CHAPTER 16

 “Stop it, David or I’m calling the police!” She played her last card, hoping the threat would be enough to make him stop his violent acts, at least for the moment, but the only response was another slam to the door, causing the door to finally give way under his weight and she soon found his angry face towering over her.

“Where the hell is she?” He demanded, immediately grabbing her already bruised wrist in his hand and yanking her closer, almost wanting to laugh at the sheer terror in her dark eyes.

“I don’t know!” The little angel pleaded, praying that Andrew, Paul or even Tess would come through the door right about now, but it seemed her prayers were going unanswered.

“You do know!” He bellowed at her, causing a small whimper to escape Monica’s lips. His hand felt like a vice on her wrist and she briefly wondered if he could crush the bones if he took a notion to do so.

“I’m here, David.”

Kristin’s voice caused David to turn around, dragging Monica with him as he focused his dark eyes on his wife, “Kris, you need to go home while I take care of some unfinished business.”

“Let her go, David,” She pleaded, not missing the fear on Monica’s face, “I came to her and she has nothing to do with this.”

“She has everything to do with this,” He replied, his voice losing a little of its venom while speaking to his wife, “She and I need to have a little chat and then I’ll be home.”

“It’s fine, Kristin,” The sound of her own calm voice, startling her, Monica looked over at the young woman, hoping that she would indeed go, but anywhere but home and the angel was hoping to buy Kristin enough time to do just that, “I’ll be fine.”

Kristin clearly saw the look in her friend’s eyes that seemed to be urging her to get as far away from David as possible, but she was loathe to leave Monica with David at this moment. Her husband’s eyes held a fire she had never seen before and for the first time in her life she was truly afraid of him.

“Go and take care of yourself and your wee baby,” Monica stated calmly, looking at Kristin with a direct expression in her brown eyes, her only concern right now getting Kristin out of harm’s way, “He won’t hurt me…” She knew that was the second lie she had told this morning and the sun had yet to rise in the sky, “We’re only going to talk.”

Though Kristin was in no way that gullible, she knew that Monica had a point and the young human feared for her baby more than anything else. She also knew that there was no way she was going to walk out of this apartment and not find help for the little Irish female. She shot her husband a look that spoke of pleading for him not to hurt her friend, before she headed for what was left of the door, “Don’t be long, Dave. I think that you and I need to talk as well.”

He nodded his head, his eyes following his wife until she was out of sight in the hallway, before he turned his attention back to the angel he was still holding in his grasp and as soon as his focus was settled on her once more all pretense of gentleness left his eyes, “You lied to me!”

“She came here because she was afraid of what you might do to her, David,” Monica knew she was struggling to reason with the unreasonable, but she knew that she had to try, “She loves you enough to try to find help for you wherever she can.”

“So why didn’t you tell me she was here, huh?” He jerked her once more and she flinched in pain.

“Because I didn’t want to risk you hurting her,” Monica replied as calmly as she could manage, “She’s pregnant and-.”

His blow hit her with a force that sent her reeling, and caused her arm to be wrenched away from him, the pain in her wrist competing with the blow to her face as it twisted sharply. She stumbled, barely catching herself on the arm of the chair before she hit the floor as she struggled to clear her vision.

“Don’t you dare even insinuate that I would ever…EVER hurt my wife!” He all but screamed at her, his face red with rage.

Seeing that he was approaching again, Monica tried to brace herself even as she held her wrist close to her body with her left hand, “I’m sorry…I won’t…but David, if you’d just listen to me for a minute-.”

But listening was not what he had in mind as his fury seemed completely out of his control and his next blow caused her to taste blood as she stumbled, her head making contact with the coffee table as flashes of white light passed before her face. She knew she was not only fighting to stay conscious, but also to keep him from killing her, if that was even possible, “Please…” She uttered weakly, bringing a shaky hand to her forehead and feeling a sticky wetness that made her nearly feel sick to her stomach.

Grabbing her by the same wrist once more, a smirk on his face as she cried out in pain, he jerked her to her feet and brought his face close to hers, “This is your last warning, you got that? You stay away from me and you stay away from Kristin. Are we clear on that or do you need more of a reminder?”

“We’re…clear…” It took every bit of strength she had in her to say those words as she closed her eyes, knowing her assignment was over.

She had failed.

Kristin raced down the steps as quickly as her pregnant body would allow her to until she reached the first floor. Breathing hard and struggling to catch her breath, she found the office door and pounded her fist against it frantically, never once letting up until she heard the lock turning on the other side.

Andrew’s hair was tousled and his sleepy eyes widened at the sight of the young woman who stood before him on the verge of tears, “Kristin? What is it? What’s wrong?” He reached for her hand in an attempt to pull her inside and out of the hallway, but she wrenched her arm away from him.

“You have to come now! It’s David…he’s out of control…he’s in Monica’s apartment…”

Her last words were enough to stop his heart, “Stay here,” He ordered firmly, barely waiting for her to nod her head before he was off and racing to the stairwell. His heart was in his throat and he found himself praying; not only for Monica’s safety but for himself as well as God would be the only one who could help him if that man had hurt the little angel.

He burst through the door on the third floor, the sight of Monica’s broken in door already breaking his heart. He should have stayed with her. He never should have left her alone last night. He berated himself with these thoughts as he ran to her apartment, the sight inside the living room chilling him and causing unbridled anger to flow through him.

She was hurt. Bleeding. Yet still the human had a grip on her and Andrew closed the distance between himself and David in two steps. His own hand on David’s arm held more strength than an army of angels as David’s eyes flew up to meet angry green eyes.

“Get your hands off of her. Now.” It was all he could do to keep himself from throwing the man against the wall and beating him within an inch of his life and he almost wished that Paul were here to do what he could not.

As David released her, Andrew caught her before she could slump to the floor, but his eyes quickly returned to David’s face, “Get out of my sight,” He demanded as he gently lowered Monica to the sofa, feeling her every pain filled breath with his very soul.

“I’ve about had it with you, pretty boy-“ David’s fist was drawn back, but one swift motion on Andrew’s part caught the human’s wrist in his hand, causing his eyes to grow wide at the sheer power behind that hand.

“I said get out of here. NOW!” Andrew knew that if David didn’t wise up and leave, that he would lose the little bit of control he was holding onto and do to him what he had wanted to do to McArthur and he found his heart praying that for once in his life, David would follow a simple direction.

“Gladly,” He all but spat in the angel’s face, before he turned and stalked out into the hallway.

#Andrew didn’t waste another second on him, turning all of his attention to the little angel. He quickly picked her up and hurried into the bedroom, setting her down on the bed before allowing himself to look at her injuries. One side of her face was red and already beginning to swell, while the cut above her left eye bled enough to make him wonder if she was going to need stitches.

"Monica," he called her name, hoping to bring her around. The fact that she was unconscious scared him more than anything else. "C’mon, Angel Girl… c’mon back. He’s gone, and he’s not coming back."

She still didn’t move, and Andrew was beginning to think that he was going to have to call for an ambulance. He had never dealt with anything even remotely like this. He had no idea if she would be healed like she had been in the park, or if conventional medicine would even have an effect on her.

"Please, Angel… please wake up," he begged.

Still not seeing any sign that she was coming to, he pushed himself up from his kneeling position next to the bed and rushed into the bathroom. He yanked open the medicine cabinet, sending the door slamming into the wall. With one motion he grabbed everything in his two hands without even bothering to look at what he was taking.

"Andrew!" her cry was feeble at best, but the blond angel heard it and ran back into the bedroom. He tossed everything onto the bed, eyes going instantly to Monica’s face.

"Monica, I’m here, you’re safe now," he assured her, seeing that her dark eyes were moving everywhere, as if expecting David to still be nearby waiting.

"Kristin was here… she was here…" suddenly telling the truth seemed to be of the utmost importance to her.

"I know, Angel. She came and got me. She’s in my apartment and she’s safe. I don’t even think David knows I work here."

"No… he can find her!" she tried to sit up and fell back with a moan as dizziness overcame her.

Andrew moved to sit next to her on the bed, and gently held her down by her shoulders. "Shhh… I promise you… she is okay. You’re hurt. You’re the one I need to take care of right now."

Her frightened eyes searched his face and saw only the calm and loving angel she knew so well. He would never lie to her and he would always protect her. She blinked slowly and when she opened her eyes again they were still pain-filled, but calmer.

Andrew noticed that change and breathed a sigh of relief. "I can see where he hit you," he said. "Did he hurt you anywhere else? Did he hit you in the stomach?" his own stomach clenched at even the thought but he knew he had to ask. A man David’s size could easily cause internal injuries with even a single blow.

She shook her head, but then moved her injured wrist onto her chest. "He grabbed my wrist again," she admitted tearfully.

He glanced down and saw that it was now painfully swollen looking. He closed his eyes, saying a very quick prayer for patience because at the moment it was taking everything he had not to race out the door and track David down.

"Okay, sweetie. It looks like it’s probably sprained but right now I’m more worried about your head."

"I’m bleeding," she said, almost like a child who couldn’t quite believe it.

"Yes you are, but I’m going to take care of that in just a second."

Andrew scanned over the multitude of things he had brought from the bathroom, looking for anything useful. He found a few gauze pads and the ointment she had used on her hand after that first awful night at the bar. He started dabbing at the cut with one of the pads, steeling himself towards the little flinches she made each time he touched it. Unfortunately it didn’t look like the pad was going to quite do the job. He pulled back and looked down into her dark eyes.

"I need to go get some water and a cloth. I’m just going to be a second. Everything’s fine."

She nodded hesitantly. "Just for a second?"

"I promise."

Andrew ran across the hall and into the bathroom again, quickly grabbing a towel from under the sink and running it under the faucet. He was gone for less than a minute but it felt like far too long for both of them. He could see her trying to control her breathing and her pounding heart as he entered the room.

"Back again. Now let me take another look at that." He sat down and carefully used the wet towel to wipe away all of the blood until he could see exactly how big the cut was. He felt his own pounding heart begin to slow when he found that it wasn’t as deep as he had feared.

"It’s not that bad, Monica. I’ll get it fixed up for you in no time."

She didn’t say anything, and her silence was almost as frightening as the blank stare that had taken residence on her face. Andrew knew he couldn’t even begin to really comfort her until he had taken care of her injuries, and he forced himself to look away from her eyes. It only took another minute to bandage the cut and then it was another trip out of the room to gather ice and more towels to wrap it in. Finally, with one makeshift icepack against her cheek and another on her wrist, Andrew was relatively satisfied that she would be alright.

Now came the hard part; taking care of her heart.

"Monica? I think I’ve taken care of everything. Is there anyplace I missed?"

She shook her head, but his careful eyes caught the slight trace of red at the corner of her mouth and he wiped it away with the already bloody towel. Her teeth must have cut the inside of her cheek when he hit her, he guessed as he struggled to keep his breathing even and slow. The surge of adrenaline should have passed, but he felt like it surged stronger with every thought of the man who had hurt her. He gritted his teeth. He wanted so badly to have just five minutes in a room alone with him, but as an angel those were not thoughts he should be entertaining, and with Monica lying before him, those were not thoughts he could afford to have. At the moment, she needed him to comfort her, not avenge her.

He very carefully stroked the side of her face, willing her to meet his eyes. She did, but he hated what he saw. Her dark eyes were as dull and lifeless as they had ever been when McArthur had been hunting her.

"Angel, I don’t even want to know what happened before I got here. I know enough. I just want to hold you now and help you. Would that be alright?" He was almost afraid that she would shake her head and try to send him away although there was no way he was going to allow that.

He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding as she nodded vehemently and started to lean forward to allow him to slip in behind her. The tears that had pooled at the bottom of her eyes finally spilled over at the sharp pain that passed through her head, but Andrew had his gentle hands behind her back before she even had to ask.

"Let me do everything," he told her as he slowly inched her forward and slipped onto the bed. He was half underneath her with her head nestled on his chest. He took the icepack she was holding in her shaking fingers and placed it lightly against her face once more.

"It’s over," she whispered, and Andrew’s heart clenched. Her first words weren’t even about herself. They were about her assignment.

"That doesn’t matter," he insisted as he wrapped his other arm around her thin shoulders. "I don’t want you to even think about it. I just want you to concentrate on the fact that I’m here and you’re safe."

She closed her eyes for a moment but quickly opened them again. "What if I can’t stop thinking about it?" she whispered. "It’s just like before… I keep seeing him come after me, and I can’t stop him."

Andrew didn’t need to ask what ‘before’ time she was referring to, he just held her closer. "You did stop him. You stopped him from hurting Kristin."

"But I couldn’t protect myself." Her eyes grew wide once more, "and I lied to him… I told him Kristin wasn’t here… God…"

Andrew stopped her. "Monica, do you really think that God thinks less of you for doing that?"

She closed her eyes and a few more tears slipped out. "It’s just one more thing I’ve done wrong."

"Angel, no. Please don’t think that way. You’ve done the best you could. No one can fault you for how things have turned out. No one." He dipped his head a kissed her forehead as a mix of angry and sympathetic tears rose behind his eyes and he blinked them away. "Monica, I am just grateful that you’re alright. When Kristin burst into my place… I don’t think I’ve ever been more afraid. I shouldn’t have left you last night. I’m so sorry I left you alone."

Monica looked up, startled by the amount of grief and self-reproach she saw in Andrew’s face. "Don’t say that. You have always been exactly where I needed you. You’re here right now, aren’t you?"

He glanced down and met her wide eyed gaze. His guilt wasn’t something she needed to deal with. He was supposed to be helping her. He kissed the top of her head and stroked her long hair.

"Yes, I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere."

There was a moment of silence before Monica spoke again. "What if I said I wanted to go Home? Would you come with me?"

"Monica…"

"Please, Andrew," she murmured. "There’s nothing here for me now. I want to go Home and forget any of this happened. I want to go Home and stay there this time."

“Angel…” He was at a loss for words. Frankly he wanted to get her as far as possible from harm’s way himself, but if she ran now she would never be able to accept that there was still some goodness to be found on earth. "I think maybe you should wait and see what happens first. Even if David won’t come around now, there’s still Kristin. She looks to you for guidance."

"She shouldn’t bother. I don’t have any to give. I’m useless here, Andrew."

"I don’t ever want to hear you say that again." His voice grew stern. "No matter what happens you cannot believe that."

"But I’ve failed, Andrew… I’ve failed again… everyone is going to know that… Tess… God…"

"Monica, everyone is going to know that you were thrown into something that the strongest angel would have problems with, and everyone is going to hold you and love you the way I am right now."

Her hot tears trickled down her cheeks and she turned and buried her face in his chest. "Oh Andrew… I love you so much…"

"You can’t possibly love me more than I love you at this very moment," he whispered, "and that love is never going away. You are safe and you are loved. I want you to rest now and not think about anything except that."

He felt her nod and continued to tenderly stroke her hair, his eyes tracing the lines of her face as it slowly relaxed into sleep. He ran his fingers slowly and gently up against her swollen wrist, as it laid across his chest and he repositioned the ice pack on it, his heart clenching in anger once more as she flinched in sleep.

His desire to hurt David was not fading and the longer he gazed at his friend, the more intense the feeling became. He pondered the fact that McArthur had never caused her physical pain, but his feelings for both men rivaled each other and the realization struck him that he hadn’t gotten over his anger at McArthur, he had only redirected it at David.