Hunting Angel 2 (3 page)

Boys could be so oblivious.

Did Brody actually think that was the kind of attention I wanted when I’d said yes? He had to be out of his mind, or more likely drunk, to try and hit on me in front of Chase. Everyone knew that we sort of had a thing going on even if
I
didn’t know what exactly that thing
was
. I was pretty sure Chase was going to choke-slam him after class if the growl that came from behind was any indictor of what Chase thought of Brody’s behavior.

I slumped lower in my seat, trying to make myself as small as possible. I was so ready for this day to end.

After school, Chase dropped Lexi and me at home, and then went off to do something that apparently was none of our business. I huffed and tried to pretend my heart didn’t tighten as I watched him drive away. Whatever – it was fine by me, so I stuck out my chin. I had a few questions for Travis and Lexi, plus it would give Travis and me some time to gush over the upcoming release of Black Ops II. Hell yes. The video game of all video games – the newest Call of Duty. I’d been counting down the days since I pre-ordered a copy, seemingly eons ago. Travis was the only one who I could talk to, the only one who really understood.

I walked into their house after Lexi and found Travis already assuming his usual position on the couch. Devin was at work, so it was just us. I sat beside Travis. He grunted an inaudible hello, never losing concentration from the game he was absorbed with. I totally sympathized and just reclined into the couch.

“Travis you need to get a life,” Lexi announced, clearly annoyed with her brother. He ignored her. “You are such a TV hog,” she whined, stretching out on the chaise.

“Sshhh. You are going to get me killed,” he shot back.

Lexi pouted and grabbed the newest Victoria Secret magazine that had just come in the mail.

I should probably have intervened before things took a turn for the worst. “Have you guys noticed anything different about me? Something that a normal person wouldn’t pick up on?” The question had been rolling in my head since seeing Sierra.

“Yeah. You stink of Chase,” Travis answered without peeling his eyes from the game.

“Funny, but I’m being totally serious here.”

“So was I,” he answered.

Lexi nodded her head. “No, it’s true. You give off this scent that screams you belong to another half-demon.”

“What do you mean scent?” I did not like where this was going at all. Not. One. Single. Bit. I didn’t want to smell like Chase.

Travis dropped the remote on the table forgetting the game for a moment, a sign that this was going to be a solemn discussion. “I can see the little wheels working in your head. It’s not like you think. You don’t physically smell like Chase.”

“Thank God,” I sighed.

“Well don’t be relieved just yet. You do give of this vibe or odor that states you belong to another one of us, a half-demon. It’s a way of letting others know not to mess with you – a hands-off kind of policy. Those who know Chase will recognize the signature as his. It also makes you a target for all the nasties.”

“And how long have I had this
scent
?”

Lexi pulled her knees up. “Since that night.”

Meaning, since the night my life changed forever. Since the night I died and Chase bartered for my soul. Since the night we became linked. “Figures. And before that, I didn’t have a
scent
?”

“Nope,” Travis grinned wickedly. “You were fair game then.”

“And now I’m not fair game?”

“You got it toots. There isn’t a Divisa around who would risk Chase’s wrath by touching you. They would have to have a death wish.”

I looked at Lexi for confirmation that Travis wasn’t just pulling my leg. She nodded sending her blonde ponytail swishing with the movement. “Yep. You are like, sprayed with Divisa repellant.”

I slumped against the back of the couch. “Great. I stink.”

Travis gave me a lopsided grin, throwing an arm around my shoulder. “You might smell like crap, but Lex and I still tolerate you.”

Lexi snickered from her chaise lounge.

“Thanks,” I mumbled dryly. “You better not get too close, or you might wind up dead,” I added snarky. I couldn’t help it, I was feeling snarky.

He removed his arm slowly, a playful gleam sparkling in his turquoise eyes. “You’re probably right. This face is just too damn good-looking to withstand a thrashing from Chase.”

I snorted. Like that had ever stopped the two of them from going at each other like two cage fighters, if anything, he was probably looking forward to good fight with Chase.

I stayed a little while longer before hiking the short distance to my house. I had most definitely not been waiting around to see if Chase would show up – which he hadn’t. Not that I cared.

There I go lying to myself, again. Maybe mentally I didn’t give a monkey’s butt what Chase was up to, but this link we had…well it had a mind of its own. And it was growing more anxious by the second.

As I got ready for bed I caught myself several times picking up my new phone to call him. Since I got home, I’d spent the rest of the night messing around with all the options and adding a gazillion apps to my iPhone. It could pretty much do everything except pee for me, and I was sure there would be an app for that soon. I had customized the crap out of it, including programming Chase under Douchebag. I had quite a giggle over my ingenious.

Curled up under the covers, sleep evaded me until the moment I heard the crunching of his tires next door. Then a serene calmness overcame me, and I promptly fell to sleep.

Figures. Stupid bond. I hope he suffered miserably.

Chapter 3

It was the end of October, which in Spring Valley, Illinois meant tumbleweeds, tilling fields, and of course hayrides were a given – Hickville. For me Halloween had a slightly different impact. I just loved the idea of loads of candy corn, insane parties, and sexy costumes. In Arizona we never had to factor in the weather as part of our costume. Here, they dressed in layers or long underwear, which you can be sure I wouldn’t ever be caught dead wearing.

Bahahaha.

I loved Halloween. And it just so happened this year I lived in my own personal haunted house. No matter where I walked you could guarantee a floor board will creak, a cobweb will be hanging in a doorway (not a decoration, but the real deal), and sometimes the lights flickered for no apparent reason.

My first week back to school flew by in a whirlwind of chaos. Out of the blue, I had become a hot commodity at Hall High. Guys I had never seen before said hi to me between periods. I even received an anonymous note from a secret admirer. It felt like there was always a small crowd around me, well until Chase got there that was. I hated every second of the attention. Chase’s presence became my saving grace – the only time I was left alone. One frown from him and they all scrammed. I never thought I would be grateful for the overbearing jerkwad’s company.

But I had bigger and better things to think about…

Halloween was right around the corner and it was starting to seep into my pores. I was itching to start my costume shopping.

Shopping
.

Once upon a time that word would have elicited excitement, now it made my feet hurt. I swear, I got blisters just thinking about shopping with Lexi. But there was no getting out of it. The commitment had already been made.

Every year there was a Halloween party thrown for the high school kids at a local farm. It was on a pumpkin farm – how original. This town oozed originality. I was told it was a regular hee-haw, complete with obnoxious music, a bonfire, tractor rides, and a costume contest.

And it was unsupervised.

Lexi insisted I couldn’t miss it for the world. Truthfully, she just wanted a reason to drag me shopping with her. Lucky for her, Halloween was my holiday. For one day I got to pretend like I was somebody else – anybody else. Lara Croft. Selene from Underworld. Mystique. I’d been every kickass girl I could think of. No princesses, mermaids, or faeries for this gal. I was all about woman empowerment.

This year I was turning over a new leaf – sort of. What I had in mind for my costume was different from my usual characters, but it was going to be no less than amazing. There was only one problem…Lexi and I were on opposite continents when it came to shopping for our Halloween costumes. She wanted to hit every costume shop within a two-hour radius. I, on the other hand, was looking to scope out the craft and fabric shops. When I told this to Lexi, all I got was a blank stare.

“Why would you want to go there?” she finally asked, crossing her legs in the passenger seat, her black spiked boots nixing the dash.

I kept my eyes on the road, maneuvering my little white Fusion in the next lane. “It’s like tradition. My mom and I have always made my costume. I can’t imagine not doing it. It’s part of the fun.”

She looked unconvinced. Her blue-green eyes measuring me like I was the one who wasn’t human – which was still totally debatably anyhoo. “You are like a dying breed. It’s no wonder Chase is so enthralled with you.”

I rolled my eyes. “He is not
enthralled
with me. He thinks I’m a nuisance.”

“A sexy nuisance. I know Chase better than anyone, and let me tell you,
you
have changed him. You are the first person he’s truly cared about.”

“I’m not so sure about that.”

“Are you telling me that you are not over-the-moon crazy about him?”

I shrugged. I wasn’t admitting to anything, not even to myself.

“Do you even have ovaries?” she asked bluntly.

I rolled my eyes. “Obviously.”

“Then trust me, you’re more than interested. The girls in this town might treat him a like pariah, but they secretly dream about doing the nasty with him at night. Fact.”

Flushing to the roots of my hair, I bit down on the edge of my nail. “Whatever.”

She shook her head, sending her perfect blonde ringlets into a bounce. “The two of you are absolutely maddening to be around. I’ve never met more stubborn people. There is nothing Chase wouldn’t do for you. Nothing. And I think you already know that.”

I swallowed the large lump of emotion clogging my windpipe. It was a hard pill to swallow. I knew that without Chase, I wouldn’t be here with Lexi getting ready to shop for my favorite holiday. Without Chase, my mom would be alone in the world. Without Chase, I wouldn’t have the chance to find love.

We might always be at each other’s throats, or drive each other insane, but he would always be there. He would never let me down. In my book, that spoke volumes. I knew that there were things out there in the world that I couldn’t wrap my mind around, but knowing Chase was at my side made it all bearable.

“I know,” I managed softly, risking a glance at her.

Her eyes shone seriously. “Just don’t break his heart.”

My chest felt heavy. What I needed to break was this somber mood that had settled over us. This was supposed to be fun. “I’m not sure I could. I swear he has a heart of stone.”

“It was, until he met you.”

She let me to stew over her words the rest of the trip until we’d reached our first destination, though her words never left me. Being the good friend that I was, I let her have the first pick. Well that was one reason, but secretly I was also hoping for a miracle or an act of God that would allow Lexi to find her costume in the first store. Anything to cut our shopping trip in half.

Every time we go out, I was reminded how different we really were. It was easy to forget when it was just us, but the moment we were out in public, I saw the strange way people reacted to them. It was so weird to me. Especially since there was a knot that formed in my stomach the further we got from home. The further away we got from Chase. I was trying hard to ignore the growing knot, and I did not want admit that I missed him, that he mattered that much.

I was blaming it entirely on the stupid mark on my hip, the one we both shared.

Lexi must have sensed my agitation because she repeatedly asked if I was okay. If I was feeling alright? Was something wrong? The only person I was fooling was me.

Thankfully, someone above answered my desperate prayers, and Lexi found her perfect hoochie ensemble at the second shop. “Do you think Hayden will like it?” she asked, showing a vulnerable side she did so well, yet I knew firsthand how incredibly fierce she could be. It still didn’t stop all the guys in her life from protecting her.

“Are you kidding? He is going to blow a socket when he sees you.” Then there was also the chance that Travis will incinerate him for looking at her so ravenously.

She giggled. “Good. I’m sure you’ll knock Chase’s socks off.”

Lexi didn’t have quite the vocabulary I did, but she usually said the first thing to pop into her perfect head. “What I have in mind doesn’t have the same wow-factor as your costume. Plus, I couldn’t pull off something this skimpy. You have a killer body – it was made to be seen.”

“Angel, you really need to take a look in the mirror,” she said, climbing into my car and tossing her purchase in the back.

“Trust me, I have,” I muttered and hopped into the driver seat.

“I can’t believe you didn’t find anything you liked in either store. There must have been a thousand costumes in there.”

I turned the key into the ignition, and my little Fusion purred to life “True,” I smiled at Lexi. “But nothing screams originality like custom made.” Custom sounded way better than handmade.

She looked unimpressed. “It just seems like too much work,” she sighed.

“Maybe,” I agreed. “But it is so rewarding.”

“Yeah well, so are chocolate éclairs, but you don’t see me slaving away in the kitchen. That’s why there are bakeries.”

I rolled my eyes.

By the time we got to the fabric shop, I was ready to do my thing. Lexi however, looked lost, like a tear in the rain. “This will be fun,” I tried to coax. She was definitely out of her element, while I was right at home.

“I don’t even know where to start,” she admitted, overwhelmed.