Dark Kiss Of The Reaper (14 page)

The man had offered to buy her a place to live, no strings attached, and she’d told him to get out. What woman in her right mind turned down an offer like that from a guy whose kisses made her see fireworks? And even if there had been strings, she’d been ready to sleep with him that night. What other strings could there be?

She threw the files down and slumped into the desk chair. There had to be a way to find him or get a message to him. Something. Anything. Sighing, she propped her elbows on the desk and leaned her forehead on the heels of her palms. Think, think, think.

Maybe Azrael was avoiding her, but that didn’t mean his brothers were. She rested her chin on her fists. She needed to find someone right as they were about to die. As morbid as that was, it might be her only chance.

This was a hospital, how hard to could that be? Her first thought was the morgue, but at that point, it was already too late. She bounced her thumbs off her jaw. Where...to...go.

She sat up. Twisted around.

“Dane. Hey. Dane.”

He looked up from a chart. “Yeah? What’s the emergency?”

She grinned, jumped out of her chair. “Exactly. Taking a break. Back in a few.”

“Hey, you can’t...”

But she was halfway down the hall.

Busy described the emergency room, but there were many words that worked better. Chaotic. Noisy. Scary. A person didn’t end up here because they were in perfect working order. This was exactly where she needed to be. She scanned the crowded waiting room. Nothing.

The hospital badge hanging from the lanyard around her neck made her invisible to the staff bustling from one area to another. She slipped through the doors beyond the waiting room with some medical personal.

Here the beds were portioned off with curtains only, no walls like the rooms up stairs. This was serious business. There was no time for true privacy when lives were on the line.

She shuffled past the thin, drawn curtains, listening, trying to catch a peek between the joins of fabric. A nurse rushed past, yelling commands for medication Sara didn’t completely understand, but the woman’s tone conveyed enough meaning.

Someone was in critical condition.

Sara headed in the direction the nurse had come from, toward the next room of beds. She rounded the doorway and stopped cold as fear sucked the breath from her lungs.

Kol from a distance was nothing compared to Kol less than ten feet away.

Tight-lipped, he leaned against the wall near the bed of a twenty-something man, a gang-banger if the street-style tattoos and shaved head meant anything. Doctors and nurses worked frantically to keep the man from bleeding out from a gunshot wound.

Sara stepped back thinking Kol had come toward her, but then she realized it was his voluminous black leather coat moving of its own volition, shifting subtlety like the coils of a snake.

His lanky black hair swept his collar and trailed past his shoulders. At his temple swung a single braid knotted through a small bead that looked very much like a knucklebone.

As tall as Azrael, he was less broad, more sinewy. Where Azrael was sculpted, Kol was angles. Everything about him looked hard, angry. Ready to fight. A junkyard dog that’d gone too many days without a meal.

Sara shivered. This was a bad idea. She retreated, hoping the eyes behind those dark glasses were focused on the dying man.

Kol’s head lifted half an inch.

“Come to see how the other third lives, sweetheart?”

In his derisive tone, the term of endearment sounded more like a curse. Her feet froze to the floor. She shook her head, swallowed hard.

“Am...am I the only one who sees you?” she whispered.

“Do you see anybody freaking out? Mortals only see me when I want them to. Except for you.”

“Oh. Good.” She kept her voice down. Not that anyone would really notice her talking to herself in the chaos of the ER.

“Yeah, it’s freaking fabulous.” Kol crossed his arms, the seams of his coat weeping what looked like tears.

“I was...wondering...if you knew where—”

His gaze still aimed at the soul to be reaped, he lifted a finger and pointed to the expiring man. “Meth dealer. Two weeks of nightmares. Nothing.” He shrugged. “Idiot mortal.”

She had no clue what Kol was talking about, but as long as he wasn’t focused on her, she was okay. Scared witless, but okay.

“Favorite haunt was North Franklin Middle School.” He turned his head in her direction. Thankfully, the glasses stayed put. He shook his head slowly. “Can’t have that, now can we?”

Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. “N-no,” she whispered.

“We’re losing him,” one of the doctors called out.

“Be right with you, dollface. Little matter to take care of first.” He peeled off the wall with the soft, sticky sound of damp leather being stripped from heavily painted concrete block and walked toward the bed. Halfway, he paused and glanced over his shoulder. “You might not want to watch this. Or whatever.”

She didn’t want to watch, especially after being warned, but she couldn’t look away. And since her vantage point didn’t give her a straight on view of his eyes, she felt like she’d be safe. Mostly.

Kol spread his arms. His coat billowed into black wings. He had no scythe this time, something Sara didn’t know if she should be grateful for or not.

As Kol approached the bed the man began to moan. If the doctors and nurses heard it, they didn’t react. Kol went closer and the moans rose into terrified shrieks.

“More plasma, stat! We need an OR now!” The medical team kept working, struggling to save a life, oblivious to the scene playing out in front of them.

Kol hovered at the head of the bed. He ripped his shades off. “Your time is up, dirtbag.”

Fathomless black holes stared into the dying man. The shriek became one long keening wail that pierced her head and made her joints ache. Black ooze flowed out of the man. Sara shut her eyes, unable to watch any further.

The sound disappeared. She opened her eyes. The medical staff was at rest, no longer trying to save the man.

“Call it.” One of the doctors checked his watch and pronounced the death. Kol had disappeared.

“Looking to come to the dark side?”

She jumped and spun around. He wasn’t gone, he was right behind her. Fortunately, his shades were in place. “You scared the crap out of me.”

“Another job well done.” He grinned. “And yes, I’m free tonight if that answers your question.” He tipped his head. “But only one night. You’re cute, but I bore easily.”

Pig. She ignored him. “Do they always scream like that?” She snuck a peek at the man whose soul Kol had just reaped. A nurse prepped the body for the morgue.

“You heard that?” Kol stood a little straighter, his brows drawing together in question.

“Yes. It was awful.”

“Do you still hear it?” He leaned closer.

She pulled back. “No. Does that mean you do?”

His curious expression morphed into a hard mask of anger and disgust. He looked away, putting an end to her questions. “What do you want? I have work to do.”

“I need to get a message to Azrael.”

Kol’s head swiveled back in her direction. He licked his finger and held it up, testing some non-existent wind.

“Looks like you’re in luck, sweetcheeks.”

* * *

Little noise disturbed the peace of the cancer ward. A few nurses talking, the sound of a cart being wheeled through the hall. Not much else. The thread in Azrael’s pocket would be a small ripple in the pond, enough to clear the nurse’s station.

And he could find Sara. Talk to her. Smooth things.

He hoped.

The soul in need belonged to a middle-aged man suffering from lymphoma. Azrael slipped into the man’s room, released his soul and returned to the hall. Within minutes a nurse came to the room.

He made his way toward the desk. Would Sara smile when she saw him? Frown? Ignore him? What if she couldn’t see him anymore? No. He wouldn’t think about that possibility.

Rounding the corner brought him up short. She wasn’t there. He checked the visitor’s room. Not there either, so he went back and waited near the desk. Minutes ticked by. Still no Sara.

Since no one could see him, including the male nurse sitting where Sara usually sat, Azrael went behind the desk and into the office to look for a schedule. As best as he could tell, she was supposed to be here.

He had no choice but to change forms. An unlocked supply closet served to give him privacy. Wouldn’t do to have some one see him appear in the middle of the hall. Putting his ear to the door, he listened for footsteps, heard nothing. Satisfied with the quiet, he opened the door a crack and checked the hall. No one.

He looked in both directions before slipping out. All clear. Adopting a confident air, he strode back to the desk. The male nurse glanced up as Azrael approached.

“Can you help me? I’m looking for someone.” Azrael kept a friendly smile on his face.

The nurse—Dane according to his hospital badge—shook his head. “Visiting hours are over. I don’t know how you got up here, but you’re going to have to leave.”

“I’m not here to see a patient. The woman I’m looking for works here. Sara Donovan?”

Dane leaned back and crossed his arms. “What do you need to see her about?”

“It’s personal,” Azrael answered, hoping his tone shut the door on that line of questioning.

Dane cracked a know-it-all grin. “You the guy she’s been moping about all week?”

“She’s been moping?” That was a good sign.

“Yeah. Been a real bear to work with, too.” Dane leaned forward. “Look, it’s none of my business but—”

“You’re right. It isn’t any of your business, so stay out of it.”

Azrael and Dane turned simultaneously in the direction of the interrupter.

Hands on her hips, Sara stood in the hallway. Kol stood right behind her, waggling his brows suggestively, but Azrael only had eyes for Sara.

She jabbed a finger in his direction. “We need to talk.”

Chapter Thirteen

Dean rolled his eyes. “Great. I take it that means you’re still on break?”

“Yes. Suck it up,” Sara said.

Kol snickered. “You said suck.”

Ugh. As Reapers went, Kol was her least favorite. The sooner he went on his merry way the better.

Dane looked back at Azrael, clearly oblivious to Kol. “See, I told you. She’s been like this all week.”

Azrael didn’t take his eyes off her. Leaving Dane behind, he went to her. “Sara...I—”

She held her hands up. “We need to talk in private.” Keeping her hand in front of her, she jerked her thumb toward Kol.

Azrael looked over her shoulder. “Leave, Kol.”

“And miss all the fun?” Kol miffed.

“Go,” Azrael commanded.

“I have better things to do anyway.”

Sara heard a soft whoosh, like a match being lit. “Is he gone?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Let’s go to the visitor’s room.” She held her hand out to Azrael. To her relief, he took it.

“I hope you two lovebirds work things out,” Dane called down the hall after them. Sara ignored him. Patients were trying to sleep, after all.

Once in the visitor’s room, she shut the door. She didn’t bother with the lights.

“Azrael, I—”

“Sara, I—”

They both spoke at once, stopped and smiled.

“Ladies first,” Azrael said.

“Good, because I was the one in the wrong,” Sara said.

“No,” Azrael countered. “I never should have pushed my will on you that way.”

“I know you had my best interests at heart. I just have a past that makes moving forward hard for me sometimes.”

He stepped closer. “I would never treat you like that, Sara.”

She nodded, dropping her head a bit. “I know.”

“You should also know my feelings for you...”

She looked up. He’d turned away and now stared at the floor. Whatever he needed to tell her, she would understand. If his feelings had changed because of what had happened, she would work to rebuild things between them. If he was willing. “You can tell me. Whatever it is. I don’t want you to feel like you have to hide anything from me.”

“I don’t know.” He shook his head. “I don’t want to frighten you.”

“Kol hit on me. I think my ‘frighten’ threshold is pretty high.” She smiled, but immediately saw the look in Azrael’s eyes was anything but amused.

“He hit on you?” He stepped toward the door. “That son of a—”

“Whoa.” She caught him with her hands on his chest. “It was nothing, really. I get the sense he would have laid the same lines on Pallidus.”

That sent a small grin to Azrael’s full mouth. “Pallidus would have kicked him.”

“How do you know I didn’t?”

He laughed, slipped his hands around her waist. “Because you’re still alive.” He bent his head to nuzzle her cheek. “I’ve missed you terribly.”