Accidentaly Divine by Dakota Cassidy (best large ereader .TXT) 📗

leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, before he turned and trudged down the snow-covered steps, off into the velvety night, before he was gone.

The kiss was far too quick, over before she could say a word.

But it was significant. Just like she’d known Joe-Joe needed her help and Effie was in pain, she knew that kiss meant something.

Something…

Chapter 12

“Dex?”

Dexter stopped at the end of Marty’s driveway, whipping around at the sound of Titus’s deep voice.

“Hey. What’s up, man, and where the heck have you been?”

Titus took a deep drag of his cigarette, the end glowing orange in the dark of the night, before he promptly ignored Dex’s question. “I got your message about somebody trying to steal George’s wings. Any leads?”

“On who’d want to steal them? No. None. Did you hear anything?”

Titus clucked his tongue. “Nope. No clue, and we’d better hope no one upstairs finds out someone tried to steal them or we’re sunk. You do know what could happen if someone gets their hands on them, don’t you?”

Dex blinked, driving his hands into the pockets of his jacket. This was new territory for him. “I’ve never heard of anyone trying to steal anyone’s wings. So I haven’t got a clue. What could happen?”

Titus stared at him with an intensity rarely displayed in his eyes. “They’d not only gain full entry upstairs, they’d be able to steal your girl’s soul.”

Dex could have punched a wall. Of course. Your soul was attached to your wings, for cripe’s sake. His chest tightened in worry. “Holy…”

“Ships,” Titus finished. “That’s bad for biz, brother. An angel without a soul is poof.” He flared his fingers, making specks of snow spray in every direction.

“Poof?”

“Gone. Ceases to exist in any form. Dust in the wind.”

Dex’s stomach rolled. “I can’t believe I didn’t make the connection.”

“That’s because you’re all wrapped up in worrying about George. We have very few things to concern ourselves with. Losing your wings to a wing napper is bad. That and a rare knife designed specifically to kill us. Also, not good.”

Dex’s eyes widened in surprise. “The knife is real?” He’d heard legends about the knife, forged in the pits of Hell or some such dramatic nonsense, but he’d never given it a lot of thought beyond it being nothing more than a story that had been embellished over hundreds of years.

“Um, yeah. The knife is real, bud. Haven’t heard anyone talk about it in a long time, but I have it on good authority it’s real.”

“So should I be looking for a guy with a knife, too?” he asked.

“No one’s seen it in hundreds of years, so I wouldn’t put it high on the list of priorities, but I’d stay on my toes as a precaution. Now, speaking of, how’s our little apprentice?”

He looked at his longtime friend and supervisor through the veil of falling snow. “I’ll tell you all about it after you tell me where the hell you’ve been. What’s going on upstairs? Why isn’t George getting the information she needs on her assignment with Effie Sampson?”

Titus let his head fall back on his shoulders and rasped a sigh. “Because no one knows she exists, Dexie. That’s why. I’m dropping the four-one-one myself and it’s been hard to glean all the info I need from Gilbert. I had to trick him into saying Effie’s name out loud so the poor kid would know Effie Sampson was her assignment. Or did you forget we’re doing this on the sly?”

Instantly, Dex was contrite. Titus was trying to save his ass, and he was bitching. “Sorry. Forgot about that.”

Driving a hand into his robes, he pulled out his handy silver flask and took a long gulp, offering some to Dex, who declined. “So anyway, how’s it going with her?”

“Well, as you saw, we had a bumpy beginning, but it’s looking up. You were right. She really is good at this. I never would have guessed how good until I saw her with Joe-Joe.”

Titus nodded. “You bet she is. I’m usually never wrong about that. She has a huge heart, man. Huge. That’ll go a long way in this job.”

Dex nodded. He’d always known that about George. “She appears to be empathic. When she touches someone, she feels what they’re feeling.”

Titus nodded his head, obviously pleased. “I’ve never been surer I was right to cover up a mistake than I am with her. If she can just make peace with her past, she’ll be one of the best we’ve ever had. I’m talkin’ Gabriel status.”

“Those are big words,” he said jokingly.

“Damn right, and that means I gotta find a way to sneak her upstairs soon. Can’t afford to lose this one to bathroom duty.” He paused for a second and planted his hands on Dex’s shoulders. “So have you told her?”

“Told her what?”

“That you weren’t supposed to save her, and I’m trying to find a place for her where no one will see me sneak her in? She has to be in on this for it to work, you know.”

Shit. “No. I haven’t. Not yet.”

Titus gave him the look. “You know how I feel about total transparency, Dex. She deserves that much. Her life…man, her life has been some hellscape. Honesty’s the only way, bud. The only way, but I’m glad you opted to wait for a bit.”

Titus’s words stuck in his gut. He knew he had to tell George he wasn’t supposed to save her, and he didn’t know if she was supposed to die that night, but the closer he grew to her, the harder that became. Their dynamic right now was comfortable—he didn’t want that to change.

Selfish? Yes. But he found he couldn’t help himself.

“Have you found out if she was supposed to die that night?”

Titus’s eyes narrowed in disappointment. “You know that doesn’t make a difference one way or the other at this point. When the time comes, you still have to tell her you weren’t supposed to interfere with her fate,