“What? The nineties are making a comeback,” I argued taking the boots.
“Where? In Venus?” Dawn took off her peep-toed pumps and offered them to me. “Here.”
“You seriously think I’m going to be able to walk in those?”
She paused for a moment thinking her decision through before putting her pumps back on. “You’re right.”
She went back into my closet and seconds later came out with a pair of nude strap-on sandals with a small heel I hadn’t seen since sophomore year. She took out a metallic pink pouch full of makeup from her purse, dabbed a maroon matte lipstick on my lips and applied some mascara.
“Now you look presentable.” She handed me a slinky black lace crop top from her bag. “I don’t think Queen is going to cut it.”
“More underwear,” I said hesitantly taking the top. I slipped it on suddenly feeling naked and vulnerable. I covered myself in a black and red plaid long-sleeve despite Dawn’s look of disapproval and let my chocolate wavy locks lose.
I was ready.
By the time we left my room, it was almost ten. I was impressed by Dawn’s acrobatic skills as I watched her easily climb down my balcony. I sensed this wasn’t her first rodeo.
We headed down the street and took a sharp left where Julian was parked next to the Dixon cemetery.
“It’s about time! You bitches had me waiting here forever!” Julian complained. “This cemetery gives me the creeps.”
“Chillax princess, the club doesn’t get lit until midnight anyway,” Dawn said hopping into the passenger seat. “Haven’t you ever been to Barcelona?”
“Girl, we live in the South. People are in bed by nine here,” he replied with a little too much sass. Julian turned to me checking out Dawn’s artistry. “You look like a hot tamale. You’re gonna have to fight the boys off with a paddle,” he said with a snap of his fingers.
“Oh God, I hope not,” I snorted taking a seat in the back. “I’ll make sure to wear my resting bitch face to scare them off.” I smiled.
Dawn turned on the radio and started dancing along to the beat of an electro-pop song. My heart began racing like it did every time I snuck out.
What was I doing? Being reckless and irresponsible.
Once again, Dawn convinced me to leave the comfort of my bed with the empty promise I’d have fun. I never did. So I didn’t expect tonight to be any different. I sighed. I hated how incapable I was to resist any offer of freedom. My insides suddenly churned with regret.
I was heading back into the lion’s den, and based on my first impression of the angels, they were…tempting.
But I wasn’t Priscilla. No.
My will was stronger. Besides, there was a Super-8 camera at stake here. I had to tough it out one more night if I wanted to get my hands on the silver beauty.
I shut the little negative voice inside my head. My muscles finally relaxed as Julian turned the Beetle on shifting the gear into drive. Before I knew it, we drove off into the night. And there was no turning back.
CHAPTER
5
The line at Eve’s Paradise snaked all the way around the block. It was already midnight, and we hadn’t moved in over twenty minutes. My body shook when a cold gust of wind swept over my belly button. I buttoned my plaid shirt and paced around, trying to keep warm.
“By the time we get in, it’s going to be closing time,” I complained. It didn’t matter to me if we got into the club or not. Dawn promised me a camera, but I found myself questioning if it was worth the trouble.
“No. There has to be a way in. Come on,” Dawn said not giving up. We stepped out of the line and followed Dawn who moved closer to the entrance.
“Take my lead,” Dawn instructed. She walked up to the guards acting as if she were royalty and tried to walk past the red ropes. The girls standing at the front protested and glared at us furiously for trying to cut ahead, but the guards stopped Dawn from going any further.
“The club’s full. You have to wait until someone comes out,” the security guard said.
“What if no one comes out?” she asked.
“Come back tomorrow.”
Dawn scoffed, frowned then scanned the cathedral. Julian and I followed her to the back of the building where we came to a stop in front of an iron gate that opened as four bikes pulled out of the parking lot.
“We have to follow them!” Dawn said taking Julian’s keys dangling from his belt.
“This bitch just took my keys!” Julian shouted in panic and chased after her. “No one drives Fiona!”
Minutes later, I was sitting in the back of Julian’s car—or Fiona, as he named her. Dawn kept a safe distance from the motorcycles while Julian held on to his seat belt for dear life.
I shook my head in disapproval. “This is so stupid. Why are you following them?”
“Because they’re the reason we went to Eve’s Paradise.”
“I thought we went for my birthday?” I scowled annoyed. “You’re acting like one of those quill lovers. You actually think this Dylan guy remembers you? He has girls all over him 24/7. What makes you think you’re any different?”
Dawn scoffed. “Because I am different, honey. I’m going to make sure he falls in love with me.”
I rolled my eyes at Dawn’s absurd comment. Clearly, she was delusional to think she could charm Dylan into falling in love with her.
“How do you even know they’re angels? Their wings aren’t out,” I argued. “For all we know, they’re probably human.
“It’s them. I know it,” Dawn replied with certainty. “Look at the one on the right. Recognize his jacket?”
Squinting my eyes, I peered through the front windshield. The maroon bomber jacket with the gold wings immediately struck my memory.
“Where are they going?” Julian asked, sitting up straighter.
The bikers took a turn into a shady part of Atlanta. The roads were cracked, the buildings empty and the windows were broken. The rumbling in my stomach told me something wasn’t right. Then suddenly the motorcycles split in the middle to make way for Julian’s car. They cruised at our pace, two bikes on each side. We were surrounded.
“They know we’re following them,” Julian said hyperventilating
“No shit!” I hissed.
One of the motorcyclists held on to the side view mirror on Julian’s side, while the other knocked on Dawn’s window.
“Pull over!” he screamed.
“Don’t pull over!” I pleaded. “This is exactly how people go missing in the city.”
When Dawn didn’t pull over, the biker slammed his fist into the door causing the Beetle to jolt. We all screamed in fear as Dawn tried to balance the steering wheel. She followed their instructions and parked the car under an empty bridge.
My breathing quickly escalated. I turned toward the bikers peering through the back windshield, they slid off their motorcycles then took their helmets off. Long hair cascaded down their shoulders, and that’s when I knew they were the angels from last night. I eyed them carefully, as they moved toward the car. With one click, I locked my door.
“What do you think they’re going to do us?” I whispered.
We almost jumped out of our seats when one of them knocked on Julian’s window.
“Oh shit,” Julian shouted. “What do I do?”
“Roll the window down!” Dawn snapped.
Julian and I exchanged panicked glances. Frustrated, Dawn reached for his window and rolled it down. The angel with scruffy brown hair dipped his head by the window.
“Why are you following us?” he asked, voice stern and eyes dark as night. When neither of us said anything, he added, “get out of the car.”
“I’m not getting out of the car,” I said shaking my head.
“Just do as he says,” Dawn demanded.
I unbuckled my seatbelt, eyes wide with ice prickling fear, and told Dawn, “If I survive the night, you are so dead.”
The angels lined us up against Julian’s
car. Dylan walked toward us with a cigarette in his mouth. Dawn’s eyes lit when she saw him but dropped her shoulders with disappointment when he didn’t return the gesture. I looked over to the other angels standing by who smiled wickedly clearly satisfied by our horrified expressions.
“You know, stalking is illegal in all fifty states,” Dylan said. “Why are you following us?”
“We—we were just driving around,” Dawn managed to choke out.
“Sure you were,” he said not buying it. Dylan stopped right in front of me and eyed me with curiosity.
“You look familiar. Have I seen you before?” Dylan asked trailing one finger over the collar of my plaid shirt. I snapped my shoulder back to stop him from going further. My lip twisted into a disgusted grimace.
Dylan smirked.
“Let’s have a little fun, shall we?” With a snap of Dylan’s fingers, one angel was suddenly in front of us, another beside us, and one ran toward us at high speed, unfurled his wings, then flew over us. With a loud bang of metal, he landed on top of Julian’s roof leaving a large dent.
“Fiona!” Julian gasped then groaned.
Dawn and I screamed.
All three of us huddled together, holding hands while the angels laughed. One angel stayed behind concealed under the shadows of the bridge. The halos around his eyes glowed like a cat. He didn’t take part in the torture, he only watched.
I held on to my body in an attempt to stop it from shaking. “We don’t want any trouble. Please, just let us go,” I pleaded.
“I’m having too much fun,” Dylan said blowing smoke on my face. I coughed and waved the smoke away.
“Now, now boys,” the angel who stayed behind said in a playful tone. “Play nice. Humans are fragile, prone to heart attacks. We don’t want our friends to drop dead.”
The other angels circled us snorting with laughter before they backed off.
“Sorry, we didn’t mean to scare you,” the angel who wore the bomber jacket said with a smirk.
When the angel hidden in the shadows stepped into the light, the halos in his eyes quickly faded. It was Milo.
I kept my eyes low, concentrating on the cracked pavement below when Milo’s black boots came into view. He didn’t move. When I wouldn’t look at him, Milo tilted my chin up to meet his gaze, but I quickly slapped his hand away. A look of recognition crossed his eyes, then he smiled in wicked amusement.
“I know who you are,” Milo said. “You’re the nun.”
The other angels chuckled at my expense. My cheeks turned hot with embarrassment and anger.
“And you’re the asshole who tried to hit on me last night.”
“Since when is it a crime to buy a girl a drink?”
“It’s a crime when the girl is underage.”
Milo arched an eyebrow and smiled at my retort. “How old are you today, Alexis?”
He remembered my name and my birthday.
“I’m eighteen,” I answered sounding uncertain.
Milo saw right through me. He cocked his head to one side and narrowed his eyes.
“Are you sure?” he smiled narrowing his eyes and rubbing his chin.
Why would I lie to him? I should tell him my real age so he’ll back off instead of standing suffocatingly close.
I gave in, cheeks turning bright pink. “I just turned seventeen.”
He chuckled. “You’re only seventeen?”
“Yeah, so?” I snapped.
Milo rolled his head back in laughter, his voice deep and husky. I couldn’t take my eyes off him and not because he was laughing. Up close, his facial features were more defined and handsome. Upturned eyes like a cat, a celestial nose, plump, kissable lips. Under the light, Milo’s hair wasn’t jet-black like at the club, it was the color of dark roast coffee. I immediately cursed myself for checking him out.
“Bring it out,” Milo told them.
Dylan reached into a leather satchel hanging from Milo’s motorcycle and took out something covered in a brown paper bag. My heart started beating super-fast. I should’ve kept my mouth shut. Why did I insult him? My imagination ran wild, and I had a pretty good idea what the bag contained: a weapon. They were going to kill us.
“Please just let us go,” I choked out.
“No,” Milo stated firmly. A smile crept over his mouth. “The party hasn’t started. I promise we don’t bite.”
“Not hard, anyway,” Dylan added with a sadistic grin.
When the bag reached Milo, he stuck a hand inside. I flinched when he took it out. To my surprise, it wasn’t a weapon. It was a glass bottle with a gold cross on the middle that said HOLY WATER VODKA.
I let out a sigh of relief.
“Sorry for my friends. They can get a little…wild.” Milo pointed his finger to the others as he introduced them. “This is Dylan, Lee, Trent.”
Dylan saluted us when Milo called his name. Lee, who I recognized from the club, tipped his chin up, he was the angel who looked Native American. Trent had the scruffy brown hair, his hands covered in tattoos, and fingers adorned with rings of skulls, crosses, and angel wings.
“Would you like to do the honors?” Milo asked offering me the bottle.
I shook my head. “No thanks.”
“I’ll take a sip,” Dawn said from my left. Milo opened the bottle and handed it to Dawn who took a quick shot, then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Dawn diverted her attention to Dylan who, in return, smiled.
Trent turned the radio on, a dark and heavy Nine Inch Nails song blared out the speakers. Lee set fire to a metal trash can to warm up his hands. The temperature dropped sharply; the plaid long-sleeve I was wearing suddenly became too thin.
“Do you think any of the boys here go both ways?” Julian whispered eyeing Lee and Trent.
“I don’t know. Why don’t you ask?” I whispered back.
My body paralyzed when Milo suddenly reached for my necklace. His touch sent tiny waves of warmth over my body leaving a tingling sensation where he brushed his hand against my skin.
“A gift from your boyfriend?”
“No,” I said thumbing the pendant. “He’s a friend.”
He looked me straight in the eye, his eyes burning with intensity and said, “Your friend has good taste.”
I blushed as I tried to suppress a smile. I knew Milo wasn’t referring to the necklace but, did he have to be so corny?
“Your parents let you out this late?” he asked.
“Of course,” I lied. I stole a glance at Milo but quickly looked away. His broad shoulders and tall stature were intimidating. There was a magnetic pull between us I couldn’t shake off.
I clung onto Julian’s arm who was standing right next to me. We scooted our bodies closer to try to stay warm. Milo took notice, slid his jacket off and placed it over my shoulders.
“Thank you,” I said, surprised by the kind gesture. The jacket radiated with heat warming my body instantly. I had a sudden urge to smell it, but I couldn’t. My nostrils were numb and frozen from the cold.
“What is a seventeen-year-old doing out past midnight?” Milo asked.
It’s what I’d been asking myself all night. What was I doing in the city? Obviously risking getting into trouble given my current situation.
But before I could answer, he added, “a lot of bad things happen to pretty young girls like yourself.”
His comment was frightening. It sent tiny waves of alarm throughout my body. I held his eyes for a moment wondering if he was being serious then let out a low nervous chuckle.
I turned to Julian. “It’s getting late. We should go home.”
Standing under a bridge in the middle of the night with a bunch of angels was creeping me out.
“I concur,” Julian said in agreement.
“I’m staying here,” Dawn shouted. During the brief time we were under the bridge, Dawn and Dylan quickly rekindled whatever ‘friendship’ they forged the night before. Dylan had his hands clasped around Dawn’s waist without a sign o
f letting go.
I glanced at Julian who had the same look of concern as I did. Dawn didn’t seem to care about being left behind with a bunch of strangers. We didn’t know anything about the Angels, but Dawn was swooned by Dylan, she didn’t care.
“Dawn, come on, we can’t leave you here,” I began, worry laced in every word.
Dawn kept her gaze fixed on Dylan. “Dylan will take me home.”
Dylan gave me a quick glance. “Yeah, I’ll take her home.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll take good care of your friend,” Milo added with a smirk. “But I’ll admit, it’s a shame you’re leaving. We barely got to talk.”
My breath caught again. I found myself drawn to Milo like a magnet. What was it about him I found so…irresistible?
Quickly shoving the feeling aside, I rubbed the back of my neck as anxiety kicked in. I couldn’t leave Dawn behind, but I couldn’t wait here all night either. My eyes shot over at Julian who merely shrugged.
“Will you please call me as soon as you get home?” I asked defeated, but she didn’t answer. Dawn was too busy making out with Dylan. I hated it when she did this. It wasn’t the first time Dawn ditched Julian and me for a guy, and it was worse when she had a boyfriend.
“Before you leave,” Milo grabbed my hand and rubbed his finger over the base of my thumb allowing it to linger. My blood buzzed underneath the skin where he’d touched.
“Yeah?” I asked.
His sexy dark eyes regarded me with an unnerving intensity, my breath caught in my throat again. A sudden rush of excitement swelled inside my pelvis, but I squashed it immediately. Milo kept his gaze steady on mine slowly leaning his body closer to mine. What was he doing?
Then Milo’s face softened. With a sensuous voice, he murmured, “My jacket.”
“Oh,” I let out perplexed and blinked several times as if to snap out of a trance. “Right.”
Milo stepped back releasing my hand breaking the connection between us. I took the jacket off and handed it back to him.
I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. But what was I expecting? For Milo to kiss me? My inner ego rolled in laughter at the thought. I didn’t even know him. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to kiss an angel. Especially Milo James.
THE TRAGIC + DIVINE, Book 1 Page 5