Avoidables Angels Read online

  Chapter Eighteen

  ‘Reading anything interesting?’ I asked Catherine as we travelled in the limousine.

  Why she had insisted on travelling in style was beyond me. We were going to the Lower Side. The grubbiest place in the whole city.

  ‘Yes. It’s your file.’

  Her sneer made me glance at William. He shrugged gently. Catherine’s head was stuck in the papers so she didn’t see our exchange.

  ‘We have database files on every person in Upper Side,’ Jason said, looking over his mother’s shoulder. She elbowed him away.

  ‘What about the Lower Side?’ I asked.

  Catherine glanced up at me. ‘Considering you’re applying for the job of Lower Side communications officer, you should know.’

  I managed to stop the rise of my eyebrows.

  ‘You’ll be working alongside a lovely lady called Belinda,’ William said, straightening his tie.

  ‘Will he now? I’m a little perplexed as to how you’re allowed to hire these new people without running it past the board.’ Catherine narrowed her eyes on the leader.

  William lounged back in his seat, letting the comfort envelop him. ‘Melissa made an impression on the chancellor, he wanted her to work for us. If her brother is as smart as the file says…’ William gestured to the papers on her lap. ‘Why not hire them both?’

  The female official huffed as she discarded the file on the seat next to her.

  ‘We’re here,’ Jason announced.

  He sat stiff next to his mother. The occasional shudder of his body made me wonder if he struggled with the urge to let his wings sprout from his back. We were naturally trained in how to let our wings unfold. Would a human that had never been taught have enough control to stop them from appearing?

  The doors opened from the outside.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Catherine called as we climbed out.

  William poked his head back into the limo. I ignored him as he told Catherine that there was no way we could travel to Lower Side in a limo. It would invite danger.

  My gaze was plastered to a beautiful woman that stood at the entrance to the bridge. Considering guards had been killed there the day before, it was pristine. Melissa had cried herself to sleep the night before. I had left her to it, knowing she wanted to be alone, though I stayed near in case she needed me.

  ‘Who’s that?’ I whispered to Jason who stared as much as I did.

  We grinned at each other, respecting that we had the same taste in women. The leggy brunette wore a summer dress that fell to the knees. Her hair was in pristine condition as it waved down her back. She joked with a guard as he stood watching the other side of the bridge. How could he not be distracted by her beauty?

  ‘Would you?’ Jason asked.

  My mouth dropped open at the disrespect. ‘Don’t speak about her like that. She’s a human being. We should appreciate her for who she is on the inside.’

  Jason shook his head. ‘Don’t say that too loud around anyone other than me. Even the Avoidables won’t understand you.’

  Catherine fought with William as she joined us. They bickered as we crossed the road and joined the beautiful Belinda.

  ‘Hello, everyone!’ she said. ‘ Welcome to the bridge of Lower Side. We will be on our way in a moment.’

  Her superficial smile instantly put me off. Her eyes were haunted. Makeup covered the dark circles under them. She was not what she first appeared to be.

  ‘So, how are you finding…’ I gestured to Jason’s back as the others moved ahead of us.

  He shrugged and huffed at the same time. Digging his hands into his pockets, he watched the back of his mother and William. The pretty woman hadn’t even looked at us when we had approached. We weren’t important compared to the new leader.

  ‘William gave me some books to read. I was up all night trying to figure it out. Can I ask you a question?’

  I looked over the side of the concrete bridge. The water flowed slowly beneath it. Melissa had told me that an Avoidable with huge wings had tried to stop the Avoidable that had run over the guards the day before.

  ‘Of course,’ I replied, moving back to the centre of the bridge.

  Jason dragged his feet as we got nearer to Lower Side. ‘Why me? The book says that the man responsible for uniting the two sides will fall in love with someone unlike himself. Why does William think that’s me?’

  ‘Come on, you two. Don’t dawdle,’ Belinda called over her shoulder.

  I glanced up at the sun to distract myself. It didn’t matter that the sway of Belinda’s hips made me want to do things that no angel should ever want to do to a human. I didn’t want to know her for only one thing. I wanted to see what she hid behind those haunted eyes.

  ‘Coming, Belinda,’ I sang.

  Her footstep faltered as she took a moment to actually look at us. Turning, she walked backwards, studying us both. A small smile lit her face when our gaze met.

  ‘William knows much more than I do. I’m just part of his team. He’s the one with the plan. He knows what’s going on in the world much more than we do.’ I looked at Jason as Belinda turned back to the others. ‘Although, I do know more than you.’

  ‘So William is the boss of you lot? Are there anymore or just the ones I saw last night?’ Jason scratched his clean shaven chin.

  His pretty boy face had caught the attention of Belinda but she had quickly disregarded him as too young. Was it me or did her hips sway even more as we approached the entrance to Lower Side?

  ‘The ones…’ I said and made speech mark gestures with my fingers, ‘…are angels. You can say it, although make sure it’s only when you’re with me or William. There’s about ten of us in this city.’

  He laughed as I winked at him.

  ‘I don’t like saying it. There’s…’

  I raised my eyebrows. The others stopped by the barrier ahead. We couldn’t carry on the conversation with them so near.

  ‘It’s a bit weird, isn’t it? I don’t know whether to believe it.’

  My laugh made the others glance at me. ‘You had full proof. I can show you again, if you like?’ I said, reaching for my shirt.

  Jason grabbed my arm to stop me. ‘Don’t be stupid. Of course I accept it. I saw it with my own eyes. I felt it. It’s just…why am I involved?’

  ‘Welcome to Lower Side,’ Belinda announced, spinning on her heels and opening her arms wide.

  Jason and I looked at each other as she turned and skipped to a man that waited for us.

  ‘You chose to do this before you came here. Keep reading, keep learning. It will all be clear soon.’ I clapped him on the back before stepping beside William.

  Catherine linked her arm through mine as she eyed the man that Belinda spoke to. ‘That’s John’s brother. He’s the enforcer of Lower Side. He gives me the creeps,’ she whispered, glancing at Jason to make sure he hadn’t heard.

  The man in question had blond straggly hair to his shoulders and a deep scar across his face. He wasn’t very tall but I could see that he had been handsome at one point. If he cut his hair, he could almost be a Perfect again.

  ‘Artie, this is William, the new leader,’ Belinda introduced them.

  I caught the look of recognition flash over the enforcer’s face. He must have met William already. Why did they pretend he hadn’t?

  Catherine scowled at Artie when he smiled at her. Jason’s eyebrows lowered as he watched his mother. I had never known anyone to be quite so aggressive. Her energy made me want to shove her away from me.

  ‘What makes you want to tour the Lower Side?’ Artie asked William, his voice harsh and unpleasant.

  William glanced at us before taking Artie to the side to whisper between themselves. Belinda looked sideways at me. I fought the urge to wink at her. Her cheeky smile made me swallow. My blood pumped through my veins when she flicked her hair away from her face. I had that flood of desire again, but I kept it concealed.

  ‘She’s pretty, isn’t
she?’ Catherine asked me under her breath.

  ‘Let’s go!’ Artie called, before I could answer, spinning from William and leading us to an old guard’s car. It had seen better days.

  ‘He has a car?’ I asked Belinda as she pulled open the creaky back door.

  She laughed as I climbed in and shuffled to the middle. William got in the front. Catherine and Jason squeezed in either side of me. There was no room for Belinda. Which was a shame. I had been looking forward to the feel of our bodies pressed together.

  I coughed, looking her straight in the eye when she bent down to wave goodbye. ‘I’ll be here when you get back.’

  ‘Why am I taking over her job?’ I asked, my mind thinking about inappropriate things as the engine started.

  ‘You won’t. You’ll be working alongside her,’ Catherine replied.

  My grin went ignored as Artie grunted from the front seat.

  ‘How is John, Catherine?’ Artie asked.

  Jason frowned as he looked at Artie in the rear view mirror.

  ‘He’s well, thank you,’ Catherine managed.

  I stifled the urge to say anything. Surely Catherine could be civilised with her own brother in law? Even if he was an Avoidable.

  My attention was drawn by the streets outside the car. The dirt road kicked up dry dust as we drove further into the birth place of many people. Each city in the world had two sides. There were nowhere near as many humans on Earth as there had been two thousand years ago.

  ‘How does your part of the city work?’ I asked.

  Artie sped up slightly as a group of young Avoidables approached the car. Catherine squeezed my forearm, only releasing when we had passed them without any trouble.

  ‘It’s hard to keep track on everyone. We don’t have much in the way of electronics here. Mobile phones are used. As you probably know, the Perfect government keep tabs on them.’

  ‘They do?’

  No, I didn’t know. In fact, William had thrown me in the deep end. Just like Melissa. We almost had to fumble our way into dangerous territory.

  ‘Let’s go for a little walk,’ Artie said, pulling the car up outside a rundown theatre.

  ‘Are you mad?’ Catherine squeaked as William climbed out.

  I froze. She was right. We had no guards. Although, surely William wasn’t stupid enough to…

  I glanced back to see another car stop behind us. I assumed the man getting out of the car was John. Artie’s brother. I guess we had some protection now, albeit small.

  ‘This is where I live,’ Artie announced, pointing up at the gothic building.

  I smiled. I couldn’t help it. The architecture was still magnificent, even in disrepair.

  ‘It’s nice,’ Jason stated, cringing when he looked at the rusty door.

  He was so used to owning only the best. That would never change, even when he realised his fate. Growing up made you who you were but it didn’t define you as an adult. Jason would learn that eventually.

  ‘Who do we have here?’

  The catcall made us spin towards the street. John had been talking to William but aimed his gun as a couple of Avoidables came around the corner. They were huge. Two men. One with a long braid and the other with a dark man bun. One was fair skinned, the other tanned.

  ‘Noland, Purple, this is William, the new Perfect government leader.’

  They glanced at Artie before their gaze landed on my friend. ‘Leader? How interesting,’ the man with blond hair murmured, running his gaze over me before looking at Catherine. He sneered as she held her nose in the air.

  ‘What’s the matter? Does the Lower Side not stink to your liking?’ he drawled in an extremely deep voice.

  Catherine swallowed, the lump in her throat very obvious.

  ‘Ignore Noland,’ the other man said.

  He must have been Purple. His eyes matched the colour of his name.

  ‘You were flying above the bridge yesterday. I see you couldn’t handle one of your own,’ John said, lowering his gun as the men came to stand by Artie. Did they work for him?

  ‘It was an unfortunate incident,’ Artie said, waving his brother’s accusations away.

  William took a step forward and turned to us. ‘No, it wasn’t. It was my fault. I was supposed to deal with it and I didn’t.’

  Artie glared at our leader. Something had happened. I could tell. However, I was more interested in the woman that was walking towards us. Her long thin figure was encased in a flowing yet dirty dress.

  ‘Well, well…the leader and his lackies are bothering to come to this side of the river. Don’t you know that there’s a lot of people that will kill you here?’ she lisped.

  She sounded drunk. Her words were slurred but her eyes were focused.

  ‘Be on your way,’ Artie said, going towards her.

  ‘Don’t tell me what to do!’ she stuttered.

  She had a speech impediment. So what? Why did Catherine and Jason screw up their noses? She was an attractive young woman. The way she held her head high told me that she was an intelligent person, too. Why the hell were they judging her because her speech wasn’t clear?

  ‘Can you tell me what you want from us?’ I said, stepping forward.

  Artie tried to push me back but I spun away from him and came around to her other side. Purple and Noland went to move but William stopped them.

  ‘Well,’ she started, looking up at me. ‘We don’t have enough food and it’s all because you won’t share some of your riches. Or give us opportunities to grow our own.’

  My eyebrows rose. ‘You’d grow your own?’

  She tutted as she rolled her eyes. ‘Of course we would. We want to survive. That’s all we’re trying to do. Most of us only have one meal a day. You must know that.’

  I glanced at William. Catherine giggled all of a sudden.

  ‘What’s so funny?’ the girl shouted, bringing her clenched hands up in front of her. ‘I’ll beat you.’

  Catherine pulled a face so disgusted that anyone walking past would have thought she had stepped in something hideous. Instead, she aimed her contempt at the Avoidable that stood in the road.

  ‘Artie, please…’

  The woman launched when Catherine waved her hand towards her as if trying to shoo her away. Artie was fast. He wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her still. She thrashed, trying to reach the Perfect official. Catherine had stepped behind Noland and Purple. It was funny that she hated the Avoidables, yet when she perceived herself in danger from one, she sought protection from them.

  ‘Serves your right, love.’ Noland growled, moving away from her to take the other woman from Artie.

  ‘Wait!’ William’s demand stopped everyone in mid movement. Even the struggling girl. ‘This is no good. I will not have my officials treated this way. There is a reason why you hate us. I get that. But I won’t stand for it. Things are going to change.’

  Catherine looked smug. I frowned. Jason’s eyes were glued to the woman’s cleavage as Noland hoisted her away.

  William was smart. The words heard by the others would portray a man that was angry that Catherine had been insulted. I, however, read between the lines. When he said things were going to change, the others had the impression that he would get tougher on the Avoidables. How wrong they were.

  ‘I’m leaving,’ Catherine announced.

  Of course she was leaving. What a surprise. I was tempted to run a finger down her spine just to check to see if she had a backbone. Probably not.

  ‘Yes, you can go, Catherine. John, take her home.’ William dismissed them with a wave and came to Artie’s side. ‘Now, let’s talk about how we can bring about these changes.’

  Catherine looked like a fish. Her mouth gaped open as William steered Artie away from the group. Would William’s alienation of Catherine go against him? He only had a couple of months to prove his worth to her. She would be a crucial piece to the infiltration puzzle. Not that she knew that.

  Making my way to Cather
ine’s side as John marched to the car, I squeezed her shoulder gently. ‘I think you did well coming over here. How many officials would bother?’

  She smirked up at me, stroking my arm as I opened the door for her. ‘I think I’m going to like you.’

  I gritted my teeth when she winked and climbed into the car. Nope, no amount of anything would make me like her.

  ‘See you back at the compound. Welcome, colleague.’

  Watching the car go, I scratched my jaw. It was crazy that just because of my looks, I had been accepted into an incredibly important role in the government. My made up paperwork was still a mystery to me. I would have to ask William. Although, everything seemed to be falling into place. First William, then Melissa and now me. Not a bad start in a few days.

  Turning back to the theatre, I paused when I realised I was alone. Well, almost alone. The woman from earlier watched me from the alleyway next to the building.

  She giggled before ducking away. I gave chase. I couldn’t help it. My legs pumped under me without my consent. Why did the female entice me away from safety?

  ‘Wait!’ I called when I ran down the alley.

  She disappeared behind a large bin, her hair flying behind her. I followed through the gap in the wall. The new alley was dark and dingy. I paused as the woman disappeared again. I might be an angel but that wouldn’t protect me from-

  ‘Hello, there.’ The soft voice reached my eardrums.

  Cursing, I turned to face the stranger. Her hair was dark and long. It curled to her waist. A smile lit her face as she studied me. I was her prey. A Perfect in an alley on Lower Side. She had probably never seen such a thing.

  ‘Who are you?’

  Her jaw was soft and rounded. I tried to find her defect but it wasn’t obvious. In fact, she was very attractive. My forgotten hormones came racing back as she swayed over to me.

  ‘I’m Paul,’ I replied after clearing my throat.

  Her hand waved above my head. My muscles tensed. Was she going to do something to me?

  ‘You’re…strange,’ she said.

  My chuckle startled her. Taking a step back, she lowered her arms and watched me.

  ‘I’m not so sure I agree. You’re standing in an alley, waiting for a Perfect to come by. I’m not the strange one.’

  Her own laugh was short. ‘I’m waiting for my brother actually. A Perfect would never dare to come back here without a guard. What were you doing?’

  I glanced to where the other woman had disappeared from sight. No one was there. At least she didn’t go and get her friends. It was dangerous enough for me to be in the alley with one Avoidable. A really pretty Avoidable woman at that.

  ‘I…’ I had no explanation.

  Why had I chased? What had made me risk my life? Female. My brain answered as she stepped forward and reached towards me.

  ‘Get away from him,’ a deep voice said from behind her.

  Noland stepped around the corner. ‘Don’t worry, brother,’ she replied, moving away, ‘I was only going to hurt him a little bit.’

  The warrior shook his head as he stepped between us. ‘I told you to stay at home. I will not have them know who you are,’ he hissed.

  It was a bit late for that. I knew exactly who she was. Maybe I could look her up in a database somewhere. She might have been arrested for being too good looking to be an Avoidable.

  I laughed, only stopping when Noland stepped forward, grabbed my shirt by the throat and pinned me against the metal wall.

  ‘You think this is funny? The way we live?’ He growled in my face.

  The freshness of his breath contrasted with the smell of sweat that poured from him. His deep voice rumbled from his throat.

  ‘You’re lucky, Perfect. If no one else was around, I would do some damage to you, just for the hell of it.’

  ‘I like you,’ I said.

  He dropped me to the ground. ‘Trust me, there’s nothing to like about me.’

  Shaking out my shoulders, I glanced around him to his sister. She had her hands on her curvy hips. I would happily replace her hands with mine.

  ‘Like what you see?’ she said.

  I coughed, looking away when Noland glared at me. ‘Okay, pretty boy. Let’s get you back to your master.’

  ‘Master?’

  I followed Noland back down the alley like a trailing idiot. His order had made me obey him like a little boy.

  ‘Wait!’ I spun back to Noland’s sister. ‘You both look like Perfects. Why are you here?’

  The woman’s eyebrows rose. Coming closer, she looked into my eyes. ‘I could ask you the same thing.’

  I frowned. Noland’s towering frame sent a shadow over us as he came back.

  ‘Look at me,’ he ordered.

  I watched the girl. She ignored him. Surely Noland would make her do as he said? He was a machine after all.

  ‘I’m talking to you,’ he said, poking me in the back.

  Turning to him, I gasped when he grabbed my chin and tilted my head back. ‘Please don’t kiss me, I’m not into men,’ I whispered.

  My heart was thumping. Not in a good way. The girl laughed but Noland scowled as he looked into my eyes. I froze. Something about his gaze made me unable to look away. It was creepy. His eyes were-

  ‘He’s different, isn’t he?’ the woman said.

  Noland’s eyes widened but he didn’t look away. Neither did I. It was as if I was his puppet under a weird spell.

  ‘Noland!’

  The shout made him release me. A whisper of a breeze brushed my arm. I turned to catch a glimpse of the dress that Noland’s sister wore as she floated around the corner and out of sight.

  ‘What…?’

  ‘Come on,’ Noland said, frowning at Purple as he rounded the corner. ‘Don’t say anything about her,’ he hissed at me.

  The siblings were keeping a secret. Did they have some kind of power?

  ‘Paul!’ William called when we came out into the street. ‘Here are some plans from Artie. They’re things that are desperately needed in Lower Side. I want you to go back to the compound and get started. I’ve had enough of Avoidables making such a fuss.’

  I tried not to smirk at William’s blatant attempt at being a Perfect. He had to cover his back somehow. If it appeared to others that he was a soft touch, they wouldn’t let him take over. Even the Avoidables couldn’t suspect who he was.

  ‘Of course, William,’ I replied.

  I would do my new duty. Not that I knew what that was. However, I was beginning to question the intelligence of the Perfects. The files were technically legit. Even the ones that had come out of thin air. To them anyway. I had no idea what my new job entailed but I would learn. Learning was something I had quickly become good at. We had to think quickly.

  Noland watched me. My hand was steady as I reached forward and took the file from William. One sign of weakness would show that I wasn’t all I pretended to be.

  ‘Go!’

  William’s dismissal was welcome. I needed to get out of Lower Side so I could stop pretending. The glare of the Avoidables unsettled me. I had never done anything to them. I was there to help.