper." I said with a shrug, flashing him another smile.
"Charley."
Oh, rite Gemma was still there. But seriously, couldn't she see I was a little busy making out with my man.
"Hold on a moment." I told her over Reyes's shoulder, no easy feat, I was way shorter then I remembered being at this age.
"But..."
I frowned, not really listening to Gemma's protest as I tried to think through are predicament.
I had a plan but it required Reyes trusting me.
"So, I have a plan, but it requires you trusting me."
"Dutch, what-" Seriously? He was still stuck on the howl- Charley could share her memories with a kiss- thing? I'd shown him like a howl minuet ago. Really he was usually much faster than this. But he had been hit in the head, so I decided to forgive him. Just this one. Couldn't have him go and make a habit out of it.
But this was Reyes I was thinking about. He wouldn't like my plan. At least his eighteen year old self wouldn't. Maybe if he knew more, remembered more, he would go along with my brilliant plan.
Or maybe I just really wanted to kiss him again.
He stiffened again when I press my lips to his, but again he responded almost immediately.
I didn't wait the second time; I had too much to show him. I dumped the memories in to his mind, the things he showed me the night I found out who he was, what he was. The galaxies forming the earth splitting in to continents, the fall of Lucifer, and the birth of his son.
Reyes gasped jerking away and I whispered his name in to the night. "Rey'aziel."
A shudder ran through him and in an instant I was pinned back to the wall, his hand at my throat.
"Why? " His voice was hard, demanding, his voice anguished. "Why are you showing me this?"
I ran my fingers down the side of his beautiful, perfect face, over the drying blood, down to his chin, his throat. He shuddered again when I trailed my hand over his collar bone, then pressed my palm over his heart.
Another flood of memories. This one of things that had not yet happened. Wouldn't happen, not in the same way, not if I had a say.
When I was done Reyes just stared at me, and I knew that more time had passed, a couple of minutes.
Gemma was ringing her hands, not sure what to do.
Reyes lifted his hand, cupped my cheek, ran a rough thumb over my lips.
"You rewound time?" He asked, sounding awed.
" Yep."
"And all that really happened?"
" Yep, and a little extra on the side. But I figure I'd give you the basics now, we can fill in the rest later. If that is you're planning on staying out of prison this time." I gave him a worming glare for good measure.
"And this wonderful plan of yours?" he asked dubiously.
Seriously, what was with people and not believing in my plans? My plans always worked. Well except when they didn't. But that rarely happened.
"Oh, yah about that, how do you feel about severing Earl Walker's spine?"
The smile that flitted across his face was wicked enough to baling on his father.
We snuck back in to the apartment building. Well I snuck. Reyes just sort of walked reel quite like.
When we got to his door we stopped and Reyes tried the nob. The door was locked.
"Here, let me." I said. Before he could protest I went incorporeal and slid through, rematerialized just enough to get the lock and let him in.
Reyes glared at me, half in anger and half in astonishment.
"You'll have to show me how to do that." He muttered closing the door.
I nodded. "You're the one who shows me."
We weren't keeping are voices down. And Earl stormed in to the shabby living room.
And boy was he mad.
The smile Reyes flashed him stopped him in his tracks. Then he stepped out of his body. Reyes not Earl.
Of cores his body collapsed. And Earl stepped forwards triumphantly. Naturally, he can't see the clocked figure wielding an enormous sword bearing down on him.
But he defiantly felt it when said enormous sword slid clean through his neck.
Reyes kicked him in the chest and the monster went flying in to the opposite wall, only to fall to the floor like a puppet who's strings where cut. He was alive, but hid never walk again. Or eat corn on the cob or tie his shoelaces. Or do anything really, except stair despondently in to spade.
The thought made me happy, but just in case I shifted, straddled two planes, and examined the mark on his soul. Yep still slated to Hell. I debated feeding him to Osh but a sound from another part of the apartment cote my attention.
Reyes rushed in to a room and I heard a soft gasp. I assumed it was Kim. So I followed
Reyes was hugging her like his life depended on it. Oddly enough seeing them like that made me happy too.
"Kim, sweetheart, there's someone I'd like you to meet." Reyes said, pulling the trembling girl to her feet.
She looked terrible. Gaunt, bruise like bags ender her sunken eyes, her skin was almost colorless, she looked so much worse than when I met her in the future. Or would that be when I'm going to meet her? But no I'm meeting her now so what happened in the future, wait, how could the future have already happened.
Anyhow.
Reyes gestured me forwards, when I stepped closer he took my hand twining are fingers.
"Dutch, this is my sister, Kim. Sweetheart this is Charley Davidson."
I smiled broadly at her; she seemed too stunned to move, so I took the opportunity to throw my arms around her. Or well an arm, Reyes was still holding the other one, and he didn't seem inclined to let it go.
"You're really real." Kim breathed. "I know you were. Reyes didn't believe me."
She looked at her brother with such love and affection it made my heart hurt.
"We shelled move on to faze two." I said.
As much as I was enjoying the moment I didn't like being in that house, and I didn't want Kim or Reyes to be there any more than they had to.
Reyes frowned.
"Ho, no you don't, mister." I waved an admonishing finger at him. That'd show him. "We agreed."
"No, Dutch, you agreed. Amador and I already made plans, shell be fine and well taken care of."
"And what about you?" I asked though I already knew his answer.
"What about me?"
Nailed it.
"What are you going to do oh brave and powerful one? Wonder about on your own? Live in a youth shelter? Or where you planning on living on the streets?"
His smile was perhaps the most charming thing I'd ever seen and it made my knees wobble, just a little.
"I'll be fine, Dutch, I can take care of myself."
I glared at him, his smile only widened as his fingers found the pulse at my neck.
Time to bring out the big guns. If he was going to be unfair then so was I, and that smile was so playing dirty. Really it shouldn't be allowed out in public. And he had no one but himself to blame.
"And what about Kim? You just going to level her? trust that she's oaky."
He growled, the hand encircling my neck tightened just a little, not enough to hurt, but to imply the ability for violates was there. Like I didn't know already.
At my words Kim had grown even paler. I hadn't thought that would be possible.
"Why do you care?" he snarled.
He had to ask.
Freaking son of satin.
How could I explain to him that all I want was for him to be happy. loved. Excepted.
But he didn't think he deserves any of that.
We'd be here all night arguing if I didn't put a stop to it now.
"Reyes, please, you know this is the best for both of you. If you change your mind later then so be it, but for now we really should be calling my uncle."
About five minutes later the first cop showed up, then Uncle Bob and then several more uniforms.
An ambulance was called, and Walker was placed on a stretcher and taken away.
They tried to make Reyes go to the hospital as well. They failed.
We stayed close to him, Kim and me. We both seemed to gain some sense of security from his proximity.
Gemma was shaken up, but she stuck to the story we'd come up with.
It was claws enough to the truth that no one questioned us.
Gemma and I saw a man beating a boy, I threw a brick through the window, Ubie almost lost it at that little piece of information. The distraction had supposedly given Reyes a chance to scramble out of Walkers reach, but the man came after him again and Reyes managed to get in a kick of his own. And what a kick it was. Apparently when Earls head hit the bookshelf his vertebra was fractured, and somehow his spinal cord severed. Funny how those things happened.
Reyes of course, covered in dried blood and fresh bruises had no problem selling the story.
Uncle Bob asked some more questions and as planed Reyes managed to steer the conversation in the right directions, exactly where he didn't want it to go.
His biological parents.
Supposedly Reyes, with his genius IQ remembered his birth parents, or well little bits and pieces about them, and being a hard working proactive kind of guy he had researched them, cross checked missing children reports and discovered were they lived.
The policemen scribbled away on their notepads.
I yond, glanced about the sparse living room, twiddled my thumbs, let my eyes grift shot, rite as Dad walked through the door.
My Dad. Alive.
I ran to him throw my arms around his neck and hugged him like there was no tomorrow, not sure what that had to do with hugging. I mean how would I know whether or not there would be a tomorrow, and if I somehow did know then everyone would know and then I'd probably be trampled in the mass panic that caused the public to stock up on canned goods and tinfoil hats.
When I was finished squeezing the breath out of him, and wandering why people kept horses as pets but not zebras, cause seriously zebras were like, way cooler, I let him go and looked him up and down. He looked healthy, no pancreatic cancer, no bullet holes poking out of anything vital, and dang, did he look yang, like twelve years younger than I remember him looking.
Speaking of which, so did uncle Bob, and Gemma, she looked like a kid again, probably because she was one. But that would mean I looked like a child as well.
In a bit of a panic I looked down at my girls, Danger and Will Robinson. Yep, I was pubescent. Well, that sucked. Would Reyes mind the changes to my body?
I glanced over at said Devil spawn, and to my relief he was younger as well, though admittedly just as perfect, and beautiful, and sexy, like seriously who decided these things, who chose who got to be handsome, or ugly, or look like the son of the most gorges angel to have ever walked the halls of heaven? Because, and not that I was complaining, but Reyes really did get an unfair amount of hotness points.
But Reyes didn't seem to mind my younger body, not one bit if the sultry looks he kept giving me when no one was looking where anything to go by.
"Pumpkin, what's going on?" Dad asked, looking around the shabby rundown room.
"Dad," I started. "I have a favor to ask."
After asking, begging, demanding, needling, threatening and several reminders of just how much he owed me, Dad finally agreed.
As he went to talk to uncle Bob and the social worker that had just arrived, I bounced over to Reyes and Kim to give them the good knows.
"You two are staying with us until the Loehrs are contacted." I informed them.
The slow appreciative grin that crept over Reyes's face sent a shiver all the way to my core.
That night I lay in bed staring at the sealing, my mind racing.
Denies had not been pleased with the situation. Two unkempt kids unceremoniously dropped in to her lap, without so much as a by your leave, was almost too much for her to take. Also the fact that it had been bay my insistence might have had something to do with her reluctance, but that just added to the awesomeness of the situation.
Finally, after a lot of whispering from the grownups, a very late diner for the kids and coffee for me, we came around to discussing sleeping arrangements.
I was all for Kim sleeping in Gemma's room and Reyes in mine, but alas, I didn't think that would go down well with my Dad.
So in the end, Kim was in my room and Reyes ended up on the couch.
Good enough.
Reyes had come in to give his sister a good night kiss, and to my delight I got one to, which ended up lasting a little longer than Kim's.
Then the lights where out and it was Z gathering time.
But I couldn't sleep.
Too many thoughts where bombarding Barbra, my brain.
Had it really been only several hours ago that I had confronted Reyes, or well Rey'azikeen?
Had met God, had seen my best friend's doter's body, burnt and broken on the ground. And best of all I had gotten to see my husband holding my baby. Beep. The thought wrenched at my heart.
I wasn't going to see her ever again. But before that horrific fact could take root in my mind, I remember the prophases. Beep had to be born. She would be. And that meant Reyes and me. Well maybe letting my thoughts go in that direction was not the best idea. Not with Reyes in the next room. My body ached for him. I wanted to snuggle up in his worm embrace, feel his fire lick across my skin.
But I also didn't want to give Dad, or worse Denies a reason to try and get rid of our gests early.
So I stayed in my bed, and listened to his soft rhythmic heart beats. Let the sound wash over me, and slowly lull me off to sleep.
I woke up early the next morning, it was a school day and Reyes and Kim would be leaving, but only the thought of coffee registered in my sleep addled mind.
That was until I entered the kitchen to find one Reyes Farrow busy making breakfast. The smell of eggs and bacon, and bust of all, chilly, made me week at the knees. The smile Reyes flashed me didn't help none either. At this rate I'd be a puddle of Charley goo before I even had my first cup of the day, and that was just unacceptable.
"You know," I said to him as I poured myself a mug of the good stuff. "It's illegal to be so cheerful this early in the morning."
He just chuckled, flashing me his dimples.
"Morning, Pumpkin." I looked up to see Dad siting at the kitchen table, reading the newspaper. How I missed him coming in I had no idea.
Probably because I was on my first cup of coffee. Speaking of which, I held up a finger to my Dad, gesturing him to wait, not sure why, it wasn't as if he were going anywhere, as I took a long delicious pull on my coffee. Ah, that was better. "Morning." I mumbled.
But the caffeine was doing its thing, slowly at first almost like the coffee was oil greasing the rusty gears off my brain. Gawd, I was good with metaphors.
As I took another pull, a thought registered in the deepest resources of my mind. It was fogy but getting clearer. One more pull and- yes, got it. "What or you doing?"
Reyes looked up from the plate he had just set on the counter beside me.
"What?"
"Yes, what."
He quirked an adorable brow at me.
I saw his brow and raised him two.
When I didn't get any more than that, I elaborated. "Why are you cooking breakfast?"
"Who said its breakfast?" he shot back.
"What ells would it be?"
"Lunch? Midday snack? A science project?"
"Reyes."
He laughed, took the cup out of my hand, ignoring my protests and hoisted me on to the counter top. Then he handed me a plate of pure heaven.
"Eat up, Dutch." He said. Making sure my Dad wasn't looking, he leaned forwards, gave me a quick peck on the lips before leaving, presumably to get his sister.
"Tell Kim there's clean clothing for her on my desk." I said after him.
Just then Denies walked in. She immediately leveled a cool glare on me.
"Yang lady, what do you think you're doing?"
God, how I hadn't missed her. While I may find it in myself to be a little bit pleased she wasn't actually dead, I'd have to go searching for that little bit, and as I assumed my innards were as messy as my room, I really didn't have the energy just now. So I was mostly annoyed.
"Only eating the best breakfast ever, or it might be a science project. Not sure." I said.
She opened her mouth, presumably to scold me, but Reyes walked back in, grabbed his own plait and hopped up beside me.
Denies pressed her lips in frustration. Score.
I flashed a conspiratorial smile at the guy most likely to win the hottest cook in town award.
"Oh, Bob should be stopping by this morning to take you back to the station." Dad said looking up from his newspaper. "There's some paper work you need to fill out if you're going to press charges against Walker-" he trailed off when he caught Reyes's expiration.
My mind raced, I didn't think Reyes wanted any more to do with Walker then absolutely necessary, particularly if by pressing charges the details of the abuse he suffered at the man's hands came out, but even though Walker wasn't going anywhere ever, letting him get off scot free just seemed wrong. Then I remember something I found out while searching for Earl after Reyes escaped prison and abducted me, with a knife. Not that I was holding any grudges. But that was a nether mater initially.
I leaned over and whispered in his ear.
He thought about it for a moment. Then nodded, gracing me with a lopsided smile.
"No." he told Dad.
What I'd remembered was something Cookie had found out for me. Earl Walker, rite before his supposed death at the hands of his innocent son, had been on the verge of being arrested for scamming the elderly; he was going to do fifteen years at least. That ought to do it.
While Dad looked confused he didn't argue, probably because Kim had just walk in, and even after only knowing her for several hours he could already tell that bringing up her father in her presents wasn't a good idea. Probably the detective in him.
"Okie dokie." I said hoping down. "I'm going to get dressed." Unfortunately I still had to go to school today. That was going to suck.
I got dressed and brushed my teeth, I was in the medal of pulling my hair in to a ponytail when a nock came at my door. I could feel the heat even before I opened it.
He leaned against the door jamb; arms folded examining me from beneath hooded lashes. "Can I come in?" he asked.
"Depends, do you know the password?"
"Coffee?" he asked.
"Close, that was yesterdays. Today its extra-large nonfat mocha macchiato with caramel sauce on the bottom and a dollop of whipped cream. But I guess you could." I slid my finger ender the hem of his T-shirt and tugged him inside shutting the door behind him.
He stared at me silently as I went about packing my things.
He brock the silence first. "Why do you want me to live with them?"
I looked up at him, questioning him with a quirk of my brow I'd seen in a movie. One that hadn't come out yet. I was so going to spoil it for Gemma.
"Why do you want me to live with the Loehrs?"
I walked over to him, placed my hands against his broad chest. He looked down at me, his eyes flicked down to my mouth for a moment before meeting my gaze.
Instead of answering I questioned him back. "Why dos the thought of living with them scare you?"
That did it. Anger exploded out of him, white hot fire licked across my skin. With a growl he pinned me against the wall, his grip on my neck firm almost to the point of oxygen depravation. "You think I'm afraid?"
My own temper flared. I didn't want to fight, but if he was going to be an ass then so be it. He had to learn at some point he couldn't threaten me. Not that he seemed to grasp that at any point in the future.
"Yes, Reyes, I do. I think that the only reason you're going along with my genius plan is to give Kim a chance at a better life. And I want you to live with the Loehrs because you deserve to be happy. And for some reason I can't understand you seem to think that you're not worthy of love. But you are."
And suddenly it did made sense, well not the part where he didn't deserve a better life cause he totally did, but Rey'azikeen had thought himself unworthy of forgiveness.
"Don't you think you've suffered enough?" I demanded.
He loosened his grip, but just barely. "What do you mean?"
"Hell, you're father, the Dendour, Earl Walker? How much punishment are you going to take before you decide you've atoned for whatever it is you think you've done?"
"You think I'm doing this to myself?" he spat.
"Yes. I think that you think you don't deserve happiness. But you're wrong, Rey'aziel."
A nock on the door interrupted whatever it is he was going to say. Kim stuck her head in. "Am, Reyes, Detective Davidson is here."
With a growl Reyes pushed off the wall and stormed out the door, not looking back.