Smoking Hot (18 page)

Raine crossed her legs as she tried to make sense of what Tilly was telling her, but she had no idea what the other woman was talking about. “Why would you have to take the stand?”

“I've watched those courtroom shows and the reporter always goes to jail to keep from revealing their source. My friend could get into a lot of hot water if anyone found out she was helping me.”

Raine rubbed her hand across her forehead. Dillon did this to her. He'd gotten Tilly stirred up. The pounding in her head increased, but when Tilly began to speak again, Raine attempted to pay attention.

“She owes me a favor, you know. I introduced her son to a very sweet girl. David was twenty-five and still living at home. The boy had no direction in life. Remember that movie where the young man refused to take any responsibilities? Same situation. She was at the end of her rope with that kid. The young lady put him on the right track fast enough.”

Heaven help Shirley Cowan if Tilly was ever questioned about a source. She was the only woman who worked at the bank with a twenty-five year old son named David.

The incessant bomp-bomp-bomp inside her head grew steadily louder, and Raine could've sworn there was someone poking little needles at the backs of her eyeballs. She had to end this before her head exploded.

“Tilly? Your news?” Raine redirected her back to the conversation.

Tilly's laughter tinkled. “I do occasionally lose the thread of what I was talking about. Sock is always fussing at me. Just the other day— Oh well, that's not important. What I called you about is that another friend of mine told me Ethan bought the old car dealership. He said Ethan paid cash.”

The blood rushed through her veins making it impossible to think, but it didn't matter because only one thought was going through her mind. Ethan was the one who robbed the bank.

Why was she surprised? His name and Leo's were at the top of her list of suspects. But she never really thought they might be the robbers. Ethan always preached, no matter the situation, that a deputy has to abide by the law. The badge would stand behind the deputy. It hadn't, though. Not for her, anyway.

“Are you still there, Raine?”

“Yes, I'm here.”

“The finger is pointing right at him. He's not from around here. I heard he was from the Galveston area. I knew there was something fishy about him.” She realized what she'd said and laughed at her own humor. “Not that him being from a coastal area or being a criminal is funny,” she quickly put in.

Guilty until proven innocent? No matter how damaging the evidence, it proved nothing. “We don't know he bought the building with stolen money. If we accuse him without proof, we're no better than the ones who pointed the finger at me and Grandpa.”

There was a moment of silence before Tilly's deep sigh came over the phone. “I much prefer everyone pointing the finger at him than at you and Sock.”

So did Raine, but just because he'd bought a building didn't mean he was guilty. “I'll do some more checking.”

“I suppose you should.” Tilly sounded deflated.

Raine had to give the older woman credit for what she'd discovered so far. “Your information has been a lot of help. We only need to dig a little deeper.”

“You think so?”

“Immeasurably. I'll see what I can find out on my end and you do the same, but be careful when you ask questions. I don't want anyone getting hurt. And Tilly…”

“What, dear?”

“Thank you for everything you've done.”

“No, thank you. I haven't had this much excitement in a long time.”

Raine could do without this kind of excitement, but she didn't voice her thoughts. They said good-bye, but Raine didn't move. All she could think about was that Ethan might be guilty. The thought didn't bring her any relief. Her gut feeling didn't make things any better because it kept telling her that Ethan was innocent. If she couldn't trust her gut, what could she trust?

“Did you have to be so melodramatic?” Dillon came to his feet. He was right about being on a cloud. He was surrounded by them, but they weren't the soft marshmallow kind. These were dark and ominous with the occasional lightning bolt sending jagged streaks through them.

Tobiah stood a short distance from him looking equally ominous and dangerous. Today he wore all black. Dillon never realized angels were so into drama.

“I can show you theatrical if you like,” Tobiah warned as his eyebrows drew into one bushy slash across his forehead.

Damn. He'd fought demons who didn't scare him as much as his father. And that was another thing: he was still having a hard time wrapping his brain around the fact that this angel was his father.

He'd also dumped ice-cold rain on him and Dillon would just as soon not get soaked again. “Was there something you wanted?” he asked with a bit more respect, but he wouldn't apologize for the way he felt.

“Raine's future is still the same,” Tobiah fumed. “Nothing has changed except you've shown yourself to another mortal.”

If his father knew Raine's future was still the same, then he must be watching them. He wondered what else his father saw. For the first time in his life, Dillon felt a flood of warmth crawl up his face. This was an awkward moment. He might not accept Tobiah as his father, but he didn't want an angel seeing everything he did.

“No, I didn't watch that,” Tobiah said as though he read his thoughts. “As soon as you two arrived at that house, I tuned you out. Sometimes the nephilim need to remember what they are,” he chastised.

“I'm half man,” he defended himself, standing a little straighter.

“I would say more than half. You inherited more of your mother's side than mine,” Tobiah complained.

“You were the one who descended to earth and seduced a mortal.”

Some day he needed to learn to keep his mouth closed. Pointing out the fact Tobiah impregnated Dillon's mother might not have been wise, since he was already on his shit list. But it was the truth. Angels were as susceptible to sin as anyone. Tobiah was no exception.

“You will do well not to try my patience. And stay away from fairies. They're more trouble than they're worth. Once they reach their twenty-sixth year their sexual appetites are out of control.”

“They can't help their nature. Besides, I heard if they don't have sex, the hot flashes they suffer can disintegrate them, so they're not really to blame.”

“What are you doing about Raine's future?” Tobiah asked, changing the subject.

Dillon didn't mind Tobiah's redirected line of question. Talking about the birds and bees with his father was one thing. Since his father was an angel, the subject matter took on a whole new meaning.

“We're trying to find the real bank robbers. We have a few leads we're checking. If Raine can expose the real criminals, she'll not only clear her name and anyone else wrongly accused, but she'll gain the recognition she deserves.”

“You know what will happen if you stay with her too long?”

“Yes.” He didn't want to think about it, though. The danger was always at the back of his mind that he wouldn't be able to completely erase her memory of him. If he stayed too long, the veil separating their worlds could become thin enough that Raine would be able to see what only a few mortals knew existed. Flashes of light and dark, shadowy figures, evil and good.

There was a strong possibility that having second sight would drive her to the brink of madness. A rare few completed the transition and were gifted with the ability to speak to mortals who crossed over and were entering an immortal world. These men and women became psychics and healers, but their gift carried a high price. They also saw the demons who walked amongst them. The things that went bump in the night.

“I'll leave before that happens,” Dillon told him.

“See that you do.”

“Was that all you wanted? To remind me about the amount of time I have?”

“Don't push your luck, boy.”

Dillon wanted to remind Tobiah he wasn't a boy, but decided to do as Tobiah warned.

“And stop fooling around with the girl.”

That was the kettle calling the pot black. “When we do find the real bank robbers and Raine is exonerated, she'll still have deep-rooted problems she needs to face. I'm trying to help her work through them before I leave. Where's the good of fixing the outside if she still has issues she refuses to face?”

Tobiah only glared at Dillon as though he didn't believe everything he said. He was right not to buy every word. Yeah, what he said was the truth, but even Dillon knew there was more to it than his wanting to help Raine deal with the past. He wanted to stay as long as possible and didn't like the thought of leaving.

Tobiah waved his arm. “Then go, and be quick about it. I haven't got all day.”

“I thought time didn't mean the same to you. At least that's what you said.” He couldn't help throwing Tobiah's words back at him.

“And I don't like insolence, either!” Tobiah raised both arms, then dropped them back down with a fury that caused the cloud beneath Dillon's feet to open. He fell, going faster and faster, spinning out of control.

He was headed toward the ground at an extremely high speed. This wasn't good. He was traveling so fast that when he crashed there'd be nothing left of him except a spot on the ground. He gritted his teeth, waiting for the impact as the ground came closer and closer, the whistle of air the only thing he heard.

But at the last second, his rapid descent came to a jarring halt. He exhaled a deep breath until there wasn't any air left in his lungs. The grass directly below his face waved back and forth, as if to mock him.

“Yeah, that was real angelic of you,” he muttered.

He was jerked back up as if he was attached to an invisible bungee cord.
He
just
had
to
open
his
mouth
again.
If Tobiah didn't stop, Dillon would lose his breakfast. There was only one way he could see to make him stop. “Okay, you win. I'm sorry!”

His body flew toward the ground again, but this time he stopped about two feet from it. As soon as he caught his breath, the invisible bungee cord broke. He landed with a loud thump. Stars exploded all around him.

“Thanks for—”

Thunder boomed across the sky, causing the ground to shake beneath him. He snapped his mouth closed and glared upwards but he didn't say another word. For an angel, Tobiah had a real temper.

***

“Do you think you were a little hard on him?” Michael asked.

Tobiah glanced down. “He has a hard head. Besides, our sons heal fast. They're scrappers.” Yeah, he was proud of Dillon and he didn't care who knew it. He glanced toward Michael. “You're just as proud of Chance.”

Michael's eyes glowed with warmth. “You're right, I am. He never once backed down from the demon. There for a while he worried me. He crossed more lines than I wanted to count.”

“No, Ryder is the one who refused to back down,” Abram's voice boomed from the next cloud over. “My son dodged everything I threw his way.”

“What'd you expect? You were throwing lightning bolts,” Tobiah said with undisguised sarcasm. “I'd dodge them too.” They could brag all they wanted, but it was Dillon who would show them all what the nephilim were made of. The kid had been through a lot. Not a kid anymore, he supposed.

And Dillon resented him. All their sons resented their fathers for not being there; some still did. They'd had orders from management. No interfering with the lives of their children. It was the only way they would learn how to fight demons. That's why the nephilim were created in the first place: to protect people.

From their fathers they were gifted with compassion, and from their mothers' side they were given the frailties of man so that they would know suffering. They were thrown out into the world at an early age, too early some would say. Only a few remained. The threat of demons invading the world was less likely because of the nephilim. Some demons still came topside. They created havoc wherever they went, but as soon as they were detected by the nephilim, they quickly went back to Hell.

Tobiah sighed. It was past time the nephilim found happiness of their own, and that their fathers were finally allowed to make a connection with their sons.

“Hunter will show them all up,” a booming voice declared.

The other three angels turned at the same time. “It's good to see you, Zachery,” Abram said. “When are you going to meet Hunter?”

“Soon. Don't push me. I could ask the same of you,” Zachery said.

“I met Ryder.”

“No, you threw lightning bolts at him,” the other three said in unison.

Abram shook his head. “Why do you have to keep reminding me? It all worked out for the best.”

“You were stubborn,” Tobiah told him. “Still are.”

“Someday soon.”

“You always say that,” Michael pointed out.

“I have time. All the time in the world.” He glanced down. “Will Dillon be able to fix Raine's life?”

“That's the problem,” Tobiah said. “We can gently guide them, but nothing more.”

The others cleared their throats.

Tobiah frowned. “Okay, maybe shove is a better word. But upper management will only let us do so much. With one wave of my hand I could fix—”

“No!” they spoke again.

“I have faith in my son,” he said. “And I don't plan on getting kicked out of Heaven, so don't worry that I would break one of the commandments.” He looked with longing down to the Earth below. His son lived the life he longed for. Tobiah was born an angel and, although he loved who he was, he thought it might be nice to stay on Earth for longer periods than they were allowed. There were so many delights to be tasted, so many adventures he could have.

“You're doing it again,” Zachery said.

A moment passed before his words sank in and when they did, Tobiah felt heat rise up his face. But he couldn't help thinking what it would be like to live on earth. “Wouldn't it be fun to—”

“No!”

“I was only saying it would be fun, not that I was going to follow through.”

“Good,” Michael said.

They were right, of course. If you lived with mortals, you had to take the bad with the good. Life wasn't always a silver-lined cloud. Dillon was a walking testament to that. Speaking of which, his son better be careful or he was going to get into trouble again, not to mention what he would do to Raine's life. He hoped everything would work itself out, but right now he wasn't sure.