Hell's Angel: Guardian Angel Book 2
Chapter 2

Michael knew that there was no way to argue with me so he decided to help. I knew that he’d only agreed so that he could keep an eye on me, but I wasn’t going to complain. Giant, gorgeous white wings sprouted from his shoulder blades and he scooped me up. My arms wrapped around his neck and held on as he pushed into the air and flew to the mansion he and I shared. Most of the homes in Arcadia were moderate in size, but I was given a mansion because I was a goddess, which was still strange to think about, and Michael refused to leave me undefended, even in the sanctuary I’d created in one of my past lives.

The second we landed, I booked it to the master bedroom and started loading up a duffle bag. I only took the essentials because the entrance to Arcadia wasn’t far from my hometown of Logan, Utah. My bag was light with only a few outfits, undergarments, my toiletries and the thick, leather-bound book that had been my journal before I became human. In my free hand, I carried the sheathed broadsword that Michael had given me for my birthday; a little ironic, but it did come in handy.

Michael was already in the entrance way when I ran out with my bag thrown over my shoulder, but he wasn’t alone. A beautiful girl with long, light brown hair pulled up in a classic bun, gold tinted hazel eyes, and a full mouth in a flawless oval face stood with him. Her long, gauzy dress was a light purple and stopped just above her sandaled feet. Andromeda, the guardian of Arcadia. She gave me a friendly smile and bowed slightly. During her lifetime, Andromeda was a Grecian princess, the daughter of my friend Cassiopeia. Both women had been loyal to me when I’d lived among them and had become immortalized. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that they were sisters.

“I’ve alerted my mother that you will be back in Logan soon. She and Randall are happy that they will see you, but they said to tell you that you don’t have to worry. Perhaps you should stay, at least until your training is complete.”

“If I wait any longer, there might not be a world to save. I’ll be fine, Andromeda. Just take care of things here for me.”

Her smile was beautiful. “Of course,” she replied as she pulled me into a hug. “You just be careful, Lyra.”

I squeezed her tightly. Andromeda was a true friend, someone that supported me in all of my decisions and it was nice having someone to draw a little extra strength from. “I will be. I’ll see you soon.”

She followed us out onto the porch and stepped out of the way. Arcadia itself was like its own little world with no exit from the endless expanse of blue skies and green grass. There was no way in or out unless Andromeda or I opened the door. On this side, there wasn’t really a specific spot, so I waved my hand toward the bottom of the stairs from the front porch and the air started to glow with strange symbols that I knew to be the original language of the City. Andromeda waved as we stepped through the doorway into the mortal world.

This side of the door was dank and mostly dark, a cave lit by glowing stalactites. I watched as the hole we’d come through seemed to knit itself back together and soon the designs that marked the entrance to Arcadia burned away. I shivered from the sudden cold and Michael grabbed my hand. “Come. We will be back in Logan soon enough.”

Michael didn’t let go of my hand as we trekked through the little cave and then up through Ricks Spring, a small spring in Logan Canyon with a few caves for hiking. I had sturdy tennis shoes so the climb to the parking lot wasn’t too bad but I was curious how we’d get back to town from here.

“You realize that flying here would be conspicuous, right?”

He arched one dark brow above his grey eyes. “Yes, I am well aware.”

“So how are we getting home?”

In that second, a giant black SUV pulled up. It looked like an FBI sedan from one of the crime shows I used to watch when I had time for such trivial things. The car pulled to a stop in front of us and the driver’s door flew open. A blonde head popped out above the roof and a contagious smile greeted me. “Hey Ly! Did you miss me?”

I smiled widely. Randall Eros was my absolute best friend growing up. He as attractive in an innocent way, lean without having bulging muscles to make him look intimidating, sparkling blue eyes, and an easy smile. His looks had helped make everyone, including me, believe he was gay, a rumor he used to expalin how easily he showed his romantic and feminine sides. But the truth was, Randall was a cupid married to Andromeda’s mom Cassiopeia. He’d tricked me for almost twenty years so that I wouldn’t get curious as to why a cute guy like him didn’t go out all the time. I guess the lie was necessary because Cassi had the power to make me remember past lives and asking too many questions about her would have brought up too many things about my past that I hadn’t been ready for.

The window on the passenger’s side rolled down and her head of dark hair stuck out. Like Andromeda, she had a flawless, light complexion, but Cassi’s eyes were a beautiful chocolate brown framed by long, thick lashes that curled naturally toward thin eyebrows and her face was rounder. Her long hair was plaited into a loose braid over one shoulder and she wore more modern clothes than most of the people in Arcadia, a gauzy cream shirt over a brown tank top from what I could see through the open window. “Ignore him, Lyra. He just wants attention. But he really has missed you. We both have.”

It’d been nearly two months since I’d last seen them. While I’d been hiding away in Arcadia, they’d been covering for me with the people from my old life and playing bodyguard to my family. Last I’d heard, Randall had convinced my parents that I’d gotten a journalism job in New York so at least they wouldn’t imagine the worst of why I’d suddenly fallen off the face of the earth.

On closer inspection, I realized that they both looked tired and Randall had a large scratch along his cheek. Considering that they were both immortal and Randall could change his shape, I had a good guess that Vega or one of her monsters had gotten a hold of them. The corners of my mouth pulled down. “How much have you all been hiding from me?”

Randall ducked back into the car. He was a lover, not a fighter, and he didn’t want to deal with me. Cassi shot him a disapproving look before turning back toward me. “We just didn’t want to worry you,” she said quickly.

“Well tell me now,” I insisted. Her pink tongue darted out to moisten her lips and her eyes darted toward my left so fast I almost missed it. My head snapped in that direction and I glared at Michael. He appeared unfazed, but I he wouldn’t make eye contact with me. “You kept this from me? You are going to have a lot to tell me.”

He finally met my eyes. Later please, Lyra-Rose. It is not important.

Not important?! Randall is hurt and they both look dead on their feet. What’s been going on back home?

He sighed. “I will explain it in the car. We should go now.”

My jaw snapped shut but I didn’t protest because he could be as stubborn as me. Michael helped me climb in and then slid into the bench. His large body dwarfed the back seat, but his size didn’t intimidate me. I continued to glare at him when the door shut and the SUV moved along the road. We were already well on the highway when he finally spoke. “Vega has been testing our defenses. While her whereabouts themselves have been unknown, she has been sending in a slew of titans to do her bidding. A few days ago, a titan called Scorpius penetrated our first line of defenders, but Cassi and Randall were able to stop it for the time being.”

“Who was on duty?” I knew that the protection detail in Logan shifted. They were all ancient heroes that had proven themselves worthy of becoming warriors against the titans and the immortality that came with it.

“Lyra, we took care of it. You don’t have to get upset with the soldiers that were here,” Cassi replied hastily.

“I’m not going to. I wanted to make sure that they’re okay. But by the way that you’re getting defensive, I’m going to guess that Perseus was one of them.” Perseus was Andromeda’s husband and one of Arcadia’s best warriors among a ton of incredible legends. If this titan had gotten past him, I shuddered to think what it could have done to the innocent people in the small town I’d grown up in.

Cassi stayed silent for several long seconds before finally admitting. “Yes. He and Alexander were on duty, but I think that their pride was injured more than anything else.”

Alexander, as in Alexander the Great. He was an awesome fighter and great leader, but he was kind of a cocky ass sometimes. But despite his annoying habits, he was fiercely loyal to my cause and I was glad that neither one of them had been hurt.

“Dammit,” I muttered. “How did this even happen?”

She looked toward Randall, probably hoping he’d bail her out and answer, but he kept his focus on the completely empty road. “We’re looking into that. The important thing is that everyone is fine.”

I sighed. “You’re right. I’ll just feel better seeing that for myself.”

Michael risked a glance at me and offered a dimpled smile. I wanted to melt into his silvery eyes but I held firm. You’re still in trouble. I’m upset that you his this all from me, but I’m sure you’ll replace a way to make it up to me, I told him silently. His lips curved up into a sexy grin and my breath caught in my throat. I knew that I shouldn’t be having any feelings for him other than friendship, given our complicated past, but I couldn’t stop my heart from skipping when he smiled like that.

The rest of the ride into town was pretty uneventful. I spent most of the time with my nose pressed to my window as the city zipped by. Everything about Logan was familiar, but it didn’t feel right. Being away from home with zero contact to my family made being back feel almost alien, and I didn’t like the way my gut tensed and how I looked for danger around every turn. Logan, Utah was supposed to be peaceful, but Vega had taken away my safe haven.

The car pulled to a stop on Oakwood Drive in front of Randall and Cassiopeia’s house. It was on the smaller size, painted a light blue with a cute porch looking over the cul-de-sac. It wasn’t as impressive as my parents’ house, but their place was homey, lived in rather than the sterile museum my mother kept the house I’d grown up in. I climbed out of the SUV and stretched my back. I’d spent lots of my adult life with Randall on his couch, especially after a bad breakup. Sometimes it really paid to have Cupid for a friend.

“You guys can settle in now and then we can go see Maxine. I don’t remember if I told you that she got an anchor job so she does the morning and evening news. No more field assignments. I think that’s good for her to be able to be home for Mackenzie- it helps her keep her mind off of you.”

I glared at Randall. For an immortal, he could be really tactless sometimes. “Thanks.” I glanced at the screen of my phone and was almost surprised to see full bars; my cell hadn’t worked in Arcadia and I’d only kept it as a small comfort from my human life. “Mac should be getting home soon. I’ll just go unpack. Guest room at the end of the hall, right?”

The blonde-haired god of love rubbed the back of his tanned neck nervously. “Yeah, about that. Your room kinda got demolished during the attack. You’ll be sharing the spare off the kitchen with Michael.”

I froze for just a moment. He had been in love with one of my previous reincarnations, but I didn’t know how he felt about me now. Hell, I didn’t know how I felt about him. We’d maintained our fun friendship sharing the mansion, but sleeping in the spare room that only had one queen-sized bed was something completely different. Call me a coward, but I didn’t want to do anything that might strain our relationship.

“Thank you, Randall and Cassiopeia,” my guardian replied calmly. “We are grateful.”

Cassi smiled again and a dimple dug into her right cheek. “It’s no problem at all. You two get settled.”

Having been to the house a million times, I led Michael through the living room and kitchen to the guest room on the bottom floor. The room was spacious with the bed pushed in the corner, an armoire wardrobe rather than a normal dresser, and a brown sofa with maroon accent pillows. Like the rest of the house, the decor was impeccable. Before I knew about Cassi, I always assumed that Randall did all the decorating because he had great tastes that were stereotypical of gay men. But now that I knew the truth, Cassi’s influence was obvious in the golden bed set, red curtains, and the art pieces of fall.

I deposited my bag on the bed. I knew we’d use this as headquarters for a while, but I really wasn’t in any mood to unpack just yet. I perched next to my duffle and looked everywhere but at Michael.

“I shall take the couch.”

Of course my chivalrous, old-school warrior would volunteer to sleep on the sofa. I’d fit on there, but his legs would hang off comically. We didn’t need sleep the way humans did, but we still needed rest and I, for one, valued comfort. I bit my bottom lip and popped my knuckles. “You don’t have to,” I muttered. I peeked up at him through nonexistent eyelashes to see his startled expression. I cleared my throat. “I mean, the bed’s big enough for two. And I, uh, sleep better with you close by.”

“Lyra-Rose,” he started.

“I’m not trying to make anything awkward. I just know that you won’t be comfortable on that thing and I’m too selfish to volunteer to let you take the bed- not that you’d take it. You know me better than anyone and we’re friends. We can share a stupid bed. What do you say?”

There was a long moment of silence where I felt like I did sophomore year of high school when I’d asked Joshua Zimmerman out on a date. The possibility of rejection ate away at my belly, which was silly because there was nothing romantic going on between us. Finally, he answered, “Thank you. We can both share the bed.”

I smiled. “Cool. I get the end. And just make sure your wings stay tucked away because I don’t think the bed’s that big. Now it’s time to see my real sister.”