Angel's Shield by Erin M. Leaf Read Free Book Online Page A

around, smiling. She’d loosened the ponytail she wore to
work and wisps of long brown hair blew across her face. She probably thought
she was plain, but he’d never seen such rich brown eyes before. Never seen such
creamy skin. God, he had it bad.
    “Ready to go?” he asked her, dangling the car keys on his finger.
    “Will you drive?” she asked. “I’m pooped.”
    Surprised, he nodded. “Sure.”
    “Good,” she said, lifting her hair off the back of her neck. “I
just want to sleep for days.”
    He opened the passenger side door for her, ignoring her look of
surprise at his gallantry. “I bet. You work pretty hard in there.” He frowned. “How
did you end up as a waitress?”
    Her eyes followed him as he walked around the car. When he climbed
behind the wheel, she rubbed her temples tiredly. “My parents died in a car
crash when I was eight, so my grandmother raised me. I was halfway through
college when she got sick. I came home to take care of her. End of story.”
    He turned the key. “That sucks.”
    She nodded. “Yeah.”
    He knew what it felt like to be alone like that. His parents had
faded when he was little. They’d just given up on their duty and let themselves
disappear into the mist, like so many angels of their generation. They thought
that after their species was outed to the humans, they couldn’t ever live in
peace again. That they had no reason for being. They couldn’t have been more
wrong. He pulled away from the curb and headed for Charmeine’s house. “I
understand. My parents died when I was little, too.”
    She glanced at him. “Oh, I’m sorry.”
    He shrugged. “I barely remember them. Jeremiel’s parents took care
of me for a while.” He needed to change the subject before she asked him what
happened. “So, your mom was Asian?”
    She blinked. “Korean. How did you know?”
    “The picture on your fridge.”
    “Ah.” She tilted her head back and rested it against the seat. “Yeah.
She came here in the late nineteen sixties, met my dad at college, and the rest
is history.” She smiled faintly. “My grandmother told me they had an epic love
affair. Apparently, everyone here was scandalized. They couldn’t get the clerk
to issue them a marriage license until my parents admitted my mother was
pregnant. People can be so stupid.”
    “Yeah, tell me about it,” he said, absently rubbing his right arm.
Sometimes his missing legacy marks ached, as if his skin knew there was
something wrong. He was grateful he wouldn’t be forced to fight the change
again for at least another week or two. He hated the thought of struggling like
that where Charmeine might see.
    “Hey,” she said, after a long moment of silence. “I didn’t mean to
freak you out.”
    He glanced over at her. She was staring out the window, face
tilted to the sky. Sunlight reflected from her eyes, hiding her thoughts, but
he could tell she was frowning.
    “I’m sorry, it’s not you. I was just remembering my parents.” He
took a deep breath. “Basically, they committed suicide. I’m still pissed with
them about it, all these years later.”
    She turned to him, compassion bleeding into her expression. “Oh,
that’s terrible. I’m sorry.”
    “No, no need to apologize. They made their decision and I was far
too young to stop them. I was only three. It was two decades ago. You’d think I’d
be done with it by now.” He shook his head as he pulled into her driveway.
    “Some things you don’t ever get over,” she murmured.
    “Yeah.” He opened the door. Jeremiel waved from the porch. Thank
God he had his best friend. Even if things were a little weird right now, he
knew Jeremiel would always have his back. “Yo! I got your stupid oranges,” he
called out, pushing his morbid thoughts aside. He didn’t want to think about
his parents. Or his lost ability to fly. He walked over and opened the car door
for Charmeine before she could get out.
    She grinned up at him. “I’m not an invalid, you