Page 23 of Gargoyle Sentinel
Danny’s hair was dripping wet, and beads of water decorated his skin, so it appeared as if he’d rushed from the shower without drying off.
Danny paused, staring at him with a worried expression. “Do you remember if your friend Cassiel had my stuff with her when she brought me here?”
Malachi tilted his head, wondering what stuff Danny was referring to. “I’m afraid not. The only thing you had with you was what you were wearing.”
“But I was wearing my jacket.” Danny clutched his hair. “It had everything in my pockets—my phone, keys, wallet... Everything. Why would those asshole demons steal my stuff? I need that shit.”
“I see.” Malachi rubbed the back of his neck. “Okay, let’s figure out how I can help you fix this.”
Danny arched his eyebrows. “You’re way more grounded and mature than I am. I hope you can put up with my freakouts.”
Malachi pressed his lips together. “Stop that. I’m honored to be with you. Let me get the food from the hall, you sit down over here…” he gestured to one of the chairs at the table. “…and have some coffee. I’ll get you a towel too, so you don’t catch a chill.”
While he gathered everything together, he ran Danny’s concerns through his head. Even if he didn’t use a phone, he knew humans were unusually attached to them. They also needed special cards for money, another card to prove they were who they said they were, and of course, keys were essential for any being. Everyone needed those.
Malachi sat down with Danny and laid his hand over his mate’s. “If you’re worried about money, I’ll be taking care of you. Food, shelter - everything you could ever want will be provided. I’m not sure where we’ll be living permanently yet, but the next time I see Michae, I’ll press him to give me an answer.”
Danny tipped back his head, muttering to himself. “I never thought this through. Of course, we’d be living together, starting a new life.” He dropped his head in his hands. “Holy shit. I had a shift today. They’re going tokillme.”
Malachi shot to his feet, his gargoyle fighting to be set free. “Who the hell is going to kill you! I’ll rip them to shreds!”
Danny gasped, grabbing Malachi’s arm. “Whoa there, Tiger. No one is going toliterallykill me.” He paused then sucked in a breath. “Well, at least not anyone I know. I meant I’m in big trouble because I missed my work shift, and I need my ID, all the stuff in my phone. I probably have at least a thousand missed calls.”
“I see.” Malachi lowered himself onto the chair, his rage slowly dissipating. “I will certainly ask Cassiel about your jacket, but I’m afraid it’s unlikely she brought it with her. I saw her liftyou then race from the room before the shadows could harm you further.”
Danny let out a long sigh as he fell back against the chair. “That makes perfect sense. I’m sorry if I sound ungrateful. Obviously you weren’t worrying about all my crap, that’s ridiculous of me.” He sighed again. “It’s not the end of the world. It’ll just be a hassle to replace everything.”
“Is it vitally important that you have these things? Like I said, I can provide for you.”
Danny smiled at him as he took a sip of his coffee. “You’re the sweetest. I’m not expecting that, though. I can still work and contribute.”
“Uh…” Malachi cleared his throat. “I appreciate your willingness to do your part, but your role as my mate and a Nephilim won’t be fulfilled in the human world.”
Danny stopped mid-chew, setting the other half of his croissant down. “Oh. Like, I’m never going back?” His eyes darted around the room. “But, what will I do all day? Don’t get me wrong, the fucking?” He bit his bottom lip. “Sublime. However, I doubt that it’ll be an around-the-clock activity.”
Malachi winced. He truly was out of his element. The next time he saw Dante, he’d have to be sure and apologize for teasing him when Dante was so befuddled by Amir.
“It’s unsafe for you in the human world, so there’s that. But also, we’ll have a home to build together with our children. I imagine I’ll be transferred to training, or perhaps assigned to oversee a territory.”
Danny arched his eyebrows. “Before I get to the part where I’m snippy, I’d like to state that I’m very much looking forward to having kids, raising them, all that good stuff. But I’ll also need to do something else with my time. Kids grow up, you know? Then what?”
“Well, of course. I don’t expect you to give up everything to raise our children.” Malachi racked his brain for the right answer to Danny’s query. “Because of your Nephilim status, Michael might have an assignment for you.” He chewed on his lower lip. “Or maybe you have other interests you’ve always wished to explore? Amir has two children, but he also studies ancient texts and analyzes where other hidden relics might be found.”
Danny snorted. “Yeah, unlikely that’ll be my calling.”
“Okay…” Malachi struggled to come up with other options. All he ever thought about was protecting this, killing that, when it came to his duties. “Ezekiel’s mate is a doctor. So they work together when healing is required.”
Danny rolled his eyes. “Mal. Come on. Do I look like I’ve studied medicine?”
“I’m sorry. I’ve never thought about these things before.”
Danny pressed his lips together, nodding. “No, you’re right. This isn’t on you. I can’t expect you to decide for me. This is my problem.” He picked at the other half of his croissant. “All I’ve ever done is party and purposely reject anything and everything my parents wanted me to do.”
“But you’ve been working and taking care of yourself. That’s something to be proud of.”
Danny shrugged. “I guess. Skiing is just something I’ve done all my life, an opportunity to move away from my family. I’ve never considered it a long-lasting career choice.” Danny gave him a half-smile. “And I doubt there’s much of a call for skiing gargoyles and angels.”
Malachi chuckled. “No. I don’t imagine there is. But maybe there’s something else that you haven’t considered yet? Perhaps something you rejected because your family was encouraging you in that direction, but you secretly wished you could do.”
