Sentinel Lost (Mind Sweeper Series Book 5) (38 page)

“I’ll forgive you this time, Kyle.”

“If everything goes well, Naya will be allowed to visit earth.”

“Let’s keep our fingers crossed.” She glanced over my shoulder, and then back at me again. “I’m sure the Council will not reach a decision for several hours, Kyle. Why don’t you get some fresh air? There are several benches by the lake. Someone will contact you when a decision’s been made.”

I stared at her in confusion. “What?”

She grabbed my shoulders and turned me. Dalton was still at the back of the room, now talking to Jean Luc.

Irina whispered in my ear. “Go get him, Kyle.”

Then, she pushed me toward him, hard. I sometimes forgot that beneath her human side beat the heart of a nosy, interfering demon. But then, nothing was as it first appeared in my world.

Chapter 49

Dalton and I meandered around the lake. Several geese swam in the middle, and a light breeze blew across the water, leaving ripples in its wake.

“I was surprised to see you here tonight.”

“Misha’s been keeping me in the loop about what you’re working on. Luckily, my case wrapped up two days ago, so I could get back in time to hear your proposal. You did a good job.”

“I thought you’d left,” I blurted.
Smooth.

“Nope. Just wanted to let your adoring crowd talk to you first.”

“Thanks,” I answered, my heart beating triple time.

We stopped next to a bench and sat down, his close proximity making my nerves sit up like a puppy begging for a treat.

He cleared his throat. “I want to know what happened last year.”

I took a deep breath and began. “You were brought in to help with a murder at the Erie Bar. An angel, a demon, and a vampire got into a fight.”

“Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke.”

“You could say that.”

And I spent the next hour talking about the case. He asked all the right questions and stayed pretty calm through the telling. I suspected his cop training took over, and he had checked his emotions for the duration of the discussion.

We took a break for a moment, the silence enveloping us like a scratchy wool blanket.

His gaze locked on me. “So we were a couple.”

It was more of a statement than a question, but I nodded anyway. “It took a while. We argued at first.”

He scoffed. “I can imagine.”

“You were overprotective and cop-like, and I was impetuous.”

He chuckled. “That’s the best word you can come up with to describe yourself?”

“I think the words you used to describe me were smart-mouth and pig-headed.”

“Glad to hear I was insightful even back then.”

The banter was agonizingly familiar, and I looked out over the lake till I could catch my breath. Two geese were floating next to each other like an old married couple. I had read somewhere that geese mated for life. “If I could have found a way to help you without erasing your memories, I would have. I want you to know that.”

“I’m sorry.”

I glanced up at him in surprise. “What are
you
sorry for?”

“I was so caught up in what happened to me that I didn’t think about what you lost, too.”

Oh no, we weren’t going there. “I…When do you leave again?”

“Tomorrow. I’m going to Quantico for two months for some training, and then I start officially for the Feds.”

“Congrats,” I said automatically. And I was happy for him. If this is what he wanted, then how could I not be?

My phone rang, and I pulled it out of my pocket, standing up to answer it since I was too nervous to sit. Dalton got up too, so I flipped on the speaker.

“Hello, Boris.”

“Kyle. We’ve finished deliberating. You did it, my dear. The Council has voted yes.”

My mouth opened, but nothing came out.

“Kyle? Are you there?” Boris asked.

“Yeah. I’m here. Wow.”

“That about sums it up. Get a good night’s sleep. Things are going to get busy around here very quickly.”

I hung up and did a little dance, a cross between a touchdown dance and a jig. Dalton laughed, and I looked at his smiling face, and my knees buckled. I landed on the bench as tears threatened, and I blinked like a wuss, praying they would stay inside my eyes and not embarrass me by running down my cheeks.

Dalton knelt in front of me, his eyes filled with concern. “Are you okay?”

I cleared my throat and rubbed my hands along my legs, the rough denim calming me a bit. “Yeah. I’m just overwhelmed. They actually listened to me. We’re going to help demons like Nate and Naya live here on earth.”

He placed his hands over mine, stilling them. “That’s a very good thing.
You
did a very good thing.”

The tears threatened to erupt again at his words. “Thank you for not hating me.”

He rocked back a little and his eyes flared. “I could never hate you, Kyle. You exasperate me at times, but hate? Nope, not possible. I expect you to send me reports about how it’s going.” He stood and held out his hand. “You okay to walk back now?”

“Yes.”

I reached for him, and he pulled me to my feet, his warm hand enveloping mine for a moment longer than was necessary before he released me and we walked side by side back to the community building.

Chapter 50

Was there such a thing as controlled chaos? If so, it would describe the new office space for the Bureau of Demon Immigration, or BDI for short. Desks were lined up against the wall, and chairs were piled haphazardly on top of a conference table in the corner. Boxes of supplies littered the space as well. In the center of the room stood Doyle, grinning like a crazy person.

“What do you think, Kyle?”

“I…ah…”

“I know, you’re speechless. I was too when I first saw it.” He spun in a circle. “This is going to be great!”

“I’m glad you’re a visionary, Doyle.”

“I know, it’s a mess right now, but the hard part was getting all these supplies, which I got wholesale, I might add.”

I stepped over a box of copier paper and met him in the middle. “It’s finally coming together.”

“Yes, ma’am. How does it feel to know you started all of this?”

I gulped. “The truth? A bit overwhelming.”

Doyle nodded. “Well you should be proud of yourself. Although you might regret it now that you’re on the board of directors.”

I shrugged. “I’ve only yelled once, and it was at the first board meeting. Since then I’ve been the model of diplomacy.”

“I bet. I never thought you and I would be working together.”

“Me either. How’s Coleen doing?”

“She’s good. Her mother is doting on her through this pregnancy, and I heard her brag to her friends about her ‘son-in-law’s important job.’”

“Who’d a thunk it? Both of us becoming upstanding citizens.”

A voice sounded behind us. “The jury might still be out on that.”

I turned to find Aleksei standing in the doorway. He nodded at me and then looked around the room.

“Where are we—”

Doyle interrupted him. “The furniture and supplies have arrived. I have a group of movers scheduled to be here in an hour to help organize the space.”

“What about—”

“The staff interviews are scheduled to start tomorrow morning. I emailed you names and times.”

Aleksei stood up straighter. “Very good, Doyle. I’ll check in later, while the movers are here.”

Doyle nodded. “The drawing of the room layout is sitting on the box to your right, if you want to look at it again.”

“No. As long as it’s the same one we agreed to, then we should be fine. Thank you. Good to see you again, Kyle.” He bobbed his head and left the office.

I watched him depart in shock. “How?”

“I used to deal with criminals, remember? Aleksei is all bark and no bite. I merely anticipate his orders.”

“I was a little worried when I suggested him as head of the Bureau.”

“No, I think he’s the right demon to front this operation. Don’t tell him I said this, but under his pompous exterior, he’s smart, dedicated, and has a good reputation in the demon community, which will help us with the holdouts.”

I frowned. “Are we still getting a lot of pushback?”

“There will always be demons who don’t believe the realm demons should come to earth. But they’ll just have to suck it up. Change is inevitable.”

I snapped a picture of the space and a smiling Doyle with my phone and sent it to Dalton. We had been texting the last couple of weeks since he’d left for Fed training. I’d been surprised to learn that when he had said keep in touch, he actually meant it.

I jumped when my phone rang. Dalton was
calling
me? “Hello?”

“Just got your picture. Is that an office or the aftermath of a tornado?”

I laughed. “It’ll be an office once we don’t have to climb over the boxes.”

“Well, send me another picture once it’s set up. That way I can see the before and after.”

“Got it.”

“I’ve got to get back to class. We were on a quick break when I got your text, so I thought I’d give you a ring.”

“Sure. Ah…thanks for calling.”

“Kyle.”

He hesitated for a moment and my heart started beating like a mariachi band. “Yeah?”

“I just needed to hear your voice…I mean, I haven’t had anyone insult me for weeks.”

“Well, we can’t have that. I’ll start working on some right away.”

He chuckled. “Good idea. That way you’ll be prepared next time I call.”

I hung up and stared at my phone for a second.
Next time he called?
I just had a conversation with Dalton that didn’t involve gut-wrenching drama or confessions of wrongdoing on my part. Who the hell had I been talking to?

“Who was that?”

“What?”

“Who were you talking to? And don’t tell me it was Misha or Jean Luc.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Because of your face. You’re grinning like a high schooler with a crush.”

“I am not!”

“Now you’re blushing like a high schooler with a crush!”

“Cut it out, Doyle.”

He stopped grinning and stared at me for a moment. “How is it going with Joe?”

“It’s not going anywhere with Dalton. He’s in DC, and I’m here.”

“A lot of people make long distance relationships work, Kyle.”

I shrugged. “A few text messages and a phone call don’t make up for the fact that I manipulated his memory and then lied to him about it, repeatedly. That’s not something you get over.”

Doyle shrugged. “Don’t underestimate him. He may surprise you.”

I shoved my phone into my pocket as an excuse to break eye contact. “I’ve had enough surprises in my life, Doyle. I need some predictability instead. Yep. Boring, predictable, Kyle McKinley. That’s my new goal.”

He smiled. “We’ll see how long it lasts.”

Chapter 51

I parked my car in front of the hall and took a deep breath. It had been two months since I’d addressed the supernatural community and hatched the plan to help bring the realm demons to earth. And so far everything was coming together.

“Hello.”

I jumped at the voice, my hand slamming to my chest as Marie materialized in the seat next to me. “Jeez, Marie! You almost gave me a heart attack.”

“Which is why I waited until you parked your car to say anything. I didn’t want you careening into oncoming traffic.”

“How safety-conscious of you.”

“I thought so.”

I took a deep breath to slow down my heart. “I haven’t seen you in months. I was afraid you’d gotten into trouble for helping me when I was…”

“In ice-cream parlor limbo?” She grinned. “Nah. They didn’t do anything to me. And you’re welcome, sweetie.”

“Have you been able to spend some time with Dalton?”

“Yes. My grandson is doing much better, thanks to you.”

“I don’t know if I did all that much for him.”

Marie shook her head. “I have a few choice words to say to you on the subject, but we’ll have to talk later.”

“Wait!” I growled, but Marie faded from the passenger seat.

A knock sounded on my driver’s side window, and I jumped. It was a good thing my heart was part demon, or I would have expired at some point dealing with all these supes scaring the crap out of me.

I rolled my window down, and Nicholas leaned in slightly. “Kyle, can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Sure.” I unlocked the car doors and he went to the other side and climbed into the seat Marie had vacated. “What’s up?”

“Do you remember the night at the community center you told me you were working to bring the worlds back together again?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I’ve been thinking about the prophecy. While I think what you’re doing is wonderful, I wonder if allowing the demons to come here is what the prophecy intended when it talked about bringing the worlds back together again.”