After the Fall (Broken Angel #2) by L.G. Castillo Read Free Book Online Page A

She had planned to sneak in a visit when she was given her first assignment. She had wanted to give Welita some kind of sign that she was still with her. Even if Welita wasn’t able to see her, she knew Welita would know it was her. She’d even planned on seeing Chuy, knowing that he too had grown to believe that angels did exist. Now, they were gone.
    A sudden thought hit her. “Archangels are powerful. They can pretty much do anything, right?”
    “I wouldn’t say anything, but, yeah, they have powerful gifts. Why?”
    “I can find them.”
    “You won’t be able to go down to Earth unless you are given an assignment or one of the archangels gives you permission.”
    “But I’m an archangel.”
    “Technically, yeah, you’re an archangel, but you’re in training. You’ll still need approval from Michael or Gabrielle, and they would never give it, unless it was to serve some higher purpose.”
    Her face dropped. What was the use of being an archangel with power if you couldn’t use it? What was she going to do now? Tears slid down her face. “I thought Heaven was supposed to be a happy place.”
    He gathered her into his arms. “Naomi, please don’t cry.”
    She couldn’t help it. She wanted to be brave, to be the powerful archangel they expected her to be. She couldn’t. It was hard, so hard to leave a part of herself, the part that made her who she was, behind, her family: Welita, Chuy, her parents. Having them made her feel like she could do anything. When her parents died, she’d felt like she lost a little bit of that. And now, with Welita and Chuy gone, it felt like she was left with a hole in her chest.
    Lash placed a finger under her chin and lifted it up to meet his eyes. “I’ll take you to find Welita.”
    “How?” She sniffed. “You don’t know where they are.”
    “I have a plan. Go back home, and when I return, I’ll have the permission you and I need to go down to Earth.”
    Her eyes widened. “I don’t want you to do anything to get kicked out. I can’t lose you too.” She wanted to find her family desperately, but not at his expense.
    “It’s perfectly legit. I promise. I can’t tell you now. Just know that I’ll get it for you. Do you trust me?”
    She looked into his glorious face, and his eyes gazed at her tenderly. She sighed, feeling hopeful. With Lash by her side, they could do anything.
    “Yes.”
    ***
    L ash trudged down a worn path alongside the stream, a path he had taken hundreds of times over the years. I can’t believe I’m actually doing this.
    He had promised Naomi that he’d get her to Earth to find Welita and Chuy. Thinking they would surely empathize with Naomi’s situation, his first thought was to ask Rachel or Uri for permission. He axed that idea when he remembered all they had gone through and the centuries of separation from each other. It wouldn’t be fair to ask them, only for them to get in trouble. Archangels were not safe from being punished. Raphael could attest to that.
    That only left one person who could help him, and it irritated him to no end that Lash had to ask him for help.
    He shuffled slowly up the flower-lined path to Jeremy’s door. Jeremy lived in a one-room cottage along the stream, a few miles away from the bridge that was a gateway to Earth. Like his clothes, Jeremy kept his living quarters spotless, which was a difficult thing to do, especially after poker night. Even when Lash had offered to host, Jeremy refused, claiming no one would be able to get through the front door with the mountain of mess in his room.
    Jeremy did his job like he led his life. Everything had its place and purpose. Although lately, he didn’t seem to be his usual self.
    Lash tried to shake the memory of the way Jeremy acted around Naomi last night. Deep down, he knew Jeremy was truly happy for him and his announcement that he would be bound to Naomi soon. Then why did he feel like he couldn’t trust Jeremy near her?
    It didn’t help that he had