Angel Of Mercy (Cambions #3)

by Dermott, Shannon

  Mom didn’t answer. I stood. There were things that I wanted to shout but it wouldn’t have been respectful. I headed to my room tired of the lies and secrets.

  “Mercy wait,” Mom said catching me in the foyer.

  I spun around. “For what? You said your parents were dead.”

  Searching my eyes, I waited for her to tell me again that she couldn’t give me the truth. “They are to me,” she said.

  “What does that mean?” I asked before realizing asking her anything was fruitless.

  “My father is a demon Mercy. He doesn’t care about me. He has no morals and I don’t want you around him.”

  Giving her the, you’ve got to be kidding me look, I took a page out of Maggie’s book. “Then why are you sending us to his island?

  “He’s on tour. He won’t be there the entire week. He said his staff is on vacation but will stock the place before you go. Plus the island is hidden. I know you will be safe.”

  Okay, I thought. She actually sounded reasonable. “And your mom?”

  Looking a way for a second, she met my eyes. “My mom was human and died giving birth to me.”

  This wasn’t news, just a confirmation that I’d at least been given the truth about that. Not saying anymore because what was there to say, I headed back into the den.

  Chapter Twenty Nine

  Things moved pretty quickly after that despite the late hour. Back in the den everyone was on their phone. Maggie spoke up and waved my mom over. When she handed her the phone I figured she was getting her parent’s permission.

  David was talking about date and time to someone on his cell. I assumed he was setting up a flight time.

  Flynn and Luke were also talking to people. Snatches of conversation said Luke was on the phone with Tom, and Flynn was on the phone with Brent.

  I quickly dialed Sebastian but he didn’t answer. Not sure what to make of that, I didn’t leave a message. I’d try him again later.

  “Eme,” Maggie said. “Can I borrow your phone?” I didn’t have anyone else to call, so I took it out of my pocket where I just placed it. “Thanks,” she said before quickly dialing a number with deft fingers. “Doug, it’s me. I’m using Mercy’s phone.”

  Stepping away to give her privacy, I headed out to the back. Sitting on one of the deck chairs, I looked out to the expansive back yard.

  Not long after, a felt a hand on my shoulder. I’d heard the door open but hadn’t looked back to see who it was. Now, I peered in to ocean blue eyes. He looked troubled and I wasn’t sure which Luke was here. That bothered me.

  “Everything okay?” he asked.

  With a mini smile, I said, “Yeah” and then turned my focus back out to the scenery. He sat in a nearby chair.

  “Your mom?”

  It was easier to confess what was bothering me by explaining what happened. When I finished, I added, “It’s just I’m tired of all her secrets and lies.”

  “I think she believes she’s protecting you,” he said.

  “I get that. But what was she protecting me from in not telling me her dad was alive and he’s a demon? I mean what does that have to do with this all mystery of my existence?”

  Before he could answer, the gang showed up. The glowing light from above the back door illuminated Flynn grey paler making him look more of a sickly yellow as he and Maggie sat at the table.

  “This should be interesting,” Flynn said flippantly. My eyes shot to his. “I mean, the four of us, plus Tom, Brent, Doug, Sara—”

  I sat up straight in my seat and looked at Luke. “It wasn’t his decision doll face. It was mine. She’s my plus one,” Flynn said, smugly.

  I felt like Minotaur with smoke blowing out of my nose. My hoof would have struck the earth to shake it preparing for the kill. If I had them, I would have impaled him with my horns. He only smiled at my discomfort. Luke shrugged and I said to Flynn, “You are an asshole. She wants to kill me and you’re bringing her along. Great.”

  “She’s reformed,” Flynn said. “And I need company.” He spoke with all the innuendos of the world laced in those words. He needed a bed partner.

  “Wait a minute. The ho wants to kill you?” Maggie asked.

  Rolling my eyes, I said, “Yeah, newsflash. Sorry, so much has been going on, I forgot to tell you.”

  “How can you forget something like that?” she asked.

  “I was trying to forget.” And Flynn was doing his very best to make me unhappy. “What are you going to do about Doug?” I asked, trying to take the heat off of me. I hadn’t meant not to tell her.

  “He’s going to talk to his parents in the morning,” she said. Then she looked at Flynn. “He may need your dad to talk to his parents.” Shifting her gaze to me, she said, “Your mom is going to talk to my mom in the morning.”

  Flynn said, “Brent is looking forward to this.” Then he smiled at Maggie. She rolled her eyes. I couldn’t take it anymore.

  “Why are you being such a jerk?” I challenged.

  Pointing to himself, in all innocence he questioned, “Me?”

  “You just want Maggie and me to be miserable,” I stated because it was fact.

  Cocking his head to the side, he said, “Why would you be miserable?”

  Luke jumped in. Scooting over closer to me and placing his hand on mine, he said, “Look, if Maggie and Doug are going, Tom has to come. And it’s a full moon. Brent still needs supervision during the change. So he has to come too.” Putting his arm around my shoulder possessively, he said just to me. “I can’t stop him from bringing Sara. It’s his Dad’s jet.”

  “Alright, get a room,” Flynn chided.

  “Like you have a problem with PDA. You invented the word,” I sneered.

  “Let it go,” Luke intervened. Tension continued to grow between Flynn and me as we traded angry stares.

  With a screech, Flynn’s chair scrapped back as he stood. “I’m beat. It’s been a long night.”

  Maggie looked at him, then nervously back at me. It was clear Flynn and I both had words for each other that weren’t nice at all. “Your mom said it was okay for me to crash here.”

  “Is that what you were telling your parents?” I asked. I had thought it was a bit late for her to call about Spring Break plans.

  “Yeah,” she huffed. “And wouldn’t you know it. They asked to speak to your mom like they didn’t trust me or something.”

  “Oh,” I said. Maggie usually got away with murder.

  “Apparently, Liam called to see if I made it home. And when I hadn’t, Mom was worried and just wanted to make sure I was safe,” she added, gesturing air quotes with her hands. “Your mom is going to call my mom in the morning about the trip.”

  “You can crash in my room,” I said.

  Maggie looked over at Luke. “It’s cool. Your mom said I could sleep in any of the rooms.”

  Flynn, who hadn’t yet left said, “I’ll show you to one.”

  Nodding, she followed him back in the house leaving Luke and me alone.

  “Are you staying?” I asked quietly.

  He smoothed down some of my flyaway hairs and said, “I haven’t been home much these days. I should probably go home and check on my mom.”

  Selfishly, I said, “She’s probably sleeping right now.” I gave him a sly grin.

  Smiling, he said, “You’re right. She most likely is.” Then he added, “I’ll come to your room after I talk to Flynn.” About what, I wondered. But I didn’t ask.

  I nodded and we went back inside. Mom wasn’t downstairs, so it was probably a good thing that Luke didn’t follow me straight to my room. We headed in opposite directions once upstairs. Maggie popped her head out of the second door on the right on my way to my room. She wore a tee shirt that hung low on her thighs and read, That’s What She Said. Immediately, I knew Flynn had let her borrow it. I felt my teeth grinding. But I had no cause to be upset.

  “You and Luke?” she said softly looking down the hall as Luke disappeared in Flynn’s ro
om.

  “He’s stopping by later,” I said softly.

  She nodded. “I figured you two—” She didn’t complete the thought.

  Ignoring her, I said, “I could have given you something to wear.”

  “That’s what he said.” And she laughed more to herself. I smiled but didn’t totally see the humor in her statement.

  “I’ll see you in the morning then.” I headed off and she nodded. I shouldn’t be mad that she was wearing Flynn’s shirt or that he would have said something that struck some small cord. It was like he wanted to be the bane of my existence.

  Closing the door to my room, I got ready for bed. I put on a white tank and shorts and pulled my hair back in a ponytail and waited for Luke to show up.

  I’d almost fallen asleep when the bed dipped. Safe in his embrace he whispered, “I thought I’d lost you.” And there wasn’t any more talking. He silenced any conversation. “I just need to hold you.”

  Chapter Thirty

  Alone was how I woke up. At some point last night when I was in a state between sleeping and waking I felt Luke come in. His presence was enough to send me tumbling into dream land.

  Now, pushing the hair that had escaped the ponytail from my head, I just felt lonely. It was mid-morning and my stomach gave a growl worthy of a baby tiger. So I got to my feet and made my way downstairs. Strangely, the house seemed far too quiet. Maybe Maggie and Flynn were also gone.

  Padding in bare feet across the marble tiled foyer, I heard my mom grumbling. As I neared, I could make out just what she was saying.

  “Who does he think I am? As if he didn’t fend for himself before I came along. You’d think he starved until I showed up.” Her rant raised my eyebrows. I was used to her dissatisfaction with me lately, but it was strange to hear her talking about David that way.

  Steeling my features, I walked in not wanting to eavesdrop any longer. As expected the kitchen was void any occupants besides the two of us. She slapped a slice of bread on top of the bottom half of a sandwich, leaving finger impressions. “Um, I can make lunch,” I said causally.

  Her head snapped up and if her hair weren’t severely short, it would have moved viscously with the movement. With a huge knife now in her hand, she said menacing, “I’ve got this.” And she sliced through the sandwich in one chop. Tossing aside the knife, which made me feel better, she dropped the sandwich on a nearby tray which also held a soup bowl. The white porcelain was strewn with splashes of what must be some sort of tomato based soup. “David isn’t feeling well. And he’s hungry.” There was no way to overlook the sarcasm that dripped from her words. She sounded like she was mocking him. “I have to work tonight. And you all will leave tomorrow morning. Make sure you text me when you arrive.”

  Not wanting to be the target of her venom, I said only “Okay,” and watched her walk out of the kitchen with the tray of food and drink. I wanted to tell her that if he wasn’t feeling well, chicken noodle soup was a better option, but I wanted to continue breathing. Instead, I went to clean up the mess she made and what a mess it was. It was easy to see she hadn’t wanted to make lunch and she took out her anger on the food. There was something really wrong with my mother and I didn’t know what it was. I made a mental note to try and talk to David about it when she wasn’t around before we left. I hoped he was okay. He seemed fine last night.

  After eating, I was at a loss for what to do next. Luke was planning to stay close to home today. I’d have him for the next several days so I didn’t call him. After going back upstairs, I confirmed that both Maggie and Flynn were gone. Thinking about Flynn only served to get my heart pumping, and not in a good way. I didn’t want that Sara girl to come with us. I was oh so certain she had her eyes on Luke and I was worried his eyes might be on hers as well.

  I grabbed my car keys figuring on a drive. Based on last night’s conversation, I assumed I was no longer grounded and I needed air.

  To test the weather, I opened my window. It changed drastically from cold spring to almost hot like summer overnight. If I hadn’t wanted to risk a close encounter with Flynn I would have taken a dip in the pool. Slipping into shorts and a tee, I decided to head to the do-it-yourself car wash. It was something to do. The car might get rained on while we were away, but I didn’t have any other ideas. Pocketing my phone and wallet, I headed out.

  The sun was like heaven. Something about being outside lifted my mood. I was putting the keys in the car to open the door when I heard a car roll up behind me. Nerves hit me and the key fell out of my hand. I bent down to get them, fumbling with the door lock when a hand wrapped around my bicep.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” a rough voice said.

  A yelp of surprise left my lips at the same time I jumped. Yanking away, I said, “You deleterious asshole.” The word escaped me without thought. Well, studying for the SATs had paid off. His confused expression made me grin. But his obstinate stance, with feet spread and arms folded, said he wasn’t moving.

  “I maybe an asshole, but your deleterious actions will get us all killed.”

  My smile faded. So he knew what that word meant. My victory was short lived. “I’m just going to the car wash.”

  “Then I’m going with you,” he said with conviction.

  “No you’re not, I said, moving back to my door, prepared to leave. I wasn’t a child. “Where is Luke?”

  “Luke is at home and I’m not a baby.” My hand was shaking with rage. How dare he. He was always trying to act like he was the boss of me.

  Snagging the keys from me, he held them up over my head. But I refuse to take the bait. I wasn’t jumping up and down. He was far taller than me. I looked away from him when I said, “What do you want from me?” I said sounding somewhat defeated and somewhat miffed.

  “You don’t want to know,” he said and licked his lips.

  My eyes flamed over him like I could burn him to a crisp. “Your life can be an ephemeral one if you don’t give me those keys.” My tone was deadly until I caught the dark stains that marred his perfect features. Flynn was still not better. “Please,” I tacked on sounding like a wimpy dog. Way to go Mercy. Give him hell then come off as weak.

  “We can do this two ways, doll face.”

  Locking with his glacial stare, I said, “And what would that be?”

  “The easy or the hard way.” When I didn’t answer, he gave me knowing smirk before he said, “Easy way is you agree to let me come with you.”

  “And—” I gritted my teeth; I didn’t want him to go with me. I might as well just go to my room. But then that would mean that I’d totally admitted defeat.

  “Or, the hard way.” He took my keys and moved them closer to the waist band of his jeans.

  “You…wouldn’t… dare.” The pauses between my words punctuated my utter loss of a good comeback.

  He grinned. Of course he did. I reached deep for something to say. But the longer I waited the more his hands moved further to dropping the keys down his pants. “Fine,” I gritted out.

  His grin ballooned and his hand reversed. I reached my hand out but at the last second, he snatched them in his clasp. “I’ll drive. I can’t trust that you will follow through.”

  I stomped to the other side of the car like a temperamental child. I didn’t care. “The egotistical perfidious hedonist,” I muttered on the way.

  “I know you are but what am I,” he sing-songed just as the car beeped to signal the doors were unlocked. That beep reminded me I had been stupid beyond reason. Why had I been trying to unlock the door the old fashioned way?

  So I lashed out. “So what are you, twelve?”

  “Webster, you’re the one name calling. And if I’m a hedonist, then so are you.”

  “Am not, and how do you know what that means?” I ranted.

  He folded his hands over the roof of the car placing his chin on top to look at me. “I know a lot of things doll.”

  Cutting him off, I asked, “Why do you insist on calling me every
thing but my name?” I was breathing hard. My anger came to a head. If I hadn’t been so idiotic, I could have been gone before he caught me.

  “I could say that I like pissing you off. Or maybe I don’t want to be like every other guy. Or maybe I just call them like I see them.” He ducked into the car leaving me wondering over his words. When the car roared to life, I quickly buckled up.

  “Where are we headed?” he asked.

  “Self-car wash,” I answered mildly. I was too busy over thinking what he’d said.

  Chapter Thirty One

  When we arrived, the place was full save one vacant slot. Grateful I didn’t have to sit in the car and wait any longer, I hopped out as soon as he pulled to a stop. On one the side of the brick stall, a broom-like thing was attached to a hose. I pulled it out to inspect it just as the other door clapped closed.

  “Wait, Princess,” Flynn uttered.

  Turning, I aimed the broom at him unwittingly like I was holding the launch mechanism for a long range missile. ‘Princess?’ Why was he calling me that? I raised a brow.

  “Mercy. You need to pay,” he said as if he were chiding me like a small child.

  “Oh,” I said, disarmed and once again I felt foolish in front of him.

  “Give me a minute,” he said before ducking out and heading to the left towards the center of the building.

  While he was gone, I moved back towards where I’d picked up the broom thingy and read a sign that explained all the instructions. Well duh. When I finished, a gurgle of noise came from the brush. I lifted to inspect it. That’s when I was hit in the face with a fist sized bubble of foam. I aimed the brush towards the ground while I used my other hand to wipe the foam away.

  His chuckles only made his rancorous actions more murder worthy. “I’m going to go help this girl wash her car,” I heard him tell me, just as I’d gotten the last of the foam off my face. And when he began saunter away he advised, “You don’t have a lot of time so you shouldn’t waste it.”