Tirade (Heven and Hell #3)(20)
Author: Cambria Hebert

He rolled his eyes. “When’s the last time you ate, Hev?”

A vivid image of Sam being hungry went through my brain and I shrugged. “I’m not hungry.”

Cole frowned and shifted the coffees and paper sack into one hand, then used his free hand to feel my forehead. “Are you still sick?”

“No.”

“Let me see your arm.” He lifted it up, inspecting the marks, which thankfully were fading.

“I’m not five years old, you know,” I snapped.

He must have been satisfied because he thrust a coffee and the bag at me. “Eat.”

My stomach revolted and pain echoed through my knee. Maybe I was running too much lately.

Riley reached around and took the coffee and bag from my hands. Cole glared at him, but Riley ignored him and returned to his seat beneath the tree. I sat down next to him. Riley reached into the bag and pulled out a huge blueberry muffin and took a bite. Cole’s aura screamed.

“Thanks for the food, man,” Riley said, shoving another giant bite into his mouth.

Cole took a threatening step forward and I panicked. They had to get along. At least until Sam was home. I reached over and plucked the muffin out of Riley’s hands and took a bite.

“It’s good,” I said, forcing myself to chew and swallow. It tasted like sand.

Cole seemed to relax. Beside me, Riley took the lid off my coffee and smelled it. He wrinkled his nose, but then he took a sip.

“Who the hell is this guy?” Cole spat. He glanced at Logan, hoping for an answer.

“This is gross, Hev. Here, you drink it,” Riley said, gaining all our attention once more.

I stared at the coffee warily. Cole glared at us and I didn’t want to hurt his feelings; after all, he was sweet enough to bring me coffee. It was bad enough that Riley insulted it. I took the cup and took a sip. It was sweet and hot. I liked it. “This isn’t gross,” I declared.

“All the more reason you should drink it,” Riley said smoothly.

It dawned on me what he had done. My eyes flew to his face. He smirked. He conned me into eating. I took another sip of the coffee. I felt the warmth slide down to my belly as I sat down in the grass next to Logan.

Heven, tell me you’re okay, Sam’s voice was urgent.

I’m okay. What about you? Suddenly, I realized that the pain in my ribs was his and probably so was the echo of pain in my knee. What did that guy do to you?

That guy is Beelzebub, Heven. He’s definitely back.

I jerked like I had been slapped. I should have realized! The sense of urgency, the rapid heartbeat… those had been Sam’s feelings, not mine. What happened after I got pulled away?

Something was gripping my arm, distracting me from Sam and I looked up. Riley was peering at me with a frown on his face.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Heven?” Logan asked anxiously. “Is Sam okay?”

Cole made a sound. “She’s talking to Sam.”

“She’s what?” Riley asked.

“He’s okay, Logan. We’re just talking,” I said to Logan quickly, as I waved Riley’s hand away and focused back on Sam. I didn’t mention that Sam and I shared a Mindbond. Cole could fill him in.

Be careful… I made him angry.

How?

He can reach through the force field; it yields for him. I tried to get out. But I didn’t make it.

I reached down and felt my knee. At least we know there’s a way through the barrier now. This could help us. How bad are you hurt?

I hit my knee and my ribs are still bothering me, but I will be fine. Listen to me, Heven. Trust no one you don’t know. Just because he is in that body now doesn’t mean he’ll stay there.

Hang in there, okay? Get some rest.

Be careful. If anything happens to you…

Everything’s going to be fine.

Six days… six very long days had passed, and though I just saw him, he felt farther away than ever.

“How’s he doing, Hev?” Cole asked me quietly, sitting down next to me, drawing me out of thought.

“He’s a strong guy,” I answered, unwilling to voice my concerns because Logan was sitting right there. I looked at him and smiled before telling everyone, “Beelzebub is back. We need to be careful. Right now he’s in the body of a man with blond hair. But from this point on, we can’t trust anyone we don’t know.”

I glanced at Riley to see if he grasped the situation—if he really understood how dangerous Beelzebub was, but he wasn’t paying any attention to me. He was looking beyond Cole and me at an approaching figure.

Cole followed our eyes, and when he saw Gemma, he stood and met her a few rows of apple trees away. She smiled briefly at him, but then her gaze slid to us, or rather to Riley. Something around Gemma seemed to tighten even though her face was blank as she walked with ease. It might not have been noticeable, except Cole noticed it right away and his aura was bursting with anxiety over what might be upsetting her.

My brother was a lot of things, but stupid wasn’t one of them. His eyes landed directly on Riley. Everything in me began to splinter. I knew something was about to challenge his presence. Could I go against Cole and Gemma if they didn’t want Riley around?

I had to.

Riley was the strongest of us all. Even though Gemma was a warrior and a fallen angel with abilities that were amazing, Riley possessed a special set of skills that were absolutely necessary for going into hell.

Gemma and Cole stopped before us with Gemma looking more uncomfortable than I had ever seen her. I looked over at Riley, but he seemed completely unaffected by the cloud that settled over us.

I cleared my throat. “Gemma, this is Riley,” I began, but she cut me off.

“No need for introductions,” she said.

I looked between her and Riley. Cole looked at me for some sort of explanation and I shrugged. Gemma shifted uncomfortably and Riley smiled. I was pretty sure he was enjoying her reaction.

“Riley?” I asked. His gaze flitted to me and his smile faded.

Before Riley could say anything, Gemma said, “We’ve met.”

“You know each other?” Cole burst out. His aura filled with muddy, faded colors. He was jealous and suspicious. If he liked Riley before, he sure didn’t now.

Gemma nodded.

“How ya doing, Gems? Long time no see,” Riley said, splaying his legs out in front of himself and crossing his feet at the ankles. He was so unaffected by everyone else’s obvious distress, I wondered what it would take to upset him.