Avoidables Angels

  Chapter Nine

  ‘Last night was risky,’ Jason said. ‘But fun!’

  I laughed as I inspected the files. The desk job was boring compared to the ground work. He was right about that.

  ‘That man didn’t need to die.’ I flicked through the papers in the folder.

  Jason sat by my side, taking notes. ‘He was crazy, though. He’s much better off now.’

  I moved the paperwork and turned to him. My seat was ridiculously extravagant. Brown leather with comfortable arms. When I had seen the lavish office, I had smiled at the luxury. After seeing how hungry and unclothed the Avoidables were, I felt like downsizing to a shed.

  ‘Do you really believe that?’

  Jason froze, his hand and pen poised above the page he wrote on. ‘He was awful. I could only see a bit of him but he was-’

  ‘Stop!’

  Getting up from my seat, I strolled over to the window. It looked out over the city. The concrete jungle reflected the sun. The water of the river glinted in the light. The metal across the bridge glared harshly. It wasn’t right.

  ‘Jason. You were right when you said I was different. I am. But so are you. I saw it in you the moment we met. There’s a part of you that questions the way you live. The way all Perfects live.’

  I didn’t face him as I spoke. Instead, choosing to watch the perfectly preened people mill around in the streets below.

  ‘I still don’t see how that explains why you’re so worried about that Avoidable. He was crazy and ugly. He…’

  I turned to watch him as his sentence trailed off. His forehead creased as he looked down at his hands. A small smile played on my lips. I wiped it away when his gaze met mine.

  ‘I sound like my mother.’

  We both smiled. The door opened, and the very person Jason had compared himself to, waltzed into the room.

  ‘How is my brat getting on?’ she said, throwing her head back and laughing heartily.

  Going to her, I took her hand in mine. ‘He’s doing very well so far.’

  Her cheeks went pink as she batted me away. Lifting her hand to her hair, she fiddled with the ends of the short strands as she grinned up at me.

  I resisted rolling my eyes at her attention. She was like a dog in heat. I smiled back, even though she didn’t realise it was purely because of my own thoughts.

  Shaking my head, I cleared my throat and moved away from her. ‘We have some fantastic plans,’ I said, undoing my jacket and putting my hand in my trouser pocket.

  Stalking to my desk, she glanced over Jason’s shoulder. He tutted as he covered his work. ‘Stop it, Mum!’

  ‘Oh, don’t make yourself more important than you are, love.’ She patted his shoulder. ‘Why didn’t you wear a suit?’

  I studied mother and son. Jason wore a pair of jeans and a band T-shirt. I didn’t mind. He was only nineteen. It was better that he had freedom of choice.

  ‘William.’ Catherine turned to me when he didn’t answer. ‘Did you get a chance to go over the files?’

  Ignoring Jason as he stuck his middle finger up at his mother behind her back, I cleared my throat. ‘Yes, I’ve-’

  ‘You missed this one,’ Jason said, holding up a photo. ‘She’s hot!’

  Catherine tutted as she snatched the picture out of his hand. ‘Ah, yes. She looks promising. Of course she’s gorgeous, Jason. Isn’t everyone who works here?’

  Their mixed laughter made my skin crawl as I smirked along with them. It was going to take a lot to not snap at the shallow people I would have to work with every day. Jason showed his true colours only when the other Perfects were not around.

  ‘Anyway, I must hurry off. My hair needs some highlights.’ Catherine approached me, reaching up to kiss me on the cheek.

  ‘You don’t need them,’ I purred as she waved at me over her shoulder and left us to it.

  Jason glared at me. His fingers drummed against the desk, making his own tune. The boy had a lot to grasp. I had no idea how I could teach him.

  ‘We have a lot to learn,’ I stated going to the desk and pulling the map of the compound out from under the pile.

  Jason jumped up and down in his seat as his drumming rhythm got more aggressive. The sound thundered through my head.

  ‘You don’t have a lot to learn. I do,’ he said.

  I slammed my hands on the desk. Freezing, Jason slowly lowered back down into his chair.

  ‘Sorry,’ he muttered when I stared at him.

  He went to look away but stopped when my eyebrows rose. ‘I need your help,’ I muttered.

  His eyes went wide as he watched me. He probably thought I was as mad as the man that had been killed. As crazy as the Avoidables on the other side of the river.

  ‘What do you need my help with?’ he asked in a meek voice.

  The smirk that came to my lips was unintentional. He was scared of me. Afraid of life. Too young to understand the journey he had in front of him.

  ‘Have you ever studied the Avoidables?’

  He shook his head as I pulled back and picked a piece of fluff off my collar. Flicking it on the floor, I moved back over to the window.

  ‘No. Why would I want to do that?’ His throat moved. I made him nervous. Nothing like the other Perfects, my presence was powerful. Beyond any Perfect that had ever lived. He had no idea what was coming. But I did. We could not fail. He was half angel and so was his beloved.

  ‘Because some day, you’ll meet someone who is very special. Someone that will help you change the world once and for all.’

  He quirked an eyebrow as I picked up the file of the woman he had admired. The next angel that would become a part of the Perfect government.

  ‘And how exactly am I going to do that?’ Jason rubbed his nose with his fist.

  Shaking my head, I tucked the file under my arm. ‘Come with me,’ I said. My mind was made up. He had to know what he was. And I was going to show him. ‘You’re going to find out what you really are.’

  Melissa’s Enticement