Covet - A Novel of Fallen Angel Part 10

aAny chance youare undercover?a she murmured. aNot that youad necessarily tell me, but I have to ask.a He reached into the breast pocket of his coat and took out a card. aThereas no way Iam a cop. Iam not as illegal as I used to be, but I wouldnat be eligible for a badge even if I wanted one. So ironically, you can trust me.a She looked over what he gave her. The diPietro Group. Address here in downtown Caldwell. Very expensive card stock, very flashy professional logo, and a lot of numbers and e-mail addresses to reach him at. As she put the thing down on the counter, her instincts told her the part about his not being with the Caldwell PD was right. But the trust thing? She didnat trust men anymore.

Especially ones she was attracted to.

aSo does that happen a lot?a he said.

Marie-Terese went back to work, wiping off his face, working her way down his cheek to his mouth. aMost people are okay. And management looks out for us. Iave never been hurt.a aAre youaa dancer?a For a moment, she entertained a fantasy where she told him that all she did was hang out in one of those cages, showing off some moves, being nothing but eye candy. She could guess what he would do. Head take a deep breath of relief and start relating to her as if she were just any other woman whoad caught his eye. No complications, no implications, nothing but some flirting between two people that might lead to bed.

Her silence made him take a breath, and it wasnat the oh-good kind. As he exhaled, the muscles that ran up his neck tightened into stark cords, like he had to fight back a wince.

This was the thing: She was never again going to have a normal get-to-know-you with a man. She had a dark secret, the kind that you had to gauge how many dates could pa.s.s before you had to reveal ita"otherwise you were a liar by omission.

aHow bad are your hands?a she said to fill the void.

When he held them out, she inspected his knuckles. The right ones were bruised and bleeding, and as she put the washcloth to use on them, she asked, aDo you come to the rescue of women a lot?a aNo, I really donat. Youare missing an earring, by the way.a She touched her lobe. aYeah, I know. I meant to put another pair on today. Butaa aIam Vin, by the way.a He put his palm out and waited. aNice to meet you.a Under other circ.u.mstances, she would have smiled at him. Ten years and a lifetime ago, she would have had to smile as she put her palm in his and they shook. Now, she just felt sadness.

aNice to meet you, too. Vin.a aYour name?a She took her hand from his and ducked her head to concentrate on his knuckles. aMarie-Terese. My nameais Marie-Terese.a She had such lovely eyes.

Marie-Terese of the lovely French name had absolutely lovely eyes. And she was gentle with her hands, carefully cleaning him up with that warm washcloth as if his nicks and scratches were something important.

s.h.i.+t, he wanted to get into another fight just so she could nurse him again.

aYou should probably go to the doctor,a she said, patting the little towel across his cracked knuckles.

Absently, he noted that the terry cloth had started off white but now was pink from his blood, and he was glad that shead put on the latexa"not because he was HIV positive, but because he hoped the gesture generalized and meant she protected herself in what she did for a living.

Head hoped all she did was dance. He really had.

She rinsed out the washcloth. aI said, you should see your doctor.a aIall be fine.a But would she? What would have happened if he and Jim hadnat come along?

G.o.d, there were so many questions he had all of a sudden. He wanted to know why someone like her was in this line of work. He wanted to know what harshness had brought her to the place she was at. He wanted to knowawhat he could do to help, not just tonight, but tomorrow and the day after that.

Except none of that was any of his business. More to the point, he had a feeling that if he pressed her for details, she would close up on him.

aCan I ask you something?a he said, because he couldnat help it.

She paused with the cloth. aOkay.a He knew he shouldnat do what he was about to, but he could not fight the overwhelming draw of her. It had nothing to do with his mind and everything to do with hisaokay, heart was too stinkina melodramatic. But whatever was driving him came from the center of his chest.

So fine, maybe his sternum was really into her.

aWill you have dinner with me?a The door to the locker room swung wide, and the flame-haired prost.i.tute whoad triggered Devinaas exit strode in.

aOh! Excuse meaI didnat know anyone was in here.a As she stared at Vin, her bright red lips widened into a false smile that suggested shead known exactly who was in the locker room.

Marie-Terese moved away from him, taking her warm cloth and her bowl of water and her soft hands with her. aWe were just leaving, Gina.a Vin took the cue and stood up. As he cursed the redheadas interruption, he caught an eyeball full of all the makeup on the counter and reminded himself that she had more of a right to be here than he did.

Marie-Terese went into the bathroom, and he imagined her cleaning out the bowl and rinsing the washcloth off, then snapping free the gloves. She was going to come out of there and he was going to say good-bye andashe was going to take off that fleece and go back into the crowd.

Staring at the door shead gone through, while the prost.i.tute next to him chattered away, the strangest feeling came over Vin. It was like a fog had gathered on the floor and sent tendrils up his legs and over his chest and all the way to his brain. He was suddenly hot on the outside and cold on the insidea.

s.h.i.+t, he knew what this was. He knew exactly what was happening. It had been years, but he knew where this constellation of sensation went.

Vin grabbed onto the stool and let his a.s.s fall back upon it. Breathe. Just breathe, you big dumb b.a.s.t.a.r.d. Breathea aSo I saw your girlfriend left,a the redhead was saying as she sidled up to him. aYou want some company?a Hands with blood-colored nails as long as talons reached out and drifted up his stained lapel.

He brushed her off him with a sloppy palm. aStop ita.a aYou sure?a Oh, G.o.d, he was even hotter on the outside, even colder on the inside. He had to stop thisabecause he didnat want to know the message that was coming to him. He didnat want the vision, the communication, the look-see into the future, but he was the telegraph who was powerless to deny receipt of the letters sent to him.

First the man in the elevator, then the two outsideanow this.

Head exorcised the dark side from himself years ago. Why was it back now?

The redhead rubbed herself against his arm and leaned into his ear. aLet me take care of youa"a aGina, give it a rest, would you?a Vinas eyes moved toward Marie-Tereseas voice and he opened his mouth to try and speak. Nothing came out. Worse, as he stared at her, she became a vortex into which his sight was sucked, everything but her going blurry. He braced himself for what was coming nexta"and sure enough, the trembling started at his feet, just as the fog had, and moved up his body, taking over his knees and his stomach and his shouldersa.

aWhatever, I donat need to beg,a Gina said as she headed for the door. aHave fun with hima"he looks too strung out to party anyway.a aVin?a Marie-Terese came over. aVin, can you hear me? Are you all righta"a The words bubbled up out of him, the voice not his own, the possession overcoming everything such that he knew not what he spoke because the message was not for him, but for the one he was addressing.

His ears heard only nonsense: aTheio th lskowaTheio th lskowaa She blanched and stepped back, hand lifting up to her throat. aWho.a aTheioathalskowa Vinas voice was deep and dark and senseless to him, even as he tried to hear the syllables correctly, tried to unscramble in his head what he was telling her: This was the very worst part of his cursea"he could do nothing to affect the future, because he didnat know what he foretold.

Marie-Terese backed away from him until she smacked against the door, her face pale and her eyes popping wide. With shaking hands, she fumbled to open the thing and then burst out of the locker room, desperate to get away from him.

Her absence was what brought Vin back to reality, snapping the hold that had been clamped onto him, breaking the strings that had turned him into the puppet ofahe didnat know what. Head never known what. From the very first time head been taken over, head been clueless as to what it was or what he spoke of or why, of all the people on the planet, it had to be him who chose to bear this terrible burden.

Good G.o.d, what was he going to do? He couldnat function in his business or his life with intrusions like this. And he didnat want to go back to his years as a young kid when people thought he was crazy.

Besides, this shouldnat be happening. Head taken care of this.

Planting his palms onto his knees, his let his head sag on his shoulders, his breathing shallow, his locked elbows all that held him upright.

That was how Jim found him.

aVin? Whatas doing, big man? You got a concussion?a If only that were the case. Head so choose a brain hemorrhage over the speaking-in-tongues thing.

Vin forced his eyes over to the other man. And because his mouth evidently wasnat through with its independent streak, he heard himself say, aDo you believe in demons, Jim?a The guy frowned. aExcuse me?a aDemonsaa There was a long pause; then Jim said, aHow about we get you home? You donat look right.a Jimas pointed pa.s.s on the question was a reminder of the polite way people dealt with the freaky in life. There were a lot of other reactions, though, from Marie-Tereseas taking off at a dead run to outright crueltya"which was what head gotten as a kid.

And Jim was right. Home was exactly where he needed to go, but d.a.m.ned if he didnat want to find Marie-Terese and tell herawhat? That between the ages of eleven and seventeen head had these aspellsa happen to him regularly? That theyad made him lose friends and gotten him labeled a freak and forced him to learn how to fight? That he was sorry shead gotten scared twice tonight?

More to the point, that she needed to take whatever head spoken as the gospel truth and protect herself? Because he was never wrong. f.u.c.k him to h.e.l.l and backabut whatever he said always happened.

Which was how he knew it was never good news. Later, someone on the periphery, or maybe the person him- or herself, would tell him what head said and what it meant. G.o.d, how the aftermath of the truth had horrified him. When head been young and had scared easier, he would go to his bedroom and shut the door and huddle under the covers, a shaky mess.

Just like he saw dead people, he foretold the future. The bad, b.l.o.o.d.y, destructive kind.

So what kind of trouble was Marie-Terese in?

aCome on, Vin. Letas go.a Vin looked toward the locker room door. Probably the kindest thing he could do for the woman was leave quietlya"all that explaining was only going to draw her in deeper and frighten her more. But that wasnat what was going to help her avoid whatever trouble was coming her way.

aVinalet me take you out of here.a aSheas in danger.a aVin, look at me.a The guy pointed to both of his own eyes. aLook at me. You are going home now. You got your head knocked around in that hall, and apparently you just gave pa.s.sing out some serious consideration. I get the no-doctor bit, fine. But youare talking out your a.s.s if you think Iam going to let this s.h.i.+t go on any longer. Come with mea"now.a d.a.m.n it, this fuzzy aftermath, with the disorientation and confusion, with his fear about what head said and his feeling out of controla"s.h.i.+t, even the WTF expression on Jimas faceahe remembered all of this. So many timesaVin had been through this so many times, and he hated it.

aYouare right,a he said, trying to let it all go. aYouare absolutely right.a He could always come back and talk to her later, when things werenat so fresh. Like tomorrow. Head come back tomorrow as soon as the club opened. It was the best he could do.

Getting off the stool carefully, he went over to where shead left his business card on the makeup counter. Taking his pen out, he wrote two words on the back and then looked at all the bags. He knew exactly which duffel was hers. Out of the pink-and-purple Ed Hardys and the Gucci and the two identical Harajuku Loversathere was a plain black one with not so much as a Nike logo on it.

After tucking the card inside that one, he strode for the door, his shoulders aching, his right hand starting to pound, his ribs sending him a sharp shooter every time he took a breath. The real s.h.i.+tkicker, though, was the headache between his temples that had nothing to do with the fight. He always had one afterawhatever the h.e.l.l that was.

Out in the hall, he looked both ways and saw no sign of Marie-Terese.

For a moment, the compulsion to find her struck strong and hot, but when Jim took his arm, he put his faith in the other manas rationality and allowed himself to be led over to the rear exit of the club.

aWait here.a Jim knocked on the manageras door, and when the guy came out, there was another round of thank-yous and then Vin found himself breathing cold, clear air.

Christawhat a night.

CHAPTER 15.

In the clubas parking lot, Vin walked through rows of cars, but he wasnat tracking muchaat least not until he caught sight of the guy with the mustache and gla.s.ses whoad witnessed the fight from the head of the corridor. Fortunately, as they all pa.s.sed each other, the man ducked his eyes like he didnat want any trouble and continued pulling on his parka, like head gone out to a car to get the thing.

When they got to the truck, Vin slid into the pa.s.senger seat and carefully rubbed his aching face.

Letting his head fall back, he despised the spinning, twirling tangle of pain that was making his skull scream. And the headache got even worse as it dawned on him that whereas he was headed back home, Marie-Terese had returned to work. Which meant she was with other men at this very moment, giving thema"

He had to stop going there before he went totally mad.

Looking out the window, he watched streetlights flare and fade as Jim took lefts and rights and stopped at intersections on the way to the Commodore.

When they rolled to a halt in front of the high-rise, Vin released the seat belt and popped the door open. He had no idea whether Devina was going to be at the duplex or whether shead have headed over to the place she still kept in the old meatpacking district of Caldie.

As he hoped she wasnat in his bed, he felt like a b.a.s.t.a.r.d.

aThanks,a he said to Jim as he stepped out. Before he shut the door, he leaned in. aLife is too frickina crazy sometimes, it really isa. You never know whatas going to happen, do you.a aYou got that right.a The guy ran his rough hand through his hair. aListen, go be with your woman. Make up with her, okay?a Vin frowned as something dawned on him. aIs this it? For you and me? Are we done now?a Jim exhaled like he was disappointed his relations.h.i.+p advice was being ignored. aNo, not hardly.a aWhy wonat you just tell me what you want?a Jim just braced his forearm on the top of his steering wheel and stared across the seat. In the silence, his pale blue eyes seemed ancient. aI told you why Iam here. Go be nice to Devina and then get some sleep before you fall on your a.s.s.a Vin shook his head. aDrive safe.a aI will.a The truck took off and Vin went up the graduated steps to the Commodoreas lobby entrance. With the swipe of a pa.s.s card, he opened one of the doors and walked into the marble lobby. Over at the sign-in desk, the older, overnight security guard glanced up, caught a look at Vinas puss, and dropped the pen he was holding.

Guess the swelling was kicking in. Which would explain why one of Vinas eyes was having trouble blinking.

aMr. diPietroaare youa"a aHope you have a quiet night,a Vin said as he strode to the elevator doors.

aThankayou.a On the way up the building, Vin got a good gander at what the security guard had gone penless over. In the darkened mirrors of the elevator, he stared at his busted nose and the scratch on his cheek and the beginnings of the s.h.i.+ner he was going to have in the morninga"

All at once, his face started to pound with the beat of his heart. Which made him wonder if he hadnat seen his reflection whether it would have stayed quiet.

Up on the twenty-eighth floor, he stepped out into the hall and got his key ready. While he worked the lock, he had the sense that his life had taken a beating tonight along with that college kid. Everything felt off. Dislocated.

He hoped it wasnat the start of a trend.

Vin opened his door, took a listen, and got hit with a whole lot of exhaustion. There was no security alarm to deactivate, and from the second floor, he could hear the television mumbling: She was home. Waiting for him.

Shutting himself in, he turned the lock, engaged the alarm, and eased back against the wall. When he could stand it, he looked up the marble staircase and watched the blue flicker of whatever show was on.

It sounded like an old movie, some kind of Ginger Rogersa"Fred Astaire flying-hoof special.

Guess he had to go up and face the music, so to speak.

As forties-era standards rippled out of the bedroom, he pictured Devina propped up on the Frette pillowcases, wearing one of her wispy chiffon nightgowns. When he walked in, she would be shocked at his face and would try to nurse hima"and shead want to apologize for bailing from the club in the same way shead made up for being unreachable the night before.

Or she would try to. He didnat feel like having s.e.x tonight.

At leastanot with her.

as.h.i.+t,a he muttered.

d.a.m.n him to h.e.l.l, but he wanted to drive right back to that club, but not to try to rehab Marie-Tereseas opinion of him. He wanted to pull out five hundred dollars and buy some time with her. He wanted to kiss her and pull her against his body and run his hands up the insides of her thighs. He wanted his tongue in her mouth and his chest against her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and he wanted her gasping and wet. He wanted her to let him take her.

The fantasy got him instantly harda"but it didnat last, neither the hot images nor the erection.

What killed the fantasy was the memory of her in that fleece. Shead been so small. Soafragile. Not an object to be bought, but a woman in a brutal business, leveraging her body for cash.

No, he didnat want to be with her like that.

As the raw mechanics of the way she earned her money tackled him, Vin thought, of course she was in danger. Look at what had happened tonight. Men couldnat be trusted when their c.o.c.ks were involved, and he himself was guilty of that kind of penile thinking. Just now, for example.

Desperate for a drink, Vin headed for the bar in the living room. Devina had turned the lights off, but the electric fireplace was on and the flames flickered around the walls, turning them liquid and making the shadows move like they were tracking his stride through the room.

With his f.u.c.ked-up punching hand, he poured himself a bourbon, and as he drank it, his lip hurt on one side.

Looking around, he measured everything he had bought with money head made, and in the s.h.i.+fting illumination it seemed to melt around him, the wallpaper dripping off in oozing sheets, the shelves sagging, the books and the paintings morphing into Dal-esque figments of their normal selves.

Amidst the distortion, his eyes went to the ceiling and he imagined Devina up above him.

She was just one more thing head purchased, wasnat she: He paid for her with clothes and travel and jewelry and spending money.

And head bought that diamond yesterday not because wanted her to have the stone as a token of lovea"it was just one more part of an ongoing transaction.

The fact was, head never told Devina he loved heranot because he was emotionally repressed, but because he didnat feel that way about her.

Vin shook his head until his brain sloshed around enough so that the room returned to normal. Tossing back the rest of the bourbon, he performed a refill. Which he drank.

aNother refill. aNother polish-off. More of the pouring.

He had no idea how long he stood in front of the bar drinking on his feet, but he was able to measure the way the level in the bottle dropped. And after four inches, he decided to just finish what was in the thing, and took the Woodford Reserve with him over to the couch that faced the view.

Staring out over the city, he got really f.u.c.king drunk. Saturated. Plowed. Messed the f.u.c.k up until he couldnat feel his legs or his arms and he had to let his head fall back against the pillow because he couldnat hold it up anymore.

Sometime later, Devina appeared naked behind him, her reflection in the gla.s.s looming in the archway of the living room.

Through the haze of his numbed-out state, he realized that there was something wrong about heraabout the way she moved, about the way she smelled.