Page 12 of Guardian Angel
“Right. That’ll be eight dollars.”
He handed me a card. It didn’t have a name on it and looked like one of those gift card visas that could be used anywhere. The back wasn’t signed, and there was a possibility that meant I wasn’t supposed to take it, but I failed to see what difference it would make if I watched Nathaniel sign the thing before I ran it.
“You can pick up your order over there.” I pointed to the other end of the counter, which served as both customer drink pickup and where the waitstaff grabbed food to bring to the tables. “Thank you, and have a good day.”
His brows rose. “You didn’t even ask my name, baby girl.”
I gritted my teeth at the stupid nickname. “I sincerely doubt it’s changed since last night, Nathaniel.”
One side of his mouth quirked up. “Nice to know I left an impression. It would be nicer if you’d stop being a pain in the ass and accept my help.”
“What are you doing here?” I hissed under my breath. This so wasn’t a conversation I wanted to have at work… or at all really.
“I told you. I’m here to make sure no one harms you.”
“Well, you need to stop. You can’t just show up at my job.”
“Really?” His eyebrows climbed up his forehead. “Because I thought anyone could walk in here. Is this not a public café? You took my order.”
My fists clenched at my sides, my nails creating little half-moon indents in my palms. “Please just leave me alone and let me do my job.”
“Let me do mine,” he fired back. He didn’t wait for me to answer before stepping back, turning, and heading for the pickup counter.
I watched him go. Hewaswearing leather pants again, and they made his ass look unfairly good. Why was I telling him to leave me alone again?
Oh yeah, because he was insane.
Ifhe’sinsane, what does that make you?asked a little voice in the back of my head. I told her to shut up. It was easier to label Nathaniel as crazy than it was to consider that he believed what I thought happened Thursday night.
Nathaniel grabbed his kale-and-banana smoothie and made his way to a table at the edge of the wooden divider that hid most of the dining area from view of the counter. He sat on the side that allowed me to see him and him me. He glanced over and gave me a smirk before taking a sip of his drink.
I tried to ignore Nathaniel for the rest of my shift, but I couldn’t help sneaking peeks at his table every once in a while. He was always there, sipping at his smoothie and writing in a notebook. I never once saw him pull out a phone. It seemed odd, especially after three hours of him sitting there alone.
During the dinner rush, he came back up to the counter to buy a water and order a veggie ciabatta. This time he didn’t make any comments, just ordered and took the number I gave him for his table.
He was still sitting there when I clocked out. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him stand and dump his trash as I left the café. But he didn’t try to follow me to my car or do anything else that screamed creepy stalker.
I checked my phone when I was inside my car. There was nothing from Kylie. I wasn’t surprised. She was probably off dancing her heart out with Andy. I hoped she was having a good time and forgetting all about Aiden.
Not wanting to go home to an empty apartment, I headed for downtown Nashua.
Five
Nathaniel
Sierra Meyers was already provingto be a fucking pain in my ass. Of course she couldn’t make this easy for me. No, she had to insist that I was off my rocker and kept running away from me at every turn. God forbid she actually accept that she was in over her head with the demon situation.
I pushed open the glass door and stepped out of the café where I had spent the past five hours watching her work. I suppose it could’ve been worse. At least she worked somewhere that served halfway decent fare rather than that fried crap humans called food but was really more akin to poison.
Sierra’s car was already gone. Not that it mattered. The beating thing in my chest knew how to find her. I couldn’t feel any pain or fear coming from it either. She was probably fine, driving back to the graveyard to complain about me to a headstone. And still I knew I was going to follow her.
I didn’t have a car. Yesterday I’d entertained the idea of getting a bike, but I didn’t have anywhere to park the damn thing. Until I convinced Sierra to bite the bullet and accept my protection, I didn’t have a place to stay. I wasn’t about to wander around, looking for a hotel that would be nowhere near her if she needed my help. And it was only a matter of time before shewouldneed my help. Getting one lucky shot on a lord of Hell was just that—luck. She wouldn’t be so fortunate again.
So I was standing in a parking lot without a car, feeling my reason for being on Earth getting farther and farther away from me.
Maybe I should have gotten coffee this afternoon. Or whisky. I had a feeling I was in for a long night. And honestly, I didn’t want to spend another night sleeping on a metal bench sober. I glanced at the beer cellar conveniently located beside the café. It was inconveniently closed, however.
I sighed and stomped out of the parking lot. It was a bit conspicuous to spread wings and take flight in the middle of a well-populated area. Wouldn’t want to give any humans a heart attack. How did Samuel stand spending so much time on Earth?