I, Angel

by JC Andrijeski

  “That’s not what I was going to say⏤” she began, angry.

  “Then we’ll talk about it later.” He nodded again towards the staircase. “Go. You better answer it.” When she didn’t move, he added, “I’m going to take a shower. I don’t think I should go down there right now.”

  He glanced down at his crotch as he said it, and she followed his eyes.

  He saw her wince.

  She opened her mouth, as if about to say something again.

  Then she seemed to change her mind.

  Dags felt nothing but relief when she turned away, heading for the stairs.

  He watched her go, following her bare feet as they padded across the hardwood floor, over the animal-skin rugs, down the modern-design staircase.

  He didn’t look away until she was gone.

  Then, rolling onto his back, he cursed silently, staring up at the ceiling.

  God, he was a fucking idiot.

  Chapter 27

  You Lose

  He made his way downstairs about twenty minutes later.

  He wore clean clothes.

  He’d put a few shirts and a few pairs of pants on a credit card after their trip to the pool, tired of wearing the clothes he’d thrown on sometime the previous afternoon. He picked up shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, a tooth brush, even a new pair of socks.

  Still, he felt strange descending into the main living area of the suite, his hair wet, his feet bare, wearing a fitted blue T-shirt and dark pants, both of which he’d had to tear the price tags off of before he put them on.

  The first person he locked eyes with was Phoenix.

  She was staring at him.

  She flushed when he met her gaze, then looked promptly away.

  He had no idea what she’d been staring at, or what that expression on her face meant.

  He was probably better off not knowing.

  At the thought, he felt another set of eyes on him and turned, locking gazes with Karver Jamison, professional handsome guy and movie star.

  The look there was a hell of a lot easier to read. Overt hostility lived in his amber-colored eyes. He looked Dags over with a scowl, like Dags was a mangy, flea-infested dog who’d wandered in from the street, then proceeded to piss on the floor.

  Dags was still frowning at the ridiculously handsome man, noting Karver almost didn’t look real, when he heard a delighted bark.

  Steve McQueen, the dog version, bounced across the room, jumping up on Dags’ knees and barking up at him as soon as he was close enough. Sliding down into a crouch, Dags scrubbed the dog’s sides and ears with his fingers, scratching and petting him all over while Steve McQueen wagged his whole body at Dags.

  “You feel better, buddy?” Dags said, gruff. “You get a good nap?”

  “Nap?” a voice scoffed.

  Dags looked up to find Asia standing there. Folding her arms, she gave Dags a faint smile, her lips pursed in a mock frown as she nodded towards the dog.

  “He owned that bed,” she complained. “I woke up sweaty, halfway hanging off the mattress, him kicking his paws on my butt. All so His Majesty would be suitably comfortable.”

  Dags laughed, in spite of himself.

  Phoenix looked over sharply when he did.

  He caught the startled look on her face, and looked away.

  Even so, in his peripheral vision, Dags saw Phoenix glance at Asia, then back at him, right before she scowled.

  He fought not to scowl back at her.

  She was kidding, right?

  Her insanely handsome, rich, movie star boyfriend was standing right there.

  Right. Fucking. There.

  Why the hell had she kissed him, anyway? Was this some clichéd movie star thing, to cheat on her Hollywood boyfriend? Was Dags the pool boy?

  Thinking about that, he felt his mood sour all over again.

  He also made up his mind.

  The sooner he fixed this situation, and got all these people out of his life, the better.

  “I’m going up there,” he announced. “To the sign.”

  He kept his voice casual as he continued to rub the dog’s ears, moving his hands down to rub his chest and belly, making the dog bark at him again.

  “The Hollywood sign,” he clarified, when no one spoke. “I think you should all stay here. Just hunker down, wait for me to get back.”

  He glanced at Karver.

  “Maybe you could stay with them. You might want to call up Cal, have him send some security guys to help out, too.”

  Karver frowned, opening his mouth.

  Asia got there before he did.

  “Um… wut?”

  Dags turned his head to see a distinctly annoyed Asia staring at him, disbelief in her eyes. She had a hand on her hip, that hip cocked jauntily to one side. The way she was looking at him, full lips pouting in a real frown, versus the mock frown she’d aimed at his dog, Dags strongly suspected he was about to get an earful.

  He cut off what he saw forming there.

  “It’s dangerous, Asia,” he said, sharper. “You already got hurt once. That thing threatened Phoenix. It attacked Karver. You should stay here.”

  “That’s sexist,” Asia said, her voice acidic.

  “How?” Dags said, throwing up a hand. “You’re a bunch of actors… no offense.” Seeing Karver frown, for a different reason that time, Dags cut him off, too. “You’re also my clients. It’s my job to assess risks, and to protect you.” He gave Phoenix a bare look, but couldn’t read her expression. “You hired me to keep you safe.”

  “We’re safer with you,” Asia snapped.

  Dags gave her a disbelieving look.

  “You don’t know that,” he said. “For all we know, that thing is drawn to me. It’s only attacked you when I’ve been around.” He gave Phoenix another bare glance. “Just stay here. I can go up there and check it out on my own.”

  “Sure,” Asia snorted.

  She looked about to say more, but Phoenix cut her off.

  “What about what that thing said?”

  When Dags looked at her, frowning, Phoenix folded her arms.

  “It said I had to come, right?” she reminded him. “It said I had to be there, to help you.”

  Karver frowned at her words, staring at Asia, then back at Dags.

  “What?” he said. “What the hell does that mean? No way is Phoenix going anywhere without me. Not after last night.”

  “You were in the hospital today,” Phoenix said to him, exasperated. “You were hurt, Karver. You should stay here.”

  “Not to mention, that thing might possess him again,” Asia muttered, folding her arms.

  That time, Karver stared at Asia.

  “Possess me?” he said incredulously.

  Asia gave him a bare glance, her voice sarcastic as she wagged a finger in his direction, her eyes still fixed on Dags.

  “We’ll explain later, sweetie. The grownups are talking now…”

  Dags fought a smile.

  “Fuck you, Asia,” Karver snapped.

  “No thanks, hun. But it’s sweet of you to offer.”

  Karver’s expression hardened more.

  He opened his mouth, but Dags talked over him.

  “Look,” he growled, aiming his words at Phoenix. “The answer is no. You’re not coming with me.” Hesitating, he glanced at Karver reluctantly. “Maybe he should, though. If it’s just me and him, I can keep him safe. Karver’s the only one we know for sure that thing can possess.”

  Asia opened her mouth, but Dags cut her off, raising his voice.

  “Which is exactly why I’m not crazy about leaving either of you alone with him,” he growled. “Not until we know what the hell this thing is. And where it is now.” He glanced at Karver. “…No offense.”

  Karver gave an outraged laugh.

  “None taken. Especially since you all sound like you’ve lost your damned minds.”

  Ignoring that, Dags avoided Phoenix’s gaze, keeping his focus on Asia.

&n
bsp; “Look,” he said. “Don’t make a big deal out of this. I just want to take a look. We have no idea if there’s even anything up there⏤”

  “No,” Phoenix said, her voice hard.

  Dags looked at her before he could stop himself.

  “I’m coming,” Phoenix said calmly, folding her arms over the terrycloth robe. “You were told to bring me. You were told you had to close this thing right away, and that you needed me to do it… not Karver. So, like it or not, I’m coming. Even if I have to hire someone to drive me up there. Even if I have to call the police.”

  There was a silence.

  Dags stared at her.

  No argument lived in her voice, or her face. She looked back at him, at Dags alone, her green and gold irises reflecting sunlight from the tall, arched windows.

  “So you might as well revise your plan now, Mr. Jourdain,” she added, her words verging on cold. “Personally, I think we should all go. All of us. Safety in numbers.”

  Dags frowned.

  He glanced at Karver.

  The movie star was frowning, looking between Dags and Phoenix as if trying to decide what he saw there. Then, as if he couldn’t help himself, Karver chuckled, shaking his head in Dags’ direction.

  “You should see your face,” he grunted. “If you’re expecting me to back you up, buddy, dream on. You want to die on this hill, I’m not going to stop you... but you’re on your own.”

  Dags scowled.

  Karver smiled a little wider.

  “Come on, P.I. guy,” he said, nodding towards the suite’s front door. “You lost. Take it like a man. And put on your shoes,” he added. “If we’re doing this, we’re doing it now. I don’t want to be stumbling around up there in the dark.”

  Glancing between him and Phoenix, he gave Dags a slightly harder look.

  “Ladies?” Karver added. “You might want to put on some appropriate clothes.”

  Phoenix gave Karver, then Dags, a darting smile, then nodded without a word, heading for the stairs up to the loft, presumably to put on clothes.

  Dags could only stand there, watching them go.

  He already knew he was going to regret this.

  Still, he didn’t see how he had much choice.

  Chapter 28

  Road Trip

  Dags found himself crammed in the back seat of a brand-new, bright-orange Porsche 911 with black leather seats, next to Asia and Steve McQueen.

  Phoenix sat shotgun.

  Karver drove.

  Dags tried to keep Steve McQueen between him and Asia, but Asia was making it damned hard. He’d already taken her hand off his thigh more than once. He got a pouty look for his trouble, but overall, she hadn’t seemed all that concerned with his insistence on avoiding her attempts to make passes at him.

  He honestly got the impression she was more doing it to amuse herself, maybe even to mess with him. Or maybe to mess with Phoenix. Dags saw her smirking at her friend in the rearview mirror at least one of those times.

  He’d also seen Phoenix scowl at her.

  He couldn’t think about any of that, or what it meant.

  He also didn’t spend a lot of time trying to figure out Asia’s precise motives. Even with his ability to read auras, he still wasn’t great at predicting how women or men would react to him when it came to his sexuality.

  Since the Change, the reactions he got could be… odd.

  Odd and intense.

  Intensely odd.

  In any case, Asia seemed like a new woman after her afternoon nap. Unlike the rest of them, she was chatty, cheerful, making jokes, and snuggling with Steve McQueen periodically as the dog ran back and forth between Dags’ lap and hers.

  Maybe partly for that reason, Dags had trouble being truly annoyed with her. There was just something intrinsically likeable about Asia. That more wicked side to her sense of humor meshed with an overall benign intent. Even with her penchant for using sex to mess with him, it never felt personal.

  It never felt like she intended harm.

  Like now.

  She was practically falling out of a filmy, clingy top covered in gauche flowers. He could see her dark red bra through the material, and when she slid briefly into his lap to have him taste a piece of chocolate-covered… something… she’d pulled out of her purse, he found himself smiling in spite of himself, despite her pushing her breasts half into his face.

  She laughed at something she saw in his expression, shoved the piece of chocolate past his lips, then obediently slid off his lap, squeezing his thigh on her way off when he eased her back to her side of the car.

  He only scowled a little when he noted she wore four-inch, blood-red heels under her form-fitting red pants, seemingly the same color as her bra.

  Those weren’t going to be super practical, where they were going.

  They’d definitely have to hike up to the sign, since no roads went where they needed to go. In fact, it was illegal to even be in the area of the Hollywood sign.

  Maybe Asia could stay in the car, keep Steve McQueen company. Dags wasn’t crazy about the idea, though. Even with the ridiculous shoes, he didn’t want to leave her alone.

  He should have checked her damned feet before they left.

  Pulling his eyes off Asia, he caught Phoenix frowning at him in the rearview mirror. She’d clearly seen her friend in his lap, and stared at his mouth as he chewed on the piece of chocolate Asia had more or less force-fed him.

  Seeing the expression there, Dags had to fight not to roll his eyes.

  A part of him wanted to do more than roll his eyes.

  A part of him wanted to yell at her.

  A part of him wanted to remind her that her fucking boyfriend was driving the car.

  Instead, he focused on Karver, specifically on his aura, making sure he didn’t see any of that dark, tar-like material he remembered from the night before.

  He must have been staring too hard at the other man.

  “What?” Karver said, giving him a look in the rearview mirror. “Why are you staring at me, man?”

  Dags was tempted to give him a real answer.

  After a pause, realizing he had nothing to lose, he did.

  “I’m trying to make sure you aren’t possessed by a demon,” he said, blunt.

  Karver stared at him.

  “Hey.” Dags frowned. “Eyes on the road.”

  Karver blinked, then focused back through the windshield, using a slight turn of the wheel to correct the car’s course.

  “Demons?” Karver said, glancing at him again. “Seriously?”

  Dags shrugged, scowling as he settled deeper into the leather seat. “You asked.”

  Phoenix snorted a soft laugh.

  It earned her an annoyed look from Karver.

  Dags fought not to look at her, especially not to look at her with Karver. He kept checking out the other male’s aura surreptitiously anyway.

  He wished he was driving.

  He could have used the distraction.

  Leaning deeper into his side of the car’s frame, Dags fought to clear his mind. He rubbed Steve McQueen’s ears absently once the dog finally settled down, lying exactly in the middle between him and Asia.

  Karver drove fast.

  Dags didn’t mind, except he got the impression it was at least partly for his benefit.

  On the plus side, taking back roads, they got up to the trailhead in record time.

  Karver pulled the car over, driving off the road and into a patch of dirt not too far from the sign in front of the trailhead.

  Dags didn’t see many people around, either their bodies or their auras.

  A few locals walking their dogs, and that was it.

  He hoped they could get off the road before anyone else showed up. For the first time since they’d left the Roosevelt, it occurred to Dags he was traveling with not just one, but three famous people. What if someone recognized one of them?

  What if someone recognized all three of them?

  Da
gs climbed out of the car, and Steve McQueen bounded out after him.

  He probably should have left the dog with the concierge. On the plus side, the husky stuck by Dags’ side like he’d been trained to shadow him. He didn’t even really need the leash, although Dags shoved it into his jacket pocket anyway.

  “Okay,” Karver said, looking up the hill and pocketing his keys. “Where is this place?”

  “Under the sign,” Dags said. “In that grove of trees.”

  Karver followed Dags’ pointing finger, frowning.

  “You know there’s a fence, right? Cameras? Not to mention cops.” Karver zipped up the front of his jacket. “You don’t expect us all to climb a chain link fence, do you? In the dark?”

  “Don’t worry about that,” Dags said.

  Karver scowled, but Dags was focused back on Asia’s shoes.

  “I’m more worried about all of us making it to the fence,” he muttered.

  Asia followed Dags’ eyes down to her feet.

  Then, shrugging, she yanked off the shoes by the heels, one by one, tossing them through the open door of the Porsche.

  “Barefoot?” Dags shook his head. “I’m not sure that’s better.”

  She held up a finger.

  “Hold your horses, Angel-guy.”

  Yanking the giant purse she’d brought over the back seat of the car, she fished around inside it, her butt in the air in the red leather pants. Seconds later, she pulled out a pair of yellow, low-top Converse sneakers. She pulled them on, one by one, as Dags watched, amused in spite of himself.

  “I come prepared,” Asia informed him.

  Dags could only agree.

  He held up his hands in surrender. “I bow to your superior demon-hunting skills.”

  He gave Phoenix’s feet the barest glance. She wore motorcycle boots, not so different from his, if in a much smaller size. Glancing over her jeans, then the dark T-shirt she wore, he avoided her face before looking at Karver’s feet.

  He wore hiking boots, expensive ones, under designer jeans.

  “Okay,” Dags said. “I think we’re good.”