Authors: AE Jones
I ordered a second beer and a burger and fries. By the time I was dunking my last fry in ketchup, Jean Luc stood next to me.
“Are you feeling better?”
I scowled at him.
“I came to drive you home.”
“Thanks.” I gestured for him to take a seat. “So did Dalton tell you everything?”
“Yes. It puts an interesting twist on things.”
“You think? I thought he was cheating on me. Instead, he’s been having secret rendezvous with his dead grandmother.”
“He feels bad about the whole thing. He wanted to come over and talk to you, but decided you needed some time.”
“He’s right.”
“You really care about him.”
“I don’t need all these complications in my life,” I grumbled.
“
Mon Dieu
. It is not complicated. You are falling in love. There is nothing more simple.”
“How can you say that?”
“I have seen all types of love matches over my rather long life.”
“But have you ever been in love?”
“Several times. Now, have you finished drowning your frustrations in alcohol and fried food so I can drive you home?”
“Only if you tell me about someone you loved.”
Jean Luc paused for a moment. “Her name was Talia.”
Chapter 35
Monday morning. New week, new attitude. Or so I hoped.
The night before I had eaten a bowl of wedding soup for dinner, compliments of Tony. He called it brain food, and he was right. As soon as I’d sopped up the last morsel, I reviewed every event from the past couple of weeks, picturing the white board in my head. Too many people and supes had been hurt or killed, and for what? This mysterious key Hampton was looking for?
It had to stop. I went to bed with an action plan. Today I just needed to get the others on board.
Jean Luc, Dalton, and I pulled up to the safe house. It took twice as long to get there, since Jean Luc took a circuitous route in case we were being followed. I had brought a dozen glazed donuts for Misha and a coffee cake for the rest of us.
We gathered at the large kitchen table. Misha beamed at me when he saw the boxes, poking Watson with his elbow. “I told you she would bring us something to eat. Thanks, Kyle.”
“No problem. Please tell me you have coffee ready.”
“Yes. Let me get plates for everyone.”
I smiled as Misha played host. Once everyone was settled and eating, I opened the conversation. “Okay guys, we need to brainstorm. Last night I went over all of the events leading up to this point. Watson, here, gave us some important information about the key Hampton and the Pavel are after. Can you tell us anything more about it?”
“Only if you stop calling me Watson, I feel like I’m in a Sherlock Holmes movie.”
Misha laughed and winked at him. Good Lord, they were becoming BFFs.
“All right,
Jason
, what can you tell us about the key?”
“Father Cowell was pretty closemouthed about it. Jonathan had unearthed a small box, and he called out to the group to come look at it. But when Father saw its markings, he realized it should not be given to anyone. Those markings warned of death and destruction in the wrong person’s hands.”
“What was in the box?” I prompted.
“I don’t think anything was in the box. At least, Father Cowell said it was empty.”
“Is that what the key was
supposed
to be in?” Jean Luc asked.
“Yeah. Father threw the box at Hampton when we ran out of the tent.”
I patted Misha’s arm. “Can you do some research on this key?”
“I have already begun. I haven’t found much yet, since what we have is pretty vague, but I’ll keep searching.”
I nodded. “Maybe we can get some help elsewhere. Dalton, can you summon your grandmother or the angels?”
“I’ve never tried before. The angel came to me, and then my grandmother started her visits. I don’t have a way to contact them.”
“I think you should try to contact them later. And if the angels do come see you again, would you ask them why they chopped Hampton’s head off? I mean, if they are so big into this not interfering thing, then why was it okay to chop off his head? And ask them about the key…it doesn’t hurt to try, anyway.”
I turned to Jason again. “You said you were following Hampton. Where did he go?”
“All over Cleveland. His apartment and warehouse were the two main places.”
Misha leaned forward and clicked on the laptop sitting in front of him. “The one on Superior in the warehouse district?”
Jason shook his head. “It’s the address in his books, but it’s not where he went to meet with other supernaturals. That warehouse is on St. Claire.”
“Do you know who he was meeting?” Dalton asked.
“I didn’t recognize most of them.”
“Misha, show Jason pictures of Sebastian and Akers,” I said.
A few clicks of the mouse later and Misha turned the screen toward the group. Akers’ face was smiling smugly back at us. Jason stared at him for a second. “Nope, I don’t remember him.”
Misha clicked a couple more times and Sebastian appeared on the screen. “I remember him. He met with Hampton a couple of times. Is he a vampire?”
“Yeah, and a royal pain in the ass,” I answered. “Did you ever get a look inside the warehouse?”
“No, I never wanted to risk it by myself. I wouldn’t have seen a vampire coming, and they were constantly hovering around. I came back to check it out after Hampton died, but the place was still crawling with them.”
“Do you think the box from the dig may be there?” I persisted.
“If Hampton still had it, I would say it would be the most likely place to find it.”
I clasped my hands together. “Who’s ready to go on another field trip?”
Jean Luc spoke up, “Let me watch the warehouse for a time before we go in.”
“Are you even allowed near it, since it isn’t your territory?” I countered.
“I should be okay. Normally, you must claim your territory. This warehouse is not listed as an ‘official’ holding for Sebastian, so I would not violate any treaties.”
I rolled my eyes. “You have the most convoluted system of rules.”
“We have had centuries to develop them.”
Jean Luc, Dalton and I piled into the car, and Jean Luc dropped us back at work before he went to the warehouse. I didn’t like that he was going alone, but he insisted he would be fine and would contact us later.
Once in the office, we sat down and Dalton tried to summon the angels. He concentrated, said a prayer, paced, and concentrated again, but nothing happened.
“Maybe I need to try this alone. Let me go into the parking garage for a few minutes and see if it helps.”
“Fine, I’ll wait here for you.”
I went back to my office to go through some paperwork, or at least that was what I’d planned until I was interrupted. I pulled the first file up on my computer and moaned when the blue screen of death appeared. And Misha wasn’t there to bail me out. When the lights flickered, nerves fluttered up my spine. And when the overheads went off completely and the smell of roses hit my nose, I braced myself for a ghostly visit.
“Hello?” I walked out of my dark office into the hallway, the hairs on the back of my neck standing at attention. The window at the end of the hall provided much-needed light to soothe my nerves. There would be no grabbing me in the dark. I headed toward the front office, but didn’t make it. A female voice came from behind me.
“Kyle.”
I jumped. Couldn’t help myself. I was in the middle of my very own scary ghost story. Spinning around, I came face-to-face with Dalton’s grandmother. She had on the same yellow sundress she wore in the picture on Dalton’s mantel. She smiled at me and I smiled back.
What else was I supposed to do?
“Don’t be afraid, child. I won’t hurt you.”
“Dalton’s been calling for you,” I blurted in a tight voice.
“I know. But I think it is more important to spend time with you right now.”
“Why?”
“Because I am counting on you to protect Joe.”
My heart sped up. “From what?”
“I don’t know exactly. What I do know is Joe has been chosen to protect something vital to heaven.”
“How vital? Is it the key?”
“I don’t know about any key, but it’s important enough an angel felt it necessary to come to earth and kill Hampton because of it.”
“Doesn’t it go against the
no interfering rule
they seem so keen about?”
She chuckled. “Yes, I think there were some feathers ruffled on that one.”
“So how am I supposed to protect him if I don’t know what to look for?”
“I have confidence in you. You are resourceful, and as beautiful as Joe told me you were.”
A lump lodged in my throat. “He told you about me?”
“Yes. You are definitely keeping him on his toes. I always knew he would end up with a strong woman. Promise me you will watch out for him.”
“Of course.” She started to fade and I had not asked nearly enough questions. “Wait! Before you go, why did the angels send you to Dalton instead of talking to him themselves?”
She frowned. “I wanted to see him again, and they owe me.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’m sorry, dear. I have already said too much.”
She faded right in front of me and I stared openmouthed at the empty spot where she had been seconds before.
Dalton’s voice echoed in the hall. “Kyle, where are you?”
“Right here.”
The lights flicked on as Dalton walked down the hallway toward me.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
“What happened?”
For a second I contemplated not telling him, but then I had made him promise not to keep things from me, right? Right? I took a deep breath. “I just met your grandmother.”
Chapter 36
Dalton’s eyes darkened as I spun the tale of his ghostly grandmother’s visit. His hands tightened on his coffee mug. His tight-lipped look told me he would have liked something stronger than coffee.
He set his cup down and ran his fingers through his hair. “This is getting weirder by the minute. What the hell…” He cringed at his word choice, glancing guiltily toward the ceiling, “What do they want me to protect?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. And what about your grandmother’s comment ‘they owe me’? What in the world could she be holding over angels’ heads?”
It was Dalton’s turn to shrug. “You got me. She was never especially religious that I saw, other than going to Mass each week.”
“Another puzzle to solve. Hopefully she’ll come back and tell us more. In the meantime, let’s get out of here for a while. I feel claustrophobic.”
On our way out of the building, I jerked to a stop in the hall as the world spun out of control. I righted myself, but then the hall in front of me faded, replaced by the dark room from my dreams. Light cascaded through the slit, shining along the floor, and I knelt in this light, digging frantically with my hands until I had made a small hole. I unhooked my heart bracelet and buried it, tamping down the earth. I had to hide it before he came back. Strong male hands wrapped around my arms and I screamed until Dalton’s voice broke through the vision.
“Kyle, what’s going on?”
I shook my head to clear the fog and took a deep breath. “I just had a flash of something. I think it’s related to the dream I’ve been having.”
Dalton held my elbow firmly. “Do you want me to take you home?”
“No, but will you go with me somewhere else?”
“Does it have to do with your premonitions?”
“That’s the thing. I don’t think it’s a premonition anymore, but I have to find out for sure.”
I directed Dalton to the burbs, and within twenty-five minutes we parked in the Connors’ driveway. I hadn’t planned anything, since I wasn’t sure I even knew what to ask. I convinced Dalton to wait in the car, so we didn’t freak the Connors out any more than necessary. When I rang the doorbell, Stephanie answered.
She smiled. “Kyle! It’s great to see you. What brings you here?”
“Sorry to disturb you, I just need a minute of your time. I have to ask you a couple of questions to close out the case. Do you mind?”
“No, come in. Trina’s at a play date today, so we can talk inside if you’d like.”
“I’m sorry to bring this up again, but I want to make sure all the loose ends are tied up. Some of the questions might appear strange, but please bear with me.”
Stephanie motioned me to the couch. “What do you need to know?”
“The day Trina was abducted, do you know exactly how the man grabbed her?”
Stephanie closed her eyes for a second before answering, “When we first brought her home, she was filthy. After the doctor’s exam, I tried to wash her up a bit. When I put the washcloth up to Trina’s face she started screaming. Once I was finally able to calm her down, she told me the man had put a cloth over her face and then everything went black.”