Dark Angel's Ward (6 page)

I dressed hastily, choosing a bell-sleeved black tunic and matching leggings. Simple, comfortable, easy to move in. I chuckled at myself as I stood before the mirror--now I was rating my wardrobe in terms of activity potential, like I expected to do battle in this outfit. Jandra Maxwell, super ninja.

My waist-length waves were difficult to tame this morning, thrown into wild disarray by my tossing and turning through the night. After a while I gave up and gathered it all into a ponytail, which I hoped looked deliberately messy. A quick coat of mascara and pale pink gloss on my lips, and I was ready to go. With a mere two hours to spare. Dandy.

Sighing, I scribbled my cell phone number on a sticky note, and presented it to Zeph when I opened the bedroom door. He was, predictably, lurking right outside it. "If there's some kind of emergency, you can reach me at this number. There's a phone in the kitchen--
don't
come in my room again. And if you call me 'just to talk,' I swear to God I will kick you in the rocks."

He took the note, frowning. "Jandra...."

"Oh, and stay inside. I don't need the feds out here on dark angel patrol. I'll be home around midnight."

"But...."

"Goodbye,
Zeph."

He finally conceded defeat. "Goodbye. Take care of yourself."

"I have been for a long time now." I hustled past him into the living room, snatching my purse from the floor beside the chaise, and strode out the front door without a backward glance.

I'd resorted to an all-out trot by the time I hit the driveway. As I turned to settle into the driver's seat, I saw Zeph standing at the living room window. He shook his head as if condemning my wonderfully mature behavior. Then the curtains swung shut.

Tough shit,
I thought as I put the car into gear. I sucked in a deep breath as I backed down the driveway--the first one I'd taken all morning, really. I'd been suffocating in his presence. His facade of understanding and tenderness haunted my mind even now, as if someone else lurked behind those eyes I knew so well. If I hadn't known him by the taste of his soul, I might even have believed it. That he was nothing more than a stranger with a familiar face, a man I might have loved once upon a time.

Damn it, why had he come after me? Why now, when I'd finally put him in my past?

And if that were true, why had I spent the night tormented by hazy, erotic images that rose at the memory of his touch? Brief glimpses of a long, lean torso, of pale hands stroking my skin, of a full-lipped mouth twisted into a sinful smile. More than once I'd jerked awake, gasping and drenched in sweat, only to be pulled right back in when sleep came again.

God, I needed that callback, and soon. Another two days like this and I'd be walking the razor's edge of sanity by the time I got rid of him.

Six

The drive to work passed in a blur. Thankfully, I'd taken this route so many times I could probably have managed it in my sleep. I parked as close to the building as possible--a no-no for employees, but I didn't give a damn today. I hurried inside, slipping through the corridors between the storefronts with the deftness of a rat in an industrial maze.

Dissonance's quirky sales floor had never been a more welcoming sight. Cara leaned against the glass-topped counter, showing a selection of body jewelry to a customer. She glanced over her shoulder at my approach, muttering her standard, "Yo, boss."

The shopper looked up as well, a grin lighting his familiar face. "Hey, Jade! How ya been?"

"Hey, yourself." I smiled back. Jordan Radcliff was one of our regulars, a friend of the twins' from their community college classes. He was the quintessential goth boy, from the dyed black Mohawk that hung over one pierced blond brow to the love-worn Doc Martens on his feet.

"Give me your expert opinion." He gestured to the gleaming array of hoops and barbells spread out on the counter. "Which one?"

I stood on tiptoe to peer over Cara's shoulder. "Which piercing is it for?"

He chortled, reaching for the zipper of his jeans. "Here, let me show you."

"Knock if off, J.J." Scowling, Cara slugged him in the shoulder.

Jordan took her violence in stride, turning his attention back to me. "So maybe you'll give me a straight answer, Jade. Rumor has it there was a lot of noise in here last night around closing time. What was going on?"

"I told you," Cara replied before I could even open my mouth. "All girl orgy. And you missed it."

"And I told
you
, bullshit. I stand by that."

"Look, just buy something or get out, okay?"

"Whoa! Cara, Cara, Cara." I seized her by the arm and hauled her back a few steps--not really out of earshot, but the best I could manage in the available space. In a low tone, I asked, "Did someone forget to take her polite pill this morning?"

"No." She turned a sullen look on the carpet. "He's just bugging me."

"Well, I think you'd better go in the back and cool your shit for a few minutes. Sara can wait on him." I paused, looking around. "Where is she, anyway?"

"Upstairs, at Coffee Jolt."

"Aw, damn it."

She folded her arms over her chest. "Well, sorry. No one expected you this early or we'd have ordered for you, too."

"No, that's not what I meant."

"I'll buy you a cup of coffee, Jade," Jordan called from the other side of the counter. "Least I can do after causing all this trouble."

I flashed him a distracted smile. "No worries, hon, you haven't caused any trouble at all. But you know, I think I'll take you up on that." I glanced back at Cara. "Think you can keep your claws sheathed for a few minutes?"

She snorted. "I'll do my best."

"Good. And if you find yourself tempted to punch anyone else, send Valeri out here to run the register 'til I get back. All right?"

Her blue eyes went glacial, but her voice was overly sweet as she retorted, "I guess you've got the exclusive on beating the shit out of customers, huh?"

I nodded, mimicking her saccharine tone. "That's why I get paid the big bucks, baby." With a final warning glare, I sauntered over to Jordan. "All done looking?"

"Yeah, I'll come back some other time. Um...sorry, Cara."

"Whatever." She gathered the jewelry with a single swipe of her hand and began to replace it in the case.

Jordan swept a mock bow, gesturing me toward the exit. "After you, ma'am."

We walked along in silence past the bookstore, the pretzel stand, and the jewelry repair shop, and boarded the escalator before he turned serious brown eyes on me. "Seriously, Jade, what the hell happened in there last night? I know you were working."

There didn't seem to be any point in denying it. "Yeah, I was here."

"Then tell me. Please? My friend Gwen works at the cell phone store across right from you guys. She said she saw Sara and Cara crying their eyes out when she left."

"All these people hear yelling and crying, but none of them thought to see if we needed any help?" I shook my head, snickering. "Gotta love people."

"Jade."

I looked over at him, frowning at the deep worry on his youthful face. It made him look far older than his years. I raised my hands in a gesture of surrender. "Look, it was no big deal, all right? My ex-boyfriend came in last night begging me to take him back, and I kinda went a little psycho on him. That time of the month, you know?"

"Okay, waaaay too much information."

"Sorry. You asked." It wasn't true, but it had freaked him out as I'd anticipated. Hopefully that would forestall any further nosing on his part. "Anyway, I guess we gave the girls a pretty good scare. Yeah, they were upset, but no one got hurt or anything."
Well, except Zeph.

Jordan eyed me from behind his mop of hair. "You sure it was
your
ex? Not that asshole Kevin Lange?"

It took a moment for the name to register. "You mean Wiener Boy? No, he wasn't there. He smarted off to the girls in the parking lot when we left, but that's all."

"Good." He heaved a sigh. "Though I'll still have to kick his ass for being rude to her, but at least I don't have to kill him."

"Nope. Not today."

His frown deepened. "I should anyway. He should be in jail after what he did to them."

"Them?" I repeated, frowning. "What?"

"You don't even know what happened?" He raised an eyebrow at me. "I though you were their best friend."

I blinked in surprise at his words. I'd had no idea the twins considered me their best friend. Of course, that begged the question why they hadn't felt they could trust me with a problem. Shrugging, I said, "I'm their boss, Jor. Not quite the same thing."

"Well, you knew Sara was dating the prick, didn't you?"

"I knew she had a boyfriend, sure. I guess I just missed out on the end of the story."

Jordan looked at me for a long moment before speaking, as if weighing the consequences of telling me something I obviously wasn't supposed to know. Finally, he spoke in a hushed voice. "The last time he took Sara out, he drove her home and suggested they all have a threesome."

"He said that? Out loud?"

Jordan nodded. "Thus he couldn't walk upright for a week afterward. Because when Sara told him no, he told her Cara had already gone to bed with him twice since they'd been dating."

"Bullshit! She would never."

"Of course not. Sara didn't believe it for a minute, either. She told him to get the hell out, and he started getting rough with her."

My jaw dropped. "What! He hit her?"

"Just shoved her against the wall, from what she said. And he was trying to push her down on her knees when she punched him in the balls."

I bared my teeth in a savage grin. "Good."

"Then Cara came in, punched him in the neck, and kicked him in the balls." He laughed shortly. "He should thank them. I bet they swelled up so big they were visible without a microscope for the first time in his life."

I waved an impatient hand. "What happened after that?"

"The people in the next apartment came around to see what all the noise was about. Kevin had the good sense to take off after that."

"And again, nobody did anything? Why didn't someone call the cops?"

Jordan sighed. "The girls didn't want the police involved. They were afraid they'd get arrested for assaulting him."

"Why would they? It was self-defense."

"Only if the cops took their word over his. And neither of them had a mark on them."

Good point. I could see their logic--who would believe a couple of weird girls over a clean-cut college athlete? "
That's
why they didn't tell me," I muttered, surprised at the strength of my relief. "They knew I'd want them to press charges anyway."

"Yeah, well don't tell them I told you, either." Jordan glanced around as if worried we'd been overheard. "I don't want Sar...um, someone to get mad at me."

Aha.
I flashed him a knowing smile. "So that's why you're taking this so personally, hmm?"

"I would have anyway." His tone was defensive. "They're my friends."

"So does Sara know you want to be more than friends?"

His skinny shoulders slumped. "I thought she did, 'til she started dating Kevin."

"Well, don't give up." I patted him on the back. "I'm sure she's really confused right now. Just be there for her, all right?"

"That's what I was trying to do." He tipped his head back the direction we'd come to indicate the scene in the store.

"Oh, don't worry about Cara. She's protective as hell under the best of circumstances."
Like when she stops me from committing murder in public. I suppose I owe her one for that.
Damn it, I needed to get my butt back to the shop and apologize for snapping at her.

I sighed, looking up, and realized we'd completely bypassed the food court while we'd been talking. We were about to run aground at the department store that dominated the opposite end of the mall. "Um...."

Jordan noticed, too. "Oh, hell! I'm sorry. Let's go back."

"Nah, it's all right. You didn't really ask me out here to buy me a coffee, did you?"

"Well, no." He ducked his head a little. "But I said I would."

"It's cool, some other time. Listen, let me ask you something."

"Fire away."

I paused, not sure quite how to phrase my question. "How can you tell Sara and Cara apart?" I asked finally.

"It's easy, they're completely different. Don't tell me you still mix them up."

"No, it's not that. Just...what do you see about them that's so different?"

"Lots of things." He shrugged. "Their voices. Their expressions. They way they walk. Why do you ask?"

"I don't know." I chewed my lip as I thought about it. Identical bodies, different souls--it seemed meaningful somehow, but I couldn't quite grasp it. At last I shook my head. "Never mind. Guess I'm just feeling philosophical today."

He smiled wryly at me. "Well, if we're taking a rain check on the coffee, I'd better get going. I've got a job interview at the arcade in twenty minutes."

"Aw, you want to join our little retail family? How sweet." All the better to play the knight in shining armor, with his lady love working just downstairs. "Well, good luck. If you need a reference, feel free to drop my name."

"Thanks, Jade."

"It's Jandra, actually."

"Huh?"

"My real name. J-A-N-D-R-A."

"Hey, that's a cool name. Why don't you use it?"

What else could I say? "'Cause I'm soooo jaded, honey."

We parted company at the top of the escalator, with final promises to look out for the twins. I hurried the rest of the way back to Dissonance, glancing into the neighboring storefronts as I passed. No one seemed to stare after me any more or less than usual. Certainly nobody else asked if anything had been wrong last night.

Assholes.
I couldn't fathom why it bothered me so much, though. I'd thought myself long since numb to the indifference of others.

Back at the shop, the twins stood united behind the register, watching me with guarded expressions as they slurped their iced lattes. I smiled at them. "Everything all right?"