Beautifully Unnatural: A Young Adult Paranormal Boxed Set (104 page)

“Get.” He shooed the dog away. Eyeing Sammy standing on the welcome mat he paused by her side. “Fine. We’ll convince her tomorrow.” Her brushed past her and the front door slammed behind him before he darted up the stairs.

“Are you hungry?” Grace called from the kitchen before he’d even made it to the landing.

Alexander sighed. In the last year, Grace had become more than just a mother in name only. Grace cooked, cleaned and nurtured their human development. Having the assistance of a fallen angel who’d been here for a couple of centuries helped the transition after their fall.

“No, thanks,” he yelled down as he continued up the stairs. Then he stepped into his room and closed the door. Hands shaking, he lifted a leather-bound copy of
Edgar Allen Poe: Complete Tales and Poems
from the nightstand.

With the book in his grasp, he moved to the bank of windows and pulled back navy blue curtains to peer out the floor-to-ceiling glass. His gaze drifted down the beach in the direction of Gabby’s house. There was something familiar about the way that girl’s blond hair danced in the wind, the way her hips swayed when she walked. Something he couldn’t help but be drawn to.

He heard a tap on his door. “Alexander? Are you okay, son?” Grace called.

He gritted his teeth, torn. Half of him needed to open the door and talk. Grace would know why his heart felt so heavy, why his hands were cold and clammy. But the other half wanted to avoid any conversation pertaining to Gabby Moore.

“I’m fine.”

“May I come in?” she asked.

“It’s your house,” he said, shame filling him. Grace didn’t deserve his rude behavior. She was so good and kind to him and Sammy.

He internally moaned when she entered and shut the door behind her. She sat on the bed, a gray wisp of hair falling into her eyes. Her hand brushed it back toward the tight bun resting neatly on the top of her head.

Grace patted the bed next to her, inviting him to sit. “I heard you met a girl today.”

Alexander clenched his teeth. He wanted to smack Sammy upside the head for saying something. Instead, he shrugged casually and remained by the window, ignoring the way his heart sped up. The girl was nothing to him.

“I was wondering when this might happen,” Grace said softly, resting her hands in her lap, her eyes haunted.

“I don’t know what the fuss is about. She’s just some girl.” But there was something familiar about her. Something that bothered him more than he cared to admit. Alexander placed the well-worn book back on the nightstand. “Something else happened, though.” A rise of excitement traveled up within him at the memory. “It was…was…”

“What?”

He pivoted to face her. “I’m not sure. Something strange is happening to me. Do you think I might be gaining some of my abilities back?” Alexander plopped down onto his bed beside her. He hated that he sounded like some teenager, waiting with baited breath for permission to attend a dance or party. Except this was no party. This was everything.

Grace squeezed his hand. “Anything is possible, but what makes you think you’re getting them back?”

He thought for a moment, not sure how to put into words what he’d felt when he’d rescued Gabby in the ocean. “I-I felt different when I tried to push the demonic images from her mind. It was as if something was moving inside my stomach. My hands were shaking and sweaty, and my head spun.” So much so, he thought he would pass out.

“I see.” Grace rose from the bed and walked around the room for a moment. “Where your powers are concerned, I’ve often wondered if their loss was due to the guilt you cling to over the woman that died when you took on Forras last time. I thought they might return when you were ready to forgive yourself. But I never believed Heaven revoked them. When you awaken after your fall, your gifts are set. They don’t change, so I think in this case something else is going on.”

He stared up at her. “What? What else could it be?”

“Alex, the symptoms you spoke of could also mean that you feel something for this girl. Something a human male might feel for a human female.”

Alexander clenched the corner of a navy blue pillow. “I don’t want anything to do with her. I only experienced my gifts returning.” When she glanced at his hand, he forced himself to unclench it and smooth the wrinkles from the gray bedspread.

“Again, I only believe it may be possible. But if you do start to find yourself attracted to this girl, I urge you to talk to me about it. There are things you need to know.”

“What kind of things?”

Grace absently smoothed non-existent wrinkles from the front of her white shirt. “You need to understand that while you might have the body of a teenage boy and the healing powers of an ancient angel, you have the self-control of a two-year-old child.”

Alexander bolted from the bed, the pillow clutched tight in his hand again. “The self-control of a two-year-old?”

“Yes,” she said, her hard gaze pinning him. “After all, you’ve only been human a little less than two years.”

“That’s ridiculous. I showed amazing restraint today. Did I kill all those worthless demons? Did I?” As he paced the floor, anxiety burned his skin at the thought of those monsters touching Gabby.

Grace sighed. “All I’m saying is that you must speak to me about these things. It’s imperative you understand how powerful you are and how easily you can lose control. I love you, son. And I’m here for a reason.” She laid her hand on his head in a comforting gesture he’d grown accustomed to then quietly left the room.

Alexander stared at the door, his irritation rising.
I’m not two years old
. He didn’t have a problem with control and he most certainly didn’t have feelings for some human. It was just that she seemed so frail and in need of protection. And wasn’t protecting humans his responsibility as an angel? He’d find a way to regain his abilities and keep her safe.

What Sammy had said was true. By saving Gabby, he’d blocked Forras’ fun and made things worse. Now, the girl would suffer years of torture until she went insane, just so Forras could prove a point. He shouldn’t have interfered.

A shiver raced down his back as if his feathers, locked inside his flesh and bones, ruffled. But it was too late. He had inadvertently challenged Forras and Gabby would pay the cost. He had to make it right. It wouldn’t hurt to keep an eye on her for a while. Besides, this could be another chance to save a life. It was his duty, after all, and he wouldn’t fail. Not this time.

Chapter Three

Gabby’s father shifted forward in his chair, his gaze analyzing her face. She forced herself to keep a blank stare, retreating back two steps before holding her position.

“Where were you?” His quiet, yet deep voice commanded her attention. She stood rigid, waiting to figure out what direction this conversation would turn. It was so much easier to gauge his mood when he was yelling and screaming.

“I went for a walk on the beach,” she answered a little too quickly.

He stared at her for a moment and the tension in the room grew. Finally, he said, “Came home early to help with the unpacking.” His eyes swept over the sparse room. “Anything left to do?”

Thank God
, she sighed inwardly. He wasn’t drunk. But his tone indicated something was wrong.

She ran her toe along the intersection in the floor, where the linoleum of the kitchen peeled away from the carpet of the living room.
Don’t move us again. Not now!

She glanced at the few remaining boxes nestled in one corner of the room, which could easily be thrown into the back of his truck again. Not even the items already tucked neatly into their new residence would be enough to hinder them leaving in the morning.

No, I won’t leave. Not this time.

“Catch any bad guys today?” Gabby asked. Bringing up his job was always risky, but she couldn’t think of anything else. She’d learned to hate the government over the past few years with all the moves and secrecy.

“Not today, but I’m close.” He sighed heavily and wiped his palms down the front of his dark green pants.

So far, so good.

She inched forward. “Dad, couldn’t you take a break? I know your job is important, but I want to stay in one place for a while. No more name changes, or moves.” She took another step toward him. “Please?” Her insides curled around her desperate hope and she willed her father to understand.

“Gabby, we’ve been over this a hundred times. I have to do this—”

“The government can find someone else, can’t they?” Her heart began to beat faster.

“Not with my unique skills. There are few with the military and civilian skills I possess,” her father retorted, clutching his knees.

“What does that mean? How many different ways is there to kill a bad guy?”

His brow furrowed as he glared at her. “I’m not getting into this again. I have a job. It pays the bills. I keep you safe. End of discussion.”

Wanting the conversation to end without another declaration of danger being just around the corner, the news of another forced midnight move, she turned to leave. “Fine. I’m going to shower then start dinner. You going to be home tonight?” She paused but didn’t look back at him, hoping he’d feel guilty for leaving her home alone, again. She’d use any weapon in her arsenal to stay put for awhile.

“What do you think about attending school this year?”

She whipped around, staring at him, convinced he was only teasing her. She hadn’t attended public school since the age of ten when her mother began homeschooling her. Cookies and milk, laughter, and plenty of hugs were all part of the school day with her mom. Reading became adventures with play swords and princess tiaras. Her heart ached, remembering how her mom would stroke her hair while she sat at the kitchen table working on math problems. But now the seat next to her remained empty.

After the accident, her father hadn’t seen a point in putting her into public school when he’d only have to pull her out again a month later, but she’d always hoped. Homeschooling without her mother was depressing, and lonely.

“You mean it?” Gabby hesitantly stepped toward him again, afraid any movement would shatter her father’s words, still hanging in the air.

His gaze held hers and then he said, “Yeah, I mean it.”

Gabby took two long strides and lunged forward, throwing herself into his arms. She’d never done that before, not with him. Those were Mom hugs. But her happiness at his declaration was too much for her to contain.

She pulled back and looked into his face. Deep creases lined his eyes and his mouth was stretched wide into a grin. He slugged her shoulder playfully, like a father would to a son. He’d always been awkward around her, not quite sure how to interact with a daughter, especially after her mother’s accident. But finally maybe he was trying.

She shuffled backward, knocking into a side table. “Thanks, Dad. I’ll do great, I promise.” She pivoted and ran upstairs before he could change his mind, biting her lip to keep from squealing with happiness.

Closing the bathroom door, she fell against it. Was it a dream, or did her dad really just give her permission to attend school? Would she really be able to hang out with people her own age for the first time in six years?

Did Sammy and Alexander go to the local school? They appeared to be about her age.

She took a long, deep breath. Fisting her hands to her chest, she recalled how happiness had penetrated the darkness inside when Alexander had touched her. How she thought she’d lose herself in his blue, caring, yet tortured eyes.

Yanking a towel from the slanting shelves that served as their linen closet, she tossed it on top of the chipped counter. Finally, her father seemed human again. He’d actually smiled after she hugged him. How long had it been since he’d smiled? A year? Maybe this town wasn’t so bad after all.

She leaned over the tub and cranked the old handle, causing water to sputter from the showerhead. Removing her shirt,
Gabby noticed a small, puffy, zigzag pattern on her abdomen, and she traced the stinging mark with her fingertips. Her ankle also burned with another reddish bruise, like a handprint wrapping around her leg.

She stared at the bruise on her ankle and that all too familiar zing of electric warning shot through her. Sh
e knew she hadn’t been tangled in any weeds. Something was out there. Creatures, come to life from her night terrors. The ones she woke from, soaked in sweat.

Shivering at the flashback of orange eyes and rippled skin, she hugged herself. She’d been so sure she was just having another episode, but hallucinations didn’t leave behind raw, stinging bruises. Did they?

Her lungs tightened and she fell back against the door, gasping for air. With a hand held to her pounding heart, she slid down to her butt and pulled her legs into her chest. Smell of burned flesh, screams in her head and bright light shocked her system into stuttering with strings of maddening electrical pulses through her body. The overwhelming sense of death slammed into her like a wrecking ball.

“No, not now.” She closed her eyes and willed the panic attack away, but once it started it was too late.

The images of their arms around her torso strangled the air from her body. If the dark shadows she’d encountered out in the ocean were anything like the ones in her dreams, then they were evil and deadly, but were they real?