“I don’t think you’ll wind up being a target in this, by the way,” he said, “but I can’t guarantee that. I’ll do whatever I can to make it go away. They want me, and none of them seem to do the whole ‘hurt your friends to get to you’ thing, but I wouldn’t pretend to know how any of them think.”
“What if I keep seeing Jason?” she asked. “You guys aren’t gonna stop being friends, right? So there’s always going to be something like this… isn’t there?”
His shoulders sagged. He leaned on the countertop. “Yeah. Probably.”
“Didn’t mean to be gloomy on you.”
“No, it’s something I’ve thought about before. I’m just not sure what I can do about it besides trust Lorelei and Rachel. And my friends.” His eyes came up to hers. “You should know I’d be dead without Jason. Several times over. And I don’t want to think about what would’ve happened to Lorelei. He’s… he’s a great guy.”
“I’ve kinda caught on to that.”
“He’s way smarter than me. I mean I know he’s kinda goofy-hell, I’m goofy, too, just different-but like I said, he’s not the type to leave anyone hanging, or-“
“Alex, is there some reason you feel like you have to play wingman for him?”
That made him blink. “Is that what I’m doing?”
“Yes.”
“Um.”
“I like him a lot. I did just hint that I’m gonna keep seeing him.”
“Okay.”
“So is there some reason you’re worried about it?”
“No, I just…”
“I mean, I’m not out here to hit on you or anything,” Amber deadpanned.
“Oh, thank God,” Alex blurted, and immediately regretted it. “I’m sorry. It’s not that I assumed you were. I just… um… it’s been weird.”
“What, with the crazy sex demon and the witches and all the girls that you’ve hooked up with in the last month? Yeah, Jason told me. Relax. I’m not interested.”
“You have no idea how glad I am to hear that. No offense,” he added hastily, “it’s not like you’re-“
“Stop,” Amber said, holding up a hand to halt him. “I’m not offended. What, you think because you’re hooked up with a succubus every woman just magically wants to get into your pants?”
He glanced around the apartment, suddenly feeling sheepish. It sure sounded stupid now that he heard another woman say it. Best to deny it as firmly as he could: “…no?”
“I mean, I grant that you’re an attractive guy,” she said as gently as she could, “but maybe you shouldn’t let all this go to your head, y’know?”
“Wow.”
“I’m sorry, that came out really bitchy, didn’t it?”
“No, I just…” Alex almost laughed at himself. “I feel so validated right now.”
“Huh?”
“Nevermind. So I’m thinking I could maybe do pancakes?” he offered.
“None for us. I’m in the shower as soon as Jason gets out, and then I think we’re gonna go get my car. After that, I don’t know what he wants to do. Or tomorrow. How the hell do you just go back to school after this, y’know?”
“Want my advice? Just go to class. Seriously, you may be kind of distracted while you’re there, but when all this shit started happening with me it turned out that going to school or work helped adjust. Like I said, life goes on.”
Amber considered it. “That’s what you’re doing? Trying to lead a mostly normal life?”
“Kinda. What else am I gonna do?”
“I figured fighting vampires and werewolves and stuff would be a full-time job.”
“I’m not looking for fights,” Alex said. “I’ve had enough of fighting. Way more than enough of it. I don’t really know what I want to do with my life. I’ve got a list of things I can’t do, but I haven’t put together a list of what I can. Regardless, I’m not interested in any crusades. I’ve done enough of that. Literally.”
“Fair enough,” Amber replied, smothering a bit of a frown. “I feel like I’ve got a lot of questions.”
“I don’t mind talking, but I’m not sure how many answers I can give. I just don’t have ‘em. Knowing an angel doesn’t mean she’ll explain the universe to you. There’s stuff ordinary mortals aren’t meant to see, I guess. It might drive us nuts.”
“You mean like going to Hell? Wouldn’t that drive a person insane?”
“Well, to be fair, I only saw like one room,” he shrugged, “and it was only for like five minutes. It’s not like I got the full tour.”
They heard a door open down the hall. Both looked over to see Molly wander out wearing loose black pajamas. She rubbed her eyes as she shuffled to the kitchen. “Gimme coffee,” she mumbled.
“You got pajamas?” Amber asked, and then turned back to Alex. “There were spare pajamas?”
“I brought my own. Extra clothes, too,” Molly answered. She glanced at Amber and shrugged. “I got invited to an all-night birthday party with a hot guy and his demon seductress girlfriend and their other bugnuts angel girlfriend. I’d be crazy not to pack an overnight bag.”
Amber rolled her eyes. “Well, if I’d known…” she joked.
“Anyway,” Molly said, “I need coffee.”
Alex just smiled and moved toward the phone. “Lemme guess, black? Would Onyx want anything?”
“Oh, if you’re calling for coffee delivery, I want something complicated and girly. Onyx likes it black, though. Wait, you’ve got a landline? Seriously?” she asked, struggling to believe her bleary eyes. “Who has a landline anymore?”
“Call me old fashioned,” Alex shrugged.
“You’re twenty,” noted Amber.
“Yeah, so about that,” said Molly, “what’re you doing today? Anything?”
“I didn’t have any plans yet.”
“We’ve been talking about your little problem,” Molly said, twirling one finger at her ear without the slightest concern for tact. “Maybe Onyx and I can help you get your head straight.”
* * *
In Doug Bridger’s defense, he had been up for over twenty-four hours. He’d gone from staking out the suspects’ apartment to watching the Halloween party, and from that fiasco to securing a wounded suspect’s hospital treatment and then straight to running a ritual to cloak the presence of Wade, Drew and the others arrested that night, and then back to the morning stakeout shift outside the residence.
Academia, the pursuit of the occult and the Bureau had all taught him discipline. They taught him mental stamina. He could do this. He could sit in a car for hours as Downtown Seattle woke up and began a lazy Sunday. He could watch the traffic peak and recede, take note of a mostly clear sky and listen to the news while never losing focus of the building and his subjects.
The text message from Amber provided a helpful nudge. “Leaving, old red Civic,” was all she said, but it was enough. Bridger pulled away from the front of the building to its side garage, nabbed a parking spot and waited.
He spotted the car as it emerged from the exit. His eyes darted this way and that, ensuring he had a clear path out of his street parking spot to follow the Civic. He saw the driver of the car signal, threw on his turn signal and checked the crosswalk to make sure he was clear.
Then he saw those legs. Mystic wards against mind tricks and the evil eye aside, Doug was only a man. He couldn’t help but notice those long, slender, perfect legs that reached all the way up under that tight miniskirt and the shapely, attention-grabbing ass underneath it.
Nor was he the only one to notice her as she walked by. Why she threw off her coat at that particular moment, striding across the street in those heels, most would never know. Doug figured it out, though, as soon as traffic around him went all wrong. Brakes squealed and fenders slammed together. His car was struck at the front as he pulled out, bashed at the left corner by an SUV whose driver swerved right to get a better look at the raven-haired woman.
Doug cursed. The Civic evaded the whole mess with its occupants probably none the wiser. He looked at the two men in the SUV, who craned their necks around to see the woman rather than looking first at the damage they had done.
Frowning, Doug looked, too. He saw her get to the corner, already putting her long coat back on. Her body language shift dramatically. In one moment, her walk commanded the attention of everyone around her; in the next, she was just another pedestrian on a blustery street. Then she was gone.