Fallen: Danielle Excerpt

Here's an excerpt from my latest Fallen book, Danielle. Released last November.

(c)2005 Tiffany Aaron

Excerpt:

Danielle laughed softly. The head archaeologist had a great ass. She ogled him as he ran up the steps. His faded jeans cupped his tight butt with nothing left to the imagination. She often wasted her time wondering what the rest of his impressive body looked like. She had the feeling Grant didn’t spend time thinking about her unless he was annoyed about her touching his artifacts.

A strange pull came from the museum. She wondered if another fallen had come that day. Having no interest in joining the Enforcers or unrepentant, she tried to avoid both. She thought about the vague sense of unease she had felt coming from Grant. Could it have something to do with the pull she was getting or was it his basic dislike of her?

She made her way into the museum. Flashing her name badge, she walked past the security desk. Making her way towards the back of the first floor, she glanced up at the two large elephants placed in the lobby. Smiling, she said a silent hello to them as she went by.

Wandering around the museum, she tried to get an idea of where the pull was coming from, but it wasn’t from the public areas. She went down into the employee only area and soon she found herself standing outside the archaeology labs. She had to laugh. Maybe her fascination with Grant was screwing up her fallen ‘radar’ since she knew for a fact the man wasn’t one of her brethren. Shaking her head, she turned and walked away. There was no way she was going to bother the man again today.

She decided to leave. Obviously knowing Grant was coming back today had made her think something was happening at the museum. She stood on the steps and stared out at Soldier’s Field. Pulling on her jacket, she took a deep breath and felt a sense of coming home. New Orleans was nice, but the problems she got involved in down in the city made her happy to get back to Chicago. Flagging down a cab, she decided to go home for a while. She knew her cat would ignore her out of anger and spite. Princess didn’t like her human being gone any longer than a day. She settled back into the seat and brushed her hair out of her eyes. New Orleans had been a learning experience for her.

When she was an angel, she had done all the right things and tried her best to stay out of trouble. In one foolish moment, she went against her normal cautious nature and she fell with the rest of them. Had she ever thought God would forgive them? Maybe He would eventually, but she wasn’t going to wait around for Him to make up His mind. She also wasn’t going to become a hunter for Him. There was no way she would prey on her fellow fallen. Pity welled in her heart every time she thought about the unrepentant. They had never found happiness or contentment in the world. They would always long for Heaven and their wings.

She watched the buildings speed past and thought about those fallen who hunted the unrepentant. Dominic had been the first Enforcer she had spent any time with and she wondered if he was the typical kind. She had thought Enforcers were as crazy as the unrepentant. Both sides were trying to find a way to end their exile. Enforcers did clean up so Mika’il, the Father’s archangel, could do his usual work.

A smirk graced her face. She wasn’t sure what Mika’il’s usual work was. He seemed to spend more time bothering the Enforcers than helping mortals. He didn’t visit her very often because she chose to stay out of the way. She tended to irritate him when he did talk to her. She didn’t hold the archangel in awe. She knew he had a hard time of it, keeping mortals in line and trying to keep the fallen from killing every one. Hard way to make a living she thought.

Sure it is, but I would rather be doing this. The archangel’s voice echoed in her head.

She laughed. Why? There has to be other things you can waste your time on. We’ve always been difficult to handle.

Difficult tends to be the definition of fallen. Mika’il was amused. Thank you for the help with Dominic. I want you to know he and Teresa are doing well.

Thank you for letting me know. They’re good people.

Yes, they are and so are you.