He's No Angel (Heaven Can Wait Book 1) (19 page)

Chapter Nineteen

Director Foscari went perfectly still under my hands. And that’s when I noticed the odd heat emanating from her. It warmed my palms even through the layers of her clothing. I’d felt such warmth before, but not in a very long time. Not since I’d been alive. Unsettled, I released her and stepped back. As she remained silent, I repeated my question. “Is Miss Heely going to die?”

“Someday-- as all humans do. But not for many, many decades.”

I pulled in a relieved breath. “Excellent.” Then I narrowed my eyes. “Since that is the case, I demand you explain what meant when you said that if my actions warrant it, I’ll be granted entrance into Heaven. How is that possible?”

She pursed her lips. Clearly she was considering how best to answer. “It’s a simple enough question, Director Foscari,” I said in a voice that dripped ice.

“Yes. However the answer is… complicated.”

“Believe it or not, I possess a modicum of intelligence. Why don’t you just tell me and I’ll do my utmost to follow your explanation.”

Annoyance flashed in her eyes and I awarded myself a mental high five. I quite enjoyed getting under her skin. Small and petty of me, I know, but there you have it.

She drew what was clearly a bracing breath then said, “I arranged for you to have the chance to enter Heaven.”

I don’t know what I’d expected her to say, but it certainly wasn’t that. “
You
arranged it?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

“After you invoked your Crisis Clause, I met with a Council member and requested you be given the chance. He agreed to my request.”

I may have been more flabbergasted at some point in my existence, but I’d be hard pressed to recall such a time. I couldn’t decide what shocked me more-- the fact that she’d sought out the Council to ask for a favor on my behalf, or the fact that that favor had been granted.

In spite of my assertion that I could follow her explanation, I must admit I was having a difficult time doing so.  It required a good ten seconds for me to locate my voice.

“You interceded with a Council member on my behalf,” I murmured, shaking my head. “Why would you do that?”

“You’d clearly undergone an epiphany regarding True Love, one that led to your selfless decision to give up what you wanted most. You’d successfully completed your task. There was nothing standing between you and Heaven-- except your desire to save Miss Heely. I told the Council member it was my opinion that such noble behavior should be rewarded.”

“And he agreed? Just like that?”

She hesitated then nodded. “He agreed.”

The reality of what she’d done for me, the chance she’d arranged for me, the utter
hugeness
of it hit me like a brick to the head and rendered me speechless. I felt humbled and grateful and humiliatingly close to tears. “I… I don’t know what to say other than thank you, although that seems wholly inadequate. But I do thank you. From the bottom of my heart.”

“You’re welcome.”

For the space of a single heartbeat I saw something in her eyes, something that reminded me of that warm, melty, admiring way Miss Heely looked at Mr. Gallagher. But in the next instant it vanished, leaving me to wonder if I’d imagined it.

“Of course, you realize that you have not been given a guarantee,” she said, once again regarding me with that stare-right-through-me expression that never failed to set my teeth on edge. “You must earn your way into Heaven, just like everyone else.”

“I understand.” A thought suddenly struck me and I frowned. “Surely the Council’s generosity came with conditions. Terms.”

Her shoulders moved in an infinitesimal shrug. “You needn’t concern yourself with that.”

“Indeed? How am I to satisfy the conditions if I don’t know what they are?”

“They are not your conditions to satisfy, Lord Ryland.”

I blinked as her meaning sunk in. “You’re saying that
you
have to meet the terms?”

Again she shrugged. “No favor from the Council comes without a price. I asked for the favor, therefore it is mine to repay.”

“At what cost to you did my chance at Heaven come?”

“I’m afraid I cannot say as the agreement must remain confidential between me and the Council.”

How many more times could this woman leave me speechless? She’d not only interceded on my behalf, the Council had extracted some sort of sacrifice from her. Something that I knew had to be substantial.

Why,
why
would she do that? Sacrifice something, anything for me?

And suddenly the words she’d spoken earlier came roaring back, echoing through my mind. 
I care for you. I always have.

I’d dismissed her utterance as nonsense, but clearly it was nothing of the sort.

She cared for me.

A heated shiver rippled through me at the realization. No one had ever said those words to me.

But then I recalled what she’d said next.
I’ve watched over you, every day. Every hour. Even during your life.
A statement that most assuredly demanded an explanation, one I hadn’t received due to my Miss Heely emergency. One I was determined to hear now.

“I want to know what you meant when you claimed you watched over me during my life.”

Again something flickered in her eyes. “Perhaps we can discuss that when we have more time. Right now there are more pressing matters to deal with.”

“Such as?”

“Well, to begin with, our living arrangements. Since part of my agreement with the Council is that we remain in London for at least six months, I think renting a house is our best option. As this is the off season, I’m sure we’ll be able to find something acceptable. I’d like something on the lake. Is that all right with you?”

And there I stood, speechless once again. Really, her ability to rob me of words was becoming a most vexing habit. I cleared my throat. “Have you been hit on the head with a rock? What the bloody hell are you talking about? Why would we require a house? Indeed, why would we require anything?  There is no we. There is you. And there is me. Completely separate. Now, if you would tell me where I am to exist-- ”

“I just told you, Lord Ryland. Has your hearing become afflicted? Were you hit on the ear with a rock?”

God, I wished I had a rock. So I could use it to bludgeon myself unconscious so I wouldn’t have to converse with this exasperating woman any longer. “Of course not-- ”

“Then please put the modicum of intelligence you’ve assured me you possess to use and listen so that I may fully explain your new circumstances. Can you do that?”

As a rock had not magically appeared in my hand, I gave a terse nod. “Yes. But in my defense, it cannot be a shock that I’d wonder why an angel would require a house.”

She blinked. “An angel? But… ” A look of unmistakable consternation passed over her features. “Oh, dear. I just assumed you knew. That you understood.”

“Understood what?” I shouted.

She squared her shoulders. “I’m sorry, Lord Ryland. Given that you were aware you’d forfeit all claims to Heaven by using your Crisis Clause to save a human life, I assumed you were also aware that by doing so you gave up your existence in the spiritual realm. At least temporarily-- until you die again.”

“Die again? What the devil does that mean?”

“It means you are human. And will live a human life. Until you die as all humans do. How you choose to live that life will determine whether or not you go to Heaven when you expire.”

This time I was so speechless my jaw dropped open. Had it not been attached to my face, my chin would have hit the ground. “Human? I’m…
alive
?”

“Yes.”

I looked down at myself. Wiggled my toes inside my boots. Spread my arms. Stared at my hands as if I’d never seen them before. Then I looked at her. “I’m human,” I repeated slowly, needing to make sure that me and my modicum of intelligence really, really understood.

“Yes.”

I pointed toward the police and firemen at the accident scene. “Just like those people over there?”

“Yes.”

Alive. A sound of disbelief escaped me. It didn’t seem possible. Another life. To live in this modern, technologically based world that was so completely different than what I’d previously known. An overwhelming sense of wonder and anticipation, coupled with a healthy dose of trepidation filled me. So much to do, so much to see and experience. My head spun. This was a great deal to absorb.

“Just like those people,” Director Foscari said, “except you’ve carried over some powers from the spiritual world that they of course do not possess.”

“What kind of powers?” I instantly wondered if I could leap tall buildings with a single bound.

“I’m not precisely certain as each carry-over case differs, but nothing of a superhero nature.”

Suspicion immediately slithered through me. The fact that her words so closely mirrored my thought… had she read my mind? It wasn’t the first time I’d wondered if she’d done so. It suddenly occurred to me that there was a great deal I didn’t know about Alessandra Foscari.

Before I could ponder the matter further, she continued, “There are tests I can perform to determine precisely what powers you possess. I’ll do so once we are settled.”

My brows collapsed in a frown. “There you go with that
we
again. There’s no need for you to remain. I can handle things from here.”

“I sincerely doubt it as you have no money, no identification, no lodgings and no means to procure any of those things. Like it or not, you require assistance. And even if you didn’t, you have no choice in the matter. I am to stay with you.”

“Says who?”

“The Council.”

“Another condition for my chance at Heaven?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“How long do you have to stay?”

“Until the Council decrees that you no longer need looking after. But definitely for the six months we’re to remain in London.”

“So you’re here to spy on me.” The bitter words spit out of me.

“No. I’m here to help you.”

“And spy on me.” I suddenly recalled the odd heat I’d felt emanating from her. “Are you human as well?”

“I’m now a Halfling-- half human, half angel, a temporary status Directors are granted whenever one of our angels crosses over to the physical realm, as you have done. It enables me to move freely between both realms so I can watch over you then report my findings to the Council.”

“Just so we’re clear: watching what I do then reporting my movements to the Council? You can hang any euphemism you want on it, but that’s spying.” I dragged my hands down my face. Bloody hell, I was tired-- an all too human feeling I’d completely forgotten about. “So I’m stuck with you.”

“Not the most flattering way to put it-- ”

“I was not attempting to be complimentary.”

“Then in that case, yes. You are stuck with me. As I am with you. So we might as well get on with things. As I mentioned, I think renting a house is our best option.”

I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at her. “We are not going to reside in the same house. You’ll have to spy on me from some other location.”

“Yes, we
are
going to reside in the same house,” she said in a tone normally reserved for dealing with recalcitrant children. “By Direct Order from the Council. Neither of us has any choice in the matter.” She regarded me through dispassionate sea-green eyes. “If your colossal ego is in any way suggesting to you that I’m delighted at the prospect of spending the next six months-- at least-- living with a grumpy, ill-mannered lout such as yourself, please allow me to disabuse you of that notion. You, Lord Ryland, are no picnic in the park.”

I huffed out a humorless sound. “You say that as if you are.”

“At least I try to view the world from a ‘the glass is half full’ perspective. You, on the other hand, possess a woefully ‘glass is half empty’ personality.”

“Bollocks. In fact, right now my fondest wish is for a glass half full. Of brandy.”

Disapproval was written all over her face. “Drinking will not help set your new life on the right path.”

“Perhaps not, but it will make living with you more bearable. All I can say is it better be a damn big house. Which begs the question-- do you possess the funds and credentials necessary to procure lodgings? Because, as you’ve pointed out, I do not.”

“I have everything we need.”

There was that damn
we
again.

She stepped forward and touched my hand. “Do not worry, Lord Ryland. I’ll take care of everything.”

Heat sizzled up my arm. My gaze shot to where her hand lightly clasped mine. The sight, the
feel
of her pale skin against mine flooded me with memories of my previous life. Of what being touched by a woman felt like. And even though she was barely touching me, even though the touch was clearly innocent in nature, it flooded me with a desire and lust so raw, so powerful my entire body shuddered.