Angel in Training (The Louisiangel Series, Book One) (20 page)

“That is why we need to work on your aim,”
Cupid told me, calmly. “You never aim to kill – you need to be able
to give a person a choice.”

“And what happens if they make the wrong
choice?” I asked him.

Cupid shook his head. “You can’t kill a
human, Angel. Free will may let them make the wrong decision, but
it is their own will. We do not rule. We leave it for the other
humans to deal with.”

“That sounds like a cop out,” I muttered.

“Maybe,” he shrugged. “But those are the
rules, and they are the rules you must stick with.”

“You sound like Michael,” I mumbled under my
breath as I turned my attention to collecting the stray arrows. It
didn’t take long – they weren’t exactly far away – and when I
returned to Cupid, he was packing up. “That’s enough for today. You
should go see Joshua.” And then he was gone.

I thought I was doing quite well – especially
considering I hadn’t exactly been a believer, but I was beginning
to think I should read up on angel mythology and the Bible, and
whatever other books it took so that I didn’t upset my friends. I
trudged back inside and set the bow back in its place, sparing a
glance at the two swords. The one that was supposed to be black was
definitely not black.

I wasn’t going to say anything and risk
offending either archangel, so I opted to return to my room and
shower. I was in there for a good fifty minutes, trying to wash my
problems away. I was dead – I shouldn’t have problems.

I pulled a freshly laundered uniform on, this
time opting for my own black camisole underneath and ventured
downstairs. I wasn’t sure where I was going, but I knew it involved
walking and not driving. It was the hottest it had been so far, and
the city seemed more washed out and faded than usual. The
atmosphere was different as I headed down Bourbon Street. There
were fewer people around and they all seemed to be moving with
purpose, rather than at a relaxed pace, enjoying the day.

I could understand why the further away from
Canal Street I went. At the far end, where the bars were beginning
to fade out into residences, there was a small crowd gathered
around an area cordoned off by police tape. I pushed my way through
the crowd and spotted Emily’s body, still slumped in the position
it had been the night before.

It occurred to me then, that as I remembered
her bright white aura, I couldn’t see it anymore. She looked gray
in the shadows of the alley – far too pale. A guy with ‘CSU’
embroidered on his back was busy snapping photographs of her – as
was a tourist next to me. “Have some respect,” I told him. He gave
me a look that said he couldn’t care less and carried on taking
photos. “If they end up on Facebook before her parents are
notified, I am taking the police to your room at the Marriott so
they can arrest your ass.” I was taking a wild guess at the hotel
he was staying at, but judging from his hasty retreat, I was
probably right.

“Is that one of your gifts?” Joshua asked me,
seemingly appearing from nowhere.

I glanced around at the crowd surrounding me,
only to find a woman watching me. “If you could kindly keep that to
yourself, it would be appreciated,” I mumbled.

He stepped closer and frowned. “But you don’t
have a heartbeat,” he hissed.

“Actually, I do,” I informed him. “You
clearly didn’t feel it.”

He nodded, quickly accepting my statement.
“That makes more sense than the possibility of you walking around
without one.”

“Speaking of walking around, have you found
Emily’s killer yet,” I asked, hurriedly changing the subject.

He gave me a shocked look, and then ducked
under the tape, dragging me away from the crowd. “How do you know
her name?” he demanded, his hand clamped firmly on my arm.

“I was with her when she died,” I admitted.
“We-”

“You saw who did this?” he fired at me before
I could explain.

“No,” I replied, slowly. “Her killer had long
gone. Although there may have been a witness. I think I scared
her.”

Joshua was studying me with his wonderful
blue eyes, his head slightly cocked. Eventually, he pulled a slim
notebook from his pocket, followed by a pen. “You had best start at
the beginning.”

So I did, recounting everything that had
happened since I had left Maggie’s – minus my thoughts on my lack
of heartbeat – to dropping Emily off with Peter – minus my apparent
lack of knowledge in the saint department. He didn’t utter a word,
although he did provide me with a few interesting facial
expressions, as he wrote down his notes. He didn’t even ask me to
repeat anything. “And that’s about it,” I finally finished.

Joshua scanned over his notes and took in a
deep breath before exhaling with a low whistle. “Wow,” he muttered.
“You either have a really good imagination,” he trailed off.

“Or I’m telling the truth?” I suggested,
watching him carefully.

His lips twitched. “Some of what you said may
agree with the evidence we have found so far.”

“Detective!” an officer called, hurrying
over. “We found a bag behind the dumpster with this in it. Picture
matches the body.” He handed over a plastic evidence bag, the only
item in it was the Louisianan driving license.

“Emily Montgomery,” Joshua read aloud,
shooting me a look. “Thank you,” he told the officer. “I’m going to
see if I can find the next of kin.”

I waited for the officer to walk away before
I turned to Joshua. “Do you want a hand?”

The look he gave me was verging on disgust.
“Do you have a morbid fascination or something?”

“Actually,” I shot back, angrily. “I figured
that it might be a hard thing to do by yourself and was offering
merely as moral support, but whatever.” I turned on my heel and
made to leave, but he grabbed my hand and pulled me back.

“You have a really short temper, you
know?”

“I don’t have a short temper,” I retorted. “I
just happen to have run out of patience. There are only so many
times I can have my offer of help flung back in my face before I
have enough, and that was it. Deal with it yourself – I’m going to
tell Michael to find me another charge.”

I yanked my hand free and took two paces when
he said one word that made me stop. “Don’t.”

I turned back to him impatiently. “Don’t
what?”

“Ask for another charge,” he mumbled. His
hands were in his pockets and he was staring at the ground.

“I beg your pardon?” I asked, unsure I had
heard him correctly.

He sighed and looked up at me. “Don’t ask for
another charge.”

My mouth fell open and flapped around before
I could finally utter the word, “Fine.”

He looked relieved and gave me a small smile.
“Come with me?”

“Where?” I asked him warily.

He held up the evidence bag. “To find her
mother.”

I was speechless again. Unable to find the
words this time, I nodded and followed him past the crowds and
through onto Dauphine Street where he had parked his Charger.

I slipped into the passenger seat, still at a
loss for words as he started the car, startling me as the music
came blasting out of the stereo. “Sorry,” he muttered after turning
down the volume so that the track from a local band I recognized
was seeping through at a comfortable background level.

While he pulled out his phone and made
various calls, I stared out the window, lost in my thoughts. I
heard enough of the one-sided conversation to ascertain he was
trying to find Emily’s next of kin, but I was still trying to
replay what had just happened. He didn’t want me to get another
charge? What was that supposed to mean? He thought I could help
with the case? He was beginning to believe I was telling the truth?
He liked having me around?

On top of that, we were about to tell a
mother her daughter had died. Even though I could honestly tell her
she was in a better, happier place, how much of a cliché was that?
Then there was the fact that even though it was tragic, at least
she got some closure. Sarah had never had that.

“You live in your own head a lot, don’t you?”
Joshua asked me, breaking my thoughts by clicking his fingers in
front of my face.

I blinked and focused on the scenery outside
my window. He was right. I hadn’t even noticed that we had left the
city and now... “We’re driving over the Lake Pontchartrain
Causeway?” I asked in surprise, earning a low chuckle from
Joshua.

“For about a mile now.” He leant over and
tapped my head. “What’s going on in there?”

“
Nothing,” I muttered, lying. There
was
too
much
going on in there.
I stared back out the window. I always liked driving over the
causeway. There was something therapeutic about the water on both
sides, and only having the one route that you could
take.

“You’re doing it again.”

I turned to Joshua. “Huh?”

“What’s bothering you?” he asked me, sparing
a moment to take his eyes from the road to look at me.

“No,” I told him, shaking my head. “You don’t
get to ask that, and you certainly don’t get the answer. And get
your eyes back on the road,” I added. “Where are we going?”

It was lucky that the road was straight and
that there was little traffic on the causeway, considering how long
he stared at me for. “Okay,” he nodded, eventually. “I deserve
this.” Joshua flicked his attention back to the road.
“Madisonville,” he informed me. Then his attention was back on me
with that god-annoying sexy smirk of his. “Would it help if I told
you, you’re hot?”

I rolled my eyes. “Not enough. And eyes back
on the road.”

“Ah!” he exclaimed as a mischievous glint
appeared in those cobalt eyes. “I see how you want to play
this.”

“
I don’t want to
play
anything,” I corrected him. “I
would
like you to get across this lake alive though.” I
leaned over and physically turned his head to face the road. “Eyes
on the road.”

Joshua turned straight back to me. “I'll make
a deal with you. You tell me what’s bothering you, and I'll keep my
eyes on the road.”

“Stop playing!” I cried, switching my
attention between Joshua and the causeway. “You’re going to get us
killed, or at least you’re going to kill yourself and I'm going to
have to find a new vessel – assuming I don’t get fired because you
ended up dead.”

“For someone who can talk a lot, you sure
don’t say much,” he noted, all but ignoring what I had just
said.

The car began drifting. “Joshua, you’re going
to crash this car.”

Joshua smirked. “Not if you tell me what’s
bothering you.”

“Fine!” I snapped. He grinned, winked, and
turned his attention back to the road, while I scowled and crossed
my arms over my chest.

“Oh darlin’, you can sulk and pout all you
want, but you’re going to spill, otherwise my eyes are going back
on your pretty little face.”

He was smirking, again. I wanted to grab that
wheel and wipe the smirk off his face – but annoyingly, it would
have defeated the point. I didn’t want to tell him. I was trying to
work my way out of it when his eyes went back on me. “I’m glad
we’re going to tell Emily’s mother, okay?” I told him quickly
before I could come up with a convincing lie.

“I think I completely misjudged you,” he
muttered, his eyes darkening.

“Eyes on the road!” I snapped. I waited until
he turned his attention back where it should be. “That’s not what I
meant,” I told him. “It’s wrong. Having to tell a mother her
daughter is dead? Parents shouldn’t outlive their children.”

“True, but I fail to see where you can find
happiness in giving a mother that news,” Joshua said, thankfully
keeping his attention on the road.

“Because my aunt didn’t get that,” I
explained. “I died – hell, I was murdered. But there’s never been
any body because I’m,” I frowned. What the hell was I? “Undead?” I
offered, shaking my head. “Whatever I am, the point is, nobody ever
stumbled across my body. I might as well have been murdered and
dumped in the bayou to be eaten by the gators. Meanwhile, until the
other day, my aunt has had no idea what happened to me. I just went
out one night and never came back. I mean, don’t get me wrong,
Michael paid her a visit to tell her I had gone on to a better
place, but what’s that supposed to mean? If it were me that he’d
been to see, I would have thought I’d joined a cult or something…”
I trailed off, realizing I had been babbling. When he didn’t say
anything, I turned my attention to the water, leaning my head
against the glass.

“I don’t know what happened to my sister,” he
told me, suddenly, causing me to turn to him. “She volunteered in a
soup kitchen and there was a pregnant woman in there. When Nagin
gave the order to evacuate she went to try and find her – she
wanted to make sure she was safe. She promised me she would meet us
and she didn’t.” My eyes flicked to the steering wheel he was
gripping so tightly that his knuckles had gone white.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, unable to find any
words. I was slowly beginning to understand why he was so reluctant
to accept angels.

“She was better than me, you know?” he added.
“If anyone deserved a guardian angel, it was her.”

We spent the rest of the journey in silence.
To be honest I really had no idea what to say and he seemed lost in
his own thoughts so I didn’t want to disturb him. It was dinner
time by the time we pulled up outside the house, so I felt
confident Emily’s parents would be in. As soon as we stepped out of
the car, I could tell that they hadn’t even been to work. The
people I assumed to be her mother and father opened the door and
rushed out onto their porch.

“Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery?” Joshua questioned,
politely.

“It’s Emily, isn’t it?” Mr. Montgomery asked,
quietly, his face pale.