The Guardian (Mended Souls Book 1) (13 page)

L
ucas hovered
near the edge of the woods and cursed his forgetfulness. The kid in the water, the one who had almost died moments ago, was the child he’d chased just after getting his wings. He was sure of it. He glanced at the grimly silent angel by his side—Mike’s son.

Thank God they had arrived in time. His conscience couldn’t handle more death.

“You going to talk to him? He knows you’re here.” The glitter from the other man’s wings had lit up the entire meadow. Pretty really. Lucas tried to ignore the shadows lunging from the area he occupied.

“No. I shouldn’t have said anything to him before. We’re only allowed to direct their dreams, not their reality.” Mike’s focus remained on his oldest child. “Thanks for helping the woman to save him. I owe you.” When he glanced at Lucas, his eyes were black with repressed emotion.

If only he knew.

Lucas gazed down on the little tableau and debated the wisdom of sharing his mistake with the angel. After all, it had ended well. The kid was going to be fine. No harm, no foul.

A sharp jab to the ribs, right over his heart, made him think otherwise. Apparently, he was expected to come clean. What good would it do? His and Mike’s relationship was strained enough without this latest mess.

“That’s not the point.”
The voice came from nowhere and everywhere.

Lucas shot a glance at Mike, but the angel didn’t react. So—obviously aimed at him then. Okay, he could do this.

“Hey, bro,”
What are you, in third grade?
“Remember when you went to see your wife a few nights back?”

Mike turned that enigmatic gaze of his on Lucas. “What about it?”

Oh yeah, this is going to be fun.

“Confession is good for the soul.”
That voice again.

Says who?

“Quit procrastinating.”

Lucas sighed. “You’re going to be pissed.” He flapped his massive wings and noticed the storm clouds gathering on the horizon. “While you were inside I saw your kid jump from a window.”

Mike stiffened. “And you didn’t think to stop him?” His fists clenched and his body levitated a few feet into the air.

Lucas lifted his chin and glared at the other man. “Of course I did. What do you take me for?”

“Well then? You want to explain how
my son
came to be lying upside down in a muddy creek then?” Mike’s voice shook the ground, there was so much rage and frustration harnessed within the chords.

Lucas checked to make sure the woman and child were okay. They were huddled under a tree and she had the boy wrapped tight in her arms.

He turned back to Mike just in time to dodge a blow to the face.

What the…?

Not taking time to ask questions, Lucas ducked and plowed into the other man’s gut, driving him backward about ten feet. Mike grunted and spat phlegm to the side. He wiped his mouth with a shaking hand.

“Quit doing that,” he growled. “Look, Mike, let me…”

Mike swore. “Don’t you think you’ve done enough?” Tears shone on his cheeks and he brushed them away impatiently. “Thanks to you I’ve lost my family and today my son almost died. I’m tired of forgiving you, man. I wish I’d never laid eyes on you.”

He gazed at his boy for a long heartbreaking minute, then he turned and took flight. The light that had bathed the meadow went with him, leaving the sky bleak and gray.

A golf ball had lodged in Lucas’ throat. How was he supposed to right a wrong of this magnitude?

Rain began to fall and he looked at the two shivering on the ground. They needed shelter. Maybe there wasn’t anything physical he could do to help them, but psychologically…

He fed thoughts of a warm fire and hot chocolate, love and laughter into their minds and watched as their bodies relaxed and they went off to sleep.

Now to get them some help.

S
cott was worried
. It was getting late and he still hadn’t picked up Tracy’s trail. Soon it would be too dark to properly see. He was afraid of missing a sign that would lead him in the right direction and hated to think how scared they must be, so he concentrated on searching for anything that was out of place. Broken branches, a scrap of cloth, scuffed earth. Something, there had to be a sign, he had faith.

Rain had started to fall in a steady drizzle. He prayed they had found some kind of shelter to protect themselves until he could find them, if he could figure out where the hell he was. He’d left the trail a while ago and now was hopelessly lost.

The sound of gushing water led him to a brook, half hidden by low hanging branches and willows crowding the banks. It was too wide to jump so he followed it downstream, his feet squelching through the sodden grass. A couple of times he narrowly saved himself from tripping and landing hard on his bad arm. This was a nightmare. He should never have walked away. If he didn’t find them soon…

A light up ahead caught his attention. Maybe the storm was finally going to cut him a break. He hurried forward on the slippery grass, his heart unaccountably beating faster. Even when the light disappeared, leaving a dreary mist in its wake, Scott couldn’t contain the burst of hope.

And then he saw them.

They were huddled together at the foot of a towering pine tree. He stopped and tipped his head to the sky. He’d never been a religious man, but this sure felt like a ‘
come to Jesus
moment.’

They had fallen into an exhausted slumber, and he decided to leave them rest. Scott draped his coat over their bodies and settled down to watch over them. His cell told him what he expected; no coverage. So they were on their own for getting out of here. That’s okay, now that he’d found them, he wasn’t going to take his eyes off them again.

T
racy awoke to childish laughter
. She stretched, relishing in the warmth of the leather jacket covering her from shoulder to thigh. Scott. The expensive scent of his cologne on the collar teased her senses; sweet and spicy, cardamom, patchouli, and a hint of cocoa.
Mmm
.

Full consciousness returned and she sat up in a rush, the coat pooling in her lap. Scott looked up, a smile creating a sexy dimple in his cheek.

“Hi,” he murmured, his eyes warm on her face.

Embarrassed, she lowered her gaze to Dustin—he’d confessed his name after the near drowning. “How you doing, buddy?” Thankfully, he seemed fully recovered. His cheeks were pink and eyes sparkling as he squirmed under Scott’s tickling fingers.

“Scott said you were
Sleeping Beauty
and he might need to kiss you to wake you up,” he giggled.

She raised her eyebrow. “Maybe this princess only accepts kisses from cute little boys. What do you say to that?”

Dustin made a face. “I don’t kiss
girls
,” he muttered.

Scott ruffled his hair. “That’s okay, sport. I got you covered.” The grin he shot her way was pure devil.

Saved by the bell, Tracy’s tummy grumbled. She remembered she hadn’t had anything to eat since the morning’s aborted breakfast with Scott. She looked at Dustin.

“You ready to go home, Dustin? Your mom and dad must be worried sick.”

He tucked his chin into his chest and fiddled with Scott’s casted arm wrapped around his waist. “I told you—my daddy is an angel and my mom is so sad, she won’t even know I’m gone.”

Oh, honey.

Her heart wept for the child who had been through so much at such a tender age. Sometimes life just wasn’t fair. She looked to Scott for help, but he shook his head, either unwilling or unable to come up with the right words.

“It’s okay to be sad.” She cleared her throat and reached over to squeeze Dustin’s knee. “I bet you’re sad too, right?” She waited for his slight nod. “I think your mom would feel pretty bad if she thought you felt lonely. Maybe you just need to talk to her. What do you think?”

He rubbed his eyes and swiped his nose before meeting her gaze. “Will you come with me?”

She latched onto his hand and choked back tears of her own. “You bet. I’d love to meet your mom and tell her about the brave little man she’s raised.”

They sat like that for a few moments until a random shiver worked its way up Tracy’s spine and she realized how chilly Dustin’s fingers were. “We better get going before we’re all laid up drinking chicken noodle soup for the next couple of weeks.”

She hid her smile at the identical looks of dismay on their faces. Men, they were all the same. Tough as nails until they thought they were sick, then look out, they became the biggest babies on the planet.

Twilight was right around the corner and what had appeared an inviting, friendly forest now seemed dark and forbidding. She was afraid it wouldn’t be easy to find their way out.

“Do you have your phone?” she asked Scott. Maybe they could use his GPS. She’d looked for hers earlier, but must have lost her cell somewhere during her mad flight.

He tugged it out of his pocket and thumbed it on, but then shook his head and pointed it her way so she could get a look. “No bars. We’re on our own.”

Great. A city full of cell towers and they were in the only quadrant without coverage. Figures. Well, best to put a brave face on and move to plan B then.

“How about a light?”

Scott looked at her askance for a moment, then he grinned. “Gotta love modern technology,” he said, and moved through the phone’s apps until he found the flashlight. Immediately their little grove was lit with high beams, shoving the shadows back to the fringe of the forest. Tracy sighed her relief and pushed to her feet.

“Okay, gang, what do you say we get out of here?”

“Yay,” Dustin cried. “I’m hungry.”

Tracy gave him a quick hug. “Me too. The sooner we start walking, the sooner I can buy you the best pizza you ever tasted.”

Scott waved his light around the clearing. “The path can’t be too far off. Let’s go this way.” He started toward a break in the trees. “So, what kind of pizza do you like, Dustin? My favorite is pepperoni.”

Tracy appreciated his effort to keep the little guy’s mind on something other than their current situation. Where the heck had all those wandering couples disappeared to now that they could use the help?

“Cheese, lots of cheese,” Dustin answered, and Tracy’s mouth watered.

“Me too. I’m going to buy us the biggest cheese pizza I can find when we get out of here. And a pepperoni for Scott, I guess.”

Dustin giggled.

She loved the versatility of a child. One minute half-drowned, the next making jokes with virtual strangers. She was almost a basket case and it hadn’t even happened to her. She didn’t know what to make of his determination his father was an angel. If his dad had died… well, that was too sad to think about. Whatever the case, someone had surely been watching over him today. If she’d been even a couple of minutes later…

“Aha,” Scott shouted triumphantly. The phone’s little light cast a glow on the well-trodden path they’d been searching for. “Now, which way should we go?”

“This way, silly,” Dustin said with absolute certainty, pointing to the right.

Tracy looked at Scott and shrugged. One way was as good as another. Eventually it had to lead them out.

Scott put the light under his chin so that he looked like a ghoulish monster. “Whatever my master decrees,” he moaned, his voice dark and wobbly. Then he grinned and dropped the beam to the ground. “Sorry, couldn’t resist. Okay, we’ll try your way, partner. You stick in the middle, we don’t want you getting lost again. Ready?”

Dustin nodded and they were off.

Tracy twisted her foot a couple of painful times on the rutted trail, and muffled her groans. Her heels were definitely not meant for search and rescue. Scott was singing campfire songs up ahead, keeping Dustin occupied so he wouldn’t get scared. She’d seen a different side to him today, one that she liked—a lot. He continually surprised her. His kindness and generosity had been the first thing to draw her to him, but his humor and sensitivity were the threads that wrapped around her heart. She loved this man. More than she’d thought possible. She just hoped she hadn’t come to the realization too late to make it work between them. She owed him a big apology for her misconceptions. Somehow she would make it up to him.

Her foot twisted again, and she grunted. The painful wrench made it hard to walk. She stopped for a moment to rub her swollen ankle and wished for a tensor bandage to give it some support. When she looked up Scott and Dustin were rounding a corner in the trail, the light disappearing with their bodies. Shoot, now she had to play catch-up in the dark.

She felt around the edge of the path until her fingers came across a sturdy stick to enable her to move more easily.

Angry voices up ahead sent her hurrying forward. As she rounded the bend, Tracy stumbled to a halt. Scott stood with his feet planted in the middle of the path, Dustin cowering at his back. She couldn’t see the other person, but instinctively knew he was trouble. It was obvious from the tension radiating in the air.

Now what?

S
cott rounded
a bend in the trail and saw Ray striding toward them down the path. He sighed, relieved. That is until he got a look at the gun in the other man’s hand. A gun pointed straight at his heart.

“Ray, it’s me, buddy. I can’t believe you found us.” He lifted his hands in a show of peace. “Put that thing down before you hurt someone.”

Ray’s laugh was humorless. “Do what I say and maybe you won’t find out if I know how to shoot. Now keep them hands up there where I can see them. You and I have some business to attend to, and I’m tired of waiting while you chase after some skank who knows more than what’s good for her.”

Scott tensed.

What did Tracy have to do with this? The animosity in the agent’s voice sent a shiver of apprehension up his spine.

“Look, I don’t know what it is you need, but we can work this out. Just drop the weapon first.” He widened his stance in the faint hope Ray hadn’t noticed anyone was with him. And how the hell had he found him, anyway?

“I’m glad you happened along,” Scott said. “I didn’t know if I was ever going to get out of here.”

Ray chuckled and held up his cell phone in his free hand. “I tracked you. It was hard for awhile when you dropped off the grid, but as soon as you came back on line, I had ya.”

This was surreal. And more to the point, how was he going to get them out of this without anyone getting hurt? The thought of Tracy at the hands of this madman made his blood run cold.

“How long have you been following me, Ray?”

The gun wavered for a fraction of a second. “A couple of years now.” Ray tilted his chin defiantly. “I had to keep an eye on my assets, didn’t I?”

Scott shook his head. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Investments, Ray? That’s all Lucas and I were to you? Freaking investments?”

“Don’t you get all holier than thou with me, boy.” Ray stomped closer. “I gave everything to your careers, and what did I receive in return?
‘Ray, get me drink. Ray, get me a car. Ray, wipe my ass.’
I’m sick and fucking tired of being your lackey. I told Lucas I wanted more money and you know what he did? He laughed. He fucking laughed.” A malicious light entered his eyes. “He ain’t laughing no more though, is he?”

Was Ray saying he murdered Lucas and Natalya?

“It was an accident…” His throat was so clogged with emotion he had a hard time pushing the words out. His knees threatened to buckle. He couldn’t grasp what was happening, it seemed like a nightmare. A jumbled kaleidoscope rolled through his head. Ray taking them in, making them stars, giving them more than they’d ever had in their sorry-assed lives. The cars, the houses, the women, all thanks to this man. Except he hadn’t done it for them at all, he’d done it to feed his gigantic gambling addiction. Oh, he thought they didn’t know he was skimming the royalties from their movies, but they’d known. And they’d let it go because he was Ray, the man who had cared enough to see something in a couple of kids from nowhere.

Ray grinned, his teeth gleaming in the shadows. “Sure, an accident I engineered. A little shot of fentanyl added to those stupid quit smoking patches he wore and he was probably having a grand ol’ time behind the wheel. Guess who got the last laugh, huh?”

The fucker was dead. Enraged, Scott charged. The phone he’d been holding went flying, sending a crazy beacon of light into the air. As he connected with Ray’s shoulder a spasm of pain ricocheted through his arm, and black dots leapt before his eyes. The gun hit the path and bounced.

Tracy screamed.

And then he was involved in a life and death struggle and there was no time for anything else. Ray was in better shape than he looked, the blows he landed connecting with Scott’s ribs and fractured arm. But Scott had vengeance on his side, the pain numbed by his need to avenge his family.

They traded shots until both were gasping for breath, circling each other like a couple of warriors. Ray lurched for the gun at their feet, and Scott swore, too far back to stop him from reaching it first.

He turned and raced toward Tracy and the kid, “Run, he’s got a gun.”

A shot rang out, narrowly missing them as it kicked up rocks near their feet. Tracy picked up the boy and jumped off the path, running helter-skelter through the trees. They got about a quarter mile back in the bush when her foot twisted and she went down hard, rolling to protect Dustin. Scott followed, manhandled them up, and continued moving. There was no time to make sure they were okay, they needed to stay alive first.

Another shot blasted through the forest, this time accompanied by a searing burn to his side. Shit, he’d been hit.

Things got real after that.

“You keep running. Stay to the shadows,” he wheezed. “I’m going to circle back and try to take him down.”

“No,” Tracy hissed. “It’s too dangerous. Scott, please.”

He squeezed her arm, frustrated there wasn’t more he could do to keep them safe. “You’ll be okay, I promise. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He turned her into his arms, sucking back a harsh gasp at the resulting pain.

“I love you, Tracy.” He dropped his mouth to hers and tasted tears. “Don’t cry, honey. We’re going to make it out of here. Have faith.”

A crashing noise in the bush off to their left told him he was out of time.

“Go.” He pushed them away from the noise and faded into the undergrowth, stopping only long enough to make sure they were on the move, then he turned and embraced the night, becoming predator instead of prey.

L
ucas gasped and hunched over
, his side on fire. What the…? He’d been sitting on the bank of the creek wondering what he was supposed to do next now that he’d helped to save Mike’s kid when the pain hit him. The moment he heard the report of gunfire he was on his feet. He went airborne and tried to get a handle on where the sound originated, but couldn’t hear over the pounding of his heart. Scott was in danger; he knew it in the depths of his soul.

He raced over the dark landscape, a shadowy form, blending with the forest. At first there was nothing, then he caught a glimpse of white and ducked, coming in low over the boy and the woman. She seemed to have been injured, her body listing sideways as she held onto the child. They were running through the dense undergrowth of the forest, fear turning their faces a ghostly white.

Lucas landed and waited for whatever was chasing them to appear. Suddenly, a man broke cover so close to the boy that the woman shrieked. She threw up her arms to attack, but was no match for the man. He threw a sharp jab, catching her near the ear and she went down. Then he grabbed the kid and started to haul him through the bush.

Lucas reached out to stop him but his hand went right through the guy’s arm. He couldn’t believe there was nothing he could do to stop him. What was the use of being an angel if he couldn’t help anyone?

“Humans have the freedom to choose the path they will take,” the Lord said.

Lucas clenched his fists. “The kid isn’t being given a choice,” he growled.

“You may only shed light, my son,” the Lord replied.

A light. What was a
light
going to do?

Scott appeared out of the surrounding darkness, his face grim. Lucas was so happy to see his buddy that it took a moment to realize he’d placed himself directly in the line of fire. The man stood his ground, a gun aimed at Scott’s head, and his arm wrapped around the kid’s neck.

Desperate to do something, Lucas flew forward, landing between the two men. Scott’s eyes widened and Lucas grinned. “Happy to see me, buddy?”

“You’re real. I thought it was all a dream,” Scott whispered.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” the man snarled, and that’s when Lucas got another shock. The man holding a gun on his best bud was none other than Ray Farrell. Talk about having the wool pulled over your eyes. Ray had been like a father to them. What the hell was going on?

“I’ll explain later,” Scott said, as though he’d heard the question. “Right now, I could use a hand taking care of this piece of shit.”

“Shut up,” Ray screeched, spittle flying out of his mouth. His hold on the kid tightened. “Shut up or I’m going to put a bullet between your eyes, money or no goddamn money.”

Lucas had heard enough. His wings outstretched, he delved into the mind of his old agent, searching for a way to end this insanity. Instead, he saw the reason for his immortality and Mike’s loss of a family. Sweet Jesus, this man had destroyed so many lives in search of the almighty dollar. The urge to squeeze his brain like a pimple was overwhelming.

“Do this and you are no better than him whom you seek to punish,” the Lord warned.

The vengeance filling his soul demanded restitution, deafening him to God’s word. Lucas applied more pressure and Ray groaned in agony. The hand holding the gun trembled and his finger pressed the trigger. The gun went off. The bullet slid right through Lucas’ spirit body barely causing a ripple.

He let himself be seen and grinned the devil’s smile at Ray’s look of horror.

A pained grunt from Scott wiped the smirk from his lips. Lucas swung around in time to see his friend fall to the ground grasping his thigh.

His rage turned the heavens black.

“Beware, my child, for he knows not what he’s done,” the Lord counseled.

He swore and tightened his grip on Ray’s brain, torturing in the only way he knew how.

“Lucas, stop,” Scott pleaded, and finally the words sank in.

The fury slowly drained, leaving Lucas empty.

He lifted his hands and placed them on Ray’s shoulders. Then he closed his eyes and prayed for his enemy.