A Gift of Wings (23 page)

“Okay, come with me,” Aidan said, as he stood and drew Lucky to her feet. “You and I are going to my place. I’ll contact Zeke and Malachi—and we’ll find Josh. I promise.”

***

Lucky was stunned to discover that Aidan lived in one of the ritzy high rises you could see from Lake Shore Drive. She had never dreamed she’d ever get to see inside one of them. As the elevator carried them higher and higher, she wished she were there under better circumstances.

They exited at his floor, and after unlocking the door to his condo, he held it open for her. She gasped as she stepped through the door. The entire wall across from her was made of windows, reaching from floor to ceiling and looking out over Lake Shore Drive, Navy Pier, and the expanse of Lake Michigan. Drawn like a moth to flame, she crossed the light marble floor on her sneakered feet.

“Make yourself comfortable,” Aidan called, his voice and the sounds of his boots on the tiles receding as he walked away from her down the hallway. “I’m going to get in touch with Malachi and Zeke.”

When Lucky was able to tear her eyes away from the spectacular view—which was
way
better than the one from the Ferris wheel—she looked curiously around the room. She was surprised to find that the large luxurious space was very nearly empty. Behind her, facing the window, was a black leather sofa fronted by a glass-topped coffee table. A small ebony wood bar topped with a half-filled bottle of some kind of liquor and an empty glass sat against the small side wall between the windows and the hall down which Aidan had disappeared. The only other item of furniture in a room that stretched well back from the single sofa was a black baby grand piano.

No, there was something else. Against the other side wall was a medium-sized wooden chest, with its lid open and a blanket and various items that looked like cat or dog toys spilling out of it. As she gazed at the chest, wondering who—or what—the toys belonged to, a pointy, whiskered nose poked from under the edge of the blanket. The nose was attached to a masked face, which along with two small sable paws, preceded the rest of the long, narrow body of the creature as it squirmed out of the toy box. Seeing Lucky, the animal faced off against her and began hopping from side to side, making sharp chattering noises.

“She’s a friend, Harley,” said Aidan, who had emerged from the hallway.

Shrugging off his jacket, he crossed back over the expanse of floor to hang the garment in a cleverly disguised closet near the entry door, before turning his steps toward the liquor cabinet. He splashed some of the liquid from the half-filled bottle into the empty glass and lifted it to his mouth, half-emptying it with one drink. As he caught Lucky’s wide-eyed stare, his expression took on a touch of defiance.

“Do you want something to drink?” he asked in a voice that was a little rough around the edges. “I think I have some club soda—and there’s water.”

Her voice subdued, Lucky requested club soda.

Her eyes followed him into the spacious kitchen that was separated from the huge living room by a granite-topped bar. Suddenly, she felt ill at ease with him. Here in his own space, which, except for the presence of the ferret, seemed to Lucky quite cold and barren, Aidan was like a stranger to her.

After a few seconds, she heard him pouring the club soda, and then she heard the soft sound of a cabinet door opening and the spill of something dry into a metal bowl. Apparently, that was ferret kibble, since at the sound, the little animal who had chattered at her trotted into the kitchen, emitting eager squeaks.

Returning from the kitchen, Aidan handed her a tall glass of club soda.

“I talked to Zeke,” he said, in that unfamiliar rough-edged voice. “He’ll contact Malachi, and they’ll let us know when they find out anything.” He gestured toward the sofa, adding, “Might as well have a seat. It could be a while.”

Aidan seated himself on one end of the sofa, propping one booted foot against the opposite knee, and Lucky perched uneasily on the sofa’s other end. Turning toward him, she saw that he was jogging his lifted foot up and down, and she wondered if he was as uncomfortable as she was.

“Isn’t there anything we can do?” she asked.

He shook his head. “Malachi will find him. Provided he has the right information, there’s very little Malachi can’t find.”

“Will he use the birds?” Lucky asked, mostly because she couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“Perhaps. Or he may use magic. Malachi is a man of many talents.”

When he finished speaking, Aidan raised his glass to his lips and drained the remaining liquor. Uncrossing his legs, he leaned forward to place the empty glass on the table, then, resting his elbows on his knees, he turned toward Lucky.

“I wish,” he began, and then stopped as he looked down at his hands. After a moment or two, he began again, “I wish I could promise you that he’ll be okay.” The eyes he turned toward Lucky were haunted. “I want to tell you that, that he’ll be fine, that there’s no need to worry. But I can’t. I’ve seen…” His voice broke, and he paused a moment before continuing, “things I pray you never have occasion to see.”

Lucky’s hand rose to her throat, and she choked back a sob. Then, standing abruptly, she set her glass down on the coffee table, starting at the sharp clink of glass on glass. She wrapped her arms around herself and walked over to stare unseeing out the window. She didn’t realize she was crying until she felt the chill on her face as the tears began to evaporate.

***

Glued to his seat, Aidan watched Lucky as she stood at his window. She was so quiet and still, not making a sound. What had possessed him to say such a thing to her? Sure, it was the truth, but did she really need the truth right now? No, what she needed was the comforting words he hadn’t been able to provide. He raked a hand back through his hair. He didn’t know how to comfort her. Not this time. He just kept remembering his mother and what had been done to her. He wanted to go to the girl, to put his arms around her, but given what he’d just said, he feared she would push him away.

After a few moments, he found he could no longer bear her stillness. Moving as quietly as he could on the tiles, he stepped up beside her and rested his hand between her shoulder blades. When she didn’t pull away, he applied enough pressure to turn her toward him and then slid his other arm around her. She came into the embrace without resistance, but it was several moments before she unwrapped her arms from around herself to slide them around his waist. Feeling her relax against him, Aidan hugged her a little closer, his hand stroking over her soft, dark curls as he pressed her head against his chest. Her hands flexed on his back, and he tucked her head beneath his chin, tightening his arms around her to pull her as close as possible.

They stayed that way for a long time, with him holding her as she had earlier held herself. When she pulled back just enough to look up at him, he drew his thumb across her cheekbones to wipe away the dampness of her tears.

Then it seemed the most natural thing in the world to lower his head toward her. He paused with his mouth just millimeters above hers. If she wanted to pull away, she could. He felt a surge of satisfaction when she moved a tiny bit closer. Closing the remaining distance, he pressed his mouth to hers. Her lips were soft and warm, and he could taste the salt of her tears. When he felt the flow of new tears against his lips, he released her mouth to press little kisses on each of her cheeks, catching the salty drops with his lips and the tip of his tongue.

***

Lucky held on to Aidan as her knees went weak. She had wanted him to kiss her, but she had never imagined it would feel like this, his mouth somehow firm and soft at the same time, and tasting slightly smoky from the liquor he had been drinking. Her emotions were overwrought as it was, and the sweet slide of his lips on hers caused a fresh batch of tears to flow down her cheeks. When he began kissing them away, she was sure she would have fallen but for the support of his arms. She could hardly breathe. She slid her hands up his back, feeling the hard muscles flex beneath her palms as he tightened his arms around her, lifting her until only her toes touched the floor. She sighed into his mouth as his lips settled on hers once more.

“Pardon the interruption.”

The dry voice rolled into the room like a desert tumbleweed, causing Lucky and Aidan to shoot apart. Reflexively, Lucky wrapped her arms around herself again, trying to hold on to the heat of Aidan’s body as long as possible.

“Hello, Zeke,” Aidan said, pushing a hand through his golden curls as his breathing steadied. “Any luck?”

“I see that I don’t need to ask the same of you,” the long-haired Cherub responded with dry amusement, causing hot color to flood Lucky’s cheeks. Then he nodded and added in a serious tone, “Yes, Malachi is ever resourceful.”

Turning to Lucky, he continued, “Your cousin was in the Crystal Garden, unconscious, stretched out on one of the benches. He’s suffered a blow to the head and likely has a concussion. He’ll need to be monitored for the next several hours.”

Zeke looked toward Aidan once again as he asked, “Shall we bring him here?”

“Yes,” Aidan nodded. “As you well know, this place is warded against everything but you—and a select few others. He’ll be safe here.”

“Excellent. I’ll pass that on to Malachi, and he will be here shortly with Josh. In the meantime,” he fluttered his hand at them as his form began to fade, “please continue as you were.”

Lucky blushed, and Aidan scowled at the empty spot where Zeke had stood. Then turning to her, he said, “I hope you’re okay with Josh coming here. It’s safer for both of you here than at your apartment.”

“That’s fine,” she replied. “How long will we have to stay?”

“I don’t know. At least overnight, long enough to make sure Josh is okay.”

She nodded, saying nothing.

“I’ll go make up the guest bed,” Aidan said, and turning, disappeared down the hall.

This time Lucky followed him. The hallway, she found, was even barer than the living room. No rug, no occasional tables, no pictures on the walls. A small frown had knitted between her brows by the time she followed Aidan through the farthest door. The guest room seemed a bit more lived-in, if only because of the thick Oriental rug that covered much of the floor. Mostly a deep red, with touches of ivory, gold, blue, and green, the rug brightened the room, adding a warmth that seemed lacking in the rest of the condo.

Turning from the closet with a stack of sheets in his hands, Aidan looked surprised to see her standing in the doorway.

“I thought I could help,” she offered.

“Thanks,” he replied, tossing the sheets onto a chair near the bed.

He delved into the closet again to come out with a blanket and comforter. Neither of them spoke as together they spread the fitted sheet over the bed. Then Lucky slipped the pillows into cases, while Aidan tucked in the top sheet and blanket. As they both worked the comforter into place, Lucky wondered if offering to help had been a good idea after all. She already had a stomach full of butterflies because of what had happened between them such a short time ago, and looking at him across the bed made the little winged creatures fly around even more furiously, knocking themselves against her stomach walls. She cast about for something to say, but all she could think about was how it had felt to be in his arms, pressed against his body.

She was literally saved by the bell. As they finished tucking the comforter around the pillows, the doorbell rang, alerting them that Malachi had arrived with Josh. Aidan hurried from the room to buzz them in, with Lucky following behind him at a slower pace.

When the two men entered the room, Lucky restrained herself from rushing to Josh. Her cousin was leaning on Malachi, and his face was pale and drawn with pain. As Aidan led them down the hall to the guest room, she contented herself with following behind. She could talk to Josh after he was off his feet and more comfortable. When he was stretched out on the bed, she perched gingerly beside him holding one of his hands in both of hers.

“How are you feeling?” she asked softly.

“My head hurts.” Josh’s voice was thin. “My whole body aches.”

“I’ll get some ice,” Aidan said, already on his way out the door. In a few minutes, he returned with a bag of frozen peas and a towel, both of which he handed to Lucky before dropping into a chair in the corner of the room.

After wrapping the frozen veggies in the towel, she placed the bundle on the goose egg that had risen on the side of Josh’s head and positioned a couple of extra pillows to hold the ice pack in place. When she was sure it wasn’t going anywhere, she settled back down on the bed beside Josh and took his hand again.

“Can you tell us what happened?” Aidan asked.

Josh started to shake his head and then grimaced in pain. “I don’t know what happened.” He paused, as if searching his memory, before he continued, his words quiet and uneven. “One minute I was watching Lucky go round in that god-forsaken Ferris wheel, then the next thing I knew, this guy”—he gestured weakly toward Malachi—“was half-carrying me out of the Crystal Garden.”

Malachi was leaning against the window sill, one ankle resting on the other and arms crossed over his chest. As he had been the first time Lucky had seen him, he was dressed all in black. This time his garments appeared to be made of a soft matte leather, studded with myriad straps, buckles, and pockets that seemed meant for weapons of various shapes and sizes. He had yet to say a word since he had entered the apartment.

“Does Zeke have any tricks up his sleeve to jog his memory?” Aidan asked.

Malachi lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “There are things he can try.” His voice was deeper than Lucky remembered. “But I would suggest waiting until tomorrow, to give the young man some time to recover.” He uncrossed his ankles and stood, adding, “If you no longer need me, I have another battle practice to lead.”

Aidan rose with him, and together they left the room. Lucky could hear the murmur of their voices, Aidan’s mellow baritone alternating with Malachi’s dark bass, but she couldn’t make out what they were saying.