Angel Tormented (The Louisiangel Series Book 3) (9 page)

“Sounds fun,” I muttered. I pulled out a
chair at the other side of the table and sank into it.

“Why do I get the impression I’m about to
prefer understanding this quagmire of financials?” Cupid asked after taking a
long look at me.

“Joshua got called out to investigate a
suicide,” I started to explain before my voice croaked.

“Michael,” said Cupid.

I nodded and cleared my throat. “Obviously
Joshua knows Michael, but so does Leon, his training officer. He put two and
two together when I turned up.”

“Ah,” Cupid said, as he started massaging
his temples.

“They’re going to have to come here and
question us. Joshua got me out of there, but I need to know what to say. I
can’t tell Leon what we are, although, he’s beginning to remember what happened
to him.”

“The exorcism,” Cupid sighed, before closing
his eyes. “We’re in a mess.”

“I don’t know what to do,” I admitted. “I
don’t know why Michael thought I was going to be any good at leading this
House, because I don’t have a clue.”

“He had his reasons,” Cupid shrugged. “But
as for Leon, I think the answer is simple: we tell him the truth.”

My mouth fell open. “We can’t do that,” I
squeaked. “Michael said-”

“Michael said,” Cupid repeated, cutting me
off. “Michael’s not here anymore.”

“But they are the rules!” I objected. I
was in no hurry to fall just yet – and certainly not over something as trivial
as this.

“There are exceptions to every rule,”
Cupid explained, as though falling was a completely logical option. He looked
over and caught my expression, which I’m sure had my eyes bulging out of my
head. “If he’s remembering, he will find the truth much easier to accept. It
will also keep Joshua from saying something he shouldn’t, and it might also
prove useful, especially given the fact his boss is one of the Fallen.”

I continued to stare dumbfounded until
eventually, words started to form. “Michael would never even consider this.”

“Michael’s not being here is the reason we
need to consider it,” Cupid yelled, slamming his hand on the table. I couldn’t
stop myself from flinching. “If Michael was here, I wouldn’t be the one trying
to work out what to do next!”

“You’re right, I’m sorry,” I said, my eyes
wide. “Look, I don’t want to make things harder. I’ll go see how my aunt is
doing,” I added, quickly getting to my feet. I was out of the room before Cupid
could say anything else. As soon as the door was closed, I let out a long
breath. First Raphael, and now Cupid?

I couldn’t blame them for being angry. I
was angry too. No matter what anyone told me, I couldn’t ignore the fact that
Michael was only at that Port because I had asked him to be there: he had no
reason to be there otherwise.

Before I knew where I was going, I found
myself in the attic, standing in front of Michael’s room. I pushed the door
open – I wasn’t surprised to find it unlocked – and walked in. Despite the fact
barely twelve hours had passed, I was expecting something to be different in
there. I don’t know why. The only way it could possibly have changed was if
Cupid had moved in, and the fact he was in library was evidence enough that he
wasn’t ready for that move. I glanced over at the desk, still expecting Michael
to be there, arching an eyebrow at my unannounced visit, but already putting
his pen down as he waited patiently for me to explain myself.

For some reason, I felt compelled to sit
in his chair. His desk, like his room, was immaculate. The few items that were
out on the top were square to the edge of the desk as though he’d had some
level of obsessive compulsive disorder. I inhaled deeply, then, holding the
breath, opened the top desk drawer.

I won’t lie: I was expecting a note from
him, hidden away in there. There wasn’t one, but why would there be one? He
hadn’t expected to die. Actually, the drawers were pretty empty – I guess Cupid
had been in here after all.

I sank back into the chair, the leather
still retaining the scent of Michael: a combination of detergent and the
cologne he wore… or used to wear. The thought of an angel wearing cologne
seemed odd, but the thought of Michael not wearing it was just wrong. I
promptly burst into tears.

For hours it was like my eyes had sprung a
leak and no amount of dabbing or wiping was making them stop. Michael was
Heaven’s greatest warrior, the most famous of the archangels – how could he be
dead? And selfishly, how the hell was I supposed to do this without Michael’s
guidance? I barely knew a fraction of what was needed – I couldn’t be left to
run the House with Cupid: I was effectively useless.

Michael was also my… well, he was the
archangel I reported to, but just yesterday he was confessing he still had
feelings for me. His death didn’t change the fact that I didn’t feel the same
way about him as I did Joshua, but I still cared for him. A lot.

My head hurt and my heart hurt. I gave up
trying to stop the tears and instead curled up on the chair, wrapping my arms
around my legs. I didn’t know what I wanted before. Being an archangel had
seemed so far away, but now? I certainly didn’t want it now.

That last thought went through my head for
a second time, and just like that, the tears stopped. I was alive. Hell, I was
undead – I had been given a second chance – which was more than what Michael
was given, and sitting here crying was a waste of a gift, and insulting to
Michael. If Michael thought I could do this, then I was going to prove him
right, not wrong. And being able to do the same to the likes of Zachary and
Savannah would be an additional bonus.

I was in the process of trying to wipe the
tears which had turned my cheeks tight from the salt, when I heard Cupid. “
Angel?
”
For a moment I thought he had stepped through the door – although I’d had the
psychic connection with Michael, he had favored summoning me with bells.

“
Cupid?
” I returned, hurriedly
scrubbing at my face with my palms.

“
Please could you join us in the
library? Now?
”

I wanted to go wash my face first, but I
had no idea who ‘us’ was, and I wasn’t sure that keeping them waiting was advisable.
Instead I settled with one last wipe of my face, ran my fingers through my
hair, straightened my clothes, and then hurried to meet Cupid.

‘Us’ consisted of Cupid, Joshua and Leon.
The three of them all turned to look at me as I entered the room, and I
couldn’t stop the butterflies from doing a couple of rounds in my stomach.
Cupid was still sat in the same seat, appearing very relaxed as he watched the
two detectives. Joshua was busy staring out of the window at something in the
garden, whereas Leon was stood to one side of the door, his arms folded,
tapping his foot impatiently as he stared at Cupid.

As soon as Joshua laid his eyes on me, his
own darkened. A couple of hours of crying were inevitably going to leave
obvious evidence on my face. I gave him a small smile before turning my
attention to Cupid. “You called.”

“No,” said Leon, slowly. “He didn’t.”

It was Leon's turn to receive a smile –
this time it was an awkward one. This was going well already. “Metaphorically?”
I offered, before turning helplessly to Cupid.

“Perhaps you should sit, Detective Roi,”
Cupid indicated to one of the chairs on the opposite side of the table to
himself. “I believe you have a lot of questions.”

“I do… Your name is really Cupid?” he
asked, ignoring Cupid’s offer of sitting as he stared at the archangel in
confusion.

“It is,” Cupid confirmed.

Leon pursed his lips, continuing to study
Cupid. “Have we met before? You seem familiar.”

“You wanted to know about my brother?”
Cupid prompted, ignoring the request.

Although Leon seemed to register the
diversion, he didn’t press for an answer – instead, he rolled his eyes as he
turned to me. “You’re going to tell me he’s your brother too?”

“I have a large family?” I shrugged,
helplessly.

“Okay, let’s cut the crap,” Leon demanded,
his eyes narrowing. “I’ve done a background check on you, Ms. Connors. You
lived in the UK until you were thirteen. Your parents had never left the
country prior to your birth and there is no record of you having any sibling –
half or otherwise.”

“That’s a little more than a simple
background check, Leon,” Joshua interjected.

Leon shot him a look. “This is one of
these occasions where it’s in your best interest not to say something you’re
going to regret, Josh.” He turned his attention to me. “Now, let’s start with
the basics, shall we? Earlier you mentioned that you resided here in this
museum. Obviously, that’s not the case, so where do you live?”

“Actually, detective, that is the truth,”
Cupid answered for me. “Angel, myself, and thirty others live here. Michael
also used to live here. Although the convent remains a historic building, it is
no longer open to the public.”

“And what exactly do the thirty-two of you
do here?” Leon asked.

“We work within the community,” Cupid
explained, calmly.

“And before you were here in New Orleans?”
Leon continued.

 “We were in Canada,” Cupid shrugged. “Only
a couple of hours away from Montreal.”

“This is where I start to have a few
problems,” Leon said. I shot Joshua a questioning look, but he looked equally
as confused. “I ran a quick search on Michael. I eventually found an ID for him
in Canada.”

Cupid clasped his hands together in front
of him. “As we moved here from Canada, I would expect that.”

“Yes, but I found no evidence of visas.
Ms. Connors had one, before she earned her green card, but Michael has not been
in this country for long enough to apply for citizenship,” Leon pointed out. “In
addition, I’m struggling to find any record of him formally entering the
country. I also suspect the same would apply to yourself,
Cupid.
”

Cupid puffed out his cheeks and blew out a
long breath. “Why don’t you take a seat, detective?” Cupid finally said, once
again indicating to one of the empty seats opposite him. “I think it’s time we
had a truthful conversation, and I think you’ll want to be sitting for this
one.”

“
Cupid, you can’t seriously be thinking
of telling him the truth?
” I asked in horror. We had lost enough angels
from this House – I did
not
want to lose another.

“The truth would be an excellent thing to
discuss,” Leon agreed, finally taking the offered seat, pulling out a small
notebook and a pen as he did so.

“
Cupid
!” I objected. When he
ignored me, I sent Joshua a helpless look. He quietly moved to my side and
reached for my hand, but remained silent.

The motion was not missed my Cupid nor
Leon, but they ignored us. “You had something to say?” Leon prompted, turning his
attention back to the archangel who seemed far too calm for someone who was
about to lose his wings. My hand tightened around Joshua’s.

“A few weeks ago, you were possessed by
one of the Fallen,” Cupid started, evenly. “Michael, myself, and two others performed
an exorcism, and removed the Fallen from you.”

Leon’s lips disappeared into thin lines. “The
Fallen?”

Cupid nodded. “Fallen angels.”

“Angels are not real,” Leon said, as
though he’d heard this line before. “I don’t know if I’m impressed or amused though,”
he added. “Normally I have to charge someone for a crime before they try the
insanity plea.”

I glanced up at Joshua before I could stop
myself. Sure enough, the look of
I told you so
was plastered firmly on
his face.

“This material is almost as good as
I’m
a psychic
,” Leon added.

This time it was my turn to shoot Joshua a
look, which I quickly removed from my face as soon as I realized Leon had
turned to face me.

“We’re not psychics,” Cupid confirmed. “But
we are angels.”

My mouth slowly dropped open. He did it.
Cupid broke one of the rules. I waited, expecting something significant to
happen – like the earth to split open beneath us – but nothing happened.

“You’re angels?” Leon repeated before
laughing. “Oh, now I’ve heard everything.”

“I appreciate that I’m often confused with
a god, but I can assure you that I am an angel,” Cupid said, continuing with
his explanation as though Leon’s words had no significance. My stomach churned…
surely a bolt of lightning was going to crash through the window? “I’m an
archangel, to be specific; like Michael was.”

“And now Michael is an archangel too?”
Leon continued to laugh in disbelief. “They are never going to believe this one
back at the station.”

“My brother is quite possibly the most
famous archangel, rivaled only by Lucifer,” Cupid pointed out. “Although it is
drawing near to Christmas: I assume you’ve heard of Gabriel too?”

“Cupid!” I exclaimed. It was one thing to
tell Leon who he was – even who Michael was… But Gabriel? That was not his
secret to tell.

“And what, that’s the Archangel Angel
there?” Leon asked, laughing so hard he actually snorted.

I gritted my teeth. I never expected
anyone to take me seriously as the Archangel Angel, but the laughter was
rubbing me up the wrong way. Leon’s eyes were watering! “But you can happily
accuse me of being a demon?” I retorted.

“Angel is not an archangel yet,” Cupid
told Leon, shooting me a warning look.

Leon started laughing harder. “The angel
Angel? That just sounds like a stutter.”

I pulled my hand free from Joshua and
flung my arms in the air. “Cupid, that’s not your secret to tell.”

“I wouldn’t admit to this either,” Leon
told me, wiping his eyes. He took another look at me, and started laughing
again. “Though I’m fairly certain this
would
be the insanity plea which
works.”

Cupid’s lips pressed together in a thin
line as he rose to his feet. Once clear of his seat, he turned to Leon. “Would
you like some proof?” Without waiting for an answer, he allowed his wings to
show. I’d only ever seen Veronica’s wings before. Cupid’s were similar: they
seemed to be made of lightning, more than feathers, but whereas Veronica’s were
a bright electric blue, Cupid’s were golden with white and orange flashes. I
don’t know if it was the closer proximity, or just the mesmerizing effect of
seeing them, but the air in the room seemed to hum with energy.

Joshua, who had also seen Veronica’s
wings, swore softly. Leon, in comparison, had a much stronger reaction. Almost
as soon as Cupid’s wings were visible, he let out a yelp and fell off his
chair.

That broke the spell I was under, and I
managed to turn my bark of laughter into a slightly subtler snort – something a
little more appropriate for an angelic response to a person falling over. As
Cupid let his wings fade away, I sighed and stepped forward, offering a hand
out to Leon. “Are you-?”

“Oh, please forgive me,” Leon begged,
dropping into a kowtow.

I leaped back. “Okay, that’s really not
necessary,” I hurriedly assured him. When he refused to lift his head from the
ground, I looked helplessly to Cupid: this was beyond weird. It was verging on
creepy. “Please get up?” I requested.

Cupid strode around the table and crouched
down next to Leon. “We are friends here,” he said, speaking the words in Leon’s
ear. “There is no need for this behavior.”

Hesitantly, Leon looked up, but his
attention went to Joshua. “How could you not tell me?” he asked, his voice
croaking.

“It wasn’t my secret to tell,” Joshua
said, simply.

Beside him, Cupid stood, before offering
Leon a hand. “Please?”

With his eyes wide, and his lower lip
clamped between his teeth, Leon took the offered hand and allowed Cupid to help
him to his feet. “You saved my life,” he whispered, his voice still wavering.

“You have a chance to save ours,” I told
him.

“Angel!” Cupid snapped. “We don’t go
saving lives expecting to be paid – in any form, whether that be money or
favors. Lives are not currency.”

“That wasn’t what I was implying,” I
disagreed; horrified that Cupid would even think that.

Cupid’s expression softened. “I’m sorry,”
he said, before turning to Leon. “We do need your help, Detective Roi, but
please don’t let any past actions have any bearing on your decision.”

“It’s Leon, and if I can do anything, I
will,” Leon assured Cupid.

“Michael,” said Cupid, simply.

It took a moment for the blank look to be
replaced with one of understanding, but then Leon nodded. “Of course. I will do
what I can.”

“I’m not sure how easy that will be,”
Cupid frowned. “I’m sorry to say that your…” he trailed off, looking over at
Joshua and I.

“Asmodeus is a high ranking fallen angel,”
Joshua said. “We need to watch our backs.”

“Asmodeus?” Leon repeated in disbelief. “Our
lieutenant?” Leon glanced around at our faces, his gaze settling on mine before
his eyes widened even further and he slumped down into his chair. He rubbed his
hand over his face before letting out a long breath. “Let me see what I can do.”

“You need to be careful,” I told him. “Asmodeus
is dangerous.”

Cupid nodded. “Angel is correct. Whatever
you do, please do not put our needs above your own safety. We have strength and
immortality on our side. You do not. Asmodeus would not think twice over
killing you if you were to get in his way.”

Leon closed his eyes. When he reopened
them, moments later, the old Leon I knew had returned: the grisly determination
to solve a case back in his eyes. “I will do my best. Thank you for trusting me
with your secret.” He stood up, his head held high. “Please let me know if
there is anything else I can help you with.
Anything
.”

“Detective, before you leave,” Cupid said,
stepping in front of Leon. “We have been operating on earth alongside man for
many centuries. The only way we have been able to do this is by keeping the
number of people who know about us to an absolute minimum. I cannot stress how
important this is that it remains that way.”

“Of course,” Leon agreed. “Your secret is
safe with me.”

“Thank you,” Cupid finished, offering Leon
his hand.

Leon’s eyes widened, before quickly filling
with respect. The two shook hands and then Leon started to leave. “Josh?”

“I’ll speak to you later,” Joshua told me,
softly.

Joshua and Leon left, leaving Cupid and I
alone in the dark library. “He took that pretty well,” Cupid mused.

“Considering how much he objected to me
being in…” I shook my head, suddenly realizing what had just happened and how
bad an idea that was. “Was it worth losing you wings over?” I asked him,
morosely.

“My wings?” Cupid repeated, cocking his
head at me.

“The ‘tell no one who you are’ rule,” I
offered. “You know, the one where we’re not supposed to tell anyone we’re
angels otherwise we become one of the Fallen?”

“I still have my wings – I told you, there
are exceptions to the rules,” Cupid told me, folding his arms as he glared
impatiently at me.

“Michael told me-”