In the Shadow of Angels: The Guardian Series 1 by Fanny Lee Savage Read Free Book Online

and dying and wants to make amends. Granted it is too many years late, but it is still being offered. I would be cruel and selfish to refuse her.
    “Just remember to pack your razor, that man is gorgeous!”
     
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    After I tell Sally I will be leaving for a few weeks, I head out to help Janice make beds and handout fresh towels to the tourists that stayed the night. Most are already packing things up and making their way to the beach. Bright sun hats, sarongs, and walkers; a strange combination. I stop to help a woman with her beach bag and guide her down the ramp behind the hotel. Poor thing is going to be finding sand in her walker for weeks.
    It is already too hot, even though it’s not even ten in the morning. I walk back to the motel, wiping sweat from my forehead, and find Janice in conversation with Norm. He looks wild-eyed and frazzled even for him. He sees me walking towards them and starts my way.
    “Charlotte, who was that man yesterday?” His tone is hard. I am surprised at how upset he seems. His hands rub together in front of him, like he’s trying to stay warm.
    “He is an old friend,” I respond. “Are you all right Norm?”
    “You need to keep away from him.”
    The smell of booze hits my nose, and I step back. Norm has demons, even more so than others I’m sure. War will do that to a man. He has witnessed more evil than I could ever dream of.
    “He has fire inside him Charlotte. I can see it burning.” Norm steps forward, too close, but I remain still. I have never seen him like this, I didn’t even think he drank.
    “It’s all right, Norm.” I can’t think of what else to say. His pupils are dilated, and I wonder if he’s taking his medication.
    “The devil is trying to get his claws in you.” His voice raises. “I had a dream about you last night.”
    “Norm, honey, Charlotte is just fine,” Jan says.
    I hold up my hand to stop her. “What was your dream?”
    “The devil had you tied up in his entrails.” He mutters something under his breath. “He’s going to devour you.”
    “It’s all right, Norm,” I say, again. I reach out to touch his arm, but he pushes me away, too hard, and I stumble.
    “No, no, no.” He steps back and runs his finger in his hair. “I’ve seen men like his before. In my platoon. They cover up their evil with gentle words and a soft touch.”
    “He is not like that,” I say to him. My stomach twists.
    “Don’t go.” His breath is on my face. “That man is caustic, and he’ll leave you burned.”
    I step away and glance to Janice. Her eyebrows are turned down, her eyes darting from me to Norm. He backs up and mutters something under his breath, then walks away. His door slams behind him when he enters his room.
    “What the hell was that?” Janice asks. Her eyes are wide and just as shocked as I by his behavior. “How’d he know you were leaving?”
    “You didn’t tell him?” I ask.
    “No, he came runnin’ outta his room, all crazy talk, wanting to know where you were.”
    I glance back to his door. The curtains in his room rustle. “He must have heard Henri and I talking yesterday,” I tell her. “He was at the bar.”
    Janice makes a sour face. “I have never before seen that man drink. Somethings got him all twisted up inside.”
    I have always been open minded. Hell, I can feel people’s emotions when I shake their hand. So if someone tells me they saw something in a dream, I don’t take it lightly. The one thing I am sure of, is Norm has never been so upset. I know nightmares. They stem from someplace dark, from shadows that are very real.
    I walk away and try to leave our weird conversation in the parking lot. Janice and I continue to clean rooms and after we have finished, we hide in the last unoccupied room and eat snacks from the vending machine. We may, or may not, have watched a few movies this way over the last five years.
    Three hours later, I am walking back to my house. Sally sent me home after I