there’s three of you?”
“That’s the same thing Kayley said.” Remington laughed just as hard as Rafe did at her comment. It drew a speculative glance from Rafe as if he hadn’t heard the sound very often.
“Your mother must be a saint to have raised three demon boys.”
“Nope, just an angel.” The men shared a grin and Julie knew they had given their mother… hell. Briefly, she wondered how that worked. Being married to a demon and all. Had they been raised in hell? Spent part of the year in heaven? Had their mother been some modern day version of Persephone?
No one said anything for a moment, then Remington spoke again. “You don’t happen to have a half-demon, half-incubus as a father, do you?” He directed his question at Julie.
She looked at Rafe to see if she should take Remington’s question seriously. The grave expression on his face told her she should. “I’m sorry, Rafe, I don’t think there’s any supernaturals in my family tree. I’m adopted.”
When she looked at him with such a look of despair, he explained Roark’s new father-in-law had been half-demon and half-incubus. “He followed Kayley down to hell when she went looking for Roark and gave Luke what-for. It was awesome to watch.”
“Why did Roark’s mate have to go to hell?” Julie sat up abruptly in Rafe’s lap, her voice holding more than a note of fear.
“Easy, baby.” Rafe rubbed his hand down her arm, easing her back against his chest, wondering how he should explain. “First, sweetheart, you aren’t going to have to go to hell.” He mentally crossed his fingers, hoping he wasn’t telling his mate a whopper of a lie. “She was the key to breaking the curse so she had to…” He trailed off, not really knowing how to explain.
Remington took pity on him. “Breaking the curse involved one of us falling in love with a witch.”
“I see.” Doubts started to bombard Julie. Was it so unheard of a demon falling in love? With a witch? Or maybe a human? She bit her lip.
“No, you don’t sweetheart, but you will.” Remington winked at her, ignoring the low growl that emanated from his brother. He loved flirting with his brothers’ mates. “Kayley had to deliver a writ of cessation to Luke in order to free Roark, and us, from our bonds of servitude. Naturally, Luke didn’t appreciate the fact that he was going to lose, if I may be so humble to say, three of his best bounty hunters.”
Julie felt like she had fallen into a fairy tale gone really, really wrong. There didn’t seem to be a happily-ever-after in sight. “And then what happened?”
“He made Roark admit he loved Kayley.” This from Rafe.
She turned her face up to look at him. “But I thought he did.”
“Oh, he did—does—but Luke wanted a deeper, more profound declaration.” Rafe paused and the two men exchanged a glance that Julie recognized easily enough. They were afraid she couldn’t handle the truth.
“Rafe.” His named carried a warning. If she was going to have to face down the Prince of Hell for the man she loved, she wanted to know everything. If Roark’s mate had stepped in to save the man she loved, she wanted to be able to do the same. And without any witchy powers, she needed every advantage she could get.
Plus, she had two souls to protect now. Instinctively, she placed her hand over her stomach.
Looking into Rafe’s face, his eyes dark and somber, his expression the same, she knew she would do anything for this man. And she meant anything. Even walking through the halls of hell.
Remington answered for his brother again. “When he threatened to behead Roark—”
“What!”
Remington waved her exclamation away and she gave him a glare that said he’d answer for his attitude later. “Kayley didn’t like the way her boyfriend was being treated—”
“I wonder why,” Julie mumbled.
“—and she called her father.”
“The half-demon, half-succubus.” Remington and Rafe finished their story
Learning to Kill: Stories