Good Intentions (18 page)

Tony tugged Taylor to the ground, fol owing up with a solid punch to the gut. He left her winded on the pavement, jumping in to help J’Von just as Alex’s foot came up squarely into J’Von’s groin. Tony got in a good shot at Alex’s kidney. Alex gasped, turned, and blocked another low blow. He swung an uppercut that Tony dodged entirely. This was really bad. “Slow,” Tony taunted. Alex threw a half-kick, half-stomp at the side of Tony’s knee. Something about the impact sounded very unpleasant; Tony went down wailing. “Gimp,” Alex retorted. He spun to face J’Von, who was still bent over in pain, but now had his gun out. Alex realized Taylor was in the line of fire. He immediately jumped in the way. J’Von fired four times, in pain, from only a couple yards away. Three of the bul ets went willd; poor aim and stress led him to squeeze too much while he shot. The first bul et caught Alex midway up his chest, just under his shirt pocket. Only just now on her feet, Taylor screamed. She rushed to Alex, but Tony caught her pant leg. She tripped and fell , hitting her head on the pavement. The world spun around Alex. He staggered sideways, twisted and fell back onto the side of Lorelei’s car. Then he slid down, sitting up against the door. J’Von moved between the Lexus and the car next to it to stand over Alex. “Told you not to do anything stupid,” he said, leaning in enough to spit the words in Alex’s face. Half delirious, Alex’s eyes wandered up at the shadow over him. His hands sought to grab onto something, anything. J’Von wasn’t worried about it; he was angry, and he wanted this fool’s last moments to be full of weakness and fear. Instead, a thought drifted through Alex’s fuzzy mind. Something about needing to be meaner than the other guy. He seized that thought, hung onto it for dear life…just like he grabbed the looming shadow by the col ar, yanking backward with everything he could. Off-balance and surprised, J’Von’s head crashed through the passenger side window of the Lexus. Another shot rang out from J’Von’s gun, this one striking nothing but pavement. Taylor yelped. Mike groaned. Tony

lurched to his feet, pulling his gun. J’Von had always, always told Tony not to pul a piece unless J’Von told him, but this seemed to qualify. He grunted out something about having J’Von’s back. Then Tony was face-to-face with the most beautiful blonde he’d ever seen. She wore only a simple white dress. “Huh?” he blinked. The angel’s open hand came down on his face at a high angle. Her slap hit him like a brick. His whole body crumpled to the floor in the blink of an eye. Taylor saw it, but couldn’t believe it. Rachel turned to Alex and J’Von just as the bigger man extracted himself from the car window. Blood covered his scalp. He turned his gun on Alex again, but Rachel was far more dexterous. She snatched it from his hand before he could pul the trigger. “Lie down, asshole,” Rachel ordered him. “The fuck?” J’Von blinked. Rachel swung the pistol up against his bloody forehead, sending him bouncing into the wall behind him before he slumped to the floor. On her feet now, Taylor rounded the parked car blocking her view to see Rachel crouch down over Alex. “Is he okay?” she asked, very close to tears. Rachel touched the wound with her fingers. “He will be,” she said. Alex looked up in her eyes blearily, feeling things move inside his chest. He was pretty sure that whatever was going on in there was really bad; he felt gurgly and could barely catch his breath. But then that al faded, and instead he was just sharply sore right where her fingers were. The world stopped blurring and spinning. It hurt, but he could breathe again. “It’s a miracle that the bul et just glanced off your rib like that,” Rachel smiled at him softly. “You could have had a col apsed lung. Or worse.”

“Alex?” Taylor asked. “I’m alright,” Alex mumbled. “I think.” “You have been a bit beaten up, but that gunshot could’ve been much uglier,” Rachel nodded. She looked to Taylor. “That other idiot over there—he probably has a gun, too. Maybe in his waistband. Could you check on him before he recovers? Don’t bother being nice about it,” she warned. Taylor swal owed and nodded. She hurried over to Mike, shoved him onto his back and patted him down until she found the gun. He groaned loudly but didn’t put up a fight. Rachel pul ed Alex to his feet. “That was very brave,” she said. “I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner.” “What kept you?” he huffed. “No wings,” Rachel shrugged with a slightly guilty smile. “I had to run al the way from your mother’s house. I didn’t realize you weren’t there until two minutes ago.” “You ran al the way across town in two minutes?” “It’s not that big a town.” “Huh. Maybe I should’ve just waited for you.” “No. You did the right thing. There are sometimes limits to my ability to intervene. I don’t know how else this might have turned out. Who is this?” she asked as Taylor returned. “Oh. Taylor’s, um, a friend from high school. Wow, this hurts.” “I would imagine,” Rachel nodded. “Hel o, Taylor. You won’t remember much about me soon. Sorry for that.” “Um. Hi?”

The angel nodded, surveyed the scene around her with her hands on her hips, and took a deep, calming breath… and then stopped. She took another long breath, slowly turning to Alex. “That…smel ,” she mumbled. “Huh?” Alex asked. Taylor was perplexed as well . “You smell ,” Rachel said, her voice wavering somewhat. “I smell ? Oh, no, not this again…” “You smell like…” Rachel inhaled deeply yet again, eyes fluttering much like Lorelei’s had when Alex went down on her. “You smell like charity and compassion and…justice, and benevolence, and…mercy…” she inhaled again. “Self-sacrifice and…and… sex!” Taylor looked on in awe as Rachel practically tackled him, kissing him ravenously. She would undoubtedly remember this quite clearly. Alex was hardly even on the same plane of existence as everyone else in that moment. An angel—his angel—was kissing him. Every pain and worry fell away while her lips met his. They held that kiss for a long moment. It was more than a little awkward for Taylor. They were absolutely beautiful together. They practically glowed. But then, anyone would be beautiful in that woman’s arms. The blonde made her feel plain and frumpy by comparison. Alex seemed to have been taken by surprise, but then swept away by it. Everything in the parking garage went quiet. Except, of course, for the groans from Mike and Tony. Taylor blinked. She looked over to Tony and kicked his gun under a car, then kicked him in the head. “Asshole,” she grunted. A car drove up from the lower level. This one stopped. “Hey, are these guys okay?” the older woman inside asked. “No!” Taylor said urgently, “Cal the cops! Please!”

The woman blinked, finding the scene of sprawled-out men and two people making out a bit odd, but she nodded, pul ed back a few yards and put her car in park, then grabbed her phone. Understandably, she didn’t get out of the car. Alex wasn’t sure what ended the kiss, but the first thing that registered for him besides the overwhelming beauty of the angel in his arms was the sharp click of heels rapidly approaching. Lorelei. She was here. Rachel’s eyes went wide, and she slipped out of her embrace with Alex. His chest, his backside, and the rest of him felt terrible again. The only thing that didn’t return was the crunchy pain in his jaw. The succubus came over to them, reaching out to touch Alex’s arm, but she looked warily at the angel. “Where the fuck were you?” Rachel shot at her. Lorelei scowled. “I had given him some space. Had I known that you were sleeping on the job, I might not have been so careless.” “Sleeping?! You bitch!” “Ladies! Please! Can we just…can you just be a little patient with each other? Huh? Maybe at least try to be nice?” Alex held his hand over his bloody chest, then winced and realized perhaps that wasn’t the best idea. “It would mean a lot to me if you two could bury the hatchet, at least just a little.” Rachel’s face conveyed a twist of emotions. The thought was appal ing, but at the same time the fact that he had to ask fil ed her with guilt. “Alex, I’m sorry,” Rachel blinked. “I don’t mean to make this hard on you.” Lorelei was much more calm and collected. “I saw the two of you kiss. I can feel his desire for you. You are lovely together. I’m certain we could al come to an arrangement,” she suggested. Rachel looked at her in abject shock, but Lorelei merely shrugged. “Believe it or not, what I want most of al is Alex’s safety and happiness. You seem able to provide some measure of both. Sharing him would not bother me.”

Alex turned to Lorelei, dumbfounded, while Rachel’s mind seemed to go through an emergency reboot. Lorelei’s steamy offer hung in the air without any pretense of being anything other than it was. “Just…” Rachel blinked. “Just keep him out of trouble and fuck him like he deserves!” she shot back at Lorelei, and then spun and walked away. As before, she was out of sight in mere seconds. “That is the strangest angel I have ever met,” Lorelei murmured. “Do they al talk like that?” Alex asked. “Not a one,” Lorelei shook her head. Sirens began to echo through the parking garage. “I should be able to keep this from getting out of hand,” Lorelei thought aloud. She looked to Alex. “I am terribly sorry.” He shook his head. “Not your fault.” Lorelei looked at him apologetically anyway, and leaned in to kiss him softly before stepping back to let him compose himself. Taylor had watched al of this. She had been almost entranced by the heavenly blonde, and was similarly awestruck by Lorelei—who turned to her and smiled cool y. “You must be Taylor,” she said. Her jaw dropped. “You know who I am?” “I know that Alex cherishes you, and that you are often on his mind and always in his heart. I’m sure that will always be so. You must be very special.” She sounded utterly unbothered by it, perhaps even admiring. Then she turned away to meet the approaching police. Taylor slid up next to Alex and ventured a whispered question: “Which one of them is your girlfriend?” His mouth twitched as his mind searched for an explanation, but eventually he came up with nothing. “I’m not entirely sure,” he said finally.

She nodded, crossing her arms across her chest. Taylor looked over at Lorelei, and the battered thugs, and Alex. “You got way cooler after high school.” Alex frowned slightly. “Hey, I was always this cool, alright?” Chapter 9

It’s Complicated.

“Mom, I’m okay, but I got into kind of a fight and I’m in the hospital right now,” was not the way Michel e wanted to end her night out. It had been a good day at work. Her meetings had gone well . She was able to talk the vendors down a couple of extra percentage points in price through sheer determination to wade through details. Moreover, she’d had a record day of compliments on “looking great” and “seeming really upbeat.” Stewart, her boss, had dared to ask quietly if she had started seeing somebody. He wasn’t the only one. But what was she going to say? That she’d just been having a string of disturbingly naughty but wonderful dreams lately? Michel e was getting appreciative looks and stares, too. Everyone was professional and respectful at the office, but she knew she was being noticed. The sales guys were rather friendly and flirty that night when everyone went out for drinks, but she was soon even more interested in seeing Eddie from accounting come out of his shel . Conversation was getting a bit racy, but not uncomfortable. The thought occurred to her, talking Eddie, that Alex could handle the “I’m going to go over to a friend’s house tonight” message.

And then, sure enough, her phone rang, and less than a minute later, Eddie—playing designated driver—was taking her to Harborview Medical Center instead of back to his place. “Michel e, he said he’s okay,” Eddie reminded her for the third time as they rolled up toward the emergency room entrance. “He said he’d been shot,” Michel e said flatly. “God, I was always worried that I’d get a cal about him being smashed on the freeway, not this.” “Yeah, but it’s not like someone else had to make the cal for him. If he said he’s okay, he’l be fine. I’m going to pul up and let you out at the curb and then go find parking. I’l cal you when I’ve found a parking space, alright?” “Sure. Thanks, Eddie,” she said, and then jumped right out of the car before he’d even come to a complete stop. Michel e was a strong, self-controlled woman. She’d endured and ultimately banished a cheating, dirtbag husband, raised her child on her own, finished her MBA and worked her way up the corporate ladder while she was at it. It took al of that control to keep from screaming, “Where is my son!?” the second she walked in. The front desk was mobbed. It was a busy hospital. The prospect of having to stand through that line (if one could cal it that) to find out where Alex was seemed like the perfect recipe for wrecking those last bits of self-control, but in the event, it wasn’t necessary. “Mrs. Carlisle?” a voice asked. Michel e’s head jerked sideways to see a strangely familiar face. It took a second to recal the name, though. The girl seemed to understand. “I’m—” “Taylor, right?” Michel e said. “Yes,” Taylor nodded. “I’m here with Alex. Can I take you to him?” “Yes! Is he okay?” “He’s going to be fine. They’l let him go home tonight.” They were already walking, dodging gurneys and wandering patients.

Michel e recognized him from behind. He sat on a hospital bed in an open room, talking to a police officer with a clipboard. His shirt was off. There was an ugly bruise on the lower right side of his back and a few other scrapes, and some bandages wrapped around him horizontal y. A couple of other people were in the room, but Michel e didn’t even notice them right away. She rushed through the doorway, calling out his name as she threw her arms around him. “OW!” he yelped. She jerked back. “Mom? Jesus! Ow, be careful.” “I’m sorry, I’m—you said you’d been shot!” He pointedly sat up very straight on the bed. Michel e saw now that the bandages wrapped around his torso were there to keep thick gauze over a spot under the left side of his chest. “Ma’am, please don’t touch him right now,” someone in hospital smocks told her firmly. “He’s going to be fine.” “Okay, I’m sorry, okay,” Michel e said. She looked at Alex in amazement, then around the room. There was the police officer there. The hospital worker. Taylor. And a tal , majestically beautiful woman with long black hair. Something about her gave the stressed mother a shiver, derailing her thoughts. Michel e looked at her, stunned for a moment before she blinked it away. “What happened?” There were awkward looks in response from everyone but the nurse. She seemed used to these things. “I think I’ve got everything I need here,” the cop said. He gave Alex and Taylor a couple of business cards. “Cal me if anything else comes up. We’l let you know if we need anything more, but I’l bet a week’s pay that al three of those guys cop a plea.” Before he left, he said to Michel e, “Ma’am, you raised a really tough kid. You should be proud.” Michel e blinked. “I’m sorry?” He gestured to Alex and Taylor. “They just put two armed fellons in the hospital and another one in jail. The case for sending al three of them to prison seems pretty solid.”