Mercy for the Damned by Lisa Olsen Read Free Book Online Page A

looking for a witch?”
    “Whoa, you didn’t say anything about being hot in your profile,” Parker’s grin widened, and I couldn’t resist a roll of the eyes.  Did he think that kind of compliment would make her swoon? 
    “Watch it, I can turn you into a toad,” her lips twisted into a wry grin.  Her accent was thick, but understandable.  I guessed Hispanic of some type based on her name and dark features, but she could have been Italian.  Her aura was a swirl of bright greens and purples, with flecks of pink.  Almost dizzying if I allowed myself to stare at it for too long, and I tried not to.  Overall she was a beautiful woman, with that look about her that if she took off the conservative skirt and let her hair down she’d be all kinds of sexy. 
    “Santiago,” I frowned, wondering if she was in some way related to Detective Santiago.  I didn’t come right out and ask her, it would be like asking everyone named Miller if they were related. 
    “Do I know you?”
    “No, I don’t think so, I’m Mercy,” I smiled to cover what I’d been thinking.  “Nice to meet you.”
    “So, you’re the one everybody is all in the uproar about, huh?” Her eyes swept over me critically, and I couldn’t help but wonder how much he’d told her about me. 
    “Guilty as charged,” I smiled, extending a hand.  For a moment I thought she might not take it, but then she did, clasping it with both hands.  Instead of shaking it, she held my hand for long seconds, until it started to get a little uncomfortable.  “Um… Ms Santiago…”
    With an open smile, she let go of my hand, overcoming whatever reservation she might have had about meeting me, from whatever she picked up from my hand.  “You can call me Luz.  Now, your man said something about you needing the real deal, a witch with power.  What kind of power are you looking for?”
    I traded looks with Parker, wishing I’d had a chance to look over what he’d told her already.  “We have a couple of problems we need help with actually.  First, I guess, do you know anything about possession?” 
    “If you are looking to get rid of a demon, you’d be better off with a priest.  Exorcism is a tricky business,” she shook her head.
    “Actually, we’re trying to get rid of a fallen angel.  I don’t suppose you have much in the way of personal knowledge when it comes to them?”  It was too much to ask for, but instead of shooting me down, Luz gave another wry twist of the lips.
    “Actually, I’ve known one… intimately,” she admitted.  “A real sonofabitch, but he did have his amusing moments.”
    My face fell.  I knew Adam spent a good deal of his past reveling in more than his share of earthly delights, but the thought of coming face to face with one of his conquests left a little to be desired.  “You um, you know Adam?” I asked in a small voice.
    “Adam?” her brows drew together in puzzlement.  “No, his name is Remiel.  I was a little bit wilder in my younger days,” she winked at Parker.
    “I’ll bet,” he smiled back, leaning against the bar. 
    It suddenly got a lot easier to breathe.  Not that it meant there weren’t scores of women out there that he’d been intimate with, but I definitely didn’t want to meet any of them.  Especially not any with such lush attributes.  “So, anyway, we have this problem with a fallen angel.  He managed to possess a friend of mine, and we need both a way to force him out, but then a way to somehow keep him from doing that to anyone ever again.  Is such a thing possible?”
    Luz considered for a moment, lacquered nails tapping against full lips.  “It could be done.  We might need something to jolt him free of the body, but you could maybe help with that.”
    “Me?  What could I do?”
    “Please.  I can feel the power radiating off of you from here.  Are you trying to tell me you don’t know what I’m talking about?”
    “No, I guess not,” I admitted