Far From Heaven (9 page)

“Ashemnon.” Ash looked up into the harsh yellow eyes of his master. “I trust you will not allow a minor thing like your lust for this
human
to deter you from claiming what is ours.”

“Of course not.”

“Excellent. Now get back to the surface and do your job. You don’t want me to have to send someone else.” The last words seethed with such warning Ash didn’t doubt the threat for a moment.

What was he waiting for? He’d had his taste. It was all he’d wanted, just a few hours pressed against and buried inside the exquisite softness of her body. Metos was right, and Ash had said as much to the angel up on the surface. To delay was to invite peril. He didn’t think he’d left any loopholes—the whole thing was simplicity itself—but as he’d learned the hard way a couple of times, one could never be too cautious. And he couldn’t afford to care about anything other than staking his claim.

Chapter Eight

Maddie didn’t mind working at Delia’s store at all. That wasn’t work. It was getting paid to hang out with friends all day, talking about music. Laughing. It never failed to take her mind off whatever was troubling her.

Her waitressing job was another story.

She tried not to whine too much; at least she had a second job. The place was upscale and the tips were awesome. Besides that, she could always look for another gig somewhere else, if it came to that. But while things mostly sucked there, big time, she hadn’t been pushed past that breaking point yet. She was toughing it out.

Still, the situation always seemed far, far worse than usual when she was called in on her night off. Even more devastating was the fact she’d first met David here. He’d come in on a business lunch. She’d spilled a glass of water on his shirt. Ironic, wasn’t it, that the very bumbling nature he would eventually leave her over had been endearing to him in the beginning. It had gotten his attention, anyway. He’d dawdled at the table until the rest of his party moved toward the door, and gently caught her wrist as she walked by, slipping his card into her palm. God, she hadn’t been able to wipe the goofy grin off her face the rest of the day.

Of course, he’d made her come to him. Bastard.

She could’ve declined to come in to work, but she’d be crazy to turn down the money. Plus the idea of sitting at home by herself didn’t appeal. She would think too much, and that was never a good thing. Maybe leaving would mean missing a knock at her door, but how pathetic would she be to sit around waiting for it? She knew, deep down, it was never going to come.

Was it so wrong to hope, though? She didn’t want to sleep alone tonight.

But at the moment, here she was, wearing her pressed white shirt and black slacks with the little black apron tied around front. Carrying her little pad around. Serving all the happy, well-dressed couples on their Saturday night dates. And if in her mind she could picture herself dumping red wine into their designer laps, well, it was her little secret.

For being so frantic to get in touch with her in the middle of the night, David hadn’t tried to call or text her once today. Maddie gnawed her lip and tried to concentrate on writing down the convoluted order she was taking, but her thoughts were in turmoil. Did he know what she’d done? Why should she freaking care?

It wasn’t as if there’d be any chance of reconciliation. When David made up his mind about something, he was a rock, unmovable. So she hadn’t sabotaged anything by her little indiscretion—at least she didn’t think so, no matter how many times he’d called last night. There was nothing to sabotage. It was done.

She headed to the back, through the swinging doors, edging around one of the waiters bearing a heavy tray on one shoulder. Her dickhead manager was shouting as usual, his voice like grating glass in her head. She barely registered the words—something about accuracy—as she refilled her water pitcher to make her rounds. Her feet hurt already. Her head hurt. The pleasant afterglow of great sex had long since faded, and she didn’t even have the lingering aches to remind her last night had really happened.

She didn’t know which loss hurt her more—David or Ash. What did that even say about her? How fucked up was she?

Ugh. She needed a minute alone. Glancing at the clock, she shouted “Break!” and made a beeline for the bathroom. The place was closing in on her right now, and the small bathroom didn’t help matters, but at least she was away from the noise and bustling bodies.

Cool water on her face. It felt good, but it couldn’t wash away the dirt on her soul.

And wasn’t she just a barrel of laughs tonight? Chuckling to herself, she turned the faucet off and glanced up at the mirror—and gasped, slamming her back to the wall of the nearest stall.

Nothing there. Nothing there, but there’d been a face behind her in the mirror, gray and ghastly, mouth open in a soundless howl, a withered hand reaching for her shoulder like the ones in the nightmares.

Oh God, it had never happened
here
, it had never happened outside her home. Oh
God
…

Pull yourself together!
Her mind screamed it, but she didn’t want to obey because she couldn’t deal with this, she really couldn’t. The panic attack hit hard, and she slid down to the floor, gasping for breath, heart galloping, not caring, not giving a damn anymore because she was about to absolutely lose her fucking mind, but at least then the pain and the fear might go away…

The door swung open and feet shuffled in. If she’d given a damn about anything she’d have leaped to her own feet and maintained what little composure she could muster. But she didn’t. Dana, one of the other waitresses she didn’t know that well, came around the corner and stopped dead when she saw her.

“You okay, hon?” Dana asked cautiously.

Maddie nodded, aware of how she must look. Still not caring. Her face was tingling and numb. She had to force her lips into motion, wrench the words from her closed-up throat. “Just give me a minute.”

“You sure? Do I need to call—”

“I said give me a fucking minute.
Please.
”

Without another word, Dana stomped from the room. Maddie clambered to her feet, ignoring her violent trembling and trying to keep her heart from tearing its way out of her chest. She splashed more water on her face, getting more on her shirt than her flushed skin. As soon as her palms covered her face, she broke into sobs.

The part of her brain that was still rational tried to soothe her, assured her she was fine, she was still here, she wasn’t going anywhere. But the growing black pit of dread and doom that had been spreading inside her for as long as she could remember was poised to swallow her whole now. One day soon, those things were going to get her. Those shrunken, skeletal hands were going to grab her and not let her go. When that happened, it would all be over. Maybe by then she would even go willingly.

Something had a hold on her. Something evil.

Five minutes later, she left the bathroom, having fixed her hair, dried off and composed herself as well as she could. A faint tremor still shook her hands and weakness lapped at her legs, but maybe she could make it through the rest of the night. Suddenly she didn’t mind being around people, no matter who they were. She found Dana and mumbled a thanks and an apology, to which Dana shrugged and said, “Fine, whatever.”

Her manager rampaged through the kitchen again, so Maddie grabbed her water pitcher and hit the doors lest she become the new object of his incessant ire. She paused to let Lucy, the hostess, walk by in front of her. “Just sat you a couple,” the too-perky blonde informed her.

“Thanks.” Hopefully after these, the night would start to wind down. She could really use a glass of wine.

Even more so after she glanced over and saw who it was Lucy had seated in her section. And froze in her tracks, causing the waiter behind her with a precariously balanced tray to crash into her.

“Jesus, Maddie! Watch out,” he said, but she barely heard him. He managed to hang on to the tray somehow, but her full water pitcher was jostled by their impact. She didn’t know how it happened, but ice water sloshed right down the back of the perfectly coiffed hair of the woman sitting just in front of Maddie’s right elbow.

The woman screeched. Heads turned, even the sandy-blond one that was the object of Maddie’s scrutiny. And the red one sitting across the table from him.

On the other side of the restaurant, beneath the big bay windows, sat David. And he wasn’t alone.

What the hell is he thinking?

The idiot knew she worked here! What kind of asshole brought his…his date to the workplace of the woman he’d dumped just the night before?

In his defense—if such a word could even apply in this case—he’d looked as shocked and mortified as she felt. Well, he did know her schedule pretty well, so he’d most likely thought she wasn’t working tonight. But still. Those things changed all the time. He
knew
that.

She sat in her manager’s office, taking an ass-chewing for her clumsiness. Wow, it was David all over again as she listened to the tirade.
Get your shit together, Madeleine. Quit fucking everything up, Madeleine.

You’re going to end up just like your mother, Madeleine.

A chill lanced through her, jerking her spine straight. Her boss hadn’t actually said that. David had never said that. Her mind supplied it all on its own.

It couldn’t be true, could it? Had her mother seen these things too? Something had driven the woman to drugs. Hell, if someone had waved a syringe full of blissful emptiness in front of Madeleine’s nose right then, she might have shot it up without a second thought. It was enough to raise the hairs on the back of her neck.

I will
never
do that. I will
die
first.
She chanted it over and over in her head, but the idea wouldn’t leave her mind.

Her boss sent her home for the night. Apparently Dana had informed him of the state she’d found Maddie in earlier. They probably thought she was having a nervous breakdown. They wouldn’t be far off the mark.

Thankfully she didn’t have to see David, since she went out the back. The image of the redhead he was with was burned into her memory, though. Maddie could tell she was tall, even folded into her seat. Probably leggy, too, considering the long, sleek length of her toned arms. Her glittery tank dress had been almost the same shade as that magnificent hair. So had her lips. They had been curled with amused pity for the poor clumsy waitress who doused an old lady with ice water.

If she’d known Ash’s number, she’d have him on speed dial by now. She needed him to lick her wounds again tonight. And lick her in other places. Until she screamed, until she forgot.

She had almost made it to her Jeep when rapid footsteps began beating a path toward her. As she opened her door, she glanced over to see David almost upon her, his stride brisk.

She tried to jump in her car, but he grabbed her arm with one hand and the door with the other, keeping her from fleeing. “Maddie, please, listen to me. Just two minutes and I’ll let you go.”

“Fuck you.”

“Don’t be like that.”

“To hell with you, then. Isn’t that what you said to me last night? And exactly how am I supposed to
be
? Oh, it all comes clear now. You’re an asshole. Let me go before I start screaming.”

“It’s not what it looks like, I promise—”

Her blood rushed in her ears. “Hmm, let’s see. You don’t have a sister, or any hot female friends or relatives that I’m aware of. This is someone I’m
not
aware of, and someone I seriously doubt you just met today, so… I’m just doing the math, here.”

He blew out a breath and ran a hand through his hair, watching the distant traffic on the freeway for a moment. She locked her gaze on her shoes. “And you brought her
here
,” she finished quietly.

“I thought you were off tonight. And this is where she wanted to go.” She sensed him flinch at the admission without actually seeing it.

Her instinct was to launch at him with her fingernails, but she might actually do him physical damage. So she stood rigid as a statue, afraid if she so much as twitched a muscle it would undo all of her hard-won control. “How long, David? And who is she?”

Now she was only torturing herself, but she had to know. Had to.

“She works in my building. I’ve known her two months. But I swear I never cheated on you, Maddie. Tonight is the first time we’ve ever been out together.”

“Bullshit.”

“What reason do I have to lie to you at this point? What would I gain? If I’d been fucking her, I’d tell you. But it really doesn’t matter if you believe me or not, does it?”

“So you weren’t fucking her, but you wanted to. Well, I feel much better about this whole thing.”

“If you can’t be adult about this—”

“And you are? You don’t know how bad I want to slap your face right now. I thought you were better than this, I really did.”

His eyes narrowed, twin pools of darkness barely catching the dim light from the overhead lamps. “You didn’t seem too broken up about the whole thing last night. At least not enough to stop you from spreading your legs to some fucking stranger. Yeah, I watched you leave with him. I even followed because I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Thought maybe you were just giving him a ride for some reason, thought surely you wouldn’t do something like that. I tried to call you because I was worried about you—you don’t even
know
that guy.” His mouth twisted bitterly. “I guess your mouth was too occupied to talk.”

She wanted to retort to that, but choked on the words. He wasn’t choking on his; he aimed them at her like darts, and her heart was the bull’s-eye. “So don’t stand there all insulted because I decided to move on, baby. You’ve got me beat by a mile.”

“That’s great, judge me when I’m sure you couldn’t wait to get into her pants while we were still together. That is, if you’re telling the truth, which I doubt.”

“At least I ended things with you first.”

“Yeah, you’re a real gentleman. Get out of my sight, David. And if you wouldn’t mind, stay the hell out of my restaurant.”