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Unleashing Angel - 1This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of either the author or the publisher.Unleashing AngelTOP SHELFAn imprint of Torquere Press PublishersPO Box 2545Round Rock, TX 78680Copyright 2010 by Mel SpenserCover illustration by Alessia BrioPublished with permissionISBN: 978-1-60370-980-4www.torquerepress.comAll rights reserved, which includes the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever except as provided by the U.S. Copyright Law. For information address Torquere Press. Inc., PO Box 2545, Round Rock, TX 78680.First Torquere Press Printing: May 2010Printed in the USAUnleashing Angel - 2DedicationFor my friend, Lisa Swan. She???s got the best ideas???Special thanks to my brother, Barry, who is always supportive, and ensures that I actually write something; and to my friend, Ali Magnum, who gave me that final push I needed to finish this book. Also, thanks to my friend, Michael Thomas Ford, who gives excellent advice; and, whether he realizes it or not, was the catalyst for this book.Unleashing Angel - 3Unleashing Angelby Mel SpenserChapter 1Angel turned the Jeep off the main highway onto an unmarked dirt road. Even if the moon hadn't been full, illuminating the night, he still would have been able to find his way. He'd driven this road many times over the last few years.A clearing opened up before him. It wasn't a parking lot, yet there was an assortment of six pickups and cars.Angel pulled up next to the one on the end. He cut the engine and sat very still for a moment. The top of his Jeep Wrangler was off and he listened intently. Waiting.Then he heard it. The howl came from his left, perhaps a half mile away. Within moments, another howl mirrored it off to his right. Satisfied, Angel settled down in the driver's seat to wait. He'd been through this routine many times.For almost an hour he sat and listened to the night sounds.He had almost dozed off when he heard the unmistakable sound of running. He sat upright.The first wolf came into sight at the edge of the clearing.Unleashing Angel - 4As it came forward, two smaller ones appeared. Angel got out of the Jeep and stood next to it, watching them. The largest one with a black head and lighter body was in the lead. It stopped and raised its muzzle, sniffing the air.Three more wolves, these lighter in color and smaller, about the size of German shepherds, bounded into the clearing. They stopped when they became aware that Angel was standing there. For a moment, the wolves and Angel were still. All was quiet until, in the distance, more howling could be heard.As Angel watched, the lead wolf transformed. Fur disappeared. Paws morphed to hands and feet. The head changed until a recognizable face appeared where the wolf face had been. The process was very quick, perhaps seconds.The face grinned at him."Angel!"" Hola, Hector," Angel said." Hola! When did you get back?""Around dinner time."Hector walked over to one of the trucks and picked up a pair of jeans that was lying on the open tailgate. Angel looked away as Hector got dressed. The other wolves, two males and three females, had transformed and were heading to their cars for their clothes."Did you guys have a good run?"Unleashing Angel - 5"Oh, man! It was great!" Hector said. As he pulled on a T-shirt, he added, "You're still not ready to come with us yet, are you?""No.""You just need to get the job done. That's what all of us did. It's no big deal." He gestured toward the girls who were now dressed. "Any of them would be okay with helping you out. I don't know why you've waited so long, anyway.""I'm just not ready yet.""Well, you need to do it soon. You don't know what you're missing. We need to get you laid, man. And soon."Not likely, Angel thought.Unleashing Angel - 6Chapter 2"Where are you going this time, Brian?"Brian tensed. He hadn't heard Sam walk into the room because he was intent on packing. By Sam's tone, he knew that he was in for another argument."I have to go to Arizona," Brian said. "I'm going to do a land survey for a large contract that we just won.""Were you even going to tell me that you were going?""I would have, but you're never here," Brian said, not looking at Sam. "I never know where you are anymore, or if you're even going to come home.""I was having fun," Sam said.Brian didn't respond to that and continued to pack. Sam walked over to the tall dresser and started picking at his perfectly styled hair with his fingers."When are you coming back?""Five weeks," Brian said."Five weeks! Summer will be over with by then! What am I supposed to do while you're gone?""Just do what you always do," Brian said. Then he said under his breath, "Whatever that is."Unleashing Angel - 7"I can't believe that you are just leaving me alone like this,"Sam said. He was beginning to whine, which recently had started getting on Brian's last nerve. "You never think of me. You just do whatever you feel like."Brian stopped packing, and they looked at each other's reflections in the mirror."In case you hadn't noticed, I'm the one with the job. I'm the one who pays for everything. One of us has to be responsible.""I've been looking for work," Sam said. "I just haven't found anything.""Nothing? In eight months? This is LA. There are lots of jobs out there.""I haven't found anything that I like.""No, the truth is that you don't want to work. You're happy with me paying for everything while you go out and party all night," Brian said. "Sometimes I don't see you for days at a time.""I like to have fun.""Well, I'm not having fun, Sam."Brian closed his suitcase and put it on the floor with the others. "I think it's time that you found another place to stay," he said.Unleashing Angel - 8"You're kicking me out? But I don't have a job. Where would I stay?""You might try one of the friends who you've been spending so much time with," Brian said. "Maybe they have a place where you can crash.""I thought that you loved me," Sam said.Brian knew that Sam was going for Brian's weak spot. It usually worked, but this time it wasn't going to."I thought that I did too," Brian said. "But..."Sam stopped primping in the mirror and looked at Brian's reflection."But, what?" Sam asked when Brian didn't complete the sentence."Look, Sam. It's not working," Brian said. "We want different things. I had wanted to settle down and be with one person. You want to party. It's just not going to work.""Yeah? Well you know what, Brian?" Sam asked, finally turning around to look at Brian. Brian could tell that Sam was getting mad. And when he got mad, he got petulant."You're boring. That's right. You never want to go out. You don't get high. You work all the time. We're both young, man. You're acting too old.""Sam, we're pushing thirty. We're not kids anymore," Brian said. "I like to have fun. I just have other ideas of what fun is. Getting high and crashing at someone's apartment isn't Unleashing Angel - 9my idea of a good time.""So you're just leaving?" Sam asked, following him out to the driveway. "What am I going to do?""You need to find another place to live," Brian said. "I'll be back at the end of summer. That should give you enough time to be out.""Just like that. You're kicking me out.""Well, it is my house," Brian said."You prick."Brian ignored him and got into the SUV. He backed out of the driveway, and as he was pulling away, he saw Sam walk back toward the house. Brian hoped that when he got back, Sam would be gone.What Brian had said was true. He did want to find someone and settle down. He had spent years cruising bars and getting into bad relationships. Sam was just another example of his bad judgment. Maybe there wasn't anyone out there for him. At any rate, Brian knew that the last several months had been a waste. He decided that he wasn't going to make the mistake of hooking up with anyone else again for a long time.***As soon as he cleared the Los Angeles area and headed east on the San Bernardino freeway, he felt the tension finally leaving his body. As the traffic became less congested and Unleashing Angel - 10the landscape changed, he started looking forward to the next several weeks.He was heading down to a remote area in Greenlee County, Arizona. Their client, Kreodyne, was a large company, and was willing to pay a lot for the land survey that Brian had been contracted to do. From what he understood, they wanted to see if the land was usable for a manufacturing plant. Brian's job was to test the suitability for such a project and to provide an estimate of the value of the land.He looked forward to the trip for a variety of reasons. The obvious reason was getting away from Sam and their deteriorating relationship. But what he was really looking forward to was being away from the city for a while. Part of his survey would take him to areas so remote, that he would have to rent a guide and horses to get there.He loved going out into nature, and had done a lot of day hiking before he met Sam. He wasn't too great with horses, but he figured he could manage well enough.In addition to the SUV full of surveying equipment, he had also brought his camera equip...[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]