Wings on Fire ~ Falling (Book 1)

Chapter 14

"There's something I've been meaning to ask you," Daniel told me.

I hoped that if I answered his question that he might answer more of mine. "I'll tell you anything you want to know," I promised, although I couldn't imagine what he wouldn't already know about me.

"Right before your accident," he started out, and my mind raced back to the sidewalk where I had been scurrying back to work after my brief walk to the park during my lunch break. "You looked at your phone and were distracted by something," he reminded me. "What was it?"

I had been keeping the memory firmly tamped down, not wanting to worry and ruin my time getting to know Daniel. His question brought the words of the threatening email right back to the front of my mind. I didn't really want to tell him what it said because that would make it too real, but it didn't seem like it would be in either of our best interests for me to keep something like this from my guardian angel.

"You know Macy, the sweet and frightened little girl that came into the system when her parents were killed in that tragic fire?" I asked him.

At his confirming nod, I continued. "Something about that whole scenario didn't sit right with me, so I've been studying the case files and evidence. It felt like their house fire was ruled to be an accident too quickly."

Daniel kept his attentive focus on me, without interrupting, so I went on. "Someone didn't like me snooping around on the case and sent me a warning message to back off. I had just read that email when the accident happened."

When I said the words aloud, it made me wonder if the car hitting me hadn't been an accident at all, but I quickly dismissed that idea as being overly paranoid.

"You must have been close to figuring out something that someone doesn't want anyone to know," Daniel weighed in on the subject. "Fill me in on everything you've discovered."

It felt good to have someone else to bounce my ideas and theories off of. "I don't have any concrete evidence," I admitted, feeling somewhat embarrassed that my super-sleuthing skills hadn't unearthed anything solid. "It's more of a gut feeling that something was off about the investigation. That's why I was doing so much research and asking everyone involved so many questions."

"Don't discount your women's intuition," he advised me. "It's usually right."

I nodded because he was absolutely correct. My instincts rarely steered me wrong when I managed to trust them. Deciding that no lead was too crazy to follow, I asked Daniel, "Do you remember the guy that sat in the back row at Macy's parents' funeral?"

I had attended the service so the little girl wouldn't have to sit by herself. She didn't have anyone else, and I couldn't stand to see her try face her parents' premature deaths alone. It made sense that since I was in attendance, Daniel must have been too.

He narrowed his eyes for a moment, obviously trying to remember the person in question. "Vaguely," he finally responded.

"Have you ever heard that criminals often return to the scene of the crime to visit their handiwork?" I asked, although Daniel had been around long enough that I was fairly confident he had.

At his nod, I continued. "He didn't speak to anyone at the funeral, he darted in at the last minute, and he left just before the final prayer. Doesn't that seem odd?"

"It does." Daniel agreed, smiling over at me, obviously pleased with my observation skills.

"I was planning to pay the funeral home a visit to see if they have any surveillance videos or pictures, so I could try to get an identity on him, but the whole 'getting ran over by a car' thing put a bit of a crimp in my plans

Rather abruptly, my angel looked at me and asked, "Aren't you getting sleepy?"

I tried not to take offense at the idea that he might be trying to get a break from me, and told myself that he was likely going to follow-up on the funeral home lead for me. "Nope," I tried to keep my voice light. I actually felt the opposite of tired. I was wired and wide-awake with the excitement of getting to know Daniel. "Why? Are you trying to get away from me for a while?" I tried to make my voice sound like I was teasing, but even I could hear the paranoia and self-doubt ringing through in it.

"Never." He reassured me. "I just have a few things I need to take care of." When my eyes darted to his in a questioning gaze, he elaborated, "Angel business."

"Oh, of course..." I felt foolish for keeping him from his 'real' life. "You have important stuff you have to do... go deal with your, umm, personal business," I stammered. "Don't let me keep you from enjoying your free time. You've already put in plenty of overtime with me." He had been so kind to me, it was hard to remember that I was his job. I longed to ask him what it was that he needed to do.

Immediately sensing that I had gone to my old friend, self-doubt, Daniel reassured me. "There's no place I would rather be than right here with you."

The relieved smile I gave him was genuine.

"Don't ever forget that." The strong enunciation he gave his words made me wonder if he thought I might have reason to doubt it in the future. Before I had a chance to formulate a question about that, he seemed to make a snap decision. "I don't think you can get hurt sitting in a hospital bed surrounded by medical professionals. I'll be back in a flash," he promised.

With that, he darted out the door, and I felt more alone than I ever had before.

*** Can't wait to read more? The rest of book 1 is available FREE at most major ebook retailers: https://www.books2read.com/u/38gzJ6