The Angel of Death (The Soul Summoner Book 3) (23 page)

“I’ll come with you.”

He helped me to my feet. There was no pain in my leg. I looked down to see the blood had stopped oozing and was starting to crust, and while the wound hadn’t closed, it did already look like a fresh scar.
 

Nathan’s eyes widened. “You’re getting better at this.”

I groaned as we went to the bathroom. “Great. Maybe my head will reattach itself when she severs it in my sleep.”

16.

The next day, I didn’t send Taiya to jail. When I left my bedroom, I stepped on a plate with a peeled brownish banana, a handful of crackers, and a bite-size Milky Way. Beside the plate was a pink sticky note from the pad I kept in the kitchen. I picked it up and read,
I sory. Taiya.
The handwriting reminded me of Kayleigh. I’d have to be a demon for that not to melt the ice around my heart. Pun intended.

Azrael made waffles.

“What will we do with her long term?” Nathan asked, pointing at Taiya. She was next to me, swiping up syrup with her finger. “Is she going to live here too?”

I leaned my elbow on the table and rested my chin in my hand. “I guess she can stay on the couch.”

Nathan looked around the room. “This place is getting crowded.”

I rolled my eyes. “It’s been crowded since Warren moved in.”

Behind his hand, Nathan snickered.

“Shut up, Nathan,” I said.

“You said it, not me,” he defended.

Azrael cleared his throat. “Nathan, you don’t have to stay. I’m fully capable of taking care of things here on my own.”

Nathan’s fork clanged against his plate when he dropped it. “Like you took care of things last night?”

“Boys,” I said with a warning tone. “I am in no mood to referee this morning. Last night sucked, but it’s over. Let it go.” I looked at Nathan. “Do you have to work today?”

He shook his head. “I’m off all weekend.”

“Can you take me shopping?” I asked. “I want to get her some clothes that fit. Mine swallow her up.”

His entire countenance fell. I might as well have asked him to take me to the third ring of hell. “Why can’t Azrael take you?”

I pointed at Taiya. “Would you rather stay here with her?”

He huffed. “No.”

“It’s settled then,” I said.

“What will happen when we both go back to work?” he asked. “Azrael won’t stay here with her, and he can’t bring her to your office.”

“Well, if we can figure out Monday, I’ll talk to my boss about working from home this week.” I wiped my mouth with a napkin and dropped it on my empty plate. “I’ll blame it on pregnancy stuff.”

“How are you feeling these days?” Nathan asked.

“I’m finally over the caffeine headaches,” I said. “I still feel kind of queasy on and off through the day, but other than that, I’m OK.” That wasn’t the complete truth, but I didn’t feel like talking to Nathan and Warren’s dad about my overactive bladder and painful boobs.

“Ding, dong,” Taiya said, reminding us all of her presence at the table.

We all looked at her, just as the doorbell rang.

I looked at Nathan as he got up. “That’s freaking creepy,” I whispered.

He answered the door.

“Morning, Nate!” Adrianne was entirely too chipper for so early in the morning. She rushed in, unwrapping her bright red scarf as she came. “It is freezing out there!” She slid to a stop in the middle of the kitchen and froze at the sight of our new houseguest. “Uhh…”

I looked up at her. “Adrianne, this is—”

She held up her hand. “I know who this is. She tried to kill you. Why is she…” Her head angled sideways. “Why is she drinking maple syrup out of the bottle?”

I turned to look as Azrael snatched the bottle from Taiya’s hands.
“Nil,”
he said, wagging his finger in her face.

Taiya dropped her hands in her lap. Pouting was clear in any language.

I jerked my thumb toward her as I turned back to my best friend. “This is Taiya. She’s a long story. What are you doing here? Aren’t you working today?”

Nathan pulled out his chair for her. “Have a seat, Adrianne. You want some coffee?”

She held up the travel mug she’d carried in. “I’m all set. Thanks.” She flashed a flirty smile at Azrael. “Morning, Az.”

I groaned.

Laughing, she plopped down into the chair and crossed her long legs. “I took today off because I have done zero Christmas shopping.”

“Crap,” I said. “Me either.”

She slapped my leg. “Good. I came to make you go with me.”

“We were literally just talking about shopping when you walked in,” I said. “I need to go get our new friend some clothes.”

Nathan was at the refrigerator, but he spun around with a bright smile. “Hey! We can give Adrianne some money and we can stay here.”

I rolled my eyes. “Nice try. We’re going.”

His shoulders slumped again.

“Great.” She gripped my arm. “We can buy maternity clothes!”

Behind me, Nathan mumbled, “Kill me now.”

“I
so
do not need maternity clothes yet,” I argued.
 

“You’ll need them soon enough.” She pointed back toward the stairs. “Go get dressed. The mall will be nuts today. We’ll probably be there all day as it is.”

Nathan cursed under his breath.

* * *

Nuts
didn’t begin to describe the state of the Asheville Mall. We parked in the last space of the highest deck of the parking garage and entered into the overwhelming lingerie section of a department store. We were greeted by women dressed as elves handing out coupons as
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
blared over the store’s sound system.

Nathan put his hands on his hips and looked at me, shaking his head. “The things I do for you.”

I pinched his nose. “Santa’s going to bring you an extra big present this year.”

“Speaking of Christmas,” Adrianne said as we wound our way through the crowded department store. “My boss won a private dinner party at the Deerpark restaurant at Biltmore next weekend. She’s out of town and offered me the tickets. You guys want to go?”

“I don’t know.” I looked back over my shoulder. Nathan’s eyes darted in every direction, and his hand was poised to grab the handgun I knew was tucked under his jacket. I giggled. “Nathan, did you hear Adrianne?”

He looked at me. “Huh?”

“Do we have plans next weekend?”

He dodged left out of the way of a woman with two armloads of shopping bags. “I don’t think so.”

Adrianne looped her arm through mine. “It would be so much fun. We can get all dressed up and wine and dine like royalty. What do you think?”

The corners of my mouth dipped into a frown. “Can’t have wine.”

“Well, you can have chocolate cake for two.”

My mouth watered at the mention of chocolate.

“Did I hear something about getting dressed up?” Nathan asked, doing a double-step to catch up with Adrianne’s long stride. “If so, I’d like to vote no.”

She looked at him over her shoulder. “You don’t get a vote, McNamara.”

He grumbled something too low for me to hear.

“What do you say?” She bumped me with her hip. “I bought a new dress for that hot father-in-law of yours.”

“Good luck getting him into it,” I said.

She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.”

I sighed, exasperated. “You have the worst taste in men.”

Her bottom lip poked out. “I thought you liked him. How could he be bad for me?”

“For starters, he’s not human.” I held up two fingers. “Secondly: He’s. Not. Human.”

“Warren’s not human,” she said.

I tugged her on toward the junior’s department. “Yes, he is.”

“I agree with Adrianne,” Nathan interjected behind us.

“Your opinion doesn’t count,” I called over my shoulder.

She leaned against me. “But he’s beautiful, smart, and kind…and he can cook.”

I stopped walking and looked up at her. “He’s the Angel of Death, Adrianne. The Grim Reaper. Death personified!”

Nathan laughed. “You have to admit, he’s still a step up from that Mark guy she dated.”

I jabbed my finger down my throat and faked a vomiting noise.

“Look! Baby clothes!” Adrianne squealed. She dropped my arm and quickened her pace toward a rack covered with Christmas dresses for babies…or dolls, I wasn’t sure which. She held up a red sequined, velvet Santa dress with cuffed, fuzzy white sleeves and a big white bow around the middle.
 

I put my hands over my stomach. “I think it’s a little big for her.”

Nathan snickered beside me.

Adrianne held the dress against her chest. “Little Adrianne can wear it next Christmas.”

“Little Adrianne?” Nathan asked.

She nodded. “Of course.”

“And if it’s a boy, same name spelled with an I-A-N.
Adrian
,” she said.

“Azrael says it’s a girl,” I told her.

She dangled the dress on the tip of her finger. “Then it’s perfect! I’m buying it.”

Nathan looked at me. “I feel bad for this kid already.”

I chuckled.

“Nathan! Sloan!” a familiar female voice called out behind us.

Nathan’s head fell back, and he pressed his eyes closed in agony. “Dear God, why?”

We both slowly turned around.

Shannon Green’s hips were swinging from side to side so dramatically she cleared a path all the way to us. As usual, she was overdressed in a long wool winter green coat…or maybe it was a dress, with her blond curls dangling beneath a leopard print beret. She wore more makeup than I’d worn all year collectively, and I could smell her pungent perfume from fifteen feet away. “Fancy meeting the two of you here.” She tossed her hair back over her shoulder as she stopped in front of Nathan.

He forced a smile. “Hello, Shannon.”

She blinked her heavy eyelashes at him. “I’m a little surprised to see you here, Nathan.” She glanced at me. “Or, maybe I’m not.”

“How have you been, Shannon? I haven’t seen you at all since we got back from Texas,” I said.

She shrugged. “Why would you?” Her eyes ran the length of my body like she had X-Ray vision and she was giving me a body scan. “I hear you’re pregnant.”

“That’s right,” I said.

She looked at Nathan. “Dare I ask?”

Nathan rolled his eyes. “I’m not the father, Shannon.”

“Where’s Warren?” she asked me.

“He was deployed,” I answered.

She waved her finger between me and Nathan. “I’ll bet he loves this arrangement. I’ve heard you’re living together. Is it true?”

Nathan crossed his arms. “I’m not sure how that’s any of your business.”

She jabbed her fingernail into the center of his chest. “Because everyone is talking about it. You and I just broke up!”

Adrianne raised an eyebrow. “It’s been like two months.”

She cut an evil glare at Adrianne. “Was I talking to you?”

Adrianne took a step toward her. “Oh, you don’t
want
to talk to me!”

My eyes widened. “It’s like we’ve time-warped back to 1997.” I stepped between Adrianne and Shannon. “It’s Christmas. Let’s all be nice.”

Tears were brimming in the corners of Shannon’s eyes. “I really hate you, Sloan.”

Ouch.

She spun on her heel and stalked away, the heels of her knee-high boots tapping out a sharp staccato against the tiles. I jogged to catch up with her. “Shannon, wait.”

“What?” she snapped, spinning to face me. She tried to catch a rogue tear on her sleeve before I saw it.

“For what it’s worth, I’m really sorry about you and Nathan,” I said. “And I hope someday you’ll be able to forgive me for whatever part I may have played in it. I never meant any harm.”

She sniffed.

I smiled and touched her arm. “Have a Merry Christmas, Shannon.”

As I turned to leave, she called out after me. “Sloan.”

I looked back at her.
 

She didn’t say anything. She just stared at me for a second, then walked away. We might never be actual friends, but I didn’t hate Shannon anymore. And as hard is it was for me to admit, in more ways than one, she was a better person than I’d ever be.

* * *

It took begging and extortion, but Adrianne finally agreed to hang out with Taiya for the day on Monday while Azrael went with me to work. Mary agreed for me to work from home for the rest of the week, and the following week was Christmas. Hopefully by the New Year, we’d have a permanent solution to our babysitting problem with Taiya.

When we got home that evening, my kitchen looked like a crime scene, the weapon of choice—hairdresser’s scissors. Bright orange locks lay all around the dinette table, and Adrianne stood in front of Taiya with her head cocked to the side and her scissors raised at the ready.

It was like a sacrificial offering to the gods of cosmetology.

Taiya looked stoned.

“Did you drug her to get her to sit still?” I asked, walking up next to Adrianne.

Adrianne shook her head. “I gave her wine and melatonin.” She snapped her fingers. “Works like a charm.”

Taiya’s hair was cut in an angled bob just above her shoulders. It had been blown dry with mousse, flat-ironed, teased, and hosed down with enough hairspray to freeze time. I looked up at my friend. “Give her some big earrings and a guitar, and she could be the lost ginger from Jem and the Holograms.”

Adrianne’s face scrunched up. “I know. I’m not sure it works for her.”

“Taiya?” Azrael asked.

She blinked up at him and smiled.

He rolled his eyes.

Behind us, the front door opened and Nathan walked in. His eyes widened as he looked around the kitchen. “What happened in here?”

“Adrianne has been playing a game called
Give the Angel a Makeover
,” I answered.

“Cool.” He looked over at me. “Are you next?”

I rolled my eyes. “Funny.”

He nudged my arm. “I need to talk to you, and you’ll want to sit down.” His tone was unnerving.
 

“OK. What’s going on?”

Azrael and I followed him to the living room, where we sat on my sofa that was covered with a bed sheet. He opened a file folder he was carrying and handed me a piece of paper. “I got ahold of Kasyade’s travel record for around the time right before you went back to Texas.”

“Great!” I scanned the paper. “Where was she?”