[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

order forms. It was going to be hilarious to watch.
The timer dinged on the stove top, and it was like Pavlov s dogs
all over again. Michel s mouth started salivating.
58 Jana Downs
 Perfect, Madigan purred, using his oven mitts to take out the
three trays of hot pastries and put them on the heat-resistant counter.
Bren reached for one and got smacked on the hand for his effort.
 Nope. Wait for them to cool a little bit.
They all groaned in unison. This was going to take forever&
* * * *
 Can I help you? Bren asked as a couple came through the
doorway, arms linked and coats securely fashioned. They weren t
inexpensive coats, either, probably something that needed to be dry
cleaned. The hunk of a diamond on the smaller man s finger probably
added to the image of wealth that the two were sporting. Bren had
seen these types of displays over and over again throughout the ages.
It was good to see that a couple of the same sex felt secure enough to
sport them.
 Yes, please. We re looking to talk someone about making a
wedding cake. It s a little short notice, but our other baker ended
having a family emergency and couldn t do it. She recommended this
shop. Can you help us? The smaller blond man was sweet. Bren
could tell by his aura. He was exactly what he purported himself to
be, a young, desperate groom with a deep wallet.
 What s the time line and how many guests? Bren asked,
drawing the little order pad Madigan had instructed they use from
under the counter. They were lucky they d arrived when they did. The
morning rush had just settled down. The commuters had grabbed
almost all of their pastries and bagels. He was extraordinarily happy
that Madigan had thought to make the guardians a batch of their own
beforehand.
The smaller man gave him a soft smile.  It s in two weeks, and
it s for a hundred and fifty guests. Bren nodded and jotted it down.
 Let me hop in back and check with Madigan about the time
frame and whatever, and I ll be right back. Bren ripped out the order
Angelic Ties 59
sheet and ducked into the back. It was then he realized he hadn t seen
the guardians for the two humans that had come into the shop. All
morning the shop had been overrun with humans, their guardian
angels, and even a few earthbound demons who were either tagging
along with humans they d bonded with or on their own, living human
lives. Every human who had entered the shop had had a guardian in
tow.
 Madigan? he called, not wanting to alert the two  customers
that he realized they were guardian-less. He didn t even know if they
knew, but he felt like it was suspicious nonetheless. Madigan was just
coming out of the huge walk-in freezer wheeling a cart of cakes as he
entered the back part of the kitchen. Dex was scrubbing the stainless-
steel countertops on the island workstation of the remnants of some
sort of icing. That had to mean that Cross and Michel were on patrol.
Yuri was probably still in the office sorting through the paperwork
and organizing it for Madigan s convenience.
 What s up? Madigan asked, taking one of the cakes off the rack
and sliding it onto his workstation. His attention flicked to Dex.  Hey,
babe, can you grab me a batch of fondant and color it for me? I need it
to be hot pink for the Sweet Sixteen cake we re doing.
Dex smiled and winked.  Will do, Madi. Gabriel s guardian was
really taking to this whole bakery thing.
 You might want to hold off on that, Bren said, grabbing Dex s
shoulder to stop him from walking away.
Dex frowned.  What s wrong, Bren?
 I ve got two people out here who want a wedding cake made,
Bren began.  They don t have guardians, angelic or demonic. I
thought it was weird.
 That is strange. Dex s frown deepened.  Do they seem hostile?
Bren shrugged.  Their auras are really evened out. They feel
pretty human.
 Earthbound angels in disguise? Maybe they re Cherubims. The
messengers weren t unheard of but were usually only sent by the
60 Jana Downs
higher ups in times of great emergency. It wouldn t make sense for
them to be in Madigan s bakery.
Yuri chose that moment to pop out of the office.  Could be
nephilim. They have humanlike auras and aren t granted guardian
angels until maturity if the hunters don t find them first.
 What s the chance of two nephilim wandering in here by
coincidence? I just don t know. Any known nephilim would scatter,
especially given the high numbers of hunters in the area, Dex said.
 Where s Cross? Bren asked. He didn t like this, and he
especially didn t like the fact that they were divided. They d expected
an attack from outside. No one had thought that anyone would be
arrogant enough to walk through the front door.
 Calling him now. Dex started muttering to himself, invoking his
powers to communicate with Cross.
Madigan, who d been quiet the entire time, spoke up.  Excuse me
but if they are nephilim, why would they try and hurt me? He looked
like he was getting scared, and Bren didn t like that one little bit. He
hated to see Madigan afraid of anything. He was theirs. Nothing and
no one would be able to get to him. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]