Angel Ink

by Siobhan Muir

  Viper received a mug of hot brown liquid from Chemistry and pulled me over to an unoccupied armchair near the TV. She sat me down and handed me the cup before she wrapped a fuzzy blanket around my shoulders.

  “Now, I want you to sip that slowly. It’s Chem’s special blend of chocolate meant to soothe heartache and emotional expenses. I’m gonna give you some time to sort through some of your shit alone before we talk about everything that happened, okay?” Viper gave me a searching look, her customary smirk missing. “You’re gonna be okay, Haley, I promise. It always works out in the romance novels.”

  I snorted. “This isn’t a romance novel.”

  She shot a look over her shoulder at where Michael sat. “Of course it is. You just have to have a little faith, right? Drink the chocolate and we’ll talk.”

  I nodded as she patted my shoulder and walked away. I didn’t bother looking up at anyone else. The room wasn’t silent, but I could feel everyone’s rapt attention on me. I sighed as I sat with my head down, my hands wrapped around a mug of hot chocolate. When the hell had I stepped into the Twilight Zone?

  Torch turned into a fuckin’ dragon. And Quan-yin became a lion dog. And Michael…

  I couldn’t finish the thought. He’d sprouted silver-black wings, bigger than any bird, even the prehistoric ones. Who the hell is he? And who was I to him?

  I shot a look toward where he sat in brooding silence, his gaze lasering into me. Yeah, right back atcha, buddy. I didn’t know what to think or do. I was only human, a trait I’d taken for granted. Sure, I’d made mistakes, that was the nature of being human. But my whole world had tilted upside down and it turned out I might have been the only human in the whole place.

  Michael, Quan-Yin, Torch, Sam. Hell, there’s even something weird about Attila. And don’t get me started on Loki. I sucked in a breath quickly. What if he’s the real Loki?

  My heart quailed at the thought. That meant other gods and goddesses might be real. Vampires, werewolves, Frankenstein’s Monster. Holy crap, what if all the stories in the tabloids have a shit-ton more truth to them?

  “Hey, Haley, how are you holding up?” Calhoun settled beside me, biting her bottom lip in concern.

  I laughed, sounding suspiciously like a sob. “How am I holding up? Let’s see. I was snatched off the street by thugs, engaged in a hardcore car chase and shootout, and then the guy I’ve been fucking turns out to be an honest-to-whoever angel with a huge fucking sword. How do you think I’m doing?”

  “Yeah, I can see how that’d be a lot to take in.”

  I barked an unhappy laugh. “A lot to take in? Are you fuckin’ kidding me? The mythical creatures from fairytales are walking around here and you’re acting like it’s no big thing. How are you okay with all this?”

  Calhoun shrugged. “I dunno. I reckon hanging out with cool people was all good. Yeah, so some of them could bench press a Mack truck, but physical strength doesn’t equate scary. Or bad. What’s your big problem with them?” She narrowed her eyes. “Is it that the mythical beings are real? Or that you’ve been lied to all your life about them?”

  I opened my mouth to reply but closed it again as I thought about what she’d said. What was I really upset about? Wasn’t it cool that I’d being hanging out with angels and dragons? Yeah, it totally threw my world into chaos, but how was that different than usual?

  Oh, shit. And all that angel romance I’ve been reading. Guess Michael did know how hot angels could be. I blushed to the roots of my hair.

  “I think it’s that everyone I trusted lied to me. They—you didn’t trust me with this.”

  Calhoun nodded. “Yeah, that’s bollocks for sure. But to be fair, we’ve only known you for a week. It’s hard to know if you’re trustworthy enough for this kind of secret. Especially because you’re a reporter.”

  She had me there. I was a reporter, the most curious human known to mankind next to a scientist, and most reporters would sell their souls for this kind of story. But I’d grown to like these people, even Loki though he scared the living daylights out of me.

  I grimaced. “I see your point. If I was such a threat to you all, why did you let me stay? Why did you make me think I was welcome? I could’ve discovered this at any time.”

  Calhoun twisted around to look at Michael and I followed her gaze.

  “Because I wanted you here despite the risks.” Michael moved to stand before me, his expression full of ancient sorrow. “The Elder Races of this world are far safer when humans are ignorant of our existence. But you were more important to me.” He nodded to Calhoun who gracefully made her exit with a squeeze to my hand.

  “But I’m human, and humans kill or destroy what they don’t understand. Right?”

  He nodded. “They definitely don’t deal well with paradigm shifts.” I blushed at his insinuation. No, I hadn’t dealt well with this discovery at all.

  I sighed and sipped my chocolate. “So what now? What happens to me? I’m only human, after all. Will you kill me to keep your secret?”

  Agonized sorrow etched his features as he knelt in front of me. “I’d sooner destroy all the art in the Denver Museum. But some secrets are meant to be kept. The question is, can you keep this one, Haley?”

  Yeah, that definitely was the question. I was the kind of person who sought truths and let the world know. It was my job to expose secrets that could hurt people, secrets of crimes, both on-going and past, that caused damage and required change.

  Is this really that kind of secret?

  I thought over the amazing things I’d seen in the Concrete Angels MC. Quan-Yin’s huge lion-dog. Samurai shifting into a big ass fox. Loki’s scary otherness. Torch shifting into a sinuous dragon, with huge wings and a barbed tail.

  Do you hear yourself? You’re really going to believe all this?

  Yeah, I was, and I would protect it with everything I had. These people might have been more than human, but they’d still protected and rescued me. I’d spent several days with them and they’d welcomed me, even knowing what I was. They were a family, and I wasn’t going to break that trust. They weren’t human, but it didn’t matter. They were just as valuable to me as Tori, my cousin Jeff, or my parents had been. And they need to be protected even more than the humans who read the papers.

  I raised my gaze to meet Michael’s, nodding slowly. “Yeah, this is my secret to protect. It’s my job to expose corruption, not…” I gestured to the people sitting around me.

  “We’re called the Elder Races, lassie.” Attila winked as he sipped a mug of tea.

  “Is that because you’re old?”

  “Och, go on. Weren’t ye taught to respect yer elders?”

  I laughed. “Yeah, but I don’t think you were what they had in mind.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Michael

  I don’t think I’d ever felt relief like I did in that moment. Haley’s laughter loosened the knot in my chest that had developed the moment she pulled back from me in the warehouse. I’d never felt such loss or fear in all my centuries of life. I’d gone a little overboard when it came to cutting down the thugs who’d kidnapped her, but I’d made the decision about my connection to Haley and they’d attempted to rob me of my choice.

  Now all I wanted to do was swoop her up in my arms and haul her to my cabin where we could make love until the sun rose tomorrow. Unfortunately, Loki had other ideas.

  “Det er bra. This would be a good time to make a contract, ja?”

  Oh sweet glory of all. Loki’s contracts. To sign one was to give one’s life to the club and hope no one found a loophole with which to bleed that life away. I’d seen the contracts Numbers, Scott’s woman, and Eric, Karma’s man, had had to sign. There was almost always a hidden death clause.

  “Contract?” Haley sat up straighter and her expression sharpened. “What kind of contract?”

  “A contract to ensure you write what needs to be written about our club, but also keep the secrets that need to be kept.” He crossed his ar
ms over his chest and the others around us nodded. I wisely kept my mouth, and my expression, closed, especially when he shot me a narrow look. “It is good to get all the terms down in writing to ensure everyone abides by the rules, ja?”

  She narrowed her eyes and tightened her lips. “Including you and the club members?”

  Loki smirked as his eyes returned to mine. “Especially me, and ja, the club members too.”

  Haley nodded slowly. “All right. What are the terms and will they be written down?”

  “Ja, written down, witnessed and signed.” Loki’s smile broadened.

  I wanted to tell her she didn’t have to do this. That we could still be together even if she didn’t sign a contract, but I couldn’t gainsay my president in front of the members and my survival, as well as the rest, depended on her not sharing the nature of our club.

  And you don’t know if she’s going to give you a chance after she saw who you are.

  Bloody hell, there was that.

  But now wasn’t the time to pull her aside and ask if we had a chance. And would it even matter? The secret had to be kept whether she chose to continue our relationship or not. I just hoped she wouldn’t resent me for it if she chose not.

  Neo stepped forward with a tablet and handed it to Haley. She took it and raised her eyebrows.

  “Wow, you guys have done this before, huh? You have it all prepared and everything?”

  “Yup. Just sign at the bottom.” Neo handed her a stylus.

  “Oh, no no no. That’s not how this works.” She took the tablet but refused the stylus. “I’m gonna read this and I’m gonna amend a few things because I’m not crazy or naïve.”

  I didn’t smirk or smile, but satisfaction settled into my gut. She’d thwarted Loki’s easiest play. Now the question came if she’d catch all his loopholes. I shot a look at Luke and Attila and raised my eyebrows. Luke shook his head, indicating he didn’t know what was in the clauses, while Attila raised a pint glass of beer, toasting either my choice in woman or her intelligence.

  Most of the other members went back to their amusements while Haley read the contract, but I kept my attention focused on her, trying to sense what she read in the nuances of her expression. Loki chatted with Karma and Neo, though he kept his voice low as if any sharp noise would give away the pitfalls he’d built into the contract.

  “Okay, I have a few changes and demands.” She sat up and fixed Loki with a firm look.

  He waved his hand regally. “Please share them with us.”

  “First, if I’m gonna be your freelance press liaison, I get full membership privileges of this club. If I’m supposed to know what I can and cannot tell the press, I can’t be going in blind.” She never looked away from Loki’s gaze but I felt her testing the waters with her statements.

  “Agreed.” He nodded. “What else?”

  “Second, I want my expenses covered. If I’m driving up here all the time, I need fuel and mileage covered for my vehicle. Snacks, too.”

  A chuckle ran through the members watching the negotiation. It was hard to argue with snacks.

  Loki grinned. “Fine.” He nodded to Neo. “Anything else?”

  “Yeah, I’m my own person. As much as Viper, Calhoun or Quan-Yin. No one’s going to treat me like the honeys you have wandering around here. They signed up for that, I haven’t. Anyone violates that, I’m gone.”

  He tilted his head thoughtfully, but smiled. “All right. Have you more demands?”

  “Yeah, I get paid. Well enough to take the time away from my regular job. Well enough that if I get fired from my other job, I still can cover my monthly expenses.”

  “Very well. Is that all?”

  “That’s all I can think of.” She eyed Loki narrowly.

  “Det er bra. Here are my additions. You will be required to live on site.”

  While that made me happier than I expected, Haley frowned.

  “But I work in Fort Collins. It’s a thirty minute drive on a good day.”

  “You work for us, now, and you’ve become an investigative reporter. They travel a lot for work, ja?” Loki tilted his head as his gaze bored into her. “You will remain connected to your office through email, phones, social media, which we will monitor.”

  “No, my email and phone are to be mine alone. I can’t be an effective investigative reporter if my sources don’t trust their anonymity.” She raised her chin and stared Loki down. I had to hand it to her, she never flinched though I suspected she knew with whom she dealt.

  Loki huffed a short laugh with a half-smile and nodded. “Ja, okay, but you will have a club email assigned to you for club business and sensitive information. You will reveal none of our secrets or sensitive information that governs this club as it is considered club business and could endanger the lives of club members if revealed. In particular, that the club members are anything other than human. Failure to keep these secrets will result in immediate and permanent silencing.”

  I swallowed hard just as Haley met my gaze. “Silencing?”

  Loki nodded. “In any way we see fit.”

  Haley licked her lips and bit the bottom one thoughtfully. “Okay, but I require the freedom to tell family should it impact those relationships.”

  “You may tell one trusted family member.” Loki nodded regally. “Family is important, ja?”

  He shot a look at me and I swore he winked, but no one else chuckled so I might have imagined it. But I did let out the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.

  “Do you agree to these terms?”

  We all stared at Haley, who’d grown more and more calculating as the negotiation went on. I suspected she weighed all the variables in an attempt to see all the pitfalls. But when making deals with Loki, no one ever saw the loophole until it’d closed around their neck.

  “I agree to these terms.” She held out her hand and Loki’s grin widened uncomfortably.

  “Are you asking me to shake on it?” Laughter rippled through the watching club members as Neo disappeared toward the offices to collect the printed contract and Loki’s special pen.

  Haley shrugged. “That’s one way to seal a deal in front of witnesses.”

  “Ja, it is one way. But in the Concrete Angels, we sign. In blood.”

  Haley looked at me. I couldn’t read her expression and I desperately wanted to know what she was thinking. Was she debating if I was crazy? Or if I was worth all this trouble? I closed my hands into fists to hide my unease as she shifted her gaze away.

  Neo returned with the papers and handed them to Haley. Loki took the pen as we watched her read over the contract carefully. Satisfaction settled into my chest. She was wise to make sure Loki hadn’t added anything to the contract on the sly.

  When she finished, she again shot a look at me before she nodded. “The contract looks good. You’re serious about the blood?”

  “Ja. It is always been this way. Then there is no forging the signature or pretending the agreement is invalid.” He held up the pen. “For either of us.”

  Haley took the pen and considered our president. She nodded slowly then placed the pen on the paper and began to sign. But she hissed as it pricked her finger. Blood flowed from the tip of the pen onto the paper. “Shit, that hurts.”

  “A little bit of pain for a lot of pleasure, ja?” Loki’s gaze slid to mine and I barely managed to keep my expression stoic.

  She scowled but signed her name in her own blood on the paper. She handed the pen back to Loki who cleaned it with an alcohol wipe, and then signed his own name. The blood shimmered for a moment before settling into a dark red ink on the page.

  “There. It is done. Welcome to the Concrete Angels.” He shifted toward his office.

  “Hold on a moment. You better scan that puppy and get me a copy. That way we all know where we stand on this.” Haley pointed at the paper with her name in blood. “And I want it in full color.”

  Neo smothered a smile as Loki grimaced and handed him the signed co
ntract. “I’ll just get this scanned and emailed.”

  “You picked a hard woman, Michael.” Loki’s sapphire blue gaze landed on mine.

  I tilted my head, an unusual sense of pride and amusement filling me despite dealing with the God of Mischief. “Not hard, Loki. Wise, aware, and careful. As she should be when dealing with you.”

  He snorted with grudging admiration and nodded. “Ja, it’s true.” He clapped his hands and smirked. “Good luck with that.”

  I ignored the niggling worry his words incited as I caught Viper and Calhoun speaking to Haley. They appeared to be encouraging her and welcoming her to their ranks. Both women were human, but they’d known about the Elder Races of the club since their induction a couple of decades earlier. I hoped they offered her some solace in her choice because I wasn’t sure she’d made the best one for her.

  After a bit, the last of the club members meandered away to find something else to do. Calhoun and Viper spoke to Haley for a few more moments, offering their congratulations or consolations, I couldn’t tell which. But eventually it was just us left in the main room of the clubhouse and I didn’t know how to start the conversation again.

  “So you’re an actual angel.” Haley rubbed her hand on her jeans.

  “Yes. Well, more than that, really. An archangel. You know, the Archangel Michael? That one.”

  Her eyes widened and she blinked a couple of times. “Wait, you’re the Archangel Michael? The one people tell stories about in religious texts?”

  I rubbed the back of my neck. “Yeah, that’s the one.”

  She gave a short laugh. “You’re not serious.”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “Come on, you’re having me on.” She laughed again.

  “No, Haley, I’m not. I’m the Archangel Michael.” I didn’t smile or tease and she slowly lost her grin.