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“There he goes right there!” one of the officers yelled in alarm, drawing his gun. “Jackson, stop!”
“Stop right there, Jacks!” the other echoed as he lunged forward, sending a table and dishes crashing to the floor. Jacks stepped in front of Maddy, knocking her back with such force it took her wind away.
“Back up toward the rear door,” he whispered. “Do it now.”
Maddy did as she was told, her lungs gasping for air. One of the officers shouted again.
“Leave the young lady! Freeze right there or I will shoot you!”
Jacks stopped
. He reached a hand back and touched Maddy’s side, right on the curve of her hip. She could feel the heat of his fingers through her uniform.
“No,” Jacks replied calmly, “you won’t.” Then he took another step back, still touching Maddy.
The officer’s trembling finger squeezed the trigger.
BANG. The discharge of the gun was the last thing Maddy heard before a bright, white light filled the diner, as though the sun itself had risen in the restaurant. As her eyes adjusted, Maddy saw the most amazing sight of her life up to that point.
The entire dining room was frozen.
The two policemen were like statues, their faces masks of fear and surprise. One of them had knocked the coffeepot off the warmer, and it now hovered, mid-shatter, over the floor. Uncle Kevin was frozen too. He had dropped his spatula, and it was rendered motionless just beyond the tips of his fingers. Perhaps the most spectacular thing of all, the bullet that had been fired now hung in the air, absolutely still, like a model airplane on fishing line. Maddy looked up at the boy. His hand stretched out in front of him, as if telling the entire room to stop. He turned and looked at her with his perfect features and his piercing blue eyes. There was no other explanation. He was an Angel.
The front door burst open, and an impeccably dressed older man rushed into the restaurant, the rest of the diner remaining stock-still. He looked around at the frozen scene and then at Jacks.
“Jacks,” he said sternly, “let’s go.”
Jacks held Maddy’s gaze for another breathless second and then, without saying anything, turned to leave. Nonchalantly he grabbed the bullet out of the air and put it in his pocket. Only then did he let go of Maddy.
Time seemed to return to normal. SMASH went the coffeepot all over the floor, and glass and brown liquid rushed over the linoleum. Uncle Kevin’s spatula clanged to the ground. Jackson and the older Angel vanished out the front door. The two officers peered at each other, confused. Maddy just stood there, immovable. It wasn’t just what she had seen; it was what she had felt. As she stood there still breathing his strange, wonderful smell, a conversation came back to her, a conversation with Gwen and Jessica and Samantha from earlier in the evening. A name rose to the surface of her mind.
“Jacks . . . Jackson . . . Jackson Godspeed.” Her face turned white with disbelief, then blushed pink with embarrassment. Finally, it turned deep crimson. With rage.
Outside, Jacks and Mark walked quickly to their cars. Mark turned to his stepson. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. What is going on?”
“We’ll discuss it at home. I’ll follow, and don’t ever let me lose sight of you.” Jacks got into his Ferrari and started the throaty engine. Mark went to his M7. He unlocked the door, but before he could get in, a hand seized him by the arm. Hard. With supernatural speed Mark spun around, ready to defend himself and Jacks.
It was Kevin. His stare was cold. Mark relaxed his hand, which was already around Kevin’s throat.
“Hello, Kevin,” Mark said calmly.
“You know the agreement,” Kevin said, cutting him off. “I don’t ever want to see you, or your boy, around here again.”
“I’m sorry, Kevin, it was an emergency.”
Kevin leaned into Mark’s face.
“Stay the hell away from Maddy.”
CHAPTER NINE
Kris was waiting as Mark and Jacks came in from the garage. Her eyes were puffy from crying, her face creased with concern. She rushed to Jacks and hugged him. On the flat screen in the background, A! was replaying footage of Jacks’s arrival at the party.
“I’m fine, Mom,” Jacks said in answer to her questions. “Is Chloe okay? Where is she?”
“Upstairs, in bed,” Kris said. Jacks turned to his stepfather.
