“So, you’re my daughter’s mate?”
“Yes, sir.” Angel bites back a smile.
“You know who I am, right?”
“Dean, I’ve known you—”
“I’m trying to threaten you, boy. Go with it.”
“Of course, sir. Continue.”
It’s hilarious. Papa is clearly trying, but he adores Angel too much to put any bite behind his words. Angel respectfully lets him finish his whole ‘You hurt her, and I’ll use my scythe on you’ speech.
“I’ll find myself another Conquer the day you make her cry… or get her pregnant.”
“Wait, Dean, hold on.” Angel grabs Papa’s shoulders and shakes him, desperation oozing from his voice. “That’s ridiculous, man. Don’t you want adorable little grandkids running around the castle? Innocently breaking all your antiques?”
“That’sexactlywhy I don’t want them. I’m barely thirty-seven, kid. I’m not ready for this grandpa bullshit.” Papa swivels to Grace. “Same goes for you.No babies.None. Nada.”
“Old man’s lost his fucking mind,” Harvey mutters.
Papa hurls a centerpiece at him, hitting Harvey straight in the chest. Poor man doubles over in pain but still manages to wheeze, “Grace, please give me a baby as soon as possible so I can teach them to say ‘grandpa’. It’ll be their first word.
There’s a reason Harvey’s my favorite dumbass. He just handed Papa exactly what he wanted. Reverse psychology is the best way to get Harvey to do whatever you want. Papa used to play him like a fiddle when we were kids because the hot-headed idiot always fell for it.
Lucky for him, Harvey’s been eagerto hop on the baby train anyway.
Before Papa can fill Angel’s head with this baby nonsense, a loud bang rattles the halls.
Hazel strides inside, muttering about “incompetent assholes” as she shoves a dagger back into her belt. She stops dead in her tracks when she looks around her, thenthrows her head back.
“Oh, for Lucifer’s sake. Please don’t tell me I walked into mushy shit.”
Angel takes a step towards Hazel to explain, but she holds up a finger and grits out, “Listen here, you fucktards. It’s been a long week, and I’mnotstanding around and watching you guys cry like babies. I swear to Lucifer, I’m going to lose my shit if I have to—” she cuts off when her eyes land on Papa.
Confusion flickers on her face before recognition settles in. “Is he your…”
“Papa? Yeah, that’s him.” I’m so happy I can barely contain my excitement as I introduce them both.
But Hazel’s sharp, dark eyes narrow to slits. “Oh, look who finally decided to show up.”
Uh oh.
Grace and I folded the moment we saw him, but Hazel? She’s not the forgive-and-forget type.
She’s never met Papa. She wasn’t even personally affected by his absence, but she saw how much his absence wrecked us, and that’s enough for her to demand answers on our behalf.
“So, Mr. Big Bad Grim Reaper,” she says through clenched teeth, smiling like a lunatic. “Care to enlighten us mere peasants what made you bless us with yourdivine presence… after two whole years?”
I’m expecting Papa to defuse the tension with a joke, but when I turn to him, he’s smiling. Not sheepish. Not guilty. He’s grinning widely like Hazel isn’t tearing him a new one.
Then he throws his head back androarswith laughter.
I freeze, wide-eyed as my father slowly loses his ever-loving shit. He’s wheezing, nearly falling to his knees with tearsstreaming down his face.
“Oh, Heaven is going tolovethis,” he chuckles darkly, wiping under his eyes. Mischief sparks in his grin, eyes twinkling as he looks Hazel over. “I see there are some new additions to the family.”
He nods at Jackson briefly, smiling warmly before pinning Hazel with his cheeky smirk. “You’re a little hellfire, aren’t you…mate.”
