ANGEL'S KISS (A Dark Angel's Novel) (28 page)

“Fine, but what’s with you today? You look like the cat that just ate the canary, and William is almost giddy. What’s gives?” I had to ask even though I doubted that she’d give me a real answer.

“Just taking care of business,
Alexandria
.” She sat back behind the desk. William and Ben flanked her, and suddenly I felt alone except for Zeke. I reached out and scratched his head, but he didn’t take his eyes off B.

“Beatrix, you wanted to meet Zeke, and now you have. Can you tell me anymore about him, like who sent him? Or why William called him Ezekiel?” I looked from William to B. Neither changed their expressions from the happy stares that were plastered on their faces.

“No, dear, I cannot. I’m just grateful he was there yesterday when you needed him.” She nodded to Zeke and he returned her nod.

“Okay, great, thanks for clearing that up.”

“There’s no need to be snippy,
Alexandria
. You asked a question and I gave you an answer.”

“Here’s another question. How come I look like this?” I pointed to my face. “I’ve always looked young for my age, but this is ridiculous.”

“Do you not think you look good?” she asked, smiling. “Millions of woman would pay any price to look years younger in just a few days’ time.”

“I’m tired of your evasions. Can you just answer my question?”

“Dear, when you embraced your true self, everything changed. That part of you that was dormant came alive and started working on a cellular level, it seems. Those—” she stopped to search for the right words, “molecules are working to bring you into the person you’re meant to be. You’ll age at a much slower pace than normal, and your strength will be even greater when these changes are complete.”

“So I’ll be more like you are now.” I finally understood something.

“Yes…and no.” She sort of cringed when she said it.

“What? Just spit it out.” Suddenly worn out from all the drama she was creating with her half answers, I dragged myself to the chair in front of her desk and flopped down.

“Yes, you’ll be more like me, and you have an even stronger resemblance to your great-grandfather than I. Plus, as much as I hate to remind you, your biological grandfather is an immortal. This means you have some of their attributes, as well.”

I sat forward and she waived her hand at me.

“Don’t even ask. Other than their ability to rejuvenate themselves, I don’t know much about their powers or what they’re capable of.”

“Beatrix, how could you have been with an immortal and still know nothing about what they are and what they can do? I hate to be indelicate, but—” I looked at the men who surrounded her.

“Gentlemen, would you mind?”

William bent to kiss B’s hand and then followed Ben out the bookcase door. Before the door closed, Zeke looked up at me.

“Woof.” The men turned at the sound of his bark, and he trotted off to join them. The door closed and B put her hands together.

“
Alexandria
, when I was very young, younger than you are now, I was not very wise to the ways of the world. Times were different. Women were taught to be housewives and mothers. Evangeline died when I was a child, and Seraiah kept me very sheltered. When I married Harold, I felt even more isolated. Harold was a good man, but I was increasingly unsatisfied with my life and the limitations I faced.”

“Can we get to the relevant parts, B?”

“Seraiah told me what he could remember of being a Dark Angel, but nothing about my mother or why he had been so drawn to her. I believe he found it difficult to talk with me about Evangeline, because I reminded him too much of her. Aleksandr, your biological grandfather, found me just after Seraiah passed away.”

She gave me a look as if that would explain why I was named after an immortal that B had an affair with. I didn’t see that it explained anything.

“I was naive and lonely,” B continued. “Aleksandr seemed to understand. You’ve experienced the draw they have for us. William was sent to me as my guardian, as I believe Zeke has been sent to you. It was too late. I was already pregnant with your mother. William helped me see what Aleksandr was and gave me the willpower to leave him. I even tried to kill him once.”

She smiled as if reminiscing about a lovely party she’d attended, but then her face turned cold.

“But I was unsuccessful, and I have not seen him since your mother was born. He came once to see her. I believe he wanted to… well, it’s not important.”

She seemed to release the memory and turn back into the B I knew, hard, calculating, and solemn.

“The important thing is that I know little more than you.”

She waited for me to say something. What could I say?

“Beatrix, what happen to Evangeline?”

“I don’t know.”

“You never answered my questions about my mother and the dream that I had. How did she die?”

“It isn’t important for the problem at hand. You are in danger. Someone close to you has divulged your heritage and seeks to trade our lives for profit.” She tried to change the subject.

“Tell me what happen to my mother! I deserve to know everything. All I know so far is that the two of you fought about a plan that she and my father had devised to protect me from all of this.” I waved my hands at her.

“You know nothing but what you were fed in a dream.” Her voice was like an ice cube sliding down my back. Just then there was a knock at the door.

“Enter.”

William came in and whispered into her ear.

“Great! More secrets. Zeke!” I yelled. “We’re outta here. Good-bye, B.” I almost ran to the front door. Zeke caught up to me at the Jeep, and I held the door open for him. As soon as he was in, I jumped behind the wheel, but Ben was there before I could close the door. I tried to wrestle it away from him, but he held tight. “What?” I screamed.

“Alex.” His voice was annoyingly calm. “What’s wrong? Why are you running away from your grandmother?”

“When she feels like telling me everything, she knows where to find me. Otherwise I’ve had enough of her half-truths and bullshit. Now let go of my door.” I yanked again, but he wouldn’t release it. Zeke growled beside me. It was nice to know someone was on my side.

“I’ll be with you Alex, you are not alone.” He stepped away from the Jeep and let me close the door. Which I slammed shut. I couldn’t get away fast enough. I was sick to death of all the intrigue and secrets. I missed my simple life.

I drove home on autopilot, barely remembering how I got to the house. When I pulled in, both Alan’s car and Dennis’s truck were there. Home and people who loved me without all the drama that B dragged me into—just what I needed.

Zeke and I trotted up the stairs and were hit with the smell of garlic and rosemary. Yummy! Then I remembered all of the supplies for Zeke. I went back to the Jeep and retrieved the huge bag of dog food and snacks.

“Woof.” He took one look at the bag and huffed through his nose.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll sneak you some real food, too. But this is better for you.”

I opened the door and the men I loved turned to see me with beers in their hands and smiles on their faces. It made me so happy I almost cried.

“Hey, guys.” I plopped the big bag of dog chow by the door and brought the rest of the supplies over to the kitchen. The smell of good food surrounded me and the sight of my men bellied up to the bar reminded me of how simple my life had been just days ago. Dennis could fix anything with some duct tape and a hammer. And Alan took care of my need for comfort and love. I was tired and—I can admit to myself—a little scared, because they couldn’t fix the mess I was in.

“Can I get one of those?” I motioned toward the beers.

“Coming up, Lex.” Alan was already on his way to the fridge.

“Damn. Alan, you weren’t kidding. That dog is huge.” Dennis’s eyes were wide in surprise and maybe fear. “How did I miss seeing him this morning?”

Dennis flinched a little as Zeke trotted over to where he sat. Zeke sniffed him and then sat down with a thud and rubbed his big jowly head on Dennis leg. Just like with Kim and Ottie, Zeke made friends with Dennis easily. My brother smiled and scratched Zeke’s head. His smile went all the way to his eyes when he looked up and spoke.

“How was your day, baby sister?”

“A little crazy, actually.” Alan appeared with my beer so I was lucky I didn’t have to explain. After the first swig I changed the subject. “How about you? Did you get anything accomplished outside?”

“No problem. The fire was contained and didn’t hurt the original structure at all. I did bring by some rough drawings for the new sun room…or family room.”

“I…”

“Ah, ah,” he cut me off. “You promised to look at the drawings before you said anything, remember?”

“All right, I promised.”

Dennis went to get his drawings set up, and I went to get a hug from Alan.

“Hey,” I said, nuzzling in. “Have you seen any of these drawings?”

He seemed preoccupied and didn’t answer, so I asked again. “Alan, have you seen any of Dennis’s drawings?”

“No, not yet. Dennis just got here about ten minutes ago, and we decided that beer was more important. Plus, we knew we needed to wait for you to look at the drawings first, anyway.” He gently pulled me tighter against his chest and kissed my cheek. So...did we do the right thing?”

“Yeah, beer is definitely more important than any of Dennis’s drawings.” I smiled at Dennis to make sure he was listening, and he threw his big eraser at me. I reached out and caught it without even thinking.

“Good hands, Sis.” He looked impressed and then got back on point. “Alan was just afraid to make a decision without you,” he added with a laugh.

“First I need to take care of Zeke.” I went about getting Zeke set up with water and food, which he just looked at. So, I had a prima donna mastiff. I can live with that. Zeke seemed to like Dennis, which made me happy.

Then Alan and I looked over the plans. As usual, Dennis had outdone himself, but in a good way. The addition looked like part of the original house plan. He had adjusted the height of the room so it was just one step down from the main level of the house. The room was bigger, of course, but it still seemed cozy. A set of built-in cabinets big enough to hide all of our stuff ran along one side of the room, just like Saraiah’s original handmade ones had. It had a bar with a small sink, a fireplace surrounded by slate, and a door that lead out to a new stone patio. Dennis had even found a way to keep the glass walls and ceiling. I loved it. I think he recognized the look on my face.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m a genesis.” He shrugged with false modesty. “How could you ever doubt me?”

“Dennis,” I said sternly.

“What? You don’t like it?” He started to point out the main features.

“Dennis.” I looked over at Alan and smiled. He smiled, too.

“But it has everything that you could want!” Dennis said. “And I kept the coziness of the old room. What don’t you like? We can change…”

“Dennis!” He finally looked up, bewildered. “Dennis, I love it! How did you know exactly what I wanted even when I didn’t know? You are a genesis.” I slapped his arm.

He grinned. “That’s what all the ladies say.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me and I slapped his arm again. He rubbed it.

“Ow. Hey, take it easy. Okay, cool, we’ll get to work as soon as possible. This plan won’t be an easy sell to the insurance adjuster, but I’ll work him as best I can and I’ll give you the discount for letting me use this project on the web site and of course you’ll get the regular sister discount. It should only cost you about…”

He wrinkled up his face as if he were thinking really hard. “Hum, this is higher math. I think I need to get the calculator.”

I slapped him again and he laughed.

“All right, all right,” he said. “Don’t hit me again. You been pounding the weights? That hurt.”

I needed to be more careful. I rubbed his arm and smiled, and he shook it off.

“I’ll work it up and start with the adjuster.” He started putting his papers away. “Thanks for the beer, Alan.”

“You’re not staying for dinner?” I felt a little sad, and yet time alone with Alan sounded good, too.

“Nah, my snake has some work to do with Alison Murphy.” He wiggled his eyebrows in a cheesy smolder, and Alan almost spit out his beer laughing.

“Dennis!” He grabbed his stuff and headed toward the door. Zeke stood to walk with him.

“Man, get your minds out of the gutter,” my brother said with fake surprise. “I’m shocked at you two. Ms. Alison, the widow, is renting my townhouse on Juniper and her shower drain is clogged. Really, you two should be ashamed.”

Of course, he could barely contain his laughter. “See you in the morning. Hey, I think Zeke wants to go out. Is it okay if I let him out the front?”

“Yeah, thanks, he’ll find his way back.” Then I looked at Zeke. “Just bark when you’re ready for some chicken.”

Zeke woofed and trotted out the door with Dennis.

“That’s weird.” Alan shook his head.

“What?”