Divine Temptation (27 page)

It had been a while since she’d seriously considered using it. On nights the kids were home, concern that they’d hear the low hum in the small townhouse always overshadowed any pleasure she’d hoped to derive. And ever since Evan’s unpredictable appearances, she didn’t dare use it when the house was empty either. Tonight, however, she ran her finger along its length, and thought perhaps letting Evan watch wasn’t such a bad thing. Her lips curled into a wicked smile. If he was determined to stay an arm’s length away, what choice did he give her?

He listened to her heavy breathing and watched her back arch off the bed the moment the device hit its mark. Her sharp gasps delighted him. She was ready, but he’d have to move quickly. He couldn’t deny daughters of God were beautiful, and he’d always found the daughters of man to be ravishing—but something in between was precisely what he was after.

Chapter 19

I
F
E
VAN
H
AD
B
EEN
W
ATCHING
Thanksgiving night, he gave no indication, and Maggie didn’t press him to find out. He was entitled to his secrets. And she was entitled to tease and entice him—without touching, of course. Just enough to tickle the edges of her desire.

It was the first Saturday in December and three days since Maggie had last seen the angel, but he’d been coming by regularly every few days, so it seemed he wasn’t set to be banished from her world just yet. By Maggie’s estimation, he was due for another visit and with Liam away at a sleepover and Kirsten out at the movie theater, they’d have a couple hours to themselves if he arrived soon. She exchanged her T-shirt for a gauzy printed blouse and threw on a pair of dangling earrings. Ignoring the first candle on the Advent wreath, she went around the kitchen and great room lighting spiced mulberry candles to wash the walls and surfaces in sensual movement. After hitting play on Tchaikovsky’s
Nutcracker Suite
, she had a thought and pulled a box from the cabinet under the TV. When she turned, Evan stood behind her.

“Scrabble?” he questioned, reading the box.

Maggie smiled. “I’m tired of playing figurative games, so I thought, for a change of pace, we should match wits at a real one.”

He tilted his head and pursed his lips, not appearing enthusiastic.

“Unless you’d prefer Ouija,” she teased. “Maybe then we’d finally get some straight answers about exactly what it is you and I are supposed to do with each other.”

“Scrabble will be fine. You’ll have to tell me how to play, though.”

She went to the kitchen table and spread out the board. “It’s a word game. Sort of like building your own crossword puzzle.” His brow furrowed. “Which you’re not familiar with either. Okay, I’ll start with the basics.” She gave him a cursory explanation with a promise to address the finer details as they went along.

They selected their first set of letters, and as Evan laid his squares on the wooden ledge, he asked, “When do you expect the children home?”

“Liam’s gone all night. And Kirsten’s at the movies with Katie—they couldn’t decide which one to see, so they’re going to make it a marathon and see two back-to-back. Here, pull a tile out of the bag—whoever draws the earliest in the alphabet goes first.”

“
A
for angel,” Evan said, revealing his letter and waggling his eyebrows up and down.

Maggie laughed. “You go first then. One letter of your word has to be laid over this center star, and you’ll get double points on the whole word.”

He studied his tiles, and laid down
ORION
.

“Ooh, sorry, can’t do that.”

“It’s a word.”

“Yeah, but proper nouns aren’t allowed. Sorry I didn’t explain that before. I suppose since you’re a first timer, I could let you have this one.”

“No. I’ll play by the rules.” He swept his tiles off the board and took a bit longer to come up with
NOIR
.

Maggie wasn’t entirely sure that word was allowable either, being French rather than English in origin. Normally she’d challenge her opponent, but this time she decided not to draw attention to his potential infraction. It was only worth eight points anyway, and she saw a way to make the most of it.

While she set down her tiles, Evan asked, “If you’re serious about making amends with Sharon, wouldn’t tonight have been the perfect opportunity to meet up with her? Go see a movie of your own or out to dinner?”

She’d laid a
W
and a
Y
on either side of Evan’s
R
to spell
WRY
, earning double points for each of her letters. “I made my gesture weeks ago, and if she’s not willing to return it, that’s her choice. By the way, that’s seventeen points for me.”

With a troubled expression, Evan intently scanned his letters. His eyes flicked to the board, and then his lips twitched into a smirk. From the
N
he formed
NAKED
, with triple points on
K
. “Twenty points for me.” He grinned.

Maggie narrowed her eyes, and couldn’t prove it, but suspected he was happy about more than just his impressive word score—perhaps he
had
been watching the other night. She mentally rearranged her row of letters, and after things clicked into place, pulled six from the ledge. Points weren’t her objective this time. She used Evan’s
K
to retort with
STALKER
.

“Thirteen.” She winked.

He focused his eyes downward until he’d formed his next word on the board, and when he looked back up it was with a challenging gaze. Using Maggie’s
S
, he’d responded with
SUCCUBUS
. Apparently, their figurative games could meld quite easily into their literal ones. “With triple points on this
C
, that’s another twenty points for me,” Evan announced.

Maggie slid a
P
,
R
, and
E
from her ledge and was about to use them with his top
U
, but then spotted the open
D
at the bottom of the puzzle. A quick calculation told her she’d be even with the angel if she chose
PURE
, but she’d have more fun with the other option. She sacrificed the two points and laid down
PRUDE
. “Sixteen.” She smiled, figuring she’d have plenty of time to make up for the lost points later.

The phone rang, and Maggie jumped up to answer it.

“Mom?” It was Kirsten, and even from just the one syllable Maggie could tell her daughter was upset.

“Did you get caught sneaking into a theater?” She’d warned the girls to buy tickets to both movies.

“No. But, Mom, please, could you just come pick me up? I’m not at the theater.”

“Where are you?” Maggie’s tone had hardened.

“Look, just don’t yell at me yet.
Please
. I really need you to come.” Kirsten’s voice broke, and short, squeaking sobs came through the phone.

“Sweetie, I will. Just…calm down. I’ll be there. Where are you?” Maggie’s heart began to pound. Breaking down like this wasn’t like her daughter.

“Hold on a second,” Kirsten said in a shaky voice. The phone was muffled and then she said, “It’s off of Foxgrove, about three miles south of downtown. Go west on a road called Hutchens. It turns gravelly, and you’ll see the police cars.”

Maggie had to stop herself from shouting. “Police?”

“I haven’t been arrested or anything,” Kirsten explained. “Just please come now.”

“I’m on my way.” Maggie clicked the phone off and grabbed her purse from the counter. “I’ve got to go,” she called to Evan as she went to the closet to snatch her coat before speeding out of the house.

How in the hell did she get all the way out on Hutchens? And why in God’s name are the police involved?
She fought off thoughts of possible scenarios the entire way. She’d just have to find out when she got there. The moonlight was blotted out by thick clouds, so she’d expected to be plunged into complete darkness after turning onto the gravel road, which was bordered only by farmers’ fields. Instead, bright punches of throbbing light vibrated in the distance, revealing smoke, blacker than the night and billowing high into the sky. The sharp scent of ash penetrated the car.

As she drew closer to the flashing lights, Maggie saw the police and fire vehicles they were attached to. A black and white was turned sideways across the road and an officer waved for her to stop. “Sorry, ma’am. This road’s been closed.”

“My daughter’s in there. I just got a call.”

“Can I see some ID please?”

She dug her driver’s license out of her wallet and handed it to him.

Shining his flashlight, he briefly examined it before handing it back. “I’m going to have to ask you to park here, off the road. You’ll find your daughter straight up that way.” He indicated the road behind him.

“What happened?” she asked. “Is everyone okay?”

“The officers with your daughter can tell you more.”

Keeping her hands as steady as she could, she pulled her car alongside a minivan parked diagonally in the faded grass. The land was brittle and dry as it awaited the first snow of the season. Maggie practically ran down the rocky road until she came upon a group of teens standing between two police cars. Three fire trucks stood on the left of the road, and just beyond them streams of water gushed from long hoses into the smoking field.

“Mom!” Kirsten called out from the group, but was held back from bolting to Maggie by the police officer who was apparently watching over them.

Without needing to be asked, Maggie whipped out her driver’s license again and said, “That’s my daughter. Can you please tell me what’s going on?”

The officer let Kirsten come to stand by her mother and explained that the police had been called in when the resident of a farmhouse nearby reported seeing flames in the field. The fire department had responded immediately and contained it, but several minors had been caught attempting to flee the scene. Upon questioning, the teens had revealed that they’d started a bonfire in the field, but they’d lost control of it and it spread.

While he explained, a couple more parents arrived, and he addressed them as well. “As of right now, we believe we have all the minors in attendance accounted for, and thankfully none are injured. Because they’re all minors, no arrests have been made, but they’re guilty of trespassing, damages to property, and violation of burn laws. All misdemeanors, but nevertheless, I suggest you each get yourselves an attorney. They’ve all been processed and questioned, so you’re free to take your children home.”

Maggie looked at her daughter. “You’re okay?”

Tears filled Kirsten’s eyes, but she nodded. “Yeah. I’m sorry, Mom. I really thought we were going to see the movies, but Kate got a text from these guys and they picked us up at the theater and took us out here. I’m so sorry!”

Maggie pulled her into a hug. This wasn’t the time to lay into her, yet she couldn’t quite conjure up any words of comfort either. She was in shock. “Does your father know?”

“He wasn’t home and didn’t answer his cell.” Of course Kirsten had tried him first.

“Let’s go,” Maggie murmured and began walking toward her car. On the way, they crossed paths with Sharon, and Maggie glared at her.

“Oh my God, Kirsten!” Sharon shouted. “Where’s Katie? Is she okay?”

Kirsten nodded and shrank into Maggie, who jerked her head back and said tersely, “She’s back there with her other friends. Don’t plan on seeing Kirsten around your house for a while.”

Sharon’s mouth fell open, and Maggie tightened her grip over Kirsten’s shoulder and continued walking. She didn’t speak again until they were back on Foxgrove and heading home. “Now, how about you tell me exactly what happened.”