His phone beeped again and he looked back down. If you need help I will come.
Christian smiled. Thanks.
That was the thing about family—the good kind, at least. They came if you needed them. Hopefully this would all prove to be a whole bunch of nothing—one person who triggered too severe a response from Christian’s limbic system.
Either way, he couldn’t worry about it now. There were bills to pay and plans to stick to. The women coming tonight wanted to be lifted from their lives for a few hours. He could give them that.
When he performed at Brass, very little bothered him. On the stage, for a while, he could forget.
Chapter Two
The phone rang, jarring Dodie out of a solid sleep. The pitch-black of the room told her that morning had not come. The clock confirmed her fears. It was three in the morning. Phone calls at this hour were either dire news or horribly distressing wrong numbers.
With her heart racing, she picked up her phone. “Hello?”
“Is this Dodie Chase?”
Dodie’s hands shook. “Yes.”
Her parents had been killed in a car accident when she was a child and she’d gone to live with her grandparents, who were both gone now too, from old age. She had no siblings—no relatives at all who would need to reach her at this hour. This could only mean one person had been harmed—Mindy.
“We’re calling from Seton South West hospital. Your friend Mindy is here and we need you to come down right away.”
She’d already gotten out of the bed, a million predictions flowing through her mind. Car accident, drunk driver, slip and fall.
“I’m on my way. Tell her I’m coming. What happened? What is her condition?” Where were her shoes? Where the hell were her shoes?
“It seems her boyfriend has been murdered. Mindy witnessed the event. She’s gone into shock.”
Dodie stopped moving. No. That was too horrible. She forced herself to breathe. In through her nose, out through her mouth. “I’m on my way.”
How could this be happening? With her pajamas still on, she shoved on her finally found sneaker. Car keys…yes she needed them, and her purse.
Finally, after what felt like an hour but was probably more like two minutes, she rushed out the door and slammed straight into a solid wall of man.
Christian grabbed Dodie’s arms, keeping her upright. “Whoa.”
At that moment, she didn’t care that he happened to be the best-looking man she’d ever seen or that the parts of his skin that were visible were covered in grease. For once, his presence had little to no effect on her at all.
“Sorry, I have to go.”
He didn’t release her. “Where are you going? It’s three in the morning.”
His question might have chafed, but she had no time for that kind of reaction. “My friend is in the hospital. I have to go.”
“Hold on.” He still didn’t let go of her. “Your friend is hurt? I’ll take you to her.”
“No, I can take myself. Thanks.”
“Dodie.” He rubbed her arms. “You’re shaking. You’re in no condition to drive. None. Let me take you.”
She shook her head. “No, I couldn’t ask you to do that.”
“You’re not asking. I volunteered.”
He smelled like baby oil. Always one of her favorite scents, it took her back to a time when things had seemed easier than they were now.
“Listen, you’re just coming from work. You must be tired or whatever. I—”
He interrupted her. “I don’t drink or smoke. I don’t do drugs. I don’t even eat red meat. I can drive you to the hospital. I’m not tired. Let me do this for you. It’s neighborly.”
“Right.” She supposed that had to be true. In small towns like the one she’d lived in for a while growing up, neighbors stepped up to help when needed. “Okay. Thanks. It’s Seton South West. Do you know where that is?”
“I know how to get there. We’ll take your car so you have it if you need it tomorrow morning to get home.”
She rubbed at her eyes, following him through the darkness toward where she was parked. Her white, four-door sedan waited for them. He walked to the passenger’s side and opened the door for her before going around to the driver’s side.
“We’ll get you there in no time.”
“Thanks.” Much to her distress, tears seeped from her eyes at his basic human kindness.
“It’s okay, beautiful.”
She didn’t look beautiful on her best day and that moment didn’t come anywhere near her best anything. He probably spoke that way to all the girls. Maybe it was even a means of not having to remember anyone’s name? All women could be “beautiful” or “sweetheart”.
Dodie had no idea what to say, so she looked out the window instead. It wouldn’t do to call out the guy who was driving her car. Her mind probably wasn’t working on all cylinders either. She had to get to Mindy and the half-hour drive felt like hours.
“What happened to her? To your friend who’s hurt? Did they tell you anything on the phone?”
She turned back to look at him. If possible, he was even more beautiful in profile. Strong jaw, sharp nose…the gene pool had been good to him. Of course, some of it could be plastics, in which case he should give out the name of his doctor every day.
Dodie shook her head. Not the time nor the place. Mindy wanted her to be nicer, to figure out how to be in his presence without panicking. Now it had happened and Mindy had been the cause. The horrible, mind-numbing reason why she could sit in the car with him and not have a panic attack.
Life could be one ironic mistress.
“I don’t have any details. She witnessed her boyfriend’s murder tonight. They didn’t say what happened to her other than shock. They said I needed to get there fast.” Her throat clogged up. “Do you suppose this had something to do with what happened today in that office building?”
“What happened today?” He stretched his neck to the side. “I wasn’t near a computer or the television for most of it. I must’ve missed it.”
“An office building on Lamar had a massive attack.” It seemed as if Mindy had given her that piece of information a lifetime ago, but it had only been a matter of hours since they’d sipped coffee and talked about dating.
“Really?” He shook his head. “Seems as if there’s been a lot of random violence today.”
“Twitter was filled with conspiracy theories. People seeing things in the sky or on the ground that weren’t there. The government sending out LSD or something.” She rubbed at her eyes. “I liked Mindy’s boyfriend. He was a nice guy, based on the few times I met him.”
“They weren’t together long?” He gripped the steering wheel tightly and she could see the white on his knuckles from the way he gripped it so tightly.
“No. I have no idea what he’s into. I hope it wasn’t something awful like drugs or something.”
Christian pulled the car into the driveway of the hospital before coming to a stop in front of the emergency room. “Go on in. I’ll park and come find you.”
“Thanks.” She turned to look at him. Why hadn’t she noticed earlier how sweet his face was? All she’d seen had been hot and sexy, but the fluorescent light of the hospital illuminated the pitch-blackness of the night, showing Christian as gentle and kind.
A whole different guy than the one she’d hidden from in her apartment and avoided in the hall.
“You’re really very kind, aren’t you?” She reached out to squeeze his hand on the steering wheel. “I don’t know how I’ll ever thank you for this. What do neighbors do? Do you want brownies? I don’t even bake all that well. I can go buy some.”
“Don’t worry about that now. Go see your friend. I didn’t do this because I want to be paid back.”
She nodded and stepped out of the car. Needing to get to Mindy became the sole focus of her mind as she turned and ran from the car into the emergency room.
The place was loud, crowded, and stank of d
isinfectant. Dodie sneezed as she rushed forward through the lines of suffering laid out in front of her. Did this place see this much pain every night? Blood dripped down one woman’s arm while she screamed for a doctor. Another man twitched on the floor.
Doctors and nurses scrambled everywhere and Dodie dodged out of the way to avoid being run over by a gurney.
Finally she made her way to the receptionist. “I’m Dodie Chase. For Mindy Spellman.”
The woman’s head darted up and she nodded. Phones rang unanswered and several people shouted in the poor woman’s direction. She stood up, staring at Dodie. “Come with me.”
“Okay.” She grabbed the woman’s arm. “Is my friend okay?”
“This has been a night for the record books. I’m not certain what’s going on. In all my years, I’ve never seen anything like tonight. And your friend’s arrival started it all.”
They walked together down several long hallways and took an elevator before they reached a room. The nurse, whose nametag read Tricia, stopped her at the door. “Take care of your friend.”
“I will.” Dodie walked through the doorway of the hospital room, wishing she’d brought a coat. It had to be ten degrees cooler inside that particular space than anywhere else she had been in the hospital.
She shivered as she walked farther inside. Mindy sat upright on the bed. Her arms were strapped down but her legs remained unrestrained. She kicked them, one after another, into the air.
“Mindy?” Dodie whispered her name.
Her friend’s head shot up and Dodie gasped. All of Mindy’s beautiful blonde hair had turned as white as winter snow. Bloodshot eyes stood out against her pale face and the icy hair, and her colorless lips trembled.
“Mindy.” Dodie rushed forward. She grabbed her friend’s hand. “What happened? Are you okay?”
Her best friend since the day she had started work didn’t turn to look at her. She uttered the same word over and over again. “No. No. No. No.”
Dodie let go of Mindy’s arm. She needed a doctor and she needed one right now.
* * * * *
Christian exited the vehicle and locked it behind him. When they got back home later, he would see to it that Dodie got her tires checked. It had seemed as if it pulled slightly to the left. She might just need air in them.
Her words troubled him. One day of not checking the news and he’d missed an office building rampage and strange sightings around town. His ominous feeling of earlier took on a whole new meaning. Master Foy had said he belonged here, and clearly he did.
If this city needed to be cleared of evil, he’d get going right away. As soon as he saw that Dodie was safe and secure, not needing anything. He shook his head. The woman hadn’t even indicated that she had any interest in him at all and already she had him wrapped around her little finger. Hell, that had been true since she’d moved in. He’d stood slack-jawed staring at her as if he’d never seen a woman before.
A growl behind him caught his attention. He turned around, hoping it was a rabid dog, but knew it wasn’t before he’d even gotten a good look.
The beast that had growled at him didn’t belong on Earth—didn’t belong anywhere near good people. It had been made for Hell and that was where it should have remained.
“Hell hound.” Christian hadn’t seen one in five years and he really would have preferred not to run into one alone in a parking lot.
The beast growled, saliva flowing from its mouth toward the ground while its monstrous red eyes bulged out of its head.
“You know I’m never unarmed. Or maybe you don’t. Your master should not have sent you here.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the rolled-up whip he kept with him at all times, except when he was on stage, and placed it off to the side.
With a flick of his thumb, it unraveled. He flicked it forward and when it hit the ground it snapped so loudly that the Hell hound backed up a step.
“That’s right, doggy. You don’t want to come here and bother these nice people. You don’t belong here.”
He snapped the whip again, this time letting it collide with the beast’s body. The Hell hound growled and lunged forward.
“Dumb dog.”
Christian raised his leg and landed a kick on the demonic beast, sending it back two feet. The creature yelped.
“You don’t scare me. You won’t be feeding off my fear tonight. And if you keep this up, I’m going to take off your head.”
He pointed at the demon. “I order you back to Hell and I order you to remain there.”
The hound howled to the sky before vanishing. Christian touched the necklace he wore around his neck. He tugged at it. Once again he’d been protected from the things that went bump in the night. It was his honor and privilege to keep those around him safe.
He pulled out his phone. Where there was one Hell hound, there were always more. And it looked as if his beloved Austin had just become a beacon for evil. That was okay. It wouldn’t remain that way for long.
Just took out a Hell hound in a hospital parking lot. Murders and weird sightings.
Jonah would know what to do with that information. In the meantime, Christian wanted to set eyes on Dodie.
The hospital stank of blood, urine and pain. He looked around the waiting room but saw no sign of the woman who should belong to him. The staff ran about, clearly overwhelmed by the sheer number of people needing serious assistance. Unfortunately, as had been the case in Chicago before Master Foy had got there, things would get worse before they got better.
He needed to find Dodie and he was going to have to convince these people to let him get to her whether they wanted to or not.
Christian approached the desk and waited for the woman to acknowledge him. “Hi, Tricia,” he said, reading her nametag. “My name is Christian.” He smiled at her and she stared at him, her jaw dropping a little bit.
She pointed at him. “I’ve seen you. At Brass.”
He leaned forward a little bit. “That makes me so happy.”
This might be easier than he’d thought.
* * * * *
A few minutes later, he made his way into the hospital room where Dodie’s friend Mindy Spellman—he’d had to learn her last name—had been placed.
Dodie paced in front of the bed while Mindy uttered the word “no” over and over again. He stopped, remaining silent to observe the situation in front of him. Mindy, unless she’d turned gray before her time, had a head of white hair that could only have been caused by having been absolutely terrified by an evil being.
He shook his head. The Hell hound had not been in the hospital parking lot by mistake. Something had sent all these people here tonight and now reveled in the work it had done.
Christian wouldn’t be leaving Dodie here alone. He moved to her side, her strawberry scent washing away some of the misery in the hallways outside. Did she know what a creature of light she was?
“How is she?”
She looked at him and, to his shock, reached out to hug him around the waist. “Thank you so much for being here.”
“You’re welcome.” He squeezed her against him. “Where else would I be?”
“I guess you’re right. You have no way to leave, since you drove my car.”
“That’s not it at all. I could take a cab. I wanted to make sure your friend is okay.”
His heart clenched in sympathy when she wiped away a tear. “Well, obviously not. I mean, it’s really unclear what happened. Her boyfriend was murdered—the doctor said sliced up.” She shuddered and he rubbed a circle on her arm. Small shapes like little triangles, quiet touches, did more to quiet the soul than words ever could. Or at least that had been his experience when his parents had been murdered.
“They found her like this. None of the drugs or treatments they have seem to be working. They’re sending her home with me. She’s all checked out, but I don’t know what to do. How can I get her out of here? I can’t find an orderly. The doctor ran in and out of here so fas
t, he was practically a blur.”
“Mindy has no family who could help you with this?” He hated to see Dodie burdened with this pain by herself.
“No. One of the things we have in common is that we’re alone, without family.”
“So you became each other’s family. I have that too. My family died when I was twelve.”
“Really?” Her eyes got wide. “What are the chances the three of us would all have that in common?”
“What are the chances?” He smiled at her and, even though it strained him to do so, he moved away from her embrace to approach Mindy. Dodie needed to leave the hospital and so did Mindy.
In that he could help. Christian pulled the necklace he wore from his neck. It was a piece of hematite, a green iron ore. It wouldn’t be appealing to most people as far as jewelry went, but he’d found it one day while walking with Master Foy and he’d believed in it ever since.
“Mindy.” He wrapped the necklace around her neck. “My name is Christian Casillo. You don’t know who I am—”
“Actually,” Dodie sniffed when she interrupted him, “I may have mentioned you once or twice.”
“Really?” The thought warmed him and he winked at Dodie, who turned a delicious shade of red. How many other things could he do to her to get that response? “So then, you know who I am. Okay. Well, this is my jewelry. I’m giving it to you to keep you safe. It doesn’t matter what we wear, any kind of gemstone can mean any kind of thing.” Personally, if he had the money, he would have Dodie wear nothing but rubies. Naked, draped in rubies. His cock hardened at the thought. Not the kind of distraction he needed at that moment.
He continued to speak to Mindy. “This is my gift to you. It has kept me safe and it will keep you that way tonight. We’re going to take you home now, to Dodie’s place.”
She nodded at him, the first response she’d managed since he’d entered the room. Her constant uttering of the word “no” stopped and she relaxed on the bed, her eyes closed.