Heaven Sent (9 page)

The car moved past.

That’s when I decided to get angry and call up the horrible power that lived inside me. The power separated me from other helpless girls these guys may have accosted in the past. The power made me formidable.

I reached the corner. Three blocks to go. The wind whipped around me creating even more of a dusty haze. As I crossed the street, a swift glance over my shoulder revealed the image of three roughnecks twenty feet behind.

It was time for the angry thoughts.

I thought about Jack Parson and how he’d disrespected Guy. That’s what had ignited my abilities both times. But as hard as I tried, I couldn’t get my anger up. I was too frightened to be angry.

“Hey, Meg.”

A chill ran through me, increasing my fear and disabling my abilities even more. The voice belonged to Danny Tambor, Erin’s betrothed.

I realized if I reached the bus stop and the bus wasn’t there, I was still in deep water. I either had to run, or turn and face them. If I ran they would surely catch me. While Mert had been drinking, Danny’s voice sounded stone sober.

“Hey, Meg!” he called again. “Wait up.”

I dug my hand into my purse, my fingers caressing my nail file.
Okay, this is it,
I told myself.
Fight or die.
I breathed in deeply, trying to get my emotions under control. My pace slowed. Then I stopped abruptly and spun around.

“What?” I barked at them, striking a defensive pose.

My turning caught them off guard. All three had puzzled looks on their faces. Yet slowly they regained their composure, and with it their confidence came streaming back.

“I just want to introduce you to my friend is all,” Danny said. “He likes you.”

“Not interested,” I replied. “Why don’t you boys turn around, head back to the bar, and leave me alone.” Slowly I removed the nail file from my purse and concealed it in my hand.

“Can’t do that,” Danny said. The line was delivered softly, yet with such ill intent behind it, I began to shake.

“STAY AWAY FROM ME!” I was screaming, but there was no one around to hear me.

A smirk appeared on Danny’s lips. He knew I was helpless against them. “What are you gettin’ all worked up for, Meg? I’m just tryin’ to help you and my friend get acquainted is all.”

“I don’t want to get acquainted!”

The other men chuckled at my response. Danny took a menacing step toward me, placed his hands slowly on his hips and stopped, letting me know I was foolish to believe I ever had a choice in the matter.

“Leave her alone,” a voice rang out behind me. Someone was coming. The command was low, delivered with very little force, and yet it was menacing.

My three attackers peered beyond me. I gazed over my shoulder as well and realized whoever was coming toward us was obscured by the haze; all we could make out was the silhouette of someone moving in our direction, backlit by a bright light knifing through the swirling dust cloud. Then the person came into view. Jet black hair being tossed by the wind. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was Guy.

Guy Matson was walking out of a cloud of dust and back into my life to save me. I literally did a double take, the kind they do in cartoons. But this wasn’t a hallucination, or wishful thinking. It was real.

“Leave her alone,” he said again, adding a little bass to his command as he moved in.

My prayers had been answered.

“It’s him,” said Mert. He didn’t seem upset or surprised. I tried to catch a glimpse of his expression, but the dust cloud and the darkness obscured his eyes.

“Yes. It’s me,” responded Guy. He grabbed me by the wrist, yanking me to his side. His grip was so tight I nearly cried out in pain. “Get behind me,” he whispered urgently.

I moved behind him, grateful to have a protector. The bright light was now at my back, allowing me a clearer view of the three men squinting in our direction.

“What do you think you’re doin’, boy?” Danny’s words flared anger.

“The lady looked like she could use a little help.”

My heart stirred when he spoke. I hadn’t heard Guy’s voice in so long, or seen his sweet face, I wanted to throw my arms around him, but danger stood right in front of us, and I knew this wasn’t the time or place.

“You need to learn to mind your own business. Right, fellas?” Danny was getting his anger under control, and that made him sound even more frightening.

“I say he needs to be taught a lesson,” said Mert, who was sounding a lot less drunk and a lot more like he was itching for a fight.

“Don’t try it,” said Guy, his words shaded in threat. “I don’t want any bloodshed.”

“The only blood that’s gonna be shed is yours,” called Mert, casting the threat aside. He took a step forward.

Guy stood unmoving, lips slightly parted, eyes narrowed.

Fresh panic rose inside me. There were three of them and only two of us, and since I knew I couldn’t be counted on in a fist fight, there was actually only one of us.

“Are you gonna use Angel Eyes on them?” I whispered anxiously. I recalled Harrison using the heavenly form of glamour on my mother. She did what he told her to do and didn’t remember a thing. It was the perfect solution to our problem.

“I can’t.”

The two other men locked step with Mert, and the three began advancing on us.

“What do you mean you
can’t
? Why can’t you?” I was sounding every bit as incredulous as I was feeling. We were outnumbered. If Guy wasn’t going to use Angel Eyes, I hoped he had a very powerful angel weapon at his disposal that I didn’t know about.

“With the dust swirling and the bright light behind us, they can’t see my eyes. Without them looking into my eyes, it will do no good.”

“Then what are we going to do?”

“Run,” he said.

“What?” I wasn’t sure I’d heard him, and if I had heard him, I wasn’t exactly sure I was sold on his plan. “What was all that talk about bloodshed?” I asked getting indigent.

“I was bluffing. RUN!”

He spun me around and shoved me back into the swirling dust cloud. I was caught off guard and stumbled slightly, but after a second I caught my balance. I didn’t have to run on my own because Guy’s hand was clamped around my wrist, and he was pulling me into the cloud.

“You think you can get away from me, boy?” It was Danny’s voice. I could hear them coming after us, but when I glanced back over my shoulder, the swirling dust totally obscured them from view.

We arrived at the source of the bright light that had illuminated Guy through the dust cloud. It was a sleek motorcycle with a single halogen lamp on the front. Guy hopped on the bike, fired it up, and threw me a helmet practically all in one motion.

I’m afraid of motorcycles. Any mode of transportation that travels faster than thirty miles an hour needs to have at least four wheels.

“Chop, chop, Megan,” Guy called as he revved the bike.

“There they are,” I heard one of our assailants call.

Beggars can’t be choosers. I jumped on behind Guy, gripping him so tightly around the waist my fingers felt as if they’d go numb.

Danny and his boys caught up to us.

“Come’ere, Darlin,” Danny said as he reached to pull me off the bike. His hand was inches from my shoulder when Guy hit the gas, spinning the bike out and kicking up a cloud of red clay as he did.

The men jumped out of the way of the spinning tires, flailing at the dust now clogging their noses, throats and eyes, while hurling a barrage of curses in our direction.

The bike came to rest a few feet away and we were facing them, watching them stumble around like three blind mice. Before they could get their bearings, Guy straightened the bike, pointing it toward home. He squeezed the accelerator and the bike again hopped to life, moving away with the quickness. We continued accelerating away from the area. As I looked over my shoulder, the three men became specks in the distance in no time.

I breathed a sigh of relief while saying a silent prayer, thanking God for my safety, even though riding on a motorcycle at seventy miles an hour didn’t exactly feel safe, but still.

As the surroundings became familiar, and the feelings of danger subsided even more, I said another silent prayer, this time thanking God for sending Guy back to me. Now that we had escaped the danger, it was sinking in that he was really here, that he had actually returned to me.

“Pull over,” I hollered. The wind was whipping around us as we hurtled through the streets, and I had to raise my voice to be heard.

“What? Why? Something wrong?” he called over his shoulder.

“Just pull over.”

Without another word, Guy pulled the bike off the street and into a strip mall parking lot. We came to rest in front of an all-night convenience store. As soon as we stopped rolling, I hopped off the bike and removed my helmet.

“Turn it off,” I called.

Guy seemed confused, but he turned the ignition key, shutting the engine down and removing his helmet. “Are you hurt?”

“Get off,” was my only response.

Not sure of what was happening, he got off the bike, and before he could take a step, I ran to him and melted into his arms. His helmet went bouncing along the pavement as he wrapped his arms around me, returning my embrace.

He felt so good in my arms–better than good. It was as if the world around us had ceased to exist in that moment. All that remained was the sound of our hearts joining together and beating as one. I was drowning in this oneness, sinking slowly into the ocean of Guy.

“I missed you,” I finally rasped when I felt it was safe to breathe, safe to loosen my grip without fear that he would disappear again.

“I missed you more.”

I didn’t think that was possible, but I wasn’t going to argue the point. I was staring at his lips, realizing how much I’d missed them as well. We kissed. It was sweet and tender, different and yet the same. I’d forgotten how soft his lips were. My skin tingled with excitement and I pressed my lips harder against his. He yanked me closer, his kiss turning urgent and hungry, his hands seeking the familiarity of my body.

I tried to tell him to stop. We were standing in front of a convenience store, for Christ’s sake, where everyone could see us, but I couldn’t speak. His lips gobbled up my words. I fought the urge to forget that we were in public and lose myself in the deliciousness of his kiss. Yet I broke it off. Pulling away, I felt a stinging in my lower lip. “We’re in public,” I said, struggling to catch my breath.

A beefy guy in a No Worries tee shirt, lugging a case of Bud on his shoulder, was ogling us with a knowing grin.

“Oh. Right,” Guy said, realizing he was embarrassing me. He stepped back and smiled his smile. It was a smile I thought I’d never see again—both charming and mischievous at the same time, the perfect complement to his dark, dreamy eyes.

“I just needed to hold you in my arms for a few moments, just to make sure you were real,” I said.

“I’m real.”

“I didn’t think you’d make it back,” I said.

“I’m back.”

I let out a relief-filled sigh. “I know. But now I need to get home. My mother will be looking for me.”

“Yes, of course,” he said, becoming the perfect gentleman. He straightened my tank top, allowing his delicate fingers to linger on my shoulders. “It’s all right. There’ll be plenty of time for kissing.”

I could live off of that sentence for a week. Yet as much as I missed him, I still didn’t want to seem too eager—look at me, pining over him for eight weeks and then playing coy upon his return—I nodded. “That’s good to know,” I said, displaying my best poker face.

He retrieved his helmet from the pavement and mounted the bike.

“Could you drive a little slower? I’m not too fond of speed,” I said, climbing on behind him.

“No? I thought you loved speed.”

“You’d be wrong.”

He fired up the bike and we took off at an embarrassingly slow clip. I knew he was baiting me, waiting for me to say
speed up
, but I didn’t rise to the bait, and we drove at a respectable thirty-five miles per hour all the way home.

As we drove, my tongue traced the area of my lip where I’d felt the sting that ended of our kiss. When we’d first met, Guy had the habit of biting down on my lower lip just as we were ending a kiss, often drawing blood. I couldn’t feel teeth marks, or taste blood, but my lip was still tingling, as if his kiss had somehow become electric.

When he pulled up to the curb in front of my house, light was spilling out from behind the curtains of the living room window. My mother was home and probably worried about me. Guy turned off the bike and climbed off after me. I placed the palm of my hand on his chest.

“No. I don’t want you coming in,” I said. He seemed puzzled. “I know my Mom will be happy to see you, but I’m still digesting the fact that you’re back. I thought I’d lost you… for good.” I stopped talking, looked into his eyes and asked one of the many questions that had been burning in my soul from the moment he walked back into my life. “How did you find me?”

“Harrison,” he said without hesitation. “Once I was alerted that he was leaving for a while, I knew I had to keep an eye on you.”

“From all the way up there?” I asked, glancing up at the heavens.

“Yes. From up there.”

“If I’d known Harrison’s leaving could bring you back, I would have gotten rid of him a long time ago.” I smiled and his face lit up at my response.

“I’ve wanted to come back for a long time, but I needed to heal,” he said. “I got back as soon as I could.”

I recalled the torture he’d withstood in hell at the hands of Beelzebub. “Welcome home,” I said softly.

I kissed him gently on the lips.

“You’re going to have to learn to harness your abilities.”

The statement surprised me. Not sure what I was expecting: kissing, hugging, holding hands, but not talk of my abilities. Guys sure know how to ruin a moment—and not just my guy, either.

“You were right about my abilities.” I let out a long, slow sigh. “I’ve tried to figure out how to control them, but I can’t. All I know is my power is triggered by anger.”

“Now you have me to help you figure it out. I’m sure I can teach you how to harness them.” He saw the look on my face and mistook it for hesitance. “I can’t be around all the time, Megan. You’re going to have to learn to defend yourself.”