“So,” he turned to Tristan, “who are we looking for next?”
The gargoyle opened the paper and stared, frowning. “I thought we’d agreed to find the God of Sin next, but this place isn’t right.” He stared for a minute longer. “She brought us to the other Immortal first. The Goddess of Life.”
Daniel shrugged. “I guess she made a mistake.”
Tristan frowned down at the paper. “Perhaps.”
“Tick tock.”
Tristan looked at him and raised a brow. “Helpful.”
As they found the roof exit and climbed down the stairs, Daniel almost smiled. It wasn’t often the gargoyle was sarcastic. Hopefully that meant he wasn’t too worried about Surcy. The idea immediately calmed him. If Tristan, Mr. Natural Protector himself, was feeling confident, that meant Daniel should be too.
A weight lifted from his shoulders.
They moved through the town and continued walking, occasionally checking the address. Tristan could fly them there, but without knowing the area, travel by ground was easier.
To Daniel’s annoyance, the farmer peppered him with questions. Every. Single. Step of the way.
“What am I?”
“The God of Earth.”
“What does that mean?”
“You have powers.”
“How come I haven’t seen any before? Now my kids have some special abilities, but I've never noticed anything.”
“Caine wiped your memories.”
And on and on. When they reached the quiet suburban neighborhood, Daniel was ready to punch the shit out of the human. Normally, he didn't care, but they had things to do, bigger things than answering questions.
Maybe they should have dropped him at the sanctuary.
They reached the house, but it looked empty.
“So what now?” Daniel asked, not bothering to hide his annoyance.
Tristan opened his mouth, but a woman spoke instead.
“If you’re looking for the Carters, they won’t be home for a little while.”
Daniel spun around to see woman sitting on the porch next door. She was perhaps in her mind-forties and lovely in a quiet way. Her hair was in a messy bun on her head, she wore pajamas that said, “best mom ever,” and she didn’t have a drop of makeup on.
In other words, she was the kind of woman that any smart man would love.
“Hi,” Daniel greeted her, turning on his most charming smile and moving closer.
A blush darkened her cheeks. “Hi… uh, are you friends of the Carters?”
“College friends of her hubs,” he lied, hoping he’d made a good guess.
She set her coffee on her knee. “Oh, are you guys doctors too?”
He nodded. “The best in L.A. But we haven’t seen him in a while. We thought we’d drop in and surprise him.”
She stared down at her drink. “I’m sure Richard would love that, but he’s at a conference this weekend. It’s just Nichole.”
Well, that will make this lie easier.
“Oh, that’s too bad. Well, I guess at least we can visit with her. We’ve never actually met her.”
Her gaze swung back up to them. “Oh, you’ll love Nichole. She’s beautiful and smart and funny.” She sipped her drink and mumbled. “Not that Richard notices.”
Daniel’s ears perked up. “Would it be okay if we hung out with you just a few minutes? If she doesn’t come home, I guess we can try another time. We were just stopping by between flights, so we really hoped to see them and see their house. You know? Catch up.”
She patted her hair, looking flustered. “Uh, sure.”
Moving closer, he sat down on the porch steps next to her and leaned back, stretching his legs out. “So, tell us about Nichole. What does she do?”
“Well, uh, nothing right now. She stopped teaching when they decided to start having kids.”
He smiled. “Well, having kids is like having three jobs, so it makes sense.”
She laughed, shyly. “Yeah, if only they didn’t have infertility issues, I think it would’ve been wonderful.”
Oops.
“Richard mentioned something about that.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m sure he did. And I’m sure he just happened to mention that the issues are her fault. And he just happened to mention that she’s done IVF unsuccessfully ten times now, and how hard that’s been on him.”
Daniel’s heartbeat sped up. “You don’t sound like you like him much.”
She immediately hid her anger behind a mask. “I didn’t say that.”
Sighing, he rolled his neck. Demon-abilities, take two. “You can be honest with us. We know what an ass he can be sometimes.”
Instantly, she relaxed, but the effect was deeper on her than it had been on the farmer. Her eyes grew a little glassy, like she’d had one too many drinks. “Richard is the biggest dick in the world. We’ve been trying to convince her to leave him for years. I mean, he’s a fucking doctor. They aren’t hurting for money, but he gives her a god-damn allowance, like a child. I don’t mean a budget. I mean her name isn’t on any of the accounts. He gives her money and tells her that’s all she gets for food and gas. The woman hasn’t bought new clothes in years. She can never go out because she doesn’t have any money to do it.”
Daniel raised a brow. “Wow.”
“It’s fucking financial abuse!” She glared at all the men. “And then he tells her who she can and cannot speak to, who she can and cannot be friends with. She can’t talk to her family anymore, or most of her friends. He doesn’t even like me talking to her, but he can’t stop me, the asshole.”
“That’s… controlling.”
She nodded, looking like she wanted to shout yes! “But if all of that wasn’t bad enough, there’s the infertility stuff. He makes her feel like garbage just because she can’t have kids. I mean, she’s broken-hearted over it. She volunteers at a hospital, helping to take care of the babies in the NICU. She lavishes them with care, and they get so big and healthy. She’s… like a miracle worker. But then, she can’t have her own kids. Can you imagine the torture she must experience every day?”
The Goddess of Life can’t have kids. Caine, you’re a fucking monster.
“It would be pure torture.” Daniel looked up and met Tristan’s
