Dark Angel's Ward (33 page)

I looked up as something Cara said caught my ear. I repeated what I thought I'd heard-- "An internship?" At her nod, I added, "Where?"

"With the Society, duh. They made us honorary members, since we can't un-know all of this weird crap. So who knows? Maybe I'll end up being
your
boss someday."

"That," I said with a shudder, "will be the day I die."

She laughed, finally. We made small talk for a bit longer as we walked the mostly empty rooms, checking for anything that might have escaped packing. A truck would arrive within the hour to haul most of my belongings off to a storage lot. After that I'd be basically be homeless, a woman on a mission. But as long as the man I loved stood at my side, that was fine by me.

We ended up back on the front porch. I gave Cara a big bear hug as we saw her off. "I've been a pretty crappy friend lately, haven't I?" I murmured in her ear. "I'm sorry."

"S'okay. You had a good excuse."

"No, I've pretty much been feeling sorry for myself this whole time." There was the black and white of it.

"Well, I have too," she replied with a sideways smile. "If I'm forgiven, so are you."

"You got it, kiddo." I squeezed her again. "You have our new numbers, right? If you need someone to talk to, you call. Any time, day or night."

"I will." She accepted a hug from Zeph and turned to go. She tossed a casual, "Later, taters," over her shoulder, sounding almost like her old self again.

Zeph's arm crept around my waist as we watched her climb into the Jeep and drive away. "Why didn't you tell her where we're really going?" he asked at length.

"Seriously? Does she look like she needs anything else to worry about right now?" I frowned up at him. "Besides, I don't see it taking very long, and we
are
planning a little downtime afterward, aren't we? So it's not like I lied or anything."

"I suppose not." He turned us back toward the house, but after a few steps, he paused. "Was the mailbox like that before?"

The flag pointed up. Hm. "No, it wasn't." I approached it hesitantly, as if I expected it to be full of snakes or something. I found only a small white envelope inside. I took it out and ripped it open, withdrawing a card made of thick, fancy paper. The face of it depicted with a Van Gogh print. I flipped it open, finding a few lines scrawled in a heavy, masculine hand. My heart skipped a beat as I read the message.

Thanks for the chaos, dear heart. I couldn't have done it better myself. Time to live my own life at last.

Yours,

Dreamy

P.S. You'll see me again soon.

"Jandra?" Zeph's concern washed over me in a warm wave, chasing away the sudden chill that had gripped me. "What is it?"

"Nothing." I crumpled the card in my fist. "Wrong address."

He nodded, but didn't look terribly reassured. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"Positive." I tossed the wadded paper into the neighbor's bushes. "Come on, let's go wait inside. That damn truck had better get here soon."

"Patience," he admonished, hugging me to his side again.

"I don't want to be patient, baby. I want to be in OKC by sundown." Some rendezvous were best carried out under the cover of darkness.