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“Blood doesn’t always mean family, Daemon. Sometimes family are the people we choose to love, people who stand beside us regardless of our faults.” He places a kiss on my cheek and leaves me alone again with an unconscious Kain.
I grab Kain’s hand, giving it a squeeze. “I need you to fight, brother, so I can fix this.”
* * *
“We’ve already beenover this. You need to take time to heal. If you jump back into training now, you’re liable to do more harm to yourself than good. For two weeks, no lifting, no strenuous exercise, nothing more than light walking to stay active. Four weeks out, I can give you some stretches to get your abdominal muscles loose again. Six weeks from now we’ll reevaluate your side and see where you are in the healing process.”
I stand in the doorway of Lucifer’s office taking in the scene before me. Wyatt is trying to quell the anger mounting in the little slip of a woman who looks like she might just tear his eyes out if he doesn’t back down.
“Eden you’ve heard what Wyatt has to say on the matter. There will be no more training right now. I will lock the basement if I must to ensure you obey orders.”
Eden’s eyes blaze with fury, and if looks could kill, Lucifer would be dead six times over with the look she’s shooting him at that pronouncement.
“Excuse me,” I say taking a step into the room.
“Daemon, I didn’t hear you come in,” Lucifer says, coming around his desk and holding out a hand to me.
I accept his hand and pull him in for a quick hug.Time to mend some bridges and extend a more permanent olive branch.
Releasing him, I take a small step back and tuck my hands into my jean pockets. “I came to check on Kain and Eden. I hadn’t heard from you since your first call, and I was concerned.”
“I’m glad you’re here. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to update you yet, I’ve been dealing with a lot.” He gestures to Eden, and she huffs, crossing her arms over her chest.
“I might be able to help here,” I tell them, stepping closer to Eden. “Wyatt, if you’re okay with it, maybe I could work with Eden while Kain recovers. I suffered a similar injury a few years ago. A stabbing in my side. I still remember the physical therapy routines and maybe for the first few weeks, we can go over other safety tips that don’t require a lot of physical strain.”
Wyatt looks me over and I give him a nod, silently asking him to trust me. He looks to Lucifer, who also nods. “Okay, but please take it easy.”
“I promise to be gentle with her.”
“Hey, I’m standing right here, you know,” Eden chimes in, waving a hand in the air.
“Yes, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ignore you. I need to finish up a case, and then I can take some time off. I’ve never taken a vacation so it might be nice to get away for a little while. Give me a week to close this case, and yourself a week to allow the skin to heal so you’re less likely to rip open your stitches, and then we’ll get started. In the meantime, I’ll give you some things to research and study up on. When we do them together, we’ll see how fast you can master them. Sound like a deal?”
Eden offers me a wide, genuine smile and sticks out her hand. I place mine in hers, and she gives it a firm shake. “Deal,” she says. Looking back to Lucifer, she continues, “See how he just manipulated me into resting with promises of research for future training. That’s how it’s done.”
Wyatt and I laugh, watching Eden’s back retreat out of Lucifer’s office, an extra bounce in her step and sway in her hips. His jaw hangs open, and I give it a tap.
“So let me make sure I understand this correctly. She knew you were manipulating her, and yet, she’s okay with it? Women, I truly don’t understand them.”
“I’ve got to head to the hospital and restock some supplies. I shouldn’t be too long. Edward is going to sit with Kain, but call me if anything changes,” Wyatt says, picking up a large black duffle bag sitting next to the door.
“Will do,” Lucifer says, waving Wyatt off. Turning back to me he asks, “So what brings you by?”
“You know she only wants to jump back into training as a distraction from Kain, right?” I inform Lucifer.
Lucifer gives me a solemn nod but doesn’t say anything, waiting for me to answer his question.
“Can we sit?” I ask, buying a few extra seconds to gather my thoughts.
Lucifer gestures to the leather chairs in front of his desk. Rather than taking his normal seat behind his desk, he opts to sit in the chair beside me. He sits on the edge of his seat, leaning forward. “What’s going on, Daemon?” he asks, his tone softer than before.
“I was wrong to blame you for Gemma’s death,” I start, holding up my hand when he takes a deep breath to speak. “Let me finish, please.”
He nods and sits back in his seat. A conscious effort to seem relaxed. One I truly appreciate.
“I was wrong. I understand why you did what you did, going to the network. You were trying to protect me by protecting her. You’ve always looked out for us. But a part of me felt betrayed by what you did. You didn’t trust me to handle it, and you didn’t trust me enough to come to me with your plan. So, when Gemma died, that betrayal I felt turned to anger, and I just blamed you for her death. I’m sorry for that.”
“I do trust you, Daemon. I didn’t want to put you in a position where you had to choose the law or us. I’m sorry my actions made it seem as though I didn’t trust you and that they hurt you. I never wanted any of this to happen.”
