Rapture (Fallen Angels #4)(112)
Author: J.R. Ward

“He’s dead.”

“And he’s all right.”

God, Mels really wanted to cry, just weep like crazy. But she felt frozen inside.

“Look at me,” the man said. When she didn’t, he put a gentle finger under her chin and shifted her head around—even as she refused to meet his eyes. “I’m not supposed to share certain kinds of intel, but I think you need something to keep you going tonight. Believe me, I know how that is.”

“There’s nothing you can say—”

“Your father’s in the place where Matthias’s going. They’re both okay—”

“How can you be so cruel—”

“—where they are—”

“Pine Grove Cemetery is not okay!”

He just shook his head. “They’re at eternal rest, and it’s got nothing to do with where their bodies are buried. And you’ll see them again, but not for a long while.”

Finally meeting his stare, she—

With a gasp, Mels focused on his eyes…especially the one that looked as Matthias’s had. Precisely as Matthias’s had. And there were scars on his face he hadn’t had before—right where Matthias had had them.

It was as if the man had lifted all of the injuries directly out of Matthias’s flesh.

With a trembling hand, Mels reached up to touch his face, but he inched back, keeping away from the contact.

“It was true,” she mumbled. “Matthias didn’t fake the healing or the damage.”

“Be at peace,” the man said in a warping voice that seemed to be in her mind instead of coming through her ears. “You don’t need to worry about either of them. They’re safe.”

At that moment, she knew in her heart what he was.

What Jim Heron was, too.

She had seen the truth in the mirror at the Marriott, and she was seeing it again now.

“You’re an angel,” she whispered in awe.

Her words seemed to snap him out of the connection, and he pulled away sharply. “Nah, just someone passing through your life.”

Bullshit, she thought.

Abruptly, the man got out, shut the driver’s-side door, and initiated the garage door to close…and then between one blink and the next, he was gone.

Mels wrenched her head over her shoulder, searching behind the car as the panels were trundling shut. Jumping out, she went to call his name. Except…

“You’re still here—I can sense it.”

No answer. No reveal—

“Mels?”

She whipped around. There, in the doorway that led into the kitchen, her mother was a dark silhouette in a pool of light.

Mels ran to her, tripping over her own feet, nearly losing her balance. When she got to her mother, she threw herself at the other woman.

“Mels? What’s wrong? You’re shaking—oh, my God, Mels…”

“I’m sorry—I’m sorry—”

Her mother held her up off the floor. “Mels? What are you sorry for? What’s wrong—”

The tears came and didn’t stop, everything breaking open, those years of keeping it together shattering like a mirror, a thousand cracks webbing out until she splintered completely.

Her mother was there to hold her as she fell apart.

And to think…she’d always believed she was the strong one?

55

“That hurt, you son of a bitch.”

Jim nearly lost his mind as he looked down at his old boss, who was—surprise!—alive and kicking.

One and only one thought went through his mind: “Do not tell me we’re going for a round three with you.”

As Matthias sat up and rubbed the back of his noggin, he shot a glare upward. “You dropped me on my head.”

“You’re dead!”

“Oh, and that’s an excuse?” The guy stood up and brushed the pea gravel from the seat of his pants. “P.S., I found out what you are.”

Jim started patting his pockets. “In need of a cigarette. Yeah, I am.”

“You’re an angel.”

“Am I?” When he found the pack of Marlboros, he was tempted to take all ten that were left, put them in his mouth, and light them together. “Do I look like one?”

“I met with your Maker.”

Jim froze with his Bic halfway to his lips.

“That’s right.” Matthias looked a little smug. “He says ‘hi,’ by the way—and he likes the turkey subs. Not sure what that means?”

“Excuse me?”

Matthias shrugged. “No clue on that one. But I met him—and I think he likes you. He told me about your game. Good luck with that, by the way—”

Jim presented his palm for review—directly in front of Matthias’s face. “Stop. What the f**k are you doing here?”

Matthias walked around in a little circle like he was choosing his words, or maybe replaying a conversation in his mind. “Well, here’s the thing, it’s not that I don’t trust you, but…she’s my girl. I have to keep her safe. This is the only way.”

“Only way how?”

Matthias pounded his chest with his fist. “I’m back in the saddle again, my friend. Okay, not that saddle—”

“This doesn’t make any sense—”

“It’s a simple case of free will. I went up there.” He looked to the sky and frowned, as if he weren’t entirely sure how all this had happened to him. “There was this massive castle thing—even had a moat in front of the entrance? An Englishman was waiting for me at the fortified doors, at the far end of this plank walkway. I’d seen him before, actually—at the Marriott? And then walking a dog? Anyway, I guess I understood, without being told, that all I had to do was walk across the bridge over the water and I was in forever.”

The words dried up at that point, Matthias’s brows going down hard, his eyes training on the ground.

“Annnnnnnd?” Jim bit out on the exhale.

“I couldn’t do it. I knew if I crossed over there was no going back—I mean, I couldn’t believe where I was. It was awesome, but…not for me.”

“Let me get this straight. You’re volunteering to go to Hell?”

“Not at all. The Maker came from out of nowhere and we talked. In the end, I just gave up one version of the place for another that was so much better. For me? Heaven is with that woman, and I’m going to spend the rest of my life trying to prove it to her—even though there’s no guarantees about…well, shit, so much on that one. But I’m clear on the fact that I want to give it a shot.”