“Ah, yes.” Tanner lifted a small gift bag in front of him. “I ordered the gifts and flowers as you requested and sent them to their respective places. I also had one package dropped off here so that you can head straight to the hospital.”
“Oh, wow, Tanner, that’s really nice of you,” Loki said condescendingly, but only Azazel picked up on the difference in his voice. Loki reached out and took the bag from Tanner and looked inside. He nodded appreciatively, then looked at Azazel. “You have expensive taste, a sterling-silver baby rattle. Can you add my name to the gift? Karma and all that.”
“Give me that.” Azazel grabbed the gift bag and pushed Loki to walk ahead of him. “Thanks, Tanner, you can head on home. I have a few city council meetings most of tomorrow so you can come in at noon.”
Tanner’s eyes brightened. “Thank you, sir.”
“Think nothing of it. Have a good night.” Azazel walked away and met Loki at the elevator and got on since the doors were open. He leaned against the wall, waiting for the doors to close, and looked at Tanner, who was standing in the same spot watching them.
“Are you sure you don’t want to give him a chance? Maybe he could help you get over your lost angel.” Loki wiggled his fingers just as the doors closed.
“I don’t fuck people who work for me.”
“So does that mean you’re finally willing to fuck someone new?”
“I never said that,” Azazel said.
“As long as you’re opening your mind up to something, I’ll support you.”
Azazel wasn’t sure what he was thinking. He missed Uriel and wanted to find him desperately so that they could work things out. He’d been alone for so long, unable to be with anyone, and it was getting to him. Maybe if he met someone who challenged him the way Uriel did, he’d be able to move on.
It wasn’t as if he hadn’t tried to see other people. He’d gone out on a few dates over the years but went home feeling unsatisfied. His heart and mind weren’t into it. Maybe once he settled things with Uriel, he’d be able to move on completely. But first he had to find him.
CHAPTER FIVE
An hour later, Urielgot off the elevator on the eighteenth floor with Kristoph beside him. He bypassed the nursing station and walked through the glass doors, heading to the room number Synder had told him. Uriel stopped when he saw Harmon Shepard and Jake Rinehold, two bear shifters and Synder’s top bodyguards, guarding the door. Shepard and Rinehold had moved with the company when we transferred the headquarters from California to Valleywood.
“Hey, guys,” Uriel greeted.
“Third boss, you’re finally here.” Shepard smiled.
Uriel got along with everyone in the company, and even though he’d been working within the company steadily for ten years, they knew he was one of the owners.
“I told you guys not to call me that,” Uriel said.
“Can’t help it,” Shepard shrugged. “You were introduced to us as the third boss, and it stuck.”
Uriel cursed Kayne many ways from Sunday for adding that moniker to his name. He simply wanted to be known as Uriel. The employees of the company called them first, second, and third, so he guess he shouldn’t complain too much.
The company was started a couple of years before Uriel’s time with Donald was over. True to his word, Dio kept his promise and allowed him to spend five years with Donald, even though Uriel had tried to escape. He hated that he had to pretend to be Donald's imaginary friend, but he didn't miss the first few important moments in his son's life. Like his first steps and words or his first day at kindergarten.
Since he had the painstaking duty of finding a couple to adopt his son, Uriel had searched for people with genuine hearts. He wasn't sure if it was luck or misfortune that he came across Donald and Jacqueline Martin, who with all the money they had at their disposal could not have children of their own. Although Uriel had gone through with the adoption process, he had no intention of following through with it, but he was not going to deprive the Martins of the child they deserved.
Uriel came up with the plan to look for a child who needed a home. However, his plan faltered when Dio caught up to him. It hurt to have his child ripped from his arms and had to forcefully watch from the shadows as his baby was given to the Martins and was named Donald Martin Jr.
It was fortunate that the Martins were wealthy and Donald Sr. was a whiz at business investments, so Uriel took the time to secretly learn from Donald Sr. and made a few small investments that later paid off, affording him a better life in the future. The times that he was able to get away from Dio’s watchers, he’d worked odd jobs as he tried to build a nest egg to take care of his children.
Although he had his powers, they'd still been limited, and there wasn’t much that he could do. He'd been working as a waiter and was having a terrible night, when he met Synder and Kayne Vale. Uriel knew right away they were supernaturals, and although they couldn’t tell that he was an angel, they knew that there was something different about him.
Even though their connection as friends was instant, it took Uriel weeks before he poured his heart out to them. Synder and Kayne didn’t judge him for his mistakes, but told him they would find a way to help him. But Uriel knew there wasn't anything they could do. Snyder might've been an ancient vampire, and Kayne, who was strong and came from a mixed lineage of vampire, werewolf, and witch, was not strong enough to take on a godly angel like Dio. Also Uriel wouldn't risk his friends, especially for his sake.
However, when his friends told him about the bodyguard company they wanted to open but needed more capital, Uriel came up with a plan. First he guided them to Donald Sr. who had a multi-million dollar company, and although he lived a modest life, he was concerned about his family, especially since his brother and sister-in-law died, suddenly leaving behind their young child. He wanted to keep his family safe. It didn't take long for Donald Martin Sr. to hire them.
His second order of plan was to become partners with Kayne and Synder, as well as work for the company. He wasn't sure how long his imprisonment would last,e but he was setting things up for his future and that of his children. He brought the partnership idea to Kayne and Synder who didn’t agree right away and took some time to think about it, which didn’t bother Uriel in the least.
After a couple of weeks, they agreed and went to see a lawyer, adding a few stipulations for the contract that would protect not only them but Uriel as well. Since Uriel wasn’t investing a lot, he would only own forty percent of the company and the rest went to Kayne and Synder, but no matter who owned what percent, they were all treated as equal partners.
Uriel quit all of his side jobs and started working as a bodyguard. He would spend the days with Donald and work at nights for the company. Since he was being watched by Dio's angels most days, he couldn’t risk seeing Kristoph, but he knew his son was fine.
