by Fall, Carly
“Nothing. Liam and I just had a little bit of an argument.”
“What about?”
“It’s nothing, Evangeline.”
There was a long stretch of silence. “You know I can go and find out.”
Adela nodded, unsure if she should just tell the angel what happened or allow her to find out for herself.
She decided on the latter.
“Once this assignment is over, I would like to request that Liam and I be separated,” Adela said, staring out across the lake at the snow-capped mountains. “I would like to return to my role as an Angel of Death as well, preferably in my old job as an Angel of Tolerance.”
“And this is because of this argument?” Evangeline asked.
“Yes.”
“Is there nothing that can be done to repair the rift?”
Adela thought for a moment. If it had been an argument about who was to do the dishes, or who should take out the garbage, then yes, there were options to mend the relationship. However, she and Liam had experienced the ultimate intimacy and he had called it a mistake. Adela didn’t see how she could get past that and pretend nothing had happened, especially with the feelings she held for Liam.
“I don’t see how, Evangeline,” Adela answered.
“You know that I can’t promise you that you will be an Angel of Death again, Adela.”
Adela nodded. “Yes, but I had to ask.”
“And why do you want that?”
“Because it’s easier than being a human again, Evangeline. I don’t belong in this world. My time was long ago and—”
Suddenly they heard singing in a language Adela didn’t recognize, and a moment later Gunnar appeared. He didn’t see Adela or Evangeline as he marched out to the dock. He kept up the tune, and began taking his clothes off.
“What’s he doing?” Adela asked, not knowing whether to laugh or be afraid for Gunnar. “He’s going to freeze!”
Evangeline just shook her head, looking as confused as Adela felt.
A moment later, Gunnar was completely nude. He threw his arms outward, turned his head up to the sky, hit a really high note, and jumped into the lake.
“Gunnar!” Adela screamed, and ran over to the dock. What was he doing? The only thing she could think of was that this was a suicide attempt. She almost slipped and followed Gunnar into the frigid waters, but caught herself before she went in. She made it to the end of the dock and Gunnar stood in chest deep water staring up at her. “What are you doing? Are you out of your mind?”
Gunnar threw his head back and laughed, then made his way to the shore. Adela followed along the dock. “I once had this death,” he said, oblivious to his own nudity, “it happened during one of those polar bear swims that crazy people do during the winter. I believe the year was 1991, and it was in Russia, if I’m not mistaken. They do these things all over the world, but I believe this particular one was in Russia. Anyway, this guy went in, had a heart attack, and died on the shore in a pile of snow. Could you please grab my clothes, Adela?”
She went back to the edge of the pier, scooped up the pile of clothes, and then met Gunnar at the shore, trying desperately to look anywhere but at him.
“So, before he died,” he continued as he dried off with his shirt, “I was watching these people run into the frigid waters, and they all came out saying how reviving it was, how they felt cleansed. I was just in the cabin thinking about that death, and I decided to give it a try.”
Adela stared up at the trees, catching flashes of Gunnar’s flesh out of the corner of her eye. “And do you feel revived and cleansed?” she asked.
“R-Right now I-I feel v-very cold,” Gunnar stammered, pulling his pants on.
Adela looked over at the rock and noted Evangeline was gone. She didn’t want to stick around and watch Gunnar get dressed. “I’m going to head back, okay?”
“Sure, Adela. I’ll keep you updated on how I feel, if it was worth it. Maybe we can do it together next time!”
“I don’t think so, Gunnar,” she said over her shoulder. She was stuck with a cranky angel who had hurt her worse with his words than anyone ever had, and one that was certifiably insane.
“Could this get any worse?” she mumbled to herself.
She didn’t see how.
Chapter 24
Liam had just finished putting the last of the bandages on his burnt hand when he heard something that resembled like a gunshot.
What the hell?
It sounded again, then Liam heard someone yelling.
He went to the living room and looked out the window. Across the way, a man stood on the deck of Jackie’s house dressed in nothing but a pair of camouflage shorts. He waved a gun around, screaming at the sky, and Liam could only surmise it was Jonathan. Liam decided he would call the police—traumatic brain injury or not, the guy didn’t look like he was in any condition to be handling firearms.
As he turned to go back into the kitchen to make the call, something red caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. Slowly, he backed up to the big window, his heart thumping, his body shaking. Oh, hell. Adela was crouched down behind a tree, her red coat making her the easiest target Liam had ever seen. She might as well have had a neon sign over her head blinking, “shoot me!”
He glanced back up at the shooter who was yelling incoherently. Oddly enough, he didn’t seem to see Adela yet. Yet—that was the operative word.
Liam swore under his breath. There wasn’t time to call the police. He was going to have to do something about this himself before the shooter saw Adela and decided to shoot her, or kill himself.
Where the hell was Jackie? Had that guy done something to her? Images of her lying in a pool of blood by their fireplace played in his mind, and he swore again.
Tugging on his boots, he didn’t bother with a jacket, figuring the white long underwear shirt he wore would help him blend in with the snow. He went out the front door of the house so he could approach the other cabin from the front as well. He would then disarm the shooter, and hopefully Jackie would be safe. As he marched through the snow, he realized he should have called the police before leaving his house, but as another shot reverberated through the trees, he ran toward Jackie’s house. With that many shots going off, the police were sure to be summoned by someone in the area.
He approached the front door, still hearing the shooter screaming. Thankfully the door was unlocked, and he stepped in. Jackie was huddled in the corner of the living room, tears streaming down her face.
“Are you okay?” Liam whispered.
Jackie nodded.
“Is that Jonathan?”
“Yes.”
Liam went through the living room and into the kitchen. The sliding glass door was right in front of him, as was Jonathan. The guy didn’t even have any shoes on, and he was in ankle-deep snow.
Through the glass, Liam could see part of Adela’s red coat as she huddled behind the tree, the red standing out against the snow like a beacon. In the distance, he saw Gunnar running toward the sound, and Liam hoped the Viking would get a quick read on what was going on and hit the ground before Jonathan noticed him.
“Please don’t hurt him,” Jackie whispered from behind Liam.
He didn’t want to hurt Jonathan, but the guy had a gun. If he needed to hurt him to disarm him, he would, especially since Adela was almost in the direct line of fire.
Waving her off, he took another step toward the glass, praying that Jonathan wouldn’t turn around and see him. Liam had a feeling if that were to happen, he’d be a dead man. Again.
Jonathan was screaming something about IED’s and terrorists, and Liam stepped closer.
“Please,” Jackie whispered from behind him.
Liam slowly reached for the handle of the door, praying the thing didn’t squeak as he opened it. Just as he slid it open enough to get through it, Jonathan stopped screaming. The next few seconds played out like a slow-motion movie for Liam.
Gunnar was still runni
ng toward the melee and was right behind Adela. She shifted slightly, revealing more of her red coat. Jonathan raised the gun and aimed her way. Seeing what was going on sent a wave of fear, followed by throat-clenching panic, through Liam, and he pushed the door so it was fully opened. He hurled himself at Jonathan just as another shot rang out.
Adela screamed.
Chapter 25
Liam grabbed Jonathan’s gun hand and yanked it upward while plowing into him from behind. Both men fell to the ground, while Jonathan thrashed and screamed beneath Liam as he tried to pry the gun from his hand.
Once the gun was dislodged, Liam gently tossed it over the deck and into the deep snow, out of reach. Jonathan had gone limp, and there were small whimpers coming from the man.
“Jonathan!” Jackie yelled, coming out on the deck. “Honey, it’s okay.”
Liam slowly got up off of Jonathan and stepped back. Jonathan got on all fours, his body shaking with sobs.
Liam looked over at where Adela had been and saw her red coat, but she wasn’t moving. Gunnar kneeled in front of her.
Liam jumped the railing and ran as best as he could in the knee deep snow, his heart pounding, his throat constricted. What if Adela had been shot? What if he hadn’t gotten to Jonathan in time before the gun went off? Please, God, no.
When Liam reached Adela, Gunnar was crouched down in front of her, his hands on the sides of her face. Liam noticed a tear in the shoulder of her parka, a white tuft of its innards poking out. Dear God, the bullet had hit her. Adela’s whole body shook as she tried to stand, her gaze locked on Gunnar. He tried to hug her, but she pushed him away, crying. He tried again.
“No! Leave me alone! Please!”
Liam stepped in between the two of them and shoved Gunnar away from Adela.
“Back off, Gunnar!” he yelled, giving the Viking another push.
“Adela,” he said softly, taking her hands and gently pulling her to her feet.
She laid her head on his chest. He could feel the fear coming off of her as she trembled in his arms.
“Are you okay?” he whispered. “Are you hit?”
She shook her head. “No. I don’t think so.”
He closed his eyes, thinking about how wonderful it was to be holding Adela, and how lucky they were that she hadn’t been shot. He held her tighter, never wanting to let her go, but knowing he needed to. They also needed to make sure she didn’t have bullet lodged in her arm.
A hand landed on his shoulder and he let go of Adela. A cauldron of emotion boiled up within him and his fear, annoyance, and yes, his love for Adela, came rushing to the surface. Certain the hand belonged to Gunnar, Liam prepared to give him a piece of his mind. He didn’t like the man anywhere near Adela, especially with the comments he’d made this morning. “I said to fucking back off, you dumb Viking!” he roared.
He turned, his fist cocked, and he let it fly.
His fist connected squarely with Evangeline’s mouth. She stumbled backward, shock on her face, and fell at Gunnar’s feet. He quickly put his hands under her armpits and helped her stand.
Evangeline stared at Liam a moment, her blue gaze full of confusion as she felt her mouth for any damage.
“Oh, shit. Evangeline, I’m so sorry,” he apologized, taking a step toward her.
Evangeline’s eyes flashed black and a small silver orb appeared in her right hand. Liam had no idea what it was, but based on the look on Evangeline’s face, he was fairly certain it wasn’t anything he wanted to tangle with. She threw it at him, hitting him squarely in the chest. Unbearable red-hot, burning pain radiated from his heart outward, reminding him of his death. As it traveled through his body, he became blessedly numb, and then paralyzed. He lay in the snow unable to breathe, move or speak staring at the majestic trees and the gray sky beyond them.
“Liam!” Adela shouted coming into his line of vision, and then his world went black.
Chapter 26
Adela stood in shock as Liam vanished before her eyes. One moment she felt safe in his arms, and the next he had disappeared. She looked all around as if he had somehow moved faster than she could see. He was nowhere to be found.
“Where is he?” she asked, spinning in a slow circle. “What happened to him?”
“He cannot lay a hand on an angel from the Inner Circle,” Evangeline replied.
Adela stared at Evangeline as her eyes went from black, back to blue. There was a small cut on her lip that disappeared within seconds of her touching it. Gunnar stood behind Evangeline looking as stunned as Adela felt. “What did you do with him? Where did he go?”
“It’s not your concern, Adela,” Evangeline said.
“You have to bring him back!” Adela yelled, fear racing through her system. First she was shot at and now Liam was gone. What was she going to do without him? Yes, things had definitely just gotten worse.
“Adela, I can’t do that. He must atone for striking me.”
“It was an accident! You heard him! He thought you were Gunnar!”
Evangeline nodded. “And the question is, why would he want to hit Gunnar to begin with?”
Adela remembered telling Gunnar to leave her alone. Liam was only trying to enforce her wishes. “He was helping me, Evangeline! You need to bring him back!”
The fear she had was slowly turning to panic. She eyed Gunnar standing behind Evangeline. She didn’t want to complete this assignment without Liam. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Gunnar, it was that she and Liam were a team. Yes, what he said had hurt her terribly, but she felt utterly lost without Liam’s presence.
Evangeline stared at her, obviously confused. “I don’t understand, Adela. Weren’t you just telling me that you wanted to be reassigned?”
“Yes, but—“
“Well then, I would think you would be happy that Liam is gone.”
“But Evangeline—“
“I must go,” she said, unfurled her wings and flew upward toward Heaven.
Adela stared at Gunnar, and then turned to look up at Jackie’s house through the trees. Jonathan stood on the deck in handcuffs staring downward, a blanket over his shoulders. Two deputies were with him and it looked as if they were trying to talk to him. After a moment, they led him inside.
Adela realized the once the deputies heard the full story from Jackie, they would want to talk to her as well. Panic welled within her as she had no idea what she would say to them.
“Let’s head back to our cabin,” Gunnar murmured, placing his hand under her elbow.
“They’ll want to speak to us,” Adela fretted.
Gunnar nodded. “I agree, but let’s head back. They can come to us. Jackie will point them in our direction, and we’ll buy a few minutes to get our story straight.”
Adela allowed Gunnar to lead her through the trees, trying to focus on what they should say to the sheriffs. How in the world were they going to explain Gunnar’s wet hair and Liam’s disappearance? She stared at Gunnar’s back, feeling her panic rise. Liam would have taken charge and dealt with the sheriffs, but he was no longer around. Gunnar seemed a little unnerved as well.
Adela realized that she would have to fend for herself, as well as Gunnar. She had more experience than he did living as a human, and who knew what he would say or do. He’d just decided that jumping into a frigid lake was a good idea.
As she shut the door to the cabin, the warmth enveloped her, her mind spinning the lies that needed to be told.
Chapter 27
A half-hour later, there was a knock on the door. Adela took a deep breath, and nodded to Gunnar as they moved to answer it together.
Two deputies stood on the front step. Both had their hands on their guns, and wore mirrored sunglasses; it was unsettling to Adela she couldn’t see their eyes.
“I’m deputy Lyle, and this is deputy Franks,” the one with black hair said. “It’s our understanding you were involved in the shooting that took place a little while ago, and we need to speak to you about it.”
Adela nodded. “We were the ones being shot at,” Adela said, trying to sound calm and sure of herself.
“That’s what we heard. Do either of you need medical attention?”
“No, we’re fine,” Gunnar assured him. “Just a little shaken up. Please, come in.”
Gunnar and Adela led them to the couch, and sat down. One sheriff sat down on the other couch, while the other stood behind him. They didn’t look as daunting once they removed their glasses. The one sitting on the couch smiled, and Adela calmed down a little bit. He was about forty, with green eyes that reminded her of Liam’s, and short dark hair.
“How long have you folks lived here?” the sheriff asked.
“We don’t live here,” Adela said. “We’re only renting the cabin for a few days.”
The sheriff nodded and pulled out a pad and pen, he got their names and asked what happened.
“Um, we were down by the lake,” Adela said.
“Well, darling,” Gunnar said, “you were down by the lake.”
Adela smiled at him, silently cursing herself that she was such a terrible liar. They had gone over their story a couple of times, and here she was already messing it up. “Yes.”
“And then I heard the shots. I had just gotten out of the shower, which is why my hair is wet,” Gunnar continued. “I ran down to the lake because I knew that’s where Adela was. When she wasn’t there, I ran up toward the sound of the gunfire, and found her hunched in some trees.”
The sheriff nodded, scribbling in his notebook.
“Now the lady across the way said that a man named Liam disarmed the shooter. Where’s Liam?”
Adela glanced over at Gunnar, and he met her gaze. Here was the tricky part. They couldn’t very well explain that Liam had been sent to parts unknown by a silver orb thrown by an angel from the Inner Circle of Heaven.
“He left,” she blurted. It wasn’t an outright lie—he had disappeared. Her thoughts briefly swirled with visions of Liam burning in Hell, and she quickly pushed them aside.
