Chapter 3

There was a lull in the spirits seeking her for a few days now. So, it being a Saturday, Nina got ready that morning to meet her coordinator, so she could collect maps, fliers, and GPS. This contract work was on her own time. She loved this job. It took her to a lot of out of the way places that were scenic and beautiful. Places she wouldn’t see in a regular job.

As she boarded the train, she became aware of the angel’s way back in the queue. She acknowledged them with a nod and a smile. There were looks of surprise and consternation on both faces. She wondered why as she sat down at an empty seat that could fit three people.

Not surprised to find them beside her seat a moment later, she made room for them. Brett sat beside her, but Shanna declined. She did the same thing as before, turning the next seat round to face them, then sat.

Nina wondered not for the first time, why the female angel didn’t like her.

“You saw us standing there, didn’t you?” Shanna demanded, as she glared daggers at Nina.

Nina recoiled.

‘Yes…Why? Is that bad?”

At this moment with the look on Shanna’s face, Nina was reminded of her instinctive reaction, when she had heard the angel’s conversation.

“How can that be?”

Shanna turned to Brett as she asked that.

Nina wondered where this would lead.

To her death?

Hopefully not. She wasn’t ready for that yet.

“Yep. But then we were told she was special, remember?”

Brett was calm in the face of Shanna’s agitation.

“We just do our job of protecting her. Leave all the speculations to the powers that be. Okay?”

Shanna nodded, a baleful look on her face as she turned back to Nina.

It reiterated Nina’s belief that she didn’t like her at all.

That didn’t worry her too much. The question uppermost in her mind stemmed from Brett’s last observation.

“What do you mean? The powers that be? And how am I special?”

She articulated the questions as they came fast and hard into her mind. The most important ones she needed to know now.

By the blank looks they gave her, she wasn’t going to get her questions answered any time soon.

Fine!

She would find out. Eventually.

“Fine, don’t tell me. What do you mean by asking if I can see you? Are you invisible to everyone else?”

She looked back and forth between Shanna and Brett, wondering which one would give her the truth. She felt Brett was the one more likely to. He was the more amicable of the two. He seemed to care more for her protection, as well as her well-being. He looked to be the leader by the way he gave orders.

“Yes, we are invisible. Only you can see us.” Shanna answered.

Nina was floored. Shanna was the least expected source to give information. She had believed Brett would be the one to answer.

She had to revise her assessment of the lady angel now.

But not just yet.

Nina shut up.

She didn’t want anyone to see her as the crazy lady who had conversations with invisible people.

Brett smiled as he reached for her hand.

He said quietly.

“Rest assured they can see us now. We made ourselves visible after you spotted us.”

“Where are you off to, by the way?”

Shanna butted in.

The way it was asked in that aggressive tone of voice, sparked Nina’s antagonism again.

She was back to disliking the golden-haired black angel.

She didn’t feel like answering what she felt was an encroachment on her privacy, but Brett was staring at her expectantly. So, to maintain some semblance of courtesy, she mildly answered.

“Going to meet my supervisor to get supplies and GPS, then I’ll be going to distribute fliers in mailboxes in whatever suburban town it’s aimed at.”

“Okay. In that case we will be going with you.”

Brett said in the same tone of voice as hers.

“What?” Interjected Shanna, looking incredulous.

Nina’s objection came at the same time.

“Like hell you are…”

Brett quelled her loud outburst with an icy look. Nina fumed, as she subsided.

“We’re not going to follow her around, surely? We’re not babysitters.”

Shanna’s aggravating voice came again.

Brett gave Shanna the same look he had given Nina, then informed her in a steely voice.

“Yes. We are. Orders are orders.”

She subsided back into her seat.

The disgruntled look on her face made her look more devilish, than angelic.

“But why can’t…?”

Nina wasn’t finished.

“Enough! We’re going with you. That’s final.”

He thundered as he raised a hand to stop them both. His face looked like stone.

They both sighed with defeat Nina blew out a breath.

She was irked that she had to have bodyguards. The whole babysitter sentence made her feel like an objectionable child that had been throwing a tantrum.

Why was it her misfortune to have this acidic talking bitch around?

All of this rankled her whole sense of independence .

They followed Nina off the train at Granville as she collected her stuff from her coordinator, then followed her back on to another train to Parramatta. From there they caught a bus out to the suburbs to walk her map area. Not a word was exchanged between the three of them during this transition. It was beginning to unnerve and freak her out.

She hated this.

“Look, I’ll be okay. Why don’t you two wait here while I walk the area. You’re like stalkers breathing down the back of my neck. You’re disrupting my downtime. This is a day I look forward to. I love walking and visiting new places. I’m making money while I’m doing two of my hobbies. You’re spoiling that for me.”

Nina had turned to confront the angels, taking them unawares. They stared at her in silence.

She had reconciled herself to the fact of them being there but couldn’t reconcile herself to having bodyguards.

Why was she being saddled with them?

Besides why was she seeing them at all?

Weren’t they supposed to be invisible or something?

That was a thought worth pursuing.

“I’m sorry if this is bothering you, honey. But we have no choice in the matter, unlike humans.”

This came from the sarcastic voice of the thorn in Nina’s side.

She guessed it was amusing Shanna in some macabre way. Even though it irked her that she had to babysit Nina, she was still enjoying seeing Nina squirm.

“Fine…”

Frustrated, she turned to stomp off. Shanna chuckled as she dogged her heels. She heard Brett growl something at Shanna as he brought up the rear.

It was galling that they were curtailing her spontaneity.

She just wanted the day to end now.

She had to make the best of it. Until they were satisfied, she wasn’t in danger, she theorized to herself.

So, coaching herself to be more tolerant, Nina rambled on dropping leaflets into mailboxes.

The day passed peacefully when she ignored the presence of the silent bodyguards.

She finished up her map, tuning the angels out with headphones shoved in her ears, her favorite music playing. That kept her mind occupied as she hummed under her breath, while her footsteps kept in time to the beat.

They walked right to the rear of the train later.

The seating was the same as when they had boarded at the start of the day. Brett beside her, Shanna facing them. She ignored them. Her feet in the sneakers and socks were burning. They hurt like the devil. She suspected she had a couple of blisters, but it was worth it.

She had made her rent money for the week with this one-day marathon.

After shopping later at Woolworth’s for her weeks supply, she had Brett help to carry her groceries onto the train, then on the walk home. Shanna’s disdainful snort, and turning up of her nose at carrying groceries, made Nina want to slap her.

Entering her unit was blissful. Especially after dropping her bags, Brett assured her she was safe within the confines of her home, then they blinked out. She was tuned to their wavelength now, so she knew she was completely alone a few seconds later. Breathing a sigh of relief she entered her bedroom, going on straight to the bathroom. She needed to soak for a while to ease her stretched muscles from walking almost the whole day.

She would zap something in the microwave after her bath, that is, if she didn’t fall asleep first. Most of her shopping were precooked, except the veggies and fruits, so it wasn’t much of a hardship. Tomorrow being Sunday, she would have a sleep-in, then maybe go to church if she woke up early.

He was standing in the shadow of her apartment building, waiting for her. Foiling her attempts to step around him, he moved with her like they were doing the two-step. Trying not to scream, she stopped, fearfully waiting for his next move.

“Be a good girl, take my hand.”

That sibilant whisper made the hairs on her arms and hair stand on end. She shuddered, revolted, scared.

No, this was not happening again.

She screamed.

But it was soundless.

Her body stayed frozen.

She was trapped.

He reached out to touch her. She started screaming louder.

She heard herself screaming long and loud as she snapped out of the dream.

Sweating, she sat up in bed.

“It was only a dream, sweetheart.”

Her breath caught in her throat.

She whipped her head to the shadowed part of her room where her armchair was.

He stood up to take steps towards her.

His deep melodic voice was quiet and soothing.

“Scooch over…”

She made room for him.

One of his big hands engulfed hers.

It stilled her agitation.

She wondered for a fleeting second where Shanna was. But then her thoughts were taken up by the comfort of Brett’s presence.

His eyes were filled with sympathy, as he gazed into hers.

She bit her lip.

His eyes tracked the movement. She moistened suddenly dry lips. His eyes turned a dark fathomless green.

He breathed in deeply.

Abruptly he stood to stride to the other side of the room. Then he turned to look back at her from there.

“I won’t allow anything to happen to you, honey. Get some more rest. I’ll be right here.”

His voice sounded constricted.

‘Or is that just my imagination?’

She talked herself down.

He made himself comfortable without looking at her again.

She waited, still…

She couldn’t name, nor admit, to what she was waiting for.

For a few seconds she remained frozen.

Finally coming to a decision, she lay down and closed her eyes.

She was aware of his proximity in her bedroom but was too tired to care.

The sun was high in the sky when she stirred the next morning. There was no sign of Brett. She was grateful he had been there during one of her bad turns. It had been surprising she had been able to go back to sleep. That didn’t normally happen when she woke from one of those nightmares.

Once again, she wondered where the bitchy Shanna had been last night. May have had another assignment, she supposed. But she didn’t really care. She was just happy the woman wasn’t witness to another incident.

Nina had been aiming to go to church, but it was late now. Since that was out of the question, she thought she would roast something for lunch and dinner, then just relax. Resolved, she jumped out of bed. She rushed into the bathroom, then dressed in shorts and a jumper. Almost skipping into her kitchen, she stopped dead in the doorway.

He was still here!

He hadn’t left.

He had only left her bedroom.

“Ohh…I thought you were gone.”

Chagrined, she slapped a hand over her mouth.

“I’m sorry. That was rude.”

She mumbled the words, but he heard. Brett grinned as he glanced up from the iPad he was holding.

“Oh, that’s okay. I was only waiting for you to wake up before I took off.”

He stretched as he stood up. All his muscles came into play. The thin t-shirt he was wearing didn’t hide any of that delicious, superb body.

Her mouth watered.

She moistened suddenly dry lips. Before she could say anything, he blinked out.

Leaving her alone.

And drooling.

Well, she was glad he hadn’t seen that.

Hopefully, he hadn’t sensed it either.

She would be so mortified if he knew she had been lusting after him.

Now if she could hear their mind telecommunications, could they also hear her thoughts?

Having coffee later, she ruminated on her sudden desire for someone unobtainable. It had come at her out of the blue.

Was it because she had seen his body up close without his coat?

Or were there other factors at work here?

Whatever the reason, she had to nip that one in the bud. She didn’t need any complications in her life at this stage.

An angel would be a huge mistake.

“They’re not going to keep you from me. You’re mine. Destined for me.”

She jumped with fright at the sibilant hiss by her ear.

It curdled her blood.

She had relaxed her guard.

Even in her own flat she was not safe from him. She must always remember that. The angels couldn’t protect her from this evil.

He was a demon. Maybe one of the chief ones.

Who knew what he was, or what position he held?

All she was aware of, was that he was here.

End of story.

“Get away from me, demon.”

Summoning strength, she ran into her bedroom.

Slamming the door, she hunkered down, trembling.

For a second the thought popped into her head that this couldn’t keep him out.

‘By sheer force of will, I will try.’

Her determined spirit reasserted itself.

To boost her courage, she closed her eyes to repeat the mantra she usually chanted when she was scared. From Psalms 23.

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want…”

Before she reached the second verse there was a rustle.

Hands took hers, pulling her to her feet.

Opening her eyes, she met concerned green ones gazing down into hers.

“He’s gone. You’re safe now.”

He dragged her into his arms.

The shock of her body colliding with his, drew a gasp from her. Hearing the rumble of laughter in his chest, she looked up in time to find him gazing down at her with a twinkle in his eye.

Trying to draw a deep breath was impossible.

Nina thought she would combust with the reality of being held against that toned, muscled body. She had only imagined what it would be like before.

Now she knew.

It was heaven.

“You’re going to be okay, sweetie.”

The reassurance was welcome, but hollow.

“Yeah?” She grumbled.

“That doesn’t help. He seems to find me whenever I’m alone. I don’t think I will ever be okay.”

The defeated tone in her voice got to him.

“Not as long as I am around.” He growled in her ear.

The movement of his chest against her breasts made them peak. She tried to pull away to hide her arousal from him. Placing a big hand under her chin, he raised her face to his.

“You believe me, don’t you?”

He searched her eyes with his for a heartbeat, until she nodded.

Satisfied, he let her go.

“I will be guarding you 24/7 until you’re strong enough to fight him on your own.” He vowed.

“What about your other duties?” She asked, surprised.

“And Shanna?” She added.

“Let me worry about them, hmm?” He grinned. “In the meantime, go, get something to eat.”

As she exited, he yelled after her. “

And a thank you would be nice.”

“Humph. The conceit.” She grumbled under her breath.

Then jumped for the second time that morning, when he spoke from just behind her.

“Oh, I don’t know.”

There was laughter in his voice.

“It would be nice to hear.”

“I wish you wouldn’t do that.” Nina pleaded. “It makes me nervous.”

He scoffed. “You? Nervous?”

“Yes. Me, nervous.” She insisted. “I hate the popping in and out you guys do. It freaks me out.”

He looked resigned.

“Okay. Duly noted.”

He walked backwards from the kitchen.

“Will this do?” He joked.

“That’ll do, donkey, that’ll do.”

She smiled as she recited a statement Shrek made to Donkey in the movie ‘Shrek’.

She used to love those animated movies.

It tickled her when she saw the sparkle of laughter in his eyes.

He disappeared from view.

She turned to get something to eat. He had brightened her day.

Made her forget. Just for a little while For that she was grateful.