CJ’s eyes narrowed and he crossed, dumping his bag on the table. I knew enough about him to feel the discomfort prickle through me when he turned a glare in my direction. An unfamiliar tingle encompassed my head and I realized he was trying to force his way into my mind.
“Your father was nice enough to show my wife to a bedroom upstairs. He should be down in a minute,” I said, doing my best to block his probe.
The creak of the stairs pulled my gaze away and Steve appeared.
“I see you’ve met my family,” he said.
“Yes. Is Naomi okay?” I asked and took a sip of the scotch, irritated with the slight shake in my hand that knocked the ice cubes against the glass.
“I think she was out the moment her head hit the pillow. Reminds me of Jen when she was pregnant,” Steve said.
He met my gaze and I swear I saw a flash of sorrow cross his features. After all the years, the loss of his children still created a visual pain. I doubted my own ability to carry on if I lost my children, and they hadn’t even been born yet, so the fact that Steve had been able to function at all increased my admiration.
Steve turned to his wife. “They’re going to be staying with us for a while,” he said.
“Just tonight,” I corrected and an awkward silence filled the room. The rest of Steve’s family just stared at me and Raven blanched a little more, shifting so her husband buffered her from view.
“What is he?” Raven whispered to CJ, thinking she spoke softly enough, but I caught it and glanced at her, trying to stifle a laugh.
“I’m sorry for laughing, Raven, but there really is no easy answer to that question.” Everyone’s eyes widened and their gazes traveled to Steve.
He shrugged. “We had a transfer of sorts,” he said.
“Isn’t he the one who killed those cops in Connecticut?” CJ asked, pointing in my direction.
“No.” Steve stepped into the room and crossed to the table, picking up his glass. “He’s being set up.”
CJ stared at him, then he wobbled, reaching for the table and sitting in the nearest chair, his eyes widening in shock, and then his gaze traveled to me. “I think maybe you guys should unpack the groceries and go get dinner somewhere.”
“Why?” Tom asked, his gaze bouncing between Steve, Raven and CJ before meeting mine and then they traveled to the fluttering wings next to Steve.
“Steve?” Jennifer asked.
He glanced at me and I sighed.
“I’m putting you at risk,” I said. “They have a right to know what could be coming.”
Tom’s hands flew in a pattern I didn’t recognize, but the question in his gaze was enough.
CJ hadn’t stopped staring at me, and even his complexion blanched.
“What might be coming?” Jennifer asked.
“Armageddon,” CJ answered and a silent chill blanketed the room.
Chapter 13 - Damian
“You know I have an open mind, especially with what happened to us in college,” Jennifer said as she sat down next to Steve on the couch. “But this, this is way too out there for me to even comprehend.”
I had been talking for a couple of hours trying to recap my life and our plight. The groceries had long been put away, five large pizza boxes sat on the kitchen table picked over, and the remaining half dozen pieces on a plate set aside for Naomi.
Tom and Raven kept their distance, giving me the greatest berth, because even though the others had warmed up to my being in their home, Raven still couldn’t look at me and when she did her expression was tense, like I was going to self-destruct at any moment and I focused on her for a minute.
“May I ask you a question?” I asked before her gaze flitted away again.
She pointed at her chest and I nodded. “I... I guess,” she answered.
“What are you seeing that everyone else can’t?” I had enough history from Steve to know she saw auras, but she hadn’t been able to look at me more than a cursory glance since she came in.
“You’re too bright for me to look at for any length of time. It’s like looking into the sun,” she said. “And if I squint, I can see a shadow of... of wings mingled with it.” She squinted and then blinked away. “But it’s not like CJ’s father’s wings, not angel wings.”
“When I was a vampire, I was able to change into a hawk at will,” I said and everyone’s gaze jumped back to me. I hadn’t included my ability to transition into a wild bird in my conversation, but I had explained the shadow virus and our near demise at Lucifer’s hands. They also knew his plans if he ever got a hold of Naomi. “Something about the combination of shadow virus and angel blood.”
“I turn into a tiger,” Naomi’s voice broke everyone’s stare and the relief I had at the sight of her rumpled hair and sleepy eyes was more than in my mind. The knot I developed in the middle of my back loosened and I stood. “Naomi, this is Steve’s wife, Jennifer,” I started introductions. “And this is Tom and his wife Raven.”
“Nice to meet you,” she said and received nods in response. Raven’s squint was less pronounced when she viewed Naomi, but it was there.
“She has the same aura?” I asked and Raven glanced in my general direction, but her gaze was averted toward the ground.