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Edward chuckles from behind me but doesn’t say anything as he follows us to the house.
I shake my head and stride inside with Eden secure in my hold. Walking through the front door, I hang a right and enter the parlor. Rather than putting Eden down in a seat of her own, I sit with her, positioning her across my lap in the oversized armchair closest to the fireplace that blazes with warmth and comfort. Reaching behind me, I grab the knitted throw and wrap it around her shaking body, pulling her in closer, and rest my chin on her head.
She tenses for a moment as I run my hand up and down her back, but with each slow slide, her body gradually relaxes. Her rapid breathing evens out, puffs of warm air ghosting over the sensitive skin of my collarbone with every exhale.
Edward makes his way into the parlor, followed closely by Kain.
“Where’s Wyatt?” I ask Kain as he sits beside Edward on the couch across from Eden and me.
Kain studies Eden, catching on her fisted hand clutching the blanket to her chest. “He left and said to text him when it’s safe to come back so he can check in on her.”
“I want him back here today. She’s still in a lot of pain.”
“I’m okay, Lucifer,” Eden whispers into my chest.
“You can’t lie to me, butterfly. You’re shaking like a leaf.”
Eden sits up, looking me directly in the eye. “It’s been weeks since I’ve been this active. I used a lot of energy today, and I’m just feeling worn out. I promise, I’m okay.” She holds my gaze for a long heartbeat, and I search her eyes seeking the truth of her words, needing to know she really is okay. I nod and she tucks herself back into my hold, resting her head on my chest, and I relish the connection.
Daemon crosses under the arch into the parlor, and just like me and Kain, his eyes are glued on Eden. He sits in the chair beside us, and as though she can feel the weight of his stare on her, Eden shifts in my hold.
“All right, enough of this shit, boys. Someone tell me what is going on between you three,” Edward breaks the silence before I can snap at Daemon for making Eden uncomfortable.
“Ask Lucifer. I’m sure his version of the story is vastly different from mine,” Daemon snaps from his seat.
“Daemon,” Kain barks, not missing a beat. “It wasn’t his fault.” If only he were right. Guilt roots itself firmly in my gut, sore and unsettling.
“Let’s agree to disagree … brother.” The venom dripping with his last word, one meant to be a term of endearment and family connection, shreds through me like a serrated blade to my heart. I’m the cause of the rift between these two, if it wasn’t for me, they never would have ended up on opposite sides.
Eden shifts slightly in my hold, her head tilting up. I look down, and her assessing eyes roam my face. Whatever it is she finds there morphs her expression into one of worry.
“He’s not wrong,” I say, and self-hatred wells inside of me as the memory of that late afternoon rises to the forefront of my mind. My hands clench around Eden involuntarily, and she flinches. I force the emotions back down into the steel trap I keep them locked inside.
“Daemon had just made detective. At twenty-one, he was the youngest in his precinct to ever advance so quickly.”
My eyes shift to Daemon and down to the shining badge clipped to his belt. He follows the path of my eyes and releases a heavy, irritated sigh, removing the detective badge and placing it on the coffee table in front of him.
Kain eyes Daemon warily, his fingers twitching on his thighs. I know what he’s thinking, what he’s itching to do. He’s unsure if we can truly trust our brother’s newfound ceasefire and wants his signal jammer. But we need to extend an olive branch if we’re going to work together and keep the girl in my arms safe. Somehow, we have to find our way back to trust.
Daemon clears his throat and metaphorically does just that. “For the next twelve hours, I’m not a cop. I grant you full immunity from any crimes you admit to committing.”
“As if that’s yours give,” Kain mutters under his breath, his eyes locked on the metal shield sitting forlorn on the coffee table. A silent threat to our family looming in our midst.
“Well, it’s the best you’re gonna get, Kain. Take it or leave it, I don’t fucking care.”
“Whatever happened to drive a wedge between you three, the fact remains, you are brothers. And while it may bend and even fray at times, that bond can’t be broken,” Edward says.
“I don’t think we’ll ever get back to that place. Broken trust isn’t easily mended.” Daemon’s tone is flat, unfeeling, and unbelieving.
“Not easily, but not impossible. All things impossible are still rooted in possibility.” Edward, ever the fortune cookie.
Silence blankets the room, an ominous feeling coating us all for a long moment before Eden forces herself into a more upright position. Her fingers play with the fabric of my shirt, drawing my attention to her. “What happened with the investigation? Obviously, something devastating happened, or we wouldn’t be here now,” she says.
Meeting Daemon’s gaze, I speak the truth that not one of us has been willing to speak in years. “Kain and I had been quickly making a name for ourselves and moving up the ranks of the network as mercenaries for hire, not afraid to get our hands dirty. We’d started making formidable connections with those that could take us places.”
Kain glances over to Edward, watching his reaction to the news that two of the men he’d raised have turned into contract killers. Edward’s expression is knowing and unsurprising.
“What?” he asks, looking back at Kain. “Did you really think I didn’t know you did more than fix bikes? Come now, son, look who you’re talking to. I might be old, but I’m not stupid. There’s no way you paid off all those medical bills for me with a few custom bike jobs.”
