“Uh oh, what is it now?”
I could hear the roll of the eyes in his reply. “Nothing bad. I just realized we totally forgot about Christmas Eve.”
“What about it?”
“You know, decorating, shopping, parties, family, presents… am I ringing any bells here?”
“I’m familiar with the concept, what about it?”
“It’s in three days.”
“Oh right, I guess it is.”
“I take it you’re not a big fan then?” I would have thought he’d be into it big time.
“I don’t celebrate it,” he admitted. “Why should I? It’s not like December twenty-fifth is really his birthday.”
“It’s not?” My eyes widened in surprise.
“No, we didn’t even use the same calendar back then. That’s just when people celebrate it. But I never really knew the guy, so I don’t think much about it. The same goes for Easter.”
“You don’t celebrate Easter either?”
“So he came back from the dead, big whoop. It’s not like Joe Schmo pulled off rising from the grave, he’s the son of God. It’s like being surprised when the Terminator sits up at the end of the movie. That dude always comes back.”
“I… guess I never thought of it that way before. Does that mean I should give your Christmas present away then?”
“Let’s not get hasty,” he chuckled. “We can celebrate Christmas if you want to, I guess. I’ll even deck a hall or two, but how are you going to explain me being around to your mom?”
I hadn’t thought of that. “Guess I can’t exactly pass you off as cousin Adam, can I? Maybe we can have our own private celebration together.”
“I like the sound of that. We don’t have to wait three days for it either. Are you taking Dudley Do-right back to his place?”
“I am.”
“Great, what time should I come over?”
“I have to work tonight, so it’ll be late, but feel free to wait at my place if you like.”
“Again with the job,” he muttered, and I prepared to defend my right to work when I saw Ben hurrying across the parking lot.
“I have to go, Ben’s on his way. I’ll see you tonight.”
“I’ll be there. It’s my turn for the massage, right?”
“We’ll see,” I laughed, hanging up. Only then did I realize I didn’t feel so sick anymore, glad it was a fleeting thing like a hangover without the party. Maybe it had been a backlash from the magic or something? “All set?” I asked as Ben climbed in beside me. I wasn’t sure what to expect after his up and down in the interrogation room, but his mood seemed sunny enough.
“You weren’t wrong, Anna does hate you. She tried to get me to roll over on you, but I stuck to my story. I’ve got a meeting set for the day after tomorrow to talk to the Captain, then I’ll know what disciplinary action I’ll be given.”
“Are you sure this is the best way to go about this?”
“Don’t sweat it, Mercy. I can take the heat,” he laid a hand on my knee and I immediately picked it up and laid it back on his own leg. Ben didn’t miss a beat, fixing me with a cheeky grin. “Ready to go get that tree now?”
“I think I should take you home. I have to meet my mother for lunch and get ready for work.”
“Aw, come on, Mercy. I want us to spend more time together.”
“Then stop by the club and order a drink like anyone else, but I’m not dating you, let’s keep that perfectly clear. I’m grateful for your help with the police, but I won’t let you guilt me into anything more.”
“Okay, okay, I’ll tone it down. I have patience.”
“Maybe you can lend me some, ‘cause I’m about out of mine,” I muttered, putting the car into gear.
Chapter Twenty
“I don’t get why your mom drives you so crazy,” Parker shrugged, lugging a box of booze from the rear storeroom to set on the bar. “I liked her.”
“I like her too, but she frustrates the hell out of me. She has no sense of personal responsibility, and I’m supposed to drop everything and cater to her whenever she remembers she has a daughter.”
“You mean the way a parent drops everything for their child growing up?”
“That’s how it’s supposed to be, isn’t it? But I spent most of my teen years taking care of her and Matty after we left my dad. She’s just so…” I was getting all worked up again, and took a moment to let out a long breath. “I love her, I really do. I’m just coming from a position of years of disappointment. I’ve had to learn to take everything she says with a big grain of salt. Otherwise, I’d be sitting around waiting for her to keep promises she means to keep, but something always interferes. I had to learn how not to buy into all of her drama or it’d take over my life too,” I sighed, unscrewing the cap off a bottle of rum.
“So, you’re saying you don’t want me to invite her to come and live with us after the wedding?” he teased, and I threw a wet rag at him with a satisfying plop.
“You do and you’ll be sleeping out in the doghouse on our honeymoon,” I grinned back. “I have to learn how to be more like Matty and accept her for what she is, and ignore the rest. She knows how to push my buttons, that’s all.”
“Like me?” he grinned, tickling my exposed sides when I reached up to put the rum up on the shelf.
“Parker!” I squealed, nearly dropping the bottle. Whirling out of his grasp, my hands immediately sought retaliation. More than a little surprised to find he was ticklish too, we ended up holding each other’s hands to keep from reaching each other’s sides, laughing from the exertion. “That’s it, I’m calling HR about your unwanted advances,” I giggled, catching my breath.
“Duly noted, but ignored, given the fact that you told your mother I’m your fiancé. I think that suspends the usual rules of harassment,” he grinned back.
“You’re gonna have everyone around here thinking it’s true,” I whispered, pulling my hands from his. Though really, after the kiss he’d planted on me for Detective Santiago’s benefit, there was no point in shutting the barn door after the horse was loose.
“I’ve had worse rumors spread about me.”
“I’ll bet,” I laughed, retrieving the thrown towel. Looking up, I noticed Ben standing about ten feet away from the bar, completely motionless. “Hey, Ben,” I waved him over. “Glad to see you out and about.”
“Hey, how about a drink on the house?” Parker smiled as well, but Ben just stood there, and we traded looks. Dropping the rag behind the bar, I went out to talk to him.
“Is everything okay?”
It took Ben a full thirty seconds to look at me, his expression unreadable. “Yes, I’m fine. You said to stop by the club anytime, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right. Come on up to the bar, I’ll get you a drink. Or did you want to talk about something?” His behavior started to creep me out, but then he snapped out of it, finding his smile, and I relaxed.
“I’ll take a beer, thanks. And actually, I came to talk to Parker.”
“Oh?” My imagination ran rampant, but I didn’t ask why as I escorted him back to the bar. “Hey, Parker? If you have a few minutes, Ben wants to talk to you.”
“Sure, shoot,” Parker replied equably.
“I’d prefer it if we could talk in private.”
Uh oh…
That set my nerves on edge, but what could I do? I smiled blandly as Parker invited him into his office, wondering if I could get away with making myself dim to listen in on the conversation. Sure, it’d be a breach of privacy and unethical to boot, but I
really
wanted to do it.
As the minutes ticked by, I decided my curiosity couldn’t hold out any longer, and my conscience came up with a compromise. I drew a draft beer for Ben, resolving to bring it to him in Parker’s office in full view. If they were getting along, I’d leave them to it. If things were getting out of hand… then I’d rethink my ethics and do what was best.
Armed with a plan and a beer, I pushed open the door without knocking, figuring it was my best bet for gauging the real vibe of the room.
“I know you’ve been sniffing after her,” Ben was saying, his face cold and emotionless. “I want you to back off.”
“Last time I checked that wasn’t up to you,” Parker returned smoothly and I could tell things were descending rapidly from there.
“Ben, it’s not like that. Parker’s my friend,” I interjected, closing the door behind me and setting the beer out of the way.
“This doesn’t concern you, Mercy,” Ben replied without turning in my direction.
“Oh, I’m sorry, were you threatening Parker over some other girl then?” I snorted. “I’m pretty sure I have a say in this.”
“Mercy, why don’t you go back to the bar?” Parker never took his eyes off of Ben, his tone forced. “Let us figure this out between us.”
“Maybe I should call Adam and we can really get the party started,” I muttered, refusing to be put off. “Guys…”
“I’ll deal with Adam later, but for now, he needs to understand you’re off limits,” Ben interrupted, and I didn’t like the sound of that one bit.
“Mercy, I really think you should go now,” Parker repeated, eyes still on Ben.
“Oh for the love of God, I’m not…” the words fell out of my head when I looked back to see Ben standing there with his gun leveled at Parker’s head.
“Maybe you’ll stop laughing out your ass now and listen to me.” Ben didn’t even look my way, his attention completely focused on Parker. “Mercy doesn’t belong with you, she belongs with me.”
“Ben, look at what you’re doing. You’re not making any sense. I’m with Adam, not Parker, remember?” Despite the drawn gun, I didn’t think he’d use it, not really, not the Ben I knew. I knew I could freeze him at any second, but it seemed important to try and get him to lower the gun on his own. “Put the gun down.”
“This is the only way I can get him to shut up and listen to me. You hear me now, don’t you, asshole?”
Parker didn’t move a muscle, his eyes never leaving Ben’s face.
“Ben, I want you to look at me.” I approached him slowly, making my voice soothing.
“Stay out of this, Mercy, you’re too corrupted to think clearly,” Ben growled, and I took a moment to appreciate the full irony of that statement.
“Ben, I’m warning you…” I took another step closer, but Parker broke his stance, inserting himself between me and Ben.
“Mercy, I told you to get out of here.”
“He won’t hurt me, he thinks he’s in love with me.” I did my best to step out from behind Parker, but Ben took advantage of the movement, closing the distance between us to jam the gun into Parker’s neck.
“I
am
in love with you, Mercy. That’s why I can’t let this lowlife touch you anymore.”
I felt the bile rise in my throat at the sudden turn for the worse, and I swallowed back the nausea, perspiration standing out on my forehead as I tried to figure out how best to handle it without one or both of them ending up shot or worse. “Ben, let’s talk, just the two of us. Let Parker go, I’m the one you want to be with.”
“No fucking way I’m leaving you here with him,” Parker gritted his teeth against the pain as the muzzle of the gun jabbed him in the throat.
We were getting nowhere fast. Hell, maybe I was even making it worse by sticking up for Parker? At catching a speculative gleam come into Parker’s eyes, I knew I couldn’t wait any longer; he was dangerously close to trying something stupid. With a wave, I froze them both, closing my eyes with a whispered prayer of thanks it was fast enough to keep Ben from pulling the trigger.
That left the dilemma of how best to separate them without causing any damage. First things first, I pried the gun out of Ben’s hand and stuck it in the top drawer of Parker’s desk. Then I went to lock the door in case anyone decided to stumble in and saw them frozen like that. I was spared having to figure out how to get them apart in that condition, when they came back to life while I had my back turned. Sure enough, Parker seized the moment and I was glad I’d had enough time to take the gun out of the equation as they grappled with each other.
“Guys! Knock it off!” I yelled, springing to try and pry them apart. Looking back, that probably wasn’t the best idea. I probably should have tried freezing Ben or even both of them again, but I got it into my head that I could wrangle them apart with my newfound strength.
I succeeded in pushing Parker backwards, but ended up catching an elbow to the face as Ben swung around. I responded instinctively, blasting him with my Grace with enough force to send him sprawling across the desk.
“Wow…” Parker gasped at the display of power, catching his breath as I cradled my rapidly swelling lip. “Christ, are you okay?” He tried to get a better look at it, but I waved him off, I wanted to keep an eye on Ben.
“I’ll be fine, trust me, I heal fast.” That didn’t take away from the pain, but I didn’t let on how much my jaw throbbed. Ben stirred with a moan, and Parker took a step in his direction before I physically blocked him with a single hand. “Do not even think about it,” I growled. “I think it’s better if you go and let me talk to Ben alone now. He can’t hurt me.”
“Are you serious, look at what he did to you?” Parker’s frown grew in direct proportion to the swelling of my lip.
“That was an accident. I won’t let him get that close, just go, would you?”
“Mercy, you can’t expect me to be okay with leaving the two of you alone. That guy’s a whacko.” His voice lowered to a whisper. “What if he gets it into his head that he should kill you to keep anyone else from having you if he can’t?”
I took hold of Parker’s hand and gave it a squeeze, meeting his gaze evenly. “Just let him try.” I wasn’t afraid of Ben, I’d beaten him with a super charged fallen angel possessing him, a normal human was no trouble at all.
“I’ll give you two minutes while I go get you some ice, after that, I’m tossing him out.”
“I told you, I’ll be fine. You won’t even be able to see it by the end of my shift, I promise.” Parker left, darting a last nervous glance over his shoulder before closing the door, and I locked it after him as quietly as I could manage. “How are you feeling Ben?”
He sat on the edge of the desk, rubbing his chest where I’d blasted him as if it was sore. “What did you hit me with?” he groaned. “God, did I do that to you?” Ben blanched at the sight of my face, and I started to worry how bad it looked.