Page 90 of Return of the Bad Girl (Rock Canyon, Idaho 4)

What is this little angelic spawn doing?

I can barely even process what I know about the other one. My little devil baby. Kase and Dante both claim that it belongs to them, because of course, they can knock me up. I’m their soul.

I don’t even know what to think. All I need to do right now is to get out of this weird in-between world. I need to escape Cassius and the strange guy who is fighting on my behalf.

“Who are you, and what is your rank?” Cassius growls with his question, and he manages to pull out his heavenly sword. Flipping the guy onto his back, Cassius aims his weapon. “You cannot claim her. She has been blessed with a child belonging to Heaven. She needs to go somewhere safe.”

The man’s eyes widen, and he freezes. “Raven’s pregnant? Holy fuck.”

Tipping his head back, the guy glances at me. Cassius clenches his jaw and looks ready to stab the guy through the chest with his sword.

“Cassius, don’t!” Zade’s voice booms through the air, and a burst of heavenly light crashes into Cassius, knocking him off the guy.

The two angels standoff, both looking as if they will try to send each other to Hell. Panic tightens my chest. I can see the turmoil crossing Zade’s face. Actually, it matches Cassius’s. They don’t want to fight each other. Yet, neither of them wants the other to take me.

“Don’t do this, Zade. You know the importance of our path. You promised me that you wouldn’t leave me. You promised that you would be by my side and help Heaven. What you’re doing is dangerous. You’ve crossed a line.” Cassius puffs out a breath, peering around the room.

“I can’t let you take her. The angelic army will see her as an abomination. They will hurt her. They will try to take her children, and it’s unfair. I can’t stand by and let them do it in the name of Heaven.” Zade tenses his shoulders, keeping his focus on Cassius.

I’m so enthralled with the conversation that I don’t see the stranger move until he touches my hand. A strange sensation envelops my fingers. The light of the man crawls up my hand and to my arm, slithering its way to my chest. I gulp a breath, turning my attention to the stranger.

“Raven, it’s me. Come on. We have to go, darlin’,” the man says, his raspy voice humming with a familiar melody.

My heart nearly explodes at the nickname. “Oh fuck. Don’t mess with me. If this is some sort of joke, I will send your ass to Hell.” Because only Elias calls me darlin’. But how could he be here in this man? He died. His soul left. He was supposed to cycle again. There’s no way he could be this age.

“Please, I’ll explain everything. We just have to go. The angels are swarming, and I need to get you somewhere safe until the devils can resurrect. Trust me, Raven. It is me. It’s Elias.” The man tightens his jaw as if he’s not going to give me a choice whether or not I go with him. “I’m not as strong as Cass-hole. And the rest of the angelic army doesn’t know I’m here. Please.”

Tears burn my eyes, and I throw my arms around Elias, the strange difference of this new body making it hard for my mind to grasp that it’s really him.

Elias adjusts me in his arms and lifts me off my feet. Without waiting to see what unfolds behind us between Zade and Cassius, he heads toward the back of the hotel lobby, heading toward another exit.

“I don’t even know how to think or feel,” I whisper into Elias’s ear. “How? How long have you been in this body? Why didn’t you find me sooner?”

A million thoughts swirl through my head. Elias strokes his hand along my spine and shoves his shoulder against the back exit. He hesitates and peers around. A few angels soar above us, and Elias makes a run toward a tree-lined path.

“Just give me a second, darlin’,” Elias says, jogging until we are about half a block from the hotel. “It’s better if we get far away first.”

I snuggle my face into the crook of his neck and kiss his skin. It should be weirder than it is since he is no longer in the body I am used to, but he still feels the same. His soul still calls to me. I feel complete in his arms.

“Fucking A. I’ve missed you,” Elias murmurs, his muscles rippling around me as he tightens his hold. “You have no idea how awful and torturous it has been these last few weeks without you. It was nearly impossible to find you until now. The devils really know how to keep you safe. I am thankful for that, but it was fucking infuriating.”

“So you’ve been around for weeks? I’ve been grieving. I’ve been so scared that you went through another cycle, and I wasn’t going to see you for a long fucking time.” The words tumble out of my mouth, and my body shakes with a silent sob as I recall how horrible it felt thinking that. “It was even worse when the angels thought that you were cycled into me.”

Elias inhales a sharp breath. “What the fuck? So it’s true? You’re pregnant?”

I nod my head and lean back, peering into his unfamiliar face. It’s as if some of his features remain the same, like his beautiful eyes, but he is definitely someone else in this body. He might be younger, and he’s definitely taller than he was, yet the way he purses his lips reminds me of him before.

“I can’t believe it. I’m going to be a father. You have no idea how happy that makes me. I never thought it was even possible. I’m so fucking sorry that I couldn’t get to you sooner, darlin’. This must’ve been so hard.” Elias’s eyes flick back-and-forth as he searches my face, as if he’s trying to read my thoughts. “I swear that I will protect you. I will not let Heaven get you.”

I lick my lips and nod again, my mouth trembling. It’s hard for me to form words. I don’t know what I was expecting out of his reaction, but a wave of relief washes over me.

I open my mouth to tell him more, to share with him what the devils and I found out during the ultrasound, but Elias surprises me by unfurling the most beautiful wings I have ever seen. They’re a mixture of iridescent pearl and platinum but not solid like all of the other angels’ wings I’ve seen. They look as if they’re made of pure light.

“I need my hands free, just in case, so hold on as tightly as you can.” Elias gathers a dazzling glowing orb in one of his hands.

“You’re an angel,” I breathe, my voice barely even sounding from my mouth. I can’t believe it. Silently repeating the words doesn’t help either.

Elias offers me a smirk. “Looks to be that way, but things are different this time around. I don’t feel as I had before I became mortal.”