True Intentions (27 page)

He watches me carefully.

I grow suspicious of his prolonged silence.

What doesn't he want me to know?

"Well," he finally speaks up, "I was an only child, and my parents died when I was younger, so I lived with my grandmother for a few years until she died my senior year."

Something doesn't seem quite right. It strikes me as odd that William said "was,"

rather than "am." I listen in stony silence hoping he will say more—maybe elaborate a bit.

He doesn't.

I give him more time to open up.

Nothing . . . .

I don't want to make him feel uncomfortable, so I peer at the water off the side of the boat instead of looking at him. Its darkness sends an eerie chill down my spine, causing goose bumps to appear on my arms. With the sun gone, the water looks almost black against the ivory and maroon boat.

He moves out of the white, leather captain's chair and heads to the back bench of the boat.

That's where I'm sitting.

I look up, and our eyes meet.

I get the feeling he wants to say something but doesn't know the right words.

Before I have a moment to ask, he grabs my hand and locks our fingers together.

My gaze leaves his eyes and moves down to our hands. He yanks my hand and forces it behind my back. Effortlessly, he pulls me into his hard chest.

Is he going to try and kiss me?

I'm pressed tightly against his body.

I widen my eyes in disbelief. Not because he might kiss me, but because I don't feel his heart beating against my chest.

Oh my God! He doesn't have a heartbeat.

I let out a gasp and glare at his neck looking for any sign of a pulse. My hands tremble, and I cringe. I look up at his hard expression.

There isn't anything I have experienced in my life, except for my encounter with Walter, that compares to the shock and panic I feel right now. My heart automatically races. I am alone and unprotected in a boat in the middle of an empty lake with William—
an angel of darkness
.

Chapter Thirty-Four - Alarm

Sam waits patiently at the coffee shop. He fidgets with his coffee mug to pass the time. He hinted at this place to Kate during their speedy phone conversation yesterday.

Sam gave her veiled instructions—
our spot at high light
. He prayed she'd realize he wanted her to meet him at their favorite coffee spot in L.A. at noon.

She'll remember,
he reassures himself.

Sam rubs his eyes. With his mind racing, he focuses on the other patrons sitting in the coffee house. He has grown tired of running. It's exhausting. Worse yet, it's only been three weeks, even though it seems much longer.

Every person sitting around him seems oblivious to his edginess.

He's been living in solitary confinement and has grown tired of being alone. At least he has something special to look forward to—seeing Kate. This is the first time he has been excited about anything since the breakup.

It has been several weeks since he last spoke with his beloved sister, excepting his thirty-second conversation with her yesterday. If Kate meets him, she's taking a huge risk. If she gets caught helping him, Satan may show no mercy. But at this point, he's desperate. He needs money. His funds have withered from being on the run. Plus, he has missed having conversations with Kate—
actually with anyone
. But his friendship with Kate is unlike another. After all, she's been a sister to him for two hundred years.

He glances over the cash register at the clock on the wall. It's become a new pastime to him. Each second seems as if it lasts for an eternity.

He's been unable to keep his mind off of Ava. He grimaces at her memory.

How he misses her.

Meeting Ava caused all the catastrophes in his life—like a domino effect. Now, all the pieces of his immortal existence lie on the floor, scattered. There's no picking up and starting over.

It is amazing how one moment can change everything.

He catches a glimpse of Kate approaching his table. His entire body turns to watch her. She looks anxious. It's highly unusual for Kate to be apprehensive. She has always been known as the calm and collected one.

Kate sits down and scans the entire coffee house to make sure she has not been followed.

"Thank you Kate. I am sorry to put you in danger."

"It's not me you should be worried about," she whispers, her voice tense. She bites her lip anxiously and leans across the table, minimizing the distance between them.

So much for hello . . . .

"I don't think Lucifer is focusing on us right now. I found out some very deep news from an inside contact," she continues, her voice weak. Her eyes are on the verge of tears.

"How deep?"

"Deeper than you think," she says. "Lucifer has another angel involved with Ava.

I believe he's planning to trick her."

Sam's voice shoots up unconsciously, "Who?"

Kate gives him a "shh" look. She once again glances around the room watching every human closely.

"Some dark angel . . . I think his name is William. I heard Lucifer planted him in Chicago. Ava must have met William there. If he—" She's at a loss for words. "If he takes her purity, she'll be unprotected, and he can destroy her."

"And if she doesn't fall for it?"

"Then, William uses our human followers to create some type of accident where she is torn between death and surrendering her soul."

Although Sam doesn't want to believe it is possible, it makes sense. Whatever Ava believes her purpose to be, Lucifer knows, in the end, her true purpose will be only to serve his. He will stop at nothing to get to her soul.

"What does this William look like?"

"All I know is he is around our age, and I believe he's really blond. He belongs to Sigma Nu at UCLA."

Sam thinks back to Chicago. Ava was always by his side. There wasn't a time a dark angel could have . . . no wait, she was alone. He wasn't with her at the baseball game or at the cemetery.

Of course, any other dark angel would know he has to approach her when she isn't with Sam. Sam would be able to tell they weren't human. William had to approach Ava when she was alone, away from Sam's protection.

"Sam, you need to find him and stop him before it's too late." Kate speaks up, interrupting his mental images of Ava and William laughing together at the game.

"I know."

He doesn't have to say another word for Kate to understand his intent.

He must destroy William.

Kate pulls something out of her purse and slides it to him underneath the table.

He grabs a white envelope filled with hundred dollar bills and shoots her a smile.

He whispers, "thank you."

"Find a way to get to this William. Then, meet me at the elementary school playground at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow. I need to make sure you're okay. If you don't show, I'll assume the worst and will find Ava by myself and try to protect her."

Sam sits up in his chair in disbelief. "You would do that?"

He can't grasp the concept of Kate being willing to protect Ava, knowing it would mean ending her own existence.

"Yes, I
would
do that. Now take care of him, and don't make me have to protect her."

Her last words echo in his mind
. Take care of him . . . .
That's exactly what Sam is going to do.

* * * * *

Sam's plan is simple. He knows William belongs to the Sigma Nu fraternity at UCLA. All he has to do is get to get in the frat house, find William's room, and then take care of him. If William happens not to be there, then Sam will have to stay hidden and wait.

The mere thought of Ava and William alone together makes him nervous—
for
multiple reasons.

Sam has never killed another angel. This is unfamiliar territory. The more he thinks about it, the more breaking William's neck seems too humane. Especially if he finds out this dark angel hurt Ava.

Sam closes his eyes and tries not to think about that possibility, but the mental images flood his mind. He pictures Ava kissing William, giving him her purity.

She wouldn't
. . . .

Then he thinks back to how much Ava had wanted him in that intimate way.

Would she feel the same way for another?

It's dusk, and, luckily for Sam, the majority of the Sigma Nu fraternity is at a costume party at a nearby sorority tonight. A sign in their yard advertises the party.

Something about the date catches his eye.

Prom . . . .

He would be at prom right now, if he hadn't kissed Mallory. He scowls at the memory. He wanted to take Ava to their prom, to see her elegantly dressed in a gown, and to dance the night away with her in his arms.

What if she ended up going to prom with someone else?

That question frustrates him. Especially since he has absolutely no clue what she's been up to since he left her house several weeks ago. He had stayed away. It would have been too painful to see her.

Sam gasps at the next thought that enters his mind.

Maybe she took William to her prom!

He shakes his head. He can't think about that now. He needs to remain alert and remember he is here for one reason—protect Ava. He won't be able to go on if he finds out she is dead.

It's now or never. He looks around one last time at the neighborhood, then heads to the back of the fraternity house.

Chapter Thirty-Five - Broken

Luckily for Sam, the rear of the building is not well lit. That's a major plus since it's getting dark. He glides gracefully through the grass as though upon a sheet of ice and reaches the backdoor effortlessly. He stares at the screen door. It's the only thing that separates him from entering William's domain. He'll need to enter the fraternity without being noticed. If he is discovered, he'll use the lame excuse that he intends to go to UCLA next year and wants to join the fraternity. In that case, hopefully it would be a human making the discovery.

The screen door creaks lightly as he opens it, but luckily music is playing from one of the other rooms.

The back door leads into the kitchen. A small, solitary light over the dirty sink barely illuminates a small area.
Perfect.

Sam moves away from the door, standing in the darkest corner of the room. He inhales slowly, preparing mentally to go farther inside. Cold sweat glistens on his brow.

He's nervous, but knows he has to keep moving. He creeps slowly out of the corner and crosses the kitchen, heading toward the hallway.

He makes his way to the staircase—his footsteps echo on the old and dirty, wooden floor.

Was everyone at the other party?

Thus far, he has only seen one frat brother, who is asleep on the sofa. The dude is in such a deep slumber; Sam can hear him snoring from the staircase.

He moves forward, the stairs creak with every step. He reaches the upstairs hallway and leans against the wall, pausing to make sure he's still alone. He then hurries past the closed door of one of the bedrooms with "Bob" marked on the painted, wooden door. He goes past yet another bedroom and walks through the shadows coming from an amber light around the corner. Still no bedroom labeled William.

The music is getting louder. There must be other rooms up ahead.

As he turns, he makes out the name William written on a door at the end of the hall. Before his courage fades, he walks with purpose toward William's bedroom. His breath comes hard now.

Screw it. I gotta do this.

He still has the element of surprise. William won't be expecting him. That makes Sam smile. He places his hand on the knob, and turns it without hesitation. He explodes through the doorway expecting
to find William.

The room is empty.

You got to be kidding me!

He flips on the light. He sees a single wood nightstand with two drawers, a full size bed with a wrought iron frame, a large antique dresser, computer desk, mini-fridge, television, stereo, and a reclining chair. There are posters of women in bathing suits, a neon sign, and a flat screen on the wall. By the looks of the worn carpet, with small debris all over, it probably has not been vacuumed in quite a while.

An average boy's college bedroom.

Though he knows William is far from average.

His attention is diverted when he unexpectedly hears footsteps coming up the same stairs he climbed only moments ago. He hurries back across the room and closes the door, which he had mistakenly left cracked open. He then looks frantically around the room for a spot to hide. He needs a place fast. Besides the closet, or possibly under the bed, the room lacks any good hiding places. He stares at the bed, confident he'd be too vulnerable underneath the frame. The closet is the only logical option. He promptly flicks on the dim, closet light. It's small, but there is some standing room.

It will have to do . . . .

He jumps inside and hastily closes the door with one hand while turning off the light with the other. The closet is cramped, and he has no visual of the bedroom once the door is closed. He rolls his eyes in disbelief.

You gotta be kidding me.

Sam hears a thump coming from the hallway and notices William's bedroom door opening.

He tenses.

It doesn't look like he'll be waiting long after all.

Chapter Thirty-Six - Surrender

There is nowhere to run. I'm stuck on this speedboat with our chests pressed tightly together.

I'm certain William is another dark angel, but my
solving of this mystery
has come a little too late.

I tense in his arms. He moves his lips across my jaw line, slightly brushing my skin. He cups the back of my head while his lips remain in pursuit, not noticing my fear. He touches my lower lip against his for a second then presses our lips together. I taste his sweet breath mixing with mine. I pull back with all my strength, separating my body from his.

"What the hell are you doing?" I yell, jerking away from his touch.

He stiffens. I can only assume he isn't used to being denied.