“Of course.” I may not have been able to memorize the Bible verse by verse but I knew how to be physical and work with my hands.
“Good. And remember Demon Control rule number four, do you?” He pulled out a leather blindfold and the duct tape I requested.
“Uh, never reveal an Angels, Inc. facility to the enemy.”
“Intentionally or unintentionally. Got it, Abby?”
“You bet.” I stuffed everything back in the bag. A jolt of excitement surged to my belly at the thought of the new toys I’d get to try out. With any luck.
Felix burst my bubble when he set down a portable scanner in front of me. “Press your thumb here to sign this stuff out. Lose anything and be suspended from Angel status until further notice, you will. And I’ll hold the cuff keys until you bring the captive back to the interrogation cell, understand?”
“Really?”
His lips curled up to a grin. “Or figure out another deal, we could.” He winked his itsy bitsy eye at me.
I pressed my thumb onto the scanner without further ado. “Thanks, Felix. See you around.”
Easy, I am not.
I waved to Pauline from across the office, but she pretended not to see me and continued her conversation with Tiffany Angel from first shift. It appeared I wasn’t making any headway in the friendship department there. Oh well. What did I really want from her anyway? Angel’s night out with pink fruity drinks, slurred conversation, and men hitting on us all night? Hmm... Well, the last part didn’t sound too bad.
Judd’s hand around my wrist yanked me from my thoughts and into his cubicle. Eli was sitting down at his chair, frowning up at us.
“Hi,” Judd said, not giving me full eye contact.
Geez, was he still upset about this morning? I’d take it all back if I could. Trust me.
“Hi,” I said right back at him. “What’s up?”
He stepped closer and lowered his voice. “I, uh, wanted to apologize for this morning. You know, with the way I responded.”
“Oh, that.” I shrugged but, of course, my blazing cheeks gave me away. “No big deal.” I forced my attention to Eli who was glaring up at me. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing. I’m friggin’ wonderful.” He swiveled in the chair and pulled up his Angel-mail account, dismissing me.
I mouthed, “What’s his problem,” to Judd.
He rolled his eyes and sighed. “Don’t take it personally. He’s pissed because they demoted him to desk clerk at the AOD center.”
“Oh, Eli, I’m so sorry.” I bypassed Judd to pat Eli on the back. “How did it happen? I thought you were one of the best over there.”
“Like it matters.” He brushed my hand away and stood. For the first time ever I noticed little whiskers growing outside the distinct lines of his meticulous goatee. Wow. He really must be upset.
“It does matter, Eli,” I said. “Angels, Inc. has no right to demote you. It’s wrong, and it certainly doesn’t make any sense.”
“You think I don’t know that?”
“Well―”
“It’s fucked up, and the sad part is I’ve seen it coming for a long time now. I worked my ass off to avoid it, but it happened anyway.”
Eli’s dark glare stunned me. I’d never seen him this angry. And if I didn’t know better, I’d think it was targeted toward me.
I took a step back. “I’m really sorry this happened. I know it sucks―”
“I don’t want your fucking pity.”
“If it were up to me―”
“It’s not. It’s up to some other dumbass woman who thinks she’s superior to me and every other male Angel out there.”
Judd’s hand rested on my shoulder protectively. “Knock it off, Eli. Abby’s not your problem, and you know that.”
Eli rolled his eyes, which were reddening and growing teary. “You’re right, Judd. I’m wasting my time here talking to you two. See you around.” He pushed past me and stomped away.
I sniffed back my own tears. Poor Eli. He didn’t deserve to lose his Angel status. None of the men did. But there wasn’t anything I could do about it, so why was Eli gearing his frustration toward me?
“Don’t worry about him, Abb. You remember how I was when it happened to me, right? I was bent out of shape for several months before I pulled it together.”
“You pulled it together?” I joked.
He smiled, finally giving me full eye contact. “What’s the duffle bag about?”
“What this?” I dropped it on the ground. “Um, I might detain Peter Piper tonight.” I couldn’t lie.
“You know where he is?”
“Possibly .”
He shoved his hands in his pockets. “You went to see Keller again. Alone?”
“Nothing happened. Well, almost nothing.”
Judd shook his head. “God, Abby. You can’t do this to me.”
To him? “What exactly am I doing to you? As far as I can see, you and I are nothing more than friends. You made that clear this morning, so why would you care what I did with Simeon?”
I knew it wasn’t fair to dredge up this morning’s non-event but, darn it, my ego had suffered a blow, and I was still upset about it. I hadn’t expected Judd to drop down to his knee and propose marriage. I hadn’t even expected him to like the kiss. But he could have humored me. He could’ve pretended I didn’t repulse him.
He was supposed to be my best friend, after all. He ought to know my quirks and my needs, and this morning I needed him to make me feel like my enemy wasn’t the only person in the world who thought I was desirable.
And he’d failed me miserably.
I noticed Judd’s jaw clench tight and then twitch like it always did when he was upset. He murmured something that sounded like, “fuck it, fuck it, fuck it,” before he grabbed my hand and led me down the hall.
Oh, crap. He’d finally lost his mind, and it was all my fault.
“Where are we going, Judd? I’m already late for my shift. You don’t want me to be late, do you?”
He pushed open the custodian’s closet, dragged me inside with him, and shut us into darkness. I could hear him rustling around until the dangling light bulb above our heads clicked on, giving the small room a dim glow.
“Don’t tell me Lois gave you the janitor’s job. What did you do, Judd? I always told you to cut down on the cursing but you never listen to me, do you?”
“Shut up, Abby.” He stepped toward me, forcing me to back up against the wall right next to where the damp mop was hanging.
I stared up into his eyes, which appeared black rather than the usual soft blue. “Okay, buddy, you’re scaring me. You want to back up a few and let me out of here, please. I’m getting a little claustrophobic.”
He braced a hand on each side of my head and pressed up against me. His chest was hard against my breasts, and his lips were lowering...lowering.
Holy cow. Was he planning to kiss me? “Uh, Judd? What are you doing? Listen, I was just kidding around about this morning―”
“Shut. Up. Abby.”
“Don’t tell me to shut―”
Then he kissed me. Hard. Commanding lips pressed against mine. Hungry. Wanting. Urging me to respond.
And I did. I parted my mouth and let him in. His tongue invaded me as if it belonged there. Staking its territory. Making me forget where I was and what I was doing.
In a closet, I reminded myself. With Judd. And he’s kissing you. Hello!
It was all soaking in right as he drew away. His lungs expanded against me as he breathed, and I watched, speechless, as a smug grin formed on his face.
“Think about that,” he said in a low husky voice. Then he gave me a small peck, pulled the string to the light bulb and left me in the dark. Alone.
I took in a deep breath and ran my fingertips over my lips. I was trembling, and I wasn’t sure why. I’d enjoyed the kiss, as I’d predicted I would. And it was exactly what I’d expected from him. Matching his personality, it was rough
, to the point, and it warmed me from my heart straight down to my quivering thighs.
What I hadn’t anticipated was that my first kiss from him would be in the custodian’s closet next to a damp mop that smelled like a mixture of mildew and Mr. Clean. Not to mention my complete and utter bafflement as to why he’d decided to kiss me in the first place. Literally, leaving me in the dark.
Was this the start of something between us? Did he finally realize that he’s infatuated with me and wants to fulfill my fantasies? Yeah, right. Common sense should tell me he kissed me to put an end to my obsession with Simeon. Judd didn’t want me, he just didn’t want me to desire the hottie half-breed.
Ergh. The more I thought about it, the angrier I became. I seriously needed to get out of this closet and get on with my day. I reached blindly toward the door and tripped on what sounded like a pail of water. Before I could figure out which way was up, I crashed through the door and landed facedown in the hallway with about a gallon of soapy water beneath me, clinging to my T-shirt and jeans.
Double ergh. One or two Angels giggled and whispered “tramp” as they stepped over me, not bothering to lend a hand.
Why, again, was I concerned about their safety?
Oh, because I had a conscience. That was right. Stupid me.
I tossed the pail back in the closet and kicked the door shut with my foot. About a dozen or so desk clerks and Angels peeked over their cubicle walls to see what was causing the racket. As soon as they saw me glaring back at them, they either grunted or rolled their eyes before sitting back down again.
“No, I don’t need any help,” I mumbled to myself. “Sit back down and relax. Really. I’m okay.”
Chapter Thirteen
My cell phone vibrated in my jacket pocket for the gazillionth time since leaving Demon Control, so I decided to turn the power off before the thing overheated, or whatever it was cell phones did when exhausted by the new popularity of its owner.
Half of the calls were from Judd, and he probably just wanted to make up an excuse for the kiss in the closet before I freaked and proposed marriage to him. Ha! Or he wanted in on some of the action tonight.
Well too bad. He’d had his chance to talk to me between the time it took me to change my clothes up until I’d left the garage. But no, he’d disappeared like a coward. So forget him. If he couldn’t face me like a man then I’d ignore him like a woman.
The other calls were from Simeon, but I wasn’t about to answer his phone call with Pauline in the car with me. How he’d gotten my number was a mystery, like most everything else about the half-breed.
I couldn’t help wonder what he wanted though. Especially since I’d passed Lawrence Street Shelter twice already and hadn’t seen anyone who looked like Peter Piper.
What were the odds anyway?
“Um, Abigail.” Pauline shifted in her seat next to me. “I think we’re going in circles. Didn’t we pass this street already?”
I shrugged. “What does the file say again?” We were supposed to be hunting down a demon who called himself Garth Vayder, if you can believe that. I’d picked his file out because he was a drug dealer who usually sold on the streets, which meant Pauline and I would have to drive around to find him. Which meant I could pass by the shelter as much as I wanted.
Or not. Pauline cleared her throat. “It says he usually sells over by Sixteenth Street Mall, and isn’t that, I don’t know, on Sixteenth Street?”
Smartass. I liked her better when she was shy and quiet, but apparently she was warming up to me.
“All right,” I said. “I’ll do a u-turn and head back that way.”
I slowed down as the shelter came into view again. A long line of grungy looking men stood at the doorway probably waiting to either get their dinner or find a bed for the night. It was another crisp evening, so I silently prayed they’d all get in. What a horrible way to have to live.
I swerved into a parking spot right in front of the building and switched on my turning signal, pretending to prepare for a u-turn. Narrowing my vision, I took a good look at every man to see if Piper had showed up in that line since the last time I’d driven past, but he was nowhere in sight.
“Do you know something about this demon that I don’t?” Pauline asked. “Does he come here?” She waved her hand toward the men. “To this homeless shelter?”
“Good question. Why don’t I go find out?” I snatched Piper’s file from my glove compartment and slipped out of the car before Pauline could question me.
The first three guys in line didn’t look like the talkative type, the fourth guy had a guardian Angel hovering above him and was glaring at me, daring me to try something. Demon Control Angels tried to keep out of the Guardian Angels’ way as much as possible. They weren’t the friendliest. A bit too protective of their humans, maybe. And I wasn’t in the mood for a bitch slap tonight, so I skipped down to lucky number five. He had on about seven layers of clothing, and he was smiling at me as if he’d known me his entire life.
“Hi there.” I pulled out a photograph of Piper.
“Savannah?” He asked with a lilt of hope in his voice.
“No, sorry, dude. My name’s Abigail. Have you seen this guy around?” I lifted the photograph to his face.
“Savannah,” he repeated, so I moved on to man number six.
“Hi there. Have you seen this guy around?”
Number six’s face was severely sun damaged with dark blotchy spots here and there and deep-set wrinkles on his forehead and around his eyes.
“What are you? A cop?” he asked, warily.
“No. Not me. I’m an Angel.” I winked at him. “My wings are at the cleaners.” Usually that got a chuckle or two out of the humans I ran into, but this guy wasn’t impressed with my sense of humor.
“Jesus saves,” he mumbled in an exhausted tone.
“Amen,” I said.
He rolled his eyes at me and pointed to something behind me. “He’s under the cross sign over there.”
I jerked around and lo and behold, Peter Piper was lighting up a cigarette underneath the “Jesus Saves” cross-shaped sign hanging from the corner of the building.
Hmm. I loved irony.
Casually, I thanked man number six and walked back to the car. I sat in the driver’s side and reached for the duffle bag in the backseat.
“See the guy under the ‘Jesus Saves’ sign?” I asked Pauline.
“Uh, yeah.”
“His name is Peter Piper, and I have reason to believe he’s one of the demons who’s been attacking Angels.”
She gasped. “Are you sure? What should we do? Who should we call?”
“We’re going to have to detain him. I have everything we need in here.” I jingled the metal around in my duffle bag.
Pauline gave me a “where did you get that?” look but didn’t say anything.
“Once he sees us he’s probably going to bolt, so we’re going to have to think on our feet.”
She shook her head, and I noticed her eyelids begin to blink rapidly as if they wanted to up and fly away. Nervous habit, maybe.
“I don’t know how to do that. How do I do that? I’m just the receptionist, and he’s a killer. What if he takes my thumbs? I need my thumbs. No one will ever marry me if I don’t have thumbs. Certainly not Judd. No. Not anybody. Who wants a mutant wife? I can’t think of anyone.”
“It’s okay.” I patted her hand. “Take a deep breath and try to relax.”
Her eyelids continued to flutter as she drew in a ragged breath and blew it out.
What a time to have a nervous breakdown. Sheesh.
Piper was still smoking his cigarette, leaning up against the brick wall. He was right there. Right in front of me. My heart was pounding out of my chest. It was almost too good to be true.
“Listen,” I said. “I’m going after him. I’m pretty sure I can take him on my own. All I need you to do is drive the car around the block and open the door for me when I kick his ass into the backseat.
So can you do that for me?”
She gulped. “Yes. I think so.”
“You’re strong, Pauline. You’re an Angel. You can do anything. Okay?”
“Okay,” she said weakly.
Great. I should’ve brought Judd instead. He would’ve helped no matter what the consequences. He’d been a warrior when he’d had his Angel status.
I took a breath, shoved off my jacket, and stuffed the cuffs in my back jean pocket. I’d just have to shackle Piper’s legs and duct tape his mouth when I had him in the car.
“He’s probably going to run down Lawrence Street after he spots me, so drive around to the next block as fast as you can and wait in that parking lot, okay?”
“Sure.”
“Please, Pauline. This is important.”
All I got was a nod. It had to do. I couldn’t waste any more time.
As soon as Pauline had driven off, I headed toward Piper in a full-on run. I figured he was going to notice me whether I skipped, walked, or did cartwheels, so why not get a running start.
I was about three yards from him before he yelled, “Oh, fuck!” and took off down Lawrence Street.
Good. Hopefully Pauline would come through for me. Hopefully she wouldn’t leave me stranded.
I continued to run after Piper. My shoulders twitched as my wings begged to break free. But they would only slow me down, so I willed them to stay.
Piper threw his cigarette back at me, but it fell short. Next, the paper bag crashed at my feet. I leaped over the shattered glass and continued after him. Cars zoomed past us as we ran in the opposite direction. One car honked and the passenger yelled something crude in my direction. Low-life human.
I tried to focus. Piper was nearing the end of the building, and I was a mere two feet from grabbing him and throwing him to the ground.
He took a sharp turn when he reached the parking lot where I’d told Pauline to wait and ran along the backside of the building. There were about a half a dozen cars in the lot, and my VW wasn’t one of them.
Probably not here yet. Just focus on the jerk kicking stones up at me.
Mystic Realms: A Limited Edition Collection Page 50
