"Why am I not surprised to find you here? You know we have yet to find Uriel." Michael's irritated voice broke through the fog of pleasure and made me lift my head from my pillow briefly.
Lucifer lunged forward harder as he ignored his brother. And I did too, voluntarily or not, as I gasped, squeezing my eyes shut tight. The Devil’s chuckle rumbled through my backside and into my core, and I groaned.
Hauling me up from the bed, Lucifer moved his hand from the back of my neck to the front of my throat and growled into my ear, "What better way to protect Jane than from deep inside of her?"
Fucking amen to that.
“Still, you can’t very well protect her while you are otherwise occupied,” Michael continued, much to my dismay. “What if Uriel attacked now? What would you do?”
“The same I’m going to say to you, either join in or shut the fuck up,” I moaned out as Lucifer chuckled.
“So, brother,” Lucifer purred as he slowed his pace briefly. “Which is it going to be?”
With a roll of his eyes, Michael shook his head and disappeared.
“Pity,” I sighed, staring at where Michael had stood. “I’d have liked to try out both of you at once.”
Lucifer let out a low growl and thrust hard. “Well, then my eager little human, let me see what I can do about making you forget about your disappointment.”
And he did make me forget about it. All night long.
Chapter 14
WHEN I WOKE UP THE next morning, Lucifer was gone. A sense of loss filled my heart. I wondered if it would be a regular occurrence for us, going to bed together and waking up alone.
My eyes burned, and my throat tightened with emotion.
Fuck me. Get a grip.
I shook my head and swiped a hand over my eyes. I forced myself to get out of my warm comfy bed and walked to the kitchen. Turning on the coffee pot, I let it brew and headed for the bathroom.
I took my time in the shower and let the warm water wash away the night and my anxiety of what the future may bring.
I shouldn’t be worrying about the future anyway. I had a case that needed to be solved, and I was nowhere closer to solving it than I was yesterday. Going over what I’d learned so far, I tried to piece together what I might have missed.
The safe was moved, that was obvious. So, the person had to have the strength to move it. Then they had to be able to reset the safe with the new PIN. Who would know the PIN number though? If the safe belonged to the Civic Center, then I supposed they would know the PIN number as well, but why would one of them steal it?
It’s worth a fortune, duh.
Well, besides the money. I mean, if I were the owners, I wouldn’t want to lose a client like Andre who was spending tons of money to use their venue.
So, not the owners.
Maybe one of the assistants? We already knew Noah was a creep. He was going to sell the judges’ names to one of the contestants. Too bad we didn’t know who it was. I should check with Mandy to see if she ever got a hit on that phone number.
Turning off the water, I climbed out of the tub. As the shivers came on, I grabbed a towel, quickly dried off, and headed for some much-needed coffee. I went to the fridge and grabbed my creamer before pouring a cup of coffee and mixing it in. Taking a generous sip of it, I sighed. That’s the stuff. Now, what else did I know?
Noah claimed he didn’t steal the trophy, but could I really trust him not to lie? Lucifer said he was telling the truth, but he might know more than he was letting on.
Then there was Patrice. Klutzy, stammering, Patrice.
Could be an act? If she made herself look defenseless, people wouldn’t think twice about her doing something so criminal. It would be my go-to if I wanted to get away with something. However, I wouldn’t be stupid enough to keep working there.
The Shining twins were definitely on my list of suspects. Okay, so they only made it because I didn’t like them, but it was my list, I could put who I wanted on it.
I hated to put Marco or Lisa on the list, they seemed really nice. Made me look fabulous too. However, I had to be fair. At least, until I could get their alibis.
The only ones I hadn’t talked to were the contestants. And that was something I was really not looking forward too. If there was that much attitude in just the helpers, then I couldn’t imagine the ‘tude I was going to get when I start poking my nose in their business.
Guess I better get ready and stop procrastinating.
Instead of choosing something comfortable, I decided to look the part. Maybe the contestants would be more likely to talk to me if I looked like one of them. Pulling on a pair of skinny jeans, I grabbed my favorite red heels and then hunted around the apartment for a top. Now, what said fashionista in training?
After a few minutes of searching, I realized my clothes sucked. The only thing I had was the shirt from yesterday, and I so wasn’t going to get caught wearing the same thing two days in a row. I’d never hear the end of it from the twins.
“She doesn’t look like much?” a voice I didn’t know made me freeze. I pretended to keep searching for a top while out of the side of my eye, I caught sight of my two stalkers.
“I don’t know, Azrael. She does have something about her.” The tone of his voice made me think he was staring at some of my more private parts.
Tempted to cover myself and kick them out, I had to keep up the pretense that I couldn’t see them. If I couldn’t see them then they would get bored and leave, or at least that was the theory.
“Well, obviously, there has to be something about her that has made the mighty Michael neglect his duties?” The one called Azrael cocked his head, making his long white hair fall over his shoulder. The clothing they picked out looked like they had taken right off a billboard. They were definitely runway model style in their open neck shirts and tight jeans. “What do you think, Raphael? Do you think she is worth it?”
“Well, she obviously can’t see us or she’d have tattled to her bodyguards about us already.” Raphael walked over to me and knelt by my feet, his bright green eyes boring into me. He reached a hand out and tried to touch me, but his hand went right through my stomach and made my body flinch from the buzzing. “I want to know how she makes them solid. And why she can’t see us?”
“Maybe they lied.” Azrael crossed his arms over his chest and moved closer. “Lucifer is one of the ones who claims to have been spending time with her.” His nose crinkled. “Do you think they are really fornicating with this ape? How... vulgar.”
Raphael laughed. “Come now, don’t act like you haven’t watched the humans and wondered what all the fuss was about. If you had a chance to put your dick in someone, you would, even taking second or in this case third go at her.”
That was it. I couldn’t stand listening to them talk about me like I was a piece of meat they could use and get rid of.
I jerked up and spun around my hands on my hips, glaring at the two of them. “I don’t care who you think you are, but you’re not getting anywhere near my bits. So, you can just take your over ego’d, self-righteous ass and go back to Heaven with the rest of them.”
“Ah, so you can see us.” Azrael stroked his chin, his eyes alight with delight. “I was wondering if you were just pretending.”
“Yeah, well, you aren’t that fascinating. It wasn’t that hard to ignore you.” I rolled my eyes and grabbed a random t-shirt, no longer able to stand them staring at my tits.
“Oh, I can see why they like you so much.” Raphael snorted and poked a finger at my chest. “You have sass. Tell me,” he leaned forward and put his face right in front of mine, “does that sass transfer to the bedroom?” He gestured to the bed with his head.
“Fuck you,” I snarled.
“Gladly, just tell me how you made them corporeal, and I’d be happy to find out what all the fuss is about.” He trailed his finger across my chest in an annoyingly buzzing trail.
“Well, get used to disappointment.” I jerked my arm throu
gh his in an attempt to knock him away. When he only laughed and continued trying to touch me, I shook my head and moved away from him. “I’ve got things to do, and none of those include adding two more angels to my roster. And if I did, they would certainly never be you.”
“Never is a long time, Jane Mehr.” Azrael moved closer to me, his eyes on me as he searched my face for something. “You might find yourself singing a different tune at some point. We can provide you with far greater protection than any of them can.”
I laughed. “You think you’re better than two of God’s most powerful angels and the Devil? I doubt that.”
“Things are changing all the time.” Azrael stopped before me. “Especially in Heaven. Power shifts. Favorites change. Right now, your playthings aren’t getting a lot of praise for fraternizing with a human.”
What Azrael said made me pause. I already knew that those in Heaven weren’t happy with my guys being with me. However, I didn’t know how bad. The guys hadn’t really kept me in that loop.
Now, it was going to bite them in the ass.
Sighing, I dragged a hand through my still wet hair and almost called out to the others to come help me. I was stopped by my ringing phone. Saved by the bell.
Turning away from them, I reached for my phone. “Yeah?” I answered.
“Don’t sound to so excited,” Mandy said dryly. “Geez, it’s not like I’m your best friend or anything.”
Glancing behind me, I was happy to see the two intruders had taken the hint and took off. I just wondered for how long.
“Sorry,” I grumbled. “Just depressed about the boring disaster that has become my closest.” I certainly wasn’t going to tell Mandy they had showed up. It would only make her worry.
“Huh?”
I cupped my elbow with my hand and leaned into the phone. “I don’t have anything to wear that will make some fashion designers want to talk to me like I’m one of them.”
“You’re not one of them though,” Mandy pointed out unhelpfully.
“Well, no duh. They don’t need to know that.” I dug through my pile of laundry I never got around to putting up, hoping against hope that some magical elves had left me something overnight.
“What about that blouse?” Mandy suggested.
“What blouse?” I grunted as I struggled to stand back up on my heels.
“You know, that one with the built-in push up bra. You wore it at that club when you were trying to get us free drinks.”
I let out a laugh. “Oh, yeah. If I do recall, that shirt worked like a charm. We didn’t pay for anything that night and never had a dry moment.”
Mandy snorted. “Speak for yourself.”
Laughing once more, I moved from my living room area to the closet. Opening it was a hazard, and I rarely used anything in it because of the avalanche that came pouring out the moment I opened it. Hiding behind the door as I pulled it open, I watched with a bit of a grimace as shoes, books, and whatnot tumbled out of the closet. I really needed to go through this crap.
You said that last time you opened it. It’s why we don’t use anything in it unless it’s an emergency.
Well, today counted as an emergency.
“What was that?” Mandy asked.
“Uh, nothing,” I reassured her as I stepped over the pile on the floor, almost face planting when my heel caught on something.
“You haven’t cleaned your closet yet, have you?”
“I don’t like your tone.”
Mandy sighed. I could hear the disapproval in her voice which meant she was probably tugging on her ponytail too. “It’s no wonder you never find anything in that mess. You’re going to break a leg one of these days, too, or maybe the weight of it all will fall through to the lower level.”
I giggled. “Nah, you’re exaggerating.” Well, I hoped she was. “Anyway, I don’t have time to clean. I have a business to run and hot angels to bang.”
“You could get one of those angels to clean your closet,” she pointed out.
A vivid image of the guys dressed up in butler outfits cleaning my house flashed into my mind, and a body wracking shiver ran through me. Yes, please. “If they’re going to clean anything, it would be the mess in my panties, not my closet.”
“Gross.” Mandy made a gagging noise. “Where are your angels? Aren’t they usually hovering nearby?”
I let out a long breath as I tried to hide my recent fears. “Uh, yeah. Not right now. They had some emergency or something.” At least, I hoped that was it. I’d hate to think something had happened to them. Lately, they never left me alone. So, if I was by myself, then it only means something bad happened.
“What’s wrong?”
“You know, sometimes it sucks having a best friend who knows me so well. Sometimes I wanna wallow in my own crap for once,” I told her though I didn’t really mean it. I found the shirt in question from my closet and pulled it off the hanger. I then attempted to close the closet and gave up promptly. I’d deal with it later.
“No, you don’t,” Mandy echoed my thoughts. “You need someone to vent to, or you’d go crazy. So, what’s wrong? Are they giving you a hard time?”
“Not much of any time actually.” I sighed and sank down onto the kitchen chair. I didn’t want to bring Mandy into this crap, but she was asking for it, and what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t deliver? “There’s been a development.”
“What kind of development?” The suspicion in her voice reminded me that she was a cop. She was probably already prepared to shoot someone, even an angel, for me if it came down to it.
Taking my bra off, I struggled into my new shirt, only half noticing how nice the girls looked in this top. What a waste of boobage. I wouldn’t get laid or free drinks today.
“Jane?” Mandy reminded me she was waiting for an answer.
“You shouldn’t worry about it,” I said as I tried to sound as nonchalant as possible. “You can’t do anything about it anyway. The guys are taking care of it.”
“But there is something though?”
“Apparently, the other angels aren’t happy with our relationship and want to stop it.” I didn’t include the part where they didn’t care if that meant killing me. Mandy would freak the fuck out.
“That’s understandable.”
“What now?” I stood up suddenly, not happy with her easy agreement. “I don’t want to stop it.”
“But Jane,” Mandy replied with that tone of voice that said she was going to lecture me, “they’re angels. You’re a human. How exactly did you think this was going to end? You’re going to die eventually, and as far as you know, they live forever.”
I hated that she was verbalizing all the worries I’d had recently. It made them so much more real. “I know that... which is why I should get in all the time I can with them now before they leave me.”
Mandy was quiet for a moment and then asked in a cautious voice. “Jane, are you in love with them?”
“Maybe.” Swallowing thickly, I moved to the kitchen and grabbed my coffee cup. I needed the caffeine, feelings were hard work.
“Then there’s nothing I can do to help you,” Mandy relented. “Physically, I’ll kick their asses if they hurt you. But emotionally? I can only tell you to be careful, but it seems like you already let yourself get attached. So, just let me know when to come with the wine and ice cream.”
I nodded, my emotions too thick to speak, then I remembered she couldn’t see me. “Yeah,” I croaked after I cleared my throat. “I will. Thanks.” Before Mandy could hang up, I remembered I needed to talk to her. “Oh, hey, did you trace that call yet?”
“What am I magic?” Mandy laughed. “I submitted the request for a trace, but they haven’t gotten back to me yet. My favors only extend so far. I’ll have something when I have something.”
“Well, if you’d use your God-given gifts you’d get a lot further,” I reminded her as I grabbed my purse and headed for the door.
Mandy laughed. “Whatever
. I have to get back to work before O’Connor catches me slacking.”
“Alright, if you must. Give him hell,” I told her before hanging up the phone and leaving my apartment. I hurried into my car and toward the Civic Center. I half expected one of the guys to show up, but none of them did. That put me in a sour mood by the time I pulled into the Civic Center’s parking lot.
“Name?” the guard asked, barely giving me a glance.
Irritation flooded me. “Jane Mehr. I was here yesterday.”
“No one gets in unless they’re on the list.” The guard scanned the list and then reluctantly found my name. “Go ahead.”
Marching past the guard, I searched the arena for a familiar face. When I caught sight of the cotton-candy-haired stylist, I headed her way. “Lisa. Hey.”
Lisa glanced up from the model she was working on. When she caught sight of me, her lips slid into a crooked smile. “Well, I be damned. Look who’s back. You coming to get another makeover?”
I shook my head and offered her a small smile in return. “Nah, I’m good. I was going to go around and talk to some of the designers today. Want to point them out to me?”
Sticking a couple of pins in the hair of the girl she was working on, Lisa turned slightly. “Uh, yeah.” She tapped her lip with the end of her comb and looked around. “Ah! There. See that one?” She pointed out a woman with dark skin and bright red hair. Currently, she was in the middle of ripping a new ass hole into a guy with long white hair. He had a thin face and sharp nose that he held high in the air even as the woman yelled at him.
“Yeah?”
“That’s Kesha, and the guy she is bitching out is Jean Claude. He’s French.” She gave the model she was working on an oo-la-la gesture, making her giggle. “They’re both contestants, but good luck getting a word in edgewise, girl.”
I nodded with a grimace. “Thanks, I’ll start there.”
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