by Lesley Davis
“Probably out skulking around. His new boss has been nasty with him about the amount of time off he’s had to take.” She lifted up her skirt to reveal her knee; the stitches and bruises spoke of a recent operation. “I need him here to look after me. I can’t look after myself so soon after coming out of the hospital, can I? I have to keep having surgeries because of that fucking accident he caused. Makes me dependent on him.”
“So he’s been off work while you’ve been convalescing. How long has that been?” Rafe still had Alona on the other end of her phone.
“About six weeks, I guess. I’ve been in so much pain one day has blended into the next.” She picked up her glass of whiskey and drank from it. “At first his company was okay with it, but when he started missing his shifts because I was so dependent, his boss started to get nasty.”
Ashley looked pointedly at the half-empty wine and liquor bottles littering the coffee table.
“Don’t you judge me, girl. My son tried to do that and I told him straight: you’ve got the blood of a demon running through you and you’re still pathetic. It’s no wonder his father left him and never came back. He had his daughter to be with. Lucas was worthless.”
Ashley only half heard what Rafe was talking to Alona about. She dimly heard work sheets mentioned. She was too flabbergasted by Marion’s vitriol. She wondered how it could be that she had been kept separate from this other family of her father’s and yet still be the center of attention in it.
“He’s on the list,” Rafe told her and Ashley forced herself to nod back and acknowledge her. She had a terrible feeling that was clawing at her guts and threatening to engulf her.
“Ashley? What’s wrong? What have I missed here?”
“The blond hair? The wings? Lucas isn’t killing these women to send them on as angels. He’s killing them to get rid of me.”
Chapter Twenty-six
Rafe slammed her fist into the steering wheel to vent her anger. She grunted at the pain, then immediately did it again.
“Shit!” She’d just let Ashley go into a store to get provisions on her own. Rafe had argued that Ashley wasn’t safe alone now that they knew that she was the target. Ashley had informed her that demons didn’t hunt during the day, so she figured she was pretty safe getting sandwiches and doughnuts without Rafe glued to her side. Her tone had brooked no argument, so now Rafe was left sitting in the car feeling impotent. She drew back her fist to punch again. Her hand was stopped midair. Startled, she looked up to find Eli in the passenger seat of her car, his hand holding hers still.
“Tell me you didn’t know who this killer was, Eli,” she said.
“I didn’t, but that doesn’t mean someone higher up was also unaware.”
“Damn it, Eli, four women are dead and Ashley thinks it’s because of some damned sibling rivalry that stupid lush of a stepmother cooked up.”
“One word can shape a person’s entire perception of themselves. Being told you’re not as good as another can wear a soul down.”
“Even one that’s demon marked?”
Eli nodded. “Ashley’s father was an unusual angel. When he fell to earth he fathered two children. One who was all his goodness and light, the other who apparently inherited the evil.”
“He’s going to go after her, isn’t he? I think he’s been substituting these women for Ashley because the last time he saw her he was just a child. He wouldn’t know what she looks like now, so any blonde would be a target for him. Or maybe he was hoping to call her out with the killings because he knew she’d be brought in as an investigator?” Rafe’s head swam with the terrible possibilities that all led to the same conclusion: Lucas Thorpe wanted Ashley dead. “Why now? What’s triggered his killing spree?”
“Maybe being forced to hear his shortcomings daily from his bitter mother. Since the accident, they have been in closer contact. He’s her primary caretaker now. And Marion has never been one to curb her tongue about her thoughts on someone else’s inadequacies. Perhaps he decided to seek out and destroy all he could never be.”
“How is Ashley supposed to live with that knowledge?” She looked toward the store where she’d sent Ashley to retrieve food for the evening.
“You’re here to help her.”
Rafe fixed him with a stare. “You saved me, didn’t you? That night in the alley? You came and banished Armitage and stopped him from killing me. Why? What makes you think I was worth saving?”
“Because you’re her One, the one she turns to, the one she seeks comfort from, the one who makes her life worth living. The One she loves.”
“We’ve barely even met,” Rafe said weakly.
“But you know her. You know that your own life is nothing without her in it. You love her.”
Rafe nodded.
“Then it’s only right you were saved so she wouldn’t go through this trial alone.”
Rafe watched Eli’s bright light shift and sparkle before her, thankful he was now muted to her vision but still in awe of the power that shone from him. “She’s angry with you.”
“I didn’t know they were alive. Sometimes even angelic information can be erroneous. And I am told only what I need to know. I had a job to do here. I brought her in as part of it.”
“Your boss needs to redefine his rules a little.”
Eli smiled. “I’ll be sure to pass your comments on through the appropriate channels.”
“Do you know where Thorpe is?” Rafe had to know the reason why Ashley’s guardian angel had sought her out alone.
“Not yet, but now that we know who to look for it makes it easier.”
“And you’re going to get him, right?”
Eli shook his head. “It’s not my call. Ashley needs to be the one to confront him.”
“Why, for fuck’s sake?” Rafe’s voice was loud in the confines of the car. “You’re the ones who can send him to hell. Do your own fucking dirty work!” It riled her no end to have Eli just sit there and regard her so passively while she was shouting. “What?”
“He’s not entirely demon. I can’t do anything to him. I’d be killing a human. It’s different when it’s a demon pretending to be human.”
“So you’re telling me it’s Ashley’s job to hunt down the offspring of demons? You’ve got her killing her own kind?”
“She’s not like them. She has a pure heart.”
Rafe couldn’t argue with that. “Are you saying Ashley is an angel?” She didn’t know how she could reconcile that with the woman she loved.
“No, angels are created, whereas a demon can be born from lust or greed. She is neither, but she has all the best her father could give her before he was corrupted completely. She’s human, Rafe, but she possesses special powers. Powers for good. That’s her gift.”
Rafe felt the constriction in her chest ease. “So what do you expect to happen now?”
“Now that we know who he is, we can watch for him.”
“Can we expect a call when you find him?”
“You have my word on it.”
“I’m not letting her face him alone.” Rafe felt the weight of her gun sitting snugly against her side.
“I wouldn’t expect you to. Your place is by her side. We acknowledge that.”
“We?”
“You’ve been watched too, Rafe Douglas.”
“Watched for what reason exactly?”
“To see if you were worthy.”
Could this get any weirder? She stared out the windshield and wondered if the people on the street could see her talking to the angel in her passenger seat. Or was she alone in their eyes and looking like a lunatic shouting at thin air? Finally, she said, “Worthy of what?”
“Not what; who.” Eli spoke as if explaining it to a child.
“Worthy of Ashley?” Rafe shook her head. “Damn it, Eli. I could live a thousand lifetimes and never be worthy of her.”
“She loves you. That’s the price of your worthiness, Rafe.”
“I hope it’s wort
h it.” Rafe began to wonder why she was talking about her love life to an angel.
“She believes so.”
“And what do you believe?”
“I believe in everything and all things. But I believe, in the end, love conquers all.”
On that profound note, Eli vanished. Rafe sat staring at the empty seat until Ashley got back in the car and filled it.
“You look like you’ve just seen a ghost,” Ashley said.
“I’ve just had a visitation.”
Ashley settled the grocery bag in her lap. “Anyone we know?”
“Just your usual friendly neighborhood guardian angel.”
“I guess that means we can expect a call.”
Rafe was amazed at how calm Ashley was.
“It’s just another day in Demon Central, Detective.” Ashley waved a hand for Rafe to start the car.
“But it’s not,” Rafe said. The killer turning out to be Ashley’s half brother only made the case even harder to deal with.
“I have to believe it is, Rafe. Otherwise I can’t do my job.”
Rafe understood that reasoning. She slipped out into the traffic and kept a watchful eye out for Thorpe all the way back to the station.
*
“You’re going to have to let me out of your sight sooner or later, Detective.”
Rafe looked up from the paperwork that had failed to keep her attention all afternoon. “Not in this lifetime if I can help it.”
Ashley leaned back in her seat with a sigh. “You can’t keep me locked up in the DDU office until one of your men or mine spots Lucas out on the street either.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it. I’m just enjoying the pleasure of your company.”
“You’ve got Dean camped outside their home with sniper rifles trained on every entrance and exit. There are eyes on every street within two blocks. You know he won’t go home. His mother will have tipped him off.”
“She wasn’t very receptive to us telling her that her son was a murderer. Surely she wouldn’t be so stupid as to cover for him?”
“You met her, Rafe. There’s only one person who can berate her son, and that’s her. She’ll protect him like she no doubt always has in everything else he’s done that we don’t know about.”
Rafe thought back to their meeting with Thorpe’s mother. “You called him a chameleon?”
“It’s a variation on my own talent. I can take on full forms with my glamour. It sounds like he takes on the environment. It just shows our differences. My glamour is used for protection. His is used to hunt. He blends into the shadows.”
“That fits Blythe’s profile of him. She said he wouldn’t stand out in a crowd. If he blends in, those women wouldn’t have stood a chance in seeing him coming.”
“Dean has no idea you’ve sent him out on a worthless waiting game, has he?”
“What was I supposed to tell him? This Lucas Thorpe is definitely our killer, but I’m sorry, our people can’t take him in because he needs to be banished to hell instead.” Rafe reached over the desk toward Ashley. “And, oh! How fortunate! I just happen to know the exact someone who could do that for us.” She eased back into her seat. “It’s not that simple. I can’t tell him what needs to be kept hidden for your safety and my supposed sanity.”
“Nothing’s simple in my life, Rafe. I certainly wasn’t expecting this outcome when I took on the case.”
“Me neither.” She reached out to hold Ashley’s hand. “Least of all you.”
Ashley tightened her grip on Rafe’s hand and squeezed it. “So what excuse did you give Dean for not joining him on the stakeout? Seeing as you two are usually joined at the hip.”
“I played the fatigue card.” Rafe hated to admit it. She had felt like a complete and utter shit for deceiving him.
“You actually used your injuries as an excuse?”
“I had no choice.” She knew technically she was still supposed to be on strict desk duty, but she’d paid no attention to the doctor’s instructions so far. “I told him I felt rough after not getting much sleep and the pain was really bad. So I’d be forever indebted if he did the arrest and I’d prepare for the interview.” She rested her forehead in her palm. “Lame, so lame.”
“I guess you never mentioned some of those sleepless hours were taken up with us making love quite energetically?”
“No, for some reason I left that part out. What makes it worse is how easily he believed me and was so caring and solicitous. I’m a lousy friend and an even worse lead on this case.”
“We’ll take him out for dinner after this is all sorted to make up for it.”
“And tell him what? That we were sneaking behind his back looking for a demon and also dating on the quiet at the same time?”
Ashley smiled at Rafe’s exasperation. She stood and stretched, affording Rafe a tantalizing glimpse of flesh. Rafe was caught looking but felt no guilt. Ashley moved behind her and draped herself over Rafe’s shoulders, hugging her.
“How long before Alona returns?”
“We have about forty minutes. She likes to linger in the presence of Detective Powell.”
“Can you bring up the map of the locations of the murders for me?”
Rafe did so, staying seated while Ashley commandeered the giant screen.
“Any idea how he knew about your tattoo, Ashley?” Ashley’s shoulder’s visibly stiffened at her question.
“I guess he must have seen it once. I remember going to see my dad one summer at Marion’s house. Lucas must have been there. I know I had a summer top that left my back exposed and showed off the artwork. Dad was a little spooked by it as I recall.” She smiled at what was obviously a happy memory. “‘Guess you really are Daddy’s little angel,’ my dad said as he waved me off.” Rafe caught the shiver that ran through Ashley’s whole body. “Was he really cutting these women open searching for my wings?”
“I think he’s a sick bastard who would have found some excuse or another to kill. You were the impetus he chose. It probably didn’t help that his mommy dearest fed his mind with lies about why his father walked out on them. Both you and your father were used as scapegoats.”
“Dad really should have told them the truth. He knew he had to be banished once the angels found him.”
“How did he manage to stay hidden for so long?”
“He didn’t show up on their radar. When angels fall, they don’t look the same when they reach the ground. Dad became someone else, something else, and he lost his angelic sparkle. As a demon he was extra careful about drawing attention to himself. He wasn’t like the other demons that roamed the streets. He was an ex-angel. He lost his wings but gained the knack for subterfuge.”
“What finally tipped the angels off to him?”
Ashley was quiet for a moment. “Me. My powers were growing and they could see me as clearly as a beacon shining in the night. Didn’t take them long to come seek me out to see where I had sprung from. Eli found me and, consequently, Dad.”
“You say Eli didn’t rat your dad out for years?”
“Angels have a totally different concept of time. He merely bided it until he couldn’t hide Dad any longer. I think Eli really liked Dad and it hurt him to have to banish him. They were brothers in heaven, after all. Add to that I’d have been left all alone at such a young age. I don’t think Eli liked that idea.”
“It’s not your fault, Ashley. None of this is.”
“Really? They found my dad because of me not being able to control my glamour.”
“He would have been found eventually anyway. He wasn’t supposed to have free rein on the earth. He was a fallen angel. It was just a matter of time before they wanted him back.”
“And Lucas?”
“He’s demon born and sadly twisted by his human excuse for a mother who could probably put most of the minions of hell to shame.”
“Maybe I could have stopped Lucas.”
“How? As a child, you weren’t allowed to be around him. A
gain, that wasn’t your fault. Bad decisions made by bad people set the course that led Lucas to do what he did.”
“Well, I have to stop him now.”
“Do you have to kill him?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never had to face down a crossbreed. I just know he can’t continue and I have to stop him.”
“Can I just shoot him?”
“I’d rather you didn’t.”
“I know from firsthand experience that a well-aimed bullet can save your life from a demon.”
“I want him banished. He isn’t a demon in a human form; he’s human with demon in him. That’s a big difference. Shooting would probably kill him.”
Rafe couldn’t see her point. “I don’t really see that as a loss, Ashley.”
“Can I please do it my way before you take aim, Detective? I’ve been doing this job a long time. The circumstances may be a little screwed this time, but I need to see it through.”
“Why can’t you just be a normal PI so I don’t have to worry about you?”
Ashley wrapped her arms about Rafe’s neck and hugged her tightly. “I don’t want you to have to worry, but I’ll let you in on a secret.” She tugged Rafe’s head lower and her breath whispering in Rafe’s ear made her shiver. “I’m glad you have my back.” She kissed Rafe tenderly. Rafe closed her eyes as soft lips promised so much more. Her eyes only flickered open when Ashley drew back. “Now, Detective, I believe we have time to go home and feed that cat of yours. Demon activity rarely takes place in daylight. My team is searching for Lucas using genetic markers they recognize me with. He stands very little chance of eluding them now.”
“So the second he steps out from the shadows?”
“He’s visible to all on high,” Ashley said.
Chapter Twenty-seven
The call came at midnight.
“He’s hiding in the Garden of Eden.” Ashley grabbed for her jacket and rifled through a pocket inside. She withdrew a small handgun.
Rafe gaped at her. “Since when do you carry a weapon?”
Ashley checked that the chamber was full, slipped on her jacket, and put the gun back out of sight. “I always carry a gun, Detective. I work the streets at night. I need some kind of protection against the crazies. It’s licensed; I am a PI after all.”
