Chapter 21
“Holy fuck!” I shouted, and leapt backward as though it could lunge through the computer. My chair toppled over, my foot tangling in a cord and ripping out the plug as I fell like a log to the floor. The screen went blank.
Wade appeared in the doorway. “Everything okay?”
I sucked in air, laying half on the floor in my toppled chair; my heart racing, and sucking in air. What the fuck had that been? “Uh… Why wasn’t there a note about the creepy kid looking at the camera?”
Angel squeezed by Wade, his gaze falling to me, filled with worry. He set the bottles of water on my desk and raced around the side to pull me up, even while I could barely breathe.
“I left for like five minutes…” Angel grumbled.
“What creepy kid?” Wade asked.
“You okay?” Angel asked. “Creepy kid?”
I pressed my hand to my chest, feeling as if my heart wanted to beat free from my ribs and run for the hills. Angel righted my chair, keeping one arm around my waist, then rubbed my back, which went a long way toward easing my racing heart.
“A warning would have been nice,” I told Angel, a little perturbed by the jump scare. Had there been a note I missed?
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Angel said.
Wade reached under the desk to put the plug back in and the monitor turned back on, the screen frozen on the kids looking toward the lobby. The creepy kid in the corner, frozen while coloring, staring down at their page.
“That kid.” I pointed at the one in the corner. “They looked up at the camera and their face changed. Morphed into something monstrous.”
Wade rounded the desk and moved the video back a few frames, watching, though the kid did nothing but color, face down. No movement until the frame went out with the tear.
“What the fuck?” I asked, reaching for the mouse to try again. I paused it, zooming in and back out as if I could trigger the event again. Nothing.
Wade stared at me; his expression neutral.
Angel stood at my back like a silent wall.
I wanted to demand they say something, tell me the truth, or call me a liar.
Anything beyond the silence. Maybe I was overtired and seeing things?
Was there another explanation? That had never happened to me before.
“Maybe call it a day and get some rest?” Wade suggested.
“I’m not crazy,” I whispered.
“No one thinks you are,” he added as he left our office.
Angel remained at my back; side pressed into me as his arm wrapped around my middle kept me close. “No one thinks you’re crazy,” he said.
“I do,” I said. “That kid?” Was possession a thing? Like, real, demonic possession? Why would only I see it?
“Has autism. They are non-verbal. Ezra’s got a full interview with their parents in the file.”
“Why would I see their face distort like that? And if you say too much coffee I’ll punch you.”
“I wasn’t in here when you did. Maybe your variance kicked in?”
“Fuck. I hate this whole ‘I don’t know’ game.”
Angel sighed as he leaned against me, his weight and scent oddly comforting, but at least my heartbeat began to slow. Our power swirling together soothed that lingering sense of unease I’d had since I opened the file.
“I asked Xavier. He knows a lot, but nothing specific to SVs.”
“Maybe we should reschedule tonight. Ivan’s only been with me a day, and I’m a mess from all this new job stuff.” It was all too fast. He was my partner. How could any of this work out? And why did I want it so badly?
His arms stiffened, but he slowly released me, grip easing as he took a half step back.
“I’m sorry,” I said instinctively.
“No reason to be. We have time.” He turned me toward him and away from the screen. “Will you be okay going home by yourself? You’ll eat dinner and get sleep? Not stay up all night searching for answers no one knows exist or not?”
“Yeah. I have my brother to look after, and books to read,” I said, stuffing the books into my bag. “I’m not running away from you, if that’s what you think. Attraction is there. It’s just fast. I’m sorry if that’s not…”
“That’s the least of my worries,” Angel said. “Promise you’ll sit down, eat a real meal, and not log into the files for the night.”
Busted. How did he know I planned to go home and pore over every video from the daycare now?
He pointed at me. “I’m on to you.”
“I wish,” I said without thinking.
Angel’s lips curved up in a smile like he tried to hide it. “Eventually,” he said.
I could spend decades distracted by him. “Why are you so nice to me?” I asked, and regretted it. I didn’t really want to know.
“I get the feeling not a lot of people have been nice to you in your life?”
“I have people,” I defended. “Nikki’s nice to me. And my grandpa. And Peanut Butter.”
“And your old partner betrayed you. Your parents kicked you out, and your Sergeant sent you over here without asking you first.”
I flinched at each statement, feeling them like the punch to the gut they were.
“Let’s get you home,” Angel said, grabbing my bag and putting away my laptop. He added the bottle of water to my bag and waited for me to gather up my stuff before following him to the door. “You’ll feel better after you rest.”
We walked to my car in silence, but I enjoyed his hand on my lower back, our energies mixing in that strange, cooling way.
People stared at us as we passed. Because I was SV?
Because he was a shifter? Or because we were both men?
I was afraid to find out that the answer was likely, “all of the above.”
I hit the button to unlock my car and threw my stuff in the backseat, before turning to apologize again.
He shook his head before I could utter the words. “No apology. You’ll eat?”
I clenched my fists at my side, standing in the open doorway of the driver’s side, wanting to yank him into a hug because it had been far too long since I let anyone touch me that way.
“Sure,” I agreed. “It’s probably better that it’s just Ivan and me. Since all this is new to him. But maybe…” I climbed into my seat and clicked the seat belt into place as he leaned in. “We can try another night?”
Distance would make it easier to shove down the attraction. It had to. I’d never felt anything like this before; like whatever our magics were, they orbited each other with a gravitational pull to keep us aligned.
“Yes. Anytime. Promise you’ll text or call if you need something. Even if it’s ‘cause you’re freaking out and need to talk.”
“I promise to call or text if I need you. But I’ll remind you that I’ve been doing this mostly on my own for thirty-four years.”
He sighed. “Yeah, and I think that’s part of the problem.
” Angel reached out to tilt my chin toward him, pressing a light kiss to my lips before he backed away and closed the door to the car.
I sat there a few seconds, wishing I could burn the memory of his kiss onto my lips permanently, but he stepped back and I turned the car on.
We had time, he had said. I really wanted him, and time, but had no idea how to merge those two things.