Echo of an Earth Angel (The Earth Angel Trilogy: #1)

by Sarah M. Ross

  He reached out and grabbed the door, allowing his fingers to brush against her soft hand as she let go. He murmured thank you, hoping she’d respond. He was curious as to how her voice would sound in his ears. She smiled, but didn’t say anything as she slipped inside the store. The scent of her hair emanated from her, the fruity shampoo tingled in his nose and he wanted more. Disappointment from not hearing her voice echoed in his head, surprising him. His emotions had to be really high for him to discern them from the hundreds of emotions swirling around him, and apparently this girl did just that.

  He followed her in the store, snapping his fingers as if he forgot something to play off his sudden 180 and grabbed a large Mountain Dew from the fountain to give himself a quick sugar pick-me-up. Sipping the sweet drink, he meandered down a few isles reading the emotions around him. Most were negative: annoyance, anger, depression. Yet as he walked up and down one emotion stuck out above them all: hope. There were about ten people in the store, but he knew the hope came from the girl. He glanced up. She hadn’t moved from the cooler containing bottles of water. Her gaze locked on something outside. He followed her gaze to a middle aged couple leaning against a Mercedes SUV. The man’s hands were around the woman’s shoulders, his thumb brushing up and down her arm as she snuggled next to him, whispering in his ear. Honing in on their emotions, he read regret, forgiveness, and love. They must have made up from a fight, David surmised. And from the hope he read off of the girl, it must have been a bad one.

  As he turned his attention back to her, her eyes squeezed shut once and she shook her head as if popping out of the daze she was in. She grabbed a bottle of Fiji water and headed to the cash register. David went that way too, stopping to pick up a Snickers bar as a rare treat. As he stood in line and thought about where to go next, he eyed the girl two people ahead of him and wasn’t able to take his eyes off her. Her strawberry blonde hair brushed against the tops of her shoulders as she added a pack of gum to her purchase. After handing the man her five dollar bill, she finally spoke. The sweet sound of her voice when she said, “Thanks, hope you have a great day too,” reminded him of the angels in Heaven. He quickly paid for his purchases and rushed outside, hoping to catch the girl before she left. He was at the door when the gunshots started.

  ***

  “So why exactly are you here again?” Tessa went to enough survivor support group meetings and knew he wasn’t here to rehash that memory. Yet, something about his gentle tone made her want to keep the conversation going.

  David took a deep breath. “Straightforward is best,” he murmured.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you.” Tessa leaned closer to the front door.

  “I said I’m here to talk about what’s been happening to you lately, and why it’s been happening.”

  Tessa stiffened. He couldn’t possibly be talking about my hands glowing, she thought. Before she opened her mouth to deny anything and everything, he continued, “Have you noticed anything happening that you can’t explain? Or anything you have done that defies logic?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Her body tensed and she sat up a little straighter.

  “What happened at the restaurant tonight?”

  “Nothing happened.” Her now-sweating palms lost their grip on the fireplace poker and it tumbled down to the floor. She quickly scooped it back up and placed it in her lap as she tried to dry her hands on her robe. “And how do you know we were at a restaurant tonight?”

  “I was there too.”

  Tessa recalled the feeling of being watched. “Were you staring at me?” she wondered out loud, and before her curiosity could be tamed, she slipped out, “Did you see?”

  David avoided her question and changed the subject. “Tessa, when you were shot, I was the first one at your side. I stayed with you until the ambulance came and took you away.”

  “Oh. Wow. Um, thank you,” Tessa said, feeling a swell of emotions. She was told a med student had been there, and if not for his quick thinking she would have died. No one knew who it was though. After the ambulance took her away, the mysterious stranger slipped into the crowd and never came forward.

  “I checked on you a few times in the hospital as a part of my rotation,” David said. Another little lie. I’m not a doctor, I just play one in real life, he mocked. He healed her a little more each time he saw her until she came out of the coma. Slipping in late at night to watch her sleep, he listened to the cadence of her heart and knew the life he saw in her eyes was just waiting to peek out.

  This was also where he went wrong. He healed her too much, too many times in a row. He lost track of what he was doing while he watched her and admired her. Her perfect, alabaster skin with a sprinkling of freckles and her rosy, kissable lips caused him to lose focus, and she would pay the price. He berated himself for hours over his stupidity, ashamed of his actions, but a small part of him was a little happy. He’d have an eternity to spend with her—if she’d ever talk to him again after the fateful cards he dealt her.

  “Why didn’t you come after I woke up? Introduce yourself?”

  “You were going through a lot: grieving for your parents, healing from your wounds, and your memory loss. I didn’t want to overwhelm you.” Another lie. The truth was he was scared to see her. Once she figured out what he had done, he didn’t know if he could face her again.

  He spent two months tracking down other angels. Former friends or people rumored to have gone rogue. He needed to know how to fix this, how to help her. Only one person agreed to meet him.

  “I’m sorry man, you really messed up this time.”

  “So nothing can be done? Surely there must be a way.”

  “This mistake can’t be fixed, David. Healing her on such a large scale not only brought her back from death, but it gave her new life. She’s an angel now.”

  “There’s no undoing this? I’m going to have to explain to her what happened.” David scrubbed his hands over his face. It was either that or punch a wall. “I’ll have to train her too, protect her from the Hunters.”

  “I don’t envy the position you’ve been put in man.” The angel clapped him on the back. “Best of luck to you, but don’t contact me again. I can’t get mixed up in this.”

  When David gave up his human life to become an angel, he spent months training in Heaven. But Tessa was earthbound when she switched over. Because she never fully died, she was not on the radar of the other angels. This complicated things for David. If he reported her, he would also have to turn himself in. He would be punished. But if he didn’t deliver her to the Healers, she would be shunned from their community forever and hunted as a rogue once they realized she existed. The choice was an impossible one.

  Tessa sighed. This was one of the weirdest conversations she’d ever had. She wasn’t sure if she should invite him in and hug him for saving her life or if she should call the cops because he was stalking her. To make things more confusing, he evaded her questions and sat quietly for long stretches of time. How did he get past the security guards? Where in the world was Morgan? She tried to think of what smart ass remark her friend would come up with in this situation.

  She put the fire poker down, but still in reach. She stretched her now white fingers, which were sore from holding on so tight. At times like these, she really missed her dad. He’d know exactly what to do. He was, by far, the wisest man she’d known. Even as a kid, he never yelled when she did something wrong. Instead he sent Tessa to her room while he analyzed the situation, then came up with wickedly inventive punishments. It was never something as simple as grounded for a week; his punishment always fit the crime. Like free tutoring every Saturday morning for six months at the local YMCA when she copied a friend’s homework.

  “This should serve to teach you not to repeat your error but will also help with your future college applications.”

  “Gee, thanks Daddy.”

  He kissed the top of her forehead. “You’ll thank me in the end Sweet Pea.”


  She imagined what advice he would give in this moment and followed her gut. She stood, grabbed the fire poker, and went to the door. With her hand on the knob, she paused and spoke a warning to David.

  “I’m going to change out of my pajamas, and when I come back I’ll open the door so we can speak face to face. But you’re not coming inside. We’ll talk on the porch—on opposite sides of the porch. And if you try anything at all, I won’t hesitate to call the cops,” she added. “Agreed?”

  David stood up and brushed off his backside. He smiled, delighted to see her beautiful face and know she trusted him—even if it was just a little. He could build upon that. “I understand. I’m going to go sit on the swing again. I’ll keep my hands at my sides so you know I’m not a threat.”

  He moved to the white wicker swing and sat back, resting one leg on his knee—the picture of leisure. A few minutes later, the bolt unlocked and the door cracked open a few inches, the security chain still in place. Tessa glanced out making sure he was true to his word and closed the door again swiftly. Sliding the security chain back, she opened the door again, but did not come out. Instead, she stuck her hand out the door, held her phone toward him, and the flash went off.

  “What are you doing Tessa?”

  “I may have been born at night, but it wasn’t last night.” She barely contained the urge to roll her eyes. “I took your picture, and I’m uploading it to my Facebook page. That way if anything happens to me, everyone knows who to look for. You’ll have over 600 people searching for you if I don’t reply that I’m okay in the next half hour.”

  “Thanks for the warning.” David chuckled. Her ingenuity amazed him. But he tensed thinking his picture was out there for anyone—including those hunting him—to see. He needed to get his hands on her phone.

  After posting the picture, Tessa slipped her phone back into her pocket where it was in reach, and stepped onto the porch. She chose a chair on the opposite side of the porch from David and sat carefully on the edge.

  “So,” Tessa began, feeling more nervous now that she was face to face with him. “You said you came here to explain something. So explain.” Her voice quivered as she spoke and she hoped he didn’t notice. He looked younger than she assumed—no older than her. How could he be a med student if he was barely out of high school? His features were dark, maybe Italian or Greek, with olive skin atop hard, lean muscles. His thick black hair fell in his face and made his bright green eyes stand out. Tessa felt her mouth go dry. He was like a Greek god come to life.

  “I need you to keep an open mind. Can you do that?”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  David didn’t say anything else. He pulled out a tiny pocket knife. Tessa jumped up and aimed the fireplace poker at him.

  “Whoa! I’m not going to hurt you. I’m not even going to move from this spot, I promise.” He took the knife and made a one inch slice across his right palm. As the drops of blood pooled at the surface, she gasped and winced. He turned his palms out toward her and let her see the wound. Her knees bounced up and down. He wiped the knife on his pants and put it back in his pocket. He glanced at Tessa to see how she reacted. Her face was pale and turning green. Just as he opened his mouth to see if she was okay, her eyes rolled in the back of her head and her knees gave out. Before he could catch her, Tessa fainted.

  Nico perched on the rooftop of a house in the gated community where a yappy dog barked at the door, wanting to go inside. He cringed, the high pitched sound annoyed him, giving him a headache. The stupid mutt’s owner was dead asleep and never going to hear him, so he took decisive action, Nico fried the security system and opened the front door—without even moving from his perch.

  “Serves them right,” he muttered. Man, he loved these powers. He was still surprised at their range and intensity. He opened the door with a flick of his wrist and watched the filthy mutt trot inside, finally shutting up. Apparently, he knew what was good for him. Now he could concentrate on his assignment. He leaned in to get a better look at the ridiculous scene on the porch.

  “Are you kidding me?” he grumbled as he watched the two people across the street. “I swear, put a penny between them and it’s practically the scene from Ghost.”

  But if his hunch was correct and this was David, the rogue angel was no Patrick Swayze. Having spent the last six years assigned to find David, he learned more than what the personnel files boasted. Nico now knew many of his deep, dark secrets and he knew David would come quietly to keep the secrets safe. He watched the large, two-story brick house closely. The fallen angel hadn’t been spotted in a few decades and could have changed his appearance drastically, so he needed to be sure before informing the Ducibus of his discovery. Nico’s mouth spread into a thin line that slightly turned upward at the edges as he thought of the rewards he would receive for bringing David in. As a Level Three fugitive, he carried a hefty price tag as well as a probable promotion. And with a promotion came more powers.

  The subject, now sitting on a wicker swing, seemed perfectly relaxed. Nico smiled, knowing he hadn’t been spotted or sensed. If this subject were David, he was either so far off his game he couldn’t pick up on the augury from less than block away, or he was so arrogant he didn’t bother to check; Nico put his money on the latter. He pulled out a digital camera and snapped a few pictures, the subjects too involved with their conversation to notice the flash. He would use facial recognition software back at the lab to do a comparison from David’s known Army photo 40 years ago. God bless modern technology!

  He followed this lead for the last several weeks and felt certain he was onto something. Tips came in from multiple sources that a few of the free clinics in the Pittsburgh area were reducing their wait times by half, having less people needing return visits, and the clinics were actually saving money! Unheard of in this economy. When times were tough, even people with insurance saved a few bucks by not paying for medical treatment. No way was this a natural occurrence, so Nico flew out to investigate. He spotted the subject heading out of a clinic one afternoon and rubbing his hands together, even though it was a balmy 73 degrees. This was something many healer angels did after expunging a lot of power in a short period of time. It caused a tingling sensation and massaging ones hands helped it dissipate faster. Nico’s interest was piqued and he followed him.

  Earlier tonight, just as he was about to get seated at the restaurant, the red headed girl ran out and the subject followed a few minutes later. His senses tingled slightly as she passed by, but it wasn’t enough to pursue her. Honing in on the emotions of the room, he knew he missed something big. Everyone was a mixture of curiosity, pity, excitement, and confusion—a few even felt protective. He heard many of the people gossiping over their decadent desserts of chocolate mousse and crème brûlée. The girl was the main topic of conversation and had been in some sort of accident and lost her memory; she was lucky to be alive.

  Nico wondered how the subject fit into this scenario as he watched over the house. Was he involved with the girl? Was she a recipient of his rogue healings? Was she an angel too? That was doubtful, but if this was truly David, then she may be the key to finally bringing him down.

  As he watched the subject carry the girl inside after she fainted, Nico cursed under his breath. He hadn’t been paying attention, instead reviewing the pictures on the camera, and missed whatever caused her to faint. If they went inside, it would make it more difficult to assess the situation and see if he had the right guy. He would just have to get closer to keep his stake-out going.

  He jumped to the ground and landed lightly on his feet, careful not to scuff the hand-polished leather of his immaculately kept Ferragamos. The worst part of surveillance was blending in to his surroundings. He wore a basic blue polo shirt that he ironed on a decal of the local water company. Khakis, a fake name badge and a clipboard completed the ensemble, but he wouldn’t suffer his feet to sub-par shoes. It was a sacrifice he wasn’t willing to make. He rounded the corner of the house an
d spotted a kitchen window open. Scanning the area for a place to sit, he found a stone bench under a trellis that was shaded enough so he wouldn’t be noticed, but close enough so he could hear conversations. He brushed it off with a handkerchief from his pocket and sat quietly, focused on the sounds from the house. He would stay here as long as it took to either confirm or rule out his theory. And if he were a betting man, which he was, he’d place money on the fact that this was the infamous fallen angel David Allegri.

  Tessa’s eyes fluttered open. She gazed around, confused about what happened. Where was she? She raised her head, which rested on the floral couch pillow in the formal living room. She was alone, but heard movement coming from the back of the house. Standing on shaky legs, she took a minute to balance herself and listened. Where did David go?

  She stood idle for a few minutes trying to recall what happened. The only thing she was definitively aware of was queasiness in her stomach. Swallowing, she could taste the remnants of bile and knew she needed a drink to clear the awful taste out of her mouth before she did anything else. The icemaker’s unmistakable rumble echoed in the house and she headed for the kitchen. As she walked through the hall, the soft light from above the stove emanated out of the room. She stopped at the doorway. The refrigerator was open, and she saw feet poking out from below the door.

  “David?” she called.

  “Hey! You’re awake.” He greeted her in his deep, husky voice. He poked his head out and smiled. He finished filling a baggie with ice cubes and wrapped a towel around it. “You bumped your head when you fell,” he explained, handing her the bag. “It took me by surprise, so I didn’t catch you in time. I’m sorry. Here, you’re going to want to put ice on it.”