A Cold Day In Hell

“I approve of sharing information.”

So if Angel didn’t toss the man a bone…some sort of supposedly interesting detail, there wouldn’t be any useful insight coming his way, either. “I’m making my home in Pointe Judah. Sonny is my nephew and he’s living with me. He’s been having problems settling down. Know what I mean? Teenage stuff.”

Chuzah shrugged. “I prefer high places,” he said. “Do you understand?”

“No,” Angel said honestly.

“My home is a high place. It’s peaceful up here. When I attend to my physical fitness, I use high places. Preferably trees. My skills are extraordinary. Some might say I fly.”

“I see.” Angel didn’t.

“Is the lovely Eileen your wife?”

Angel sucked in a breath. “No.”

“So Aaron isn’t related to you?”

“No.”

“But the lovely lady is your lover.”

“So far you’re batting zero.” Angel sighed. “Unfortunately.”

“Is Eileen your friend?”

“Yes.”

“But you would like her to be a closer friend. You are wanting sex with her?”

Angel puffed up his cheeks but wouldn’t let himself look away from the man. This was a test, he was sure of it, and he didn’t want to fail. “Yes, I am.”

“She’s luscious.”

“Hey—”

“A compliment, Angel. You have outstanding taste in womanly flesh. And she may even have a strong mind—or so her eyes suggest.”

“Is there a point here?” Angel said.

Chuzah folded his hands behind his head and looked to the ceiling. “If I am to help, I must understand all these currents I feel passing between the subjects. But—” he leaned forward abruptly, his handsome face stern “—there is a great deal at stake. There are those who wish harm. Not simple harm, but ultimate harm. You would do well to humor me.

“Now I understand what I feel between you and the woman, I can separate it from the other currents. Strong passion can cloud the messages that come to me. You may do well to consummate—”

“I don’t need your advice on how to deal with my personal affairs.”

“Of course not. But she is deeply disturbed. She desires you as much as you desire her. And you will not be disappointed with her nor she with you. You will ignite great fires together.”

Holy hell. “Is that right?”

“Without doubt. But there are other currents. I don’t understand all of them yet, but I will. Others I read very well now that you have explained some issues to me.

“I can tell you that the lovely Eileen fears she will lose you if you do not become lovers. But you will have to be the, er, aggressor, because she is tied by her duty to the boy. She will sacrifice her chances for satisfaction unless you prove to her that it is right for the two of you to find mutual heaven.” Chuzah rolled his eyes then closed them. “If you could see what I see, you would not waste another moment. Her naked body is your vessel to fill, your ecstasy. Her breasts like white melons tipped dusky dark and only waiting for your lips, your teeth. When your manroot sinks slowly into her for the first time, the she-creature will explode with passion. She will draw you in again and again, scratch your skin, sob out her desire for more and more of you, until—”

“Right,” Angel said, finally finding a voice. “It won’t be easy, but trust me to—”

“Exactly. And I am fascinated by your strengths. Both those you have learned and those with which you were born.”

Angel cleared away any expression, a skill he’d learned when he was in the CIA, a part of his life he preferred to ignore.

“An important man to have around,” Chuzah said. “Your visions, are they as strong as ever?”

Angel’s heart made a momentary full stop. How did this man know anything about Angel’s premonitions or his ability to visualize trouble already in action? He was doing his best to forget these unwelcome gifts and he’d been doing well since he left the CIA. Until very recently, that was. Vague hints of the old plague had started to return.

“Not as strong, but nevertheless still with you?” Chuzah said. “Good. They will be useful, more than useful. They may save…I have smelled death.”

“Do you always talk in code?” Angel wanted to drop the subject. “Not that you’re right about me.” He knew he didn’t sound convincing but Chuzah had caught him off guard.

“I will be very clear.” Chuzah glanced toward the bedroom. “Soon there will be questions from your woman. We must finish. What has happened is not as it appears. The injury to Aaron was minor—no more than a small bruise or two.”

“When Sonny came for us he said Aaron was bleeding badly.”

Chuzah shrugged. “He saw blood—probably from a cut somewhere. He thought it must be serious, no more.”

Angel glanced away. “There’s blood on Sonny’s clothes.”

“What we know, we know,” Chuzah said softly. “But it’s best that the truth be denied. The injury was intended to be deadly. What I don’t know is which boy was supposed to die.”

“Damn,” Angel said under his breath.

“But you knew there was doubt,” Chuzah said. “Or you suspected it.” Locum rose from the floor abruptly, loped to Angel and looked up into his face. A faint scent, wood-smoke, hovered around the animal and his silvery-blue eyes didn’t blink. Angel felt the hair rise on the back of his neck.

“You cannot deny your intuition,” Chuzah said. “See how Locum feels it. Down, boy.”

“What is it you want to tell me?” Angel said.

“You believe Sonny is in danger?”

“I wish I didn’t.”

“I was in the trees when the trouble came,” Chuzah said. He stood up, breathing deeply, expanding his big chest. “Meditating. I saw the boys. They meant no harm. Curiosity about the practices is common.”

“Boys will be boys?” Angel said, biting his tongue, but wanting to hurry the man to the point.

“Mmm. That one who was quiet. The one you say is your nephew.”

“Sonny.”

“He is not your nephew. You are not related.”