Shifting off the bed, I searched the ground for something else to wear. I was not going to Marcello’s looking like a hooker which was exactly what the twins seem to have intended.
“What do you have to report?” Michael didn’t even bother to get dressed, comfortable enough in his own skin to stand in the middle of the apartment butt ass naked. I couldn’t blame him. What an ass it was.
Gabriel stopped staring a hole in my exposed breasts and turned to Michael. It was a curious thing the way he suddenly went from fun-loving pervert to a soldier in a blink of an eye. His back straightened, his grin slipped into a flat line, and all humor disappeared from his face. “We caught up to Uriel in the ether, but he gave us the slip again. Lucifer has his demons searching the nether for him as well.”
“And the protestors?” Michael asked sternly.
Shifting uncomfortably, Gabriel glanced over to me where I’d been pretending not to eavesdrop as I pulled on a pair of slacks and a ruffled blood red shirt. “They’re still calling for her demise.”
“What?” I choked, my eyes widening. My eyes darted between the two of them. “Now they want me dead? When did this happen?”
Gabriel grinned at me as if he hadn’t just said all of Heaven wanted to take me out. “About the time you were sucking down Michael’s cock.”
I threw a shoe at him. Sadly, he easily dodged it. Turning to Michael, I held my hands out in front of me and pleaded, “What are you going to do? You won’t let them kill me, will you?”
Michael’s brows furrowed. “Of course not. They aren’t completely unreasonable, and it isn’t all of Heaven, only a third of them. The rest either don’t care or—”
“Want to fuck you,” Gabriel happily provided.
“Woah. Woah.” I waved my hands in front of my vagina. “Three is plenty as it is, I’m not opening Janetown for everyone in heaven. There’s only so many dicks I can handle.”
“Janetown?” Gabriel guffawed, and Michael lifted a brow. “Can I get a day pass ‘cause I seriously need a vacation?”
While Gabriel and I giggled over my new terminology, Michael pulled his clothing back on. Once he was done, the angel came over to me and kissed my forehead, a sweet gesture that strangely made me frown. He’d never done that before.
“I have to go. Bring Gabriel with you to Marcello’s.” Michael held my hands and peered into my eyes. There was something serious about his face that made my heart race. “Please be careful. Uriel is still out there, and there may be others who come for you. The best advice I can give you is to not make eye contact with others unless you know for sure they are human.”
I glanced between Michael and Gabriel, the latter nodding solemnly. “They can’t touch me if they aren’t corporeal though, right?”
This time Gabriel answered. “That’s partly true. We technically not allowed to involve ourselves with humans, but they will use our involvement with you as an excuse to bend those rules.”
“And we can affect the world around us, make things harder for you.” Michael gave me a warning look.
“Kind of like how you can make it thunder and the ground shake?”
Michael nodded. “Precisely.”
“You should bring Mandy with you too,” Gabriel suggested, “as an extra precaution.”
I sighed and grabbed my phone from where I’d dropped my purse inside the door. “Well, it’s a good thing I had already planned on calling her in the first place. She’s going to ask questions, you know. Lots of them.”
“That’s fine.” Michael cut his gaze to Gabriel. “Keep an eye on her.”
Then he was gone, leaving me with Gabriel, a ringing phone, and a bad feeling in my stomach.
“What do you want now? I have a pile of paperwork on my desk, and O’Connor is in one of his moods again.” Mandy’s voice came over the line with a hint of exasperation in it.
Frowning at where Michael had once stood, I mumbled, “That’s too bad.”
There was a pause, and then Mandy asked, “What’s wrong?”
I looked to Gabriel in a panic. “Uh, nothing. Why would you think something was wrong?”
“Uh, because you didn’t make a wisecrack about O’Connor,” she astutely noted. “So, either you’re hurt, sick, or something bad happened. Which one?”
I let out a nervous chuckle. “Oh, you know. It’s just that time of the month. Hey, while I have you on the line, what are you doing for lunch?”
Mandy sighed. “Contemplating my sad existence, why?”
Working as a detective at the Blessed Falls Police Department was hardly a sad existence, but I let her have that one. Her partner, O’Connor, was a dick and in serious need of a personality makeover. Mandy and I have been best friends since elementary school, and we knew each other like the back of our hands. It wasn’t surprising Mandy knew something was wrong with me right off the bat. However, I wanted to keep her out of my supernatural political problem as much as possible.
“I have a case I’m working on and would like some backup,” I said truthfully. “I have to find this golden trophy for a rich guy running that fashion competition this weekend. Think you can help me out?”
“You mean Andre Belmont?” Mandy let out a high-pitched squeal, and I could practically see her bouncing up in down in her seat. Mandy might be the serious one of the two of us, but even she apparently wasn’t immune to hot rich guys.
“How do you even know him?” I asked, a bit bemused. Gabriel pointed at the clock, and I held a finger up.
“Well, that’s a long story.” She giggled like a flustered school girl. Weird. Andre was hot, but Mandy rarely got this worked up over a guy.
“You can tell me when you meet me at Marcello’s.”
“Ooo, fancy.” I heard some rummaging around, the sounds of the precinct filling in from the background. “Just give me five minutes, I’ll be heading that way.”
“Okay, I’ll be there. And Mandy,” I waited until she let me know she was still there, “don’t dress like a cop.”
“I don’t dress like a cop.”
Rolling my eyes, I huffed a laugh. “Yeah, you do.”
“Fine, I do, but if I’m dressing up, you better be putting out.”
I chuckled, winking at Gabriel. “Oh, you know I’m good for it.”
“I expect flowers too.”
“Pfft. What? Do you think I’m made of money?” Mandy laughed, and I hung up before she could give me a quip about my parents’ money. No need to start an argument.
Gabriel moved away from his place at the counter and eyed me up and down. “So, I’d ask for some of the good stuff, but I don’t think we have time for what I want to do to you.”
I flushed, my body pulsating at his words. “Good idea.”
Chapter 6
MARCELLO'S WAS ONE of the, well, I wouldn't say best, more like the only Italian restaurants in Blessed Falls. That meant they could charge up the ass for cold spaghetti and cheap wine. However, it was all worth it for the garlic bread.
"Mmmm," I groaned as I sank my teeth into the warm buttery goodness. It was like a parade on Ecstasy were having a party in my mouth and that party came with a ton of orgasms. Like, someone had taken ordinary bread and poured liquid love onto it and baked it to perfection. Really, they should write symphonies for this bread. Sonnets. Poems. Sappy love songs that would be played at weddings just to this bread.
“Oh, god. I can see your mind going crazy. Please just stop.” Mandy who sat across from me at the table rolled her eyes and tried to hide her face in her hand. She’d come to meet me for lunch in the middle of work. So, she was dressed for the office. Slacks and a polo shirt, along with her badge and gun on her hip. For someone who was supposed to be good at staking people out, she sure didn’t know how to dress the part.
“I can’t.” I hummed, taking another delectable bite. “It’s just so damn good. It’s better than sex.”
“Even angel sex?” Mandy arched a brow curious instead of embarrassed for a moment.
Opening my eyes, I peered over at Gabriel who seemed more than interested in hearing what I had to say to that. Well, I couldn’t very well kill his ego over a piece of bread.
I sighed, sitting the bread back down. “Okay, not quite there but close. Still you have to admit. It’s oh-god-oh-god,” I grabbed my hair and chest in a mock ‘When Harry Met Sally’ moment. “Good.” I smirked and picked my bread back up.
Mandy made a disgusted sound. "Please, stop that. People are staring."
Smirking, I darted my eyes around the restaurant. Circular tables covered in red table cloths sat around the room. Some of them were stained, but nobody cared, or if they did, they didn't complain. Small LED tea lights sat in the middle of the table encased in painted glass cups. Being lunchtime, most of the tables were filled, and the air was filled with chatting guests taking time out of their busy days to have lunch.
No one even blinked an eye at Mandy, Gabriel, and me sitting in the middle of the room. Well, Mandy and me. Gabriel wasn't exactly visible.
"I don't agree." Gabriel grinned, leaning on his elbow as he grinned at me. "I find it extremely interesting that the face you make when you are orgasming is the same as when you eat bread."
Most people would be embarrassed to have your orgasm face told to your best friend but I was a stronger person than that. Plus, not like Mandy hadn’t heard worse.
"Not just any bread," I told him through a mouthful of Nirvana, tipping it to him like a tea cup. “The perfect most wondrous bread in the world. No the universe. Even God couldn’t make this good of bread.”
“Ah, ah. That is blasphemous.” Gabriel waved a finger at me. “You don’t want to piss you-know-who off. I like being here if you don’t mind.”
I pouted, fluttering my lashes at him.
Mandy's eyes moved to where I talked to what she thought was an empty space. "You know, it's a bit unnerving to see you do that. I thought you could make them... you know..." She waved her hand at Gabriel's chair. "Visible."
I lifted a shoulder. "He didn't want to be. I can't make him."
Gabriel snorted, and then his voice lowered an octave. "You could make me do a lot of things. However, I didn't think your culprit would wait around while I fucked you silly."
I flushed, a smile spreading across my lips. "Stop it."
Ignoring Gabriel's flirty wink, I glanced over at the balding guy who was sweating through his cheap polyester suit. Noah had arrived at Marcello's a few minutes after we had taken our seat. Now, we waited while stuffing our faces for him to meet whoever Noah was waiting for. I hoped it was the guy we were looking for.
The way he had been talking to Nikki, I had high hopes that it was an inside job and that maybe it had been more than one person. If this panned out, then I could get the trophy, get paid, and hopefully get laid.
"So, tell me about this case," Mandy said before taking a bite from her food. "You're looking for a trophy? I thought you mainly did stalkers and cheating spouses.”
I scowled. “Hey, I do more than that.” I stared at her and then grinned. “Sometimes, I rescue lost puppies and walk old ladies across the street between stalkers and cheating spouses.”
Mandy and I giggled.
Gabriel watched with growing amusement. I wondered what he thought of this all. Did he have any best friends? Or just brothers in arms? Did he even have parents? There were so many questions I wanted to ask him but now wasn’t the time to do it."
"Yep." I popped my lips at the end of the word and then took a sip from my cup. Yum. Drinking at noon in most cases wouldn't have been a good thing, but since it was all chargeable to Andre, I thought... what the Hell? It's wine o'clock somewhere.
"And this guy might have it?" Mandy angled her eyes toward Noah but didn't turn to look at him like a true pro. Why couldn’t I be that cool?
I shrugged. "Hopefully, but I'm not betting on it. He was acting sketchy at the Civic Center so..." I lifted a shoulder and dropped it once more.
I wasn’t betting all my chickens on this farm but I had to start somewhere and if that meant I got a free meal out of the deal? Then I was all for it.
"Can't your little angels help you?" Mandy teased, swirling her fork in her spaghetti before shoving it into her mouth. The table jolted, and her water glass, no wine for her she was on duty, knocked over, spilling over the edge of the table. Mandy jumped up with a gasp before the water could hit her lap.
Gabriel chuckled and leaned back in his chair.
"Not cool." Mandy narrowed her eyes on the empty space.
Licking a drop of wine from the edge of my mouth, I giggled. "You shouldn't make fun of them. Not cool."
Mandy sat back down with a scowl as our waiter rushed over to clean up the mess. "Thanks." She offered the waiter a smile before turning back to me. The waiter almost swooned on the spot. Mandy had that kind of effect on people. Men in particular. She was a blonde boom shell with a gun. "Anyway, why can't they help you with this? Why me?"
"Would you rather be back at the precinct listening to O'Connor whine about his lack of sex appeal?"
"Can’t I just want to have lunch with my bestie?” I cocked my head to the side. “Would you rather be back at the precinct listening to O'Connor whine about his lack of sex appeal?"
Detective O’Connor was Mandy’s partner and a real pain in the ass. He had a tragic love life and was constantly taking it out on Mandy and those around him. If I was her, I’d have eaten my gun before the day was over. However, Mandy had always been the more patient one. She was my best friend after all.
Mandy rolled her eyes. "You are really looking to get yourself arrested one of these days."
"Hey." I pointed my fork at her. "I have never assaulted him... just verbally abused him." I winked at Gabriel.
Giving me a small smile, Gabriel turned his head, distracted. He seemed to be listening to something.
“What is it?” Mandy asked me, looking to the empty chair and then me.
"He's on the phone." Gabriel jerked his head toward Noah.
Shifting slightly in my chair, I watched our guy from the corner of my eye. Noah had the phone pressed to his face, his mouth pinched into a tight line. I couldn't tell what he was saying, but I was sure that he was arguing with someone on the phone. For a moment, my attention was pulled from Noah to the same two angels from the other day.
They were sitting at a booth. Not talking just sitting there. At least this time they weren’t trying to stand out. I glanced a look at Gabriel but he didn’t seem to notice them. Or if he did he wasn’t saying anything.
Well, if he wasn’t worried then I wouldn’t be. Yet.
"Can you hear what he's saying?" I shot a look at Mandy, and she shook her head.
I tried to listen in but I didn’t have super hearing. But Gabriel did. He watched the man, not hindered by being corporeal and then his gaze got that far away look on his face.
"The person he's meeting isn't coming," Gabriel noted.
I jerked my attention to the angel. "What do you mean he's not coming?"
"I mean that I had a vision and the guy's not coming." Gabriel stood to his feet all of a sudden. "In fact, he's about to bolt... in three, two..."
Mandy and I jumped to our feet as Noah caught us looking and took off toward the front door. I started to chase after him, but Mandy grabbed my arm. "What about the bill?"
"Bad guy first, bill later." I shook her free and ran for the door, not waiting for her to follow after. I had a bad guy to catch and I wasn’t going to let cold spaghetti hold me back no matter how good the bread.
Mandy huffed and then raced after me. The waiter yelled at us to stop, but we ignored him. We shoved through the front door and paused to search for the bald guy.
"There he is," Mandy shouted, pointing to where Noah was running down the sidewalk. We ran after him side-by-side, pushing past people staring at us. I could hear the waiter yelling at us from where he had followed us outside, but we kept pushing forward.
N
oah fumbled with his keys as he made his way toward an old beat-up Toyota. His beady eyes darted to us and back.
"You keep going, I'll cut around his car," Mandy instructed before taking off. She really pumped her arms and legs, making short work of the few yards between us. Man, I needed to work out more if I was going to be hunting bad guys.
"Having fun, pet?" Lucifer appeared on the hood of a nearby car with a laughing grin.
I shook my head at him. "I don't have time for you right now." I caught up to Noah just as Mandy whipped out her badge to show to the stuttering man.
"I didn't do anything wrong," Noah got out as he held his hands up, his eyes jerking back and forth between us.
"Then give back the trophy, and we won't have an issue," I told him, crossing my arms over my chest and putting on my best alpha glare.
"Trophy?" Noah's eyes widened as he glanced between the two of us. "What trophy?”
"He didn't take it." Gabriel appeared next to Lucifer and watched with a bored expression. I put my back to them, coming in on the other side of Noah so he couldn't take off again.
"If you didn't do anything wrong, then why did you run?" Mandy asked, putting her badge up and moving in closer. Even she didn't believe this guy was innocent.
Noah sighed, his chest heaving up and down. "Okay, okay." He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and rubbed it over his sweaty bald head. "I was going to sell the list of judges for the contest to this guy. They wanted to make sure they won.”
Chancing a glance over my shoulder at Lucifer, I lifted a brow.
He shook his head. "He's telling the truth."
"Please don't arrest me," Noah begged as he clasped his hands in front of him. "If I have a criminal record, no one will hire me ever again. I didn't know it was illegal."
Mandy let out a heavy sigh. "It's not but you're going to get in big trouble with your boss if you signed an NDA and broke it. They could sue you."
Noah's eyes widened. "You're not going to tell Andre, are you? I really need this job."
Eyes locking onto mine, Mandy lifted a shoulder. "It's up to you, this is your gig."
Heaven's Most Wanted Page 5