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“Just stop. And for the record, I’m not going anywhere but to Hell. You’re taking me back. Nolda did me wrong too. I want my own vengeance.”
“It’s not what’s important,” Michael cuts in, planting himself into a conversation that has nothing to do with him.
“You don’t get to make any more decisions for me, Michael. Like I already said, you might not have known, but that doesn’t change how you treated me when I fell. You were horrible to me.”
“And for that I’ll always be sorry.”
“One day I might be able to forgive you, but not today. I’m going back to Hell to help take down Nolda and to ensure that my friends, the Bellamy brothers, get out of there.”
“She isn’t going to back down, Michael. You have a better shot at getting to Camille than changing Victoria’s mind.”
“Make the arrangements,” Michael says, shocking both Luke and me. “I think we should leave these two alone,” he says to Luke, motioning with his head toward Zeke. “They have some business to attend to.”
I rake my hands through my hair, not really in the mood to deal with Zeke, but knowing it’s time, if we’re to fight alongside each other in Hell.
“If you have something to say, say it,” I bark, stalking back toward the barn.
I’m not really angry at him; it’s everything else. This doesn’t seem like the time to hash out an ancient affair, one that no longer matters. But taking one quick look at Zeke, I can see that this is important to him. And for all the times he came to my aid, I decide I’ll hear him out.
I stop, placing my hands on my hips.
“I was on Earth on assignment, tasked with rounding up Nephilim to train them for battle. They have dormant powers that can be brought to the surface. God wants them ready to defend humanity if war breaks out.” Zeke blurts the words without taking a breath, and I don’t butt in, allowing him to get it all out. “I was only told that you would be falling, and I was to find you and keep you safe. He wanted you to hunt demons that were growing brave and coming out of the shadows to keep your skills sharp, but he didn’t want you to know about the Nephilim or that you were predestined to fall.”
He takes a deep, cleansing breath but doesn’t continue.
“And?” I press.
“And that’s it. That’s all I was told, Victoria.”
I narrow my eyes. “You knew nothing about the reapers?”
His hands raise in a placating manner. “No. Nothing. I swear.”
“Were you given permission to take my virginity?”
He winces. “Um... no. That was not part of my assignment.”
He’s uncomfortable and I’m enjoying it. I’m not angry that I gave him that piece of me. It was cathartic after Luke abandoned me. If anything, I’m glad it was him and not some random human.
“How did Heaven feel about that?”
“Let’s just say I was called before the Council for it.”
“What was your punishment?”
“I’ve been cast to Earth for the remainder of my existence and my mission was stripped from me.”
I suck in a breath. No wonder he insisted that he wanted to stay. He knew there was no way back for him, and he’d accepted as much.
“Why would you take that chance, Zeke?”
“Because I cared. For you. It was worth it for any chance of a future with you, Victoria. I welcomed fighting beside you.”
His admission hurts, only because I don’t feel the same way. I never really did. For a short time I had considered it, but deep down, I knew he wasn’t the one.
“There is no future between us, Zeke. There never was.”
I feel like I owe him honesty, even if he didn’t offer me the same courtesy. The last thing I need is a fallen angel making problems because he’s under some delusion that there could be a future for us.
