Free Angel's Breath (Fallen Angels - Book 2) by Valmore Daniels Page B

anticipation on David’s face.
    I automatically reached out to catch the senior Mr. Matheson before he hit the ground, but his weight was too much for me. The momentum pulled me down after him and, unbalanced, I fell across him.
    He reached out one hand to try to pull me off him; with his other hand, he was trying to rip the rosary off him. “Run,” he said in a breathless rush. “Get out of here.”
    Then there was a last flash of life in his eyes. He snapped the necklace from his neck, and it fell to the floor…
    …and a fraction of a moment later, I felt as if I were being shredded into a thousand pieces from the inside out.
     

Chapter Ten
    It felt like a balloon of supercharged energy inside me, expanding outward rapidly. Any moment I was going to reach my breaking point and burst.
    So much had happened in a short time that I wasn’t sure of the exact order, but I knew I was standing at the edge of death, whether by whatever it was in me trying to get out, or from David and Al, who both had their guns trained on me.
    I strained against the pressure in me. If I didn’t get myself back under control, I would not be able to find a way out of this situation.
    Struggling to one knee, I found myself speaking. My hearing was slowly returning, and I heard my voice as gritty and strained. “What’s happening to me?”
    “No!” David shouted. The disbelief was evident in his eyes. “It can’t be. It’s impossible.”
    Al looked as confused as I was, but he didn’t let that stop him from bursting into action. He closed the distance between us with a few strides, and grabbed my arm.
    “Don’t touch him,” David barked, his voice rising.
    But it was too late.
    Something in me snapped, and it felt as if every microscopic part of me exploded outward.
    The lights in the room flickered on and off twice, then went out with an electric sound. A spark erupted from the back of David’s laptop, and he jumped back.
    I don’t know if I was the only one who heard it, but a deafening roar filled my ears, and the pressure in my head became unbearable.
    Like an elastic band pulled to its limit, the force in me snapped. I screamed from the sudden release. It felt as if something were ripping my soul out of me.
    I heard a cry of surprise and pain from Al. When I opened my eyes, he was somehow on the other side of the room. A lamp on a half-table shattered when he landed on it. A moment later, he fell to the floor, his arms and legs pointing in all different directions. Faintly, his chest rose and fell; he was still breathing.
    I knew I hadn’t thrown him across the room. But something had.
    Acutely aware that David still held a gun on me and had a clear shot, I wondered why he stayed his hand. Turning toward him, I paused, not sure what he would do. He had a complex expression, a mixture of shock and anger; maybe a hint of fear.
    I knew if I spent anymore time thinking about it, I would lose my nerve.
    I backed away from the dead body of Terence Matheson, and edged my way to the door.
    “Don’t!” David barked, leveling his gun at me. But he didn’t fire. I wasn’t sure why, but I wasn’t going to wait for him to change his mind.
    I bolted.
    Behind me, I heard David yell for me to stop, but I didn’t slow, and he didn’t pursue me.
    * * *
    I ran down the hall to the stairs. At the last moment, I remembered to use my key card to open the glass door instead of running into it. My hand was shaking, and it took two attempts for me to swipe the card correctly. Every nerve in my body was crackling, as if some kind of electric current were running through me. Was this adrenaline?
    I got the door open and flew down the stairs and through the lobby to the main entrance as fast as I could.
    As soon as I stepped outside into the cool morning air, my stomach heaved, and I puked into the small begonia garden outside the doors.
    After spending several years on the streets and the better part of another year in prison, I was no