Angelic Avenger (7 page)

“Five. I kept thinking your machine or voicemail would pick up.”

At least he had the grace to look embarrassed over it. That was enough to mollify my bruised humor somewhat.

“I don’t have one.” I yawned, covering my mouth as much to hide my amusement as to be polite. “Never understood the need. If I wanted to talk to you, I’d have answered the phone.”

“No caller ID,” he guessed as he looked at the plain green phone on the wall. “I bet you don’t even have a cell phone.”

“And I bet you have two.”

He grinned and reached under the jacket of his suit to pull out two cell phones, a beeper and what appeared to be a Blackberry device.

“Okay, now that we’ve established I’m technologically backwards, what did you need to talk to me about that was this important?”

“Where’s your computer?”

I blinked and realized he’d spent the past few minutes looking around my apartment as if he was casing the place while I’d been waiting for him to get to the point.

“I don’t have one.”

He stared at me for a moment and looked around again, making me look to see what he found that was so amusing. My entertainment center had been swapped out in favor of shelves with a plasma television mounted over my fireplace. Not because I really wanted it, but because Foras hadn’t liked the look of the other one. He’d simply made himself at home one day and fixed what he saw as a problem. Now, all my electronic gadgets were artfully mounted on shelves to either side of it with the receiver on the mantelpiece. It looked very neat; I had to admit, since the wires ran behind the walls. I’d never admit that to him, though.

Since the war had stalled to negotiations and a somewhat shaky cease-fire, Foras was mostly out of a job. His actual job was teaching logistics and ethics to the armies of Hell. He still did that on occasion, but there wasn’t so much of a need to discuss how to kill your enemy these days. He figured if out and out war broke loose between the two realms; it would destroy everything, so they decided to work around that eventuality.

I’m all in favor of eternal peace, but there are days when Foras made me wish there wasn’t such a thing. It startled me to realize he’d redone the entire place. The sofa was the same color of deep camel, but it was now soft chenille type fabric instead of the tweed I’d originally bought. There was a leather chair tucked in a corner with a reading light over it. I remember when he’d brought it and said that every home needs a reading chair. He’d stayed out of my bedroom, but the rest of the place he’d converted to a more stylish version of what I had started with.

Weren’t dark angels supposed to destroy lives rather than try to build them?

Someone needed to remind my decorator.

“You got me out of bed before eight to check out my apartment?”

“At least I brought coffee and breakfast.”

“You’d be amazed how many men show up at my door with coffee and breakfast.” Okay, so they didn’t show up at the door, but they fed me all the same. Everyone knew better than to show up before I hit my “human” phase of the morning without coffee at the very least.

He raised his brow at me and I debated on elaborating. With a sigh, I gave in. I still wasn’t sure exactly what potential the man in front of me had and I’d hate to run him off before I was ready.

“At least they’re not crawling out of my bed to fix it.”

I gave him a rather smug smile as I sipped my coffee. In the kitchen, the coffee pot switched on and I sighed. Coffee was the vein of life as we know it. I’m willing to swear to that fact. I waited and he looked around one final time before shaking his head and reaching for the mocha.

There’s something rather intimate about sharing your cup with a man you think is the sexiest thing alive. The very thought made me shiver and I made no effort to hide it. He was in my house; he could take what he could get.

“Were you really going to have the Angels cut a demo or were you out to wreck Andy’s hold on them?”

Somehow, that wasn’t what I was expecting. My mind was mulling over all sorts of more pleasant thoughts. It caught me off-guard enough to totally wreck the fantasy I was entertaining as the coffee slowly leaked into my system. I had to think twice. He was sitting there in a rather nice, rather expensive suit, with bribes to ensure my good humor, and he insulted me. Maybe he hadn’t meant it as an insult, but it was certainly how I took it. That wasn’t gaining him any points in the “gotta have” column, but it sure did chalk up a perfect ten in the “toss him back” column on the keep or go checklist.

I opened my mouth to answer, but no sound came out. I tried again, but still couldn’t do more than shake my head. The opening of the front door saved me.

“Morning, Beauty,” Orifiel called and strolled in the door with Starbucks and a covered dish of fruit. “I brought breakfast. Oh.” He looked crestfallen to see me sitting there with a nibbled scone. “Someone else beat me to it. I’m not late, am I?”

The men in my life could play at being normal when they wanted. I watched him make a show of looking at his watch and shaking his head.

“No, I’m right on time.” Turning his head, he gave a quizzical look to Gray. “Now, I know you didn’t sleep here, don’t have a key, and you’re not dead. You have to be doing something right, but it was probably just the coffee.”

Have I mentioned that I love it when the men in my life back me up? Well, I do. It makes me feel all warm and cozy inside. After Gray’s pounce, I needed the support. It made me wonder if Orifiel had been lurking about unannounced. Ordinarily, it would have made me mad. Today, I was grateful.

“Gray Devereau, this is one of my assistants, Orifiel.” I pushed the cup of coffee he’d brought back to him and reached over to scoop up one of the ones Orifiel brought in with him. Starbucks cup or not, it was by far better. I rarely warranted the special treat of coffee snatched from exotic places. If we’re talking doing things right, I must of done a great thing in his opinion with Honora.

I savored the treat with a deep sigh as he set the bowl of fruit in front of me.

“Orifiel is doing the groundwork for the Angels’ demo track. Appropriate, don’t you think?”

Orifiel’s and my gazes met and we shared a laugh between us as I shrugged and continued on, addressing Orifiel, this time.

“How’s that coming, by the way? Gray popped in to make sure we were as good as our word or if we were just trying to monkey with everyone’s ambitions.”

“That’s not what I said,” he objected, but I cut him off with a cold smile. Maybe I was overreacting, but that was my right.

“Yes it was.” I stood and stretched, tucking my coffee cup close to my body. “You two work out the details while I get ready for the day. I’ll finish breakfast when I get out, so please don’t throw it out.”

I strolled from the room and sighed into my coffee. They’d have to cut off my hand to get it away from me. The rich blend was making me feel human, after all.

“It’s rude to walk out on your guests.”

I blinked and turned around to face Gray’s scowling expression. He didn’t insult me and then call me rude in my own house? I reached up, rubbed my forehead, and started counting. I gave up at thirty. Just when I thought the man had potential, he had to go and ruin it by being a
man
.

“Mr. Devereau, you started calling my phone at seven this morning and then show up on my doorstep, unannounced, because I wouldn’t talk to you. I did not invite you. I’m hardly going to sit here and discuss business with you in my pajamas. In fact, I’m
really
curious as to how you got my number and my address.”

“Honora gave them to me last night after she got home.”

That had my brow raised. Home? The way he said it made me wonder if they were living together despite knowing about her boyfriend. I beat down the surge of jealousy at the thought. They’d be perfect for one another, I told myself even as I tasted the ashes of wants I hadn’t even acknowledged to myself.

“I guess I’m going to have to move and change it, then.”

I was being petulant and I knew it as I sniffed. I watched his scowl turn to a grin and reminded myself I really had to stop underestimating what he was. I knew he heard the disappointment in my voice and that certainly didn’t make my mood any sunnier.

“I left a message on her machine to call me because I was interested in sitting in on the demo. Their main sax player is out of town and won’t be back until after the New Year.”

“She told me that there were nine other members of the band excluding you and Honora,” I didn’t bother to keep the suspicion out of my voice, “and they were all there last night. She was excited about having everyone together, in fact.”

“Tony left the band last summer, so she probably views him as no longer a part of it. It wasn’t a very amicable parting.”

“So there are an even dozen of you.” I sighed and shook my head. I wasn’t going to any more concerts in the near future, that’s for sure. They were enough to make an addict out of me. Could you be addicted to magic? I wasn’t very sure, but wasn’t willing to risk it.

“When I can make it, yeah. My schedule isn’t exactly suitable to be a regular member, so I jam when I can. The rest of them live for those Tuesday and Thursday night shows.”

Okay, the man scored a point there. He was worried that I had strolled along and derailed his friends instead of getting them on a moving train in the music world. Considering the type of people he worked around on a daily basis, I could understand the misgivings and suspicion. When you spend your life putting away the bad guys, you start to see stains of that evil across the board.

I could relate to that.

“Okay,” I sighed and leaned against the doorway, nursing my coffee, “I’ll concede that you had grounds to be concerned. Now that you know I don’t run the rat race, no more wake-up calls. We’re working to make sure they get their demo and yes, I’ll be paying the cost at no obligation to the rest of you. Orifiel’s the music hobbyist, so he’s got all the connections. I’m only a fan with the front money. If you have any specific questions, he can answer them. I need to get a shower and get ready for my day now that it’s time for me to be up, anyway. Thank you for breakfast and I’m sure Honora will let you know where to be when.”

I turned and headed to the bathroom and the blessed relief of a hot shower. I took longer in the shower than I normally do and took the extra time to dry my hair. Even though I was expecting my uninvited guests to be gone when I came out, I was disappointed, anyway. The silence seemed especially heavy when I opened the door. I yawned and did what any sane person would do under the circumstances.

I crawled back in my unmade bed for a nap. I’d swing by and talk to Honora after Orifiel finished sowing the seeds of success in all the right ears.

Chapter Six

I didn’t really rest well. I was being lazy because I didn’t want to face the chaos that my moment of weakness had dragged me into. Sometimes being nice could be a pain in the neck and drop me into complications I never could have expected, such as halflings who didn’t understand the rules. At the moment, I really couldn’t hold that against him since I didn’t understand them very well, either. Laying there grappling with the situation wasn’t helping matters.

A bright light nearly blinded me as it shone directly in my face. Ordinarily, I get this feeling of dread when that light pops up telling me it was time to earn my keep. Today, though, I jumped up and held up my arms. I’d dressed in my usual uniform of slacks and a long sleeve knit shirt, but apparently that wouldn’t do. The air shimmered around me to replace it with a pair of rather worn jeans and a hooded athletic sweater with stained sleeves. The dark boots were scuffed and the heels worn to the point they weren’t comfortable to walk in.

I tried not to think about the kind of place that this was considered camouflage for. The great thing about divine intervention is they like you to blend in with the scenery. It wasn’t a bad thing that I usually got to keep the clothes, but this time, it wasn’t a bonus. I stepped into the light and sighed as the world shifted around me.

I spilled out in an alley somewhere colder than I liked it. That wasn’t saying much considering Georgia winters were considered cold in my book. It didn’t take but a blink to realize why I’d been dropped off.

In the mouth of the alley was a pair of teenage bodies, gunshots had riddled their chests. My guess was that it was a drive-by shooting based on the position of the bodies. They were young, though, dressed as if they were trying to be tough. Their souls were gone, so they weren’t my problem. The girl beyond them was. I could see her soul huddled between two trashcans, staring at her body, the red stain still spreading across her white oxford skirt. She kept smoothing the skirt of her school uniform down in a frantic gesture. I hesitated by the body to pull the skirt down to cover her. It had flown up when she’d fallen. She raised her eyes up to mine and the shock in them told me that she had missed her ride. They do that, sometimes, when death comes swift and violent.

People who expect to die always catch the light to their respective fates. Those that don’t see the fatal shot coming sometimes don’t realize they’re supposed to step into the light. Innocent bystanders are by far the most delicate type of removal. Sometimes, it’s easier for me to kill a rogue than to face the trauma of someone whose life has been snatched from them.

“Hey,” I whispered as I knelt in front of her, “did you see the light, sweetie?”

“They were yelling. They came running into the alley and yelling at me to get out of the way. I didn’t know…”

“Hey, everything’s okay.” I smiled as I held out my hand and shifted my body to block the view of hers. “It’s over. Let’s get you out of here.”

She didn’t put her hand in mine so I gently reached across the space and took it, anyway. She slipped inside me with a shimmering dissolution of her spiritual form as the light flashed next to me. I know the first cop on the scene saw me when he skipped to a halt with an exclamation as the light closed around me. Unlike my angel superiors, I was cursed to corporeal form all the time. I doubted the guy wanted to be in front of the district shrink, so he wouldn’t talk.