Taking Angels (The Angel Crusades) (23 page)

I woke to find Gabe sitting on the edge of my bed,
looking down at me, disgust furrowing his forehead.
“Are you alright?” I asked, sitting up.
“Fine, you?”
“Yeah, but Bastion and those other two, they’re so
close.” I said. The name changed his expression to
disgust.
“You know him too?” his voice rose until he
shouted the last word.
Trish and Elisa woke at Gabe’s raised voice. Trish
clicked on the light and they turned to look at our
confrontation on my bed.
“He had Kendal kidnap me. Only Kendal couldn’t
hand me over. Bastion’s looking for me. He needs me to
prove what Allister did. They intend to kill Allister for
creating me.”
Trish and Elisa gasped in their beds, their eyes
wide as they stared at me.
Gabe glared at me, his eyes seeing something in
the distance, something not in this room. He focused on
me as his face turned glum.
“Britt, there is no happy ending here, I’m afraid.”
He pursed his lips. “I believe Allister is lost to you.”
“Don’t say that.” I slapped him across the face.
His head snapped back from the blow and the
girls gasped, still he kept staring into my eyes.
“I don’t want to hurt you, but you must see
Allister will never return to you, and you can never go to
him, else they kill him due to your existence.”
I slid my knees to my chin, wrapping my arms
around my shins, and leaning my head against the tops of
my knees. I needed Allister. More than I’d ever needed
anyone in my life. The hope of him returning, the only
reason I was able to keep going.
I looked up at Gabe, my eyes blurring with tears.
“I’m sorry.” he bowed his head and walked out of
the room.
I leaned my head down against my knees, my
crying turning into uncontrollable sobs. I felt two sets of
arms wrap around my shoulders, comforting me. I still
had them, my three amigos. Although I nearly lost one
today, they would always be there for me.

After crying myself out I went looking for Gabe.
For some reason I knew he wouldn’t be far. I found him
on the deck again, sitting in a chair, staring up at the stars.
I sat down next to him and looked up at the early morning
sky. We sat together, not speaking. I felt comforted by his
presence.

“What do I do now?” I asked.
“Only you can decide that.”
“But how?”
“You must decide what you want more: to see

Allister again or to keep him alive.”
“That’s a no-brainer. I want him alive.”
“You’ve already decided then.”
“I guess I have.”
We sat in silence for a long while, the pain in my

heart building as I sat, pushing, trying to spill out of me.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were in love with
him?” Gabe broke the silence and the surge of pain and
guilt building inside me as well.
“Would it matter?”
“Maybe, a little?”
“How?”
“Then I wouldn’t have allowed myself to develop
an attachment to you.”
I pulled my gaze from the sky to him with a jerk.
“What?”
“Britt, there is something about you. Something
drawing love to you. I felt the tug the first time we met.”
I blushed, not knowing what to say.
“You know I have to eliminate Kendal.”
“Yes,” I nodded.
“If I can do it before Bastion catches up with him,
you may be able to stay here and live a happy life.”
“Humph,” I grunted with a shrug. Happy? Happy
without Allister? Not a likely scenario.
“But if he discovers your location, you must flee
or risk being brought to Greece ensuring Allister’s and
your own destruction as well as everyone around you.”
He looked over at me and our eyes met. His anguish at
his mission filled me with sadness. I believed my death
would bring Gabe pain.
“I want you to live, Britt,” he said, confirming my
suspicion.
“I’m not sure I can without Allister,” I admitted
honestly.
“Please, for your friends’ sake, your parents’ sake,
and for,” he paused, “my sake.”
There, he said it. He wanted me to live for him. I
felt guilty. Guilty over wanting to live. A small part of me
wanted to live for Gabe. Wondered what life would be
like with him in it. Being taken care of by an angel
intrigued me until I pulled myself out of it. He barely
knew me, I barely knew him. How could feelings be
building already? Was I that fickle? Maybe this affection
thing worked both ways? Maybe my feelings developed
for those who deeply cared about me as well? What else
would explain my desire to help Kendal break his
addiction to angels?
“What about the order to capture me if given the
opportunity?” I asked.
“More of a suggestion than an order.” He lifted a
shoulder. “Once Allister is sentenced, the desire to find
you will become less urgent.”
“Then what?”
“I rid us of Kendal and you can go about your life
as before.”
I put my head in my hands; the thought of Allister
being alive and in prison a much better option than gone
for eternity.
“Do we try to find Kendal again tonight?”
“I feel it is our best option.”
We went back inside to explain our plan to the
girls. With Kendal still out there, we needed to stay
together until Gabe had the opportunity to eliminate him
as a threat.
To our amazement, Mom called home to tell me
she was staying in Keewatin with Hazel for a few more
days. Just as I hung up with her, Dad called and said he’d
been called away for a meeting in Chicago so he’d be
gone for a few days as well. Something had told him to
bring a bag to the plant the night before and he planned to
leave by corporate jet from the airport without coming
home.

Trish, Elisa and I ran up to the hospital while
Gabe saw to other matters. Cassie perked up when she
saw us and she looked very well.

“Did you get him?” she asked.
“Who?” Trish said.
“Kendal, weren’t you going after him last night?”
The three of us looked at each other, confused,

and then back at Cassie.
“Gabe stopped by last night and told me I
wouldn’t have to worry about Kendal again,” Cassie
explained.

“Britt, when you’re touched by an angel, you
know it,” she smiled.
“Yeah, I guess you do.” I grinned at her.
“So, did you get him?” Cassie raised her brows.
“No, afraid not.” I shrugged.
“We’re, uh, they’re going to try again tonight,”
Elisa said.
“I hope you get him.” Cassie shivered. “Knowing
firsthand what it feels like to have Kendal touch you
makes me sad for all the people who had their angels
taken by him.”
“Yeah,” I sighed, recalling every guardian angel
Kendal pulled from a person while I watched, helpless,
through his eyes.
We headed back home after lunch and pulled up
as Gabe stepped out of his car. He came over to the Jeep,
looking down at Kendal’s handprints on the hood.
Reaching up, he put his hands on the dents and they
popped out.
“Thanks.” Trish smiled, getting out of the Jeep
and walking towards the house with Elisa as I hung back,
waiting for Gabe.
“So now you’re a body man?” I smirked.
“I have many talents you don’t know about,” he
flirted.
“So it seems.”
“Have you given much thought to what we
discussed last night?” he asked as we walked up the
sidewalk.
“Yeah.” I nodded.
“And?”
“I won’t do anything to put Allister in danger. If I
have to live without him…,” my voice cracked.
“You will have to,” he said as we walked up to the
house.
“Then I will do whatever it takes to keep him
alive.”
“Fair enough.”
He opened the door for me and we went inside.
We all sat around watching TV the rest of the day,
waiting for night to come. When it finally arrived, we
took our places in my room and I let Gabe put me to sleep
again.

I went to Kendal immediately, seeing the houses
and the trees pass by as he walked quickly through the
neighborhood. I tried to read any sign telling me where
he hunted, nothing stood out.

A movement off to our left drew Kendal’s attention
and he turned. I could see a man heading down an alley
between two older office buildings. I still couldn’t place
the neighborhood as Kendal followed the man into the
alley. As we came closer, Kendal froze and then he
flattened himself against the wall of the building.

The man turned abruptly and Bastion’s face
smiled back at us, the streetlight reflecting off his silver
tooth.

I felt the tingling and we shimmered to another
location. I lost contact with Kendal and woke in my bed,
screaming.

“You’re okay, you’re okay.” Gabe held me in his
comforting arms as Trish and Elisa looked on curiously.
“No, I’m not.” I pushed him away. “Bastion found
Kendal again, right away.”
“Did they capture him?” Gabe sat up straighter.
“No, he shimmered and then I woke up.”
“Did you recognize Kendal’s location?”
“No, but I think it might be another town nearby.”
I looked at Gabe with fear pulsing through me.
“Not good.” Gabe turned away.
“What do we do now?” I asked.
“We need to get to Kendal before Bastion,” he
stated the obvious as he paced, hand to his chin in
thought.
I looked at Trish and Elisa, their faces full of
worry. If Bastion found me I felt certain he would try to
eliminate anyone who knew about him, about Eternals.
Allister told me their kind demanded secrecy. Bastion
would kill off my friends to keep his secrets.
As I stared at Trish and Elisa, I decided what I
needed to do. I didn’t have a choice. I needed to protect
them.
“What are you thinking?” Gabe said, leaning
down so he could look into my eyes.
“Nothing.”
“You’re not a good liar, Britt,” he sighed.
“I’m tired.” I turned away and pulled the covers
up over me as I lay down.
The next morning Trish, Elisa, and I headed off to
school. At least we wanted Gabe to think that. As we got
ready in the bathroom, I filled the girls in on what I
needed to do today. Find Kendal.
They looked at me like I’d lost my mind. I
insisted I hadn’t, that this was a good idea.
“I need to find him and see if he can disappear.”
“What about Gabe?” Trish asked.
“Why don’t you let him take care of Kendal?”
Elisa agreed.
“Because he hasn’t so far,” I said. “And Bastion is
getting closer. If he finds me, he’ll take me to Greece so
they can sentence Allister to death.”
“And you too,” Trish added.
Elisa put a hand to her mouth, her eyes open wide.
“Who told you that?” I asked.
“So it’s true?” Trish said.
“Yes.” I shook my head knowing Gabe must have
filled them in.
They didn’t have any more air in their lungs to
make additional sounds and they didn’t need it; their
expressions of horror said it all.
We headed out, driving around in the Jeep to
every location in town I’d seen through Kendal’s eyes
over the last month. We cruised by Allister’s house on a
hunch, it being the last place I saw him.
We drove past, slowing so I could look between
the houses. Nothing. I motioned for Trish to take the side
road by the house and we crept past. Nothing. I noticed
the alley and I pointed. She gave a nod and pulled down
the dusty road. We passed the detached garage, nearly as
large as my house, when I noticed movement in a
window over the garage.
“Stop,” I shouted.
Trish jerked the Jeep to a stop, looking at me
questioningly.
“I saw something up there.” I pointed to one of
the windows over the garage.
“Shouldn’t we get Gabe?” Elisa questioned.
“No, I need to do this myself,” I said.
Elisa and Trish began to get out, but I put a hand
on each of their arms, stopping them.
“Stay here. He hasn’t hurt me yet. I can’t say that
about my friends.” I stared at each until they nodded. “I’ll
be right back.”
I hopped out of the Jeep moving around to a side
door. I grabbed the handle and gave it a twist, locked. I
pressed against it with my shoulder. No good. I stepped
back, looking up at the window where I noticed the
movement.
“Kendal,” I shouted. “I know you’re up there. I
need to talk to you.”
I heard a click of the lock and walked over to try
the door again. The handle turned and the door swung in.
I stepped into the darkness broken up by beams of light
filtering in through the garage door windows. Taking the
stairs leading to the second level I stumbled slightly as
my eyes adjusted to the darkness. Finally reaching the
door at the top of the stairs standing ajar, I pushed it in
and it squeaked under my touch.
Kendal stood looking out a window as I entered,
not bothering to look at me. “To what do I owe this
pleasure?” he asked.
“I need to talk to you.”
“So you said. Then talk.”
“I need a favor,” I said, the word catching in my
throat.
“Oh really?” He turned to glare at me. “Why
should I do anything for you?”
“Because you love me.” I played the only card I
had up my sleeve, maybe not the best opening move.
“Ha, I think that approach is a bit worn out, don’t
you?”
“I guess.” I shrugged. “But have your feelings for
me changed?” Touché.
He glared at me hard, his lip curling up cynically.
“What’s the favor?”
“I want you to kill me.”
His face lost all muscle control and went slack.
His mouth gaped open and his eyes stared so wide I could
see the red sockets around them.
“You what?” he whispered.
“I. Want. You. To. Kill. Me.”
He put a hand over his eyes and then ran it down
his entire face, his mouth still hanging open when he
finished. “No, no you don’t.”
“Yes, I do. I don’t want to live without Allister
anymore and I don’t want to be the reason Allister is
killed.” I tried to sound confident.
“Then come away with me,” he pleaded.
“What about Bastion?”
“Screw Bastion.”
I pressed my lips together and exhaled heavily
through my nose.
“We can keep ahead of Bastion,” Kendal offered.
“Like you’ve been doing?”
“You eavesdropping again, Britt?”
“Not by choice.”
“So you know he’s getting closer.”
“That’s why I’m here. Sooner or later he’ll get
you to tell him or he’ll find me some other way. Either
way, it can’t happen.”
“I’ll go away, lead him off far away from here,”
Kendal reasoned.
“Do you really think he’ll give up, even if you’re
gone? He already knows the general area to look. It’s just
a matter of time.”
“But Britt, to kill you, you’re asking too much.”
“Am I? Am I really? You took part of my guardian
angel from me and started this. I’m offering you the rest.
Doesn’t that appeal to you?”
He licked his lips. “I can’t lie, it does, but …”
“I know you’re not as bad as you seem.” The
sincerity behind my statement surprised me. “You’re out
of control, but now you can do something good. You can
make a difference.”
“By saving Allister?” he hissed.
“Yes, by saving Allister. For me.”
He spun back to the window, shaking his head.
“When?” he asked, not turning back.
“Tonight, at my house.”
“What about your angel friend?”
“I will be alone. You kill me and run. Don’t stop
running because I know Gabe will come after you…
forever.”
“Got him wrapped around your finger too, huh?”
Kendal glanced over his shoulder at me.
“I need you to do this and then be gone so Bastion
has no reason to come to Grand Rapids, ever,” I
continued, ignoring his jibe.
“I will do it, but I do it for you, not Allister.”
“I know.” I walked to the door, stopping as he
started to speak.
“You must love him a lot.” He looked at me,
sadness in his eyes.
“More than I can explain.” I nodded. I walked
down the stairs as my cell phone vibrated. I opened it up,
seeing a text from Angelina, the only one I’d gotten in
days.