Tessa reached up and felt her head. Her fingers probed gently at a lump, coming away sticky with blood. She groaned at the pain, but after a moment it stopped. David grinned like a Cheshire cat and she squinted questioningly.
“Why are you grinning?” She suddenly felt self-conscious and had to force her hands not to fidget. Should I be nervous that he’s in my house? I barely know him. His smile was so warm, she just couldn’t imagine him being a axe murderer or anything. She reached back and felt her phone still in her pocket, and relaxed. I can always call the cops if he tries anything, she thought.
“Feeling better?” David replied, which annoyed her. It was like he was in her head. “Guess you’re not going to need this ice.”
David dumped the contents of the baggie in the sink. It had been a ruse to get his hands near her head to heal it, but seeing she did it herself without even realizing it amused him. She was a natural healer. Most angels needed to work at it for awhile before it came so naturally. Had he not intervened, she would make a great doctor or nurse one day. She might have even been chosen to join the ranks of the Healer Angels after her death. The natural ones were always given top choice.
“Actually, I am feeling better. Weird.” She shook her head, startled her words were true. “But I still need a drink. After spending such a long time in the hospital, I really don’t like the sight of blood. You’d think I’d be used to it, but it seriously freaks me out.”
“Here, sit down and I’ll get you something,” David offered.
Tessa happily sat and watched him head to the fridge for more ice and fill a glass with some Ginger Ale that she always kept handy. Today really was the strangest she’d had in a while and it started to take its toll. She let a strange man into her house, fainted, and imagined head injuries. I should probably just go to bed and pretend today never happened, she thought. She pulled herself up onto one of the barstools around the kitchen island and rested her head in her hands. “What is wrong with me?”
“Let me start at the beginning.” David sighed, taking the seat next to her and using all of his will power not to run his fingers through her hair. “The day of the shooting you should’ve died. The bullet to your head should have been lethal—”
The doorbell rang, followed immediately by a pounding on the door. Tessa jumped and David moved, placing himself between her and the door just in case.
Tessa glanced at the clock, it was midnight. Who would come to her house at this hour? She tried to head back to the living room, but David gently grasped her arm.
“I don’t think you should answer. Let me,” he offered.
“That’s ridiculous. It’s probably Mrs. Wenzel looking for her dog. No one can get past the security guard at the gate, and if there was a visitor for me, he would have called first.”
“You’d be surprised,” he muttered under his breath, but still let her go. It was her house, but he’d stay by her side just in case.
Tessa walked to the door and glanced through the peephole. “Vinny?” She opened the door wide to greet him. “What are you doing here?”
The security guard shined his MagLite flashlight all around her porch and yard looking for something. “I’m so sorry to bother yinz at this late hour Ms. Copeland,” he began in his thick Pittsburgh accent. “But I got a report of a strange man wandering around the neighborhood.”
The security guard shined the flashlight in David’s face, making him squint and throw his hand up to block the blinding rays. “Who are you?” Vinny asked unabashedly.
David stretched his hand out to shake the man’s hand. He found no matter the culture, people felt more trusting toward someone who could shake their hand and look them in the eye. “David Allegri, nice to meet you. I’m a friend of Tessa’s.”
“Is this true, Ms. Copeland? You didn’t register any guests tonight and neither did Ms. Makowski.” The guard Vinny, too, took a protective step toward Tessa.
Tessa’s eyes moved back and forth between the men for a moment. Now what was she supposed to do? She still didn’t know who this guy was and wasn’t sure why he was even there, but if she told Vinny he’d probably have David arrested. There was something about David, an honesty that erased her doubts about his intentions and made her trust him when logic demanded she be cautious. She felt at ease with him, like she’d known him a lot longer than just one night.
“Yes, Vinny, he is a guest. I’m sorry I forgot to notify you when he stopped by.”
“When exactly did he come? Did he join you for a fish dinner?” The guard further questioned, not believing her lie. The community had a safe word. If something was wrong and you couldn’t openly say you were in duress, you could tell it to the guard when he came or called. He would then quietly leave and call in the authorities for help. The word was “grouper” and she was careful not to use it by accident.
“No Vinny, no fish. I promise everything’s okay.” At least she hoped it was.
The guard nodded once at Tessa before turning toward David. “Mr. Allegory—“
“Allegri,” David corrected.
“Yes, my mistake. Mr. Allegri, would you mind telling me how you arrived to visit Ms. Copeland tonight? If you arrived by car, you would have needed to stop at the gate. There’s no car in the driveway. And it’s a three mile walk between here and town.” He tapped his foot like an impatient mother waiting for an answer from her misbehaving child.
David cursed under his breath, how was he going to explain? At least he could honestly say he hadn’t flown. “I did walk, sir. I’m an avid walker and did cross country in high school. Three miles isn’t much when you do fifteen each morning. I came to surprise Tessa since I hadn’t seen her in a while and forgot I was supposed to check in. Won’t happen again, you have my word.”
The guard had no choice but to leave when Tessa nodded in agreement. However, the way his eyes narrowed together when he scowled at David, they knew he wouldn’t be going far.
“Have a good night Ms. Copeland,” Vinny said after casting David a few more intimidating looks, “Don’t hesitate to let me know if you need anything, anything at all. The guards and I had a meeting when you got out of the hospital, and we all agreed to keep an extra eye open and make sure you’re okay. Judge Copeland was a good man and it’s a real shame what happened. We went to the funeral to pay our respects. I’m real sorry you couldn’t be there for that.”
“Thank you Vinny, I appreciate that. And thank Mike and Frank for their concern, too,” Tessa said quietly. She never knew what to say to people when they talked about her parents or the accident, so she always kept it simple with “thank you”.
David breathed a sigh of relief as the guard walked down the steps of the porch. He was certain Tessa would turn him in, and after reading the protective anger coming off of the guard, he was glad she didn’t. Except now a new worry plagued him: was it really him the neighbors spotted or someone else? David arrived a good hour ago, but the guard just showed up. If someone spotted him, what took the guard so long to act? And if the neighbors just saw him, they would have concluded he was visiting Tessa since they’d been talking for a good fifteen minutes. So who did they actually see? He should have asked the guard for a description of the lurker.
Tessa turned to go back inside, but David stopped before closing the door.
“I’m going to walk around the house. I’m sure it’s nothing, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.”
Tessa shrugged her shoulders and thought he was being silly. “Whatever. If it makes you feel better. I’m going to make some tea. Do you want some?”
“Yes, with lemon if you have it. Thanks. I’ll be back in a sec. Lock the door behind me, and I’ll knock when I come back.”
Hearing Tessa click the deadbolt in place, he felt a little better. He turned up the driveway and headed for the side of the house where the moonlight allowed him to glimpse a small garden. He checked behind large bushes to make sure no one hid behind them and continued toward the backyard. It was
fenced in and contained an in-ground pool still closed for the season. He made a mental note to let Tessa know she should add a lock to the fence and continued on his search. The kitchen window was open a few inches and he could see her by the stove waiting on the kettle to boil. He stood for a moment and gazed at her. She was one of the loveliest women he had ever seen. He would do anything to protect her and keep her happy. He’d move Heaven and Earth if necessary. She was worth it.
“Tessa, you should close this window,” he called to her, remembering his purpose here. She jumped, startled by his sudden appearance and barely missed spilling the hot water all over herself.
“Jesus Christ, you scared me!”
He chuckled and shook his head, “No, I think you have me confused with another guy. My name’s David. Just how bad is your memory loss?”
She retorted by promptly giving him the finger, but by her smile he knew she wasn’t mad. He continued checking the property and waited until she closed the window before moving on. By the time he passed a large trampoline on the other side of the house and checked the detached three car garage—taking a moment to drool over the mint condition 1969 Chevy Camero inside—he realized it was silly to think anyone was out here. He was just paranoid at the idea the Ducibus were on to him.
He knocked three times on the front door and smiled when she opened it. He could get used to seeing her face every day.
“Tea’s ready,” she told him, heading back to the kitchen. “So where were we before we were interrupted? You were telling me why I’m not actually crazy I believe.”
“It’s kind of ironic,” David explained, taking a sip of the chamomile tea. “In order to explain why you’re not crazy, I need you to believe the crazy story I’m about to tell you.”
Tessa eyed him, but replied, “I’m all ears. Give it your best shot.”
Nico cursed his bad luck. Just when things were finally working in his favor, the stupid rent-a-cop ruined everything. Where did this night go so wrong? He’d scrambled so fast to make sure he wasn’t seen, he ended up with mud all over his shoes! Someone will pay for this, he thought. I bet it was the barking that gave me away. I should teach the mutt what happens when someone messes with me. Maybe I’ll use it to clean off my shoes by kicking it a few times.
He had been on the bench directly below the open kitchen window with his flip cam on record when the banging began. He didn’t panic until the guard mentioned he’d been spotted by a nosy neighbor who didn’t have enough sense to mind their own business. He scrambled off the seat, shoved the recorder back in his pocket, and flew to the roof, crouching next to the corner of the fireplace chimney. As he watched the scene below, he weighed his options. Revenge on the mutt seemed fun, but he needed to stay focused. He saw the suspect as he left the house and thought about confronting him when he checked the property. He almost jumped back to the ground when he thought better of it. If it turned out not to be David, there would be hell to pay from the authorities—and he didn’t mean the pathetic rented ones.
The suspect and the girl were back inside and the window was shut. He had no choice but to return to his hotel. Patience wasn’t his strong suit and sitting for hours on the slim chance they would come back outside didn’t sound like a good plan. He needed evidence this was David, and even using his extra-sensory hearing to listen in on their conversation wouldn’t work since the microphone on the recording device wouldn’t catch it. As late as it was, they’d probably go to bed soon. Nico longed for the days when he could capture a suspect, beat the information out of him, and claim his victory like he did in his human days. As a captain in the Queen’s army, he was granted amnesty and allowed to sentence captives without a second thought. While he never killed for sport, he never regretted taking a life either. He would do whatever it took to get the job done, and he couldn’t be sorry for doing his job well. It almost cost him a place with the angels, but his vow that he would voluntarily hand himself over to the Demons, should he overstep the boundaries, sealed the deal with the Council of the Archangels. In the decades since becoming a Hunter, he learned to walk that fine line, but didn’t like it.
With one last look at the house, he stretched his wings to their nearly eight foot span, and was ready for flight. It felt good to have them freed from the confines of his human clothes and he ruffled the feathers to feel the slight breeze move through them. With a little jump, he was in flight.
After returning to his hotel, he needed to let off some steam, so he took to his favorite hobby. He changed into filthy rags, apologizing to his skin and feathers for making them endure synthetics, and walked through the streets of the Steel City. He found the local homeless hangout and smirked. This was going to be fun. He applied a thin layer of Vicks under his nose and moved toward his prey.
“Hey man, whatcha got there?” he slurred to the disheveled man closest him, pointing to the brown paper bag he was clinging to.
“Just some hooch.” The man eyes shifted between Nico, the swill, and a knife by his knee. Nico wasn’t worried, he’d played this game before and he was already three moves ahead.
“Care to share with me? I’m new. Just got off the train I been ridin’ from Jersey.”
“I ain’t got much left.”
“Just a taste.”
The man grumbled and reluctantly handed the bottle over. It was bad form among the homeless not to share if asked. Lord knows they might need the generosity themselves someday.
Swallowing down his disgust, Nico took it, careful not to touch the decrepit man. He hid the glow of his hands from the man’s view and quickly changed the contents of the container. It was all he could do to keep from laughing as he said thank you and handed it back.
As he turned to walk away, the homeless man called after him, “Hey! What the hell is this? What happened to my hooch? It tastes like water!”
Snickers seeped through Nico’s tightly pursed lips, and he scanned the underpass for his next victim. After turning five more men’s wine into water, he was satisfied for the night and released his wings once more. Soaring over the bright lights of the skyscrapers as the mortals below went about their night, he reflected upon the day. He didn’t get his target, but he got to play with the winos. These people had no idea how inconsequential their lives were, or how easily he could change their world. He let that take him out of his funk as he touched down on the hotel’s roof. He fixed his eyes upon all of the twinkling lights all around him. David was out there. He couldn’t hide forever. And Nico would get his man one way or another.
Tessa sipped her tea as she sat at the kitchen island and watched David attempt to form words. Focusing all her attention on him now, she had a hard time glancing away. He was devastatingly handsome, and even though he appeared to be her age, there was wisdom behind his eyes that convinced her he was an old soul. If he went to Winchester Thurston Prep with her, he would have every girl eating out of the palm of his hands. She smiled at the way he furrowed his brow when he thought and the way he became protective of her when Vinny told them something might be wrong. She found herself happy as she hung out with him, and not a whole lot since the accident put her in good spirits. She wanted to spend more time with him.
“I volunteer a lot at free clinics around town,” David started. Tessa’s smile grew at this. He’s only getting better and better, she thought as she nodded and encouraged him to continue. “I enjoy helping people and knowing I made them feel better.”
David loved working at free clinics in the poorer areas in town. He’d been traveling from city to city over the last forty years doing this. He’d stay in one place for a few years, not long enough for someone to notice he didn’t age. He appeared to be in his late teens, so he convinced the doctors he needed the volunteer work for college applications. They allowed him to prep the rooms, restock the shelves, and take patients’ vital signs before escorting them to a room. The clinics were so overworked and understaffed they didn’t notice if the patient’s injuries were lessened by the
time the doctor saw them. David couldn’t heal them completely without raising suspicion, but he’d make sure to do enough so they wouldn’t need a repeat trip. He would heal a fracture or laceration in one clinic and ease stomach viruses or severe arthritis in the next. Their relieved emotions and gratitude felt wonderful, even doing something small to comfort them. He had to be careful so a pattern wouldn’t be noticed so he spent his days visiting different clinics all over the city.
“That’s a wonderful thing,” Tessa remarked. “We had required volunteer hours at my school in order to graduate. Most kids just got their parents to sign the form without doing the work, and the ones who did complained most of the time. Not a whole lot enjoyed it.”
“Ever since I was little, I liked to see joy on people’s faces as their suffering eased knowing I helped with that. My parents were healers, helping anywhere they could and they let me tag along.”
“So they were doctors?”
“You could say that. But I didn’t grow up in the States, and where I lived didn’t have such modern medicines.” David omitted the fact it was also several hundred years ago.
“I bet they’re proud you’re following in their footsteps.”
“I’m sure they’re very proud of what I’m doing,” he said, not believing his own words. He wasn’t sure how all the good he did now could ever make up for the horrible things he once did. Those first few years on the run were dreadful. Posing as a homeless war vet on the beaches of Southern California he tried to blend in and do some healing at the local shelters. Every day he was able to help someone he was reassured he made the correct decision to defect. David developed the strongest sense of purpose he ever had in his thousands of years of existence. He spent years practicing his powers to heal, careful to do enough to repair the damage, but not transfer his powers.
Until he met Tessa.
“I get the feeling you also like to help people Tessa. Am I right?”
Echo of an Earth Angel (The Earth Angel Trilogy: #1) Page 4