Night Light. Amy Blankenship

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СКАЧАТЬ They were so quick and quiet about it. You could do all that?”

      â€œWould you believe me if I told you we had an angel on our side?” When the man raised his chin and gave him a hard look Steven continued, “My friend and I are here to make sure the church is still clean.”

      â€œYou think there are more?” the priest rubbed his face.

      â€œI know there are more. Question is, are they here?” Steven stood up knowing he’d left Nick alone for too long already. His friend was known for being fearless and that made him nervous. “We don’t want a repeat occurrence of the other night.”

      The priest eyed him closely as if looking for a lie. Finally, the older man sighed and nodded his head, “Okay, for some reason I believe you. Sometimes God works in mysterious ways. Do what you must.”

      â€œHopefully, this time we won't find any… demons and you can stay awake if you promise to stay in here.” He remembered what the priest said when he’d opened the door. “Are you expecting someone?”

      â€œYes, she was supposed to come the other night, but…” he jerked his thumb toward the closet. “She called an hour ago saying she was on her way.”

      Steven felt his pulse rate jump. “There was a girl here the other night and I need to talk to her… blond hair, beautiful. Do you know her?”

      â€œJewel?” the priest asked. “Sure, I’m supposed to marry her.”

      â€œWhat!” Steven said a little too loudly then growled, “Since when do old priests marry young girls?”

      â€œYou’re a bright one,” the priest shook his head then hardened his resolve. “Not to me… and it’s not your business anyway. You leave that child alone. She has enough problems with the monsters she already knows. Don’t go dragging her into a demon war.”

      Steven frowned not liking how that sounded. He’d bet money the priest had been about to say mobsters not monsters. He didn’t care for either breed, having to deal with his own share of mobsters. They liked to hang out at Night Light because it was one of the classier nightclubs in town. It helps you relax when your lower class clientele can’t afford to get through the doors.

      He’d been slowly running them off for years and whenever there was a problem, something always came up and they’d move away or vanish altogether. Irish mob, Italian mob, Russian mob, IRA members, ex-KGB, Yakuza, and even rumored members of the fabled Illuminati… Steven didn’t give a damn. They were all cut from the same cloth as far as he was concerned. But sometimes it didn’t hurt to have a few on your side.

      â€œCall her and tell her not to come here tonight.” He pushed the phone closer to the old man and crossed his arms waiting to make sure the priest did as he asked.

      The old man’s lips thinned. If he called her house and her father answered, Jewel would be in big trouble and possibly wind up face down in an alley somewhere. Him being a priest probably wouldn’t save him either. “She’s not coming,” he said hesitantly, then repeated more firmly as he looked at the clock on the wall. “She would have been here by now if she was.”

      Steven felt the disappointment of not seeing her and the satisfaction of knowing she was safe collide somewhere in his chest. Needing a distraction, he stood up and set the chair back the way he had found it. “I’ll be back to let you know when we’re done.”

      â€œWait!” the priest called when Steven opened the door. “If you should see her…”

      â€œI’ll send her right to you,” Steven promised and walked out.

      Closing the door, Steven shook his head and started down the hall. This floor was clean and he needed to catch up with Nick before something went down. Going downstairs, he looked around but couldn’t see Nick anywhere.

      â€œAll right, where in the hell did you go?” Steven muttered and started looking behind the closed doors.

      He found the basement door ajar and could have slapped himself when he realized Nick’s train of thought. “Dark places, underground… DUH!”

      Making sure to create a lot of noise, Steven descended the stairs and wrinkled his nose at the damp heat. “Damn it stinks down here.”

      He approached another open door and stepped through. Nick was standing in front of the boiler with its door wide open and poking around at something in the fire with an iron rod.

      â€œFind something?” Steven asked.

      In answer, Nick removed the iron from the fire with the burnt remains of a skull dangling from the end by its eye socket. “I think it’s safe to say that some of the humans on the missing person’s roster won't be found any time soon.”

      â€œI think this church is a normal place for some of the local mafia to do their business.” Steven elaborated.

      â€œIn a Catholic church?” Nick demanded. “Isn’t anything sacred anymore?”

      Steven shrugged, “Kind of like the saying goes, nothing is certain except death and taxes.”

      Nick dropped the skull back into the boiler and shut the door. “Or in our case, fur and kittens.”

      The two men snorted in amusement before Steven sobered a bit. “Okay, we really need to get serious.”

      They separated, each one searching a different side of the large room until Steven saw something behind one of the huge garbage cans full of wooden planks. “Hey Nick, give me a hand with this.”

      Nick approached and helped Steven move the can aside just enough to get a good look, which wasn’t very far. A small, cramped tunnel had been carved out of the stone and straight out into the earth. The darkness was absolute and the two felines had difficulty seeing inside.

      â€œMight as well check it out,” Nick stated and moved forward to squeeze his thin frame into the opening.

      Steven reached out and grabbed hold of Nick’s arm and shook his head. “No, we go back and let Warren and Quinn in on what we found. One cougar is missing and, in my opinion, that’s one cougar too many. I don’t want to add a jaguar to the list, too.”

      â€œAw gee,” Nick smiled and wrapped his arms tightly around a shocked Steven. “You...” he gave an exaggerated sniffle and continued in a wavering voice. “You really do care.”

      Steven frantically pushed Nick off of him, sending the jaguar against the wall. “Moron,” he muttered while Nick was laughing. “Let’s get out of here.”

      By the time they reached the top of the stairs, Steven was convinced Nick had lost his mind somewhere along the road. The church was deathly quiet and Steven looked toward the hall that led to the upstairs office where the priest was waiting.

      â€œHang here for a minute,” Steven said. “I need СКАЧАТЬ