Haunting Me (An Angel Falls Book 3) Read online

  “Juliana, would you like a drink?”

  “Water,” I answer as I look around the nearly empty café.

  “Two waters,” Nathaniel says.

  “Is this for here or to go?” she asks.

  “Here, please.”

  She says the total and I turn back around reaching into my bag. Nathaniel is an angel and as far as I know he has no money. His position in the afterlife doesn’t exactly pay in cash.

  Nathaniel puts his hand on mine as I dig in my wallet. I look up to find him frowning at me in a look which is clearly part confusion and part, “What do you think you’re doing?” Nathaniel hands Anna a wad of folded bills from his pants pocket. So maybe being an angel has more benefits than I know about.

  “I’ll fill our water cups if you’ll pick a table,” he says and walks over to the fountain machine.

  I scope out the dining room for an empty booth and start heading for it when a noisy group comes in the front door. Jared and his band are here.

  “Are you guys following me?” I say as they walk up to the counter.

  “You wish,” Caleb says.

  There’s a girl with them, but I don’t recognize her. I can’t help but notice how she’s holding my brother’s full attention.

  “You’ll be the one following us when our tour starts again,” Dan, their bassist, says.

  His smile is infectious and I grin back at him. “I could handle that.”

  “Our shows weren’t the same without Jared,” he says.

  “How could it have been? There’s no replacement for J. His hand is healed and he’s playing better than ever.”

  “It’s going to be epic. You can’t miss it,” Dan says.

  Before Nathaniel picked me up, Jared and I came to the tenuous decision that the best my brother can do is go on as if Marcus isn’t always looming in the background waiting for Jared’s last breath. My gaze shifts to the dining area with the reminder of Marcus. I see him standing by a booth watching Nathaniel. The hair rises on the back of my arms.

  “I definitely want to be there,” I tell Dan and look around for Jared.

  “Here’s your change,” the cashier says to me as she holds out a hand full of Nathaniel’s money.

  “Oh,” I say, surprised. “That’s not mine, but I’ll give it to him.” I step over to grab the money and make a quick decision. “Will you pack our order to go?” I ask.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I see the Goth girl who came in with the band moving toward the front counter. In the few seconds it took to get Nathaniel’s change from the cashier, Jared has walked over to Nathaniel by the fountain machine. What is he doing? I can see Jared saying something to Nathaniel and they’re laughing, but I can’t hear the conversation.

  While trying to decide if I should check on them and mention the death rays coming from Marcus on the opposite side of the room, I hear, “Hi. I’m Star Quillin.”

  When I turn to her, I try not to gawk, but I can’t help but notice the stunning black lace and burgundy velvet of her ensemble. She looks like a Goth queen from some dark fantasy land. Spiders creep across the lacy design of her tights above a pair of four buckle leather boots. The boots are classic Goth, yet feminine, and go perfectly with the rest of her amazing outfit. The bracelets, the earrings, even her hair pins are perfectly matched.

  “She’s a member of the band, you know,” Dan tells Star.

  “This is Jules. Jared’s sister,” Caleb says as an introduction. “She’s flippin’ her lid about her brother’s record contract and the new tour. Can’t you tell?” His blond hair is standing on end and is sporting green and black stripes which weren’t there the last time I saw him. His blue eyes sparkle with excitement as he talks about his band.

  Being singled out makes the stupid heat in my cheeks return. I really have to start wearing a ski mask.

  Someone, dark haired, with a thicker build, and very recognizable, slips around the newly formed group surrounding me. “She’s part of us all right,” he says.

  Then, and may I add, without my consent, he grabs my hair and wraps it around my head, blinding and nearly suffocating me. “She’s the part that officially makes us a hair band,” Derrick says from behind me.

  “Umm, yeah. Not really,” I say doubtfully into a mouthful of hair. I reach up for his hand intending to inflict pain, but he’s smart enough to let go before I get my nails into him. “Touch my hair again and suffer the consequences,” I say as I try to smooth down the tresses.

  He doesn’t take me seriously and decides to ruffle the top of my head with one of his thick hands like I’m the baby sister in this group. For that, I reward him by sneaking my hand backward and giving him a vicious nurple. He yelps like a girl and I feel a smile of satisfaction creep across my face.

  “Jules, I know you wound me with love,” Derrick says as he turns toward the counter rubbing at his pinched chest, but already moving onto the more important and pressing subject of food. Derrick, I do love. He’s been in my life since he and Jared were in the first grade together. And although Jared spends more time with Caleb these days, the entire band are like brothers to me. Derrick could also eat us out of house and home, so maybe it’s for the best Derrick and Dan spend more time at Dan’s house when they’re not practicing. Another guy I don’t recognize joins Derrick at the counter. He must be the fill-in guitarist Mostly Mayhem has been using while Jared was recovering from his broken hand.

  I finally turn back to Star. “Hi, I’m Jules.” Then I have that awkward moment of silence when I first meet someone and can’t think of a single thing to say. She saves me.

  “Your brother’s pretty splendid on the guitar.”

  “He’s one of those rare people born with a gift for music,” I say.

  “I can tell. I heard one of the demos and really wanted to meet him.”

  She has an open friendly expression and a heart-shaped face with beautifully sculpted wide eyes and irises the color of dark amber. Her black hair is chin length and has lots of sharp angles cut into the style. It’s also streaked with burgundy and purple. She instantly seems different than other girls Jared has been attracted to in the past. For one, she doesn’t sound annoying, and for two, the whole Goth thing is unusual for him. Her face is ghostly-white, partly from her makeup, but her arms are nearly as pale. She’s also wearing plenty of black eyeliner and mascara, but it’s artfully drawn on and makes her that much prettier. Her lipstick is as dark as the wine color in the lace-up bodice of her top. She has poise and confidence and it makes me feel slightly intimidated.

  “So do you play, too? I heard them say you’re going on tour with us,” she asks.

  Us? I let the question pass for now. “No. It’s sort of hard to explain. Jared likes to call me their manager, but I’m more like the only responsible member of the band. Nice necklace, by the way.”

  “This?” she asks as her hand wraps around the tiny bottle hanging around her throat by a braided black ribbon. “Thanks. It’s a lacrimosa.”

  “I like how the spider is wrapped around the bottle,” I say because I have no idea what a lacrimosa is, and it does look cool. She catches on quickly to my ignorance, or maybe it’s the stupid look on my face.

  “The bottle is for catching tears after someone dies. The spider is the weaver. A record keeper of lives,” she explains.

  I consider this for a second and instantly decide I should have had one when my dad died. Tears are powerful things and if I could have bottled my pain from that time in my life, I would have. I could have washed them away in the San Juan River and been done with the years of despair. Why had I not thought about that then? Well, I was only nine, so maybe that’s why. The tears inside hers are just visible through the legs of the silver spider.

  “I could have used one a few years ago,” I say and wonder why I said it. My mouth and brain should really try to get along better.

  Star gives me a sad smile as if she understands completely, and for unexplainable reasons, I think she does.<
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  I decide to go back to a more neutral subject. “How many dates are lined up for the tour?” I ask.

  “Right now, seven. Three in state and four out. My band is supposed to join Riot Fest after that. I’ll have to see about getting Mostly Mayhem on the bill.”

  Then it hits me. Star is a member of The Shy Lights. So I don’t appear completely ignorant, I compose my astounded face and refrain from asking her what she plays, or if she is the singer. Even though I’ve heard their albums at least a dozen times, I guess I’ve never seen a picture of the band.

  “Jules?”

  I turn to the sound of my brother’s voice.

  He’s at the door to the café and he doesn’t have to say anything else. The shock in his eyes is enough to get me running. I see an employee set my food order on the end of the counter so I grab the bags and say, “Nice to meet you. I’m so sorry, but I have to go,” and rush out the door after Jared.

  “What’s going on?” I say as soon as I’m outside.

  “Nathaniel and Marcus.”

  “What?” I ask, feeling panic begin to race through my blood as we round the corner of the building toward the parking lot. “What are you guys doing? Where’s Nathaniel?”

  “I was talking to him, then Marcus was in his face. I followed them outside thinking I should mediate the situation. Then they both went poof.” He demonstrates by blowing up some air between his hands. “I came in to get you because you see ghosts and I don’t.”

  “They’re not ghosts.”

  “I know, but you know what I mean.”

  Unfortunately, I do. I didn’t choose this weird ability to see spirits, but I didn’t choose black hair and green eyes either.

  I scan the parking lot. The faint glow from a single street light doesn’t travel far past the sidewalk. I can’t see either angel, and the fear of what is happening to Nathaniel gets a grip on me like steel claws. Then I hear their voices. Nathaniel’s perfect timbre is engrained in my soul and I begin to run toward the sound of him yelling. On the other side of a catering van, I see their dim outline and I stop approaching.

  “Why are you makin’ me do this to you?” Marcus yells.

  “If you knew how serious I am, you wouldn’t bother trying to stop me,” Nathaniel says.

  “Your immaturity is shinin’ bright tonight.”

  “This has nothing to do with my age, Marcus. It’s my decision.”

  “Believe me — that ignorant fool suffers.”

  “Tell me where Liam is and I’ll find out for myself.”

  “No way this side of death am I sharin’ that information with you.” Marcus shakes his dreadlock-covered head to emphasize his point.

  “Do you see them?” Jared says, nearly startling me out of my skin. “What’s happening?”

  Nathaniel and Marcus turn to look at us. As soon as Nathaniel sees me, he starts walking toward me. Before he takes three steps, Marcus grabs the back of Nathaniel’s shoulder. Nathaniel whirls around, reaching up to remove Marcus’s hand. Marcus’s arm twists, but he doesn’t let go. Nathaniel tries to jerk away.

  “I said, stay away from my client.”

  Nathaniel looks shocked, like it hadn’t occurred to him Jared is even standing next to me.

  “Don’t touch me.” He grips Marcus’s hand harder, forcing him to relent. “You have everything wrong,” he says as he takes a step closer to where I stand.

  “Not a chance, Nathaniel,” Marcus says. “You’re the one who’s in the wrong. If you only knew half of what is going on here….”

  Marcus moves faster than humanly possible, but Nathaniel must have been ready and adjusts his stance to swing at Marcus’s face. Marcus dodges the blow, but Nathaniel is faster and his fist glances off Marcus’s chin. The Angel of Death growls and seems to grow about a foot in height. In less time than it takes to blink, Marcus grabs Nathaniel and lifts him off his feet. Nathaniel doesn’t have time to react before Marcus flings him into the air. Nathaniel summersaults through the sky and over the back corner of the building like he were a piece of trash caught in a gust of wind.

  An involuntary scream escapes from my mouth.

  Jared flinches and wraps his arm protectively around me. “What!”

  “That was your only warning,” Marcus shouts.

  He rounds on us, and I see the distrust and rage glowing like a fire behind his eyes. I stumble and yank Jared around and run away from Marcus and the shock and horror of what I’ve just witnessed. By the time I’m back in front of the café, Jared forces us to stop.

  “Come on, tell me, Jules.”

  “It’s…umm…Marcus doesn’t want Nathaniel anywhere near you,” I spit out. A tingling sensation creeps up my spine and into my head, and I’m unable to blink, or think straight, or say anything else.

  “That’s it,” Jared says, disappointment evident.

  After I don’t respond, he asks, “Why did you scream?”

  I cover my face with my hand and try to hold it together. How can I tell him I just saw my boyfriend being flung into oblivion? It’s impossible. That can’t happen. Where did he go? Did I just witness his death? What? He’s already dead…. The night around me begins to feel distant like I’m leaving my body. Where I’m headed, I’m not sure, but it’s far away and softer and there are no living nightmares there. Jared brings me back by putting his hand on my arm.

  “Earth to Jules? Are you with me?”

  I’m aware of someone walking up behind me. I turn around expecting to see Marcus, but it’s Star. She’s slinky and mysterious. Her aura is even dark with swirls of silver and maroon. Her interest reaches out to Jared as she nears. She’s coming from the direction of the parking lot. Was she watching us? Had she been standing there the entire time and I didn’t notice? I spin back around as Jared makes a move toward her. I don’t want her to read anything on my face. Slight movement catches my attention at the far end of the next building and I stare hard into the night.

  Nathaniel appears from the shadows. As soon as I see his profile, he turns to me. He’s too far from me to see his face clearly, but it doesn’t matter.

  “You want to share the secret?” Star asks Jared.

  Jared says something about trading secrets for sandwiches or fries or something, but I’m already hurrying past them and straight for Nathaniel.

  “Hey, where are you going?”

  “Stay back, J. Okay?” I plead over my shoulder and notice Marcus standing thirty feet behind Jared, arms crossed over his massive chest. He glares at me, but I ignore it and jog down the street.

  Chapter Eight: The First Date of the Rest of Our…?

  Nathaniel

  As soon as I see her face I know I’ve made another gargantuan mistake. Distraught is putting it mildly. I’ve seen her afraid before…too many times. I can’t keep doing this to her. It isn’t fair.

  “You’re not injured?” she says.

  The worry lines around her eyes make me want to punch myself.

  “No,” I say, forming my physical body, then taking the bags of food from her hand. She doesn’t release the plastic handles at first.

  “I forgot I was holding this,” she says, her fingers slowly uncurling.

  Wordless, I turn and start walking away. How could I be so stupid? Why would I ever let myself think this could work? I’m an Angel of Death and she is a living, breathing, beautiful woman.

  She keeps up with me as I pound the street, furious and full of self-loathing. Marcus had no right to treat me that way. What does he think I’m going to do? I know I’ve made mistakes with Jared. He could have asked me why I saved his life rather than rushing me. It isn’t done. He’s treating me like, like the way I treated that warlock scum, Travis Dawson.

  “Why aren’t you running away from me?” I finally say, still unable to look at her.

  “Is that what you want?”

  I’m tempted to say yes. To scare her away so she’ll never want to see my idiot face again, but it’s not in me to lie, especially t
o someone I care for and owe everything to. “No, but you should.”

  “That’s another thing about strong-willed females. Your opinion matters, but we do what we want anyway.”

  I feel myself holding back a grin. God, for good or for bad, she knows how to push my buttons. When I was slain by demons and died — again — and told her it was over between us because I was little more than a ghost, she went up against the warlock, Travis, saved his step-daughter — my client — from committing suicide, and helped me be re-instated to my position. As maddening as it can be, I love Juliana’s steadfastness. “Is this another pointless conversation where I tell you that you saved me and I owe you everything, and I’m the worst thing to ever come into your life?”

  “And I say, you saved me from being possessed by a succubus and died because of it, and I owe you everything and then some?”

  “I thought so,” I say, and stop walking.

  The lines of stress on her face may as well be emotional tattoos. Reaching up I brush my thumb over an eyebrow trying in vain to erase the concern and the memory of what she must have seen. I let my hand drift over her temple and rest gently against the back of her slender neck.

  “It didn’t hurt,” I whisper.

  “Are you sure?”

  “No body, remember?”

  Her gaze lowers and she stares at my shirt.

  “Sometimes the bruises on the inside are worse,” she says.

  “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. Jared wanted to talk to me at the café. Marcus warned me to stay away from your brother. I never thought he would do something so asinine.”

  “It was sort of scary.” She watches a passing car instead of looking at me. “I just need to get used to some things about you.”

  “Juliana, maybe you shouldn’t get used to my oddness. It’s not right.”

  “Maybe it’s what I like about you,” she says and raises a challenging brow and a quivering chin.

  “Figures,” I say unenthusiastically. “Come on. If I can’t persuade you out of it, I still owe you a date.” I wrap an arm around her and we start down the sidewalk again, having no idea where we are headed.