by Maggie Mundy
“No one dies on my watch.”
“Well in advance, I’ll apologize for spoiling your record.” Nicole stood and headed back to the agency.
Back in the office Peter sat opposite the cop answering questions. Nicole sat next to him wanting to scream at the cop that he was asking all the wrong things. She stared at the floor instead.
“I think that’s all we need. We may call you down to the station if there’s something else we want to discuss.” The cop closed his notebook.
Peter turned and smiled. “My apartment next door is untouched. I’ll go and grab some things to take back. I won’t be long.”
Nicole watched as the cops left. She stared at the door to her office, took a deep breath, and strode back in. She sat on the floor next to the pile of items representing part of her life. They were half-burnt garbage. There were case notes written by Ben in small leather bound notebooks. He used to get Peter to transpose the notes to the computer. Ben always used a fountain pen and each word had been beautifully written. Her writing had been so boring in comparison, so structured. She tried to write like him, but each attempt made her realize her abilities must be hidden somewhere else.
She picked up a notebook with some pages still intact and held it to her chest. Beneath it she uncovered a picture. It was their wedding day and Peter stood grinning in the background. The picture now only featured Ben and Peter. She was no longer a part of why they were smiling. They had been on the beachfront with the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance. All she had seen that day was the wonderful man in a gangster suit and trilby hat, who stood in front of her with his gorgeous eyes. From the moment they met he had captured her heart. For the first time in so long she had been willing to be caught.
Her breath caught in her throat. She wanted Ben, instead she got Ridge.
“Breathe with me.”
She didn’t want him touching her. The sound of his voice was painful, and intruded upon her thoughts of Ben. She wanted to tell him to leave her alone, but she wouldn’t. “Get me away from here.”
They drove past the throng out front and went through the back door of the club. So many young people were out there laughing and smiling as they waited to get in and experience Heaven’s Gate. Like most clubs it offered cheap drinks to get the people in early, hoping they would buy more at full price later. Ridge might be a Midworlder, but this was a business.
He touched her arm. “Do you want me to come up with you? We can talk about anythin’. I know my mouth runs off with me sometimes, but I want to help with what you’re going through.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be cranky and I know this is all bizarre for you too, but I want to be alone for a bit. I never seem to get time to sort my thoughts out before the next thing happens.” Nicole turned towards the apartment.
Ridge was down in the club and Peter sat on the other couch with his laptop on. At least his brain was active enough to sort things out. Frieda stood in the kitchen folding laundry. Nicole didn’t want to talk to anyone. All she wanted was to sleep. To sleep, and wake up and all of this be gone. She wanted to be on her own. She headed for her bedroom.
Hours later she still lay there unable to sleep, or calm the thoughts spinning around. How are you meant to make sense of abnormal anyway? She got up and went back out to the main room. Peter was there, but Frieda had gone to bed. Nicole’s stomach gurgled as she realized she hadn’t eaten anything since the pancakes for lunch. She grabbed some cheese, crackers and olives and set the plate down between her and Peter. He gawped at the olives. He could eat them by the handful, green or black he loved them. “Go for it. I’m going to have a drink, want one?”
“Sure.”
Nicole half-filled a tumbler with Scotch. If she was going to get any sleep tonight, she would need a lot of it. Trying to think hadn’t worked, so not thinking seemed like a good idea. “I’ll call the clients in the morning, there’s no point in alarming them late at night.” Nicole took a large gulp of whiskey that went back up her nose and caused her to cough and splutter. Peter patted her on the back until she got her breath back. “I know the others have spoken to you a bit, but I suspect you want to hear what happened while you were away.”
Peter closed his laptop and sat back waiting for her to start.
“You never doubted I could see Mira, did you?”
He smiled and shook his head. “No, but I like anything paranormal. Plus it made me think Ben had gone somewhere good if you could see her.”
“On Friday I received a visit from not only Ridge, but another sort of Midworlder, one called Sayell. Let’s just say he’s not batting for the good guys.” Nicole stared at the amber liquid in the glass as she spoke.
“I met him when we found you.”
“Sayell killed Mira, or so I thought. He also blew up the apartment. Ridge saved me and took me to some weird place where I was meant to get a new guardian angel, only it didn’t work. The bad guys came after me and the only way Ridge could stop them putting a demon on me was to ask me to be his mate. I had no choice but to agree.”
It was Peter’s turn to take a gulp of Scotch. “You mean you really are engaged to that guy, angel, or whatever he is. I thought he was joking.”
“Yes, and if he can’t get me a new guardian angel in a month he’s going to have to do some ceremony that will in all likelihood kill me. I need another drink.” Nicole refilled the tumbler. It was probably not a good sign, but it wasn’t burning as it slipped down this time.
“If I hadn’t seen the wings, and what you did to Ridge, I’d say I was going mad, but I can’t deny it all seems real. Do they know why this is happening to you?”
“If they do, they’re not letting on. I don’t want to pull anyone else into this mess. I didn’t want you involved. It seems I’ve humans as well as winged aliens wanting me.” She needed to think about something else and took a mouthful of the Brie. She had never been able to afford the imported stuff. It was probably a good thing because it was delicious and creamy, and most likely incredibly unhealthy.
Peter reached out and took her hand. “You were the best thing to come into Ben’s life. When he died I would’ve been lost without you. Therefore I’m not going anywhere if you need help. By the way, you’re not kidding are you? You really are engaged to him. I mean I can see he could be scary and protect you in a fight but from what Kaylie said earlier, he’s not a one woman kind of guy.”
That was something she was aware of and it made her angry, which was stupid because they meant nothing to each other. There was a picture in her head of him naked again as she remembered the feeling of him inside her.
“Don’t worry; he says he can’t touch me until after the ceremony and then I’ll die. Whoo-hoo. I need another drink.” Nicole waddled to the bar. “Whoa I got up too quick. I really should eat more than a few crackers and a bit of Brie.” It was good to feel hazy. She giggled as she poured herself a third tumbler of whiskey. She sat and began to eat the cheese and crackers as the olives were all gone, “You know what. I don’t have a cell phone anymore, or a driver’s license, no credit cards, but I have a fiancée with wings. I didn’t even get a ring. I assume the wings are meant to make up for the rest. I don’t want a fiancée. I want us running our business. It’s all we had left of Ben, and now poof, it’s gone.” She hated the way everything happened without her say so.
“From what I’ve seen of these people or whatever they are, they’ll sort it out. Kaylie said they’ll clean our minds, and we won’t even remember any of this. The thing is I don’t want to forget. This is the first time I’ve been keen to do anything since Ben died.”
Nicole finished her whiskey and tried to stand, but fell back down again. “I need the loo.”
Peter helped her to her bedroom.
“I can manage from here.” The door shut behind her and she made a beeline for
the bathroom and the toilet as her stomach contents rushed into her throat. Keeping her eyes open wasn’t an option, but closing them made it worse.
She flushed the toilet for the sixth time sure nothing could be left inside of her, she was wrong. The door opened, she was about to yell at Peter to get out when the aroma of cigars hit her and she retched again. When the retching stopped she grabbed the sink beside her and heaved herself up. Things didn’t go as planned as her legs gave out and the edge of the bath loomed in front of her. Ridge caught her and lowered her to the floor.
“I’m fine. Leave me alone,” she slurred, as she pushed his hands away.
“Can’t do that. So you done heavin’ my Chivas Regal into the sewers?”
“I think so. Oh hang on, no.” Nothing came up but she retched until her stomach hurt. All the time he placed his hand on her back gently rubbing. “I’m done.”
“Okay, little darlin’, I want you to do as I tell you.” Ridge put his arm under hers and supported her as he put the toilet seat down and made her sit. “Hold on to the sink.”
He wet a hand towel and knelt in front of her and wiped her face. Grabbing a dressing gown from the back of the bathroom door he placed it next to her.
“Hands up, we need to get this stuff off you.”
Nicole complied as he pulled her T-shirt off. It wasn’t hers anyway. It was something Kaylie had bought for her.
“Stand up,” he said as he put out his hands to help.
“Can’t,” Nicole answered as the room continued to spin.
“Okay, then put your hands around my neck.”
He helped her up and undid her jeans then tugged them down over her hips. Then sat her back down and took them off. He wrapped her in the dressing gown and stood her by the sink and gave her a glass of water.
“Rinse.”
She did what she was told. She didn’t have the brainpower at this point to do anything else.
“I’m not your darling, and I don’t have a toothbrush. That one isn’t mine, it’s the wrong color. Mine’s green. I don’t have a toothbrush, but I have a fiancée who could kill me. I want a green toothbrush.”
“And I wanna quiet life, but neither of us is gonna get our wish.”
Ridge scooped her up and carried her to the bed. It was comforting to lay her head against his chest and listen to his heartbeat. He lay her down and sat next to her.
“You want me a million miles away. That’s what you said.” Nicole prodded his chest as she spoke.
“That was afore you got inside my head.”
“I could get in there now.” Nicole sat up and leant forward and pursed her lips. Ridge held her away.
“I don’t take advantage of women when they’re under the influence. Call it an old Southern custom. We like our women sober, even if the sex is only in our heads.”
Nicole flopped back on the bed and rolled over. She was so tired. She felt the bed lift as Ridge got up.
“Don’t go.” The bed dipped as his body moved behind her. She drifted off to sleep and sensed the length of his body pressed against hers. She liked the feeling. It had to be the booze.
Her head was going to explode, and she had no one to blame but herself. Maybe Kaylie had a witchy remedy. The door opened to the bedroom and Ridge sauntered in. For some reason she thought he had been there last night. Oh god, she had been sick and remembered him undressing her. He held a tray with a glass full of some brown stuff, some toast, and a black coffee.
“Before you say a thing this isn’t up for discussion. You’ll drink these and eat this. The brown drink’s an old remedy of ours. Trust me when I say there’re times when we need to recover from things much stronger than Scotch. Give it twenty minutes and you’ll be fine.” He winked.
“I’ll take your word on that.” She also saw something else on her tray. A green toothbrush still in its wrapper. She smiled as she picked it up. “Thanks.”
He sat down on the bed beside her. “I’m tryin’ to do the right thing here. Frieda’s already bitten my head off for lettin’ you get drunk. She thinks I’ve more influence over you than I do.”
Nicole sipped on her coffee. She wasn’t ready to attempt the other concoction yet. “I like Frieda, and you need someone like her to keep you all level headed. Thanks for taking care of me last night.”
“I wanna say sorry. I’ve just expected you to accept things beyond your comprehension. I don’t blame you for wantin’ to get drunk.”
He went to stand but she grabbed his hand and he sat down.
“I’m not an easy person to get close to, but my life being in jeopardy pushed my buttons and forced me to accept things like angels and demons and strange stuff.” He didn’t let go of her hand. She took a mouthful of the other drink, and was surprised it didn’t taste so bad. She swallowed the rest and hoped it would stay down.
“I told you about Midworlders the other day, but I never bothered to ask you about your life. I’ve just expected you to let it go and deal with all this.”
Nicole knew the feeling of panic as her breathing deepened “Don’t ask me about my scar. There are some things I’ve only ever told Ben.”
“That’s fair enough.” Ridge nodded but still held her hand. She needed the strength of his firm grip to talk about the past.
“Ben was like a detective of old. I knew it as soon I walked into the office. He is, he was as tall as Peter, but he had amazing green eyes. His jokes were corny, but he was good at what he did. Some people still wanted the personal touch, and he provided it.”
Nicole sipped on her coffee.
“I’m from Australia, but my Mom was American. She’s dead, but I knew she came from around San Francisco way, so I asked Ben to search for my grandparents. He found them, but they had both passed on. He did help me claim a small inheritance though. So now you know how we met. We married six months later. One night when he was on a case he got mugged. Just some kid on dope that needed money for his next fix. The kid said he panicked and thought Ben was going for a gun, so he pulled the trigger. Ben had been reaching for his wallet. After his death I didn’t cope. I existed, except for Mira. She stopped me killing myself. Then she was gone and you came along.” She wasn’t willing to say anymore.
“Not much of a replacement am I? I know it don’t seem like it, but I’m gonna to do what I can to put this right.”
“I know you will. That much is obvious from your overbearing personality. You don’t like to lose, do you?” Ridge smirked at her “I don’t want to marry you, or mate. Even if it’s just in your head with you, but if someone is after me, I’m more than happy to fight by your side.”
He raised an eyebrow, pursed his lips, and shook his head. “I ain’t keen on you fightin’.”
“I didn’t get a choice in this and you don’t get a choice to tell me what to do. I think you’ve already worked out I can be as stubborn as you.”
“Nicole, trust me when I say things could get a lot worse before they get better.”
“Trust me, I’m used to worse. Ben was the first time my life took a turn for the better and you know how that ended. Maybe you should be the one scared. Good things don’t usually follow me.” She tried to laugh at her own comment but it didn’t work.
“That’s somethin’ we’ve in common. Kaylie’s gonna be here soon, and she’s gonna take you shoppin’. Carrick will go with you. Later I’ll take you back to your apartment and see if we can rescue any of your stuff.”
“I appreciate that. Even if it’s only for a month, it would be good to have some of my own things. I’m not the shopping sort. You should warn Kaylie, we’ll probably kill each other.”
“Please don’t, or I’ll have to deal with Sara.”
Nicole glanced down and realized they were still holding hands. Ridge let go and picked up her tray.
Their heads were close as he gazed up and down her face. She moved her body towards him so their lips touched. His eyes were closed, but he moved his lips so slightly on hers. He would know too well what he was doing and she didn’t want him to stop. The gentle touch of his kiss made her heart beat faster.
This was no good. She was getting too used to this man. This was a bad idea, but he didn’t move away. Damn it but she wanted him. Was this some trick of the bonding because she hadn’t wanted a man since Ben? Her body was hot and she could feel an ache between her thighs similar to when she had been in his head. Someone coughed and Ridge moved away.
“Sara, didn’t your Ma ever tell ya to knock?” Ridge called out.
“Yes, but it wastes time. Kaylie’s here for Nicole,” Sara said as she stood at the end of the bed with her arms folded.
