ANGEL'S KISS (A Dark Angel's Novel) (29 page)

“You talk to that dog like he’s a person. I never thought of you as a dog person.”

“Me, either, but he’s definitely growing on me. I hope you two can get along better.”

“Well, he’d have made a better impression if I hadn’t come home to find him bashing into you while you were digging up the front yard.” He got up to check the oven and must have liked what he saw, because he pulled the cast iron skillet out and set it on the stove. “Did you ever talk to B and find out what that dream was about? Or call the doctor at the hospital?”

“I spoke with B, and she didn’t know anything about it. She thought something in my environment made me have those dreams. It was better last night, wasn’t it? I just squeezed your hand, right?”

“What about that doctor? Didn’t you even think about calling him?” He got a couple of plates out of the cabinet as he lectured me. “I mean, this isn’t normal, Lex. I don’t know what you’re going to do next, and to be frank, it scares me.” He set the plates and forks on the counter beside the dish of chicken and potatoes. The aroma was mouthwatering.

“Woof! Woof!” Zeke called from the front door. I moved the bar stool out to get the door and Alan continued.

“That’s another thing. That dog is weird. Did you try to find his owner today? Or did you just buy crap to help him move in here?” His tone was suddenly condescending and angry.

“Alan, I like Zeke and I want to keep him. But if his owners come forward, I’d certainly give him back. What’s really bothering you?” I let Zeke in and locked the door. Alan was still staring at me.

“I’m sorry, honey, I’m just worried, that’s all. Never mind. Come on, let’s eat.” He dished out the chicken and put our plates on the bar.

I looked down at Zeke and said under my breath. “Later, I’ll get you some chicken.”

Alan looked up and said, “What? Did you say something?”

“Does that smell good. Thanks for cooking. You take such good care of me.” I gave him a kiss before sitting down. “I really am too lucky. Love you.”

Dinner was wonderful, and I managed to slip Zeke a few bites of chicken when Alan wasn’t looking, promising to get him a bigger piece when Alan went upstairs. As we were cleaning up, I remembered that I hadn’t been able to reach Alan earlier, and I wondered what he’d been up to. We’d been so busy lately that we hadn’t had the time to break down our days in a while, and I missed that.

“Hey, I tried to call you today. Did you forget to charge your phone again?”

“No, but I did leave it in the car while I was in the county building doing some research. Sorry. Did I miss your call?” He washed the pan that the chicken had cooked in.

“Yeah, no big deal. I didn’t need anything, I was just checking in. What kind of research are you doing? I don’t even know what your latest project is.”

“Just digging up history about some of the families in town. Did you know that the quarterback of the Gray Hawks is a fourth-generation star athlete? It’ll be a little human interest story. Can you finish up? Now that you mention it, I want to get back to some of the files that I downloaded.”

“Yeah, I guess…”

“Thanks, Lex, I’ll be up later.” And he was gone.

“Damn.” I looked around and found Zeke sitting nearby. “Well, I guess you’ll get your chicken now, and I’ll get a cold shower.” He tilted his head. I pulled the lid off the Tupperware, took a big breast off the top, and put it on a paper plate for Zeke.

“Here you go, buddy.” I finished the dishes and let Zeke out once more before heading up stairs. I decided on a bath rather than a cold shower.

The water was nice, but I just couldn’t relax. I pulled the plug before I was prunie, put on some old PJs, and headed to bed. I was determined not to let Ellasar rule my mind or my body. Alan was still working and I was anxious, so I invited Zeke up to sleep. I wrapped my arm around his big neck and relaxed into his woodsy scent.

“Look, when Alan comes up, you’ll have to get down. Sorry, big guy.” I yawned. As I drifted off, the earthy smell became more pungent, acidic, like burning incents. My eyes shot open, and I sat up, afraid I wouldn’t know where I was.

Whew. Huge relief as I lay back down in my own bed in my own room. I reached out to pet Zeke. He wasn’t beside me and neither was Alan.

Homemade Lemonade

“Qadesh, why does your heart race so?”

My eyes flew open again and I was up on my knees ready to run before he could speak again.

“What have you done to Zeke? Why won’t you leave me alone?” Even to myself I sounded breathless with fear.

“Which question would you like me to answer first, my Qadesh?”

I finally pinpointed his location from his voice. He was sitting in our big chair by the balcony doors. The moonlight silhouetted his body perfectly.

“What have you done with Zeke?”

“He is here, Qadesh, just…muzzled.”

“I want him next to me.”

“As you wish.”

Zeke was suddenly next to me on the bed. I wrapped my arms around his big neck and I could breathe normally again. “Now, why can’t you leave me alone?”

“You have many protectors. Why can’t you view me as one?”

“Because they don’t want to use me as a breed mare, and they don’t try to manipulate my dreams or possess my husband at inappropriate times.” Zeke growled beside me and I felt his body rumble in agreement.

“How little you know of your other protectors. Do you not think that they have ulterior motives, as well?” He seemed to suppress a laugh. It sounded like that evil laugh on cartoons. “How naive. I forget how very young you are.”

“Just because I do not participate in all this secretive bullshit doesn’t make me naive!” I was tired of defending myself. “I understand how the world works. I just choose to surround myself with straightforward, low-drama people.”

“My Qadesh, you no longer live in your little world, and you would do well to remember that. Time will tell if your trust has been placed judiciously.” He sat up and I could see his eyes as they picked up the moonlight. I swear they glowed.

“I am your protector and you could do worse. Now, let go of your hound and go back to sleep. I am not here to take you anywhere this evening. I am here merely to make sure you rest. You will need your strength in the days to come.”

My eyes got heavy. I could barely feel Zeke’s rumbled growl. I didn’t have time to ask what he meant before sleep dragged me into pleasant dreams of my childhood—working in the garden and exploring the woods that surrounded our house. Days of playing in the creek that ran along our property and hot afternoons swinging on the porch swing. The lemonade was homemade and the metal cups we drank it from froze to my fingers and left an iron flavor on my tongue. The smell of jasmine and roses surrounded me…

I woke when the sun cracked through the clouds. Zeke was stretched out beside me, and poor Alan was curled up on the edge of the bed with no covers. I suppressed a giggle at the sight, called Zeke off the bed with me, and covered Alan up.

Zeke and I stumbled downstairs, in search of coffee and a bathroom. I let him out the front door and I started the coffee and then hit the bathroom myself. I almost had a coronary when I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Shit! I looked like I was barely twenty-one. Plus, as I ran my fingers through my hair, I realized it was thicker and longer. It seemed to have grown overnight. I swear I just had it cut two weeks ago, and now it needed cut again.

I couldn’t look any more. I turned away from the mirror, finished my business and headed for the coffee. After a few sips of coffee, I knew a run would help my mood. I retrieved my shoes and changed into my running clothes. Zeke met me on the front steps. “Wanna go for a run, Zeke?”

“Woof,” was his answer, and we were off. I completed my usual four-mile run in record time. When Zeke and I bounded into the house, the aroma of cinnamon and maple syrup filled my head. Alan was making french toast.

“Yummy,” I said as I closed the door.

Alan smiled. “I thought you might be hungry.”

“You seriously know the way to my heart.” I took my shoes off. Zeke zipped over to his giant water bowl and slurped from it, managing to get more on the floor then in his mouth.

“Damn it, Lex! That thing is a menace,” Alan shouted when he saw the puddle of water. His voice was like a wave of dread that hit me directly in my heart, and his expression scared me. I took a step back before I realized what I’d done. I had to remind myself that this was my Alan. Zeke growled.

I grabbed the paper towels from the counter.

“It’s no big deal, Alan,” I said, trying to shake off the unusual harshness of Alan’s tone. “I’ll get it.” And when I’d cleaned up the water, I saw that Alan was back to normal.

“Alan?” I asked as I watched him putting the toast on the plates.

“Come on, Lex. Your french toast is getting cold.” His lips twitched up into the boyish smile that I loved. He patted the seat next to him. I shook off the feeling of dread and forced myself to sit down, but my appetite was gone. Alan slipped into normal morning chit-chat as I worked to forget his outburst.

“Can you finish cleaning up?” he asked. “I’ve got to get back to my research.” He took his dishes to the sink.

“Sure, hon.” He gave me a quick peck on the cheek and headed off to his office. As I watched him leave, I heard Zeke huff and lie down. Men.

****

The next couple of days were routine, except for Ottie. He avoided me at the office. I avoided him, too. Not talking to him felt strange. But if I talked to him, even if it made me feel better, I’d put him in danger. And I didn’t want that.

Even stranger than not talking to Ottie was the fact that no one mentioned the Janeck case. I also worried about Detective Maloran. I tried calling the station. They said he was on vacation. Maybe he was. I tried to keep busy with mundane tasks and cases.

My nights continued in much the same way, with short visits from Ellasar followed by restful childhood dreams. I was thankful that my face had slowed the reverse aging thing, because it was getting hard to explain. My body, however, continued to get stronger and leaner. At least that was easier to hide, since it was fall and I could wear jeans and sweaters.

Halloween was just a few days away. No one had tried to kill me lately, so I decided that we should have some fun. Alan was all for the costumes I’d chosen. Tweedledum and Tweedledee were easy to make and wear for us. Zeke’s
Alice
in Wonderland costume was the challenge. I think Alan agreed to the idea only because Zeke had to wear the dress.

Alan left after dinner to go to the library to look at some old maps or archives or something. With time on my hands, I decided to put the finishing touches on our costumes. I had to repress a laugh. Zeke, in all his huge mastiff glory, looked so funny in the blonde wig and blue dress. Just as I started to lose control, my phone vibrated on the table.

“Come on, Zeke,” I said, trying to cheer him up as I stepped over my mess to get my phone. “Be a sport. You’ll make a great
Alice
and we’ll be sure to win.”

I had a text. “‘Meet me at Janecks—Maloran in trouble.’” I read out loud. “It’s from Ottie.” Zeke was already on his feet, shaking off his blonde wig and tearing at his costume.

“Wait, wait! I got it. Damn it, I went to a lot of trouble to make that fit. Just a second!” I got the costume off and Zeke tore off toward the front door.

“Zeke, wait!” I yelled, running after him. Something was wrong. Ottie never used text messaging. I didn’t think he even knew how.

Zeke growled.

“No. Something’s not right, Zeke, Ottie wouldn’t text me. I have to think for a minute.”

“Wrrrooof.” Zeke whimpered. He seemed anxious to get into action.

“There’s time, Zeke, let me think.”

He sat by the door and I paced. Ottie and Maloran. Why would Ottie text me about Maloran? He’d told me that the police chief had forced Maloran to take a vacation because he was pressing the issue about the Janecks. Was Maloran still trying to dig into this case? If so, he was in way over his head—and so was Ottie. Crap.

“Zeke, get Ben. I’m sure he’s out there, and I need some backup that knows what’s going on.” See, I know how to ask for help! Alan would be so surprised. If I made it back alive, I’d tell him. I decided in that moment, I would tell Alan everything. He deserved to know and I needed him to know.

“Woof, growl.” Zeke shook his whole body; he seemed to hate the idea.

“Look, I hate to ask for help as much as you do. But he’s there and he’ll follow us anyway. Maybe he has an idea about what this all means. Now go get him.”

The big mastiff grudgingly got up and trotted down the steps, barking loudly. Within a few minutes Ben and Zeke trotted through the door.

“There better be something wrong. I don’t appreciate being fetched by Lassie.” Ben pointed to Zeke.

Zeke growled. He must have made Ben run the whole way, because the two-legged guy seemed out of breath. I wonder how far away he’d been.

“I’m not sure yet, but I just got a text from Ottie to go to the Janecks,” I said, pacing in the kitchen, thinking. “Ottie never texts. I tried to call him while Zeke got you. He didn’t answer. So I want to go over there, and I want you to go with us.”