Sentinel Lost (Mind Sweeper Series Book 5) (32 page)

My hands jumped to my hips and I growled, “Who called you?”

The office went silent, and I turned in a circle to find the guilty party. Misha refused to look at me and started to hum an out of tune version of
Happy Days.

“Misha!”

He flinched. “Dalton made me do it.”

Dalton frowned. “I wanted Doc to check you over after your incident.”

Before I could argue, Doc interrupted, “Humor me, please. Let’s go to your office so we can have some privacy.”

We walked to my office, and Doc shut the door and sat across from me.

“Let me give you a quick once-over.”

“Come on, Sabrina.”

She unzipped the bag and pulled out a small grocery bag. Reaching inside, she extracted a plastic spoon and a pint of mocha swirl.

“Just what the doctor ordered.” I reached for the ice cream.

She held it away from me. “Ah, ah, ah. I examine you and
then
you get your treat.”

“Fine.”

Doc pulled out her equipment and brought her chair around my desk so she could sit next to me. “I want to tell you how sorry I am, Kyle.”

“Why are you apologizing?”

“Because if anyone should have realized you’re part demon, it was me. You’ve banged yourself up on numerous occasions, and nothing in your tests showed that you’re anything but human.”

“Except that I can erase memories?”

Doc smiled. “Except that.”

“I don’t understand it either, Sabrina. Last year, when Misha got shot, the poison bullet made you sick. But I was able to touch it. Why didn’t it affect me?”

“I don’t know. Maybe your human side protected you.”

“Do you think it’s why the Key and I don’t seem to get along? I can’t imagine that the angels ever thought a demon would possess it.”

“Possibly. It might not be able to fully acclimate to you, since it senses your demon side. How are you doing with all of this?”

“At first it was like a punch to the gut. Especially finding out everything from my mother, but now I think it helps me understand my gift.”

“I can’t believe Misha actually helped deliver you.”

“Good Lord, that demon is a Chatty Cathy. He must have told you everything.”

“He loves you and worries about you.”

“I know.”

“Now let me take a look at you before your ice cream melts.”

Doc listened to my heart and then shone a light in my eyes…and frowned.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t like how your pupils are responding.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know for sure, since I haven’t run any tests, but we need to find out if the Key is starting to affect your brain function, Kyle.”

“With the way it takes over my body, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn it’s doing something to my brain.”

Doc wrapped her stethoscope and placed it in her bag while she gave me her Concerned Doctor glare. “I want to do an EEG on you and run some other tests.”

“Sabrina, do
not
say anything to anybody about this right now. This case could be wrapped up as early as tomorrow, and I’m sure the tests can wait a couple of days.”

“Kyle—”

“Even if you do find out something from the tests, what are you going to do about it? You can’t exactly perform surgery to remove it, can you?”

“No. But it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be trying to figure out how to help you. I don’t think you should try and engage the Key at all until we have a better idea of what’s going on.”

“Got it.” But I only said that to appease my friend.

Because the bottom line was, when it came to the Key, I wasn’t the one in charge.

Chapter 39

I sat across the office table from Misha and Jean Luc. With Dalton at the police station updating Captain Morrison, and Jason and Talia taking their shift on stakeout, it was just the three of us. The way it used to be.

“What are you smiling about,
ma petite
?”

“Us. It’s hard to believe we’ve been working together for ten years.”

Misha leaned back from his keyboard. “It’s even harder to believe we haven’t killed each other before now.”

I laughed. “I agree. Now we have Jason and Talia as part of the team.”

“And you are okay with that?” Jean Luc asked.

“Of course. They both have talents and skills that add to the group.”

Jean Luc and Misha looked at each other. Something was cooking.

“What’s up?”

“Kyle, Jean Luc and I have been talking. We think you should tell Dalton the whole truth. He’s so close to knowing everything now and hasn’t shown any signs of a breakdown.”

I sighed. “Are you guys doing another intervention? I wondered why Jason and Talia took the next shift.”

“We want you to consider it.” Jean Luc answered.

“Honestly, I’ve been thinking about it. But what exactly am I supposed to tell him? So sorry I didn’t mention this earlier, but I erased your memory last year because you’d been driven insane and—oh, yeah—you were or maybe still are the Key of Knowledge? That’ll go over well.”

“So what if it doesn’t?” Misha responded. “You have to try. You would have already told the two of us to suck it up.”

“He is right, Kyle. I believe it was only a short time ago when you told me to go after Talia and not take no for an answer. You do not strike me as a hypocrite.”

I frowned at him. “Wow, you guys were nicer during my last intervention.”

Jean Luc grabbed my hand. “You have more to lose this time, Kyle.”

I nodded. “I’ll tell him the truth. He may never want to speak to me again, but he deserves to know, and maybe it’ll help him. But not until the case is over. Once we bag these demons, I’ll tell him everything.”

Misha smacked his palms together. “Good. Our work here is done.”

“Why is there always a comedian in the group?”

Before Misha could respond, my phone rang. I glanced at the screen and answered it. “Hello, Father.”

“Kyle, I’m glad I reached you.”

“You have something new for me?”

“I’ve been able to interpret more of the tablet. And I’ve also been looking at the prophecy again. I didn’t interpret it correctly.”

“Father, I’m going to put you on speaker phone. I have two of my teammates in the room. Go ahead.”

“I told you the phrase in the prophecy was ‘angels descend and protect the key.’”

“Yes.”

“It’s actually ‘angels’
descendants
protect the key.’”

“I don’t understand, Father.”

“Angels’ children.”

“Nephilim?” Jean Luc asked.

“Some have used that term for fallen angels, although Nephilim are supposed to be the giants who lived before the flood. I’m talking about those angels who have fallen and live among us. Only their descendants can open the receptacle and release the Key.”

And then it hit me like a punch to the solar plexus. “Wait. You’re saying Dalton is a descendant of the angels?”

“Yes. A Sentinel is an angelic descendent.”

“Anything else, Father?”

“Not right now, but I’ll keep working on it. The translations are coming easier now.”

“Good. Thanks very much.”

I hung up and spun my cell phone on the table, waiting for it to stop. I finally met Misha and Jean Luc’s concerned gazes. “Yet another thing to tell Dalton. How many more can he handle? He’s going to hate me forever.”

“We don’t even know if Dalton is part angel, Kyle.” Misha argued.

“So we get proof, like we did with me. We go to the source. Or, more precisely, we bring the source to us.” I stood and walked to the center of the room. “Marie!” I hollered. “Marie! Show yourself. They know about you, so quit hiding, already.”

After a few more seconds, Marie appeared in the office. Same yellow sundress, but it looked like she’d gotten her hair done. Did they have beauty salons in heaven?

Marie twinkled at Jean Luc first and waggled flirty fingers at him. “Hello, vampire. It’s lovely to meet you finally.”

Jean Luc bowed slightly.

“Where is Talia? You didn’t break up, did you?” Marie asked, a little too enthusiastically.

Jean Luc’s mouth tipped up slightly on the corners. “No. Talia and I are still together.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear it.” Although she didn’t sound very glad. She turned her attentions to her next victim. “So you’re Misha.”

“Nice to finally meet you, Marie.”

She tittered at him. “Your accent is wonderful. If I were forty years younger and had an actual body, I would so go after you.”

Misha laughed out loud. “I like you, Marie.”

“I’m a wonderful cook. My cannoli are legendary.”

Misha moaned.

“Marie, enough. You need to come clean and cut the bull, okay?”

“About what?”

“About your grandson being part angel.”

Marie’s mouth opened in a perfect circle, and she appeared to be gasping for air, if she’d needed to breathe air, that is.

“How did you find out?”

“I was hoping you would tell me I was crazy.”

“Joe’s father was an angel. Fallen angel to be exact. Wonderful man, and he loved my daughter with all his heart. They were killed when a rogue demon attacked them.”

“That can’t be right. Dalton told me they were killed because his father worked for the FBI and he went after a mob boss.”

“That’s what I told Joe. Timothy was an FBI agent, but the mob had nothing to do with his death.”

“God, Marie. How has he not asked more about this? Shit, he could have pulled records at the Bureau.”

“Yes, and I would be surprised if he hasn’t done it by now. He would find records of the case. Obviously, the FBI couldn’t know the truth. BSR teams have been around for a long time, Kyle.”

I blinked and looked at Jean Luc and Misha.

Misha held his hands out in front of him. “Don’t look at me. We had nothing to do with it.”

“He has major issues with his dad, Marie. Blames him for his mother’s death.”

Marie’s translucent hand went to her chest. “No! That was not what was supposed to happen. I raised that boy as my own. And then the angels decide he’s going to carry this Key of Knowledge around in him? And be a target? Not acceptable. So I told them I wanted to be their angel liaison. And they said yes.”

“And now?”

“Now they think I’m helping them find the Key. They let me watch over Joe to make sure he doesn’t show signs of having the Key inside him.”

“And you have not told them about Kyle?” Jean Luc asked.

“Of course not. If I told them, they wouldn’t let me come here anymore. Plus, they don’t need to know. It’s their problem if they can’t keep track of their own Sentinels, for goodness’ sake.”

I sat down with a thud in a chair. “How the hell am I going to tell him this?”

Marie’s eyes focused on me. “You’re going to tell Joe?”

“I was planning to tell him the truth about what happened last year.”

Marie clapped her hands. “I would love to be able to talk to him again, Kyle. If you tell him the truth, I’ll be able to visit regularly like I did before.”

I rubbed the back of my neck. “Yeah, he won’t hate
you
once the truth is out.”

She frowned. “Once he knows why you erased his memory, he’ll forgive you.”

“I’m not worried about his reaction to the initial erase. It’s the fact that I’ve kept it from him.”

Marie floated closer to me. “Joe is a stubborn man. But he’s also a caretaker. He would have done the same for you. Make him see that, Kyle.”

“I’ll try, Marie, but I’m not a miracle worker.”

As Marie faded away, I started hollering again because I couldn’t calm my voice or my heart. “Dolly!”

She ran into the room. “What’s wrong?”

“Track down Nicholas. I need to talk to him.”

“In person?”

“Or on the phone, whichever is faster.”

“I’ll let him know. Should I attach any CNN threats to the communication?”

“Just get him on the phone, please.”

Thirty minutes later, we were still waiting for Sir Nicholas to return Dolly’s multiple phone and text messages.

Apparently angels, even watered-down ones, weren’t easily intimidated.

Chapter 40

I unlocked my door and entered my dark apartment. As the light from the hall landed on my couch, it reflected off a pair of glowing yellow eyes. I squealed and slammed my hand on the light switch. Booger was perched on the arm of my couch and blinked at me, twice.

I banged the door shut and stalked over to him. “Booger! You gave me a heart attack. What are you doing here?”

He jumped down and walked to the center of the room. A vortex of light surrounded him as he changed from cat to man. Gray striped fur gave way to skin, and then he grew to his full size in seconds, like Alice in Wonderland after she drank the potion. I had been making a number of Wonderland references lately. Did that make Booger the Cheshire Cat?