DJ tucked his hand into Cooper’s, and then glanced back at Angel. “I love you.”
“Be brave and make me proud. I don’t want to hear that you’ve given them any trouble when I get there to visit you.” Angel stood up, squaring her shoulders. “You hear me? Mama J. will be watching over you. You know she’s always there.”
As Cooper led DJ out of the apartment, Herne glanced back at us.
“I’ll make sure they get off safely. I want to get the cloaking spell into their car.” He shut the apartment door behind him.
As I turned back to Angel she collapsed on the sofa, crying so hard I was afraid she might break a rib. I hurried over and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her head onto my shoulder. I had a horrible feeling that this was just the first in a long line of drastic changes we were both facing. But at least we’d be facing them together.
Chapter 5
ANGEL AND I had moved over to the sofa by the time Herne returned. I was doing my best to help Angel keep from losing it. He gave us a weary smile, then dropped into the chair next to the window, staring out at the night.
“How much more is there that we don’t know?” I asked. I wasn’t sure exactly what I meant, but the world seemed overwhelmingly complex all of a sudden, and I felt out of place in my own skin.
“Where should I start? For now, you should rest for the night. I’ve notified Névé and Saílle that you’re on our roster. Both were suspicious as to why I called them so late, but I figure better now than waiting till tomorrow. You should be safe tonight.” He paused, then added, “DJ got off safe. He’ll be fine, and I will make arrangements for you to see him sometime during the summer. Tonight, get some sleep and then meet me down at the office tomorrow around noon. We’ll get you situated away into whatever respective jobs I feel you’re best suited for.”
“I don’t like my job, but I should give notice—” Angel started to say, but Herne cut her off.
“No. Call in tomorrow morning and say unavoidable circumstances have forced you to resign. Don’t worry about picking up your things, I’ll have someone go do it for you. It’s not like you need references to work for me and, as of now, this is your job for the foreseeable future.” He pushed himself to his feet, stretching and yawning. “Sleep. Rest. Cry if you need to. Tomorrow’s a new day, and a whole new world.”
With that, he headed for the door.
“What about my house? My car is still there.”
“Give me your keys. I’ll have your car down at the office tomorrow. I’ll send someone home with you to gather your things. But you really should move over to Seattle. Even though you’re on the clock with me, I just feel safer if you were here, in the city.”
Angel tossed him her car key, and he pocketed it. Then, giving us a wave, he headed out the door, shutting it firmly behind him.
I ran over and locked the door behind him. Turning, I wasn’t sure what to say. I expected to see Angel in tears again but she was staring out the window over Puget Sound. She was breathing softly, and when I walked over to stand beside her, she smiled.
“He’s going to be okay. The worry about him that I’ve had all day? About him being dead or close to it? It’s vanished. I didn’t tell you after you found him and brought him home, but I was still afraid and I didn’t exactly know why. But now, I feel like he dodged a bullet. My brother’s going to be safe. And right now, that’s all that matters.”
“Then you have a good feeling about this Cooper?” I had come to trust Angel’s instincts.
“That’s not his name. He didn’t give us his real name. But it was so that my brother would be safe. I think DJ will finally have the father figure that he needs. Mama J. tried but she couldn’t be both mother and father to him, especially since she wasn’t a wolf shifter. And I could barely be even a substitute mother. But he’s going to have a family now, and they’ll take care of him.”
I knew Angel well enough to know that she wouldn’t say it if she didn’t feel it to her very core. Exhausted, and suddenly feeling like if I didn’t get into bed I’d drop in my tracks, I turned to her.
“We should get some sleep. Are you all right on the sofa? You can sleep in the bed with me if you want—it’s big enough for two.”
“I think I’d like to sleep on the sofa tonight. I like looking out at the city from this angle. I like seeing the water. Is it all right if I crash here until I find a place?”
I nodded. “Of course. But you know, I’ve been thinking of looking for a house. Maybe we should find one together. We make good roommates, you have to admit that. We’ve done it before.”
“That’s a good idea. We can talk about it in the morning.”
I rustled her up some blankets and a sheet and a pillow, and then I took a long hot shower before dropping into bed. I was afraid that I’d toss and turn half the night, replaying what had happened throughout the day. But everything seemed to glide off of me, falling away as I crept into bed. I closed my eyes and wrapped my arm around Mr. Rumblebutt, his purr began to lull me to sleep, and the next thing I knew, the sun was peeking through the window and it was morning.
COME MORNING, EVERYTHING seemed a little brighter. As I was dressing, I glanced in the mirror at my birthmark. The stag’s head and antlers suddenly made sense. How far had my father’s connections with Cernunnos gone?
I brushed my hair back, binding it into a high ponytail. I looked more like my father than my mother. He had had raven black hair just like mine, and green eyes like mine as well. My mother had been a redhead, with bright blue eyes and a voice that could charm the morning birds.
After I shimmied into a pair of jeans, I slipped on a corset top, inhaling deeply as I fastened the busks. I found that corsets supported my boobs better, and they also—if not cinched too tightly—supported my back, especially when I was out on the job, although acrylic boning was a must for being able to move quickly. I wasn’t a tomboy, although I certainly couldn’t be described as prim and proper. I liked makeup and I liked pretty clothes, but I liked my look with an edge.
After I finished dressing, I slipped on a pair of ankle boots with two-inch heels. They were chunky, and had good tread so that I could run in them. I threaded a studded leather belt through the loops in my jeans, and then, after a quick splash of powder, eye liner, and lip gloss, I headed out to the kitchen.
Angel was already up, whistling as she prepared pancakes. I was surprised she seemed so cheerful, but Mama J. had taught her to trust her instincts. If she thought DJ was safe, then he was safe.
“How long have you been up?”
“About an hour. I took a shower, and I’m grateful I packed a bag for a few days. I’ll need to get the rest of my clothes soon. I thought I’d make bacon and pancakes for breakfast. There weren’t enough eggs so I hope you don’t mind going without on those. I’ve already fed Mr. R. and he’s off playing in the living room.”
Mr. Rumblebutt loved Angel because she always brought him catnip toys.
“Mind? Hell, I’m just grateful you’re cooking. My specialties are pizza and toast. But you know that.” I grinned at her. We had gone to community college together, rooming together, and she had done most of the cooking for those two years. I had pitched in with housecleaning. I’d rather scrub the toilet any day than figure out how to prepare dinner. Most nights, I ate sandwiches and opened cans of soup. Or I’d stop for takeout on the way home.
“Ready to start our new jobs?” She flipped three pancakes onto the plate, added five rashers of bacon, and handed it to me. I carried my plate and the maple syrup over to the table. She followed with the butter and her own plate.
“Coffee? Coffee coffee coffee?” Angel didn’t share my obsession with caffeine—at least not with coffee. She had her own raging addiction going in the form of black tea, however.