I had a bad case of insomnia when I wrote this. I hope you like it. Please
take the time to review. I own none of the Angels, their boyfriends or the
Thin Man.
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"Are you sure you'll be okay Dylan?" they asked her that question every time and every time she was more than okay. She loved the kids and there were usual skirmishes but nothing she couldn't handle. Right now the three oldest were being perfect little angels and sitting on the couch watching "The Simpsons." The youngest was in the dining room coloring in different shades of pink in her Barbie coloring book humming what could have been the theme to "Sesame Street".
Alex placed a hand on her swollen stomach and smiled, "Just think Dylan, next time you baby sit there will be another one for you to watch." Dylan watched as Jason beamed at his wife of nine years bent down and said, "And he is going to be a professional baseball player isn't he? Yes you are," in baby talk to Alex's stomach. Alex moaned but quickly recovered and said, "More like a football player by the way he kicks." They all laughed at that.
Alex and Jason already had two children. The youngest of the four she was watching was theirs. Her name was Sarah. She had big brown eyes and wavy black hair and at five years old was way too quiet. At least that was Dylan's opinion. Her brother on the other hand a rambunctious eight year old named Jack. She remembered how Alex and Jason fought over what to name their first. Alex wanted to name him Emmett after her father but Jason had complained that it wasn't manly enough. That little argument almost ended their relationship right then and there, but Dylan managed to get them to agree to the name Jack Emmett Gibons and both parents walked away happy.
"Now Dylan," said Natalie, "remember to keep Steven away from all sugar products. All they do is make him hyper."
"Natalie," thought Dylan, "What the mom!" She really didn't know how she managed with Steven and Hannah. Steven was a good kid, well behaved unless he ate sugary foods but Hannah; well Dylan was just surprised that Natalie wasn't grey from the eleven year old going on sixteen. To say Hannah was precocious was an understatement. From the moment she turned nine she thought she was a teenager. Her parents had been called to the school more than once because she had been caught smoking in the girls room. Natalie often wondered to Dylan what she did wrong and blamed it on not leaving the angels soon enough after the little girl was born. Dylan and Alex both tried to reassure her it was nothing but a phase. Dylan could remember when she was that age she wanted nothing more than to be grown up too. That was why she and Hannah got along so well, Dylan understood where she was coming from.
"Now are you sure you are going to be okay?" They asked her again and she said it with them. It was routine. "Yes you guys now go. You'll be late for your reservation," she said shooing them out the door. Tonight the four were going to Chez Limone to celebrate their wedding anniversary. They weren't married on the same day or the same year but close enough that they decided it was more fun to celebrate all together. Natalie and Alex often joked that when Dylan got married it would have to be in the same month so then become a sextet. She laughed and agreed with them every time but Dylan didn't see it happening anytime soon. She had been involved in one failed relationship after another, always finding something wrong with each of the men before it could get serious. She knew that her friends worried about her but she was content with managing the consulting business they had started together after leaving the agency.
"Okay kids were going now," called Alex. Soon the doorway was filled with "I'll miss you mommy", "Come home soon," and "Be good for Aunt Dylan." As usual Dylan stood back and watched the scene with quiet longing.
Once they were gone she asked, "What do you guys want for dinner?" Pizza was the reply of three. The fourth, Hannah declared she wanted Chinese but once she caught the look in Dylan's eyes she decided she wanted pizza too. "Okay Hannah you order it, pepperoni and mushroom."
"But I hate mushrooms," whined Jack. Dylan rolled her eyes. It was never the same thing twice with the kids, last time it was Jack insisting they get mushrooms. She sighed, okay the "I'll miss you mommies" sounded worth it but she didn't know if she could take the everyday "kid stuff."
"Do any of you object to plain Pepperoni?" she asked picking up the receiver and passing it to Hannah. No objections were voiced so the girl called and ordered a large pepperoni pan pizza. It came and the kids ate quietly.well with the minimum ruckus. No food was thrown and no one kicked anyone from underneath the table. "Maybe tonight will be a good night after all," thought Dylan to herself.
Once dinner was over the boys went to play video games in the living room and Sarah to color some more. Hannah went to Dylan's den and cranked up the stereo. She was about to complain to the girl to turn it down when she realized it was Bon Jovi she was listening too. Instead she walked in. As she stood in the doorway Hannah turned and said, "Okay okay I'll turn it down. Geesh!"
"I wasn't going to tell you to turn it down I was going to ask if I could listen too," said Dylan. Hannah looked at her like she had grown a second head. "It is my music you know."
"Yeah but its Bon Jovi," said Hannah
"I know that."
"Well they are cool. I didn't know they had a new album out."
Dylan didn't mean to but she had to laugh. It was bad enough that kids thought all the cover versions were originals but to think that Bon Jovi was new and with Hannah being Natalie "Dancing Queen" Cook' daughter, Dylan was taken aback. "What is so funny?" asked the girl with indignation.
"It's not new. It's from when I was a teenager." "Living on a Prayer," came on and Dylan sang along, "Tommy used to work on the docks. The union went on strike he's down on his luck, its tough so tough." Soon Hannah was joining in but then a shrill little girl's scream tore through the air. Dylan dashed out of the den and into the living room where Sarah was standing with tears pouring down her face. She knelt down and wrapped her arms around the little girl. "What happened?" she asked.
"Jack pulled my hair."
"Did not!"
"Did so!"
"Did not! Did not! Did not!" yelled Jack.
Dylan picked the tiny five year old up and carried her to the couch. "Jack, keep your voice down," she said then looked at Steven. "So Steven did he?" Steven was a little on the intellectual side, "Okay he's a nerd," thought Dylan but he was a good kid. Steven looked between his Aunt Dylan and the other boy and said, "He didn't."
"Liar," cried Sarah.
"Why don't we all sit down and watch a disk or something," said Dylan placing Sarah on the couch and walking to the DVD player. "How 'bout 'The Little Mermaid'?" she asked. The boys said, "ewww".
"Ice age?" suggested Dylan.
"We've already seen that," complained Steven.
Jack walked over to the shelf with the DVD's and pulled out "Maximum Extreme". "I want to see this one." Dylan knew that Natalie and Alex would have a fit if she let them watch that one and it would probably give Sarah nightmares for a month. Salazar wasn't a man a little girl who adored pink should see before bed. Suddenly Hannah spoke up, "I have an idea." They all turned and looked at the blonde girl who tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Dylan," she had stopped calling her Aunt Dylan when she turned nine. "Why don't you tell us a story."
The request shocked the former angel. "A story?" Before she knew it all four of them were seated the boys, one on each side of the loveseat and Hannah was sitting in the big old arm chair with Sarah on her lap. How could she refuse? They were being good. She would have to do something special for Hannah for this one.
"Okay." she began not really knowing what to tell. Then she heard Bon Jovi still wailing in the background and it gave her an idea. "Hannah, go turn off the CD and I know a good story."
"With pirates?" asked Steven. At seven he was enthralled by the idea of pirates and read two copies of "Treasure Island" until the cover fell off.
"No it doesn't have pirates, but it has a man with a sword," said Dylan, "and a bad guy who can walk through fire."
"Princesses?" asked Sarah.
"Angles," said Dylan and as Hannah came back she began her tale.
*-*-*-*-*-*
"Years ago there were three angels who were private investigators and one day they were called to find some magical rings," said Dylan.
"This is a silly story," complained Jack. Dylan ignored him and continued. "The magical rings were in the possession of two people. The first was with a man named Carter. Carter was a police man of sorts called a US Marshal and someone had kidnapped him and taken him to a place called Mongolia."
"Where is that?" asked Sarah.
"North of China," whispered Hannah, "be quiet."
"The second one was a man by the name of William Rose Bailey." Dylan described how the angels infiltrated the bar in Mongolia. "One angel snuck in a crate. That allowed her to get to into the inner workings of the kidnappers hideout under the bar. The other played a game with some of the men to win their trust. The third distracted them with her talent of riding a mechanical yak."
"What's a yak?" asked Sarah.
"It's like a hairy cow," said Hannah becoming impatient.
"Ohhhhh," said Sarah as if the other girl solved a great mystery for her.
"Their plan was to find Carter and the ring and it worked too. Too bad the bad guys realized what they were doing and tried to stop them. The angels worked together. They kicked and punched and fended off their attackers. Finally they jumped out the windows but men were after them still. They hopped in a truck and sped a cross the top of a high dam but they had alerted their friends and at one end of the dam stood a man with a rocket launcher at the other a large tank."
"Cool," cried Jack.
Dylan continued ignoring his out burst. "The men fired but the angel.." "What did she look like?" asked Sarah.
"The angel?" asked Dylan. The little girl nodded. "The first angel looked a lot like your mommy, a very beautiful woman with shining black hair and a golden complexion. The second angel looked a lot like Hannah and Steven's mommy, with blond hair and blue eyes, and a dazzling smile."
"And the third?" asked Hannah with a knowing smile.
"The third..I guess we can make her like me, red hair and a tomboy. Anyway the men fired their rockets at the truck as the blonde angel climbed to the back to prepare the helicopter. The dark haired angel who was driving waited until she couldn't wait anymore then drove the truck off the dam." She told them how they put Carter in the helicopter and how she and Alex, or the brunette and red-headed angels held on to the outside and all of them managed to get away.
"Wow," said Jack, "it sounds like one of Dad's movies." Dylan smiled at the boy. She could imagine Jason telling his son all about the plot of his movies but knew the boy hadn't actually seen any of them. Alex wouldn't allow it. Actually she was surprised that Alex didn't complain about the kids watching "The Simpsons" earlier.
"So where is the man with the sword and why did the men want the rings?" asked Steven.
"I'm getting to that. The rings held a secret. You all know that when people do bad things like kill some one, or steal, they go to jail, right?" The kids all nodded. "Well before that happens they go to court where a judge hears about what they did from the people they did it to. Well sometimes bad people have friends who don't want them to go to jail and so when the person tells on them they try to hurt the person who told. Make sense?" The kids nodded again. "Well to make sure these people are safe," explained Dylan, "they get new names and addresses. And these rings had a list of who the people were and who they became after testifying.telling on the bad guys."
She told them about the first man from the list and how the angels had tracked the killer to the beach and then how they followed him to the Coal Bowl. This was probably Jack's favorite part of the story. He loved sports of all kinds. "So the bad guy was after Leo. The blonde angel joined the race to stop him but Emmers, he is the guy from the beach, but Emmers entered the race too and got ahead of her. He would kick and knock the other competitors out of the way so he could get to the lead biker, Leo. When the angels knew he would be hard to stop the other two jumped in never seeing the mysterious biker in black." She went on telling them how the angels chased Leo and Emmers through the course dodging his bullets. "But as he pulled his gun and was about to shoot Leo, the mysterious biker saved the boys life."
"A boy?" asked Hannah. "I thought he was after men."
"He was after men and women and in Leo's case a fifteen year old boy." She smiled as she thought about how Max became the first male angel. She wondered what the kids would say if they knew that Uncle Max was Leo. "The to make matters worse they let the most evil man of all out of prison; a large tattooed man, but good looking, named Seamus O'Grady." She told the rest of the story as the night wore on. The kids asked intermittent questions here and there but for the most part listened enthralled by the tale. None of them even noticed that they were being watched.
The Thin Man sat at the top of Dylan's stairway and listened. He closed his eyes as her laugh tinkled through the house to his ears. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette. Lighting it he inhaled. He was careful not to leave ashes but he wondered what caused him to tempt fate so openly by smoking. Occasionally he wondered if she was ever going to get the lock on her bedroom window fixed. It worried him that she hadn't done so and he could still come in the same way to observe her after all the years. He adjusted his position and heard the step he was sitting on creak and hoped they hadn't heard it.
She was getting to the part of the story where they had discovered where the sale of the rings was going to take place. Then she stopped. Anthony snapped to attention, he wanted to make a quick get away should he need to. Then he heard her say, "Looks like the little ones are asleep."
"Yeah," replied Hannah as she slid out from underneath Sarah. "Do you think there is room on the loveseat for her?"
"Let's put her next to her brother" said Dylan helping move the sleeping child. She knew Sarah; the girl became heavier than a ton of bricks when she was asleep. Once the kids were covered up with the throw blanket that Dylan kept on the back of the couch she said, "I'm going to get a drink you want anything?"
"Just a soda," replied Hannah. "I'll get them."
Anthony heard the girl run to the kitchen and breathed a sigh of relief. He carefully walked down the stairs and peered around the corner. Dylan was kneeling next to the loveseat stroking the little girl's hair. He had been watching her, protecting her since the night on the roof top twelve years before. He often wondered why she didn't find herself someone who respected her enough and settle down but he knew the reason and had seen it many times. Despite her strength she didn't have enough respect for herself not to find the worst men, usually control freaks and criminals. Every time he breathed a sigh of relief when she realized they only loved her because they could hurt her. He ducked back out of sight as Hannah came around the corner.
"So are you going to finish the story?" she asked handing the glass of soda to Dylan.
"The kids are asleep."
"Maybe they are but I'm not," she said sitting back in the armchair with her legs folded under her. "After all I want to hear if the angels get the rings back."
"I'm sure you know the story already," said Dylan.
"Mom doesn't talk about her old cases much. I know it because I was.now promise you won't tell." Dylan looked at her puzzled. "Promise!"
"Ok I won't tell. What did you do?"
"I looked through mom's old diaries. I didn't mean to. I was looking for something in the attic and found them in a box. So tell me more about the guy with the sword. She refers to him as "The Creepy Thin Man."".
Anthony moved into a position where he could hear them better. "He wasn't that creepy. Maybe a bit odd," said Dylan.
"In her diary mom said you kissed him."
Dylan got a far away look in her eyes then shook out of it. "You want to hear the end of the story then?" Enthusiastically Hannah shook her head yes.
"We disguised ourselves and sent all the gangs and crime families to the top of the Roosevelt Hotel where they were arrested for conspiracy to obstruct justice. Too bad one of the crime families didn't make it there."
"Seamus?"she asked.
"Seamus, but I'll get to that. So your mom, Alex and I found Madison Lee waiting on the rooftop of the Los Angeles Theater. She had a plan B- for bombs. The roof was rigged with explosives but before she could use them Seamus and his family kicked open the door and I remember him yelling, 'I'd know that arse anywhere you piece of shite.' She said Seamus' line in her best Irish accent and Hannah giggled. "He fired his shot gun at me. I ran to the sign hoping to avoid the shells by ducking behind the scaffolding. Your mom took on Madison alone and Alex fought with the other members for the O'Grady family."
Hannah sat here listening intently to the story. It was one thing having read bits and pieces in her mom's diary but to actually hear it out loud. It was something else. She only wished she could be half as tough as they were when she grew up.
"One of the O'Grady's managed to get a shot off and hit the 'E' on the theater sign. As it fell across the alley sparks flew and I jumped; unfortunately Seamus caught me. He was strong and pinned me to the roof ledge choking me. He head butted me- hard. The world swam and I saw spots in front of my eyes." Hannah watched as tears welled up in Dylan's eyes. "Suddenly I was free of his grasp and I tried to catch my breath. Then he pulled me up, Anthony, the Creepy Thin Man. The anger in his eyes frightened me and he must have realized it because the look on his face softened and before I knew it he was kissing me and I was kissing him."
"Wow! But you said before he had tried to kill you all."
"He did. I don't know why but after the way he saved Leo and what we learned about him when we visited the orphanage I guess I realized there was more to him than a killer."
"So was it good? The kiss was it good?"
Dylan thought a minute her mind returning to the night twelve years before on the theater roof top. "Actually it was spectacular."
"Really?" squealed Hannah. Dylan placed her finger to her lips and said "Sshhh." Then quieter she said, "Really. Now it's your turn to keep a secret."
"My lips are sealed." She pulled an imaginary zipper across them, made a locking motion and then threw away the imaginary key.
"Good." She said then hesitated before saying. "I fell in love with him." Dylan could hardly believe the relief that went through her when she said that. She had never spoken the words out loud about Anthony before and now she wondered why she didn't before. That, she realized was the reason none of her other relationships worked out, it was because she had been in love with someone else.
Anthony had to grab the wall to keep from falling over at her declaration. He never thought she could have felt the same way for him. He had stayed away and now he felt foolish. He had to make amends.
"Wow! That is so romantic," said Hannah bouncing in the chair.
Just then the door swung open and Alex and Natalie entered. "What is so romantic?" asked her mom.
"Nothing," said Hannah.
"Did you have a good night, Dylan?"
"Yeah, the kids were little angels."
Alex and Natalie looked at each other skeptically and with Hannah's help gathered the sleeping kids up and carried them out to the waiting cars. They all called their good-byes and Dylan went into the kitchen to clean up.
*-*-*-*-*
The dishes from dinner were still on the table and dirty glasses abounded. "I wish just once they would learn to use the same cup more than once," she said sighing and placing them in the sink. Then she turned out the light and trudged up the stairs to bed.
As she climbed up the stairs she smelled it; the rich scent of tobacco. She closed her eyes. She had smelled that scent on and off for the past twelve years. The first few times it happened she thought it might be him and she called out to him to reveal himself. He never did. It had been a possibility though since his body hadn't been recovered from the alleyway. However she never saw him or had any proof that he was there other than the scent of his tobacco in the air. After a few years she decided that it was her mind playing tricks on her and she hated when that happened and tonight it seemed to be working over time. It had never smelled that strongly before but maybe it was because she was over tired and had been thinking about him that evening.
She pulled her shirt off and put the old t-shirt that she slept in on and a pair of boxer shorts. Standing in front of the mirror on the dresser top she brushed her hair. She noticed the medallion there. She picked it up and it spun around on the chain. She watched it almost hypnotically. As she placed it back on the dresser she saw him standing behind her. She held his eyes in the mirror afraid that if she turned around he would be gone. "Anthony?" she whispered. He hadn't changed much. There were two shocks of white beginning to form at each temple but his face was unlined and un- aged.
She watched in the mirror as he stepped closer to her and felt the cool skin of his finger tips brush the hair away from her neck. She half expected him to pull it but instead he placed his lips against the tender flesh near her jugular. He gently sucked and she could feel the start of the bruising of the mark he was leaving behind. She moaned in pleasure. She had wished for this for so many years and now he was there with her. Her brain called out, "Where has he been for twelve years? Why is he here now?" but her heart answered, "Who cares as long as he doesn't leave again."
She tried to turn and face him but he didn't let her. Instead still kissing her neck he grasped the bottom of her shirt in both hands and eased it up ward. He moved his head out of the way so he could remove her shirt the rest of the way. As he did she turned to face him and crossed her arms over her breasts. "Where.." She began but he placed his finger to her lips and shook his head. She nodded. She wanted to talk to him; she wanted to know what he was going to say to her all those years ago before Seamus stabbed him with his own sword.
He shook his head again. Anything she had to say could wait a few minutes maybe even a few hours. Right now he wanted to claim her as his. He had waited long enough and wondered why he had. She was so beautiful he thought looking her slim form up and down appreciatively.
Dylan reached out and loosened the knot of his tie and dropped it to the floor. Then she stared to ease him out of the dark suit jacket. It dropped to the floor in a crumpled heap. He looked down at it and she said, "Leave it," and moved her hands to the buttons of his shirt. She had only gotten the first two done when he grabbed her hands in his stopping her from going further. She looked into his eyes are realized the problem, the scar on his chest, he didn't want her to see it. "It's okay, let me." He shook his head but didn't try to stop her again. Her petite fingers undid the buttons of the white silk shirt. As she opened the shirt the scar wasn't nearly as bad as she had imagined it would be. It was a flat vertical mark that was lighter if that was possible than the rest of his skin. She slowly lowered her head, her eyes not leaving his until they had to and kissed it.
Anthony closed his eyes. What was she doing? What was he doing? He didn't know. She looked up at him and smiled. "I have so many questions," she said. He was sure she did. "How long have you been watching me?" He looked at her surprised. "I've smelled the cigarettes before you know." He knew. He remembered the first time he had come back after he had healed; he sat on her bed waiting for her but when he heard her key in the lock he ran. "I thought I was going crazy; imagining you around every corner, expecting to see you during every case, but I wasn't going crazy was I? You were there the whole time."
He nodded. He tried to will the words to come to him. He wanted to tell her he was always there for her. Dylan continued, "You are why I didn't die on the Buckley case aren't you?" She was referring to a case the angels had right before Natalie discovered she was expecting Hannah. Dylan had gone in but it was a trap, she was knocked unconscious and when she awoke she was blindfolded and strapped to a table. The bad guy, a man named William Buckley, no relation to the columnist, was a sadist that liked kidnapping and dissecting young women for fun. She didn't know how she got out of the warehouse where he had her tied up but she had been found unharmed and Buckley found dead; shot by a Lugar pistol. Anthony slowly nodded again.
"It was you when Hannah was missing as a baby. When she was stolen by Natalie's high school rival you are the one who found her?" Suddenly events of the past were becoming explained. Things that they had taken for granted as strokes of good luck weren't luck at all but their guardian angel. She sat down on the bed and looked at him. "I guess I don't understand," she said, "Why didn't you tell me you were alive?"
Anthony didn't answer that. Even if he spoke he didn't think he could explain. Instead he fumbled through the pile that was his jacket on the floor and found his fountain pen and small notepad. "I'm here now," he wrote and handed it to her. She gave him a half smile and sighed. She only could hope that he would still be there when she woke up in the morning and if not she knew he would still be around, watching out for all of them.
*-*-*-*-*
"Are you sure you'll be okay Dylan?" they asked her that question every time and every time she was more than okay. She loved the kids and there were usual skirmishes but nothing she couldn't handle. Right now the three oldest were being perfect little angels and sitting on the couch watching "The Simpsons." The youngest was in the dining room coloring in different shades of pink in her Barbie coloring book humming what could have been the theme to "Sesame Street".
Alex placed a hand on her swollen stomach and smiled, "Just think Dylan, next time you baby sit there will be another one for you to watch." Dylan watched as Jason beamed at his wife of nine years bent down and said, "And he is going to be a professional baseball player isn't he? Yes you are," in baby talk to Alex's stomach. Alex moaned but quickly recovered and said, "More like a football player by the way he kicks." They all laughed at that.
Alex and Jason already had two children. The youngest of the four she was watching was theirs. Her name was Sarah. She had big brown eyes and wavy black hair and at five years old was way too quiet. At least that was Dylan's opinion. Her brother on the other hand a rambunctious eight year old named Jack. She remembered how Alex and Jason fought over what to name their first. Alex wanted to name him Emmett after her father but Jason had complained that it wasn't manly enough. That little argument almost ended their relationship right then and there, but Dylan managed to get them to agree to the name Jack Emmett Gibons and both parents walked away happy.
"Now Dylan," said Natalie, "remember to keep Steven away from all sugar products. All they do is make him hyper."
"Natalie," thought Dylan, "What the mom!" She really didn't know how she managed with Steven and Hannah. Steven was a good kid, well behaved unless he ate sugary foods but Hannah; well Dylan was just surprised that Natalie wasn't grey from the eleven year old going on sixteen. To say Hannah was precocious was an understatement. From the moment she turned nine she thought she was a teenager. Her parents had been called to the school more than once because she had been caught smoking in the girls room. Natalie often wondered to Dylan what she did wrong and blamed it on not leaving the angels soon enough after the little girl was born. Dylan and Alex both tried to reassure her it was nothing but a phase. Dylan could remember when she was that age she wanted nothing more than to be grown up too. That was why she and Hannah got along so well, Dylan understood where she was coming from.
"Now are you sure you are going to be okay?" They asked her again and she said it with them. It was routine. "Yes you guys now go. You'll be late for your reservation," she said shooing them out the door. Tonight the four were going to Chez Limone to celebrate their wedding anniversary. They weren't married on the same day or the same year but close enough that they decided it was more fun to celebrate all together. Natalie and Alex often joked that when Dylan got married it would have to be in the same month so then become a sextet. She laughed and agreed with them every time but Dylan didn't see it happening anytime soon. She had been involved in one failed relationship after another, always finding something wrong with each of the men before it could get serious. She knew that her friends worried about her but she was content with managing the consulting business they had started together after leaving the agency.
"Okay kids were going now," called Alex. Soon the doorway was filled with "I'll miss you mommy", "Come home soon," and "Be good for Aunt Dylan." As usual Dylan stood back and watched the scene with quiet longing.
Once they were gone she asked, "What do you guys want for dinner?" Pizza was the reply of three. The fourth, Hannah declared she wanted Chinese but once she caught the look in Dylan's eyes she decided she wanted pizza too. "Okay Hannah you order it, pepperoni and mushroom."
"But I hate mushrooms," whined Jack. Dylan rolled her eyes. It was never the same thing twice with the kids, last time it was Jack insisting they get mushrooms. She sighed, okay the "I'll miss you mommies" sounded worth it but she didn't know if she could take the everyday "kid stuff."
"Do any of you object to plain Pepperoni?" she asked picking up the receiver and passing it to Hannah. No objections were voiced so the girl called and ordered a large pepperoni pan pizza. It came and the kids ate quietly.well with the minimum ruckus. No food was thrown and no one kicked anyone from underneath the table. "Maybe tonight will be a good night after all," thought Dylan to herself.
Once dinner was over the boys went to play video games in the living room and Sarah to color some more. Hannah went to Dylan's den and cranked up the stereo. She was about to complain to the girl to turn it down when she realized it was Bon Jovi she was listening too. Instead she walked in. As she stood in the doorway Hannah turned and said, "Okay okay I'll turn it down. Geesh!"
"I wasn't going to tell you to turn it down I was going to ask if I could listen too," said Dylan. Hannah looked at her like she had grown a second head. "It is my music you know."
"Yeah but its Bon Jovi," said Hannah
"I know that."
"Well they are cool. I didn't know they had a new album out."
Dylan didn't mean to but she had to laugh. It was bad enough that kids thought all the cover versions were originals but to think that Bon Jovi was new and with Hannah being Natalie "Dancing Queen" Cook' daughter, Dylan was taken aback. "What is so funny?" asked the girl with indignation.
"It's not new. It's from when I was a teenager." "Living on a Prayer," came on and Dylan sang along, "Tommy used to work on the docks. The union went on strike he's down on his luck, its tough so tough." Soon Hannah was joining in but then a shrill little girl's scream tore through the air. Dylan dashed out of the den and into the living room where Sarah was standing with tears pouring down her face. She knelt down and wrapped her arms around the little girl. "What happened?" she asked.
"Jack pulled my hair."
"Did not!"
"Did so!"
"Did not! Did not! Did not!" yelled Jack.
Dylan picked the tiny five year old up and carried her to the couch. "Jack, keep your voice down," she said then looked at Steven. "So Steven did he?" Steven was a little on the intellectual side, "Okay he's a nerd," thought Dylan but he was a good kid. Steven looked between his Aunt Dylan and the other boy and said, "He didn't."
"Liar," cried Sarah.
"Why don't we all sit down and watch a disk or something," said Dylan placing Sarah on the couch and walking to the DVD player. "How 'bout 'The Little Mermaid'?" she asked. The boys said, "ewww".
"Ice age?" suggested Dylan.
"We've already seen that," complained Steven.
Jack walked over to the shelf with the DVD's and pulled out "Maximum Extreme". "I want to see this one." Dylan knew that Natalie and Alex would have a fit if she let them watch that one and it would probably give Sarah nightmares for a month. Salazar wasn't a man a little girl who adored pink should see before bed. Suddenly Hannah spoke up, "I have an idea." They all turned and looked at the blonde girl who tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Dylan," she had stopped calling her Aunt Dylan when she turned nine. "Why don't you tell us a story."
The request shocked the former angel. "A story?" Before she knew it all four of them were seated the boys, one on each side of the loveseat and Hannah was sitting in the big old arm chair with Sarah on her lap. How could she refuse? They were being good. She would have to do something special for Hannah for this one.
"Okay." she began not really knowing what to tell. Then she heard Bon Jovi still wailing in the background and it gave her an idea. "Hannah, go turn off the CD and I know a good story."
"With pirates?" asked Steven. At seven he was enthralled by the idea of pirates and read two copies of "Treasure Island" until the cover fell off.
"No it doesn't have pirates, but it has a man with a sword," said Dylan, "and a bad guy who can walk through fire."
"Princesses?" asked Sarah.
"Angles," said Dylan and as Hannah came back she began her tale.
*-*-*-*-*-*
"Years ago there were three angels who were private investigators and one day they were called to find some magical rings," said Dylan.
"This is a silly story," complained Jack. Dylan ignored him and continued. "The magical rings were in the possession of two people. The first was with a man named Carter. Carter was a police man of sorts called a US Marshal and someone had kidnapped him and taken him to a place called Mongolia."
"Where is that?" asked Sarah.
"North of China," whispered Hannah, "be quiet."
"The second one was a man by the name of William Rose Bailey." Dylan described how the angels infiltrated the bar in Mongolia. "One angel snuck in a crate. That allowed her to get to into the inner workings of the kidnappers hideout under the bar. The other played a game with some of the men to win their trust. The third distracted them with her talent of riding a mechanical yak."
"What's a yak?" asked Sarah.
"It's like a hairy cow," said Hannah becoming impatient.
"Ohhhhh," said Sarah as if the other girl solved a great mystery for her.
"Their plan was to find Carter and the ring and it worked too. Too bad the bad guys realized what they were doing and tried to stop them. The angels worked together. They kicked and punched and fended off their attackers. Finally they jumped out the windows but men were after them still. They hopped in a truck and sped a cross the top of a high dam but they had alerted their friends and at one end of the dam stood a man with a rocket launcher at the other a large tank."
"Cool," cried Jack.
Dylan continued ignoring his out burst. "The men fired but the angel.." "What did she look like?" asked Sarah.
"The angel?" asked Dylan. The little girl nodded. "The first angel looked a lot like your mommy, a very beautiful woman with shining black hair and a golden complexion. The second angel looked a lot like Hannah and Steven's mommy, with blond hair and blue eyes, and a dazzling smile."
"And the third?" asked Hannah with a knowing smile.
"The third..I guess we can make her like me, red hair and a tomboy. Anyway the men fired their rockets at the truck as the blonde angel climbed to the back to prepare the helicopter. The dark haired angel who was driving waited until she couldn't wait anymore then drove the truck off the dam." She told them how they put Carter in the helicopter and how she and Alex, or the brunette and red-headed angels held on to the outside and all of them managed to get away.
"Wow," said Jack, "it sounds like one of Dad's movies." Dylan smiled at the boy. She could imagine Jason telling his son all about the plot of his movies but knew the boy hadn't actually seen any of them. Alex wouldn't allow it. Actually she was surprised that Alex didn't complain about the kids watching "The Simpsons" earlier.
"So where is the man with the sword and why did the men want the rings?" asked Steven.
"I'm getting to that. The rings held a secret. You all know that when people do bad things like kill some one, or steal, they go to jail, right?" The kids all nodded. "Well before that happens they go to court where a judge hears about what they did from the people they did it to. Well sometimes bad people have friends who don't want them to go to jail and so when the person tells on them they try to hurt the person who told. Make sense?" The kids nodded again. "Well to make sure these people are safe," explained Dylan, "they get new names and addresses. And these rings had a list of who the people were and who they became after testifying.telling on the bad guys."
She told them about the first man from the list and how the angels had tracked the killer to the beach and then how they followed him to the Coal Bowl. This was probably Jack's favorite part of the story. He loved sports of all kinds. "So the bad guy was after Leo. The blonde angel joined the race to stop him but Emmers, he is the guy from the beach, but Emmers entered the race too and got ahead of her. He would kick and knock the other competitors out of the way so he could get to the lead biker, Leo. When the angels knew he would be hard to stop the other two jumped in never seeing the mysterious biker in black." She went on telling them how the angels chased Leo and Emmers through the course dodging his bullets. "But as he pulled his gun and was about to shoot Leo, the mysterious biker saved the boys life."
"A boy?" asked Hannah. "I thought he was after men."
"He was after men and women and in Leo's case a fifteen year old boy." She smiled as she thought about how Max became the first male angel. She wondered what the kids would say if they knew that Uncle Max was Leo. "The to make matters worse they let the most evil man of all out of prison; a large tattooed man, but good looking, named Seamus O'Grady." She told the rest of the story as the night wore on. The kids asked intermittent questions here and there but for the most part listened enthralled by the tale. None of them even noticed that they were being watched.
The Thin Man sat at the top of Dylan's stairway and listened. He closed his eyes as her laugh tinkled through the house to his ears. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette. Lighting it he inhaled. He was careful not to leave ashes but he wondered what caused him to tempt fate so openly by smoking. Occasionally he wondered if she was ever going to get the lock on her bedroom window fixed. It worried him that she hadn't done so and he could still come in the same way to observe her after all the years. He adjusted his position and heard the step he was sitting on creak and hoped they hadn't heard it.
She was getting to the part of the story where they had discovered where the sale of the rings was going to take place. Then she stopped. Anthony snapped to attention, he wanted to make a quick get away should he need to. Then he heard her say, "Looks like the little ones are asleep."
"Yeah," replied Hannah as she slid out from underneath Sarah. "Do you think there is room on the loveseat for her?"
"Let's put her next to her brother" said Dylan helping move the sleeping child. She knew Sarah; the girl became heavier than a ton of bricks when she was asleep. Once the kids were covered up with the throw blanket that Dylan kept on the back of the couch she said, "I'm going to get a drink you want anything?"
"Just a soda," replied Hannah. "I'll get them."
Anthony heard the girl run to the kitchen and breathed a sigh of relief. He carefully walked down the stairs and peered around the corner. Dylan was kneeling next to the loveseat stroking the little girl's hair. He had been watching her, protecting her since the night on the roof top twelve years before. He often wondered why she didn't find herself someone who respected her enough and settle down but he knew the reason and had seen it many times. Despite her strength she didn't have enough respect for herself not to find the worst men, usually control freaks and criminals. Every time he breathed a sigh of relief when she realized they only loved her because they could hurt her. He ducked back out of sight as Hannah came around the corner.
"So are you going to finish the story?" she asked handing the glass of soda to Dylan.
"The kids are asleep."
"Maybe they are but I'm not," she said sitting back in the armchair with her legs folded under her. "After all I want to hear if the angels get the rings back."
"I'm sure you know the story already," said Dylan.
"Mom doesn't talk about her old cases much. I know it because I was.now promise you won't tell." Dylan looked at her puzzled. "Promise!"
"Ok I won't tell. What did you do?"
"I looked through mom's old diaries. I didn't mean to. I was looking for something in the attic and found them in a box. So tell me more about the guy with the sword. She refers to him as "The Creepy Thin Man."".
Anthony moved into a position where he could hear them better. "He wasn't that creepy. Maybe a bit odd," said Dylan.
"In her diary mom said you kissed him."
Dylan got a far away look in her eyes then shook out of it. "You want to hear the end of the story then?" Enthusiastically Hannah shook her head yes.
"We disguised ourselves and sent all the gangs and crime families to the top of the Roosevelt Hotel where they were arrested for conspiracy to obstruct justice. Too bad one of the crime families didn't make it there."
"Seamus?"she asked.
"Seamus, but I'll get to that. So your mom, Alex and I found Madison Lee waiting on the rooftop of the Los Angeles Theater. She had a plan B- for bombs. The roof was rigged with explosives but before she could use them Seamus and his family kicked open the door and I remember him yelling, 'I'd know that arse anywhere you piece of shite.' She said Seamus' line in her best Irish accent and Hannah giggled. "He fired his shot gun at me. I ran to the sign hoping to avoid the shells by ducking behind the scaffolding. Your mom took on Madison alone and Alex fought with the other members for the O'Grady family."
Hannah sat here listening intently to the story. It was one thing having read bits and pieces in her mom's diary but to actually hear it out loud. It was something else. She only wished she could be half as tough as they were when she grew up.
"One of the O'Grady's managed to get a shot off and hit the 'E' on the theater sign. As it fell across the alley sparks flew and I jumped; unfortunately Seamus caught me. He was strong and pinned me to the roof ledge choking me. He head butted me- hard. The world swam and I saw spots in front of my eyes." Hannah watched as tears welled up in Dylan's eyes. "Suddenly I was free of his grasp and I tried to catch my breath. Then he pulled me up, Anthony, the Creepy Thin Man. The anger in his eyes frightened me and he must have realized it because the look on his face softened and before I knew it he was kissing me and I was kissing him."
"Wow! But you said before he had tried to kill you all."
"He did. I don't know why but after the way he saved Leo and what we learned about him when we visited the orphanage I guess I realized there was more to him than a killer."
"So was it good? The kiss was it good?"
Dylan thought a minute her mind returning to the night twelve years before on the theater roof top. "Actually it was spectacular."
"Really?" squealed Hannah. Dylan placed her finger to her lips and said "Sshhh." Then quieter she said, "Really. Now it's your turn to keep a secret."
"My lips are sealed." She pulled an imaginary zipper across them, made a locking motion and then threw away the imaginary key.
"Good." She said then hesitated before saying. "I fell in love with him." Dylan could hardly believe the relief that went through her when she said that. She had never spoken the words out loud about Anthony before and now she wondered why she didn't before. That, she realized was the reason none of her other relationships worked out, it was because she had been in love with someone else.
Anthony had to grab the wall to keep from falling over at her declaration. He never thought she could have felt the same way for him. He had stayed away and now he felt foolish. He had to make amends.
"Wow! That is so romantic," said Hannah bouncing in the chair.
Just then the door swung open and Alex and Natalie entered. "What is so romantic?" asked her mom.
"Nothing," said Hannah.
"Did you have a good night, Dylan?"
"Yeah, the kids were little angels."
Alex and Natalie looked at each other skeptically and with Hannah's help gathered the sleeping kids up and carried them out to the waiting cars. They all called their good-byes and Dylan went into the kitchen to clean up.
*-*-*-*-*
The dishes from dinner were still on the table and dirty glasses abounded. "I wish just once they would learn to use the same cup more than once," she said sighing and placing them in the sink. Then she turned out the light and trudged up the stairs to bed.
As she climbed up the stairs she smelled it; the rich scent of tobacco. She closed her eyes. She had smelled that scent on and off for the past twelve years. The first few times it happened she thought it might be him and she called out to him to reveal himself. He never did. It had been a possibility though since his body hadn't been recovered from the alleyway. However she never saw him or had any proof that he was there other than the scent of his tobacco in the air. After a few years she decided that it was her mind playing tricks on her and she hated when that happened and tonight it seemed to be working over time. It had never smelled that strongly before but maybe it was because she was over tired and had been thinking about him that evening.
She pulled her shirt off and put the old t-shirt that she slept in on and a pair of boxer shorts. Standing in front of the mirror on the dresser top she brushed her hair. She noticed the medallion there. She picked it up and it spun around on the chain. She watched it almost hypnotically. As she placed it back on the dresser she saw him standing behind her. She held his eyes in the mirror afraid that if she turned around he would be gone. "Anthony?" she whispered. He hadn't changed much. There were two shocks of white beginning to form at each temple but his face was unlined and un- aged.
She watched in the mirror as he stepped closer to her and felt the cool skin of his finger tips brush the hair away from her neck. She half expected him to pull it but instead he placed his lips against the tender flesh near her jugular. He gently sucked and she could feel the start of the bruising of the mark he was leaving behind. She moaned in pleasure. She had wished for this for so many years and now he was there with her. Her brain called out, "Where has he been for twelve years? Why is he here now?" but her heart answered, "Who cares as long as he doesn't leave again."
She tried to turn and face him but he didn't let her. Instead still kissing her neck he grasped the bottom of her shirt in both hands and eased it up ward. He moved his head out of the way so he could remove her shirt the rest of the way. As he did she turned to face him and crossed her arms over her breasts. "Where.." She began but he placed his finger to her lips and shook his head. She nodded. She wanted to talk to him; she wanted to know what he was going to say to her all those years ago before Seamus stabbed him with his own sword.
He shook his head again. Anything she had to say could wait a few minutes maybe even a few hours. Right now he wanted to claim her as his. He had waited long enough and wondered why he had. She was so beautiful he thought looking her slim form up and down appreciatively.
Dylan reached out and loosened the knot of his tie and dropped it to the floor. Then she stared to ease him out of the dark suit jacket. It dropped to the floor in a crumpled heap. He looked down at it and she said, "Leave it," and moved her hands to the buttons of his shirt. She had only gotten the first two done when he grabbed her hands in his stopping her from going further. She looked into his eyes are realized the problem, the scar on his chest, he didn't want her to see it. "It's okay, let me." He shook his head but didn't try to stop her again. Her petite fingers undid the buttons of the white silk shirt. As she opened the shirt the scar wasn't nearly as bad as she had imagined it would be. It was a flat vertical mark that was lighter if that was possible than the rest of his skin. She slowly lowered her head, her eyes not leaving his until they had to and kissed it.
Anthony closed his eyes. What was she doing? What was he doing? He didn't know. She looked up at him and smiled. "I have so many questions," she said. He was sure she did. "How long have you been watching me?" He looked at her surprised. "I've smelled the cigarettes before you know." He knew. He remembered the first time he had come back after he had healed; he sat on her bed waiting for her but when he heard her key in the lock he ran. "I thought I was going crazy; imagining you around every corner, expecting to see you during every case, but I wasn't going crazy was I? You were there the whole time."
He nodded. He tried to will the words to come to him. He wanted to tell her he was always there for her. Dylan continued, "You are why I didn't die on the Buckley case aren't you?" She was referring to a case the angels had right before Natalie discovered she was expecting Hannah. Dylan had gone in but it was a trap, she was knocked unconscious and when she awoke she was blindfolded and strapped to a table. The bad guy, a man named William Buckley, no relation to the columnist, was a sadist that liked kidnapping and dissecting young women for fun. She didn't know how she got out of the warehouse where he had her tied up but she had been found unharmed and Buckley found dead; shot by a Lugar pistol. Anthony slowly nodded again.
"It was you when Hannah was missing as a baby. When she was stolen by Natalie's high school rival you are the one who found her?" Suddenly events of the past were becoming explained. Things that they had taken for granted as strokes of good luck weren't luck at all but their guardian angel. She sat down on the bed and looked at him. "I guess I don't understand," she said, "Why didn't you tell me you were alive?"
Anthony didn't answer that. Even if he spoke he didn't think he could explain. Instead he fumbled through the pile that was his jacket on the floor and found his fountain pen and small notepad. "I'm here now," he wrote and handed it to her. She gave him a half smile and sighed. She only could hope that he would still be there when she woke up in the morning and if not she knew he would still be around, watching out for all of them.