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

tell people what to do, how to run the Furry Gates and help the kids who needed him. He’d simply be gone without a trace.

So he kept his mouth shut, caught between a rock and a hard place.

Throwing his hands up in defeat, he gave in. “Okay, okay. But I’m going to tell her soon, so hurry up. I can’t stand how it makes me feel so dirty. Especially now that I know she was meant to live. I didn’t give her a choice about being an angel, and no matter how good she is at the job, she wasn’t supposed to be one yet. I owe her that.”

Titus draped a big arm over Dex’s shoulder and gave him a side hug. “Wait until I find her a place up there. It’ll help soften the blow if someone finds out or she decides she wants to snitch. I don’t believe she will, but it’s only fair she have the option. Though, you did promise you’d wait. Can you at least do that for me?”

The whole thing made him feel like a total shit, but he’d made a promise. “I can, but hurry up. I don’t know if I can wait much longer. It feels like an albatross around my neck, and I can’t believe you’re encouraging me to keep this ruse going—not to mention, sticking your neck out.”

“It’s for the greater good, my friend. I’m delegating duties, and right now, another investigation into you isn’t part of the plan. It’ll only leave me a man down while they snoop around. Needing you here on the ground wasn’t just empty words.”

Dex rolled his eyes at Titus’s snow job. “Okay, okay.”

“Good man. And the wing thief? Stick close to the ladies. They’re chaotic at best, but the smartest decision you’ve made so far was bringing George to them. They’re special. Everyone upstairs loves ’em. Best of all, they can help keep her safe. Maybe even better than you.”

At least he’d done one thing right. “They’re all on board, so that’s not a problem.”

“Good. Be safe, my friend. Now, I gotta blow. I’ll try and figure this out ASAP. Promise.” With a smile, and one more sip of his flask, he nodded before disappearing, leaving Dex standing at the end of Marty’s driveway in another snowstorm, more worried than ever.

And what kind of question was that?

Love?

Did he love George…

He scoffed.

But…

Did he?

“Thank…sss,” Carl said, holding up the book they’d just read before pressing a soft kiss to her cheek.

George smiled at him, her heart clenching at how easy this sweet boy was to love. “Anytime, my friend.”

Seeing as she didn’t need to sleep anymore, she’d hunkered down on the couch after everyone else had gone to bed, except for Nina, who was upstairs in one of the many rooms guest rooms, binge watching Bridgerton on George’s recommendation.

Carl had drifted downstairs, unable to sleep. So over a plate of broccoli, they’d chatted about books and movies, and his life with Nina and her baby Charlie and husband Greg.

Then he’d invited her to read with him because it helped him sleep, and she’d done so willingly, cuddling with Gladys and Sauerkraut while Calamity sat by the fire. Reading a book beat worrying about how she was supposed to help Effie or if Joe-Joe was settled and comfortable.

It also gave her the opportunity to stop reflecting on her past and the worry she’d have to deal with it if she wanted to heal.

Carl patted her hand. “I like…I…like…you. You’re ssso…ssso nice and prett…y…pretty.”

Cupping his cheek, she stroked it with her thumb. “Thank you. I like you, too, Carl. It’s been nice having someone to spend the wee hours of the morning with. Do you think you’ll be able to sleep now?”

He grinned at her, his pale green face beaming as he tucked the book under his arm. “Yesss. G…G’night, George.”

She stood up and gave him a quick hug. “Night, buddy. Glad I could help. See you tomorrow.”

As Carl headed up the stairs, she plopped back down on the couch and sighed, dreading being left alone with her thoughts.

The mere mention of her father and the ladies knowing what he’d done, what she’d done, made her a nervous wreck. Not that she could keep them from finding out. They probably already had. A few years back, he’d been all over the news. There was plenty on the Internet for them to find, and all of it made her want to crawl under a rock and never come out.

The dogs stirred slightly, forcing her to stop dwelling on her plight, and making her pause.

Then a sinister voice whispered in her ear with so much delighted glee, her stomach jolted, while slipping a hand over her mouth and pressing firmly. “Don’t make a sound or I’ll snap your worthless neck, and then I’ll kill the kid just because I know it’ll keep you up at night,”

Her heart began to crash against her chest, throbbing so hard, she was sure Nina’s vampire ears would hear it. In fact, she prayed Nina would. Though oddly, the dogs remained quiet, leaving her stunned at how ironic it was that Gladys, a barker, was suddenly mute.

“Who…” She tried to ask who this monster was, but she did nothing more than expend excess energy, trying to talk with a hand over her mouth.

Yet the voice, which she assumed belonged to a male, knew exactly what she wanted to know. “Don’t you worry about who I am, little girl. Now, where are they?” the voice, raspy and hollow, asked.

Forcing herself not to struggle or pull at his hand, George breathed through her nose and shook her head. “Huh?” she played dumb, fully aware of what he wanted.

“The wings, you dimwit! Where are your wings?” he asked, his voice slithering into the dimly lit living room like a sharp knife cutting through the darkness.

She shook her head again, or shook it as much as his tight hold on her would allow, her hands growing clammy