Alice's Insurrection (Alice Clark Series) Read online

  Copyright © 2014 by Andrea DiGiglio

  Formatting by Inkstain Interior Book Designing

  ISBN-13: 978-1499132649

  ISBN-10: 1499132646

  All right reserved.

  Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Book Art-Cover & Photography by Russ Turner

  Model: Natalie Jenkins, Matthew Oldenkamp,

  MUA: Deaette Dwyer

  Final design by Russ Turner

  Editing by Betsy Head.

  To my fans—

  those who have been with me since the beginning and to those who are new and have just found me. Thank you for your continued support it means the world to me.

  I also dedicate this book to my amazing son, my family and my friends. I love you all dearly.

  In memory of Catherine Tabor

  ALICE

  ALICE ADJUSTED HERSELF IN COLE’S lap, leaning her head on his shoulder; burying her face into his neck, and breathing in his familiar ocean wave scent. Jake sat quietly next to them as they barreled down a dirt road toward home. Each bump along the road sent an eruption of pain throughout her tattered body, but she remained quiet and still since all she wanted was to be as far away from the horrid place that had held her captive for far too many days. The last twenty-four hours had been excruciating even compared to the torture that Purah had forced her to endure over the last few weeks. Though Purah had done his worst to her with cruelty in his stone cold heart, she knew she would have traded places with Cole again in a heartbeat. Her new ability to make others feel what she felt or make them endure their own emotional turmoil, may have saved them all, but it was almost at the sacrifice of her own life. If it hadn’t been for Briathos, the angel she had spared from their first battle, Cole may not have known how to bring her back out of the trance she was locked into with Purah. Cole’s hand rested on her injured shoulder and she resisted the urge to flinch. Even if laced with pain, she missed his touch entirely too much to let it go now.

  Cole and Jake each wrapped one of Alice’s arms around their shoulders as they helped her walk up the driveway and into their home; her wings lay weeping, dragging behind her. She was entirely too stubborn to be carried, though her body needed the assistance. She was beyond ecstatic to be home with the man she loved and her beloved family, yet her heart was heavy for Briathos. He had lost everything he loved, believed in, to save her and she felt forever indebted to him even though it was what they had both sacrificed, or were willing to sacrifice, that saved them all for the time being. He was one of God’s angels and now by the hand of Rogziel, he was one of them.

  “How long do you think it will take for my wings to go back?” Alice asked as she sat awkwardly at the kitchen table glancing back at them. They looked wilted like flowers without water for far too many days. Both her wings and her body were covered with random splotches of dried blood, hiding large wounds from the recent visit she had spent in the spike covered Judas Chair at the hands of Purah and the bounty hunters. It wasn’t that she was ready to dive back into school or work, or to see anyone in public for that matter. She really just wanted to feel human again and not have the constant reminder of who and what she was glaring over her shoulder.

  “Hard to tell but you heal fast, and we’ll put the cream your father made on your injuries. With some rest I would guess they should retract in a few days or so,” Kokabiel said with his usual warm smile and charm.

  “Probably a couple of weeks, three at the most, for the rest of you to heal fully,” Sariel added. Although that was his name, her grandfather would always be “Old Gray” to her.

  “As long as you rest and let us take care of you,” Paul added sternly. The same went for her father; she preferred the name her mother had given him over his true name, Penemue.

  She was in worse condition than the time the bounty hunter had attacked her in the parking lot at work, a memory that seemed so long ago to her with all that had happened since. Still, her injuries were worse than the time the angel had come to kill her on her front lawn, moments after she had kicked Cole out of her house when she learned about his past and the truth of why they had met. She cringed at the memory, sending him away had hurt far more than what that angel had done to her. She lifted her head, noticing the stares in her peripheral view. She wasn’t blind or stupid to the looks of worry on her family’s faces. “I’d like a shower, but I’m not sure how long I can stand on my own,” she admitted. Though she expected them to be vulnerable as far as she was concerned, she still struggled with doing the same in return. It was possibly due to her less-than-loving upbringing. She was taught to be cold, that others only cared for themselves. She wondered if the moments she was selfless were due to her upbringing or the Fallen angel blood running through her veins; perhaps both.

  “I will help you if you would like, whatever you need,” Cole said with a half-smile. She could feel the eggshells under his feet as he spoke.

  She nodded in agreement, knowing she didn’t have a choice, but there was no need for one as she welcomed his help and his comfort. She gazed outside at the angel thrown from grace and felt his sadness like a blade across her heart. Determined, she got up and began to walk out the front door, unsteadily. Each step was a reminder, begging her to sit back down. If she was anything besides strong, she was stubborn.

  “Alice?” Cole asked, concerned.

  “I’m okay, I’ll be right back. I need to do this. I can do this,” she said as convincingly as possible to them all, though she was really trying to convince herself. She was ready to collapse at any moment. Cole nodded and Alice turned and followed through with her plan, limping all the way across the yard to where the angel stood. Each step was excruciatingly painful and though she could have asked for Cole’s numbing blanket to make the pain go away, to ease some of the discomfort, there was a part of her that needed it to know that she was still human, if only partly so. She was unsteady on her feet though she tried to not let it show. “Did you have to stand quite so far from the house?” She laughed, surprising herself. “I wanted to thank you for all you have done; I’m sorry it was at such a high cost for you. I can’t imagine what you are going through.”

  “I did not know you intended to speak with me or I may have stood closer,” he sighed. “It was the right thing to do anyway, I think,” Briathos answered with his head hung low, but his eyes flickered back and forth on his wings and the grass below him. She could feel him debate what it was he really felt. “I could be wrong but I believe my ‘falling from grace,’ may have stopped the seals from opening, if only temporarily. I’m sure we all have enough issues to worry about without concerning ourselves with the four horseman at this time, though.”

  “The what?” Alice’s face was puzzled but her heart was laced with knowledge.

  He stared at her bewildered face realizing the Fallen had kept this information from her for some reason or another. He had no allegiances to them to cause him to keep anything from her. “I assumed you knew. I suppose you would call it a prophecy from your Holy Book.”

  “I’ve heard of the four horseman before. My last foster home parents were the religious sort. You’re talking the book of Revelations right?”

  “Yes.” He stared at the worry lines on her face with deep concern; he couldn’t fathom why her Fallen family wo
uld keep this from her. “I’d be glad to fill you in later; I think we all need our rest for now.” She nodded in response as she watched his eyes dart back to the wings he hadn’t the heart to retract.

  “You should stop staring at them, I don’t think they are going to turn back to white.”

  “I know!” He growled gritting his teeth at her. His face instantly grew sad, “I apologize.”

  “No, I do. I am sorry all of this has happened to you, I really am, but please let me help you, after all you have done for me.”

  “What could you possibly do to help me?” he asked, baffled.

  “Show you how to live here, one step at a time.”

  With a heavy sigh he turned, facing the beaten and bloody human with black angel wings weeping behind her. Briathos couldn’t imagine this frail half-breed helping him with anything, but now that he was here, he might be able to believe she was his savior now, too, if he believed in such things. “I will let you help me but first let’s get you back inside and cleaned up. The sight of your beaten body ails me and you smell terrible,” he said, reaching out his arm to her as a gentleman from another time would.

  “Gladly,” she said, taking his arm with a smile. Her strength was wearing thin anyway. She leaned heavily on his arm and he responded only by supporting her weight and taking her hand with his free hand to keep her stable.

  How she can smile after all this is beyond my grasp. He thought this as he helped her across the lawn.

  “You may not see it, but I won. I survived, maybe barely, but I did survive and so did my family and for now we are all together. For this moment I choose to revel in that gift, a gift I earned.”

  “I forgot you are stronger than most of your kind, but it never occurred to me you had angel abilities.”

  “Sorry, I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, I’m just right next to you and your thoughts are loud. What did you think I was doing back there with Purah?”

  “No need to apologize. Honestly, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything like that before.” He helped her into the doorway and cringed looking at the room of Fallen. “She needs to clean up,” he said, passing her to Cole. Her face was puzzled from his last statement before they had entered the door but she accepted her mate’s help.

  “Dad, can you show Briathos the spare room so he can get some space from us, some time to recharge?”

  “Yes, of course,” Paul said pointing Briathos towards the spare room. “This way.”

  Resting against Cole’s body she turned back to the kitchen. “Jake?”

  “Yes?”

  “Don’t leave?” Her voice quaked as she spoke, as if the words she spoke were not out loud.

  “I wouldn’t dare,” he said, flashing his signature cocky smile at her.

  Satisfied, she turned back to Cole, staring into his amber eyes, feeling the love he had for her emanating from them. He grabbed her arm and she instantly felt the electric surge she knew so well pulse through her, causing immediate relief throughout. He helped her up to the bathroom, leaving the Fallen in their wake.

  COLE

  COLE GENTLY HELPED ALICE PEEL her blood-stained clothes off of her bruised body keeping her steady on her feet. He ripped her shirt so as not disturb her wings. Each wound drove a dagger into his heart, nearly shattering it. He did his best to block his worries from her as well as the pain slicing through him, seeing her in the condition she was currently in. He reached into the shower and turned it on, finding a comfortable temperature. All he could think about was how things would have been so very different had he not been so selfish and determined. He removed his shirt, cautiously keeping an eye as the unsteady Alice leaned against a wall. She eyed him as he undressed, igniting a fire in him he needed to suppress. He lifted her into the shower, tucking her wings behind her as he placed her under the water. She pulled him closer to her, wrapping her arms around his waist tightly. He held her, kissing the top of her head in silence. They stayed like that holding each other for longer than he could recall as time seemed to melt away. Her entire body was covered in small stab wounds that he knew were deep; the sight of them broke his heart and caused his soul to ache. He didn’t know what to say, what was right for that moment. He was always trying to keep himself controlled emotionally for her, and those choices had almost gotten her killed.

  “Are you okay, Cole?” Alice said, looking up in awe of him. He wouldn’t have known what she meant if she hadn’t brushed the tears away.

  “Oh, I’m just happy you are home and honestly I’m terrified of what’s to come. And most of all, I’m sorry for putting you in that situation and causing you so much pain. I was careless and I hope you can forgive me for that.” It was the most honest thing he had said to her in months. “I’m sorry, I don’t really know what I’m saying.”

  “There you are,” she said, smiling up into his warm eyes. “All this time I thought you were pulling away from me and you were only trying to protect me.” She leaned up, carefully kissing his lips, grabbing at the back of his head to pull him closer. “I love you, Cole Corvus. No more protecting me. Love me, that’s all I ask, and everything else we can do together.”

  He felt his soul smile at her, making his own smile stretch wide across his face. “I love you, Alice Clark, and you have a deal.” He pulled her up gently into his arms kissing her, the kiss promising to honor her wishes and to love her always, as if he could not.

  ALICE MUST HAVE BEEN MORE exhausted than they all thought. Near the end of the shower, just after she had endured all she could as he cleaned her wounds, she passed out, wrapped around him. Once all her wounds were cleaned, he wrapped her up in a towel and tucked her into the edge of their bed gently, on her side, so as not to put pressure on her injured wings, allowing them to drape off onto the floor. He couldn’t believe she was home, tucked safely in their bed. Their lives had been one gigantic nightmare, but without the horrors, would they have ever met at all? Shaking off the noise in his mind, he headed for the kitchen.

  “How is she, Son?” Kokabiel asked with hope in his voice.

  “She’s okay, she’s sleeping. You know Alice, she can take just about anything you throw at her.” His voice choked on the last word. What is wrong with me? It felt as if everything he held back was fighting to flood out into the open.

  Jake’s hand rested on Cole’s shoulder. “I’m sorry it took so long to get her out of there.” Cole turned to him with anger in his eyes. He wasn’t sure if it was directed at Jake or himself, but he wanted to hit something or someone. “Go ahead, hit me if it makes you feel better, let it out for once. If you don’t you will eventually explode and you won’t be able to block it from her. You know she won’t be able to take it.”

  Cole balled his fists as his mind flooded with the closeness of Jake’s and Alice’s relationship fueling his ever-growing rage. He was feeding his jealousy, inching toward an outlet which was coming nearer. He knew this and yet a part of him was telling him what he knew to be true. She loved them both, but she had chosen him and their relationship could rival any love that ever existed. Jake would never let anything happen to her even if he never had her the way Cole did. Even if Cole was the only one who knew how Jake truly felt, he wondered if that were true. Cole’s eyes danced as his mind raced for what seemed like forever.

  “It’s true. All of it,” Jake said, softly closing his eyes and allowing the impact of Cole’s fist to crush into his face. Jake’s body flew back into the wall, and everyone glanced to the stairs to see if it woke Alice.

  “She needs her rest! Do not wake her!” Paul yelled in a whisper, which felt less compelling to him.

  Jake walked back in front of Cole calmly. “I will never come between you two, and not only because you were gifted. Alice showed me how to truly feel again, and before you lose your mind, stop thinking the worst. Cole, you are a part of my family and…” Jake cringed in fear of saying something Alice had showed him to be true. “I love you both.” The entire room stared, jaw-dropped at the once cold
, cruel and cocky Jake truly making an effort, for the first time since the Fall.

  Cole dropped his head, running his hands through his hair like he always did when he was baffled or thinking heavily. “She really has the strangest effect on us all, doesn’t she?”

  Jake burst out laughing, “Come on, man, you really can’t even comprehend the difficulty I have with all this. It’s not in my nature to have good left in me; cut me some slack.”

  “It’s true. Alice was the first person Jake ever let in fully. We don’t have souls like you do, but whatever it is we do have, Alice saw that the only good in him was caused by her. I’m sure that’s why she fights you about him being around so much. She’s beginning to take that savior thing a lot more seriously,” Kokabiel said.

  “I felt what I guess you would call ‘being dead inside.’ She knocked my paternal instinct on its ass, and now I just feel this warmth, like a part of her is protecting me. It’s hard to explain, I guess,” Paul added.

  “I was not gone that long, you guys,” Cole said shaking his head at the room of Fallen.

  “No, you weren’t, but when you were here, you weren’t really here either. So take care of her and be the man she fell in love with. She’s a big girl; she doesn’t need your protection, and honestly, I am tired of hearing her complain about the riff in your relationship when it’s just you two being stupid,” Jake said with a cocky smirk.

  “I suddenly feel like I’m at an intervention,” Cole said, thick with sarcasm. The room exploded in laughter. Cole walked back over to Jake with an outstretched hand; he pulled Jake into a hug. “Brothers?”

  “Brothers,” Jake said with a hard pat on his back.

  “What’s going on down here?” Alice asked groggily, standing in a pair of Cole’s red plaid boxers and one of her black beater tanks.