ANGEL'S KISS (A Dark Angel's Novel) (13 page)

“Alan, I’m confused, but I’m not crazy. I’ll wait till morning to see B.” Morning was only a few hours away, anyway. I’d probably need that long to get the dirt out from under my nails. “Help me inside and upstairs to the bathroom.”

Maybe once I was warm and clean, I could think in a straight line again. And I didn’t want to see B looking like this. Was I turning out to be as crazy as she is? Soon I’d be talking about immortals, superheroes, and people coming back from the dead. I chuckled as Alan helped me through the door. Maybe we could get a group rate at the loony bin.

Alan stiffened when I laughed, but I knew instinctively that if I didn’t laugh about this, I really would go crazy.

“It’s okay Alan. I saw a terrible murder scene today and I was mugged yesterday. It’s just stress release. I’m tired, and the absurdity of this whole situation made me chuckle.”

I felt him relax a little, but I could tell he wasn’t convinced of my sanity. Oh well, the least of my worries was convincing Alan that I was sane. More importantly, I needed to convince myself.

Is There a Hurricane?

After a few hours of sleep and a pot of coffee, I left Alan in bed and drove to B’s. I went on auto pilot, too lost in thought to notice my surroundings. If my dream last night really had been a memory, I needed to know what my mother had been trying to protect me from.

The dream had been so vivid that I swore I could still smell her jasmine perfume. I’ve longed for a mother to share the moments of my life with. Now I felt raw and exposed. I could handle everything else that’s happened—the attack, my secret admirer, that crime scene—but that glimpse of my mother reopened a hole in me that hasn’t been filled even after all these years.

It was such a dark time in our lives when mom died. My dad never recovered from the loss. There was always darkness in his eyes after the accident. He threw himself into work. We had a live-in nanny who was wonderful, but we still mourned the loss of our mother. And because of his grief, we lost a part of Dad, too. I caught him crying a few times. He’d go into our exercise room and run for an hour on the tread mill, tears streaming down his face. He’d say, “It’s just sweat, baby.” But I knew. He never dated again, although he had plenty of offers. Hell, as Dennis and I got older, even we tried to set him up a few times. He was never interested.

What would have triggered that memory...or shit, was it a dream? It had been so real, though. Where had she been going, and who had she planned to meet? Did she die trying to protect me? Was everything I knew as truth, really a lie?

I felt like a balloon floating on the wind, drifting aimlessly. How did anyone function without tethers to reality? B might be crazier than the Mad Hatter, but I needed some answers. She’d better be coherent and not talking about immortals today.

In the dream, B had implied that we weren’t normal. What was that all about? A tear slipped down my cheek. Confusion and fear engulfed me and—if I were honest with myself—threatened to turn into a major meltdown. If Alan hadn’t found me last night, would I have dug a hole to
China
? And why the hell had that dog bashed into me? If he’d just wanted to wake me up, why had he attacked Alan?

Aahhhhh! I screamed and hit the steering wheel. Wrench! Oh, crap. I hope I didn’t hurt the steering column. Damn. I looked at my hand and it was a little red from hitting the wheel, but my skin was unmarked from last night’s adventures. Hmm, well cool. I guess I hadn’t hurt myself that bad last night. All my scratches had healed.

I took a deep breath and let the air burn down my throat. Then I swallowed the lump that had formed. I would not cry. I pushed down the hurt, confusion, and worst of all, the fear. Holding those emotions in was getting harder and harder to do. They felt like a brick in my stomach, but if I let go of everything I’d crumble. Instead, I concentrated on Bonnie Raitt as she sang the blues.

I turned down B’s long drive, and Sera Haven came into view. What the hell? The place looked like a military compound on lockdown after an attack. Uniformed men and woman ran around the property. I checked my watch just to be sure I hadn’t lost track of the time, but it was only
6:30 am
. I had hoped to have surprise on my side; I didn’t call ahead because I’d wanted to catch B unprepared and get my answers. Now something else was on the agenda.

As I pulled up to the gate house three men surrounded the Jeep. I jumped in my seat at a sudden rapping on my window. Recognizing Ben I turned down the music and lowered my window.

“Ben. What’s going on?”

“Ms. Alexandria, I’ve been ordered to escort you to the house. Please wait there and I’ll be right out.” He shut the thick glass window and turned away.

How had he known I was coming? Maybe Alan had called B. Knowing B’s strict policies, if Ben hadn’t known me, I might not have gotten in.

I watched as the guards parted and the gate opened. Then I fumbled for a minute before I pressed the right button to unlock the passenger door for.

“Drive to the back of the house and into the garage. William will meet us there and take you to your grandmother.”

“What’s going on, Ben? Is a hurricane coming?” It’s late in the season for a hurricane, but it’s possible, and I could have missed a warning.

“No, Ms. Alexandria,” he chuckled. “A hurricane is not coming. Now let’s get going.”

Shaking my head, I followed his orders. So much for the surprise visit I’d planned. The sea of uniformed guards parted to allow us passage, and we crept along to the detached garages behind the house. William was waiting for us.

“Just stop here,” Ben said. “I’ll park the Jeep for you.” He was out the door before I could question him, and then William had my door open almost before I put the Jeep in park.

“Miss Alexandria.”

“William, what’s going on? Is B okay? It looks like you’re getting ready for World War III.” I laughed a little and shook my head. Everything was so surreal.

Neither William nor Ben cracked a smile, which chilled me. Their tension made my frayed nerves jump to attention.

“William? Why is everyone running around? I didn’t know B had this many armed guards! You shouldn’t humor her like this; someone will get hurt. I came out here today to ask a few questions, but if she’s in full crazy mode, I’m calling the hospital.”

“Miss Alexandria, please come with me. Your grandmother wishes to see you and you can ask her to explain.”

William led the way, but instead of entering the house, he led me to the guest cottage by the pool.

“Why is B out here?” This charade got sillier and sillier. I felt like I was in a bad action movie.

“Please hold your questions for your grandmother. She’s the only one who has the answers that you seek.” And then his expression closed down and he turned back into the British butler.

The guest cottage was a smaller version of the main house, but it had better proportions and seemed friendlier than the huge main house. It’s brick, like the main house, but B had had it whitewashed, giving it a more southern look. I was struck by the furnishings and how different they were from B’s main house. Everything was oversized and fluffy in shades of ivory and cream, reminding me of clouds, and the floors were a soft honey pine. I could live here and not even be afraid of breaking too many things.

We walked through the house to the kitchen, but still no B. “What gives, William? Where’s B?” I asked, frustration leaking into my voice.

“Your grandmother built an apartment below this level, which she uses when she needs to.”

What was he talking about? As I looked around in confusion, William pulled a book from a built-in book case, and the whole shelving unit opened like a door.

“Cool!” Okay, so maybe I’m in a good action movie. A stairway went down too far for me to see to the bottom, but at least it was well lit. A stairway down? We don’t have basements in
Florida
.

William held the door/bookcase open and motioned for me to go ahead, so I did, wondering what I’d find. B probably had built a bomb shelter or panic room down there. Crazy and rich, it could get you anything. Well, it could be worse. B could be crazy and poor. At least we’d be able to afford a nice hospital.

When I got to the bottom—wow, this place was nice! It looked like a studio apartment decked out with all the finest electronics money could buy. B sat on the sofa. Her arm was in a sling, and her face looked like a red balloon. I hurried over to her side. “B—Beatrix, what happened?”

“Hello, dear. I hear that you had an interesting night, too. However, you don’t look any the worse for wear. Oh, to be young again, William.”

“Beatrix, will you be okay? You need to see a doctor.” I stared at her swollen face. I didn’t think her nose was broken, but I couldn’t be sure with all the swelling.

“Not to worry, dear, I heal fairly quickly.” She motioned me to the chair next to hers. Even that small movement seemed to give her pain.

“B, I’ve seen guys come out of a cage fight looking better than you. What the hell happened?”

“I’m rather tired of reminding you that my name is Beatrix, not B.” I rolled my eyes at her and waited.

“I was in a fight last night, what does it look like? You think I look bad, you should see the other guy. This—” she pointed to her face and arm, “will be completely gone in a few days. I’d forgotten how alive you feel when you’re fighting for your life.” She smiled up at me with a menacing grin and a twinkle in her red eyes. “Are you ready for our talk now?”

I collapsed back into the chair beside her and rubbed my face. “B, come on. What really happened? Did you get into a car accident or fall or something?”

“I told you what happened,
Alexandria
. I was attacked.” She sounded as if I offended her. “We have reason to believe that it was the same group that tried to take you a couple of days ago. Ellasar is very powerful, and I’m afraid I underestimated him.” She gave me a stern look as she adjusted her sling. “Unless you’ve sparked the attention of someone else that I should know about?”

I didn’t know what to say. I stared first at her, then at William, who was hovering by the doorway.

I got up and walked over to him. “William, what happened to her?”

“
Alexandria
,” he said in a fatherly tone. He brushed my bangs off my forehead. “I am glad to see that your forehead has healed up.” As his fingers brushed my birthmark, I felt the ants in my veins come alive. “You need to listen to your grandmother. She is sane, and you need her help. Please listen to her.”

I backed away and shook myself, trying to undo whatever he had done to start the burning itch under my skin. B was on her feet now and coming toward me. I couldn’t get the burning to stop. Sweat trickled down my spine.

“What have you done to me, William? Why is my blood boiling again?” I rubbed my arms and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. But it was no use. B reached out. I held back, scared to let her touch me, but the look on her battered face was understanding. I leaned into her touch.

Immediately the burning faded some. The sensation was still there, but it felt manageable, as if she had harnessed it. I felt energetic, invincible, like the morning after the attack. I could hear the men outside barking orders, but I was too far underground, I shouldn’t be able to hear them. The hum of the electronics in the room—even B’s heartbeat—seemed loud.

B’s words came back to me from the dream. “We’re not normal and we never will be. I’m sorry, baby.”

I crumpled to the floor. Tears came and overflowed. B sat down and William left the room. I don’t know how long I cried, but finally I had no tears left.

“What’s wrong with us?” My voice didn’t sound normal, but I was just happy to have gotten the words out. B held out a tissue. I slowly rose from the floor, straightened my back, blew my nose, and took a seat.

“
Alexandria
, there is nothing wrong with us. We are special.”

I almost laughed. “That sounds like something you tell your kid right before you put him on the little yellow school bus! Come on, B, you can do better than that. In my dream last night, you told Mom that we were different and you were sorry. You wouldn’t have said sorry if we were special.”

“What dream?”

“Mom gave me to you so you’d take care of me while she went off to do something with Dad. She had some plan that we could all be normal or that I wouldn’t have to live in fear, or something. It was more than a dream, B. Alan found me digging up the jasmine in the front yard with my bare hands. These dreams are more like visions. Or else I’m really somewhere else.”

I shook my head now. I couldn’t wrap my mind around what I was saying. “I wake up, and I can still smell and taste the dream. Hell, even Alan thought he smelled the roses from my dream the other night. That’s why I came here today. To find out what the hell’s happening.” I felt like pacing, but I sat and waited for B to answer.

“
Alexandria
, we are special. My father, your great-grandfather Seraiah was a Dark Angel.” She looked up and waited with raised eyebrows for my reaction. I’m sure my face was as numb as the rest of my body. I couldn’t force a sound through my clenched teeth, so she continued. “Dark Angels are immortals who resemble humans. They can walk among us without anyone knowing their true nature. Actually, that’s only part of the problem, but I’ll get to that in a minute.”