by Stacy Eaton
Her lower legs and shoes broke from the darkness first, and I followed the line of her legs as she emerged further. Black boots covered her feet and disappeared under dark blue jeans. She took another step, and the light revealed the bottom of a black leather jacket open at her waist. My mouth was dry as I tried to swallow again.
Another step forward brought her totally into the light, and my head swam as I gawked from her dark purple shirt into her angelic face. Her soft hair framed her face, her beautiful eyes bright and focused. A small elegant smile adorned her lips and the buzzing grew louder in my ears.
“Breathe, Mitch, you have to breathe before you pass out.”
Absently, I did as she said, pulling air in and out of my lungs as I stared at her. My mind was trying to process this, but it just couldn’t understand, and the quaking in my limbs grew.
“How?” the strangled word left my mouth.
She walked closer, stopping a few feet away, and I watched as she examined my entire face, a yearning filled her expression.
Could I be dreaming? Had I fallen asleep in my car, and this was all a dream?
I swallowed hard, “You’re dead. How are you here?”
Her shoulders rose as she took her own deep breath. “You’re right, I am dead, but I’m here.”
“Am I dreaming all this?”
She stepped close enough that I could smell her sweet citrus scent. “No, you are not dreaming, Mitch. I’m here, right in front of you.” She smiled softly, and my heart threatened to jump out of my chest.
“I don’t understand,” my voice quivered as much as my body. If I was dreaming, I didn’t want to wake up.
~Brock~
I moved from one charge to another, making sure they were all going in the right direction. Some were harder than others, but eventually I had checked in on all I needed to and phased back to the Realm.
Once in my quarters, I found myself pacing. While in the living arena, I had been able to keep Corey somewhat off my mind for the most part. Here, she was all I could think of. I reached out to see if she was here, but she wasn’t.
What was she doing? Was she with him? I shook the thought from my head.
I changed into workout gear, needing someplace to channel my tension, and phased to the bottom floor to hit the weight room. Maybe if I could wear myself out, I could get her out of my mind.
There were a few people in the gym when I arrived. Most nodded as I walked in and scanned the room. I acknowledged them with my own brief head tip and made my way to the squat rack.
As I lifted a forty-five-pound plate to slip it on the bar, Montgomery spoke from behind me. “I’m surprised to find you here, Brock.”
I twisted my face over my shoulder and watched him wipe sweat from his face with a light blue towel. “Why’s that?” I asked briskly.
He tossed his towel to the floor and picked up a plate, putting it on the other side of the bar.
“Figured you would stay in the living arena,” his glare met mine briefly before he turned to pick up a weight plate.
“Everyone is behaving; I came back for a break.”
He slipped the plate on, pushing it all the way in where it clanked against the other plate and met my gaze, “Oh, really? You didn’t come back to see if she was here?”
I huffed and turned for another plate. “What difference does it make? I was told to stay away from her.” I pushed the plate on until it met the other one. I bent down and picked up the collar that would lock the weights in place, pinching it between my palms; I compressed the clamp and slid it on the bar to rest against the plates.
Montgomery did the same, and I waited until he was done before I stepped into the rack and got ready to pick it up.
“Since when have you ever done what you are supposed to do?” he taunted.
I stepped back into the bar and shrugged. I lifted the bar with my hands on the sides of my shoulders, the bar rested on the back of my neck and the top of my shoulder blades. I took a small step forward to clear the rack. Taking a deep breath, I bent at the knees, went down to a squatting position, then slowly rose back up. After ten squats, I stepped back until I felt the rack behind me. Montgomery helped guide the bar back in place and let go as it dropped a half inch into position.
With each bend that I had made, I saw her face. Her smile, the sound of her voice filled my mind until I felt I would drop the weight.
“Where is she?” I wiped my hands on my sweatpants, drying the perspiration on my palms from holding the heavy metal bar.
“She’s down below.” He stepped around to the side of the bar, pulling the locking clip off to add more weight for my next set.
I knew she was down below, but hearing the words was like a knife to the back.
“How are things going?” I picked up a twenty-pound plate and put it on the bar next to the forty-fives.
He shrugged and picked up the locking clip, putting it back in place after he added weight to his side. “Don’t know just yet, haven’t heard from her since I showed her how to cross over.” He watched my face as he spoke.
My jaw dropped open as we stared at each other. Like a volcano about to erupt, anger built inside of me.
“You showed her how to cross over?” the terse words spilled from my locked jaw.
“Yep.” He stepped back from the bar and crossed his arms over his chest.
“Why the hell would you do that?” I shouted at him.
A smile tipped his lips, “Because she needed to see him face to face.”
“Are you kidding? Do you have any idea what is going to happen now? She’s going to cross the line, and I’m going to lose her!” Panic and anger warred in me.
Montgomery’s smile grew bigger, “About time you admitted that was what you were worried about.”
I spun around, not sure what to do. I stared down at the black rubber mats on the floor. What was I going to do? What could I do?
“Brock,” Montgomery paused, waiting for me to turn to him. I glared at him over my shoulder, ready to bolt out of the room. “You have to let her do this on her own.” He stepped forward and rested an elbow on the weight bar. “You can’t get involved, and you know that.”
I stared at him, the air burning in my lungs as I gulped deeply. “Like hell I won’t!” I spun from him and phased immediately to the living arena. I had to find her before it was too late.
~Corey~
“I’m sorry for surprising you the way I did, but I needed to get you alone.” I could no longer keep my distance and I moved closer.
It had been a risk to show myself to him tonight. If one of his coworkers had looked outside as I stood in the parking lot, it would not have gone over well, especially if that someone had been Joe.
I had waited just long enough for him to see which way I went and prayed that he would follow. There was no way I would speak to him again until I could do it face to face.
As I sat in my car, he pulled up. My mind and heart were frantic with the knowledge that I was just moments from being face to face with him again.
Not sure if I could phase while being in the living arena, I tried and found myself standing beside the large warehouse deep in the shadows. I waited till he stepped out and then approached him.
As he turned to the sound of my voice, my knees turned to jelly, but I grasped at the strength from above and moved forward. The wild beating of his heart and the buzzing in his head reached my sensitive ears.
Was there a way I could have shown myself to him that would not have caused such turmoil? I didn’t think so.
The closer I got, the easier I found it to get lost in his handsomeness. This close, I could smell his musky cologne and I inhaled it deeply, filling my lungs. I reached my hand out; the feel of his warm skin was like nothing I had ever felt before. He pushed his head into my hand, and I reached with my other one to touch the soft short hair on the other side of his head.
Mere inches separated us. His eyes shone brightly as he pulled me into his
strong arms. I welcomed the feel, welcomed the muscular arms that wrapped around me tightly. I pulled his head closer as my arms wrapped around his neck, his breath hot against my sensitive skin.
He leaned back just enough to see my face and ran his hand along the side of my head over my hair. He searched my face and stopped on my lips. He moved closer, and I stopped breathing as he slowly descended.
I had dreamed of this, of the feel of his lips on mine again, so tender and loving.
There was no holding back when our lips met. The feelings we had for one another exploded. Here in the dark, dirty parking lot, we could not get enough of each other as I slid my hands down his back, wishing that he wasn’t in uniform so I could feel the muscles on his back instead of the hard Kevlar of his vest.
His duty belt pushed into my stomach, but I didn’t care as I pulled myself to stand as close to him as I could. Our lips engaged in a kiss of reunion, our hearts once again entwined as one.
He pulled back. “How?” he whispered to me as we stood almost nose to nose, his palms cupping my face.
“Remember how you said I was an angel?” He nodded once. “Well, you were kind of right. I’m a guardian angel,” I smiled shyly at him.
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, his expression intense as he spoke, “Seriously?”
“Yes.” I slipped my hand around to his cheek, tenderly caressing the skin that I had never thought I would be able to touch again.
“Do all angels come back to life?”
“Well, I’m not really alive, I don’t think; however, we watch over those who need us, we listen and guide them, and sometimes we come back to those who need us most.”
“So I need my own guardian angel, huh?” his husky voice held a hint of teasing in it.
I took a small step back, not out of his arms, but just so I could observe him more easily. “Yes, you do,” my voice serious as I responded.
I removed my hand from his cheek and placed it on his chest.
“Why is that?” he asked quietly.
How should I answer? I thought about that for a moment before speaking, “There are people that are close to you, Mitch, that you should not trust. You know what’s right and what’s not. You need to listen to your mind and your heart and not let others make your decisions for you.”
He absorbed my words. I could hear them in his mind as he pictured moments in his memories that had been bad choices. Color rose in his cheeks as he recalled the incident outside Harry’s bar.
“Have you been watching me long?” he swallowed, and I knew he wanted to know if I had really been there. The memory of my voice in his mind rattled him slightly.
“Yes, I know about what happened. I was there, and you listened to me guide you.”
He stepped back and dropped his arms from around me. I missed the feel as soon as they left me, but I understood the anxiety he felt.
He turned away from me, embarrassed at his past actions. I allowed him to deal with his own demons.
“It’s okay, Mitch, you’re only human and you have been dealing with a lot, I understand that.”
He leaned back against the car, hanging his head low. “What else have you seen me do?”
I put my hand under his chin, lifting his face to mine. “Look at me.”
He did. The pain and embarrassment in his facial features were a dagger to my heart.
“I haven’t been back very long. I had training to do. Believe it or not, there is a lot for a Garda to learn before he or she can come back to help.”
He visibly relaxed as I spoke. I felt the relief that I had not witnessed all the things that he had done, but as they ticked through his mind, I saw them. I fought hard not to say anything; I bit my lip to keep any expression off my face.
“So you’re here now to put me back on track?” his left eyebrow rose with his lip.
“Yeah, something like that.”
He put his hands on my waist and pulled me closer to him as he spread his feet part. I slipped in between his legs and rested my chest to his.
“I’ll take every second I can get with you, Corey,” he whispered to me as he pulled me in for another kiss.
Lost in the feel of his lips, I never felt the presence enter behind me.
Coralenna, stop! The words shouted in my mind, and I pulled back from Mitch quickly. The abrupt stop startled him and he watched me with a question in his eyes. I put my finger over his lips to stop him from speaking as I answered the voice.
Go away. I didn’t need to turn to see the anger on Brock’s face. I could feel it in the small connection we had.
No, I’m not going away, and you need to stop this. You can’t do this! he seethed.
“I can and I will, Brock!” I spun out of Mitch’s arms to face him. He stood about three feet behind me, on the next level. I noticed the pain on his face, the clench of his jaw, and the tightness in his shoulders. For just a moment, I wanted to take them away from him.
“Brock?” Mitch’s voice cracked. “Did you just say Brock?” Mitch’s strained voice broke the silence while Brock and I had a visual stand down.
With my frustration at Brock showing up, I hadn’t realized that I had spoken out loud. I must have lapsed into vocal words absently.
I turned back to Mitch. His body was coiled, anger bubbled in his eyes, while a muscle ticked in his cheek and his hands clenched at his side. I didn’t understand the sudden anger.
“Yes, I did. Brock is my Garda,” I answered honestly, wondering why Mitch was so upset.
“Where is he? Is he here?” He pushed off the car and stood beside me, glaring in the direction that I had been facing.
I put my hand on his arm, “Mitch, what’s wrong?”
“Where is he? Tell him to show himself!” his voice rose as he turned his head left and right, searching the area.
“Why? Mitch, what’s going on?” I tried to step in front of him, tried to listen to what was going through his mind, but my focus was scattered, and noises surrounding me made it hard to hear just Mitch.
“Hello, Mitchell,” Brock’s deep voice rumbled out as he appeared in front of us. Mitch’s face turned white as he stared Brock down.
Mitch’s jaw clamped hard, and he used his left arm to push me out of the way as he stepped forward. So shocked was I by his movement, that I fell up against the car and spun around in time to see his right fist make contact with Brock’s jaw.
Brock was knocked back, and I paused to see if he would throw a punch back. Instead, he put one hand to his jaw and rubbed it. I stepped in between them, putting one hand on Mitch’s chest to hold him back, his heart crashed against his chest wall. His entire body was tense and his breathing heavy. The anger in his expression was directed past me toward Brock, and I turned to focus on Brock as he spoke.
“I guess I deserved that.” As I watched him speak, I finally realized why he had seemed so familiar to me. I turned my head back to Mitch, scanning his face, and then back to Brock.
“You’re his brother,” my voice was barely a whisper. The hair color and eyes were different, but the features on his face, the chin, the cheekbones, the set of his eye sockets were the same. How could I not have seen it before?
Brock snuck a quick glance at me while he moved his jaw around and dropped his hand to his side.
“How do you know him, Corey?” Mitch’s tense voice reached my ears, and I turned to him to respond.
“He’s my Garda.” I turned back to Brock. I waited for him to speak; he didn’t.
~Mitch~
“You couldn’t have Beth, so you go after Corey?” I had never wanted to hurt anyone as much as I wanted to hurt him at this very moment.
The sight of my brother, standing in front of me after all that I had gone through this last year and a half, unleashed an unholy fury.
“Calm down, Mitch, it’s not what you think,” Brock’s voice was the same as I remembered, slightly deeper than mine.
“Not what I think! You son of a bitch! Y
ou slept with my fiancée! You got her pregnant! You both lied to me about it, and then years later I find out that Chase isn’t mine! Now you’re here after Corey! What the hell am I supposed to think?”
I couldn’t stop the words once they started tumbling from my mouth. Corey put her hand on my arm. I shook it off.
“Mitch, stop. Let’s talk about this,” Corey whispered.
I spun on her, “I don’t want to talk about this!” Her expression was startled and her eyebrows rose as she rocked back on her feet from the venom in my tone.
Before I could say anything else, she turned to Brock, “You should go.”
“No! I’m not done with him!” I took a step towards my brother, and his shoulders straightened.
“I’m not going to fight you, Mitch. Listen to Coralenna.”
I glanced at Corey quickly then back to him, “You call her Coralenna?”
“Brock, just go, please.” Corey turned her back to me so I couldn’t see her face.
“We need to talk, Coralenna.” I couldn’t see her face, but I figured she was communicating with him somehow and got the urge to punch him again.
Brock disappeared right before my eyes, and I spun around searching for him.
“Where did he go?” my voice was deeper than usual, even to my ears.
“He went back to the Realm, Mitch. Relax, he’s gone.”
“The Realm? Where the hell is that?” I started pacing, trying to release the stress. Why was my brother with Corey? Better yet, why were dead people appearing before me?
“It’s a place between heaven and Earth. It’s where the Gardaí
live and train.”
I stopped and stared at her. “And he’s your Garda? Is that what you’re called?”
I didn’t mean to take my anger out on her, but I just couldn’t control it. ”Yes,” she said slowly.
“And he’s trained you?” I stepped in front of her.
“Yes.”
“What else has he done with you?” My anger simmered right below the surface, fear made my blood feel thick in my veins as I waited for her response.
