Adrian glanced over at his roommate; then looked back. “I didn't know whether you could handle shit.”
“And what's changed your mind.”
“The fact that you figured out what Devina is and you didn't bolt. You believed what you saw on that pavement on the hospital.”
“Or didn't see, as was the case.”
Jim stared at the two of them, thinking that clearly they'd been following him—and maybe Devina had sensed them instead of him in the parking lot of the hospital.
“No,” Adrian said, “we masked you so she didn't see you. That's what she was picking up on when she looked around. There are advantages to her thinking you're on your own and you're clueless.”
“You guys read minds, too?”
“And I'm full aware of how much you don't like me at this moment.”
“Can't be a new thing for you,” Jim said, wondering if he was ever going to work with people who weren't assholes. “So…you two are here to help me.”
“Yup. Just like Devina's going to have people helping her.”
“I don't like liars. I have too much experience with them.”
“Won't happen again.” Adrian ran a hand through his ridiculously gorgeous hair. “Look, this isn't easy on us…To be honest, I had my doubts from the beginning that bringing you on was a good idea, but that's my damage. Bottom line is, you're here and that's that, so either we work together or she has a serious advantage.”
Well, hell…that logic was pretty damn unassailable.
“I kicked all the Corona the other night so I only got Bud,” Jim said after a moment. “In cans.”
“And that's just what an angel has a craving for,” Adrian shot back.
Eddie nodded. “Sounds good to me.”
Jim stepped to the side and opened the door farther. “Are you alive?”
Adrian shrugged as they came inside. “Hard to answer that. But I know I like beer and sex, how 'bout that.”
“What is Dog?”
Eddie answered that one: “Consider him a friend. A very good friend.”
The animal…or whatever he was…gave a shy wag like he understood every word, and was worried he'd offended, and Jim felt compelled to lean in and give his chin a little scratch. “Guess I don't need to get him vaccinated, do I?”
“Nope.”
“What's with the limp?”
“It's the way he is.” Eddie's big palm smoothed over the dog's rough fur. “It just is.”
As he and Dog sat on the bed and Adrian wandered around, Jim took his headfuck over to the refrigerator, grabbed three Buds, and dealt the cans out like cards. A trio of cracks and hisses cut through the room and then there was a collective
“How much do you know about me?” Jim asked.
“Everything.” Adrian looked around and focused on Jim's twin piles of clean and dirty. “Guess you don't believe in dresser drawers, do you.”
Jim glanced down at his clothes. “Nope.”
“Ironic, really.”
“Why?”
“You'll see.” Adrian went over and sat down at the table. Tipping the shoe box full of chess pieces toward him, he glanced inside. “So what do you want to know. About her, us, anything.”
Jim took another drag on his Bud and thought it all over. “Only one thing matters to me,” he said. “Can she be killed?”
Both of the angels went still. And slowly shook their heads.
Chapter 30
Considering what he'd been arrested for and the way things were going, Vin couldn't believe what was showing on the screen of his cell phone as the ringer went off.
As he accepted the call, he muted the local news and held on hard. “Marie-Terese?”
There was a pause. “Hi.”
Swiveling around in his desk chair, he looked out over Caldwell and found it hard to comprehend that mere nights ago, he'd stared at the view with such a sense of domination. Now he felt like his life was totally out of control and he was fighting to stay where he was instead of being king of the mountain.
Never one to beat around the bush, he said, “Have you heard the news? About me?”
“Yes. But you were with me late last night, when it happened. I know you didn't do it.”
Relief rolled through him—although only about that particular part of the shit storm. “And the other attack, in the alley?”
“I'm on the way to the Iron Mask now. The police want to talk to me.”
“Can I see you,” he blurted with a desperation that would have shocked him under normal circumstances.
“Yes.”
Vin was surprised by the quick answer, but sure as shit not going to argue with it. “I'm at home over in the Commodore, so I can meet you anywhere, anytime.”
“I'll come to you as soon as I'm done with the CPD.”
“I'm on the twenty-eighth floor. I'll tell the doorman to expect you.”
“I'm not sure how long I'm going to be, but I can text you when I'm on my way.”
Vin shifted his eyes over to the left, imagining her however many blocks west and south of where he was. “Marie-Terese…”
“Yes?”
He thought of her and her son…thought of the kind of people she'd managed to get away from—thus far. Her ex could easily reach out from prison, maybe already had: even if those attacks weren't tied to her, or were being done by someone else, she still needed to keep the lowest profile she could.
“Don't try to protect me.”
“Vin—”
“I'll explain more when you get here,” he said gruffly. “But let's just say I know how much you have to lose if your face gets into the media channels.”
Silence. Then: “How.”
He could tell by the tightness in her voice that she didn't appreciate the look-see into her background. “Jim, my friend…he has connections. I didn't ask him to do it, by the way, but he told me what he found.”
Long pause. The kind that made him wish to hell he'd waited to drop that little bomb until she was in front of him. But then she exhaled. “It's kind of a relief, actually. That you know.”
“It goes without saying that I'll tell no one.”
“I trust you.”
“Good, because I would never do anything to hurt you.” Now it was Vin's turn to get quiet. “God, Marie- Terese…”
There was the slight squeak of brakes. “I'm just at the club now. We'll talk in a little bit.”
“Don't protect me. Please.”
“See you soon—”
“Stay quiet. Don't get yourself involved with the shit that's on my tail. For your son's sake and yours. It's not worth the risk.”
He stopped himself right there. No way he was going into the whole truth about Devina—partially because he didn't understand it fully himself, and mostly because he hated the idea of Marie-Terese thinking he was crazy.
“It's not right.” Her voice broke. “What she's accusing you of. It's not—”
