Tempting Nora (32 page)

"I don't know," Dmitri admitted.

Nora's stomach had never sunk so fast.

"He constantly
talks about demon hunting and now he says, 'I don't know,'" Chloe groaned.

"Well, I'm not an angel anymore," Dmitri said. "Back
when I hunted the fallen, I used my strength to get rid of demons. I can't do that now. If I tried to tangle with a demon, I'd be killed."

Even the thought of Dmitri being killed made Chloe
utter a high-pitched squeak. Dmitri placed a comforting hand on his wife's knee.

"So there's nothing you can do?" Nora asked, crestfallen.

"Well, I can ask for help from the angels." Dmitri shrugged. "Still I shouldn't have to do that. In fact, I don't really understand why they aren't here already. It doesn't make any sense."

"
Really?" Chloe asked.

"
Yeah. A herd of demons hunting one human is practically unheard of," Dmitri said. "It's an angel's job to, ugh, discourage that kind of behavior."

"Discourage?"
Nora raised an eyebrow.

"
That's a nice way of saying we cast them down to hell," Dmitri said. "And as for allowing demons to murder somebody…Well, that doesn't happen. God should have called in reinforcements by now, but they aren't here. There must be a reason."

"What are you saying?" Nora gasped in horror.

"I'm saying that we aren't seeing the bigger picture," Dmitri said. "God wouldn't leave you alone like this unless he has a reason to. He loves all of his humans and angels."

"The bigger picture…" She stared down at her burned hand.

"Yeah." Dmitri frowned. "We're missing something."

For a moment
no one said anything. Nora took a sip of her coffee, even though the hot liquid burned her mouth. As she nursed her drink, she smelled something burning.

"Do you smell
that?" It took everything she had not to climb up the wall like a frightened cat. She was terrified of fire after what had happened in her apartment.

After Chloe sniffed, she exchanged glances with Dmitri and groaned.

"Joan." Chloe buried her face in her hands. "I think she's burning something again."

"Didn't you hide all of the matches?" Dmitri asked.

"I put them in the attic," Chloe said. "How could she possibly find them up there?"

"Beats me." Dmitri shook his head.
"But Joan has always been resourceful."

Both of them sighed in unison.

"It's your turn, you know," Chloe said. "I disciplined her yesterday."

"I know." Dmitri's shoulders slumped.

"Get to it, papa dear." Chloe c
lapped him on the shoulder.

With a groan, Dmitri hopped to his feet and marched down the hall.

After Nora recovered from her shock—she'd never been in a stranger household—she turned her attention back to Chloe. The woman was watching her as if the interruption had never happened. Nora winced, digging her fingernails into her knees.

"Can I ask you something personal?" Chloe asked.

The words put her on edge.

"I guess." Nora nodded.

"Do you think Gideon really loves you?" Chloe watched her reaction.

It was the simplest of questions, but it made
Nora's heart ache. She longed to brush the query aside, but there was something about the intensity of Chloe's stare that made her want to give an answer. Nora strained her mind, re-living the past couple of days over and over again. The pain and the joy mingled, overwhelming her with confusion. Still she couldn't help but remember how Gideon had jumped in front of Amon, prepared to protect her even though he knew that revealing himself would make her fear him. Plus, even when she'd practically handed herself over to Gideon for the taking, he hadn't slept with her. No, he'd backed off, despite his own desires.

At that moment she realized that
demon or not, Gideon loved her. Waves of pain swept through her heart, making her grasp her chest.

"He loves me," Nora said. "At least, I think so."

"Okay." Chloe nodded. "Now I'm going to ask you the most important question of all."

Nora was on the edge of her seat.

"Uh-huh?"

"Do you
still love him?" Chloe asked.

Even though it was
hard, Nora searched her heart, trying to ignore the pain. She thought about Gideon and the way he smiled and talked. She missed him, she realized. Even though he'd lied to her, she still longed for him. And that wasn't all. On some level, she regretted running away from him. The truth was there was no where she would rather be than by his side.

No matter what he was.

At that moment she knew the reason why she hurt so much wasn't because she'd stopped loving Gideon. No, she hurt because she loved him and couldn't stop. Tears blurred her vision.
I do still love him. I do.
More tears trickled down her face, even though she fought hard to fight them down.

"I love him," Nora said. "I don't think I can stop loving him."

To her surprise, Chloe gave her the most triumphant smile she'd ever seen.

"
You're going to be fine," Chloe said.

"
Wait, what? What does it matter if I love Gideon?" Nora wiped her nose on her hand. "The demons are still after me."

"Don't you see?" Chloe leaned back. "
Love has everything to do with everything."

"Why?" Nora asked.

"God is love," Chloe said. "And God is never, ever wrong. He's been with you the whole time. I promise you he won't let you down, no matter how scary everything seems right now. There's a master plan and you're a part of it."

"
I don't get why you're so excited about this," she said.

"
I'm excited because what you just said makes all the difference in the world," Chloe said. "If you love Gideon—if you're filled with God's energy—then that means he intended for this to happen. He's orchestrating every detail, even if you don't notice when his hands are at work. Take you and me, for example."

"
Huh?" She raised an eyebrow.

"
You and I met so I could help you." Chloe stared deep into her eyes. "Do you think guardian angels fall in love with humans all the time? No, it's rare. Yet you somehow managed to find me and Dmitri, all because of one seemingly insignificant moment at a bar. The very same bar, I might add, that you met Gideon. God's timing is always perfect, just like his love. And I have no doubt right now that there's something in the works for you. I know you're scared, but God is going to make everything turn out alright. I promise."

Something about Chloe's impassioned speech made her pause.
Still, as Nora looked down at herself, she was uncertain. And yet…

And yet there were too many coincidences to ignore.

Suddenly, Dmitri's words from earlier echoed in her mind:
"I'm saying that we aren't seeing the bigger picture. God wouldn't leave you alone like this. He loves all of his humans and angels. There isn't a moment when we aren't being protected by him."
As she balled her fist, the burn on her palm stung. She winced and looked down at her hand, only to see blood oozing through the bandage.

The bigger picture…

She thought of her strange dream and the hallucination at the park when she'd believed Gideon's face was covered in maggots. At that moment, she realized God had been trying to tell her something important. She was meant to save Gideon from that place in her dream—hell—and make him turn back to God. It was the reason she'd met Gideon, the reason they'd fallen in love.

"Save him," she
said, repeating the words from her hallucination.

"Huh?" Chloe
blinked in surprise.

"My love is supposed to save
Gideon." Tears filled her eyes. "Dmitri was right. I didn't see the bigger picture. Now I do. I just needed a little push. Gideon wasn't supposed to save me. I was supposed to save him. That's why the angels aren't trying to help me. I'm not the one who's in trouble."

Chloe jumped to her feet, her eyes wide.

"Are you sure about this?" Chloe asked.

"I've never been
surer about anything in my entire life. I have to make Gideon repent before it's too late," Nora said. "Thank you. If you hadn't come to help me, then I never would have realized it."

"What do you want to do?" Chloe asked.

"I need to find Gideon," Nora cried.

To her surprise, Chloe nodded without a moment's hesitation.

"I'll go tell Dmitri," Chloe said. "I'm sure we can find Gideon right away. If he loves you as much as you say he does, then I bet he's someplace nearby."

****

As Nora paced, Chloe led Dmitri into the living room. The man was holding a blackened curtain in one hand. Even though she hadn't known Chloe long, she had a feeling the woman knew how to get what she wanted, especially from her husband.

"Nora needs to find Gideon," Chloe said.

"I see." Dmitri frowned and looked at Nora. "Are you sure about that, Nora? Just a few minutes ago you seemed pretty upset with him."

"A lot can change in a couple of minutes," Nora said.

"My wife said something weird to you, didn't she?" Dmitri muttered.

Chloe punched his arm.

"Louse," Chloe said.

"Ouch." Dmitri rubbed his arm.

After Nora cleared her throat, unsure of whether they were fighting or playing, Dmitri managed a small smile.

"Well, I never met Gideon, but
I heard from the other angels he wasn't half-bad," Dmitri said. "Of course, that was all before he got kicked out of heaven."

"Unbelievable." Chloe frowned at him. "This morning
you forgot to pick up orange juice at the grocery store, yet you can remember what other angels said about Gideon hundreds of years ago."

"Selective memory?" he
said timidly.

"Uh-huh." Chloe snorted. "Selective laziness is more like it."

"Maybe." Dmitri rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, whatever." Chloe
shook her head. "Nora, are you ready to go? I'll get the car and—"

"Oh no, you don't, sweet cheeks." Dmitri grabbed Chloe's arm. "
I
will take Nora where she needs to go.
You
will stay here with the kids. I'm not letting the mother of my children tangle with demons."

"
But Nora's going," Chloe said.

"That's her decision. Nora isn't my responsibility,
" Dmitri said. "I know you want to help, but I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you."

"I don't want anything to happen to you either," Chloe said.

Nora swayed, overwhelmed by guilt.

"Maybe I could
call a taxi," Nora said. "I don't want either of you to get hurt because of me."

"No, you can't do that." Dmitri
shook his head. "I'll go with you. Unlike Chloe, I know about demons. It's better if I go."

Chloe began, "But can't I—"

"No, sweet cheeks," Dmitri interrupted. "You're not coming even if I have to tie you to a bedpost to stop you."

"You wouldn't dare.
" Chloe narrowed her eyes.

"
I would if it meant keeping you safe." Dmitri looked at his wife in a way that suggested he meant every word.

After Chloe stared down her husband for a moment, the woman
gave a sigh of defeat as her shoulders slumped.

"Please be careful," Chloe said.

"I will." Dmitri cupped his wife's cheek and leaned down to kiss her.

Even though they were only sharing a kiss, Nora felt like she was intruding on a p
rivate moment. She studied the ceiling, her stomach churning. After Dmitri stepped away from Chloe a moment later, Nora was finally able to look at the two of them again.

"Nora, a
re you ready to go?" Dmitri asked.

"Yeah."
As ready as I can be for something like this.

"Good." Dmitri nodded and led her over to the door.

Once the two of them stepped onto the front porch, Dmitri patted his pockets and froze.

"What's wrong?" Nora asked.

"Darn it all." Dmitri sighed in frustration. "Chloe has the car keys."

"You
go grab them and I'll wait by the car." Nora was in a hurry to get out of here.

"Okay." Dmitri nodded.
"I'll be quick."

Nora
headed over to the van alone, even though her skin was covered in goosebumps. This was the most uneasy she'd ever felt. Of course, being hunted by demons did that to a woman. She glanced warily at the front door and thought,
Dmitri will be out in just a moment.
Unfortunately, that thought did little to comfort her.