Chicago Read online

  For the first time, he stopped to look at her and he instantly went hard. Her black linen pants hugged her hips and ass with a faithful touch. Her sequined halter-top was ocean blue to match her eyes. When she turned to walk towards the lab door, he spotted the tattoo on her shoulder. A butterfly decorated her pale skin, perched on a flower. Its blue and black wings were unfurled, striking him with the urge to run his fingers over them to see if they were real.

  “No, you go back to whatever you were doing when I called. I hope your date isn’t too mad that you left.” He didn’t like the surge of jealousy rushing through him.

  Danielle smiled at him. “It’s my birthday. I was celebrating with a few friends, and they know I’ll make it up to them.”

  For some reason, Grant felt like a complete heel. It was her birthday and he’d been giving her shit about the note. But she knows who left the note. Don’t get sappy now just because your cock’s interested in her.

  “Happy birthday,” he murmured.

  “Thanks. I’m going to do a little looking around tonight. Can I catch up with you tomorrow and talk about some things?” Her gaze burned into his and a willingness to agree to anything welled up in him.

  “Sure. I’m going to have to talk to the director and the board about the break-in. Can you come later in the afternoon?” He wasn’t looking forward to telling his superiors the Peruvian artifacts on loan had been destroyed.

  “It’d be a good idea since the people who broke the artifacts had to have gotten into the museum some way and they’ll need to look for a security breach.”

  “Your friend wouldn’t have broken in as well?”

  An odd smile skipped over her mouth. “There isn’t any way you can keep her out and there won’t be any sign of her passing through.” Danielle nodded at him. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

  His gaze followed her out as he told himself he was making sure she was really leaving and that he wasn’t checking her ass out. Grumbling to himself, he went back to sweep up the shards of pottery from the floor.

  * * * *

  Danielle kept a sharp eye out as she walked down the sidewalk in the projects of Chicago. No one would be able to hurt her, even if she wasn’t wary about her surroundings. Being a fallen had its advantages.

  “Danielle, I’m surprised to see an uptown girl like you hanging out with the dregs of society.” Brittany’s sharp laugh brought her to a halt.

  Turning, she saw the tall blonde woman leaning in a doorway. “I was looking for you, Brittany.”

  “Oh, I bet I can guess why. That archaeologist didn’t like the note I left you.” The fallen’s smile was all teeth.

  Danielle looked into the woman’s eyes and saw the darkness encroaching. “No, he didn’t. Why did you have to break those artifacts?”

  Brittany looked confused. “Those artifacts were fine when I left. I couldn’t find what I was looking for.”

  “What were you looking for?”

  A gleam shone in those slightly mad eyes. “The brethren are saying your archaeologist uncovered something that belongs to us. I wanted to see if he really did have it.” Brittany shrugged. “I couldn’t find it, but I’m warning you. Others will be coming, Danielle.”

  She was puzzled and worried. “What’s so important they’d come here and risk revealing themselves?”

  “I don’t know. Some say it’s so important even Lucifer might come looking for it.”

  “Lucifer?” That was a name she never wanted to hear. There was no way she could stop Daystar if he chose to take whatever Grant had uncovered.

  “Yes. The angel we all love to hate.”

  “If you found it, what would you do with it? Currying favor with Lucifer isn’t something I thought you’d be interested in.” She couldn’t understand why Brittany would want to help Lucifer out.

  “I don’t know. Maybe I just want to know what it is.” Brittany scowled. “Just know that this city will be crawling soon, if you don’t discover what your archaeologist brought home and fix the problems it’ll cause.”

  Brittany disappeared, and Danielle frowned. She wasn’t sure how to get Grant to trust her enough to show her what he had discovered, and she didn’t have a good feeling about this whole thing if Lucifer was involved. Shivers danced down her spine. Calling in reinforcements wasn’t something she wanted to do, but she didn’t know if there were any Enforcers in Chicago—it might be easier to ask Dominic to join her for a few days.

  She needed to get home. Since she hadn’t driven down to the projects, she gathered her power. Disappearing from the sidewalk, she reappeared in her town house and Princess meowed at her, probably annoyed that her dinner was late again.

  * * * *

  Mika’il stared out of the window of the John Hancock building from his seat at the bar. He sipped his drink and wondered why he’d chosen whiskey when the alcohol didn’t do anything to him. He must have gotten into the habit from hanging out with William and Dominic. Both Enforcers felt it helped them to feel more normal.

  He didn’t understand that. They would never be normal. Even though they had fallen, they were still angels and there was no such thing as a normal angel. Maybe if there was such a thing, he wouldn’t feel so helpless when the Lord tested them.

  A light streaked across the sky and he found himself wishing on it. Silly angel, he thought. Wishing on a falling star isn’t going to change things. He couldn’t help it. His close association with mortals gave him a mixture of beliefs and a vast understanding of yearning for something out of reach.

  As he looked out over the city, he noticed a darkness spreading over Chicago.

  “So it begins,” he said.

  “Excuse me, sir, did you say something?” the bartender asked.

  “Just talking to myself.” He smiled politely. After paying his tab, he stood and moved out of the bar. Why must we test them?

  A vast silence met his question and he sighed. There were times he hated his job.

  Chapter Two

  Grant stared at his lab assistant. No wonder there hadn’t been any sign of forced entry last night. The idiot’s swipe card had been stolen and he hadn’t noticed until he’d got to work this morning. The man had been apologizing to him for the past hour.

  “Stop it, David,” he said, putting a hand up to halt the flow of words. “I know you didn’t lose it on purpose and you didn’t have anything to do with the break-in. Get back to work.”

  After going into his office, he shut the door. He hadn’t slept a wink last night and wasn’t in the best of moods to begin with. Now he had to deal with the grumpy detective Danielle had brought into the problem. Grant dialed the number on the card Nevan had given him.

  “Largent,” a voice barked into the phone.

  “Hello, Detective, this is Grant Carson from the Field Museum.”

  “Yeah?” There wasn’t a hint of friendliness in the man’s voice.

  “I think I know how the vandals got into the lab.”

  “Which set of vandals?”

  “The ones who broke the pots.” He stood up then moved around his office, irritated by Nevan’s gruff tone.

  “Really? Are you sure you haven’t figured out how the note got there?” Sarcasm dripped from the man’s words

  “I’m taking it one step at a time, Detective. When you catch the guys who broke the pots, more than likely you’ll find the person who left the note.”

  A burst of laughter came over the phone. “Don’t count on it, Carson. Okay, I’ll stop by after lunch sometime to see what you figured out.” Nevan hung up on him.

  Slamming the phone down, Grant swore. He had never met anyone as abrasive as the detective. The sound of a throat being cleared brought his attention back to his office. Turning, he saw Danielle standing in the doorway. She was dressed in a black business suit. The straight skirt stopped mid-thigh and her fitted jacket hugged her breasts with mouthwatering precision. The camisole she wore under it was the blue of her eyes. He had noticed she always
wore blue in some fashion.

  He shifted slightly, uncomfortable with how hard his cock had gotten at the sight of her. It had always been like that, but for some reason, it seemed to be happening more since he had returned from Peru.

  “Why do you wear blue?” He blinked. He hadn’t meant to ask that—he’d meant to yell at her for bringing that asshole of a detective around.

  Her eyes held a weary look tinged with a hint of sadness. “Blue reminds me of home.”

  “Where is home for you, Ms Weston?” Grant gestured to the chairs in front of his desk and tried not to stare as she made her way over to them before sitting.

  Smiling, Danielle pushed her hair back over her shoulder. “You wouldn’t have heard of it.”

  “Do you miss it?” He could have kicked himself. Why was he asking her all these questions? He had managed to go several years without ever talking to her about anything personal, even though he had thought about her in ways as far removed from business as possible.

  The look she gave him said that she wasn’t sure he really wanted to hear what she had to say. And maybe she was right. He had always been uneasy around her, mostly because of how much he fought his attraction to her. He understood there was something about her that could change him deep inside if he let her close.

  “I’ve missed it since the day I left. The memories of my home haunt me.”

  “Then why don’t you go back there?” He started to reach out and touch her hand. Don’t. You could live to regret reaching out to her.

  After standing, Danielle went to look out of the door into the lab where his assistants were working on several different artifacts. “I’m not allowed to return. I was thrown out long ago for a foolish act and I’m forced to live here among you.”

  “Live among us? That makes you sound like an alien. Are you from outer space?” He laughed.

  She turned back to him. “I talked with some people last night. What else did you uncover at your dig site, Grant?”

  The abrupt change in subject startled him for a moment. Blinking, he switched gears. “Nothing.”

  “I suggest you don’t ever try to lie. You’re terrible at it. Whatever they were looking for is in that room.” She pointed at the vault door. “And if you don’t tell me what it is, we’re going to be in some serious trouble.”

  “What did they tell you?” He wasn’t about to expose his secret. It could make or break his career and he wasn’t going to say anything until he could prove if it was real or not.

  “It’s something my associates will come looking for and one of them in particular isn’t a man you want to mess with.”

  “How do I know you’re not just trying to find out what it is so that you can tell them about it?” He grimaced—he had as good as told her there was something.

  A small smile graced her lips, but she didn’t say anything about his slip. “We had a falling out—so to speak—a long time ago, and we try very hard not to have anything to do with each other.” A serious expression came over her face. “Trust me, you don’t want to get involved with them or the man who leads them. He has no conscience and no compassion. What he wants, he takes and to hell with anyone who might be in his way.”

  “You make him sound like a devil.”

  Danielle’s harsh laugh broke into the room. “A devil? I guess he could be considered the Devil. He isn’t someone you want to deal with either way. I need to know what you have, Grant, before things get worse.”

  “Why are you and Detective Largent so insistent that things are going to get worse? I’m not thrilled with the fact that someone broke all my pottery, but that doesn’t mean the end of the world is coming.” He smiled at Danielle. “Couldn’t you have found a friendlier detective?”

  “Not if I wanted one who will look beyond the obvious to the possibilities. Largent is a pain in the ass, I know, but he’s a good detective and he’ll do what needs to be done. He’s seen a lot in his life and it has left his mind open, much to his anger.” She leaned on the desk beside him then stared down at Grant.

  “Beyond the obvious?” His gaze was caught by the expanse of creamy thigh exposed by her short skirt. He itched to run his fingers over her skin and see if it was as silky as it looked. Her faint floral scent surrounded him and he took a deep breath to store it in his memory. He realized she was talking. “Excuse me?”

  A smirk tipped those full lips and he knew she’d caught the fact he couldn’t keep his eyes off her legs.

  “There is more than one perpetrator here. Nevan won’t have trouble catching the one who broke the pots. The one who left the note, he’ll leave to me.”

  “Why would he be angry about doing that? Seems to me he would be happy to have one less thing to do.”

  Grant shifted closer to her and his hand brushed against her knee. They both took a sharp breath. She was soft and warm, and he fought the irrational urge to lick the tender area behind her knee. What the hell has gotten into me?

  He pushed his chair back before standing to move away. If he didn’t get away from her, he would do something stupid…like kiss her. That would totally be the wrong thing to do because he still wasn’t sure he even liked her.

  “Nevan would prefer to be like you. Eyes open to what can only be proven. In his world, there are things that can be seen and touched that can’t be proven. Things that must be seen to be believed.” Straightening, Danielle headed to the door.

  “What things?” He wanted to kick himself. He didn’t want her to stick around, but it was obvious his body was ruling his mouth today, not his mind.

  “Angels, for one thing.”

  “Detective Largent sees angels? He doesn’t strike me as a particularly religious person.” He sounded skeptical, he knew, but he didn’t believe in angels any more than he believed in Big Foot.

  “It has nothing to do with religion. Angels don’t need a mortal’s belief in God for them to exist. They were around before mortals came into being. In fact, many would say it was the existence of mortals that caused the downfall of the angels.” A dark look showed in her eyes.

  What thoughts are racing around her head?

  “Legends and myths of ancient people help us form an idea of how they lived. It’s interesting that the ancient Jews believed that the evil people did to each other had a spiritual reason behind it,” Grant pointed out.

  Smiling, Danielle nodded. “All myths and legends hold a bit of truth in them. Why do most cultures in the world have stories of guardians, spirit beings or angels? As a scientist, you don’t believe in anything ‘otherworldly’ or supernatural? Does that include God?”

  He wasn’t thrilled with the direction the conversation was going. He didn’t want to discuss his religious leanings, or lack thereof. “So what do you think is going to happen now?”

  She didn’t say anything for a moment, just stood there, staring at him. “I’m not sure. The people who vandalized the lab might be regrouping and trying to think of another way to get in here. I don’t know what they were looking for, so I can’t tell you how determined they are. As I told you about the person who left the note, she has all the time in the world and can outlast you. She might not come back tonight or next week, but she’ll be back and there’s no way you’ll be able to keep what she’s looking for away from her.”

  “Unless I tell you what I brought back.” He wasn’t going to be scared into doing anything.

  “I could make you tell me.”

  “Yeah, right.” He snorted.

  The blue of her eyes darkened to black and anger flashed in them. Was Danielle angry because he didn’t believe her or because he wasn’t scared of her? The walls in the room seemed to close in around them and he couldn’t tear his eyes away from hers. When Danielle finally blinked, he found himself standing right in front of her, his lips almost touching hers.

  “What the hell?” Grant scrambled away from her.

  “I could make you do whatever I wanted you to do, Grant. Lucky for you, I swore never to us
e my powers against people like you.” She glanced down at her watch. “I’ve got to go. When you decide to get that stick out of your ass, call me and we’ll see what we can to do to protect your precious discovery.”

  She whirled around then stalked out.

  Standing there, he watched her leave. He’d almost kissed her. What had short-circuited his mind to cause him to make that mistake? He shook his head while going back into the lab. Maybe some mindless washing of some fire-cracked rock would keep his mind from wondering just how soft her mouth would feel under his. His cock wanted to know how Danielle felt crushed up against it.

  Down, boy. There was no way Grant was going to get involved with that woman. His body might think she was the best kind of sex he’d ever seen, but his mind said there was something else going on behind her beautiful face.

  Chapter Three

  “Okay, I’m here now. What did you have to tell me?” Detective Largent strolled into the lab with a glare.

  Sighing, Grant set down his tweezers. Taking off his gloves, he told his lab assistants, “You guys can leave for the day.”

  Nevan stood staring at the graduate students as they made their way out of the lab. When the last one left, shutting the door behind him, Nevan said, “What news have you got for me?”

  “I hoped your rude attitude had to do with Danielle and wasn’t just part of your everyday personality.” Grant gestured for Nevan to sit at one of the tables.

  The detective shrugged. “I don’t like it around here. Too many old things with too many ghosts attached.”

  He frowned. “Danielle said your mind was open to the possibilities existing in this world. She said angels were one of them. Are ghosts another?”

  Nevan’s gaze pinned him with pale green intensity. “She’s been talking out of turn, I see. My attitude generally reflects just how bad a day I’ve been having, Doctor. Trust me when I tell you that everyone gets treated the same by me.”

  “Do you believe in angels?”

  Those green eyes darkened as the detective snarled at him. “I believe in angels, demons and ghosts, Doctor. You can believe that I’m crazy if you want, but when you’ve seen them all your life, you tend to believe in them.”