A Kiss Before the Apocalypse Read Online Free PDF Page A

with another life. There was nothing he would have loved more than to give her a child, but it wasn’t meant to be. Others of his kind had done such things over the ages, and the results had been less then normal. There was something seriously wrong with children produced by the mating of human and angel.
    Something unstable.
    Remy grinned, pushing the sad thoughts aside. “Marlowe’s fine, and yes, he misses you a great deal. He always asks me when the female is coming back to the pack.”
    They both chuckled, Madeline reaching into her sweatshirt pocket for a wrinkled-up Kleenex. She wiped at her nose.
    “I want you to bring him next time you visit,” she said. “I need to see my boy.”
    Time was growing short for the woman Remy loved. It was something they were both very aware of—after all, no one came to Cresthaven to get well.
    “I’ll do that,” he said softly.
    She squeezed his hand and covered a feigned yawn with the other. “I’m tired, Remy. Would you mind? I think I’d like to lie down now.”
    He helped her to the bed, removing her slippers and swinging her legs onto the mattress.
    “Do you want me to help you get undressed?”
    She gave him a sly look. “Always at the most inopportune times,” she told him weakly. “Maybe if I get a good night’s sleep, I’ll take you up on your offer tomorrow.”
    Grinning, she moved her eyebrows up and down, and Remy chuckled, giving her a wink.
    “You go home. I’m sure the baby is ravenous and desperate to empty his tank. I’ll see you both tomorrow.”
    Madeline waved him away and adjusted the pillow beneath her head.
    She was getting weaker, and there wasn’t a single thing he could do about it.
    Remy leaned down and kissed her long on the lips.
    “I love you. I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”
    “I love you too. And don’t forget Marlowe,” she ordered as he turned to leave.
    He was just stepping into the hallway when he heard her call his name.
    “Yeah, hon?” he said popping his head back into the room.
    Madeline had propped herself up against the head-board. “What do you think it means—that man seeing you?” she asked. “I can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t right.”
    Remy returned to her bedside and, leaning in, planted a reassuring kiss upon her forehead.
    “I’m sure it means absolutely nothing,” he told her. “It was just a fluke. The guy was so crazy he could have imagined me as the Easter Bunny. Now get some rest, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
    Remy flashed her a final smile as he stepped into the corridor and out of view. He passed through the lobby to see that the pretty young receptionist was on the phone, and he mouthed the words Have a good night as he passed.
    Walking to his car, he was preoccupied with thoughts of his wife and her failing health. The poor woman didn’t need anything else to worry her right now. He got behind the wheel and turned over the engine. In the theater of his mind he saw Mountgomery and his secretary entering the motel room, heard the clamor of the door slamming shut behind them like the sound of thunder.
    Remy flipped on his blinker and eased out into traffic. Though he would have preferred otherwise, he couldn’t help but remember Mountgomery smiling dreamily as he talked about the beauty of angels, just before putting the gun beneath his chin and decorating the ceiling with his brains.
    He pointed the car for home, turning up the radio, hoping the music would distract him from further thoughts of the day’s disturbing events. But it did little to drown out the sound of Mulvehill’s voice repeating in his head.
    They’re still alive, Remy.
    They’re still alive.
    Remy stood in the foyer of his Beacon Hill brownstone, sifting through the day’s mail. From a basket attached to the inside of the door beneath the mail slot, he had plucked three envelopes and a grocery store circular. He tucked them beneath his arm and searched for his house key. On the other side of the