ANGEL'S KISS (A Dark Angel's Novel) (36 page)

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know. Zeke usually stays close by the house, and he always comes running when I call him. I wonder where he could have gone.”

“Oh, I’m sure he’s fine. He’s probably just chasing a rabbit or something.” Alan grinned, wrapped me up in his arms, and whispered, “Or maybe a big bad bear got him.”

“That’s not funny, Alan.” I slapped at him. “I wish you two could get along. Why can’t you be friends? Dennis likes him. Why don’t you?”

Just then the timer went off.

“Saved by the bell!”

I hurried to get the pasta before it overcooked. I pulled a noodle from the water to check, and it was perfect—just firm enough to hold the sauce.

“So.” I added the pasta to the sauce. “Why don’t you like Zeke?”

Alan leaned against the counter and sighed.

“What’s to like? He’s huge and slobbery and dirty, just for starters. He’s always in the way. He follows you around, almost like he’s trying to block me.”

A strange grin spread across his face. “Ha!” he laughed. “He’s being territorial! I’m surprised he hasn’t pissed on you yet.” He lifted his eye brows in that funny, questioning way. “Or has he?”

It was my turn to laugh, although my laughter was caused by nerves. I’d forgotten how observant Alan was.

“Alan, you’re being paranoid. He just likes me since I saved him from the rose bush. And no, he hasn’t peed on me.” I handed Alan the bowl of pasta, picked up the basket of bread, and we headed over to the dining room. I paused to look at the front door. I was still worried. Something was off.

“You don’t suppose he got stuck in the roses again, do you?”

“Lex, he’s just a dog. Relax.” He gently moved me along to the table with his elbow. “Stop worrying. You’ve made my favorite pasta, and I want to enjoy it.”

“I know he’s a big boy. But you’ll have to make peace with him soon; he’s a part of our family now.”

“Yeah, well, maybe the next time we see each other I’ll get the respect I deserve.” Alan’s voice rumbled deep in his chest like he’d swallowed a drum, and his smile was too much teeth and not enough warmth. For just a moment his grin took over his entire face. Then it was gone.

“Alan, be nice.” I scolded. But I was too hungry to ask what he was thinking to make such a wicked grin.

The pasta tasted wonderful and Alan was right—it really was nice to be alone with him. I’d put off talking to him about the important stuff, but as we started to clean up, I knew I had to bring it up.

“Alan, I need to talk to you, and I need for you to hear me out before you say anything.”

“Um, okay, Lex,” he said, glancing at his watch. “But first, let me get your surprise.” He smiled big with his mouth, but it didn’t seem to get to his eyes, which held a wild look, like he was posing for a picture. While his mouth said “smile,” his eyes said, “I have someplace better to be.” I reached out and touched his arm to stop him from leaving.

“You can get my surprise later. Please come sit with me. I want to talk.”

“Nah, it’ll just take a minute, Lex, I promise.” He pulled away from me and was already halfway to the door before I stopped him with my plea.

“Alan, I need to talk to you about my family; it’s important.”

“We have all night to talk.” He stole a look at his watch again. He was acting like a racehorse, itching to get out of the gate. “I’ll be right back, it’s...in the car.”

“Alan!”

But he didn’t wait. He opened the door and stepped out, and I plopped down on the couch to wait. If he keeps putting off this conversation, I might lose my nerve, damn it. I’m not opening any surprise until he hears me out!

The door swung open with such force that it hit the wall with a loud bang. I jumped at the noise. God, I was on edge. I needed to get this over with.

“Alan. Look. I’m not opening—” My voice gave out as I turned to see a woman dragging Alan into the house. She had to be over six feet tall, and she had a body any supermodel would kill for. She was dressed from head to toe in white leather, from her bustier to her tight, pencil-slim pants. Her clothes matched her blond ponytail perfectly. Her dark red lipstick was the only color she wore.

She was definitely an immortal. Just looking at her made my Angel’s Kiss itch. My hands trembled with energy, and I thought of my dagger. I’d feel better if I could feel the pulse of Annot in my hand. I stood.

“Let him go. It’s me you want.” My fists were clenched so tightly that my nails dug into my palms and I could feel my pulse in my arms. I was used to the boiling blood feeling now. It didn’t hurt anymore—it felt invigorating. I was ready to leap on her if she gave me an opportunity. I just needed Alan out of the way.

“I do apologize for intruding on your evening.” She gave Alan a disgusted look and me a little nod of apology. “However, it is at his request that I am here.”

She pulled Alan further into the house like he was a child she’d caught running away. He’s 6’4” and 190 pounds, she had to be sixty pounds lighter and she was wearing stilettos, but shook him like a rag doll. If only I could get to Annot! I’d left it on the counter behind the cutting...Wait. What did she say? His request?

“Alan, what does she mean? Do you know her?”

He wouldn’t look at me. He just squirmed in her grasp.

I’d had a puppy as a child that had been impossible to train. Every time my father caught him peeing on the floor, that puppy would back himself into a corner and stare at the floor. Alan had the same expression as that puppy. Guilt.

My heart sank. A tiny portion of my wonderful pasta dinner came up and I had to swallow it back down. It never tastes as good the second time. But why would he feel guilty? She must have tricked him, taken advantage of him somehow.

I couldn’t make sense of this scene. My mind was muddied and slow from the wine. My body, on the other hand, was preparing for conflict. Ripples of anxiety crawled down my spine. Hello again, little red fire ants! I thought of Zeke. Maybe Ben or Zeke would hear if I screamed loud enough.

“Zeke!” Bully for me. My voice didn’t betray how out of control I felt.

Zeke didn’t reply. Neither did anyone in the room.

“Alan, what’s going on?”

Confusion was bleeding into anger, so when he didn’t answer again, I turned my focus to the woman.

“Who are you?” The fear that started as a ripple up my spine was now tingling through my muscles, and the itch on my forehead turned into a burning sensation. That couldn’t be a good sign.

“Darling, be a peach and introduce us, will you? I’ve been so excited to meet her.” She shook him again as if she wanted to make sure he was awake.

“Lexie.” He wouldn’t look at me, and I knew I was right—he felt guilty. But for what? He pulled his arm away again, and this time the woman let him go. He slowly walked over to me with his hands out, as if he was trying to calm a wild animal.

“Alan, get behind me. You’ve gotten yourself mixed up in something that you can’t possibly understand. She’s not human. She’s an immortal, and she’s using you to get to me.” As I spoke I pulled him to me so I could protect him. All the while I kept my eyes on her. Smiling, she clasped her hands, rocked a little on her feet, and looked around the house.

“
Alexandria
, you have a beautiful home.” Her eye caught sight of the draped plastic that separated the kitchen from the destroyed sunroom. She “tsked tsked” and walked a few steps further into the room so she could get a closer look through the doorway.

“We were sorry to hear of the misfortune that befell you and most grateful that you survived the attack,” she said with a beauty-contest-winning smile. Her outfit was something out of The Matrix, but she sounded like one of the ladies from the Junior League here for a cocktail party. The ants on my spine picked up the pace. Shit.

“Zeke!” Where was he? I could really use backup right about now.

“Zeke won’t be coming back, Lexie.” Alan’s voice was dull; there was no life to it. He sounded like a recorded message for the time and date.

“What are you talking about?” A sense of foreboding pulled through me, taking my breath and twisting my stomach into a knot. I stumbled away so that I could see them both. Alan didn’t respond to my question, but spoke to the woman.

“Why didn’t you wait until I was gone?” He ran his fingers through his hair. “I wasn’t supposed to be here when all this went down.”

“Alan!” I roared. “What do you mean?” He flinched, but he didn’t look at me. He kept his eyes on the door.

“Oh, Alan, my master is so grateful to you for giving him the opportunity to meet Miss Alexandria that he wanted you to be here when we all met.” She smiled at him again. Alan started toward the door. She didn’t stop him.

“Alan!” Oh, God, he was leaving. My world was unraveling. I was swimming in anxiety and confusion. I willed myself to see some explanation that didn’t involve Alan’s betrayal. I managed to sit on the coffee table before my knees gave out.

“How do you know this woman, Alan?” Even as I asked, I foolishly hoped everything was all a mistake.

“Isn’t it obvious, Lex?” Keeping one hand on the door, he didn’t turn around as he spoke to me.

“No. It’s not. Do you know what she is?”

“Of course I do.” His knuckles turned white and his body shook with anger.

“How? I mean…why are you leaving me here? What did you have planned?”

“This is why I wasn’t supposed to be here. Dammit!” He hit the door.

“Ahhh, don’t be testy, Alan. She deserves an explanation.” The woman’s voice was a surprise, and her smile ran shivers up my back.

“Shut up!” He roared at her. When he turned toward me, I jerked back. I knew this was Alan, but I didn’t recognize him. His smile was twisted and his eyes were huge and wild.

“Little Miss Detective,” he spat. “Didn’t see this one coming, huh? I guess you’re not so perfect after all.” He must have enjoyed my expression, because he started laughing.

“Look at you! Soooo confused. I love it.” He nodded to the woman. “You know, you’re right. I will give her an explanation.”

As he turned back to me, I saw a stranger behind the face I’d loved for most of my adult life.

“I’m not your little lap dog anymore,
Alexandria
, living in your house on your money.” He picked up the small entry table and threw it down the hall. The woman sidestepped the projectile easily. The destruction didn’t curb his rage—if anything, it made it worse. I could feel the blackness around him now. How had he kept this hidden from me?

“Does this surprise you, Lex? That I don’t want to live second to you? Listening to everyone making jokes about being a kept man, a house boy. Does it surprise you?” He paced in front of the door, looking more like a caged animal than the man he had once been.

“Alan, I never thought of you—”

He whirled to look at me and my mouth stopped.

“DON’T!” He roared.

“But…Alan. We just…tonight. I love you.” My vision was clouded with tears.

“Yeah, that was nice, Lex.” He walked to me and ran one finger over my cheek. Even as my mind told me to back away, I leaned into his touch. His finger traced my collar bone and down between my breasts. The touch was gentle, but when I looked up, his expression made me jump. I almost tripped over the coffee table, trying to put some distance between us. He just laughed.

“You should see the look on your face! It’s priceless.” His eyes widened as he said priceless, showing too much white. He walked back to the door and reached for the handle.

“I’ve known what you are for years. Your father worried that if something happened to him, you’d be vulnerable. But he didn’t want to scare you unnecessarily, either. Being the trusting soul that he was—and me the ever-faithful, always-loyal lackey—” he spat the last word as if he would choke on it, “he told me of a letter in his safe that was for you. If anything odd ever happened to him, or you started looking for your dead mother, I was to give the letter to you. Now, he told me not to read it...but you know me.”

Well, I’d thought I’d known him. He was my husband, after all. But evidently I didn’t have a clue.

“I’ve never been good with surprises, so I opened the letter,” Alan said. “Of course, I thought your old dad was crazy at first. I didn’t think much about it until I started doing some research.” The door handle rattled under his grip.

“Damn it, Lex, as if I needed another reason for you to be so special. Your shadow is swallowing me, strangling me slowly.” The hatred seemed to seep out of his pores. “So I took the unbeaten path.”

A light bulb suddenly went on over my head.

“You’re giving me to them? How could you? I love you.” Even as my heart collapsed in my chest, I knew that’s exactly what he was doing.

“Yes, and I loved you, too. And wasn’t it nice of you to take care of me all these years. Lexie is so smart. Aren’t you proud of Lexie, running her own business? How does it feel to be a kept man? Do you have to ask for pocket money? Everyone laughed with me. I was the butt of their tired jokes.”

Zeke’s growl snapped me out my dark thoughts.

Alan and I both jumped at the sound of Zeke hitting the front door. As if the handle burnt him, Alan immediately let go and stepped back.