Lost Soul (26 page)

“I know it’s late, but I’m really hungry,” Zach, the musclebound wrestler, complained a few hours later.
 
“Can we go get something to eat?”

The girls laughed and rolled their eyes, apparently well-aware of Zach’s voracious appetite.

“We can call room service,” Jessica suggested, picking up the menu.

“Can we go out for a slice of pizza or something?” Rider asked.
 
“I’m anxious to see some New York nightlife!”

The girls chuckled and rolled their eyes again and Michael happily agreed to find an all night pizza place guaranteed to satisfy a teenage boy hungry for excitement.

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Maxwell was sound asleep when his cellphone rang, a loud, annoying clanging that woke him from his slumber and sent him scrambling to stop the noise.
 
His attitude brightened when he saw who was calling.
 
Rosalyn, the luscious blonde he’d spent a wild couple of nights with a few months ago was obviously back in town and looking for a good time.
 
Maxwell had a couple days off and was happy to spend it with Rosalyn, if that’s what she had in mind.

“Hey Maxwell,” she purred when he answered the phone, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, “I just got home from a trip to Alaska and I can’t possibly get to sleep without someone to warm me up.
 
Are you free tonight?”
 
Rosalyn was a flight attendant who spent as much time flying as Maxwell did and the two had met on a cross country red eye from LA to NYC.

“Only if you wear your uniform for me, baby,” Maxwell replied with a sly smile.

“For a little while,” Rosalyn agreed.
 
“Be at my door in five or I’m taking it off for the night.”

“Well, that wouldn’t be so bad, either,” Maxwell teased, but he hustled into his pants and out the door before she could say goodbye.

There was no good place to park his large SUV at Rosalyn’s place, so instead he decided to take the subway.
 
He threw his overnight bag over his shoulder and jogged the three blocks to the nearest entrance.

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Families come in all shapes and sizes, Michael thought as his little entourage strolled down the streets of New York in happy smiling pairs.
 
He and Jessica were in front, holding hands, with the kids coupled off behind them.
 
All his life he’d wanted to experience the joys of being human and here he was, fulfilling every fantasy all in one night.
 
He had the woman he loved by his side, he had two amazing children he couldn’t wait to get to know, and even his children had found partners to make their lives complete.
 
Maybe he broke all the rules, ignored his true nature, and disobeyed God’s call, but he had still managed to get everything he ever wanted plus more than he could ever have imagined.

There was a quirky little pizza shop less than a mile from the hotel that Michael thought the kids might enjoy.
 
He had suggested they ride the subway, but Rider preferred the scenery above ground.
 
The boy reminded Michael a lot of himself with his eager curiosity.
 
His devotion to Rachel was pretty familiar, too.
 
He held her close as they walked, pointing out all the interesting sites with childlike enthusiasm. Michael wished he could get to know Cody as easily and he wondered if it would ever be possible for Cody to leave Zach’s body and have a life of his own.
 
It was a possibility he was eager to pursue.

The group stopped to listen to a young musician, singing and playing his guitar on the street; his guitar case lay open in front of him and a few coins dotted the velvet lining.
 
The teen was very talented and Michael felt bad that his skills had gone unappreciated.
 
He dropped a twenty in the case and the boy gave him a big smile as he finished the song with a dramatic flair.
 
The group clapped enthusiastically then continued their stroll down the sidewalk.

“Michael,” Jessica asked, stopping to look him in the eye, “where do you get your money from?
 
You don’t steal it from Maxwell, do you?”

The worry on her face was sincere but Michael couldn’t help but chuckle.
 
“No, no, I would never do that!” he explained.
 
“I just…create it.
 
Like this body and these clothes.
 
It’s one of my skills.”

Michael laughed again at the stunned looks on the kids’ faces.

“I’ve been trying to give you money for years, Jessica, but you would never take it,” Michael complained.

“I never wanted you to think I was after your money,” Jessica explained.

“I know, Jessie. I know you’re not like that.
 
But I would give you the world if you’d let me.”

“You are my world,” she whispered, and reached to give him a gentle kiss.
 
Michael took her in his arms and deepened the kiss till she thought her knees would collapse right under her and her lungs were bursting with her need for air.

Michael smiled a mischievous grin as he finally released her and his ostentatious display of public affection was met with hoots and catcalls from his enthusiastic sons.

“Now you know where I got my smooth moves,” Rider quipped to Rachel who rolled her eyes and Rider and Michael laughed the same hearty guffaw that brought tears to their eyes.
 
The others joined in and soon the whole group was giggling uncontrollably.

“I love this,” Michael exclaimed when the laughter finally subsided.
 
“This feels like a real family.
 
I want you kids to know that I intend to make up for all the years I missed.
 
I want to be in your lives, as much as you’ll have me.
 
And I want to help you too, in any way I can.”

The teens nodded, smiling at his sincerity.
 
It was obvious he wanted to do the right thing.
 

When they got to the pizza shop they crowded around a small table in the corner and argued over pizza toppings till Michael insisted they each get exactly what they wanted instead of trying to find a compromise.
 
Jessica sympathized with the waitress as she tried to take down their complicated order while the teens laughed and joked and carried on.

Michael’s heart warmed at the thought of family dinners just like this one for years to come, watching the children grow into adulthood, maybe a few grandchildren added to the mix.
 
Surely God wouldn’t take this all away from him when he finally had everything he’d ever wanted, would he?
 
He couldn’t possibly be that cruel.
 
But the reality of Michael’s true nature lurked in the back of his mind, taunting him with his responsibility.
 
He wasn’t meant to have a family, wasn’t designed to be a father, wasn’t made to take a wife.
 
Would heaven ever let him escape his sacred call?
 
He tried to ignore the worry and concentrate on the pleasure of the moment, but it was always there, threatening to destroy his dream.

When most of the pizza was eaten and the kids started to droop from exhaustion, Michael paid the bill and escorted his new family back into the street and towards the nearest subway tunnel.
 
They were tired enough to appreciate the speedier method of travel and even seemed to enjoy the scenery down below.
 
Michael thought the subway tunnels were dingy and foreboding, but the small-town teenagers seemed excited by the hordes of bustling travelers and the cacophony of sound reverberating off the tiled walls.

Michael tried to see the tunnel through fresh eyes, mimicking the teenagers as they gazed around at the intricate mosaics on the walls and the tapestry of humanity crowded around them.
 
His eyes widened as he scanned the jumble and caught a familiar face.

Maxwell was standing less that ten feet away, a bag on his shoulder and a smirk on his face that made it obvious he was on his way to see a woman.

“What is it, Michael?” Jessica asked, noticing his stunned expression and far off stare.

“Maxwell,” he replied tersely, nodding towards his charge.
 
Despite his quiet reply, his new family all turned to focus their attention on the overly confident looking man with a broad smile and a gleam in his eyes.

They didn’t have time to ask the dozen questions swirling through their minds, though, before a loud scream interrupted their daze.

“He’s got a gun!” a woman shouted as the throng around them parted and a tall man dressed in black with a crazed look on his face swung a rifle at the shrieking crowd.

The travelers cowered together as the gun passed over their heads, clearing a path around the madman as the sound of the shots reverberated through the tunnel and bullets ricocheted off the walls.

Michael’s eyes passed in slow motion from the gunman to the loved ones at his side.
 
Their faces were immobilized in a vacant look of shock as they stared at the atrocity happening around them.
 
Zach and Rider were holding on to Rachel and Paige; the girls were clinging desperately to the boys’ waists as they buried their heads against their chests.

Jessica was by his side, and her arms reached out to him as the gun swung slowly their way.
 
Michael’s first instinct was to grab her and throw her to the ground, covering her body with his to keep her out of the line of fire, but as his hands reacted his eyes caught sight of Maxwell, standing a few feet away and he knew the life he had to save.

With an anguished cry and a pleading glance at Falla, Michael dove between Maxwell and the gunman, the spray of gunfire riddling his body as he tackled his charge, knocking his body to the ground.
 
As his vision dimmed, he heard Jessica scream.

chapter twenty-three

The pain was the first thing Michael noticed when he awakened — a burning, searing agony that seemed to emanate from several spots around his body but then radiated throughout the entirety.
 
He wasn’t sure if he was capable of movement, but the pain was so excruciating he couldn’t fathom the idea of moving anyway.
 
His heart had hurt many times before, but never his body, the conjured flesh that had only experienced pleasure now surprised him with its capacity for pain.
 
Blackness surrounded him but he sensed a light in the distance.
 
Were his eyes open?
 
He couldn’t tell.
 
He had no idea where he was or how he got there.

 
As the fog in his mind dissipated, he began to recognize the presence of noise floating softly around him, little sounds he couldn’t place — a squeak, a rustle, a repetitive beep, and eventually, the sweetest sound he’d ever heard — Jessica’s voice.

His spirit buoyed as he thrilled at the realization of her survival.
 
Why had he expected her to be dead?
 
The memory tickled the back of his mind as he struggled to piece together the events that had led him to this place.
 
He remembered pizza, and laughter, and strolling through the streets of the city, her body snuggled close to his.
 
The subway, he recalled — they were going to take the subway back to the hotel.
 
His eyes popped open as he suddenly remembered the sound of gunshots echoing through the tunnels, the look of terror in everyone’s eyes.

“Michael!” she exhaled, her breath tickling his face as it left her mouth.
 
All of a sudden she was hovering over him, her beautiful face the first sight he saw.
 
Her soft hair fell across his neck as she leaned to kiss him, peppering his face with her sweet lips.

“Thank God you’re awake!” she cried, tears of joy dripping down her cheeks and raining onto his face.
 
She broke into a huge smile, her straight white teeth gleaming as she stretched her mouth wide, a joyful giggle bubbling up from her throat as she threw her head back in exultation.

“Is everybody….okay?” Michael asked, dreading the answer.

“Yes, yes!” Jessica nodded happily, her giant smile slowly dimming to a huge grin.
 
“You saved Maxwell, and while the gunman was distracted by your movement someone else tackled him and knocked the weapon from his hands.
 
Everyone’s fine.
 
The kids are downstairs in the cafeteria.
 
The only one who got hurt was you!”

“What happened to me?
 
It hurts so bad,” Michael croaked through dry, cracked lips.

“You jumped in front of a gun, you crazy, stupid angel!” Jessica retorted.
 
“You have gunshot wounds to your arms, chest, and legs.
 
Amazingly none of them were fatal or even all that terrible, as far as gunshot wounds go.
 
The doctor says the wounds are all incredibly clean.”