by Lisa Olsen
“What’s wrong?” He frowned at catching my expression and I scrambled to change the subject.
“Nothing… I’m hungry, aren’t you?”
“I thought that was pretty obvious,” he grinned, hands still resting on my hips.
“No, I mean, we skipped dinner. I could whip us up something pretty quick or we could send out for pizza. What sounds good to you?” It was pretty obvious food wasn’t on his mind, but Ben let go of me with a sigh, moving to sit on one of the barstools while I made us a simple meal. It went like that for the rest of the night. Ben would make a romantic overture and I’d hesitate or pull away before things got too intimate.
I wouldn’t have blamed him if he’d gone home for the night, but he stuck by me, falling asleep beside me without pressuring for more. Sleep wouldn’t come for me, no matter what I tried. The idea that it might not actually be Ben sleeping next to me sent me out to lie on the couch with a book and a soft, fuzzy blanket, hoping to distract my overactive imagination into letting go.
*
It was late when my cell phone rang. I might not have even noticed if I’d been asleep, my phone automatically went to silent at eleven o’clock. The number on the screen flashed as ‘restricted’, but I answered it anyway.
“Hello?” There was no answer, but the line remained open, and I could tell someone was on the other side. “Hello,” I repeated softly. “Is anybody there?” All at once I had the strangest feeling… “Adam? Is that you?” With a click, the line went dead, a strong confirmation in my books.
Maybe it was because I’d called him earlier that night, maybe he wanted to know I was alright. Maybe I was being a total idiot and it was only a wrong number. The more I thought about it, the more convinced I became it was Adam reaching out to me. Deciding it couldn’t hurt to try it, I pulled up the recent call log. More than likely whoever was on the other side would be annoyed to have me call back at such a late hour, but I still hit the button, holding my breath as I waited to see who would pick up.
The line clicked on, but no one said anything. “Adam?” I tried again, “it’s me.” Still, no one replied, but neither did they hang up, and I took that as a good sign. I probably should have hung up, but instead I couldn’t help myself. “I’ll bet you’re wondering why I called for you tonight. I’m okay,” I began, as though he’d answered me. For no particular reason, I went on to give a little summary of what went down in the bar at La Hacienda, leaving out any references to angels or demons, trusting he’d know what was going on by the players involved. I could almost imagine him listening to me, the eye roll that would come from my describing Sam as menacing. After I was done telling him about that, I talked about how things were going at work, with Matty and Daphne, my visit with Sam; pretty much everything except for Ben and me. It was probably the strangest wrong number that caller ever got before, but it made me feel closer to Adam, even if it was more imagined than real. When I talked myself out, I sat there with that open connection, in the darkness of my apartment. “Are you still there?” I asked at long length, and was greeted with the click of the lost call. Unwilling to let it go without getting a final goodbye in, I sent a text, *goodnight*. I needed that little bit of closure. After several minutes, my phone flashed with an incoming text message.
Goodnight Mercy
Chapter Five
I settled into my new routine without too many wrinkles in the plan. During the day I was fairly safe as long as I stuck to my apartment or crowded, public places. Sam apologized for giving me the impression that demons required absolute darkness to move around the earth. Apparently they preferred the darkness, sticking to shadows whenever possible and direct sunlight made them uncomfortable, but they didn’t turn into a pile of dust like vampires, unfortunately. My biggest early warning device against them was the lack of an aura, and it became a regular pastime for me to check auras before I even checked faces whenever someone approached.
Ben stuck to me like glue whenever he was off duty, and Sam took over on nights I had to work. He became a regular fixture in the late hours at Eden. It got so that the only place I was guaranteed a little privacy was in the bathtub, but even then I usually had Mimsy as a companion, given her obsession with bubbles.
I was willing to trade a little bit of privacy in order to keep from being demon food. Azazael hadn’t made a single move so far that I was aware of. No more strange dreams and no unusual visitors, until one early evening when Daphne came into the club for a drink, an unfamiliar face following close behind.
“Hey, Daph,” I smiled in greeting, sliding over her favorite drink, “Who’s your friend?”
“Hi Mercy, this is Mitch. Mitch, you’d better be nice to Mercy, she’s my best friend.”
“I’ll be on my best behavior,” he grinned, revealing very even, very white teeth. Mitch was a good looking guy overall. His hair was a little long for my tastes, and I liked my men clean shaven (he had a serious case of nine o’clock shadow), but I could see what attracted her.
“Keep an eye on him for me, I’m gonna hit the ladies room.”
“I can’t make any promises, I am working,” I smiled back at her, but it was slow enough I had time to chat. The music was loud as usual, and I leaned over a little to make sure he could hear me. “What can I get you, Mitch?”
“How about a long, slow, comfortable screw?” His smile grew cheesy, like he thought he’d made the funniest joke on the planet.
Oh great, he was one of those. We usually got at least one a night, some guy ordering a blow job and then patting his lap when I showed up with the drink. So far Parker wasn’t too keen on me dumping the drink in their laps, so I put on a tight smile, standing back up straight so he couldn’t see down my top. Our work uniforms weren’t super revealing, a black vest paired with a black skirt. Well, it could be revealing, if I left a button or two open or shortened my skirt like some of the waitresses did. But I had to bend and reach for things a lot as a bartender, so I tried not to push the boundaries of good taste. “One screw, coming up.” I had to say I liked Jake better than Mitch, and I wondered what had happened with him? They’d been getting along great the last I heard. “So, how do you know Daphne?”
“One of those chance encounters,” he continued to smile at me, watching my every move while I prepared his drink. Did he think I was going to make it wrong? “I’m glad we met because I’m thinking there are other forces at work here.”
“I beg your pardon?” My brows rose, not quite picking up what he was laying down.
“You and me, angel,” he winked. “How about you slip me your phone number?”
Was he seriously hitting on me when not two minutes before Daphne had declared me her best friend? Was he mentally deficient or was his ego that big? “How about you…” I mashed my lips together to keep from completing the thought that might land me in trouble if anyone was listening. “… enjoy your drink and have a nice night?”
“Oh come on, we both know how it is,” he pressed, leaning closer across the bar. “I don’t see a ring on your finger, that makes you fair game. Admit it, you’re curious, I can tell I’m getting to you.”
“That would be revulsion,” I muttered, setting his drink down with a thunk, and I could care less if it sloshed over onto the counter.
“Playing hard to get, I can dig it.” He took it in stride, brushing droplets of his drink from the back of his hand. “But you and I both know in the end I’ll get what I want. What we both want. The sooner you realize it and part those sweet little thighs…”
I’d been trying to tune him out but my head snapped up at that last bit. Was it Azazael? Physically they weren’t that dissimilar, same rough body type, same coloring. The guy came on seriously strong, and this is from a girl who gets hit on as a regular basis in the course and scope of employment. It was as if he expected me to lie down and do him right there on the bar and I’d only come across an ego like that from a fallen angel. His aura was a deep purple, but I had no idea if Azazael’s p
resence would alter how it would appear.
“It’s you, isn’t it?” My eyes narrowed at him, and he barely missed a beat.
“It’s me, I’m the one,” he grinned widely. “So, if you want to…”
“Get it through your thick skull, I’m not gonna fuck you!” I yelled, drawing stares from around the room. Mitch or Azazael, or whoever he was, froze with a deer in the headlights look, and the club got considerably quieter, despite the music.
“I…”
“I know who you are and this isn’t gonna work, so leave me the hell alone!”
Parker appeared at my elbow, his hands raised in a supplicating gesture. “Whoa, let’s take it down a notch, okay?” he smiled nervously.
“No, I’m sick and tired of this guy stalking me. I can’t even come to work now without him pushing his way into my life. I can’t sleep, I can’t…”
“Hey, I never laid eyes on her before tonight, I swear.” Mitch backed away, nearly running into Daphne whose eyes were wide with confusion.
“Get out!” I was losing it, I know that. Even then I knew I was acting wildly inappropriate for work.
“What the hell is her problem? I’m a paying customer.” Mitch picked that moment to get indignant, which was the wrong move to make.
“We here at Eden respectfully reserve the right to tell you to go fuck yourself,” Parker waved him off. “So go be a paying customer somewhere else.”
Grateful for the vote of support, I let out a sigh of relief, noticing my hands were not only shaking, but emitting a faint glow. Catching up a dishtowel, I covered them as best I could.
“Come on, babe, let’s get out of this dump.” Mitch grabbed Daphne’s arm, but she shrugged out of his hold, her eyes cold.
“I don’t think so. Find your own way home.”
“Fine, I don’t need this,” he spat out, stalking towards the door.
“Mercy, are you alright?” Daphne’s concern was warming, but I was still shaky.
“I need a five minute break, Parker.” I didn’t wait for an answer, I was out from behind the bar like a shot. Daphne nearly crashed into the back of me when I stopped suddenly, realizing I couldn’t go out into the alley for a breath of fresh air, it wasn’t safe. “I’m gonna use your office, okay?” I asked Parker on the way back.
“Yeah, I’ll just do your job then, huh?” he muttered from behind the bar, but I wasn’t too worried about his nose being out of joint, he’d get over it. Once I was back in his office, I let go of the dishtowel, glad to see my hands had stopped glowing, though they were still a little shaky.
“What was all that about?” Daphne asked, perching on the side of Parker’s desk while I paced back and forth.
“Where did you meet that guy?”
“I met him at the Peet’s Coffee, he seemed sweet. What did he do to you?”
“You’ve never seen him before today?” That fit with my theory that it could be Azazael looking for an in to my life.
“No, why? What has you so freaked out? Will you stop moving? You’re making me dizzy.” She grabbed me by the arms and I did as she asked, rolling my shoulders to try and let go of some of the tension.
“I think that might have been Azazael.”
Daphne’s jaw dropped open, but God love her, she didn’t question my theory to start with. “Holy cow, really? What makes you think so?”
“The second you left he started hitting on me,” I replied, quick to continue when her eyes started to roll. “No, I mean really obnoxious stuff, not the normal lines I get at work. When he started talking about my thighs that’s when it hit me… What if Azazael possessed that guy to try to get to me? It sounds exactly like what Sam said he would try if the dreamland thing didn’t work. What… do you think I’m overreacting?”
“Maybe he was just a pig? It does happen you know.”
“But some of the things he said, they were just like the stuff Azazael was saying to me, that’s what made me think of him. Either way, you definitely don’t want to see that guy again. You didn’t give him your phone number, did you?”
“No, he didn’t ask for my number. He asked me out for a drink, so we came here.”
Yet another reason in my favor, by my way of thinking. The guy asked for my number inside of thirty seconds, why not ask for Daphne’s? I know I have the angelic allure going on, but Daphne is really pretty on her own, with long blonde hair and a perpetual tan, she’s never been short on dates, no matter what she says. “Promise me you won’t go picking up guys in coffee shops any time soon, okay?”
“I don’t see why my dating life has to suck just because you’re demon bait,” she grumbled.
“Be careful, that’s all I’m asking.”
“You sound like my mother.” Her nose wrinkled with distaste and we shared a laugh. I was feeling a lot better about the whole thing. If that was Azazael’s best shot, he’d have to try a lot harder to get to me.
“I should get back before Parker gets into one of his moods. Are you gonna stick around for a while or are you going home?”
“My night just opened up, so I’m free.”
“Okay, first round is on me.” I ventured back to the bar, not quite sure what mood I’d find Parker in, but he seemed fine. Concerned even.
“Feeling better?”
“Yeah, I’m sorry about that, Parker. I know I shouldn’t talk to customers that way…”
“Don’t sweat it, darlin’. I can stand to lose an asshole like that. I can’t have people thinking they can treat my girls like that, right?” His arm came around my shoulder, and I returned the one armed hug with a relieved smile.
“Ah, my knight in shining armor,” I batted my eyelashes at him dramatically until he gave a lopsided grin.
“Knight in shining armor, I could get used to that.”
“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend, honey?”
I realized there was a blonde woman standing on the other side of the bar, watching us expectantly. “Yeah, honey, introduce us.” I couldn’t help but smile at Parker’s flush of embarrassment. Parker had his share of women, but most of them didn’t show much of an interest in us. Of course, most of the time Parker didn’t have his arm wrapped around the staff either, which he was quick to correct, his hand dropping my shoulder to scratch the back of his neck
“Ah… hey, babe. You’re here.” His smile was only slightly tinged with guilt, which was odd for Parker. So far as I knew, he was never guilty about anything. “This is Mercy, she’s one of my oldest friends.” That was news to me, and I couldn’t help but smile at hearing he considered me to be one of his oldest friends.
“Oh, you’re Mercy.” Something about the way she said it made me think she was less than thrilled to make my acquaintance. Once I got a better look at her, I wasn’t so sure I was all that happy to meet her either. She was pretty in a high maintenance kind of way. Blonde hair with expensive highlights, too much gold jewelry, ridiculously high heels with skinny jeans. An off the shoulder top showed she didn’t believe in tan lines and the bright pink lipstick with matching nails proved she didn’t have any taste. Her aura was a muddy orange, a little darker than Parker’s, but there were brown blotches spread through it like mold. That meant while she wasn’t exactly evil incarnate, she definitely wasn’t in the running for the humanitarian of the year award either.
I was staring, and pulled myself out of it, pasting on a polite smile. “Yep, I’m Mercy. Sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”
“Oh, sorry, this is Sharona, she’s my…”
“Significant other,” she supplied, and I saw Parker give a bemused nod. “I’ll have a seven and seven with sugar on the rim and three maraschino cherries please.”
“Coming right up.” My smile stayed fixed, though for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out what Parker saw in the woman. It wasn’t like he was hurting for female companionship. He was rich and good looking, somewhere in his mid to late thirties I guessed, with pale blue eyes and tousled, dark blonde hai
r that made my fingers itch to push away from his forehead sometimes. A notorious flirt, Parker always enjoyed playing the field. But her? She was about as genuine as my vinyl couch. Even if I didn’t have the window into her soul, I knew she was bad news. But Parker ate it up, smiling back at her in a goofy manner.
“Parker, I want to sit.” Like a dog dancing for its master, I watched Parker run around the other side of the bar, brushing off the barstool before she planted her bony ass onto it. With an effort, I snapped my jaw shut from where it had been hanging open, darting a quick look at Daphne, who sat a few seats down, watching the exchange with interest.
“So, how did you kids meet?” I asked, busying myself with her drink before she cracked the whip.
“It’s kind of funny actually, at the…”
Sharona cut him off midsentence. “I met Parker at the Jaguar dealership. He was the sweetest guy ever. Weren’t you, pooky?”
“You’re buying a Jag?” My brows came up in surprise both at the story and the ‘pooky’.
“I’m thinking about it,” Parker tried to downplay it.
“Remind me later to ask you for a raise,” I murmured, sticking my tongue out at him playfully when he pretended like he wanted to backhand me. “And it was love at first sight, was it? That’s so romantic,” I added, laying it on thick, mostly to watch Parker squirm.
Her pink nails raked across Parker’s chest, drawing his full attention back to her. “It was very romantic. Well… steamy at any rate.” Her smile turned sly and she dropped me a wink. “I don’t have to tell you, do I, sweetie?”
Wait, did she think I was sleeping with Parker? “I wouldn’t know,” I replied, but I wasn’t sure Sharona heard me anyway, she was too busy whispering something racy into Parker’s ear. At least, I assumed it was racy from the look on his face and the way Parker’s hand slid around her waist.
I knew I had something unpleasant to do and I wavered back and forth, trying to decide if it was any of my business or if I should leave matters alone. But what would you do? If you knew with absolute certainty that your friend was about to be hurt by someone who didn’t give a damn about him, would you sit back and let it happen?