Chapter Twenty-Four

Patch's POV

I snuck through the back of the dress store. I'd wanted to catch Nora off guard, so I didn't expect that I'd be the one thrown off by Marcie in the front lounge. I made sure she couldn't see me, but I paused for a moment.

What is she doing here?

Marcie sat there, attempting to look nonchalant, waiting. The saleslady looked bored, shaking her head as if to wake herself up. I looked toward the dressing rooms. My face unintentionally fell into a smug grin. I let go of my suspicion of Marcie, knowing I could just ask Nora about it. I made my way into the dressing room.

Nora was at herself in the mirror, twirling around and hugging herself in the dress that she'd chosen. Aww, I missed it. I didn't need to see her naked anyway…Marcie would be suspicious if she heard anything other dresses shifting, as well as not seeing Nora for a couple hours.

Stop it.

"I could get you to smile like that, and without sales tax."

Nora spun around like she was going to fight me or something. I smiled at her. She flushed, caught in her happy place. "I could make all kinds of pervert jokes right now," she sputtered.

"I could tell you how much I like you in that dress." Beautiful, long legs coming down, décolletage very much present, hair flowing down. Yes, I liked that dress very much. It looked like something she only needed to wear for me. Very…nice.

"How did you get in?"

"I move in mysterious ways."

"God moves in mysterious ways. You move like lightning- here one moment, gone the next." Like lightning. I liked that. "How long have you been standing there?" She began to look mortified. I must have missed a bad try, so I suppose it was good I didn't walk in any earlier.

"I would have knocked, but I didn't want to linger outside and risk Marcie. Hank can't know you and I are back in business. I have news. I reached out to Dabria. She's agreed to help us run interference on Hank, but first I need to come clean. Dabria is more than an old acquaintance. We knew each other before I fell. It was a…relationship of convenience, but not too long ago, she caused you a fair share of inconvenience." I paused, before finishing. "Which is a nice way of saying she tried to kill you."

Nora's face froze as she took my words in.

"She's over her jealousy, but I wanted you to know."

"Well, now I know." Nora answered sarcastically. "How do we know she's not going to play assassin again?"

"I took out an insurance policy."

"Sounds vague."

"Have a little faith."

"What does she look like?" she demanded, pouting and turning away. I smiled. Oh, Angel.

"Stringy, unwashed hair, doughy around the middle, unibrow. Satisfied?"

Her pout lifted more. "Have you met with her in person yet?"

"Won't be necessary. What I want from her isn't complicated. Before she fell, Dabria was an angel of death and could see the future. She claims she still has the gift and makes decent money at it from, believe it or not, her Nephilim clients."

Nora thought about it. "She's going to keep her ear to ground. She's going to eavesdrop on her clients and see what pops up on Hank."

"Good work, Angel."

"How does Dabria expect to be paid?"

"Let me handle that."

She put her hands on her hips. "Wrong answer, Patch."

"Dabria has no interest in me anymore. She's motivated by cold, hard cash." She didn't look like she believed me, so I moved forward and caressed her neck. "And I'm not interested in her anymore. I've set my eyes elsewhere."

She flushed, and pulled away. "Can she be trusted?"

"I'm the one who ripped her wings out when she fell. I have one of her feathers for safekeeping, and she knows it. Unless she wants to spend the rest of eternity keeping Rixon company, she's going to be motivated to stay on my good side."

I quickly kissed her on the lips, knowing I had to move. "I can't stay long. I'm working a few other leads, and I'll get back to you if they pan out. Will you be home tonight?" I doubted she had other places to be, as Nora had no real social life, but I didn't want to assume.

She looked concerned. "Yes, but aren't you worried about Hank? These days, he's about as permanent in my house as a light fixture."

"I can work around him." I was pretty proud of my trick. "I'll be coming in through your dreams."

Nora looked as if she was waiting for me to finish a joke. "Is this a joke?"

"For it to work, you have to be open to the idea. We're off to a promising start." I ended sarcastically. Nora still looked like she didn't get it.

"How does it work?"

"You dream, and I insert myself into it. Don't try to block me, and we'll be good to go."

Nora nodded, seeming accepting of my answer.

"One last thing. I have it on good authority that Hank knows Scott is in town. I wouldn't think twice about it if he were caught," I said, picking at my fingernails nonchalantly, "but I know he means something to you. Tell him to keep his head down. Hank doesn't think highly of deserters."

Nora darkly looked away, and I felt a little bad for my attitude.

We both looked up as we heard Marcie snapping back at someone, and back at each other.

"Does Marcie know what her dad really is?"

Her dad. The irony. "Marcie lives in a bubble, but Hank keeps threatening to pop it." I looked her up and down, realizing she was still in that delicious dress. "What's the occasion?"

Nora twirled for me. "Homecoming. Like?"

Angel I more than like it, but- "Last I heard, homecoming requires a date." And I'd heard nothing about it.

"About that," she said, pulling at her fingers. "I'm sort of…going with Scott."

My eyes thinned at the thought.

"We both figure a high school dance is the last place Hank will be patrolling."

Nowhere was the last place Hank would be patrolling. I tried to smile, but it was hard. Did I feel bad about being mean earlier? "I take that back. If Hank wants to shoot Scott, he has my blessing."

Nora rolled her eyes. "We're just friends."

Said the same woman who wanted to kill Dabria with a look a couple minutes ago. It was cute. I tipped her chin up to kiss her.

"Keep it that way." I put on my glasses. "Don't tell Scott I didn't warn him. I have to roll, but I'll be in touch."

Part of me wanted her to pull me back in, so I could do something about that dress, but then I shook it off and continued on my way.

Marcie's POV

I was looking through the racks for a dress that I might like. I'd shopped at snazzier places than this, but I was bored waiting for Nora (how hard was it to try on a dress? She was probably in there talking to her cow of a best friend). I also had residual nerves from what had just happened. Literally, 10 seconds and it was over. If I tried just hard enough, I might be able to forget that it happened. Finally, she decided to make her way out, but she looked confused.

"Have you seen my handbag?"

My heart dropped, then started pounding. I gathered myself. "You took it into the dressing room with you."

The saleslady came over. "Was it a brown leather saddlebag?"

WHY IS THIS WOMAN TALKING?

"Yes."

"I just saw a man leaving the store with it. He came in without saying a word, and I assumed he was your father. In fact, I could have sworn he said he was…but maybe I imagined the whole thing. The whole moment felt so strange. My head feels fuzzy. I can't explain it."

Considering I was right there and only bits of that happened, that creepy guy must have put something into the lady's head.

"He had gray hair and was wearing an argyle sweater…"

"Which way did he go?" Nora snapped. She must have been getting as annoyed as I was at her bumbling.

"Out the front doors, heading toward the parking lot."

Nora booked it for the doors, and I ran out behind her.

"Do you think this is a good idea? I mean, what if he has a gun? What if he's mentally unstable?" He was a goon for my dad, so I truly didn't think that this was something that she wanted to get into.

"What kind of man steals a purse from under a dressing room door?" Nora shouted.

"Maybe he was desperate. Maybe he needed cash."

"Then he should have taken your bag!"

Geez. "Everyone knows Silk Garden is posh. He probably figured he'd score big no matter which bag he grabbed." I rationalized, trying to calm her down. She was making a scene and I was NOT trying to get caught up in anything else.

Nora continued running into the parking lot, and I ran after her. We stopped when a sedan pulled out of a parking space, and the car revved right towards us. I moved, but Nora was still stupidly looking into the face of the car.

"Move, you idiot!" I shouted, yanking her out of the way. As we jumped it drove off into the night.

"Did you see what kind of car it was?" I asked sarcastically, since she wanted to stare into the car bumper so badly.

"An Audi A6. I got a partial on the license plate."

Well. "Not bad, tiger."

Nora turned to me with a crazy look. "Not bad? He got away with my handbag! Don't you find it a little odd that a guy who drives a flashy Audi needs to steal handbags? My handbag in particular?"

"Was it designer?"

"Try Target!"

Okay, well, I wasn't about to argue over a stupid Target handbag. There was likely nothing of true value in it other than what my father was looking for. "Well, that was exciting. What now? Drop it and get back to shopping?"

"I'm calling the police."

Oh my god-

You're being ridiculous-

It's just a stupid bag-

It was ugly too-

Detective Basso's POV

I rolled up to the Silk Garden, on call for a robbery. I walked into the store, and when I saw Nora Grey (and Marcie Millar!) I couldn't believe it. I actually had to cover my mouth to stop from smiling. What else had Danger-Prone Nora gotten into this time?

She didn't bother to greet me, as I could tell she was just-so-happy to see me.

"Someone stole my handbag."

"Walk me through this."

"I went into the fitting room to try on homecoming dresses. When I finished, I noticed my handbag wasn't on the floor where I'd left it. I came out, and the saleslady told me she'd seen a man running off with it."

"He had gray hair and an argyle sweater," the saleslady added.

"Any credit cards in the purse?"

"No."

"Cash?"

"No."

"Total value of missing items?"

"Seventy-five dollars."

It was like the girl enjoyed calling my phone to tell me about stu…nevermind. I understood the world she was in could cause some paranoia, but honestly…

Right. "I'll file a report, but there's not a lot we can do. Best-case scenario, the guy ditches the bag and someone turns it in. Worst case, you buy yourself a new bag."

I left as she stood there gaping at me. I wanted to laugh so badly.

Marcie's POV

Thirty minutes of Nora pacing in front of the store like a hungry lion, and finally the police showed up. She stormed up to them and started talking about that dumb bag. Seventy-five dollars total missing. I could look in couches for that. They finally told her to suck it up, and get a new bag.

I linked my arm through hers while she stood with a gaping, stupid face. "Look on the bright side. You lost a cheap bag, but you're getting a swanky new dress." I handed her the bag. "It's all taken care of. You can thank me later."

I sauntered toward my car, knowing that my job had been perfectly done. Dress bought, bag stolen, not in prison. Job well done, indeed.

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