The Angel of Death (The Soul Summoner Book 3) (13 page)

I smirked. “Right. Let me get right to that.” I paced around the kitchen.

“Sloan, you’ll trigger a panic attack if you don’t calm down,” he warned.

I was wringing my hands. “I’m trying.”

He tucked his gun back into its holster and grabbed my hand. “Sit,” he instructed, pulling a chair out at the dinette table for me. “Talk about something else.”

“Like what?” I sat on my hands to keep from fidgeting.

“What will you name the baby?” he asked, opening a cabinet and retrieving a water glass.

I blinked with surprise. “I haven’t really thought about it.”

He filled the glass at the sink. “Don’t all girls keep lists of what they want to name their babies? Or was that just Shannon?”

That time, I laughed. “It’s not just Shannon, but it’s never been me.”

He handed me the glass and sat next to me. “Never?”

I shook my head. “No. I guess I always assumed kids wouldn’t be in the cards.”

His head snapped back with surprise. “That’s crazy. Why would you think that?”

I shrugged and pulled the water close. “I’ve never been in a relationship long enough to imagine it going anywhere. I’ve always kind of been alone.”

“Bullshit,” he said, sitting back in his chair.

I sipped the water. “True story. The longest relationship I’ve ever been in was a few months, and it was long distance so it doesn’t count.”

“But everybody loves you, so why?” he asked.

A dog barked outside, and my eyes flashed back to the window.

Nathan snapped his fingers in front of my nose. “Focus on me. Why are you romantically defective?”

I took a deep, calming breath and thought for a second. “Adrianne once accused me of taking things too fast, not slowing down enough to get to know someone before deciding it won’t work.” I leaned on my elbow. “But it’s the exact opposite. Immediately, I know people too well.”

His brow lifted. “So that’s why you jumped in so fast with Warren. He was mysterious.”

I smiled. “The tall, dark, and smoking hot thing didn’t hurt either.”

He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, that too.”

I drummed my nails on the sides of the glass. “It’s different with him. I never worry that he’s attracted to me because of my magnetic qualities.” I added some finger flair to the last part of that statement for dramatic effect. “What most people feel for me isn’t real.”

He leaned toward me, cutting his eyes. “You still believe after everything we’ve been through that I care about you because of”—he waved his hand toward me—“whatever it is you are?”

“Nathan, Kasyade told me—”

“I don’t care what she told you!” His voice was a little louder than he obviously intended. He dialed his decibels back down. “I’m not here because I’m some weak-willed mortal who can’t resist the charms of the county publicist.”

Whoa.

“Nathan, I didn’t mean it like—”

He cut me off again, this time standing up so fast his chair legs squeaked across the tile floor. “How else could you mean that?” It was his turn to pace the kitchen. “Is that really the whole reason you and I aren’t—”

The doorbell rang.

He muttered a few profanities before stomping across the room to the foyer.

How the hell we’d gone from a demon trying to blow my house down to the subatomic foundation of our relationship was beyond me. At least he kept my panic at bay. I was still scratching my head when a uniformed sheriff’s deputy walked into my living room.

“Russ, this is Sloan. Sloan, Russ Hughes,” Nathan said, not looking directly at me.

I waved to the deputy.

“Nate, I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, and we circled the area a few times,” he said.

Nathan folded his arms over his chest. “Did anyone else report hearing some kind of explosion? Or have you gotten any calls about power outages from a transformer in the area?”

Russ shook his head. “Not that I’m aware of.”

“How about a surveillance car? Usually a truck parked over on Hyde Lane. Did you see it?”
 

“I didn’t see one,” Russ answered. “Do you have a tail?”

“Maybe.” Nathan offered him his hand, and Russ shook it. “Listen, thanks for coming out and checking.”

“Not a problem. I’ll be around tonight. I’ll swing back by a few times and keep my eyes open.”

“Thank you,” Nathan said.

“Hey, did you hear the news about Gollum?” Russ asked.

Nathan looked at me, then back at Russ. “No. What news?”

“She busted out of the psych ward. They just called it in that she’s gone missing,” he said.

Nathan groaned. “I’d better keep my scanner on. Call me if you hear anything.”

“10-4.” Russ gave a slight nod in my direction. “Good evening, ma’am.”

“Thanks, Russ,” I said.

When he left, I looked at Nathan. “Who’s Gollum?”

He swirled his finger around his ear. “Red-headed crazy chick.”

I perked with alarm. “The demon lady who’s looking for me?”

“That’s the one.”

I pointed to the door. “Perhaps that’s what all the noise and wind was about.”

Nathan shrugged but didn’t look convinced. “Whatever it was, it’s over now.” He paused, but his mouth was still open and ready to speak. After a moment, he looked in my direction but not exactly at me. “I’m sorry for raising my voice.”

“It’s OK.”

He finally made eye-contact. “No, it’s not. Please forgive me.”

“Forgiven.”

He glanced toward the stairs. “You’re exhausted. You may not sleep, but you still need to rest.”

I walked toward the stairs but stopped in front of him. “I’m sorry too.”

He cast his gaze at the ground, bobbing his head in acknowledgement. “It’s over. Let’s not bring it back up.”

I nodded, but we both knew whatever
it
was, it certainly wasn’t over.

It was far, far from it.

9.

The last time I’d had a social night out was the night before Warren’s reactivation with the Marine Corps. He had almost proposed to me then, but he didn’t because of Nathan McNamara.
 

Oh the irony,
I thought as I stood in front of a full-length mirror in the ladies’ room of The Grove Park Inn. I was polished and primped for a date at the most romantic hotel in all of Asheville…with the wrong man in my life.

“This is not a date,” I corrected myself out loud. “This is
definitely
not a date.”

A woman stepped out of a stall I didn’t realize was occupied behind me. She had a teasing smile.

I shook my head. “It’s really not.”

The lady chuckled.

After tucking a loose curl back into the bird’s nest Adrianne had sculpted on my head, I walked out of the bathroom, but Nathan wasn’t where I’d left him by the piano. I walked around the Great Hall fireplace and all around the crowded bar, but I couldn’t find him anywhere. I thought about calling him on the phone, but I remembered my cell was still plugged up at home on my nightstand.
 

I heard a familiar whistle somewhere in the distance behind me and turned to see him on the far side of the room, sitting in the back of a big red Santa sleigh.

I held out my arms as I walked over. “What are you doing?”

He stood, holding two full wine glasses. “All the other seats were taken,” he said, stepping out of the sleigh. “What were you doing in there? You were gone for half an hour.”

I rolled my eyes. “I was not.”

He handed me a glass.

I frowned. “Umm?”

He smiled. “It’s grape juice. It’s
sparkling
,” he added with a lisp.

I laughed and accepted it. “Thank you.”

Halfway through the lobby, I heard my name over the commotion. It was a woman’s voice. I turned and looked, as did Nathan. Finally, I spotted a waving arm in the crowd. “Sloan!” she called again.

My brain scrambled to place the older woman’s familiar face.

A half a second later, three and a half feet of bounding energy burst through the crowd of legs in the room. Blond haired, blue and green eyed, Kayleigh Neeland sprinted toward me, her red patent Mary Janes click-clacking against the marble as she ran.

I knelt down in time to catch her in my arms. “Kayleigh!”

“Miss Sloan!” she cheered, throwing her tiny arms around my neck.

“How are you, sweet girl?” I asked.

She pulled back, pushing her curls out of her face. “We came to see the gingerbread houses. The one with the Barbie in the castle is my favorite.”

“Really?” I asked, tugging on the hem of her sparkly red and green Christmas dress. “You’re so pretty. Is this new?”

“Uh huh,” she said, nodding.
 

Over our heads, Nathan greeted Kayleigh’s grandparents.
 

Kayleigh pointed back behind her. “Did you see Santa?”

I shook my head. “No. I didn’t know Santa was here. Did you sit on his lap and tell him what you want for Christmas?”

“Uh huh. I want the new Mary Ashley doll. The one that talks and goes to school. Not the Mary Ashley doll that cries and wears diapers,” she said.

I laughed and bobbed my head like I knew what she was talking about. “How’s kindergarten?”

She shrugged. “It’s OK.” Her head tilted to the side. “Miss Sloan, when’s your baby coming?”

I blinked. “H…how did you know about that?”

She pushed her hair back again. “I saw your baby tummy.”

Nathan nudged my leg with the toe of his dress shoe. “Told you.”

I swatted his leg away, then turned back to her. “Well, my baby is coming this summer. Isn’t that exciting?”

She bit her lower lip, swaying from side to side. “She’s going to be pretty, just like you.”

“Thank you,” I said. “Oh, look what I still have.” I held out the collar of my coat so she could see the angel pin she’d given me.

She touched it with her tiny finger.

“I wear it every day,” I said.

“Nana says if I’m good we can have hot chocolate before we leave,” she said.

I pinched her nose. “I’m sure it will be delicious.”

She looked up at Nathan. “You’re the police man.”

He dropped to a knee beside me. “You remember me?”

“Uh huh.” She rocked back and forth on her heels. “You found me that one bad day.”

He sucked in a deep breath and smiled. “Yes, I did.” He playfully touched the tip of her nose. “It was a bad day, but it was also one of the very best days.”

She laughed. “Yeah.”

I looked up at her grandmother. “It’s so good to see you. How long are you in town?”

“Just tonight,” she said. “We had a custody hearing yesterday, so we decided to make a weekend out of it. Few places are more beautiful than Asheville at Christmas.”

“That’s the truth,” I agreed. “How did the hearing go?”

Kayleigh’s grandfather nodded. “It went well. The judge granted us full custody.”

“It was a bittersweet victory,” Nana said. “But you can only imagine how happy we are.”

I tucked a strand of Kayleigh’s hair behind her ear. “Yes, I can.” I opened my arms. “Can I have another hug?”

She lunged into me, squeezing my neck again.
 

“I hope you have a very Merry Christmas, Kayleigh,” I said, kissing her on the side of the head.

“Merry Christmas, Miss Sloan.”

Nathan gave Kayleigh a high-five, then helped me to my feet. I pulled one of my business cards out of my purse and handed it to her grandmother. “The next time you’re in town, let me know so we can plan to meet. This has made my night.”

The woman nodded. “I will.”

“Merry Christmas,” I said to them.

“Merry Christmas,” they echoed back.

Nathan’s hand at the small of my back turned me toward the hallway. I closed my eyes and let out a melodic sigh. “I love that kid so much.”

He smiled when I looked at him. “I know you do. She’s cute.” He pointed toward the banquet room. “You ready to go in?”

I took a deep breath. “Yeah. Let’s do this.”

The annual Christmas party was the only social event my office ever had, and the county went all out for it. The room glistened with Christmas trees and twinkle lights, but the centerpiece of the decor was the view. Beyond the panoramic glass walls, the sun dipped behind mountains speckled with snow-covered pines, splashing the dark blue sky with violet and fuchsia swirls. I’m pretty sure if Heaven exists, then Asheville at Christmastime was modeled after it. It was so stunning that I almost didn’t notice how every eye turned toward me and Nathan as we crossed the room.

“Why are people staring at us?” Nathan whispered behind me.

I shrugged.

Sheriff Davis, Nathan’s boss, sauntered over in a black suit with a bright red Santa Claus tie. “McNamara!” He extended his hand as he approached. “Glad to see I’m not the only one representing our office tonight. You clean up pretty well.”

He was right. Nathan’s black pants and charcoal button up couldn’t have fit any better if they were melted onto his body. He had a fresh shave and a haircut. And he smelled even better than he looked.

Nathan caught my eye and winked. “Thank you, sir, but no one is looking at me tonight.”

This is not a date. This is not a date. This is not a date.

The sheriff turned toward me. “Sloan Jordan, you look like a million bucks.” He gave me a side hug, jostling my shoulders with his large hand. “How ‘ya feelin’ these days, young lady?”

I nodded. “Pretty well, thank you. How’s Mrs. Davis?”

He looked around the room. “She’s good. Around here somewhere.”

“If I don’t have the chance, please wish her a Merry Christmas for me.”

“Will do.” He looked at Nathan. “You heard any more from the feds?”

Nathan crossed his arms over his chest. “No, sir. Though I believe they’re still following Sloan.”

I held my hands up. “Gentlemen, this is a party. Can we please not talk about things that might make me cry?”

Sheriff Davis laughed with a hearty chuckle. “I remember those tearful days when Rosie found out she was carrying our first. One time I told her we were out of egg salad; you’d think I told her our dog was dead.”

I laughed, but I turned my wide eyes toward Nathan.

He shrugged.

The sheriff grabbed Nathan’s shoulder and shook it. “On that note, I need to find my wife. You two have a fun night. You’ve earned it.” He paused as he turned away. “Oh! And congratulations,” he said with a wink.