Series: Sean Moriarty
Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 113805 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 569(@200wpm)___ 455(@250wpm)___ 379(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113805 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 569(@200wpm)___ 455(@250wpm)___ 379(@300wpm)
Will I feel the same way about Abel and my unborn child?
Never.
Eden has been mostly silent, occasionally looking out the window as we drive through the city in a brand new SUV.
When we pull up in front of the house, I watch in my rearview mirror as Thaddeus drives past us then circles around the cul-de-sac.
“Will we be safe here?” Eden asks quietly while she takes in the large house.
I must confess it certainly has changed since I last slept here. It looks inviting, if I take an outsider’s opinion of it. Especially the welcome home flag attached to the house right by the front door.
“Yes,” my words come out of my mouth before I even think about them. “Johnathan lives across the street with his wife and children. Gabriel and his family are two houses down that way. Uriel and his husband, Han, live around the corner. We’re protected here.”
We’ve moved most of the family into this large, well-protected gated community over the last year or so. We don’t quite have the same safety as Lucifer’s compound, but it’s close.
Everyone is fully vetted before they’re allowed to buy a home in this neighborhood and visitors are thoroughly screened.
Each house has been built with protection in mind, from outside forces and within. We learned a valuable lesson when James’s house was attacked and the corrupt, Russian-backed police stole his wife, Sophia. A lesson that none in the family is willing to repeat again.
Getting out of the car, I move quickly to Eden’s door and open it for her. Once she starts to get out, I reach into the back and unstrap Abel from his car seat.
Standing up with him in my arms, I escort us to the front door, saying, “Your safety and our children’s lives are the most important thing to me.”
“Jude.” Eden stops me by placing a hand on my shoulder. “Promise me something.”
“Eden…” I say but trail off as she shakes her head.
“No, listen to me. Before we go inside, promise me that if anything ever happens to me, you’ll take care of Abel. No matter the cost.”
My heart slams in my chest and I can feel it sinking into the pit of my stomach at the very thought of anything happening to my angel. “Nothing will happen to you.”
“That’s not what I asked,” Eden rasps, and I can see the pain it causes her to talk. “Promise me, no matter what, our children’s lives will be paramount to your own.”
“I promise,” comes from my dry lips. “I promise I will die for them.”
12
Eden
As Jude proudly gives me a tour of his house, I feel like I’m losing my grip on reality.
So much shit has happened to me recently, to me today, I feel like my very sanity is cracking, on the verge of shattering.
When Jude leads me to the kitchen and I spot a highchair, my brain completely disconnects from the rest of my body.
It’s almost like I’m an observer on the outside watching this all play out when I stop and ask, “Do you have a child, Jude?”
Still holding Abel, Jude turns towards me and gives me a strange smile. “What do you mean?”
My finger points to the highchair but I feel nothing at all. I don’t feel my arm lifting, and I certainly don’t feel any emotion. “You already have a highchair…”
Jude looks at my finger then he pointedly looks at the highchair before his smile grows broader. “That’s for Abel.”
If I was in my right mind, I’d probably ask when he bought it.
Did he buy it the night we met? Or has he had it for longer?
How long has he been planning on a woman with a baby moving in with him?
But I’m not in my right mind.
I’m so fucked up right now, I simply nod my head, accepting that answer, and follow him into the living room.
Because probing deeper might unearth more disturbing revelations.
And Lord knows I’ve had enough of those already.
I’m at my absolute fucking limit.
My eyes scan over his furniture and all the baby stuff that’s been set up, seeing but not really seeing.
It all means nothing to me.
Until we reach the nursery.
Bouncing Abel in his arms and his eyes lighting up with happiness, Jude walks up to the crib pushed against the right wall.
“This is your bed, Abel,” he says with a touch of pride. “What do you think?”
Abel babbles back at him.
Jude seems to take that as a good sign, his entire face lighting up with joy. But whatever Abel said is anyone’s guess.
Above the crib is a mural of trees, grass, and wild, exotic animals with Abel’s name spelled out in great big bold letters.
The room smells of fresh paint, so I know this was done recently. Perhaps even today.
It’s when Jude turns and takes a few steps towards the other crib pushed against the left wall I feel the last bit of my strength slipping from me.