Must Love Fallen Angels (Sable Cove #5)

Chapter 1

Venice liked the hour before dawn when Sable Cove was still asleep, the streets quiet and the sky still dark.

It was peaceful in a way that he found wholly enchanting.

He put down the window of his truck and let in the fresh spring air, dew-tinged and full of promise that made him ache a little bit.

Because spring meant new things and brought change.

But the last time he’d changed something, he’d lost everything. And now he had ugly scars and a lifetime of regret staring him in the face.

“Shit.”

He shook the dark thoughts from his head and focused on the road as he made his way to the Sable Cove Familiar Adoption Agency to check in with Brody, the chief of police, a vampire, and Venice’s best friend.

Brody was mated to a witch named Delaney, and the two lived in a home attached to the familiar adoption agency. Brody had the overnight shift patrolling town, and Venice was meeting him for a recap of the night’s patrol.

He parked behind the building and got out, stretching with a yawn.

The area had changed a lot in recent months.

Kinsley, one of the witches who worked at the adoption agency, had found her mate in a dragon shifter named Zay.

Once they’d mated, his clan joined him in town, and they built a bookstore complete with living quarters.

Venice liked the dragons. Two of them—Sierra and Ronan—had joined Brody and Venice on the police force, which had been a great help to the two of them.

There wasn’t much crime in Sable Cove, so the patrol shifts were usually quiet.

“Morning,” Venice said as he strode into the adoption center.

“Morning,” Brody called from the office. The back room of the center had cages for the familiars, a desk, a prep area for meals, and an office hidden from the morning sun.

“I just realized,” Venice said as he leaned against the doorjamb of the office, “that we hardly ever meet at the station anymore.”

“To be fair,” Brody said, swiveling in the desk chair, “we used to meet at my place between shifts anyway. The only reason we go to the station is to file reports. I can’t remember the last time we put someone in a cell.”

“Probably the summer before, when those college kids were drinking on the beach and got belligerent.”

Brody grimaced. “Thankfully, those events are few and far between.”

“Anything exciting happen overnight?”

“Nah.”

Something touched Venice’s pant leg, and he looked down and saw the newest familiar to join the shelter—Kenny the raccoon. He bent down and lifted the fluffy creature into his arms. He chittered at Venice, his little paws kneading his forearm. “I don’t have any treats, man,” he told him.

Kenny chittered at him again.

“Don’t give him anything!” Delaney called from the main room. “He’s had three marshmallows already.”

Kenny purred.

“He’s so cute, though,” Venice said. “I’m not about to get into trouble with Delaney for you, Kenny, so go give those puppy dog eyes to her and see if you can get another treat.”

He put the raccoon down, and it scurried off. Venice smiled.

“I had no clue that raccoons could be familiars,” Venice said.

“Me, either. Then again, Delaney’s familiar is a turtle, and Hadlee’s is a swan. So I guess they come in all forms.”

Brody stood and handed Venice a walkie so he could clip it to his belt.

“I’m working until three, then I’ll hand things off to Ronan,” Venice said.

“Sounds good. I’m going to hang out with my sweetheart,” Brody said.

Delaney called out a woohoo, and Brody grinned.

A little pang of longing speared through Venice’s heart, but he ignored it. Now was not the time to be mooning over what he may never have.

“Have a good day,” Venice said.

He left the shelter and got in the truck, heading out to start his patrol. It was going to be a long day.

After a couple of hours, Venice stopped in at the Sable Cove Diner for a cup of coffee.

Tia and her brother Tyce had run the diner for the last few years, wolf shifters who’d come to town after a dustup with their pack. Tyce was as gruff as any wolf Venice had ever met, but Tia was a ray of sunshine and always smiling.

“Hiya, Venice. A cup of coffee?” Tia asked when he walked into the diner.

“Morning, and sure. You got any cinnamon rolls?”

“I saved you one.”

“You’re a doll.”

The diner was quiet, the morning crowd already gone. Tyce nodded at Venice from the kitchen window.

“So I heard someone new is in town,” Tia said as she set the cinnamon roll on the counter and filled a mug with coffee.

Venice sat on the padded stool and reached for the creamer. “Oh yeah? Like a tourist?”

“Um, no. A renter. At the old Brambly cottage.”

The cottage was near the lighthouse and marina, with a private path to the local beach.

“Have you met him or her?”

“Her, I heard, and nope, not yet. I was talking to Lyra earlier this morning when she came in to get breakfast for her clan, and she said she met her. Name is Tessa, I think. Which sounds like a romance novel heroine, don’t you think?”

“Don’t you have something to clean?” Tyce asked.

“I’m just chatting with our favorite angel police officer, you old grump,” she said.

“You’re gossiping,” Tyce said with a growl.

“Ignore him, he’s grumpy because we got a letter from our family about some changes in the pack, and we can’t do anything about what’s going on.”

“Sorry to hear that.”

“Meh. What can you do? They made us leave, so whatever’s going on with them is on them.” She leaned forward, her voice dropping. “I also think something’s in the air. I can’t put my finger on it, but change is coming.”

“Your wolf feeling psychic?”

“Something like that. Holler if you need me. Apparently, I have to clean.”

She skipped off into the kitchen, telling Tyce he was an idiot, leaving Venice alone at the counter. He added sugar to the coffee and took a drink before taking a bite of the cinnamon roll. He opened his phone to read the local news, but his mind strayed suddenly to the news of a newcomer.

Who was this Tessa, and why had she come to town?

Venice frowned and shut off the thought. Curiosity had gotten him into trouble once before.

When he’d finished his coffee and cinnamon roll, he slid off the stool, waved goodbye to the wolves, and stepped back into the quiet streets, focused on the job and nothing else.