Chapter forty-one

K evin’s Diner was unusually busy that afternoon. The

booths were overflowing, the dining room filled with the

chatter and laughter of customers. In the corner the dusty

TV crackled, tuned, as usual, to ANN. A snowy-bearded anchor

announced the day’s top story.

“Breaking news: the identity of the teen responsible

for three Angel murders has been released. Ethan McKinley

of Angel City was being held without bail in a Los

Angeles jail but died in a mysterious incident authorities

are currently investigating. In a related story, rumors are

swirling that Jackson Godspeed was injured in last week’s

incident following his Commissioning. Mark Godspeed as

well as Jacks’s publicist will neither confirm nor deny. And

in Washington, Senator Linden has pushed forward for a

special congressional committee to handle Angel affairs in

America.”

Maddy barely glanced at the TV as she moved

between the tables, dropping off steaming plates of food and

cups of coffee. She could still feel a pinch where the knife

had penetrated her, but all things considered, she had

healed surprisingly well. She seemed to have no ill effects

from the incident downtown. Well, no physical ill effects, at

least. She picked up a table of dirty dishes and headed back

into the kitchen.

Kevin stood behind the fryer, as usual, pulling cook

duties and plating orders.

“Hey, Kevin, can I take a break?” Maddy asked.

“Okay,” Kevin said as he whipped up another hamburger

special. “But it’ll have to be quick. It’s getting pretty

busy out there.”

Maddy went into the back room and sat heavily into

the old chair. Her feet were aching. She felt like she hadn’t

even had a chance to breathe since that first group of tourists

arrived on the Angel Tours bus at the start of her shift.

She reached into her book bag on the desk and pulled out

her BlackBerry Miracle. She unlocked the screen and

checked it. No new messages. Still. She tried her best to ignore

her disappointment.

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“Hey, you’ve got a new customer,” Kevin called from

the kitchen. Maddy sighed. She powered off the Berry and

threw it back in her bag. It was going to be a long night.

She walked back through the kitchen and out into the

bustling dining room.

And stopped.

There Jacks stood, bathed in the golden afternoon

sunlight shafting through the windows. Even in a simple Tshirt

and jeans, he was gorgeous. He saw Maddy and gave

her a delighted, unassuming smile.

“Looks like he could use a table,” Kevin said. Maddy

looked at her uncle. His gray eyes crinkled around the

edges. Then he squeezed her on the shoulder and disappeared

into the kitchen.

Maddy tucked a stray hair behind her ear and

smoothed her uniform. Then she approached him.

“Can I help you?” she said.

The slightest grin played across Jacks’s lips.

“Yeah,” he said. “A table for one, please?” His eyes

danced.

“Of course,” she said, lowering her eyes. “Right this

way.”

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She pulled a menu from behind the counter and led

Jacks to the booth she had just cleared. As they walked together,

she let his presence wash over her like a wave. She

couldn’t help herself. Every time she felt it the blood still

raced in her veins.

“Here you are,” she said. Jacks took a seat and Maddy

handed him the menu. He made a show of opening it with

ceremony and inspecting it. A little laugh escaped Maddy’s

lips. Then he set it down.

“Actually, I think I’d like to apply for a job,” he said.

She gave him an incredulous look.

“Well, I’m sorry to say I’m not so sure about your

qualifications,” Maddy said.

His forehead creased. “Oh, I’ve got a lot of experience,”

he said.

“Such as?”

“Lots of stuff.” Jacks shrugged. “And I know the cutest

waitress in Angel City; that’s got to count for something,

doesn’t it?”

Maddy felt her cheeks burning as she blushed.

“I think you just want to get me alone in the back.”

“Okay, maybe,” he confessed.

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They both laughed.

“Actually, I’m concerned,” Jacks said, looking sly.

“Concerned? Why’s that?”

“Yeah, I mean, you’re going to have to hire someone

quick, or else the restaurant is going to be short-staffed on

Monday.”

Maddy smiled at him but was confused. That hadn’t

been part of their exchange so far as she could remember.

She looked into his eyes.

“And why would we be short-staffed on Monday?” she

wondered.

A bell rang in the kitchen. An order was up.

“Because I’ve spoken to the Archangels,” Jacks said

softly. “And they’ve asked me to tell you that your training

starts on Monday.”

He wasn’t joking anymore. His gaze searched hers

intently.

“Training?” Maddy said. “Training for what?”

Jacks smiled at her.

“Training to become a Guardian Angel.”

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EPILOGUE

M addy reached the top of the stairs, went into the bathroom,

and shut the door. She had been waiting for this all

day. After Jacks’s visit and his unexpected news, she hadn’t

even had time to process what he was telling her because

the diner was so busy. By the time they closed, she had been

on her feet for almost eight hours and smelled like sweat,

food, and who knows what. She had been looking forward to

a shower all day—and to thinking about what Jacks had told

her.

Maddy peeled unceremoniously out of her uniform

and threw it on the bathroom floor. She turned on the hot

water first and waited until it scalded her hand to add the

cold. When the temperature was just right, she pulled the

plunger on the faucet and the shower coughed to life.

The hot water burned wonderfully against her skin.

Maddy let out a sigh as she washed away the shift at the

diner. She inspected her bumps and bruises. There were still

some remnants of the rooftop incident to be sure, and she

was still tender in places, but she felt almost well. Maddy let

herself stay a full ten minutes, a luxury she rarely afforded

herself. She still wasn’t fully ready to confront the decision

that lay before her.

When she was finished, she stepped out onto the old

bath mat and wrapped a towel around herself.

Steam had fogged the mirror around its edges, but a

circular porthole of reflection in the middle had remained

somewhat clear. Maddy toweled off her body, then her hair.

She turned around and looked over her shoulder at the mirror

to check how bad one of the bruises on her back was.

Water droplets patted noisily against the bath mat as

she stood there, frozen in place.

Under her shoulder blades, the angry bruise that had

formed as a result of smashing into the light pole had

faded—or simply evolved—into the beginning of what could

only be described as marks. They looked like graceful tattoos

that ran parallel to her spine and came to rest in two elegant

flourishes at the small of her back. They were simpler

than others Maddy had seen, but all the same, they were

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unmistakable. She watched them shimmer in the fluorescent

light of the bathroom.

They were Immortal Marks.

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