by Sara York
“Pardon? Who’d you ask for?”
“Rafe, the guy who saved me.”
The nurse checked her chart, her eyes sympathetic. “Hmm, I’m not sure who Rafe is. The guys on the chopper said you were alone. Sounds like you were one lucky girl.”
“Guys on the chopper? Which one of them was Rafe?”
“No Rafe. Let’s see, Lash dropped down in the basket and pulled you out. Christopher was the pilot and Scott was the other EMT on board.”
“Lash? And Scott?”
“Yep, Lash Baddon. He’s the best from what they say.”
Alexandria closed her eyes, thinking about her rescue from Gunsight Mountain. Rafe had been there. She reached up and touched her forehead. The skin was sensitive where Rafe had rubbed his whiskers against her. The man had been there, in flesh and blood. She could have sworn he had.
“I’ll be back later to draw some blood. I’ll tell the doctor you’re awake.”
The nurse left the room and tears stung Alexandria’s eyes. What was happening? She would have remembered seeing Scott. The man had been her best friend for years.
Shit, she hadn’t asked about her team members. Had they made it off the mountain too? For a moment she thought about calling the nurse back in, but she didn’t want to deal with the pain if she’d lost a member of her work group. Later, when the doctor came in, she would ask if everyone had survived.
“You caused her to fall.” Lash ran at Rafe, knocking him to the ground.
They crashed to the forest floor, banging into trees and uprooting bushes. Fists flew and Lash made contact at least once, praying that he’d left behind a mark. A tree fell as Rafe kicked at Lash, missing him and taking out the poor oak. The noise rose to a deafening level as they warred. Lash tried to extend his wings, then realised that he wasn’t in his true form and that angel wings wouldn’t spread behind him, giving him the lift he needed to dive at Rafe.
“You bastard. I’m going to rip your head off,” Lash screamed before Rafe sucker-punched him.
“Enough.” Michael hovered above Lash and Rafe. The fire in his eyes and the sour pinch to his mouth left no doubt about his anger. “Stand.”
Lash shook off Rafe’s hold and crawled to his knees, then his feet, swiping at the dirt and leaves that clung to his shirt. He had a small cut over his eyebrow and Rafe had a few scrapes. They hadn’t done any real damage to each other and, since a small part of his angel DNA remained intact in both bodies, he and Rafe could both heal quickly. But if Rafe did something really stupid, he would never get his body back.
Rafe popped up off the ground, sporting a huge smile. The bastard was enjoying this switch of bodies. Of course he would—the Deceiver was, after all, a deceiver. If Lash actually killed Rafe right now then he would never be able to claim his old body or his old life. He would be forever Lash the Interferer. Lash the Deceiver. Lash the… Hell, his life sucked.
“You can’t hurt her. Damn it, it’s in the rules.” Lash adjusted his shirt, unaccustomed to the scrawny muscles. “Don’t destroy my body, either.”
Pain slashed down Lash’s back, bringing him to his knees. His skin burned and his bones felt as though someone were crushing them. The sound of Rafe’s laughter burned his ears. The threat of Puriel’s punishment kept him from claiming his old body. Every time he even thought of Rafe’s body as his, pain ripped through him. His old life and his old name were off limits. He was forced to think of himself as Lash and think of this human shell as his own.
“Temper, temper, Lash,” Rafe said, his chuckles echoing through the valley.
“Calm down, both of you. Lash—I mean, Rafe—what the hell kind of stunt was that?” Michael asked.
“I think Michael’s a bit upset.” Rafe swung up a tree to a low-hanging limb and perched on the branch, balancing on the balls of his feet. “I didn’t hurt the bitch. I actually saved her.”
Lash leaned against a sapling to help stabilise his shaky legs. He felt as though he’d been run over by a truck. With one hand against the tree to support himself, he shook his fist at Rafe, wishing he had his normal strength and wings. “You made the ice fail. She could have died.”
“But she didn’t die and the crack already existed. I can’t help it if the ice broke when I kicked it.”
Lash straightened up, accessing his full height as he thought about tackling Rafe out of the tree, but jumping him wouldn’t do any good. The body the demon occupied moved gracefully. This body that he’d been given moved like a snail. Sure, he had the strength to do his EMT job, and if his anger revved up he could knock down a small tree or two with multiple kicks, but it was nothing like his full strength in his old body.
Stupid punishment. Fuck it all.
The demon wasn’t a healer. No way would he gain redemption. Already Rafe had injured Alexandria. The bastard demon wanted nothing more than to torment Lash and force him to turn evil.
“As I was saying, you only have six more days to make this right.”
Lash stepped forward, his hand over his heart as though he were making a solemn vow. “I won’t fail.” He meant those words all the way from the top of his head to the tip of his toes.
“Ha, what a crock. You have no chance.” Rafe leaned over, almost falling off the branch but catching himself. The guy leered at Lash and winked. “You don’t even know what you’re here to do.”
Michael ignored Rafe’s antics, continuing with his instructions. “She must forgive her brother and set her life straight. This is your task, Lash, because you interfered.” Michael looked up at Rafe and shrugged. “Rafe—well, hell, if you can complete this task then I guess you will have proven your worth and you will be redeemed, but you also have to behave and live up to the goodness that is Raphael.”
The glowing angel focused on Lash again. “Now that God has reconsidered and allowed her to have a long life, she must be prepared.”
“Prepared for what?” Lash asked.
“It’s not for you to know. But whatever you do, you must make this situation, this bitterness, right with her brother or her life on Earth will… Never mind, I’ve said too much. Since you interfered with her death last time and received this punishment, she’s been given a chance to make things right. She’s angry now, and bitter. She can’t go through life with this anger hanging over her, or it will ruin more than just her life. Don’t mess this up. Either of you.”
Rafe jumped down from his perch and strolled over. “Lash—and I do love calling you Lash—I have to thank you for giving me this opportunity to redeem myself. You see, I’m a good guy at heart. And in this body I can do amazing things. She’ll be drooling all over me and I will be the one to win her approval. Then, once she’s putty in my hands, I’ll have her forgive her family because she won’t be able to resist my charm. That will mean I win.”
Lash clenched his fists. He wanted to pummel the bastard. Perfection described Rafe’s body, gorgeous and beautiful to a fault. Choose a word that meant ‘stunning’, and it would fit the angelic form that was Lash’s old body. Lash didn’t have much to work with in the demon’s body. Rafe might get away with pretending to be good for a short while, but no angel in all of creation came close to matching the goodness at the core of Lash’s being.
Michael cleared his throat. “Six days and that’s it. If I have to come down here again to set things straight, you will both be taking a trip to meet with Puriel. He’s dying to cook up something special for you two. Do you both understand?”
“Yes, I understand,” Lash said.
Rafe took off walking towards town, his gait cocky. The condescending jerk couldn’t win. Lash wanted his name and his body back. The goodness inside of him rebelled at being categorised as demonic.
“Rafe, do you understand?” Michael asked.
Rafe span around, bending at the waist in a stupid formal bow. “No problem, I gotcha covered. Next time you see me I’ll be back at God’s side, in my rightful place.”
“I’m leaving my marker in this tre
e so you can call me from here and I’ll come immediately. Only use it in an emergency,” Michael said before taking off.
As Michael flew into the sky, Lash chose to steer clear of both Rafe and the town, wanting to cool off before he ran into any humans. Michael’s visit had been a surprise. Lash hadn’t expected the Golden One to show up.
At least one good thing had happened—Rafe had shown his true self today. Why God continued with this sham of a punishment was anybody’s guess. The travesty of having to call the freaking demon Rafe, as close to Raphael as God would allow, riled Lash.
The body didn’t fit Lash, and the name people called him made him more uncomfortable each time he heard it. The fact that other angels saw him as a demon crushed his spirit.
Lash would befriend Alexandria, earn her trust and help her heal the rift between her and her brother, Rick. When he had saved Alexandria’s life four months ago, he’d interfered with God’s will and made life harder for Alexandria. Her older brother blamed her for her parents’ deaths. Anger and bitterness were her constant companions now. He’d studied all heaven could supply on Alexandria and the accidents that had taken her parents. Her brother was angry that she still went up on the mountain, and she was pissed off that he blamed her. Families could be so difficult.
Michael had given him a wonderful clue by telling him that her bitterness would prevent her from doing what she needed to do next. What the next thing in her life included, he didn’t know. Michael wouldn’t spill the tale. Somehow or other, Lash would figure out what God’s plans for Alexandria were, and help her achieve them.
Lash envisioned a time when he and Alexandria could be together. Sure, it would be difficult, but if he was good enough and fixed the situation, then maybe God would allow Alexandria to live in the world of the angels instead of dying and being lost to him forever. It was the best Lash could hope for.
Lash’s stomach rolled. Saving Alexandria had been selfish. He’d wanted a chance to spend time with her so he had forced the issue, keeping her alive when she should have died. He didn’t want her to go to the mortal Heaven where he was prohibited from being with her. The land of angels should be her final resting place so he could spend eternity with her. Selfish, yes, but he’d spent all of his time being good and following the rules. Now he wanted something more.
The full consequences of his actions were clearer now. If he was given a second chance, maybe he wouldn’t save Alexandria, but still, maybe he would do everything exactly the same for a chance to be with her. The love he felt for her ran all the way through him, right down to the foundation of his essence. No other human had ever affected him the way she did. Others had come close, but never like this.
The pure sweetness of Alexandria made him cherish every second he watched over her. By his judgement, she was the most wonderful human who had ever existed. When he’d saved her he’d only wanted a few days alone with her, but his designs had interfered with God’s plan and now here he was, trapped in the body of a demon, being punished for his transgressions. If he didn’t win this contest then the bastard demon would be given the chance to redeem his past and choose who to become.
Shit, I can’t let him win.
Chapter Two
Alexandria pulled on her clothes, her muscles straining with each move. Almost every inch of her body was bruised. The trauma she’d suffered was minimal, considering she’d actually fallen into the crevasse, but the bruises still hurt. Somehow she’d wound up on a ledge only ten feet below the top of the ice. The new paramedic, Lash, had lowered himself from the helicopter to save her, risking his own life in the process.
She needed to meet him and thank him, maybe even buy him a beer. For the first time in history, the Columbia Falls fire department had loaned one of their guys, Adam, to some place out east, and they’d given the city Lash. The cross-training programme was the brainchild of the mayor, something to make the city better. It sounded to her like this Lash guy had got the bad end of the deal. One of the Columbia Falls guys was in New York and their guy was here. The local guys were great, but only a fool would willingly lower himself into an unstable crevasse. Lash must not have known any better. The ice could have fallen in at any moment, killing both of them in an instant and downing the rescue helicopter.
When the nurse came to get her, Alexandria obediently rode in the wheelchair to the exit, then hopped in Beth’s car, glad to be out of the hospital again.
“Lexi, I’m so glad you’re alive. I can’t tell you how scared I was when you fell into that hole. I thought for sure you were dead.”
Only Beth, her most trusted team member, was allowed to call her Lexi, her father’s pet name for her.
“I’m not sure what happened up there. There wasn’t any melting on the mountain. The glacier was growing.”
“I know. It’s weird.”
Alexandria chewed at her fingernails, an unattractive habit she’d picked up after her last stay in the hospital. When she thought about the mountain and what had happened, her dream seemed more real than the way they’d told her she’d been rescued. Meeting Lash would clear her mind and help her see the truth.
The dream man who’d saved her had been a total hottie. His scent had made her feel so protected. Then again, the nurse had sworn only Lash had been on the ice with her.
Since the accident, two days ago, the ice had stopped moving. The desire to see the damage weighed heavily on her mind, but going back up there now would be foolhardy. Plus, she had a ton of paperwork to turn in. The USGS wanted their information. Thank God they’d been at the end of their expedition instead of the beginning, and she now had everything she needed to turn in her report.
“Hey, drop me by the fire station.”
“Are you sure?” Beth asked.
Alexandria closed her eyes and shook her head. “No, but I need to see this Lash guy. Thank him for saving me. Mac should be there and he can drive me home.”
“Lash is the talk around town,” Beth said in a singsong voice.
“Really? That sexy?”
Beth shot her a look, raising one eyebrow then grinning like a fool. “Don’t know. You know something about him. Maybe you were conscious up there?”
Everyone, including Beth, thought she had been unconscious when Lash had rescued her, but she’d seen something up there. Maybe the mystery man had been Lash. “So, what’s he look like?”
“Good question. He’s kind of private, and you know how the firemen are in this city.”
“Not a gay one among them. Let me guess. No one knows what the dude looks like because the firemen all describe him as one of the guys.”
“You guessed it. Takes all his meals at the fire house. Eventually he’s going to have to show his face in public and not hide behind a fire helmet or mask.”
Alexandria knew nothing of the guy who had rescued her, and that sucked. If only he were the man in her dreams, the one from the mountaintop. That would be fantastic. But wouldn’t it have been better to have Scott rescue her instead of a stranger?
The large red brick structure loomed up ahead. Four years ago the county had received a huge influx of cash from the new resort on the other side of Lake McDonald. The county government had put the money towards building new facilities. They had built a new fire house, then started fixing other buildings. Now the area had a state-of-the-art fire station and a new sheriff’s office, and the county courts building would be next. Everyone joked that the firemen could live at the new fire house and never have to leave. Entertainment, food and comfortable beds kept the city’s finest operating at optimum level.
Two new, red fire trucks sat outside the station’s bay doors. Six more trucks, including two ambulances, sat inside the garage, filling the huge space. The county had outdone itself, building an impressive base station with two satellite stations near the resort.
Mac, Alexandria’s closest cousin on her mom’s side, climbed off one of the trucks. His brawny muscles attracted him plenty of attention. All the girls
in the area were sad that Mac was a confirmed bachelor and never wanted the strings of attachment or relationships in his life. He and Scott, her best friend, had become Alexandria’s only champions after her last accident.
It pissed her off that her brother hadn’t bothered to check on her after this near-death experience. He had never understood her need to be on the mountain, closer to Heaven. Something called to her from the mountaintop, drawing her close.
“Hey, Mac. Is Lash here?” she called from across the parking lot.
Mac jogged over, a huge smile covering his face. “Hey, girl—when I heard you’d fallen into that hole I thought for sure you were dead.” He wrapped his arms around her, smothering her face against his smoke-scented shirt.
“You’ve been at a fire?” Alexandria asked.
“There’s always something nowadays. Grass fire off the highway. Some of those free-spending tourists at the resort threw a bottle of expensive mineral water out of the window. The rays of the sun on the glass caused a spark.”
“I didn’t think the grass was that dry near here.”
“Rain’s been patchy around the area. You never know when one spark will be enough to cause a blaze. Lash is inside, by the way.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you later.”
“If the alarms don’t sound we can eat lunch together,” he called out as he climbed up on to the back of a fire truck.
“Yum, firemen lunches. I love those.” Her mouth watered at the thought of one of Mac’s meals as she ambled back into the fire house, waving at the men as she went. Many of these guys knew her because of her cousin. They all treated her kindly, but every one of them was distant in some way—except Scott, but even he seemed shy at times.
She turned the corner into the kitchen and ran into Scott. Her face heated and her heart stalled when he grabbed on to her arms. They’d been friends forever, but recently she’d started to wonder if something more could develop between them. Scott had always treated her like a sister, so a relationship wasn’t likely to happen.