UnGuarded by Ashley Robertson Read Free Book Online

for shoes
to go with her faded torn jeans and a Hawaiian black tube-top, one
jumbo-sized white flower stitched to its front. Her makeup looked
perfect—not overdone, but very natural with a little powder,
bronzer on the cheeks, and a smudged brown line under both eyes.
She wore her hair down with a few stray pieces swooping across her
face, just above one eye.
    I used a little more magic to throw my hair
into a low ponytail and shift into a pair of tan wedge sandals
while she was fishing out her other black, peep-toe pump. We left
our dorm, heading straight for the parking lot, walking as quickly
as our shoes would let us. I concentrated on keeping Caitlyn steady
and balanced. Tripping over uneven pavement, or one of her own
feet, wouldn’t be a good way to start the night.
    Caitlyn drove a newer-looking cherry red
Honda Accord. She rushed into the driver’s seat and fired up the
engine as I got into the passenger side. We rode in silence, her
attention mostly on driving and getting us there as fast as humanly
possible. There was a pedestrian that didn’t look before attempting
to cross the street. Miraculously, and with a little angel help,
she swerved around the panicked person and kept going. There was no
such thing as a “near miss.” There’s always a guardian angel behind
it, keeping the car on the road while you’re texting, or helping
the car turn sharper to avoid hitting someone or something.
    Brix was a lounge connected to an
average-rated hotel, The Desiree. There was a dining area to the
left, where they offered bar bites and tapas-style food choices,
which was just another word for small portions. To the right was
the bar, the counter stretching across the entire left side of the
room. A couple pool tables were off to the side with a handful of
bistro-style tables and mini chairs scattered around them.
    There were also about a dozen angels
hovering closely to each of their charges, and about half that
number of demons. Guardian angels were required to be with their
human charges at all times—even when those pesky demons weren’t
present. That was why substitute angels, like Corrine, were
created. Believe it or not, people seem to find just as much
trouble without the help of anything dark provoking them. It’s
amazing how many “close encounters” humans have had with death,
only to repeat the same mistakes over and over again expecting
different outcomes. If I were human, I’d be thanking God every
second for placing a guardian angel to watch over me and keep me
safe.
    Stacey and Rob were sitting at the far end
of the bar, their guardians, invisible to everyone but me, close by
them. Stacey was barely twenty-one and had the cutest blond pixie
cut framing her face. She wore flared jeans and platform sandals,
which made her five-foot-seven body look a few inches taller. Rob
was at least six foot, maybe a little more, with short brown hair
that looked blonder in the sunlight. In the subdued, smoky
atmosphere in here, though, it appeared a darker brown.
    “Caitlyn! Selene!” Stacey wailed in
excitement. She jumped up and rushed toward us, arms stretching
around in a tight group hug.
    “Hey girls,” Rob said in his usual low,
unexcited voice.
    Caitlyn and I smiled at him as we broke free
of Stacey’s grasp and found our seats at the neighboring bar.
Caitlyn glanced around the lounge, most likely checking to see if
Jack had arrived yet. She frowned and grabbed the specialty drink
menu lying on the counter. I guess that meant no Jack yet. Goody
for me. But I could sense Saber close by, so it wouldn’t be good
for me much longer. I breathed a sigh of relief that Raphael had
put Jack’s guardian angel back on him. Maybe it’d make Jack more
tolerable this evening.
    “How’s biology going?” Stacey asked Caitlyn.
“Still struggling to keep an A?”
    Caitlyn shrugged. “I guess it’s going a
little better than the last time we talked.”
    “A little better?” I chuckled. “I’d say a
lot