Immortal (Fallen Angels #6)(90)
Author: J.R. Ward

When Dog finished with his little picture, the “animal” shuffled back and barked twice. Then planted his paw down again like he was pointing.

Ad leaned over and felt all the blood leave his head. “No. Anyone but him.”

“Where is he?” Eddie asked. “I thought he was in Purgatory—”

Dog cut that off with a bark.

“Well, shit,” Ad said, putting the lid on the box down. “No doughnuts for you.”

Crossing his arms over his chest, he pouted and didn’t give a fuck if that made him an asshole.

“Please,” Eddie implored. “Not Lassiter. Anybody but Lassiter—he could be anywhere on the planet, doing anything.”

Dog just leveled his eyes at the two of them.

“Can we take the weekend off, at least?” Ad muttered.

“As opposed to what?” Jim said from the doorway.

As the savior came into the room, he was freshly showered and for once didn’t have massive black circles under his eyes. In fact, he actually looked about a quarter of a century younger than he had the night before—but that was what twelve hours of good loving could do for a guy.

Ad should know.

Dog leaped off the table and into Jim’s arms, tail going a mile a minute, tongue licking, looking every bit the canine showing adoration. And Jim returned the shit, ducking his head, talking softly, petting.

When Jim put him down, the two stared at each other for the longest time, and then Dog let out a soft whine … before turning around and heading for the door as if he’d said a difficult good-bye.

On his way past, the SOB glanced at him and Eddie as if to say, Chop, chop, boys … go get me that fool I just burned into the table.

With Dog gone, Ad traced the face. The lines that had been made were still hot.

“Who is that?” Jim asked.

“A nightmare,” Ad muttered.

“Our next assignment,” Eddie cut in.

“That fast? Really? Don’t you get some vacation or shit?”

Ad nodded to the box he’d closed. “We get doughnuts. Yay.”

There was a moment of silence. And then Eddie said softly, “You’re leaving, aren’t you.”

Ad looked up in time to see Jim’s eyes go to the window over the sink. He seemed to be picturing things as he stared out there, things that were not actually in the backyard.

“It was all about her to begin with,” the guy said. “And I don’t mean Sissy.”

“Yeah.” Eddie nodded. “I know, but what about—”

“All taken care of.” The savior’s stare swung around to the two of them, and he was quiet for a time. Then he said, “You know, when this whole thing started, I didn’t want the pair of you involved. I’d always been a solo operator”—he glanced at Ad—“and your singing really fucking got on my nerves.”

“Annnnd my job is done,” he replied with a nod.

“But you know, when we were trying to get the evil out of Sissy, and I couldn’t do it alone … you two were there. If you hadn’t been? I’d have lost her. You two … saved her with me.”

Okay, now Ad was the one ducking his eyes. It was just too much, and he did not do misty. He just … did. Not. Do—

Fuck, his eyes were watering.

Jim was still talking, mentioning things like sacrifice and putting the common good first, all of which in his opinion, Eddie and Ad had apparently done.

Oh, man, the motherfucker had to stop. He really had—

Ad went into one of the bags and took out some paper napkins—and at least Eddie had to snag one to mop up as well, so he didn’t feel like he was the only pussy in the room.

“So thank you,” Jim said roughly. “I owe you my life.”

Ad burst up from the table and enjoyed the total lack of pain that came with the sharp movement. “Enough with the talk. You keep this up and I’ll end up growing a set of ovaries or some shit.”

Ad hugged Jim hard, so hard. And then stepped back so Eddie could do the same.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Sissy said as she came in. “Everything okay?”

Ad stared down at the woman. She was glowing from head to foot even though she was dressed in the simple clothes he’d gotten her from Target. She was just … such a beauty with her no-makeup and her straight, no-fuss hair.

“It’s time to say good-bye, Sis,” he heard himself say.

“You’re going somewhere?”

No, he thought sadly. You are.

Chapter Fifty-two

For some strange reason, watching Sissy embrace each of the angels was hard.

Then again, Jim didn’t like to see his woman get teary, and it was clear she really loved the guys, even though she hadn’t known them all that long. War, however, had a way of bonding people tight and quick.

“Will I ever see you again?” she asked as she took one of the napkins that Ad offered her.

“I don’t know. Maybe,” Ad murmured as she patted her eyes.

“Never say never,” Eddie said with a sad smile.

There was a long pause, and Jim knew he had to get the fuck out of here before he lost it, too. “Come on,” he said roughly as he tugged on her arm.

“Where are we going?”

“Just … come with me.”

He led her out toward the front of the house, pausing only to offer one last wave at Eddie and Adrian as they stood in that kitchen with all those doughnuts.

“Jim? I’m kind of freaking out here.”

As they emerged into the foyer, the grandfather clock started to chime, and he closed his eyes. Don’t count … it doesn’t matter … don’t count …

One, two, three …

“Jim, are you okay?”

… four, five, six …

“Jim?”

… seven, eight, nine …

“Okay, it’s official,” she said. “I’m totally freaking out.”

He held up his forefinger.

… ten, eleven …

“Jim…?”

… twelve.

After a moment of nothing but pure, beautiful silence, he popped his eyes back open and saw only her. “Oh, thank God.”

“What?”

“I’ll tell you later.”

Drawing her out in the warm spring sunlight, he took her over to the steps and sat her down, exactly where they’d been before. God, he thought, what a long distance they’d traveled, just so they could be here side by side again.