CHAPTER 17

Andrew knew he needed to get back to Kristin, but to leave Monica was not an option. Until he fixed her door, he couldn’t even lock her inside long enough to even get Kristin up here with him and he offered up a silent prayer for help.

A moment later, he heard voices and knew that the Father had sent him not only one angel, but a human he was almost convinced could be an angel in disguise.

“What the hell-?” Paul’s usual tact when he was sideswiped was like music to Andrew’s ears as with all the gentleness within his being, he slipped from Monica’s embrace and pulled the quilt gently over her sleeping form.

“I’ll be right back, sweetheart,” He whispered as he leaned down to kiss her forehead and as he stood back up, he looked into her pale face once more, completely overcome by her vulnerability and the fact that anyone, human or not, could look into that face and raise a hand to hurt her. He knew he could never begin to understand nor did he want to.

“Andrew?” Tess looked at him expectantly and he could sense the deep concern behind his name.

“What happened to the door?” Paul demanded, his eyes moving from the object that had been torn from its hinges to the angel.

“About the same thing that happened to Monica,” He replied grimly even as his eyes flashed with anger, “David happened.”

“That son of a-.”

“Is she all right, baby?” Tess’ voice held urgency as she took a step nearer to the bedroom.

“She’s sleeping,” Andrew replied, chosing not to answer the question directly, “I need to go and talk to Kristin for a minute. She’s in my apartment. Stay with her and I’ll explain what I know in a few minutes,” He didn’t allow for a reply as he quickly headed out of the apartment, not wanting to tempt fate with giving David time to find his wife.

Tess and Paul exchanged a glance before they walked into the bedroom and the older angel felt tears fill her eyes as she was able to at least piece together part of the story, “Oh Angel Girl,” She whispered softly as she approached her sleeping charge, her eyes taking in the already forming bruise on her swollen cheek as well as the bandage on her forehead. As Monica stirred slightly, Tess’ eye caught sight of her wrist with the deepening bruise and increased swelling and she fought to keep her anger at bay. David had opened old wounds in more ways than one.

Paul’s jaw was set in deep anger and he felt an ache fill his heart as the little angel whimpered softly in pain, even in sleep. He should have taught the bastard a lesson the other night while he had the chance, knowing that David would have then reconsidered his actions against Monica out of fear for his life if nothing else. Well, it would not happen again.

“I’ll be back,” His voice was low and threatening and he caught the argumentative look in Tess’ eyes, but he was not about to allow it to deter him, “What apartment is he in?”

Knowing she could not interfere with Paul’s free will, not to mention that she had a feeling he would beat on every door in the building if she didn’t tell him, she relented, “He’s right below Monica’s, but Paul,” She watched as he stopped at the bedroom door and turned to face her once more, “Don’t do anything you may regret, baby. We don’t even know what happened yet.”

“I know enough, Tess, and believe me, I will not for one second regret it.”

As he departed, the older angel took a seat in the chair beside of Monica’s bed and moved to stroke her hair gently, her mind going over all the things that the little angel had been confronted with the past few weeks and she shook her head sadly, “Father, You know that I am not generally one to question the plan, but please help me to understand this.”

“Is she all right?” Kristin sat up straight on Andrew’s couch as he entered into the apartment. She could clearly see the answer to her question in his eyes and she wanted to weep over her husband’s actions without even knowing in detail what those actions had been.

“She’s resting,” He began, wanting more than anything to be able to return to Monica’s side, but knowing he had to speak with the young woman first, “I think she’ll be all right.”

She knew Andrew was being vague intentionally to spare her feelings, but it was doing little to make her feel better, “I’m so sorry. I never should have gone to her this morning. I didn’t even know that David knew about her.”

He sat down beside her, knowing he needed to explain at least somewhat, “Because Monica knows you, and she works at O’Reilly’s, she has been trying to talk to him; trying to get him to open up and he has not reacted kindly to her attempts.”

“She’s been trying to help me? Trying to help David?” Tears shimmered in her eyes as she was no longer accustomed to such kindnesses being offered.

“Yes. Monica cares about people very much and she hates to see anyone hurting,” He replied, knowing that much at the very least had been true at one time, though now he was concerned that his friend might become apathetic to the whole human race, “Her main concern this morning was to keep you from being hurt.”

“David would never hurt me,” She whispered, shaking her head, her expression one of conviction, “though there have been moments when I had wondered if he could, he always leaves before he reaches that point. He loves me, Andrew, and somewhere in there is a good man. He just needs to find that part of himself again.”

Though he didn’t look convinced of that, he nodded his head for her sake, “I’m not sure if he went home or not. Is there someone I can call to be with you?”

“No. He may be afraid that Monica will call the police,” She looked up at him worriedly, “She won’t, will she?” Kristin almost immediately felt sorry for even asking the question. Monica had every right to call the police and David had every right to go to jail, “I’m sorry. She should call them. She put herself in danger to help me and now she is hurt.”

Andrew had to smile, wishing that his friend could see as clearly as he did, the many lives she touched on a daily basis, “For what it is worth, I don’t think she has any intention of calling them or pressing charges.”

“I don’t know. Maybe a few nights in jail would do him good and sober him up,” She muttered sadly.

“What are you going to do? You’re welcome to stay here for as long as you need to,” He offered, hoping that she would take him up on the offer.

“I think it best that I go home, though I doubt he is there,” She met her eyes with his hopefully, “Would it be all right if I stopped in to see Monica later?”

“She needs a little time, Kristin, but I think that later she would very much enjoy seeing you,” Andrew replied carefully, not sure of what the little angel would be up to dealing with today.

“Tell her ‘thank you’ for me and that I’m sorry,” She told him remorsefully, as she tried to squelch the nagging thought that maybe it was time she packed her bags and moved on with her life.

“Where is Paul?” Andrew asked quietly as he stepped inside of Monica’s bedroom once more, relieved that she was still fast asleep.

“He went to try to find David. He was furious.”

“Yeah, well, that makes two of us then,” The words slipped from him before he had time to consider them, but just looking at the sleeping angel was enough to send anger flowing through him once more. Not wanting Monica to wake up and overhear him, he motioned to Tess and the older angel followed him out of the room, as he pulled the door shut halfway, wanting to be able to hear her if she woke up.

“He wasn’t home,” Paul stated as he met them in the living room, quiet fury still present on his face, “Is she still sleeping?” Seeing them both nod, he crossed his arms across his chest, “What happened?” He had made a trip to the corner store for an ace bandage for Monica’s wrist, in an attempt to control his anger, but it had been of little help.

As they all took seats in the living room, Andrew ran tired hands through his hair, “From what I’ve been able to gather, Kristin showed up here this morning as David was in a rage about something. When he showed up, Monica told him that Kristin wasn’t here as she was trying to protect her.”

The mere thought of the petite angel trying to protect anyone against a man of David’s weight and build was enough to send Paul over the edge, “So he then broke down her door and beat the crap out of her? Is that it?”

“Kristin came to get me,” Andrew replied, electing to dodge the question and the pain that flowed through him at Paul’s words.

“He must have snapped over her lying to him,” Tess mused, but Andrew interrupted her heatedly.

“She lied to protect Kristin, Tess!”

The older angel looked shocked by his outburst and held up her hand in defense, “Baby, I’m not judging her. I’m just trying to piece this together, the same way you are.”

Paul watched as Andrew nodded his head, “I don’t care if she hit him first. He would have deserved it and he had no right to lay a finger on her. He’s lucky he wasn’t home, but his luck is going to eventually run out,” The agent’s tone was threatening and he had already decided that if he had to take up residence at O’Reilly’s, he would do just that, “How bad is that cut on her head, Andrew? Should she even be sleeping?”

Andrew shook his head. “Honestly? Probably not, but I thought if I just woke her every hour or so that she would be alright. She was in pain, and when she fell asleep…” he shrugged. “I just wanted her to have a little bit of peace.”

Tess looked at him sadly. She knew how much this had to be upsetting him. It was upsetting for all of them. She tightened her hand around the arm of the sofa. Judging people wasn’t in her nature. That was for God to do, and she had experienced centuries of men doing inhumane things. From the Romans sacrificing Christians to lions, and on down through the Inquisition and numerous wars, she had been a witness, doing God’s will when asked, and standing back when His love had been completely rejected. It had been difficult to simply watch without becoming enraged over the atrocities, but although she had been deeply saddened, she had known that in the end all things were part of a larger plan. Now, one man striking her little Angel Girl had suddenly made acceptance much harder to achieve.

“So she didn’t need stitches or a doctor?” Paul’s words cut though the older angel’s thoughts.

“No, it bled a lot, but it wasn’t that deep.” Andrew closed his eyes. Even talking about it was bringing the terrible feelings of fear and helplessness he had felt as she lay unmoving on the bed. “I can’t even imagine how scared she must have been,” he whispered, not realizing until the words were in the air that he had actually spoken them aloud.

Tess reached over to run a soothing hand along Andrew’s arm. “She knows she’s safe now, baby. She’ll be alright.”

“She wants to go Home, Tess, and I can’t say that I blame her. I told her to just wait and see what happens, but really, how much more can she be expected to endure?”

Paul was nodding his head in agreement. As much as he didn’t want to lose Monica’s company, he couldn’t stand the thought of her in any more pain.

Tess didn’t know how to respond. Her own doubts were strong, and she opened her mouth wordlessly, grappling with what she needed to say versus what she was actually feeling. She closed her eyes briefly and a flash of peace swept into her soul, renewing her faith.

“I know that we all want to protect Monica and keep her from all harm,” she said, “and no one wants that more than the Father. This is very hard for Him as well. Monica started this assignment with distrust of all humans in her heart, and even though she has been touched by the kindness of some, the pain caused by one has kept her from seeing it. By the time this is all over, she will see. She will even witness the goodness within David.”

Paul looked absolutely shocked by Tess’ announcement. “David? Goodness?” he let out an involuntary snort. “Yeah, well I’m afraid I won’t be holding my breath waiting for that to happen. Although after I get through with him he’ll probably be willing to say just about anything you want.”

Tess’ dark eyes shifted to the agent and stared into his face. The solemn gaze was enough to make him blink and look away. “Paul, you can’t go out seeking vengeance, even for this. Monica wouldn’t want that, and you know it.”

He pressed his lips together, unwilling to agree but knowing she was right. Instead he decided to switch topics altogether. “I hate to bring this up, but David’s attack here this morning has made something I should have told you yesterday impossible to ignore.”

“What are you talking about?” Andrew sat forward, not in the mood to hear any more bad news.

“If David had been the one to wreck this place night before last, he would have gloated about it this morning… to you as well as her. That brings me back to the case I’m working on. I didn’t tell you yesterday because I didn’t want to worry Monica, but whoever broke into my room took all of my notes and just the important bits of some files I was studying. David wouldn’t have done that, and the picture that you found here came from one of those file.”

Andrew’s face hardened, his eyes grim. “So you’re telling us that you’re sure that Monica has not one person out there willing to hurt her, but two.”

“I’m sorry,” Paul lowered his head. “I had no idea that just talking to her would be enough to get her involved.”

“It’s not your fault, baby,” Tess assured him. “You wouldn’t do anything to endanger her on purpose.”

Andrew was more to the point. “Do you know who it is? Do you have any leads? What is this case, anyway?”

Paul took a breath. “I’ve been trying to discover who the leak in the agency is. Someone let McArthur know where we were going, and after some digging I found out that there were other cases just like that one… including Lauren’s.”

“That’s why you had her file.”

Paul nodded. “Yeah.” His piercing eyes met first Andrew’s and then Tess’. “But I have some ideas… some people I’m looking at. I must be getting close, and trust me, I will find him.”

“I have no doubt about that.” Andrew met his gaze again and a shared understanding passed between them. They were still partners. Partners dedicated to keeping Monica safe.

Paul stood up. “In fact, I want to start tracking down something I found yesterday,” he said. “But I want to just see Monica one more time before I go.”

“You two go on,” Tess pushed herself off the sofa. “I want to fix her something to eat.” She shook her head. “That angel has not been eating properly.”

Andrew smiled inwardly. He had a feeling that Tess just knew that having everyone hovering over her at once would be too overwhelming for the little angel. Paul grabbed the ace bandage from its bag and headed into the bedroom, waiting only just long enough for Andrew to catch up to him. He paused at the doorway, looking in at Monica’s tiny body, curled in on itself protectively.

“Tess says that there’s some good in him, but I don’t know how anyone could hurt her, much less someone who’s supposedly good.”

“I keep thinking the same thing,”