A Vampire's Christmas Carol(24)

Because that boy wouldn’t be dying alone on that snow-filled road. Not that night. Not any f*cking night.

***

He’d done it.

Simone turned away from the scene on that snow-covered lane. Her wings lifted her up, taking her away from Ben and Cale. Ben had changed. In the course of one night, he’d proven that he was worthy of redemption. That he was more than just a monster.

She flew back to the little town of Desolate. Headed into the town’s only bar. William and Jamison were already inside, waiting for her.

William glanced up at her approach. His lips quirked. “A demon, a shifter, and an angel walk into a bar…”

“And all hell breaks loose,” Jamison finished with a laugh.

She shook her head. “I’m not an angel. Not anymore.” Her wings were so light now. Because they were barely there at all. In a few more minutes, they would just be a memory.

The laughter faded from Jamison’s eyes. He seemed to tense as he glanced around the bar. He swallowed, and his Adam’s apple clicked. “The vamp…Ben didn’t turn feral on us, did he?”

“No.” It was her turn to smile. “He saved the boy, and now Ben’s going to be all right.” Ben would have his life back. It wouldn’t just be about darkness for him. Not anymore.

He’d be happy, and that happiness was worth every sacrifice she’d made.

“What’s it like?” William wanted to know. His tattoos swirled.

Simone lifted her brows.

“To love someone that much. That you’d give up everything.”

She looked down at the old, scarred table top.

“Will you miss your wings?” Jamison asked when the silence stretched too long.

Simone glanced at him. “Some days, I’m sure I will.” Her gaze slid to William. “And loving Ben has been the best part of my life.” Her after-life as an angel and her human life. “He made me happy. He made me…hope for things that could be.”

William’s eyes hardened. “But you’ve lost everything now. You’ll be a vampire.”

And, once again, Simone could have sworn that Jamison tensed. She frowned at him. “Why are you so nervous?”

His gaze cut to the bar. “You’re not thinking of eating the bartender, are you?”

Simone laughed at that, and the sound surprised her. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed. “No, I’m good, but thanks for asking.”

His shoulders sagged. “It’s all changing…”

She stepped back from their table. There were only a few minutes left until midnight. “Ben proved he could be different.” Simone glanced up at the bar’s ceiling, but she saw so far beyond it. “So that means we stick to our deal.”

Because she’d had to fight for this night. This bit of magic.

Her wings…for a chance at Ben’s redemption. If he proved that the man he’d been still lived inside the monster, then she could be with him.

But not as an angel.

Simone hoped that Ben liked her just as much without her wings.

She turned away from William and Jamison.

“What if…” Jamison’s gravel-rough words stopped her.

Simone glanced over her shoulder.

“What if you go dark?”

There was worry in his eyes. The shifter cared. There was so much more to him than just a growling beast. “I won’t.”

He shook his head. “You don’t know what I’ve seen.”

Simone inclined her head toward him. “Of course, I do. It was my magic, after all. From the beginning, I knew what could happen to Ben…and to me. Why do you think I fought so hard for him?”

Because she’d either survive with him.

Or fall with her vamp.

***

Jamison watched Simone walk away. When the door closed behind her, he reached for the whiskey bottle. His hands were shaking. “Sonofabitch,” he muttered, stunned. “She knew all along that she’d be losing her head.”

“No.” William’s gaze was on the door. A faint grin tilted his lips. “Simone knew that she could. She just loved her vamp so much it didn’t matter.” His fingers drummed on the table. “Fucking insanity.” He grabbed his glass. The demon was drinking spiked eggnog. He tapped the eggnog against Jamison’s whiskey bottle. “You know what they say…angels are the craziest ones in the bunch.”

“Uh…” Jamison hadn’t known that anyone said that.

“They’re also the ones who fall the hardest.” William drained his glass. “That vamp had better be worth her fall, or else he’ll be getting another visit from us next year.”

Jamison nodded. “Damn straight.”

“And this time…” The tattoos darkened around William’s neck. “The ghost from his past will kick his ass.”

Jamison chugged his whiskey. William hadn’t seen Ben when the stake entered Simone’s heart, so the demon didn’t know…

The vampire loves her. Without her, Ben was broken. Jamison had watched Ben shatter.

No, there wouldn’t be any ass kicking necessary. But maybe they’d still pay a visit to the vampire and his ex-angel, just for old time’s sake.

And to make sure Simone’s future never involves her being thrown away like garbage in an unmarked grave.