by Siobhan Muir
“Look up another name to see if it shows up at GRT. Butler.”
“Okay, first name.” Jeff began typing.
“No idea, but check around the times when the majority of the names show up at GRT together.”
“Let me see what I can come up with.”
I sat back and let him work without interrupting, but my mind turned over the information he’d found. My guess was Butler and the Thug-in-Charge were using GRT as their face-to-face meeting space when they needed to get information to a lot of people at once. It was out of the way but still close to Denver, an easy drive or quick flight to the airport. Roughing it without actually roughing it.
Fuckin’ glamping.
“I’m not finding anything. There’s no Butler at the hotel or resort logs, or residents with that name.”
I rubbed my eyes as my stomach growled. “I bet it’s an alias to give to the minions.” I groaned and stretched my neck. “I’m gonna get something to eat and call it a night. It’s been a long day.” I nodded at the computer. “Are you gonna keep going or go home?”
Sam stirred from his preternatural stillness. “It is late and starting to snow again. It is better if Jefferson stays off the roads tonight. I will find him a place to sleep.”
I blinked and shot Sam a surprised look. “It’s starting to snow? It was clear and warm when I got back…” I checked the time. “Forty minutes ago.”
“It is better to stay than go.” Sam’s expression remained stoic but confident.
“Okey dokey.” I pulled out the phone and texted Michael that I was on my way. “You do what you need to do but be safe.” I gave Jeff a meaningful look and switched my gaze to Sam before bringing it back. “I’m gonna grab some dinner.”
“Yeah, that sounds good. My eyes are starting to cross anyway.” Jeff nodded and closed all the programs. “I’m starving.”
Supper still hot and waiting for you.
Michael’s text warmed me up and made me smile. “Get some food and rest and I’ll catch you in the morning if you’re still here.”
“What about you? Are you heading home?”
I shook my head. “Nope, someone trashed my place, remember? It’s better for me to be here, off my personal grid.”
“Right, I forgot.”
Jeff rose from the chair and stretched, and Sam watched him like a dog watched a delicious treat. I thought about taking Jeff aside and warning him to watch out for Sam, but while the biker wore a hungry expression, I didn’t get the sense he meant to hurt Jeff. Good thing because I was too tired to kick anyone’s ass physically.
“I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Good night, Haley.” Jeff wrapped me in a hug and for a moment I let someone take the weight I’d been carrying around with me.
“Good night.”
I backed out of his arms and left the infirmary before anyone saw the tears in my eyes. Damn, when did I ever get so emotional about the stress of my job? Never, that’s when, and it was weird that I felt it now.
I shook off the odd feeling and stepped out of the clubhouse. As Sam had said, fat flakes of snow cascaded down, coating the gravel yard and all the buildings. The air smelled of cold water and I suspected this storm would give us a decent snowfall. I shivered in my light jacket and hurried through the falling fluff to Michael’s door.
He opened it before I could knock and just the sight of him made tears come to my eyes again. I tried to say hi but a sob broke loose from my chest as the corners of my mouth turned down.
“Haley, are you all right?”
“Oh glory, Michael.” The stress of the day overrode my usual calm and I threw myself into his arms.
“Hey, love, what’s going on? I have you. You’re safe.”
He kicked the door shut behind me and pulled me against his chest, murmuring sweet nonsense as I soaked his shirt with my tears. All my fear, frustration, excitement, and stress emptied themselves into his willing embrace and I relaxed for the first time in days.
Michael held me as I sobbed out the overwhelming emotion that had been building up since I witnessed O’Donnell’s murder and he let me use his strength to hold me up. With him, despite his profession, I felt safe and cared for. Yeah, he could be overprotective from time to time, but when I needed it, he was there.
I finally wound down from the initial outburst and pulled back, wiping my eyes on my sleeve.
“Better?” He gave me a half-smile full of compassion and gentleness.
“Yeah, I think so. Thanks.” I sniffed and cleared my throat.
“You’re welcome, love. Come have something to eat. As my friend Attila says, eating puts everything in perspective.”
I snorted. “Attila says that?”
“Well, it comes out more like, ‘och, get a wee bit o’ haggis into ya and the world willna be so dire,’ or some such.”
I laughed at his exaggerated Scottish accent. “I’m starving so he might not be wrong.” I followed him to the little table outside this kitchenette. “What’s on the menu tonight?”
“Homemade mac n’ cheese, seared zucchini, and crusty bread with garlic butter.”
“Damn.” My mouth watered as I washed my hands in the sink. “Not low calorie but sounds divine.”
Michael snorted. “I don’t know about divine, but Grub doesn’t get cooking wrong.”
He pulled covers off the plates waiting on the little table and a delicious scents of baked cheese and garlic hit my nose. I moaned with pleasure and slid into one of the chairs.
“Oh, this looks like heaven.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “I’ll treat you to heaven later. Right now, eat.”
****
Michael
I watched Haley eat, only picking at my food as my gut churned with my Mother’s directive. I had to choose if I was going to stay with Haley through all her trials and adventures, which bloody well scared me. Or if I was going to walk away.
Just the idea of turning my back on her made my stomach rebel and Grub’s wonderful meal threatened to come up. I got the tattoo. It means she’s meant to be mine, doesn’t it? Yeah, probably, but I couldn’t keep her in my life if I didn’t tell her what and who I was. I’d lose bigger than if I voluntarily walked away. I’d planned this intimate dinner to tell her my heritage, my connection to the divine, but the moment she threw herself into my arms, crying out her stress and fear, I couldn’t bring myself to add to her woes.
She might think dating an angel is brilliant.
True, given her reading proclivities, she might be thrilled with my angelic origins. But she read fiction, and the reality of an angel sitting across from her, making love with her, might be more than she could handle. Or believe.
That was the hard part. I liked where we were, the way she wanted me to hold her and comfort her. I liked that she trusted me enough to come back to me. But could she really trust me if I didn’t tell her who I was?
Haley sighed and sat back, her plate clean. “Good glory, that was good. Give my compliments to Grub. He’s a master.”
“I will. He’ll be pleased to hear it.” I rose and collected the plates. “Tea?”
“Yeah, I could definitely use some tea after today.” She sighed and rubbed her face with her hands. “I got a tip that ADA Mitchem was doing something hinky and I followed him.”
I damn near dropped the plates in the sink. “You did what?”
“I followed him to an abandoned train yard.” She stretched her shoulders and neck, unaware of my horror and disbelief. “He met with a guy named Butler to talk about the murder of ADA O’Donnell and how he needed to fall in line or he could end up the same.”
I braced my hands on the counter and tried to breathe through my clenched teeth to calm down my irrational fury.
“The thing is, Butler might have been the one speaking and giving the orders, but one of the thugs they had with them is the real guy in charge. I’d bet my life on it.”
Sweet glory, she’s already betti
ng her life on this. I tried to calm myself down because the last time I’d told her she couldn’t do something, she’d coerced my brother into taking her where she wanted to go. And Mom had reminded her I had to trust her if I wanted her to stay in my life. Trust that she could do her job and ask for help when she needed it. Even if I wanted to tie her down and keep her safe.
I took a deep breath just as the kettle started to whistle and I pulled it off the stove. Pour the tea and simmer down. My own pep talk didn’t work as well as usual but I managed to bring two mugs and a teapot to the table.
“What will you do now, then?” I hoped my voice sounded mild despite my urge to shake sense into her. How could she put herself into such danger? That was my job.
Haley gave me a smug smile. “I got video of the meeting on my phone.”
I wanted to throw up. The only way to do that was for her to have gotten close. I gave her a watery smile. “Did you? Can you identify the speakers?”
She nodded. “I already know Mitchem, and Butler is distinct. The hard part will be identifying the Thug-in-Charge. He’s big, burly, and dumb-looking, which definitely works to his advantage. He can be at all the meetings and his ‘contacts’ don’t suspect a thing. I bet he sees a lot more than his supplicants suspect.”
“But you don’t know who he is?”
She shook her head as she sipped her tea. “No. It might take me a while, but I’ll figure it out. Even if it takes divine intervention.”
I blinked. Divine intervention. Mom had come that afternoon to knock some sense into me, and to threaten consequences to my actions like a good parent. The question came down to what I really wanted, and it took me a few moments to realize this was it. I wanted the domesticity of Haley coming home and telling me about her day. She didn’t hide it from me even though she knew I didn’t want her putting herself in danger. She trusted me enough to share it. I swallowed hard. I had to return that trust if I wanted her to stay with me to have more of these domestic moments.
“Speaking of divine intervention, I need to tell you something.”
“Oh yeah?” Then she rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I bet. I should’ve asked you how things went after I left.”
At first, I gaped at her. How did she know the Goddess came to visit? Was it showing on me or something? But then I realized she meant to return the favor of domesticity and wanted to hear about my day. I chuckled uncomfortably.
“My mother stopped by to see me today.”
“Your mother? Is she in the club with you and Luke?” Haley’s eyes widened and she blushed. “Does she know we had sex the other night?”
“Oh, yeah. That’s not a question.”
“Oh.” She grimaced and rubbed the back of her neck. “I’m kinda glad I wasn’t here for your meeting with her, then.”
“Yes, that would’ve been a little awkward, I suppose.” Not as awkward as telling Haley my Mother was the Goddess of All. Which you still haven’t done, you blooming twat. I cleared my throat. “Anyway, she made it clear that I needed to trust you to do your job and take care of yourself even though I’m usually the one going into battle.”
Haley smiled. “I like her already.”
“Right, well, she thinks pretty highly of you, too.” At least the Goddess wasn’t opposed to me being with Haley. But I still hadn’t figured out how to tell her I was an archangel, with wings and flaming sword. “She wanted me to tell you—”
The ring of my cellphone broke the moment and I recognized Loki’s ringtone. What the hell was he calling about at this moment? I was tempted to let it go to voicemail and call him back as soon as I was done explaining things to Haley, but I’d learned long ago ignoring Loki’s call often led to rough consequences.
“Excuse me a moment.” I grimaced apologetically and opened the phone. “Michael.”
“Michael, something has come up and I need you to take care of it, ja?”
“Right. Does this have to be done now or can it wait a bit?” I shot a look at Haley who yawned behind her hand.
“You’ll go tomorrow with Scott and Attila. Some of our vendors aren’t living up to their ends of our deals, and must be convinced to change their perspectives. I need you to help them understand the error of their ways.”
I nodded. Keeping people in line once they’d agreed to work with us was part of my duties. “Right then. When?”
Haley rose and pointed toward the bathroom. “I’m gonna go take a shower and get into bed.”
“Haley, wait—”
“You’ll leave at first light tomorrow morning.” Light amusement laced Loki’s voice and a suspicion bloomed in my mind. Was the sodding bastard making sure I couldn’t talk to Haley?
She waved at me and disappeared into the bedroom as Loki noticed my silence.
“Michael, are you listening?”
“Yeah, I’m here. Tomorrow at first light. Which vendors are making trouble?”
I only listened with half an ear as Loki rattled on about our suppliers and distributors, but I wanted to go after Haley. I wanted more time to connect with her and tell her who I was. I’d finally made the decision to do it and I wanted the time to follow through.
“Right then. Sounds good. I’ll be ready at first light.” I knew my voice was curt, but I needed to get off the phone.
“Det er bra. See you in the morning.” Why did he sound so damn amused?
I set the phone on the charger and headed for the bathroom when someone knocked on the front door. Who the hell wanted to talk to me now? I reversed direction and opened the door.
“Oh good, you’re not busy. Loki’s got a wild hair up his ass about this and he needs us to coordinate before we go tomorrow.” Scott pushed his way into the living room with Attila right behind him.
“Oy! Now’s not a good time. Can’t we do this in the morning?”
Attila shook his head as he wrinkled his nose. “No, Loki wants to do something special with a few of these laddies. Are ye in the habit of wearin’ cologne now, Michael?”
“No, why?”
“Yer scent has changed. It’s…sweeter almost.” The werewolf narrowed his eyes at me. “By the First Canid, you’re mated!”
“What?” I gaped at him.
“What?” Scott gaped at me.
“Aye, that’s what it is. You’ve gone and found yourself a lover and by the smell of it, they’re a special one indeed. Who is it? That lovely lassie that’s been here the last few days?” Attila looked around as if he’d find Haley hiding under a couch cushion.
“You got yourself a long term lover? Male or female? Or someone else?” I had to hand it to Scott. He might have looked like set-in-his-ways biker, but he’d embraced the knowledge of the LGBTQ community.
“Woman, her name is Haley, and yes, she’s been here the last few days. In fact, she’s here now, so do you think you could come back later to do this?” I gestured at the door, urging them back outside.
Unfortunately, neither seemed inclined to leave.
“Wait, she’s here now? I want to meet the woman who snagged my buddy Schnoz’s heart. Or is that dick?” Scott moved toward the bedroom but I blocked his path with a growl.
“Don’t you have your own woman to love up?” I turned him bodily around.
“Aye, Scott may have his own lassie to shag, but not me. Perhaps she’d like a taste of a wild Scot.” Attila made an attempt to head back into the bedroom, but I blocked him as well.
“Either sit your ass down in the front room and tell me why you think we need to work this out now, or get the fuck out.” I’d lost all my humor and apparently it made an impression because Attila backed off immediately.
“Okay, okay. Keep your shirt on. Here’s what we were thinking of doing.” Scott sat down at the table and spread out the plans.
I tried to pay attention and I knew my memory would remind me later, but I really didn’t want them to stay any longer than they had to. We went over how we’d approach the vendors and remind them who they worked for, and we
ironed out how we’d deal with some of the trickier ones. That would be my job, soothing ruffled feathers.
By the time we’d come to agreements on what we needed to do and who we’d see first, it was close to ten at night, and Haley hadn’t come out of the room. I shooed my fellow members out the door with a little more of their ribbing, and locked it behind them. Sighing, I turned out the lights and headed for the room.
I hoped she’d be awake and waiting for me to talk to her, but she’d curled up in the bed and fallen asleep with her tablet beside her. My heart swelled in my chest and I grasped the tablet, moving it to the bedside table where she could find it in the morning. She didn’t move, just snuffled a little in her sleep, making me bite my lips to keep from chuckling aloud.
I wanted to wake her and tell her who I was and how much I wanted her in my life. How much I needed her. How much I loved her.
But it was a conversation best held when she was fully awake, and I’d have to wait until I returned from Loki’s last minute trip. Both the trip and Scott and Attila’s visit had mischievous interference all over them, and there was nothing Loki liked better than to watch people around him squirm in frustration and fear. Bloody bastard.
Sighing, I used the bathroom and undressed, sliding into bed with Haley. I’d leave her a note if she didn’t wake before I left. But for now, I’d hold her for as long as she’d let me.
Chapter Fifteen
Haley
I scrubbed my face with my hands and blew out my breath in frustration. It had been three days of non-stop research and staring at screens of information, and I knew I was close to figuring all this mess out, but I wasn’t there yet.
I had Tori’s list of names, and I’d added ADA Mitchem and the mysterious Mr. Butler, but it still didn’t show me what I wanted to know. Other than being lawyers for the City of Denver, they didn’t have a lot of connection. And the Thug-in-Charge had remained obscure.