Atonement (Heaven Sent Book 1) Read online

  “Yes,” Kelly answered as she looked at Michael. “Some days it feels too big.”

  Violet laughed. “Well, my brother has never bought me a pair of high-end shoes, so enjoy it.” Violet took the credit card and swiped it.

  With the sale complete Michael walked to the door and held it open for Kelly to exit through.

  “Have a wonderful day and enjoy the shoes, thank you for coming in.” Violet moved toward the stock room, eventually disappearing into the back. Kelly walked through the open doorway to the street and stopped short when she saw Tom standing with Harry.

  “You have got to be kidding me!” Kelly said.

  “Hi Kell, sorry to bother you during your shopping spree, but something serious has come up,” Tom stated.

  I haven’t taken a break in months, Kelly thought, and the one day I go out to clear my head, the cavalry tracks me down. It must be bad.

  “Based on how many of you have suddenly shown up, I can surmise it must be serious,” she replied dryly.

  Kelly could feel her agitation boiling. She felt the weight of their eyes fall on her, based on their body language she suspected her face betrayed the sentiment.

  “How about if we lessen the blow by taking you into Jake’s? Come on.” Tom turned first and walked toward her favorite pub a few doors down from where they were standing.

  “Well now you’re just bribing me, smart play, Thomas.” Kelly picked up the pace and walked off toward the pub. Tom opened the door and she walked through ahead of him.

  She scanned the room, abruptly coming to a halt when she saw who was inside.

  Seriously, Kelly internally agonized, even Gen is here, this must be worse than I thought. I just wanted to enjoy the simplicity of a shopping day, forget about the demonic, pretend life was normal, even if it was for just one day. I needed to re-charge. I don’t think I have the energy for this right now.

  Giving up, Kelly mumbled in disgruntlement and made her way toward the bar to sit down.

  Gen saw Kelly’s excitement disappear the moment recognition set in. Gen watched her sister sulk as she made her way toward the far end of the bar. She took a seat next to Father Donovan, who had come in for his afternoon pint while Harry was next door retrieving Kelly.

  She’s so mad at us right now, Gen thought. I wish I didn’t have to be the one to ruin the time she was taking for herself.

  “She’ll understand, once she hears what’s going on, she’ll know we had no choice.” Tom’s voice was low, obviously meant for only Gen to hear.

  “It’s like you’re reading my mind, Tom. I hope you’re right, it’s been a rough few months,” Gen answered.

  “Well,” Harry said coming up behind them, “maybe it’s time to get it all out in the open then. Silence is poison, a festering wound that never heals.” Harry walked past them and motioned for them to follow him toward the bar.

  Gen sat on the long side of the L shaped bar, diagonal to Father Donovan who was joyfully sharing a joke with Lacey and Kelly. The priest was an Irishman, with a shiny bald head, a twinkle in his hazel eyes and stout body that shimmied when he laughed. Despite being in Boston for more than two decades his brogue escaped when he drank beer and told jokes, which was often.

  Jake, the tavern owner and cheeseburger maker extraordinaire, turned and came toward her.

  “What can I get you, Genevieve?” Jake was wiping the glistening bar top. His short sleeve T-shirt strained to cover his muscular body and Gen caught sight of two young women ogling him as he worked. Gen smiled. Despite his professional manner, clean-cut hairstyle, and boy-next-door charm, it was his near perfect five o’clock shadow that drew many a young woman to flirt with him openly.

  “Just a club soda with lemon please. I’m afraid this will be a short visit today.” Gen smiled as Jake nodded in reply.

  Turning toward her sister she asked, “How was shopping? I see you got some loot.”

  “It was fine, could have been quieter,” Kelly quipped.

  Jake walked into the kitchen and grabbed a basket. Coming back around he dropped the heaping portion of fresh potato chips in front of Kelly. “Maybe that will cheer you up.”

  “I’m so hungry, thank you Jake, you’re the best.” Kelly dumped a handful on a side plate.

  Jake threw the bar towel over his shoulder and made his way back down to flirt with the two women.

  “I didn’t know you guys ate.” Lacey was staring at Kelly’s plate as she said it, clearly not thinking of how that sounded.

  “Junk food you mean, you didn’t think we ate junk food,” Kelly responded quickly to try and mask Lacey’s odd comment. Fortunately, Father Donovan was onto another joke with Harry and Jake was chatting up the two women at the center of the bar. Gen looked around and assessed no real harm had been done.

  Judging by the easy banter between Lacey and Kelly it was clear the Watcher was letting her guard down and feeling more at ease. Gen was concerned about how on edge and distracted Lacey was at Harry’s place. She hoped bringing Lacey here first would allow her to get to know and feel comfortable around Gen and her siblings. The story she needed to tell them was important. She needed Lacey to be forthcoming and trust them with it. She already knew she was going to have to hold Michael back from turning this story into an interrogation. It didn’t hurt that they were starting at Jake’s. It was Kelly’s favorite place. Maybe it lessened the intrusion just a bit.

  Gen looked around and sighed, she wished Deb was with them to see how well everyone was enjoying themselves. Well, everyone except Michael, who always seemed to look like the sky was about to fall. Gen knew that was why it was important for Deb to find reasons for them to be together in a setting where they were forced to talk about something other than work. The business of the past several months had kept them from going out, getting away, or even having a family breakfast together, something Gen was now realizing had been sorely missed.

  The restaurant was surprisingly busy for the time of day. Gen was grateful the few groups sitting at the bar had spaced themselves out enough to allow for relative privacy. The bar was made of real wood, stained chocolate brown and smooth as glass to the touch. The rectangular shape ran the length of the building with flat screen TV’s the bar area’s decoration. Gen was musing that in just a few more hours people will have a hard time finding a seat at all, never mind leaving empty chairs between them.

  Unless you’re Kelly, she always gets a seat.

  A few pints down and Father Donovan needed to excuse himself to go to the rest room. Jake was at the far end of the bar chatting up a group of local fishermen who, judging from their clay stained boots, sunburned faces, and scruffy appearances, had just returned from work on the fish pier.

  “Who’s going first, we don’t have a lot of time before he returns?” Michael was the first to get down to business.

  “Why are we here at all? I haven’t been seen by humans in nearly a century! I got to tell you, it feels weird.” Lacey was now eating the chips off Kelly’s plate.

  “Who is this?” Michael asked, his eyes narrowing at Lacey.

  “What do you mean? I just worked with you at the fire, it wasn’t that long ago. How could you have forgotten the fire?” Lacey demanded.

  “We didn’t forget the fire, Lacey. I believe it was me you dealt with that night, not Michael.” Tom was quick to try and calm the tension.

  “A Watcher, you brought a Watcher to a bar to meet up with us? What is going on here Gen?” Michael was done being patient.

  Gen knew this was all about to go sideways, but Lacey, draining the light brown liquid from a whiskey glass Gen hadn’t noticed she ordered, distracted her.

  “I’m not a Watcher, that’s a vulgar term. I’m surprised at your lack of professionalism Guardian. I’m a Historian, and proud of it.” Lacey was standing now and was about to either walk out or fall over, Gen wasn’t sure which.

  “We need to stay on point. I was at Harry’s house today when Lacey showed up to inquire as to the st
atus of her mentor’s …” Gen hesitated.

  How do I describe Sebastian’s murder in terms a human could potentially overhear and not get suspicious?

  “I want justice for his murder, he didn’t deserve what that vile thing did to him,” Lacey chimed in before Gen could put her thoughts in order, but Kelly steered Lacey back to her seat and shushed her.

  “Lacey, sit back down, just give us a second and try and remember where you are and who can see and hear you,” Kelly reminded, then turning back to Gen. “Is this related to the fire, to Jared?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “What is this fire you keep referring to?” Harry was standing now.

  “The one in North Dakota, twenty-three dead, all high school kids, ringing any bells? You couldn’t make it I guess.” Michael answered, and Gen could feel the chill of his words as though a cool breeze has just wandered in.

  “I had no idea. This is the first I’ve heard of it. I mean I know the fire, I read about it in the paper, saw it on the news, absolute tragedy, but I didn’t know it was, well for you to handle,” Harry replied. Harry’s eyes grew with concern as the conversation moved along.

  “We have only seconds before he returns now. What does Lacey’s mentor have to do with the fire?” Tom’s follow up was directed at Gen.

  “I don’t know if it does or not, but Lacey is claiming that Sebastian’s untimely departure was caused by our enemy, and that it was a deliberate act.” Gen stood now.

  “We should get the check and move along.” Michael was brooding. “Obviously, we all need the chance to speak more freely on this matter.”

  “Lacey was nervous when I first met her at Harry’s house.” Gen looked at Michael. “I was hoping to give her a little time to process everything, prepare her for what will be a difficult conversation. I wanted her to feel more comfortable with us and I didn’t want her to have to repeat the story a hundred times.”

  “That was not the best strategy, Genevieve,” Michael scolded. “We need to get out of here. Let’s just head out now.”

  “Here comes Father Donovan, let’s get our game faces back on.” Kelly spoke quickly and then smiled at the priest as he made his way back.

  “I’m sorry Father, I need to drag Kelly away,” Gen said as he neared her. “We need to get going. This was just a quick stop on our way home to meet up with the rest of the family for dinner.” Gen’s tone was friendly and apologetic.

  “That sounds lovely. I’m glad you all make time for one another, even with your busy lives. Family is the most important thing.” The priest smiled at Gen, then picked up his beer and pointed toward the fishermen. “There’s a group over on the other side that never tires of my old jokes.”

  Father Donovan waved his goodbyes as he made his way to the large crowd forming around the fishermen at the other end of the bar. Gen looked over at Lacey and noticed she looked a little green.

  “Are you feeling alright?” Gen asked her.

  “I’m not sure, but I don’t think so. Maybe I should have some more of that brown liquid,” Lacey replied.

  “What did you give her Kelly?” Gen asked

  “It was nothing” Kelly said indignantly. “She shared a little bit out of the drinks I ordered. The poor thing looked like she was going to choke from all the chips she shoved in her mouth.”

  “And what is it that you’re drinking?” Gen knew better than to ask. She saw the empty glasses in front of Kelly and knew the answer before it came.

  “It was just a little Jameson.” Kelly’s voice trailed off as Lacey’s head fell forward slightly. Gen watched in horror as Lacey’s whole body slowly slid down on top of the bar.

  “Did you just get a Watcher drunk?” Michael asked from having returned from paying the bill. “We can’t leave her here.” Michael was clearly unhappy.

  “No, it wasn’t like that, I swear,” Kelly offered.

  “She’s fine, it may not be the booze. She hasn’t been, you know, in this state shall we say for a long, long, time. I think the drink and being out of practice she’s just tired.” Harry chuckled as he said it and then Gen couldn’t help but laugh.

  Lacey hiccupped waking herself up temporarily, that caused the rest of them to join in the laughter, even Michael smirked.

  “As amusing as this is, and it is,” Tom said. “We don’t want to get Jake in trouble. To a cop, this would look like a drunk person in a bar, in the middle of the afternoon. No need for us to put Jake’s liquor license in jeopardy.”

  Tom was right of course. He walked over and partially blocked people’s view of their drunk friend. He pulled Lacey back to a somewhat sitting position, albeit resting sideways against him.

  “What are we going to do?” Kelly asked.

  “We need Deb, I assume you were going to call her anyway, right?” Tom asked Gen.

  “Yes, I was going to call her to meet us as soon as we got outside.” Gen answered.

  “I’ll go outside and call her,” Michael stated.

  Gen watched him walk off toward the door and frowned. Too bad you can never just enjoy the moment, Michael.

  A few minutes later Deb appeared in the bar behind Kelly but wasn’t visible to the human eye. She quickly projected her shield onto Tom and Lacey. Tom proceeded to pick Lacey’s limp body off the chair. Kelly reached over and placed her shoes on top of Lacey’s stomach.

  “What? I assume you’re going back to the house, no reason I should have to walk around with them all afternoon,” Kelly told Tom.

  Gen saw a soft glow of light and then Tom was gone.

  “I’m heading outside, Harry, see you out there.” Michael walked off toward the door and Kelly made her way over to Gen and Harry.

  “I’m going to head outside too; I’ll give Deb a heads up. I’ll see you out there, Gen. Always good to see you Harry, maybe next time you and I can get drunk.” Kelly smiled slyly before giving Harry a quick hug. She turned and made her way out.

  “I’m devastated about Sebastian, he was an old soul, like me.” Harry’s voice rang somber. “I can’t believe I missed such a major event with the fire, whatever is causing that level of interference must be pretty powerful.”

  “Well at least now we know the signals are being interfered with,” Gen told him.

  “Yes, it will be good to try and get ahead of whatever is doing it. Lacey will be out for hours, you can catch up with Kelly and Deb, let them know what happened. I’ll go talk to Tom and Michael, then we can go find the rest of your brothers and get them up to speed as well. I know Michael is going to want to get right to work, you have maybe two hours before he starts making waves or worse, goes and wakes up Lacey before she’s slept it off.” Gen knew what Harry meant by waves: Michael would be demon hunting tonight.

  “Thanks Harry, I’ll catch up with you soon. I appreciate the time today. Wish we could have ended our afternoon on a happier note. I’m sorry for your loss, for Lacey’s, I know you had a lot of respect for Sebastian, but don’t worry, we’ll get to the bottom of this,” Gen assured him.

  “I know you will, but from now on, let’s not assume I know what’s going on. No more guessing I’m unavailable. Something is causing serious Angel interference down here, so we need to be sure to stay in touch about everything. Oh, and the Jared Kelly was referring to earlier, was it the Jared?” Harry asked.

  “Yeah, she hasn’t seen nor heard from him since,” Gen answered.

  “He’s the reason for the shoe shopping then,” Harry noted. “He’s also your current lead on Gabriel.”

  “He is the only lead I have on Gabriel right now,” Gen said. “There were several reasons for her to be shopping today. We had some intense battles with Hell Fighters, a newborn even, plus Jared. Oh, I almost forgot, he put a ring on her finger.” Gen felt her eyebrow arch as she said the last words.

  “Oh my,” Harry said in surprise. “I’m going to assume it stayed on and I just missed noticing it?” Harry asked.

  “Yup, much to her dismay,” Gen sai
d. “I think she’s focusing on his absence, not that I blame her of course, but if she listens to her heart, I know she’ll be happy. The two of them are a match made in Heaven, pun intended.”

  “You run along. Go get Kelly some actual lunch. Take care of your sisters.” Harry walked toward the exit with her.

  I’m trying Harry, but I’m barely sane enough to take care of myself some days

  Genevieve nodded a goodbye to Jake and walked out of the bar.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Gen felt the warmth of the shifting sun on her face as she walked toward her sisters. They had stopped at the next corner waiting for her.

  Deb smiled at her. “Where to?” Deb asked. “We have to meet back up in two hours.”

  “That’s up to Kelly, but I was thinking the Tequila Bar on the waterfront, the water taxi is just a few blocks from here, we can be there in ten minutes or so.” Gen knew food was the key to getting Kelly past her disappointment. Gen smiled as she saw the shocked surprise light up Kelly’s face.

  “Um yes! Hello, I love that place!” Kelly gleefully remarked. “I don’t know that it fully makes up for interrupting my afternoon, but it’s really, really, close.”

  “Yes. We’re aware of your passion for all-you-can-eat tacos,” Gen said as Deb snickered.

  “And let’s not forget tequila,” Deb added

  “There is a lot to like about that place. So much food, so little time.” Kelly sighed with her response.

  “Ok, let’s go, I’ll catch you up on the way over,” Gen told them, then added, “We won’t have a ton of time, but we probably have at least an hour and a half before Lacey wakes up. I wouldn’t let her tell me the details of the story until we were all together. I know it’s shocking, but I wasn’t anticipating her getting drunk.”

  “That was shocking!” Kelly mocked melodramatically “But, I’m not feeling sorry since it’s allowing us to go for an amazing late lunch together.”

  “Let’s walk faster, we don’t have a lot of time to waste and there are too many people around for us just to teleport over there. Michael will be too impatient to wait any longer than he has to. Not that I blame him, if what little Lacey did share with me turns out to be true, our normal is about to be a thing of the past. Our brothers are always near combat mode, but soon we may need to join them,” Gen noted.