True Angel: a Fallen Angel romance (Curse of the Othersiders Book 1)

by Jessica Lynch

  It was Saturday night and Avery couldn’t stand pacing around her apartment any longer.

  She thought she was getting a better grip on her feelings. Her rabid determination made it easier to focus on what she could be doing next to look for Heather, but after more than seven straight days of obsessing, she’d hit the end of her rope.

  When she started staring at her phone, willing it to show Heather’s name, and wondering just how Cam made all of his tech explode when it didn’t… Avery figured she needed a break.

  Since Cam had agreed to help her search, some of the weight on her shoulders had slipped away; some but not enough. Still, she’d found it a little easier to sleep at night, and instead of going the whole day without eating, she choked down at least one or two meals every day since Wednesday. She’d only gone across town to the street outside of the library twice—Wednesday night, then Friday morning—instead of three times a day, so she was definitely getting better.

  And, as a reward, Avery decided it couldn’t hurt to check it out again. Who knew? Maybe Cam would be there doing another round of research, yeah?

  Hey. A girl could hope.

  Despite it being technically “spring”, it was still chilly during the evening hours. Shrugging on one of her favorite oversized hoodies, she grabbed her bag, made sure she had her traitorous phone, and palmed her keys. She figured she would take a ride over to the library and, if she could stomach it, stop off for some pizza. It was her favorite, and even if she wasn’t hungry, she could usually eat a slice.

  Take care of yourself. I’ll take care of your sister.

  Even in her thoughts, Cam was freaking swoony… and Avery had to stop thinking like that. Not only was he doing her a massive favor, but even if Othersiders were into chicks, on what planet would Cam even notice her? Better to keep her fantasies in her dream, and focus on what she could control.

  Their apartment was on the seventh floor. Normally, when Avery was in a better mood, she would take the stairs if only to add to her daily steps total. Right now? Feeling out of sorts, she thought about it, then jabbed the elevator button instead. Luckily, it was empty. She didn’t really feel like being friendly to her neighbors just now.

  Too bad her luck ran out as soon as she was leaving the complex.

  Just as she was crossing outside, she saw Donna Rescalo heading toward the entrance. She thought about ducking around the nearest column, hiding in plain sight, but when Donna’s dark green eyes lit up, Avery stayed put.

  It wasn’t Donna’s fault. Back when they were in high school, they’d been pretty good friends. But then Donna had traded Spring Valley for Louisiana—Louisiana!—and, after living away for more than a decade, she’d only just moved back to town at the beginning of the year. Avery kept meaning to check in with her—rumors ran that she came home because of a family thing—but she never got the chance.

  Now? If Avery was a friend of Donna, Heather was even closer. They’d been in the same year at school, meaning Donna was at least a year or so older than Avery, and just looking at the pretty woman with the wavy blonde hair made Avery remember for the countless time that Heather was gone.

  Of course, Donna didn’t know that. Nobody did. And, for as long as Avery could keep it that way, she would.

  “Hey, Avery. Did I catch you on the way out?”

  “Yeah, actually. You? Heading in for the night? It’s Saturday, you know.”

  “And my wild nights are way behind me, thank you very much,” Donna said. “That’s the good thing about getting older. Hit thirty, and no one is surprised when you’d rather turn in early than pull an all-nighter at the nearest club.” A tiny grin. “I flippin’ love it.”

  Avery couldn’t help herself. She laughed. All these years later, and the only thing different about Donna was a sad look in her eyes and her noticeably missing shadow.

  “Eh. Don’t feel bad. I’ve still got a year to go ‘til I’m there and, as soon as I pick up dinner, I’m heading right back to bed. Thirty schmirty, right?”

  “Sounds about right.” As almost a reflexive gesture, Donna yanked on her right sleeve. “Actually, I’m glad I ran into you when I did. You hear about the town’s spell?”

  Avery’s smile froze. “The spell?” she echoed. “You mean the one that keeps all the Paras out?”

  Donna made a face. “Yeah, I think it’s overkill, too. My dad told me he voted against it, but the mayor…” She let her words trail to a close. Avery didn’t blame her. The whole town knew how Donna felt about the mayor—well, the mayor’s son, at least. “Anyway, when I came back a couple of months ago, he told me about the spell. But that’s not what I meant. Did you know someone broke through it?”

  Yeah. Actually, she did. Last Saturday, when a shifter found a way past the supposedly Para-proof barrier spell and then disappeared with Heather in tow.

  Not like she could admit that to Donna. “What? When?”

  “From what I heard, twice last Saturday,” she said, lowering her voice as if afraid of someone eavesdropping. Which, granted, was a pretty common occurrence in Spring Valley. “And then Wednesday, it seemed like someone tipped it off, but didn’t actually break through it.”

  Wednesday. When Cam flew over the perimeter to check out the scene of Heather’s disappearance.

  “No,” she lied easily, her heart thudding against her chest. “I didn’t know anything about that.”

  “My dad heard about it from Mr. Perkins. You know, the—”

  “He runs the farmer’s market,” Avery supplied. “I know.”

  “Right. And he’s on the town council. It’s all hush hush.”

  If it was hush hush, why was Donna telling her?

  Again, Donna tugged on her sleeve. “Anyway, I just thought I’d let you know. From what Mr. Perkins told my dad, they’re trying to get another witch to reinforce the spell. Until then, they’re all carrying.”

  “Carrying? What? Guns?”

  A slow nod. “If a Para breaks through again, the hunters are told to take out any threat to our neighbors.” She paused. “Can you believe that?

  Know what? It didn’t matter why Donna was telling her, only that she did. Because now? Now Avery knew to warn Cam against taking another flight over. Could she believe that? Donna might have been gone from Spring Valley for over a decade, but the small town life never really changed.

  So, yeah. Avery believed it. Did she like it? No. But that was Spring Valley for you.

  “Thanks. I’ll, uh… I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “You let Heather know I said ‘hey’, all right? And, since I’m sure you’ll see her before I do, let her know what I said. Okay?”

  “Sure. I’ll do that. Take care of yourself, Donna.”

  “Yeah. You—”

  “Donna!” The loud male shout completely interrupted Avery. “Hey, Donna!” And then, almost as an afterthought, “Avery, how have you been?”

  She glanced over, rolling her eyes when she saw the boyishly handsome man with the slicked-back dark blonde hair and Colgate-smile striding toward them.

  Speak of the shadow. Noah Thompson. Because, even after all this time, the mayor’s son still wouldn’t give up.

  Poor Donna. She looked over at Noah, barely hid her grimace, then muttered a quick goodbye before slipping past Avery and bolting inside of the complex.

  While he didn’t chase after her, Avery could tell that Noah desperately wanted to. His gaze followed after her, losing some of its shine when Donna was out of his sight, lips curving downward in open disappointment.

  Avery resisted the urge to grab him by the collar and give him a shake. Maybe tell him to grow the fuck up already. It had been more than a decade since the three of them were in high school together and it seemed as if Noah was still stuck in his glory days.

  Probably because, up until graduation, Donna had still been his sweetheart. They’d been the perfect couple, king and queen of the Spring Valley prom, halfway toward the chapel by the time they were eighteen… un
til, one day, they weren’t. Donna ended things with Noah that summer, twelve years ago, before she fled from Spring Valley the next June.

  Except maybe it wasn’t just the small town life that Donna was running away from. Noah might not have gone after Donna when she left, but rumors among her neighbors and her friends said that was only because he was giving her her space. He was waiting for her, so cocky and absolutely sure that she would return to him sooner or later.

  Well. He was partially right. Donna was living in Spring Valley again, but from the way she bolted when she spied Noah heading toward the complex, she definitely wasn’t interested in rekindling her relationship with Noah. Not like Avery blamed her. Back when they were kids, she’d always thought that Noah was insufferable. Nowadays? With his father grooming him to take over as mayor of Spring Valley in the future, he seemed to think he owned the whole town.

  Thinking back to what Donna said to her about the perimeter spell, Avery figured she could kill two birds with one stone: distract Noah from going after Donna—because he absolutely would, once he could excuse himself from Avery—while also figuring out just how much the town council knew about the two times it went off.

  “Hey, Noah,” she said, using his name to pull his attention toward her. “What do you know about a breach in the town’s wards?”

  If the name didn’t do the job, that certainly did.

  “Oh. You heard about that, too, huh?”

  “I hear things.”

  He gave her a look like he wanted to pet her condescendingly on her head. “Sure you do.”

  “Don’t be a dick. What’s up? What’s going on?”

  His gaze flickered toward the apartment complex again. By now, Donna was probably secure in her apartment. He’d lost his opportunity to bully her into an invite, and they both knew it.

  He shrugged. “It’s nothing to worry about.”

  “I don’t know. If a Para can get in and out of Spring Valley without getting caught, then what’s the point of having the spell? I know it can’t be cheap.” Her taxes certainly weren’t. “How do we know it’s even working?”

  “It is. My father insists on it.”

  And there it was: his inevitable my dad’s the mayor name drop. Right on cue.

  Besides,” Noah added, “you’d know if it wasn’t. This close to Grayson, we’d have all kinds of paranormals overrunning our town without it. What happened the other night is a fluke, and I’m telling you, whoever broke through the spell? They were regretting it on their way out.” A husky laugh that seemed too dark for such an All-American guy. “And if they try again?” His hand dropped to his waist. “It’ll be the last time.”

  For the first time, Avery noticed the holster at his hip.

  A gun. Just like Donna said.

  Oh, come on.

  8

  It’s only a day away

  Avery never got her pizza.

  Standing next to an armed Noah stole the little appetite that she had. As soon as she could make an excuse to walk away from him, she did. Pulling a Donna, she ran back inside of the apartment. Only she wasn’t bolting from Noah, but the gun he wore proudly at his waist.

  Noah Thompson with a gun? Now, wasn’t that a nightmare?

  It wasn’t a surprise, though. Before they paid for the perimeter spell a couple of years ago, a cadre of Spring Valley locals decided they would take the security of the entire town onto themselves. Carrying weapons, armed with silver bullets, silver collars, and stakes, they were prepared to fight back against any paranormal threat.

  Why they thought the Paras would want anything to do with their town, Avery could never understand, but the Claws Clause said the humans could protect themselves. So they did. It was ridiculous vigilantism, but she always just ignored it.

  That was before. Now? It was a lot harder to do that when she thought about Cam flying over the perimeter and being greeted by Noah and his gun.

  Yeah, no. As much as she wanted to get her sister back, Avery wasn’t going to risk the one person who was actually able to help her.

  The next morning, she showered, got dressed, and checked both her phone and Heather’s for any missed messages. There weren’t any—not that she expected there would be—and she tossed both in her bag before reaching for her keys.

  This time no one waylaid Avery on her way out. A little more than a half an hour later, she was driving down Main Street in Grayson, looking for a spot to park her car near Cam’s office. She found one just off of 5th, parked there, then backtracked two blocks until she was standing in front of a locked door.

  Typical.

  She jangled the knob. Though the shades were drawn and the front door was made of frosted glass, she could see that the lights were on. Did that mean someone was in there? Shea mentioned that Cam lived on the floors above the Main Street-level office. Had he just nipped upstairs for something, or was he really out?

  “Hello?” she called. “Cam? Are you here?”

  To her surprise, she got an answer. It just… it wasn’t from the Othersider.

  It was his cat.

  “Meow?”

  Avery jumped at the unexpected sound. Thank God she didn’t land on Dina’s long, skinny black tail or she would’ve felt terrible—and the knowing look on her black-and-white splotched face told Avery that Dina was more than aware of how close she came to doing just that.

  “Meow.”

  Not for the first time, Avery was almost sure that the cat was actually saying something to her. Like any other foreign language, she just didn’t understand what Dina was saying, but that wasn’t the cat’s fault. It was Avery’s.

  Okay. What was Cam’s cat trying to tell her? Not only that, but what was she doing out there? Avery didn’t see a cat door, but the cat was definitely outside with her.

  Oh. Maybe that was what she wanted? A way back in?

  “I’m sorry, kitty, but the door’s locked.”

  Dina scratched at the bottom of the front door. Another meow, but more insistent this time.

  Feeling a little silly for having this conversation with a cat, Avery grabbed the knob. “Look. It’s—”

  The door clicked open, turning easily under her hand.

  Huh. Well, it was locked.

  “Meow.”

  Now that meow sounded more than a little satisfied, Avery thought as she followed Dina into the office.

  Just like she expected, no one was on the ground level. If Cam was home, then he was actually home home and Avery didn’t feel right disturbing him. But she’d driven all this way to warn him about the new security measures in Spring Valley, and even if he wasn’t here, Avery wasn’t about to waste a trip.

  Inside of Cam’s office, Dina hopped up onto the top perch of her cat tree. With a look that seemed more like some kind of blessing, Dina licked her paw, then started to wash one side of her face, then the next.

  Avery couldn’t explain why exactly, but she felt the need to tell Dina what she was doing. “I’m just gonna leave Cam a note,” she said, feeling silly again but doing it anyway.

  Luckily, the pad from the last time she was in his office was still lying on the desktop. She pulled a pan from her purse, then quickly scribbled a note for him. She hesitated when she thought she was done, wondering if she should just bite the bullet and give him her number, just in case. So what if he told her that he had a habit of blowing up tech? If she could use Shea to get in touch with him, shouldn’t it work both ways?

  In the end, Avery decided against it. The last thing she needed was Cam picking up on her attraction and reading more into her leaving her digits behind than she intended. Instead, she scrawled a PS at the bottom, tore the page from the pad, folded it in half, and nodded at Dina.

  Then, feeling more disappointed at missing Cam than she wanted to admit, Avery headed back to her car.

  Cam picked up the sheet of paper on his desk. He’d only seen that messy writing once before, but he recognized it instantly.

  Avery had been there
. And since she’d been inside when Cam was sure he’d left the office locked up while he was out earlier, then she must’ve had help.

  With a scowl, he glared down at the culprit.

  “I take it this is where you ran off to before?” he asked Dina.

  “The mortal came to see you. Would you have rather I left her out there without any way to contact you?”

  The pang of guilt wasn’t any easier the second time around. “You’re the one who keeps bringing up the curse. Do you think it’s a good idea if I give her the ability to summon me? I thought it would be best if I kept some distance and now you’re giving me shit for it. Not cool, Di.”

  “You want to help the girl. You don’t want to help the girl. I’m only trying to help you.”

  Cam sighed. He shouldn’t take his shit mood out on Dina. Most Othersiders got partnered with auditors that did their tallies and that was all. They couldn’t care less about the Fallen behind the assignment, just the numbers. At least Dina cared enough to scold him.

  “You’re right. I’m being an ass. I thought I would’ve gotten a better lead on what happened to Avery’s sister by now. Az keeps telling me she’s not dead, so that’s something, but there’s nothing past her trail in Spring Valley. It’s like she just… vanished.”

  “Maybe you need more sleep to focus properly,” Dina suggested. “You’ll deplete your energy faster without enough rest.”

  Cam pretended not to know what she was talking about. Instead of answering Dina’s comment, he glanced down at Avery’s note again. Blah blah, perimeter spell, blah blah, best if you don’t come here, blah blah, keep you safe...

  Wasn’t that something? A mortal worried about a Para’s safety? But that was Avery for you.

  At least she had added toward the bottom: I’ll come back tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully you’ll be here. We can talk more then.