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[amidarla]

I glanced down at the thin band of gold encircling the fourth finger of my left hand. I looked at it a lot lately, hadn’t been able to take my eyes off of it since he’d placed it on my finger five years before. Five years. Had it been that long

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[supsupevilhand]

Man I hate traffic. Where are those fancy flying cars we were told that would be available when the new century started? I want my flying car or at least the ability to take out the morons ahead of me who don't seem to get green means go.

"OH COME ON ALREADY, GO!" I yell out of the window of my car, hand pressing down the horn. Road rage. I don't see why it should be considered a bad thing to have when the streets are filled with dumbass drivers.

I've got a shitload of things to get done today before Darla and I attend the function tonight. Fuck. I need to pick up the new suit at the shop across town. No way am I going to finish all of this on my lunch break. Stupid assistant. Why did she have to be stupid enough to get in the way of my new client just when I was about to order in lunch for him? New assistants are hard to find.

The ringing of my cell phone almost goes unnoticed over the blare of my horn. I reach into my pocket and check the caller id. Darla. Well at least she is someone I want to talk too. "Hey Darlin'."

[amidarla]

"Hello dear," I said, my fingers playing with the phone cord. I could tell that he was driving, because I could hear the beeps of irate drivers in the background. It would make for lovely ambiance when I told him that Angel was -- well, that Angel was no longer under our custody. I decided to wait for a moment.

"How are you?" I asked brightly, a dead giveaway that there was something wrong. I rolled my eyes at myself. I make it a point never to make small talk, and my voice is never so sickeningly sweet. How I ever ended up married to a smooth talking lawyer, I'll never know.

[supsupevilhand]

Fuck.

FUCK.

Darla was asking how I was? Using a tone of voice that most people would find sweet. The people who didn't know her very well. That tone? That tone, I'm positive, was the tone she used to lure unsuspecting victims into dark alleys before she killed them.

"What happened?" I asked, trying to keep my eyes focused on the road. Last thing I needed to do was wreck the car. Obviously something has already went wrong and it needed my attention.

"Tell me what I need to fix, Darla. You're not hurt right?" I asked, before I could stop the words. Of course she wasn't hurt. Even as a human, Darla was tougher than most demons. Hopefully she wouldn't be offended by the question.

[amidarla]

I smiled automatically. It was so like Lindsey to forget about the important things and immediately focus on me. It was so unbelievably stupid. But endearing.

"I'm fine," I answered carefully. "I'm absolutely stellar, but --" I hesitated. Lindsey was a less than careful driver at the best of times, and I could practically see his fingers clenching around the steering wheel. And the last thing I needed was to be stuck with this mess all by myself.

"You'd better pull over," I amended, sighing deeply. "I'd rather you didn't kill yourself over this."

[supsupevilhand]

Darla was concerned about the news she had to share with me causing a car wreck? Damn. It had to be something major. My blood ran cold as it hit me what this was probably about.

Only one thing could get Darla this worked up. Only one thing could possibly make me cause an accident if the name was mentioned while I was driving.

I eased the car off the road, put it in park and asked, "What does this have to do about Angel?"

[amidarla]

"He's gone," I said bluntly, knowing that there was no more putting it off. Lindsey had more patience than I did, but not when it came to this. Not when Angel was involved. "He escaped, Lindsey, and I have no fucking idea where he is."

[supsupevilhand]

"What do you mean, he's gone?" I shouted out, forgetting for a moment who was on the other line. I quickly got control of my temper. "Sorry, Babe, but how the hell could he escape? How long has he been gone?"

This was bad. Real bad. Having Angel on ice had worked in our favor for a long time. If he was back? Then things were going to start falling apart fast if Darla and I didn't come up with a plan quick.

[amidarla]

He was yelling at me? He was yelling at me? I was about to yell back, but then his tone softened.

"I don't know how he escaped," I answered irritably. "How could I possibly know that?" I sighed and let my chin drop to my hand.

"Lindsey, we need to do something. Now."

[supsupevilhand]

She was right, of course. How was she supposed to know? If I didn't know, and I should know, why the hell don't I know? Fucking morons who were either too stupid or too scared to make the call to tell me they'd fucked up and let Angel escape. So, Darla had to make the call.

Yeah, they better be scared. Because as soon as I fixed this crisis, I was coming after each and every one of them.

"I'm on my way home now, Babe. Traffic is a bitch, but I'll be there soon." I assured her, easing the car back into traffic. "Darla, we'll fix this."