by Claire Kane
Rao politely smacked him upside the head. “Enough with the jealousy. You know you’re happy she’s moving on, even if it’s not with you.”
Victor frowned. “Yes and no. I want her taken care of. If this guy will do it, great. It not…”
“So what’s the real problem, Victor? Take some time to think about it.”
Victor focused on The Pool, moving all around the scene and trying to pick out what was really bothering him. Lacey, however, proved to be too much of a distraction. Suddenly, the image rippled, then vanished, replaced by the face of a glaring tabby.
“I don’t even think about my old toms as much as you think about your former girlfriend. Focus, Vic. Focus.”
Victor gritted his teeth. “I couldn’t tell, okay? And I haven’t seen Lacey at all before now. Give me a break.”
“Doesn’t that bother you?” Rao asked archly.
Victor frowned. “What happened to your feminine powers of observation? Of course that bothers—”
“I mean,” Rao interrupted, “doesn’t it bother you that you can’t figure out what’s wrong?”
He paused, letting the idea percolate. At last, he looked up at the cat. “So you’re saying that guy really is bad for her?”
Rao shook her head. “Not specifically. It’s that in the area around Lacey there was a decidedly dark presence.”
“You mean Leg—”
“Ah, ah, ah!” Rao shushed him quickly. All around, Victor felt thoughts of concern and surprise. “We don’t speak that name in Heaven. This is a holy place. A clean place. The Dark Ones chose to leave; we’re not inclined to invite them back.”
Victor shuddered at the memories of Legion, the horde of demons he’d had to deal with during his time between death and Heaven. Rao was right—no one in their right mind would want anything to do with them.
“Get to the point, Cat. When do I get to go back? Or did you just bring me here to taunt me?”
Rao adopted a look of supreme innocence. “I’m an angel. Why would I taunt anyone?”
Victor rolled his eyes and gave her an unmistakable stare.
Rao smirked and carried on. “Angels are agents, Vic. Meaning, we’re occasionally given assignments. Your girlfriend is about to walk into something unquantifiably dangerous without enough knowledge to be safe about it. Normally, one of her ancestors would be tapped to handle a situation like this, but the Big Man knows how much you still love her, and He’s granting you a real favor.
“Angels in the Seattle area have reported that really dark things are afoot, dark enough that Heaven’s intervention is required to keep things from really going off the rails. Because you once lived there, and because of your connection to Lacey, we’re giving you a chance to prove your stuff by helping us figure out what is going on, and helping us avert anything truly harmful.”
Victor’s brow wrinkled. “Can’t God just tell us the answer? I thought He knew everything.”
Rao smiled. “He does. But how He knows doesn’t necessarily work the way mortals think. You’ll figure it out soon enough. Angelic messengers serve a variety of purposes. Right now, yours is to do a little nosing around.”
It made little sense to Victor, but he could tell Rao wouldn’t be swayed. Besides, a chance to visit Lacey was not to be passed up for any reason. “I’m in. When do I start?”
Rao smiled. “Right about… now.”
NINE
Primping in her bathroom’s cracked mirror, Lacey couldn’t help but feel a little giddy. She was going on a date. At least she thought she was... The man who’d paid for her dinner last night, Jack Beals, wanted to meet up for dinner today. He was a modeling scout, by profession. He had told her she had beautiful bone structure off the bat.
Lacey started to wonder.
“He didn’t technically call it a date,” she told herself. “Don’t get your hopes up too high. He deals with beautiful women all day. Maybe this will be more like a job offer, instead.” And she could really use one, right about now, even if it was in something she detested.
Dabbing her blush brush in a beige powder, she nodded, before fluffing it across her nose, muting a few freckles. Freckles Victor loved. She switched her thoughts back to her quasi-date. “Besides, he should be the one nervous to go out with me.” She never did approve of girls acting desperate. Herself especially. Either way, this man could be a good distraction. A distraction from thinking about Victor so much.
On the way out, Nainai said, “I want to hear every detail.” She hacked, stirring a heartier series of coughs.
Lacey went over to the portable heater beside her grandmother’s bed and switched it on. “Stay warm, Nainai. Do you need a cough drop?”
“No.” The old woman waved away the offer. “It’s nothing.”
Lacey paused, staring at her grandmother, her shoulder-length white hair thin and wispy against a fragile face of puffy lids and wrinkles.
“Don’t look at me like that!” the woman insisted. “I have plenty of time left on Earth. Trust me. I’m not dying yet.”
“Okay.” Lacey hesitated. “I won’t be long.” Before leaving the room, Lacey straightened the lucky cat on the end table.
“Have some fun, dear!”
*
At dinner, Lacey’s stomach embarrassingly growled loudly in front of Jack. Like a gentleman, he pretended not to hear. Instead, he turned his attention to the food being brought over by the waitress.
“Your steak, sir. And your fettuccini Alfredo, ma’am.”
The plates were hot.
“Thank you for taking me out,” Lacey said. “This is nice.”
Jack’s eyes smiled, the green in them sparkling. “The pleasure’s mine. Trust me. Tell me about yourself. Besides the calm and collected reporter we all know and love...”
Lacey crossed her legs beneath the table. What part should she divulge first? The dead ex who’d haunted her, the grandmother seemingly on the brink of passing away, just getting a job as a barista girl, or being neighbors to the cast of Cops? Ugh, none of it sounded good. Better to fall back on the basics. “When I’m not reading, I like to indulge in a Netflix marathon.”
“Oh, really? If you could watch a marathon tonight, which show would you choose?”
“NCIS, or maybe Criminal Minds…”
Jack nearly choked on his bite, and took a long drink of water. “No way. You’re into crime dramas, too? I’ve seen every Criminal Minds episode there is.”
“Really?” Lacey smiled.
“Yes!” He adjusted his tie and leaned forward. “What’s your favorite color?”
“Blue.”
“Your favorite music?”
“Hmmm. Classical.”
“Breakfast? Wait, let me guess: veggie om—”
“Veggie omelet.” Lacey nodded, surprised. How did he know that one?
“Mine, mine, and mine, too! Wow, we’re so alike, Lacey,” he said with a purposeful boyishness that was humorous and charming at the same time.
She simply laughed in return, giving him what he wanted.
Jack’s eyes were suddenly penetrating. “Excuse me,” he said. “I’m not normally this goofy. It’s rare I feel quite so at ease with a woman, especially one I barely met.” He smoothed his cloth napkin over his slacks.
Lacey found herself holding her breath as he leaned forward slightly. He was so handsome.
He smiled and chuckled lightly as he shook his head. “This is—”
“Insane,” she finished with a dreamy sigh. “Like we’re in that scene from Frozen.”
He arched a brow with question.
“It was on Amazon Prime.” Her tongue nearly stumbled over the explanation. “I watched it after NCIS’s season was over. You know...”
“Yes,” he said in contemplation. “It’s okay. Even if your guilty pleasure is Disney, I’m still happy to be on this date with you.”
Date. She should have never mentioned the silly movie. Victor liked silly movies. “Same here,” she smiled,
adding, “and just so you know, Disney happens to be a well-respected company, loved by all ages... and social statuses.” What was she rambling about now?
“Of course,” Jack said, eyes gleaming. “Hey, don’t tell anybody, but I’ve seen Finding Nemo more times than any kid in diapers. True story.” He took a long sip of wine and winked.
“So,” Lacey said after taking a sip of her own wine, “you tell me a bit more about yourself.”
Jack tilted his head in thought. “Hm. Okay…” He took a long pause, gazing in the distance, allowing Lacey to stare at his handsomely pursed lips.
“Hard question?” Lacey said after a moment longer.
Jack turned his eyes back to her. “A bit. I’m a hard worker, I guess you could say. Own a nice lil’ home not far from here, where I just finished installing hickory wood floors.”
As he cut his steak into neat pieces, he talked on about further upgrades. Lacey found herself mesmerized as he described the kitchen’s backsplash, a “groutless pearl-shell tile”; the foyer’s stonework “imported from Italy”; a pointillism painting “acquired from the local museum.” And so on and so forth. None of it sounded boastful in the least, although he was clearly describing very expensive items. Everything was spoken of in a hushed reverence, as if the art of it all preceded its cost. Yeah, Lacey would definitely spare him info about her own crib.
When Jack finished his list, his eyes settled into hers again as he said, “I guess you can say I like beautiful things.”
She caught the drift, which was nice and warm. Still, the woman in her couldn’t help but say, “Which is why you work in modeling,” thinking of all the opportunities.
He quickly shook his head. “I hope you know, while yes, many women can be beautiful, the girls at Trend, they’re simply sisters to me.”
There was a faraway look in his eyes, suddenly, that begged the question, “I heard on the news that a model had been murdered recently. Jessica something. Was she one of yours?” Lacey uttered with a quiet respect. “Was she like a sister?”
“Uh, yes, yes.” He cleared his throat, coming back to the present with a frown. “Jessica Simcox. She was...”
Lacey went against her instinct to pry. Instead, she nodded in sympathy before twirling some creamy noodles around her fork. When Jack finally took a bite of his steak, she mirrored him, slipping her warm forkful into her mouth.
Eating in silence wasn’t awkward. Lacey dipped a salty breadstick into some Marinara and took a bite, savoring it. She thought of Jack’s mention of needing a replacement model. “I’m sorry, but I have to admit I overheard you talking about finding a ‘replacement’. I,” and she glanced away, “I know I’m not Jessica Simcox, but maybe I could help you out. What… would you think my prospects would be for breaking into modeling?”
Jack’s eyebrows perked up. He finished chewing and swallowed. “You’re thinking of modeling?”
Lacey bit the corner of her mouth. “Possibly. I’m taking a break from newscasting. A small one.”
“As I said yesterday, you have great bone structure.” His eyes seemed to scrutinize her lines and angles all over again. “And it’s always nice having a fresh face, someone unique, like you.”
“I’d be very interested,” she exaggerated.
Jack shrugged a shoulder. “I can have you do a test shoot with my photographer, Geo. I’m sure you’d do well, but are you sure this is something you want to get into?” He set his elbows on the table, clasping his hands and leaning forward. “The client demands can be pretty intense. And acting is a big part of it. You’re basically pretending to be someone else the whole time. I know I feel that way as often as not.” He chuckled lightly.
Lacey nearly retorted with her resume of undercover work, but bit her tongue, knowing better. This was undercover work. She was no stranger to acting. Still, Jack’s reluctance was unmistakable, and Lacey nearly asked him to forget she mentioned it.
“Geo,” she repeated. “Funny name for a photographer. But,” and she straightened, “yes. It’s something I want to get into.”
A strange, sort of supernatural,chill swept over Lacey at that declaration. She shook it off and took another bite of her dish, feeling her determination rising. She was well on her way to finding a resolution to the murder of Jessica Simcox.
*
“I had a really good time tonight,” Jack said, lingering by Lacey’s car after their meal.
“Me too,” she said with a smile.
Their faces inching closer and closer, Lacey was lost in Jack’s eyes. She silently sighed into the coming kiss.
“You really like this guy?” The voice came out of nowhere, slicing through Lacey’s euphoria and startling her back into a cold reality. Lacey’s eyes flew open. There, almost like a mask over Jack’s face, was a vision of Victor St. John.
TEN
“Ah!” Lacey stumbled back with a yelp. Three months of silence from Victor, and he had the nerve to show up now? His blue eyes were supremely incredulous, and his frown spoke volumes.
Jack blinked in surprise. “Wh-what? What’s wrong?”
Victor, floating between them, said to Lacey, “We need to talk. We don’t have time for him.”
“Not right now,” she said through clenched teeth.
Jack’s brow furrowed in confusion. “I’m sorry. Too soon? I know it’s our first date, but—”
Lacey’s face went red hot in embarrassment. She stepped right through Victor and up to Jack. Placing a hand behind his head, she pulled him down, pressing her lips against his. He jerked slightly in surprise, but warmed quickly to the kiss.
“Mmmm,” Lacey said.
“Mmmm,” he replied.
Victor plastered a hand over his face, shaking his head. “This is the kind of welcome back I get?”
Lacey continued to kiss Jack. This, she retorted mentally, was just the absolute worst time you could have appeared. Can’t you see what I’m doing?
Victor rolled his eyes and began pacing, refusing to watch. “Yeah, sucking face with this guy you hardly know.”
Hands running through Jack’s hair, and lips still entwined in his, she pled, Can you give me just five minutes alone, please?
Victor pursed his lips in anger. “Two minutes,” he said.
Fine! Two minutes!
Victor teleported to a corner of the hotel restaurant’s parking garage. He watched the cars zooming by, surprised at how he had to readjust his senses to life down here. Heaven was so much simpler and cleaner: no cars, no commercial buildings with tacky signage, and no darkness. He glared at a life insurance office, ignored any jokes he might have once made, and settled on peering up at the evening sky, admiring the vast expanse of Heaven as seen from Earth. The sky in heaven was never dark; it had the kind of perfect sunshine that even Cabo San Lucas would envy.
Although he had no physical heart, Victor couldn’t help but feel a blow to his ego. The love of his life was making out with some dude not twenty feet away. Realizing he didn’t have a watch or phone—because what’s the use of such items when you're an angel?—he started counting down. “One-hundred and nineteen, one-hundred and eighteen…” At least Lacey appeared to have a type. The dude resembled Victor in coloring and height, but Victor was sure he could take the guy in a fight; not that he fought these days.
“Where was I? One-hundred and seventeen, one-hundred and sixteen, one-hundred and fifteen…” Even though Pretty Boy looked smoother than Rico Suave, he was certain to have some faults. Lacey'd thought Victor had been perfect when they’d first met, too. He wondered where he’d gone wrong, to cost him her good graces. “Uh, one-hundred and ten? One-hundred and nine…” It’s just, how can she move on that fast? Then he reminded himself, she had moved on long before he had died. It was he who hadn’t moved on. Since when was two minutes so long, anyway?
Victor tapped his foot and crossed his arms. Braving a glance over a shoulder, he saw Lacey was already done kissing Pretty Boy. He was opening her car door. As s
oon as it was shut, Victor teleported himself into the Lincoln’s plush passenger seat. “Miss me?” he said.
Lacey yelped again, accidentally pressing her horn in surprise. The honk got the attention of Jack, who looked back at her through the window in expectation. “Accident,” she simply said, internally cringing. Jack nodded and waved goodbye, walking off to his car somewhere amid all the other vehicles in the lot.
Fixing her hair before clamping her hands on her steering wheel, Lacey finally said, “Hello, Victor.” She wasn’t even looking his way.
“Hi, Lacey.” Sensing Lacey’s stoicism, Victor quickly reconsidered things. “I suppose I should apologize.”
Lacey’s fingers softened their grip, and she turned to him. Surprisingly, her beautiful almond-shaped eyes were red and watery.
“Woah,” he uttered. “I didn’t mean to—”
Slowly shaking her head, Lacey said, “Where have you been?”
Victor blinked, his mouth hanging open. “I, uh, was in Heaven. Didn’t you know?”
Her brow furrowed. “Of course I knew. I felt that you had ascended, or whatever it’s called, after your murderer was arrested. I just…” she paused, choking slightly. “Things have been really hard lately.” Her voice squeaked, and a tear fell. She furiously rubbed it away. “I hate crying.”
Victor leaned closer to her. “It’s okay to cry, Lace. Remember, you saw me cry.”
A memory of a shiny blue teardrop rolling down Victor’s ethereal face came back. “I remember,” she said softly. Setting her jaw, she willed her eyes dry, anyway. “Do you know Jessica’s been murdered?”
That was definitely news. “Uh…” His jaw dropped again. “She was? Jessica Simcox?”
“Yes, your ex-ex-girlfriend.”
He bit his lip, looking down. “She was pregnant.”
Lacey didn’t reply. It was horrible news to process. She just sat there, taking in a deep breath, trying to relax into her seat a bit.
“Wh-when did this happen?” Victor looked back up.
“A couple of days ago...”
“Are you okay? Has anything happened to you?” He recalled Rao’s warnings of a new darkness over the city, a spiritual battle that Victor would somehow fight against… for the sake of Lacey. He suddenly felt way in over his head. Especially if Legion were involved.
