Wounded Angel (The Earth Angels) - By Stacy Gail Page 0,71
that point, then resumed when the kids got into a shoving match. “You’re a Southern hothouse flower. How can you stand it here in the North Pole?”
“It’s not that bad. Asheville has been known to get snow, you know.”
“Still, Chicago is a nice place to visit, but it’s completely different from anything found down South. Though maybe that’s part of the appeal for you?”
Her teeth wanted to chatter, but she couldn’t tell if it was from the cold or nerves. “I suppose that was a part of it, at least in the beginning. Other than my cousin, who let me stay with his family for the first month I was here, I didn’t have any reminders of home. At the time that was what I needed—just a little breathing space to get my head right and my feet back under me.”
“I knew your cousin lied to me. He swore he hadn’t seen you in years.”
“You found me anyway.”
“Greatest find I ever made.” He glanced at her. “Have you fallen in love with your adopted town, or would you ever consider moving back down South?”
“Not to Asheville. I’m done with that place.”
“What about somewhere else? Someplace that’s not as cold as a well-digger’s ass.”
“Since I don’t know how cold a well-digger’s ass is, it’s hard to say.” It was also hard to concentrate on their conversation. She knew what Nate was trying to do, and she loved him all the more for his attempt to distract her from the fact that with every step, they closed in on the magnificent botanical center of Chicago, the Crystal Gardens, on the edge of the pier’s amusement park.
And if Nate’s visions were right, the hideout of a demon.
The crowds thinned after they passed the golden arches of a fast-food eatery, the bigger attractions now behind them. Part shopping venue, part amusement park and cruise excursion embarkation point, part convention center, Navy Pier was Chicago’s premier tourist attraction, and it always seemed to be under some sort of renovation as it revamped itself to fit the times. While the amusement park was still open, most of the section that housed the convention center next door to it was currently veiled with smoked glass, layers of scaffolding and industrial-sized blue tarp. A full moon hung over the water, and she was so busy admiring its magnificent glow on the water’s inky black surface that it took her a moment to realize Nate had come to a halt.
“Nate?” She searched his face, and saw he was looking at the scaffolding with an expression that seemed almost puzzled. “What is it?”
“Expectations really can be a bitch to let go of, along with the burden of guilt. Did you know that, Ella?”
She put her hand to his cheek, alarmed. Maybe Dantalion had already gotten his demony claws into Nate’s mind and had twisted it sideways. “What are you talking about?”
“All my life I expected to be crippled in terms of power, so I was. I expected what little power I had to work quietly, so it did. And when that gift wound up hurting people, I felt so guilty I wanted it to go away. So it vanished. Now I’ve got to let it all go and just...let it happen on its own terms. And wherever it takes me, I’m not going to do my version of what my mother did by denying its existence. Good or bad, I’m committed to following my gift.”
“Why are you saying this now?”
“Because that tarp is glowing and I just saw in my mind’s eye the two of us going through it.” He glanced back at her. “It’s not glowing, is it?”
“No.” Before Ella could stop herself, she grabbed his hand and took comfort in how solid it felt. “But I’m ready if you are.”
“Last chance to be smart and back out.” He pulled her close, and the fierce tenderness in the arms that held her warmed her more than their shared body heat. “I can’t tell you to hide out until it’s all over, because I know you won’t. I’ve finally figured out that hiding from a fight is something you won’t do.”
And she’d thought he would never learn. “Damn straight.”
“So I’m not telling. I’m asking.” As if he found the feel of her body irresistible when she was so close, he rubbed his hands over her back then, with a quick glance around the sparsely populated area of the pier, slid them lower to cup her bum. He massaged the rounded