Placing her hand on his arm, she gave a light squeeze to stop his explanation. Deciding to let it go, she smiled up at him. “Look at you, sounding all brotherly. You do know we’re officially family after today, right?” Reaching over, she wrapped her arms around him as much as they would go, and squeezed. “Congratulations, Malachi,” she whispered.
He had just started hugging her back, when another voice surrounded them.
“Hey, you’re not making a move on my man now, are you Nicci?”
Grimacing, she let go to face Trinity. “Ew, no. That would be gross, since I just referred to him as my brother.” Glancing over at Malachi, she smiled. “No offense, of course.”
“None taken.”
They all laughed before Trinity took her new doting husband back out onto the dance floor.
The night went quickly after that. There was the garter and bouquet toss. Everyone got a good laugh when Tori caught the bouquet before quickly dropping it once she realized what had happened.
Nicole danced with a couple different men and tried to have a good time. She caught sight of Gemariah occasionally. He was across the dance hall, but still kept his distance. When he walked out with a woman on each arm, she refused to feel anything. Shortly after, the bride and groom left and so did she. All alone, she silently drove back home.
CHAPTER 2
Gemariah Slater peeled off his shirt as he walked in the door to his house. Why did every female insist on wearing vanilla… and so much of it at that? Didn’t they know how alluring their natural essence was? But then they have to go and cover it up. Grimacing at the smell still clinging to him, he dropped the shirt by the door.
It was almost six in the morning, and he didn’t have anywhere to be for another three hours. Deciding that the first thing on his list was a shower, he jogged up the stairs to his bedroom. He was never comfortable the next day after an all-nighter until he got cleaned up. Not that the night before wasn’t fun, he just didn’t need to be constantly reminded of it.
As he walked through his room, he stripped off his clothes, and dropped them on the floor as he went. Already naked by the time he made it to the bathroom, he made a beeline for the shower. Stepping inside, he turned on the water, and ducked under the stream.
As soon as the water touched him, he sucked in air through his clinched teeth. Peering over his shoulder, he saw the scratches down the length of his back. “Damn she-cat!” He knew she had been wild, but shit… He didn’t think it had been that bad.
It was also one of the things that prompted him to leave before she woke up this morning. He met her yesterday, and she gave no indication of being that fierce.
On occasion, he liked to stroll through the city gardens. What better way to get the attention of a woman, than to have his pick of flowers to hand to her? The majority of the time, these women were more mild mannered. If he had known what Bethany… or was it Melanie… it didn’t matter. If he had known what she was like in the sack, there was no way he would have gone for her. It hadn’t been what he was looking for yesterday.
Some days, he needed a good wholesome woman to flush out the memories of the annoyingly stubborn one he couldn’t get out of his head.
He had gotten a taste of something that night, and it was hard to forget. She had been so responsive to his touch. It was a little bit wanton mixed with some naivety… an irresistible combination. He wasn’t foolish enough to believe it wasn’t an act, though. Everything Nicole did around him was solely to get under his skin.
He had been perfectly happy with his life of debauchery until then. Now, practically every woman he was with, he found himself comparing to her. No matter who he was with or with how many at a time, they never measured up. It was probably her plan from the beginning, being the thorn in his side that she was.
Clearing his head once again, he finished washing, and shut off the water before stepping out. He grabbed a towel and started drying himself as he walked back through the bedroom. As he stood there, towel drying his hair, he looked around for something to slip on. Walking over to his bed, he dropped the towel, and picked up a pair of jeans off the floor. Just something quick, he thought as he slipped them on.
His stomach rumbled as he straightened once again. Man he was hungry! It had been a long night and an already eventful morning. Not only could he not find all his clothes right away, he also had to deal with her little yapper. He already hated dogs to begin with, but when the thing wouldn’t quit barking as he was trying to be quiet… well, that was a whole new level of dislike.
Making his way down the steps, he leaped over the railing at halfway, and turned to walk into the kitchen. Opening the fridge, he stared at the contents. What am I going to make, he thought?
Removing the eggs, he knew they were going to be the main ingredient, but what else? Ahh, taking out the breakfast potatoes, onions, and ham, he decided to make a breakfast frittata. It would take longer than he anticipated, but it would give him that extra time he needed to think.
Once he cracked the eggs and started to whisk, he could feel the familiar calm settling in. It was the same as any other time he worked in the kitchen. This was his domain. After three centuries of messing around with food, he could cook anything he set his mind to.
He concentrated on adding the other ingredients when his mind wandered unwillingly back to Nicole. Last week at Malachi’s wedding, he had royally screwed up and had gone too far… again. He was always at his worst around her, and for that reason, he just needed to stay away. He had worked too hard, and for too long, fighting against the pull to become as hateful as the fallen angel that started his bloodline, to lose it all over a little pixie.
Ramiel was supposed to be a superior angel; he was one of the Grigori for crying out loud. He began as a seeker of souls, and was of great importance, because he led souls to the gates of heaven when they passed. God also regarded him as the Angel of whirlwinds, thunder, and earthquakes, and he was known as the “Thunder of God”.
It made sense that when two hundred angels decided to descend upon Earth at Mt. Herman, Ramiel was picked to go with and look after things. Granted with the ability to give “true vision” to any mortal of his choosing, it was said that he marveled at the opportunity.
Ramiel had always truly appreciated mankind, and once engulfed, it didn’t take long for him to succumb to the temptations and sins that humans couldn’t resist themselves. He became intimate with women and grew obsessed with material possessions, therefore inviting evil into his soul.
Obviously Gemariah wasn’t as different as he would have liked, by living the lustful life he did. However, Ramiel was known for his volatile personality; carefree one moment, and then would rip your throat out the next. Gemariah, hoping not to fall in the same footsteps, took pains to prevent any aggressive behavior on his part; hence, why it was best for everyone if he stayed away from Nicole.
“Shit! Son of a Bitch!” He shook off his burned hand and gripped it into a fist before using his other one to put the skillet in the oven. That’s what I get for letting my mind wander, he thought.
As he waited for that to finish cooking, he poured himself a glass of orange juice and sat at the table with the morning paper he had grabbed on his way in. Looking down at the front page, there was a picture of the little girl that had been missing. Without reading, he flipped it open, looking for what he wanted.
Local news… flip. World news… flip. Classifieds… flip. Obituaries… flip. “Ah-ha!” Pulling free the comics, he pushed the rest away. Sitting back, he settled in to wait for his food.
It wasn’t too much longer when he heard the oven beep, and he got up to get his food. As he opened the oven, a wonderful aroma filled the room, and he knew it was going to taste even better.
He let it cool before cutting himself out a piece. Just as he was about to put a bite into his mouth, his phone started to ring. With a frustrated sigh, he placed the fork down and reached for his phone. His stomach growled in protest, but he changed his attitude
when he saw who it was.
A devilish smile came over his face as he answered the call. “Hey, Babe. Don’t tell me you miss me already.”
“Gemariah…” The female voice came through as annoyed, but he could hear the laughter in it as well.
“Wait!” He stopped her before she said anything else. In his most sultry voice, he continued, “Before we go any further… What are you wearing?”
“Hmm, let’s see… jeans, a sweatshirt, sneakers, oh… and my wedding ring.”
He shook his head, and let out a loud sigh. “Trinity, I don’t think you understand how this is supposed to work.”
“She understands perfectly how it works, and continually tells me, her husband, what I like to hear.” The deep voice that came over the phone was definitely not Trinity.
Gemariah just laughed at his friend’s sour attitude. Malachi had just learned recently how Gemariah introduced himself to Trinity months ago. Needless to say, he was not happy, and was still trying to get over it. It’s only natural to come on to your friend’s girl to make sure she won’t stray… right? “Why, Mal, I had no idea you were home.”
The lie was extremely exaggerated. Of course, he knew Malachi was there. He also knew with his friend’s sensitive hearing, nothing he said would have stayed hidden.
“I’m not. I’m at the office with everyone else. Where are you?”
Gemariah swung his head over to look at the clock on the stove. “It’s not even eight yet. The meeting’s not till nine.”
“Wrong. I sent out a message to everyone last night. The new time was seven thirty.”
Aggravated with the change of plans, he brought down his phone to look at his messages. “Dammit! I didn’t get a message. I should kno—” His voice stopped when he scrolled down to see the missed messages from the night before.
Malachi sighed. “Be here in thirty minutes… no more. We’ll debrief you when you get here.” Without another word, he hung up.
“Shit!” He almost threw the phone out of frustration, but decided not to at the last minute. A fortune had already been spent to replace the others that had been lost or broken.
Racing back upstairs, he was changed and ready to go in less than ten minutes. Since there was time to spare, he headed back to the kitchen to pack up his breakfast. He was already borderline starving and was not about to let the food go to waste. There was also a chance that if he brought an offering of food, maybe it would calm the already bad moods he was about to encounter.
Finely out the door and into the garage, he jumped into his truck. By speeding and hopefully an open road, he would make it there just in time.
Unfortunately, fate was not on his side, and it was stop-and-go traffic the whole way there.
Anticipating the worst, he ran into the office building, and forwent the elevator for the stairs. Already fifteen minutes later than he was supposed to be, he knew jogging through the halls was pointless, but he did it anyway. When he got to the conference room they always met at, he was winded but decided to act as if nothing was amiss.
“Hey guys… and gals. Who’s hungry?” Trying to act as nonchalant as ever, he placed the frittata at the center of the table before slouching back into an open chair.
The entire room was silent, and everyone glared in his direction.
“Glad you could join us,” Malachi said sarcastically, then continued with the meeting as if the interruption never happened. “Okay, we all know what to do. Check in periodically. Everyone’s dismissed.”
They all started to get up and leave the office.
“Tori, gather your stuff and meet us back here.”
She nodded to Malachi, and left the room.
Gemariah stayed sitting, and watched as everyone walked out. He felt like shit. He had missed the entire meeting, and it was all because he had neglected his responsibilities… again. This was not a job that was nine to five, Monday through Friday, and he knew that.
He belonged to an organization created to help rid the world of as much evil as they could get their hands on. Banishing demons, fighting them back to hell, and saving the innocent… it was all part of the job. No one knew exactly who started the outfit, but they were all positive that there was divine help in the matter. It pulled all positive resources together to achieve their goal, and he was part of its nephilim division.
If someone got the pleasure of being a descendant of a fallen angel, they were considered a nephilim. They also had a fifty-fifty chance of not being a crazy lunatic. In a lot of cases, a nephilim can’t fight the pull to the dark side. It’s just too strong in their blood. In others, they can choose to fight as a member in God’s army.
This corporation kept tabs on as many nephilim as they could find; good or bad. It also liked to recruit the good ones at a young age. Not a small deal, since he was one they recruited, and he would be 345 in almost a month.
Nephilim were an essential part of the plan to prevent Satan’s army from growing any farther. They looked like everyone else, but were faster, stronger, and had different abilities… courtesy of their genetics. The ones still around today were a vast improvement from the original nephilim. Scrolls from earlier report men and women that towered over humans, with many other scarier attributes. It was the years of humanity in his blood that made it possible for him to look almost normal.
Even with the humanity running through his veins, the corrupted blood of a fallen angel was there as well, making every day a constant battle to stay on the path of goodness. That was why he loved to work in the kitchen so much. The thought of creating a masterpiece from nothing comforted him in a way he couldn’t explain.
As if on cue, his stomach growled, and he turned his attention to the egg breakfast. Before he could reach for it, Malachi cleared his throat, and successfully brought his focus back to the situation at hand. Looking up, he saw that Malachi was looking at him expectantly.
“What? It’s not like I haven’t been late before.”
“You’ve never missed an entire meeting.” He hated the knowing look Malachi gave him. “What were you doing anyway?” he asked.
Huffing his frustration, Gemariah tried to play it off as nothing. “I was making my breakfast.” He waved in the direction of the, now cold, frittata.
“I wasn’t talking about this morning, and you know it. Why didn’t you see my messages? I left you more than one.”
Gemariah shrugged and looked away. “I wasn’t home,” he mumbled.
Malachi let out a sigh and shook his head. “Another one? Are you trying to break some kind of record?”
An obsession was more like it, except he wasn’t about to admit that. “Something like that.”
Having enough of the third degree, he decided to switch back to his devil-may-care attitude, and leaned back in his chair again. Propping his boot clad feet on the table, he plastered on a sly grin and looked back at Malachi. “What can I say? They can’t keep their hands off me. I could teach you a few things, if you need.”
Malachi rolled his eyes, but couldn’t hold back his smile. “Happily married.” He held up his left hand to flash his ring and asked, “Or have you forgotten?”
“Oh yeah, where is that little spitfire? She was here earlier.” Gemariah glanced around the conference room, and even leaned back in his chair to peer out one of the windows that looked into the other offices.
“She didn’t want to be late for work, so she had to leave before you got here.” The emphasis about her was not lost on Gemariah.
He pushed back the irritation he felt from his friend still getting on his case, and decided to give as good as he got. “Isn’t that sweet? Are you getting regular office visits now?” Putting his feet back to the floor, he leaned forward and whispered, “Tell me. Are these visits PG, or have you been secretly christening your desk when no one else is around?”
Malachi just stood there with his hands clasped behind his back. His gaze didn’t waver from Gemariah, and he could have almost looked bored. That was
his friend, always so put together and in control. If it wasn’t for the slight blush adorning his friend’s cheeks, Gemariah would assume Malachi hadn’t heard him.
Considering that evidence enough, he opened his mouth to say more, but Malachi put up a hand to stop him. “Think what you want, but she was actually here on business. That’s why I moved up the meeting.”
That got Gemariah’s attention. “What’s up? Is she okay?” He hadn’t known Trinity that long, but he already thought of her as a little sister. The thought of her mixed up with the ugliness they dealt with every day, didn’t sit well with him.
“Yeah, she’s fine. She’s witnessed unusual things happening around a student at her school, and would like one of us to check it out.” Malachi looked down, and started to stack the papers on the desk in front of him. Without looking back up, he continued. “It could be nothing, but by her description, it’s possible the student could be possessed. Everything sounded legit, so I’m sending a couple people out there.”
Gemariah nodded in agreement. “So, when do they leave?”
“It has to happen while the student is unaware, that’s why they’re going to the school today. Plus, I want Trinity there to help control any outsiders finding out what’s going on. She’s not going to be there this afternoon, so that’s why it has to happen in the morning.”
“Playing hooky, is she?” Gemariah chuckled and shook his head. “Such a little rebel.”
Malachi let out a long sigh. “No, today’s Nicci’s doctor appointment. She told her that she would be there for her.”
Malachi was finished organizing papers now, and was looking right at him. Not wanting his friend to see any bit of interest in his expression, Gemariah smirked. “What, she still sick? Have they checked the stick up her ass? Maybe that needs to be changed.”
The smack against the table made Gemariah jump, and he looked down to make sure nothing was broken. When he looked back up, Malachi was glaring down at him. “I don’t know why you two hate each other so much, but the woman is sick, and she is my family now too. Show some respect, dammit!”
The Divine Whisper Page 3
