by C. L. Coffey
The other guy was either another freshman, Eric, or a senior, Marshall. I knew their names because we had practically lived in the coffee shop for the past two weeks, and Ty worked with them, so he definitely knew them. Yet somehow, he only ever referred to them as ‘the other guy.’
Long gone was my desire to even question him on that.
“Stop complaining. The coffee may be free, but you’re still getting paid.”
Ty nodded. “Yeah, minimum wage with no tips because no one pays anything. At least I don’t have bills to pay.”
Keeping my mouth shut, I sat down on one of the chairs as I watched Ty make the drinks. I wasn’t going to complain. I was at Greenwood on a scholarship, and if the drinks hadn’t been free, I would be on water and not caffeine.
But hospitality wages did suck. That I did have experience with.
Eric came in as Ty was finishing up the last drink. He placed five mugs onto a tray and then carried them over to the table, sitting down in the seat he’d been in for the last several hours.
“Caffeine,” Harrison groaned appreciatively as he reached for the mug Ty had set down in front of him.
Leigh-Ann was drinking a red velvet hot chocolate and hers was the biggest mug with so much whipped cream on top, it looked like a cake.
I took my mug and then buried my head back in my textbook. Pinnosa had said I needed to catch up on courses I missed in high school, so last semester I’d spent so much time studying with Gabriel in an effort to do that.
Seeing as though I had nowhere to go over summer and Pinnosa is allowing me to stay in the dorms although Greenwood doesn’t offer summer classes, Gabriel decided that whatever I needed to catch up on could be done during the summer break.
I still hadn’t worked out how I was going to tell Gabriel that I already agreed to go to Leigh-Ann’s because she didn’t want to go back to her dads.
Thinking of Gabriel, I looked up at the clock and promptly cursed. He’d asked to see me at seven, and that was ten minutes from now.
“I gotta go.” I hurriedly threw all my books into my bag.
“Hot date?” Cash asked.
My interactions with Cash had dropped to ‘he was with us at all times, and I was going to remain polite, but if I didn’t have to talk to him I wouldn’t.’ Mostly, he was the same. But every so often, he’d ask me something like that. Something which sounded innocent to everyone else, but the way he would look at me as he asked it led me to believe he was trying to get a reaction out of me for some reason.
Leigh-Ann was the only one who knew about Gabriel—and Ty by proxy—and I intended to keep it that way. “Jealous?”
“Unbelievably,” he said, his voice flat and unenthusiastic.
Slinging my bag over my back, I waved my goodbye and left the coffee shop. Outside, it was still light out.
Seeing as though Gabriel asked to meet in the gym, I was sure the evening was going to consist of some kind of training. We hadn’t done anything outside of class for such a long time that I was looking forward to it.
No, that wasn’t true.
I was just looking forward to being with Gabriel, even if it did mean I was going to be thrown around a few dozen times as I perfected my landing techniques.
The gym was empty when I walked in, which meant Gabriel was in his office. It wasn’t until I got near the door that I realized he wasn’t alone.
“. . . summer, Gabriel. We have gone nearly two months without a single scare. Parents are complaining that graduation plans still haven’t been finalized.”
“You think allowing more people onto this campus is safe?”
Lingering just by the door, I moved so I could see through the open crack. Not that I needed to, to know it was Pinnosa talking to him.
“I know it’s safer than having to deal with a lot of rich parents who’ve decided this is the one day of the year when they want to show the slightest bit of interest in their child and face their army or lawyers.” Pinnosa sounded more irritated than angry. “And don’t forget because you went to Abaddon, he’s moved on from Kansas. I think it’s time for the students to stop living in fear.”
“It was you who put the campus into a lockdown, Ursula.”
“You agreed it was the right decision. Do you still think there’s a valid threat to the college?”
There was a long pause. I moved in closer, curious as to what Gabriel would say, but it was Pinnosa who spoke again.
“And that’s why I cannot justify keeping the campus closed.”
We hadn’t spoken about me thinking I was a Watcher, which meant he truly didn’t think I was a threat—not that I doubted him when he said otherwise. It still made my heart flutter, though.
But I also hadn’t broken my promise to Leigh-Ann about not mentioning her father. When I returned to my room before breakfast, she made sure I hadn’t told Gabriel and then made me promise not to tell anyone again. After that, she’d never mentioned it and neither did I.
But now Pinnosa was considering opening up the college, which would allow him on the campus, maybe I needed to? Or maybe I needed to convince Leigh-Ann to say something.
“I will arrange for my cherubim to come to the college to put up wards,” Gabriel said, bringing me back out of my thoughts.
Wait . . . cherubim? Cherubs? As in little baby angels?
How much of this conversation had I zoned out on?
“There will be no need for that. You know this place is to remain a secret.” Pinnosa’s tone was tight.
“It is no trouble, Ursula. You already have a ward on this gym, and with a church on the campus, we should have done this a long time ago. Besides, they serve me, and they will swear an oath to keep the secret. They don’t need to know why the wards are required, nor the students here. Unless, of course, there’s a reason why you wouldn’t want additional security measures to protect the students?”
Gabriel’s tone was light, but there was something about his question which . . . didn’t he trust the dean either?
Pinnosa sniffed. “Nonsense. Cast the wards, but make sure they swear the oath. I will not risk the lives of my students.”
There were sounds of heels clicking across the wooden floor, so I leapt away from the door, trying to make it seem like I wasn’t listening when Pinnosa walked out.
Giving her an awkward smile, I nodded my head. “Hello.”
Pinnosa stopped and looked at me. She didn’t say a word, but her eyes narrowed before she continued out the door.
Only when the door closed behind her did I venture into Gabriel’s office. He was on the phone, talking quietly so I hadn’t heard him at first. Not that it would matter considering he was speaking Italian.
He gestured for me to sit, so I took a seat, letting my bag fall to the floor. It took a few more minutes for him to finish his conversation before he hung up and gave me a smile. “You look pretty today.”
My hair was escaping my ponytail, I was only wearing mascara, and I was wearing the same thing I wore every day after class—the fitted combat pants and a long sleeve top from the collection of clothes Gabriel bought me over Easter break, so I had something other than the uniform to wear.
I glanced down at the clothes just to make sure I hadn’t put on a dress, or something that was equally as pretty, before looking up at Gabriel. “It’s the same thing I wear all the time.”
“Then I guess you look pretty every day.”
My lips slowly parted. I wasn’t sure where this flirty Gabriel had come from, but I liked it.
“I was going to suggest that we maybe go for a walk along the river,” Gabriel continued as though he hadn’t just been cute. “But a couple of hours ago, I got a call from a friend.”
“If you need to go do something, I don’t mind heading back to the others. It is finals, after all.” I didn’t mind, but I was a little disappointed.
“I know where your mother is.”
My heart practically skipped a beat. She was still one of the reasons I la
y awake every night, staring at the ceiling for a long time before falling asleep. I was torn between respecting her wishes of not wanting to be found and wanting to know where my mom was.
“You’ve not mentioned her since we returned from Seattle, so I figured you were respecting her wishes—”
“You know, or you have an idea of what city she’s in?” I tried to keep the sudden appearance of butterflies in my stomach under control. Hope had appeared out of nowhere and now, even if Gabriel said he might know what state she’s in, I knew I was going there.
“I have a friend, a detective in the New Orleans police department. I asked him to keep an eye out for any missing person report, and he got an alert this afternoon.”
“On my mom?” I asked, the butterflies suddenly nosediving into the pit of my stomach. “Is my mom okay?”
“No, on you.”
It took me a moment to understand what he was saying. “Me?”
“This afternoon, your mother reported you missing. In doing so, she left all her contact details. I know where she is, Kennedy.”
I stared at Gabriel although I wasn’t really seeing him. It had been over five—nearly six—months since I’d last seen my mom. Somehow, she knew I’d been following her in Seattle, so why had she waited until now?
“Where is she?”
“Las Vegas.”
Blinking a few times, I, once again, tried to process the information.
Vegas was where I had left with Gabriel, or rather, where he took me from the diner that I’d been working in, but it was the last place I’d seen Mom.
I stood. “Let’s go.”
“She’s working in one of the casino’s off the Strip. I’m going to have to take us somewhere quieter and then we’ll move closer.” Gabriel’s gaze was locked on me. I wasn’t sure why he was telling me this considering this is what had happened every other time he’d teleported us from place to place. “Are you sure?”
“If she didn’t want to see me, she wouldn’t have filed a missing person’s report. And if she’s changed her mind then she can tell me to my face.”
Gabriel got up and walked around to the other side of the table. “Joshua—the detective I know—called the casino. She’s at work now, just started her shift. But I want you to know before we go, that if she does say she doesn’t want to see you, I’m here for you.”
I couldn’t say anything, but I nodded at him. He held out his hand, and I took it. The next moment, we were behind what looked like an abandoned building of some kind.
After walking out onto the street, we had to walk for about twenty minutes until we came to a busier road. I wasn’t exactly sure where in Vegas we were, but it wasn’t the kind of place I wanted to go walking alone. If Gabriel had been human, I still would have been uncomfortable.
As though sensing my discomfort, Gabriel’s squeezed my hand. It was as if the area couldn’t decide if it was industrial or commercial, or whether it was abandoned or just run down. And the whole time, questionable looking people cruised past, staring at us.
Maybe a gang wasn’t as scary as a fallen angel to an archangel, but I’d lived in rough areas. I’d never gotten caught up in it, but I knew which streets to avoid and which stores were the safe ones to go into.
My heart didn’t stop pounding until the street became better lit and there was more traffic feeding the strip clubs and smaller casinos. They were still establishments I would have avoided if I was still living in Vegas, but more people meant more witnesses.
It also meant taxis.
Gabriel flagged one down, giving the driver the name of the one my mom was working at. As we turned onto the Strip, my heart started pounding again. For another reason this time.
When we pulled up outside the casino, I got out, staring up at the bright lights as Gabriel paid the driver.
My mom’s health had improved so much that she could get a job here? Didn’t the places on the Strip have really high standards?
“It’s not too late to change your mind,” Gabriel muttered in my ear as he joined my side. “Your mom doesn’t know we’re coming.”
I shook my head. Instead, I took a deep breath and wound through the crowds to enter the casino.
Inside I was reminded why I’d never looked for jobs here when I lived in Vegas. Background music layered with hundreds of people’s conversations, chinks and chimes from the slot machines, bright lights and no windows to make sure no one knew how late it was. These places were sensory overloads.
I scanned the floor, looking for an employee. Ignoring security and the dealers, I walked up to a cocktail waitress. “Hi, I’m looking for Naomi Kennedy? She’s my mom. She asked me to bring her house key.”
The lie fell off my tongue, but the waitress frowned. “There’s a Naomi behind the bar by the blackjack tables, but she’s not a Kennedy.”
“Oh, I took my dad’s name. That’s probably her.” Without giving her the opportunity to quiz me, I hurried past the slot machines, with Gabriel right behind me.
The floor opened out into dozens of tables that could have any kind of card game on it, but in the back was a bar.
And behind the bar was my mom.
In front of a bright backdrop with rows of lit up, high-end liquor, my mom was busy making a couple of cocktails. Her hair was still in a pixie cut, but it was no longer limp, greasy, or stuck to the sides of her head. It was styled and made her look younger. Or maybe it was the makeup. Or the sexy little black dress . . .
I would know my mom anywhere, but she looked so different that she was almost unrecognizable. I took another step towards the bar, and then stopped, turning to Gabriel. Even before I could speak, he was nodding.
“I’ll wait over here.” He promised me.
Giving him a grateful smile, I sucked in a deep breath and walked over. After all this time looking for her, she was in front of me. And somehow I was nervous about seeing my own mother.
I climbed onto one of the tall bar stools at the far end of the bar, not wanting to disturb her in the middle of what she was doing.
It didn’t work.
The moment I sat down, she looked over. “I’ll be right with you.”
Just as she went to carry on with her work, she looked back and her mouth dropped open at the same rate the glasses she was holding fell to the floor.
Ignoring the broken glass and the customers in front of her, she hurried out from behind the bar and over to me.
I got off the stool just as she arrived in front of me.
“Dora? Is that you?”
“Hi Mom.” A lump appeared in my throat as she drew me into a tight embrace.
I couldn’t remember the last time my mom hugged me.
“Dora, where have you been?”
“Me?” I pulled back. “Where have you been?”
“Naomi?” someone called. “What’s going on back here? What’s with the broken glass? Why are these customers waiting on drinks?”
My mom closed her eyes, took a sharp breath, and then looked at me. “I’m due a break at eight. Can you wait for me?” She pointed to some seating on the side, overlooking the tables in front of the bar.
“Sure.” I hurriedly agreed, even though I had no idea what time it was.
“I’ll get the waitress to bring you a drink.” She reached up and cupped my cheek. “It’s good to see you, baby.”
Feeling slightly dazed, I wandered over to the seating area she directed me to, glancing back as I did to make sure my mom didn’t disappear.
As I sat down, Gabriel seemed to materialize beside me and sat down. I was aware of his eyes on me, but my attention was fixated on my mom. I couldn’t get over how incredible she looked. “I guess it was me.”
“What’s that?”
“You said once that the presence of a nephilim could drive the human parent crazy. She seems so much better after being away from me.”
Gabriel reached out, taking my hand. “It’s not your fault, Kennedy.”
“It is.
It just wasn’t intentional.”
Gently, Gabriel tugged me against him.
I fell into his side, closing my eyes as he wrapped his arms around me.
“What did she say?”
“Not much. She’s working. She said she had a break at eight. I don’t even know what time it is.” Leaning backwards, I looked up at him. “Can you do your magic hocus pocus and tell me what time it is?”
“Hocus . . .?” Gabriel shook his head. “You don’t have to wait long. Twenty minutes.”
Considering how long it took for me to find her, twenty minutes was nothing. But it also felt like a lifetime.
A cocktail waitress appeared with a drink, placing it in front of me. “There you go, sugar.” She glanced at Gabriel. “Would you like anything, sugar?”
“No, thank you,” Gabriel replied.
I waited for her to disappear before picking up the drink and taking a sip. It was a fruity cocktail but there wasn’t any alcohol in it. Suddenly I was craving a shot of something strong.
“How do you know a cop in New Orleans?” I asked, both curious, and needing something to distract me while I waited for my mom’s break.
“He was the charge of a potential in Michael’s House.”
Once more, I leaned back to look up at Gabriel. “Michael? As in the Archangel?”
Gabriel nodded.
“Can I meet the potential?”
“You already have. And she’s no longer a potential, she earned her wings.” Gabriel gave me a small smile.
“Angel?” I’d forgotten about the British woman with the cherry red hair. She hadn’t seemed much older than me, either. She was also human, marked to be special—someone with potential to earn their wings. Like me.
Holding out my arm, I tried to see the aura, which apparently, made me so special.
“What are you doing?” Gabriel asked.
“Looking for my aura.”
Gabriel reached out for my hand, taking it in his. “You can’t see your own aura, but it’s royal blue.” He pointed to a slot machine with a glowing sign above it. “Like that blue.”
