Dark Kiss Of The Reaper by Kristen Painter Read Free Book Online Page B

he was only made her like him that much more. A man who put the needs of others first. Who cared about people’s pain and suffering.
    So his brothers were scary and creepy. Manda’s younger brother worked as a female impersonator and she didn’t have a problem with it. Sara could learn to deal.
    The father finished tending his son and recovered him, returning to his prayerful rocking. In the distance, gunfire echoed like corn popping.
    Azrael stepped away from her and stood beside the father. He reached down and took the son’s hand, pulling a wavering, transparent likeness of the son to his feet. The likeness stared at Azrael, then at his father. He mumbled something, nodded to Azrael, and then drifted into nothing.
    The father’s head came up. The rocking stopped. He laid a hand on his son’s shoulder. “Emir?” He shook his son gently. “Emir?” His voice was louder this time.
    He laid his head to his son’s chest and went very still. After a few moments, he closed his eyes and began to weep.
    Azrael turned, blocking her sight with his wings. “Our time here is up.”
    Sara rose up on her tiptoes, trying to see the father. “Will he be okay? Will he get out of here safely?”
    “I don’t know. I can’t see the future, only what I’m given.” He lifted his hand toward the doorway. “We must go.”
    Pallidus was right where they’d left him. This time, Azrael helped Sara up first, then settled in behind her. She wanted to say something to him, to tell him that even though everything he’d shown her had been horrific, she understood that he wasn’t responsible for the people’s deaths. She saw clearly what his role was and how good he was. How kind.
    But as they ascended, she just couldn’t find the words. None of the sentences forming in her head seemed to fully capture what she felt, or what she wanted to tell him about everything she’d seen. And the way she understood who he was and what he did.
    Maybe he knew. Maybe words weren’t necessary.
    She leaned back a little, just enough to feel the hard wall of muscle behind her. Ray always told her she was a lousy communicator. That he never understood what she was thinking.
    Clouds spread out like a field of snow beneath them. No way of telling how quickly this experience would end.
    “Azrael?”
    “Yes?” His voice sounded from near her ear, as though his head was dipped to be closer to her. One simple word and she nearly shivered with the delicious things it did to her. He spoke it so it meant a million more things. Like he was offering himself to her.
    She dismissed the heady fantasy that a being like this could want her. He could have any woman. Probably did. Still, she wouldn’t give up this opportunity since she’d had so few recently.
    “Thank you...for taking me with you. It wasn’t easy to see a lot of what you showed me, but I understand now. About you. And what you do.” There was so much more, but she couldn’t bring herself to say how wonderful it would be to see him again without sounding like some foolish, lovesick teenager and she really didn’t want to look foolish in front of him.
    He was silent for longer than she’d expected. Crap. Had she said something to offend him?
    “I’m glad,” he said, instantly relieving her. “I apologize if my brothers frightened you.”
    She laughed softly. “You can’t choose your family.”
    “Sometimes you can.”
    Tipping her head, she glanced up. He was looking straight ahead, his eyes unreadable. “What does that mean?”
    “Nothing.” He shook his head. “We’re almost back.”
    The clouds rose up around them, obscuring her view. When they cleared, Pallidus stood in the hospital hallway where they’d started out.
    Azrael slid down and held out his hands to help her. She reached for him, settling her hands on his solid shoulders, his hands grasping her waist. Bittersweet warmth filled her in that moment knowing they’d already begun to say goodbye.
    The time they’d just