“Thank you again,” I tell him as he adds that bag to another. He’s taking everything blood-covered from the house to dispose of elsewhere.
“You’re welcome. I figured I still owe you from that time I kind of tried to kill you.”
“You never actually followed through,” I say with a half-smile. “And I think this makes us even.”
I rub my temples as exhaustion crashes down on me. So much for a relaxing day. The universe has it out for me, I swear.
“You have some explaining to do,” he tells me. “Where is Roger’s body and how the hell did you heal your sister?”
“I don’t really know where Roger is, but I’m guessing he’s in Hell.”
“Assuming Heaven and Hell are real, then yeah, I’d guess he’d go to Hell too.”
“They are real, and I don’t just mean his soul. I think his body is there too.” My mind is racing, and I don’t see a good way to get out of this without telling Easton the truth. Part of it, at least. He just helped me clean up a crime scene, after all.
“I have to tell you something about me, something that even after all you’ve seen, will still be hard to believe.”
“Okay,” he says slowly.
“Let’s sit down,” I say because I’m feeling a little sick again and need the room to stop spinning. We go into the kitchen and sit at the island. I grab a saltine cracker and take a small bite. “Do you remember the man who walked me down the aisle at my wedding?” I ask, not sure if Michael allowed anyone to keep the memory of him.
“Yeah,” Easton answers, tipping his head as he thinks. “I can’t recall what he looks like, though, which is weird.”
“Not really, he probably did that on purpose.”
“Why would he do that?”
“Because of who he is.” I take another bite of the cracker. “He’s my father. My real father. I’m not a Martin, and I’m not…I’m not fully human.”
Easton leans back in the barstool and looks at me, waiting for me to go on. I like being the center of attention from time to time, but this is awkward. Might as well spit it out and get it over with. “I’m a Nephilim, and that man walking me down the aisle was an angel. So was the other guy who was with him.”
“You’re not joking, are you?”
“No. I didn’t know until recently.”
Easton plows his hand through his hair and looks me up and down. “Fuck.”
“I know.” I shake my head. “One of my family members healed Abby and took care of Roger’s body. You can’t tell anyone, okay? I don’t want to magically bind you into keeping the secret, so promise me.”
Easton’s head slowly bobs up and down. “I promise.”
I break another cracker in half and take a small bite, looking out at the little courtyard behind Abby’s house. There’s a turtle sandbox, a little swing hanging from the only tree, and what I think is a water table. Kids require so much stuff, and the smaller they are, the bigger their toys seem to be, for some reason.
“Who else knows?” Easton asks.
“Just the people at the wedding,” I tell him. “The important ones.”
“So, I’m important now?” He playfully nudges my arm.
“Eh, you’ve proven yourself useful.”
We both laugh and Abby comes into the kitchen. She’s wearing sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt, and her hair is in a wet, messy bun on the top of her head. It’s the first time I’ve seen her not all put together like she usually is, and it’s oddly refreshing.
“Oh, you’re still here,” she says when she sees Easton. “Is everything okay?” Her eyes shift back and forth from Easton to me.
“Yeah,” I tell her. “Easton needed some help identifying a demon.” I can see him trying not to pout out of the corner of my eye. “He thought he saw a kappa in the Chicago River, but those haven’t been spotted in this part of the world in centuries. It’s way too cold up here.”
“I’m not going even ask what a kappa is.” Her eyes widen and she shakes her head, coming over to the counter to pick up her phone. It’s right where she left it and she opens a text message.
“Penny fell asleep in the stroller so Phil’s going to walk her around and enjoy the sunshine,” she tells me, knowing I was hoping to see my little niece. “They probably won’t be back for another hour or so.”
“That’s okay.” I plant my hands on the counter and slowly push up. “I’ll stop by later tonight before we go back to Thorne Hill to say hi and bye to her, if that’s okay.”
“I’m on call tonight so I might not be here,” she says with a frown. “But Phil will, so feel free to stop by.”