“We’re working on it,” Eclipse assured his brother. “But you let us handle that. Right now, you need to work on recovering. Before you know it, you’ll have something else to focus on.”
Once more, Obsidian’s gaze swung to Penelope and he smiled. “That I will.”
“If you need anything, holler. Everyone’s here right now, and they’ll remain in residence until we decide it’s safe to venture out. Won’t be for a few weeks, at best.”
They’d all agreed to remain in Darkness for the time being, especially with the baby coming any day now.
“Thanks.”
Eclipse turned toward the door. “And if you hear from Michael … tell him I said thanks.”
“Trust me,” Obsidian’s voice was stronger than before, “I have every intention of letting him know how I feel about what he did.” The male’s smile flashed fangs. “But I’ll mention you’re appreciative, too.”
Eclipse smirked. Though Obsidian clearly hadn’t appreciated being violated by an archangel, they all knew Michael had been their saving grace. Had it not been for him … well, Eclipse didn’t really want to think about where they might be now.
After closing the door behind him, Eclipse remained in the hall, listening to the familiar sounds. The war room had been overflowing since the incident, thefiestreighinsistent on using this as a lesson and fortifying the mansion against an attack of this nature in the future. The bar, which was currently empty, would be full by the time the sun was coming over the horizon. They’d all taken to hanging out a bit more than usual. That was what happened when you were grateful to have those you cared about in one piece after a tragedy. They’d been lucky. So fucking lucky. They had lost no one during the attack although they’d been caught completely off guard.
Something they had no plans of letting happen again.
Rather than walk through the mansion, Eclipse disappeared himself, resuming form in the main-floor kitchen. He peered up into the sunroom to see Orianna sitting on one of the far sofas with Zeus and Aphrodite. She’d been attached at the hip to those two since the incident. When he’d heard how she’d gone upstairs and dug them out of the rubble, his heart had squeezed in his chest. Despite the danger she’d been in, her first instinct had been to get the family to safety, and Zeus and Aphrodite certainly qualified.
“Sire?”
Eclipse pulled his attention to the here and now, turning toward Phillip. “S’up?”
The male smiled. “It’s imperative we make a grocery run.” His eyes lowered. “And I apologize for having to bother you with the specifics, but I felt it necessary to seek approval before I allow them to head out.”
While it would’ve been great if they could’ve locked down the mansion indefinitely, Eclipse knew that wasn’t possible. The rest of them took for granted all that went on behind the scenes, such as grocery shopping and laundry, because they weren’t burdened with the chores. However, he was well aware of all the effort that went into maintaining the residence, as well as taking care of the lot of them.
“For the time being,” he told Phillip, “the only request I have is that they take someone with them. I’ll let Reidar know you’ve got errands to run and he can assign someone. Just pretend they’re invisible.”
Phillip grinned. “As much as is possible, sire.” His shoulders squared. “Is there any news on the expected arrival?”
“Not yet, but I’ll make sure you’re one of the first to know.”
The male put his hands together. “That would be wonderful, sire. As you might expect, we’re quite delighted to welcome a babe into the world.”
Having something to look forward to certainly wasn’t a bad thing. Especially a blessed event such as this.
And it seemed they were all counting down.
Chapter Fifty-Two
Oliver was exhausted.
Not that he was complaining.
He figured he had no right to bitch and moan considering all that had gone down. A week ago, they’d been looking forward to chilling with beers and watching a couple of angels give a go at the dueling pianos. Now, they were grateful they were all alive to do that.
It was hard to believe they’d been attacked. In this fortress of all places.
And fine. Maybe Oliver had gotten used to feeling safe within the mansion. He’d been whisked out of his everyday life, saved from what would’ve probably been a horrific death at the hands of a demon who’d been wearing the suit of a human stripper. Since then, the most drama he’d endured had been the arguing between Winnie and Reidar before she’d gone back to the human world.
Now…
Well, fuck. Where did he begin? They were putting the final touches on the exterior and would soon be moving on to making the repairs to the interior of the residence. As for the bedroom he’d been sleeping in… that fucker was decimated by whatever that demon did to the house. Had Oliver been in that room, he would’ve been incinerated. Damn good thing those demons couldn’t come out during the day. Had they, Oliver figured he would’ve been having these thoughts from somewhere else, and he didn’t really want to dwell on which direction he would’ve gone if he’d officially checked out.
New lease on life? Yeah. Perhaps that was what this was. He’d spent the past week feeling a blush heat his face every time one of the angels thanked him for assisting in getting everyone to safety after the explosion. Back in his office job, he’d craved the praise. Then again, he would’ve been the first guy out, running for his life, and to hell with everyone else.
