Chronicles Of A Fallen Angel-Chapter 60: Wanting More

Marcus stood, brushing dust from his jeans. "I'll contact you about the meeting with Catherine. Three days, you said?"

"Three days."

"Good luck, fallen one. You're going to need it."

He left, moving with that vampiric speed that made him nearly impossible to track. Within seconds, he'd disappeared from the cemetery entirely.

I sat there for a while longer, processing everything.

Three days until I'd be sitting across from a Covenant investigator, trying to convince her I wasn't a threat worth eliminating.

Meanwhile, I needed to advance my position with Selene, manage the growing tension with Sarah, complete jobs for the Jackals, and somehow find time to corrupt more targets and collect fragments.

My phone buzzed.

Vivienne: Dinner tomorrow? I miss you. Plus I need to vent about coven politics.

Me: Tomorrow works. Your place?

Vivienne: Perfect. 7 PM. I'll cook.

At least that was something straightforward. Vivienne was uncomplicated – she knew what we had, what it wasn't, and she was fine with that.

No games, no hidden agendas. Just good conversation, good food, and good sex.

I could use some uncomplicated.

Another message appeared.

Sarah: We need to talk. When you have time.

Or maybe not so uncomplicated after all.

I headed back to the safehouse, my mind churning through scenarios and contingencies. The meeting with Catherine Morse would be crucial. I needed to present myself as useful but not dangerous. Powerful but not threatening. Independent but willing to cooperate.

It was a narrow path to walk.

But I'd walked narrower ones before.

Back at the safehouse, Marco was waiting with news.

"Got three new job offers," he said, gesturing to files on the table. "All high-profile, all paying well. Plus Victor Castellano called – apparently he's been recommending us to other clients. Word's spreading that we can handle difficult retrievals."

"That's good."

"It is. But it also means more attention. More exposure." Marco looked at me seriously. "I know you've got your own things going on. I'm not asking what they are. But I need to know – are we going to have problems? Heat that's going to come back on the Jackals?"

"I'm handling it."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the answer I can give right now." I met his eyes. "I've brought in successful jobs, haven't I? Completed impossible retrievals? Made us money?"

"You have."

"Then trust that I know what I'm doing. If my personal business ever threatens the team, I'll handle it before it becomes your problem."

Marco considered this, then nodded slowly. "Fine. But I'm holding you to that. The Jackals are a family. We protect each other. That goes both ways."

"Understood."

I spent the rest of the day reviewing the new job offers and planning for the Covenant meeting. Elena helped me prepare – teaching me how to mask my power signature, how to present as less threatening while still demonstrating capability.

"The key is control," she explained, having me practice channeling my energy in small, measured amounts. "Show them you can use your power precisely. That you're not some rogue element throwing around celestial fire without thought."

"I can control it."

"After what happened at the Vault, I doubt that."

She had a point.

We practiced for hours. Small manifestations of power. Precise applications. Demonstrating skill rather than raw strength.

By the evening, I felt more confident. I could show the Covenant I was capable without seeming dangerous. Probably.

That night, I lay in bed thinking about the web I'd woven.

Selene was processing her feelings, which meant our next encounter would be crucial. I'd pushed her boundaries, and now I needed to give her space to come to terms with that before pushing further.

Sarah wanted to talk about "us," which suggested she was having second thoughts about keeping things purely professional. That conversation would need to be handled carefully.

Vivienne was uncomplicated but also observant. If she sensed something was off with me, she'd ask questions I might not want to answer.

The Covenant was closing in, and I had three days to prepare for a meeting that could determine whether I lived or died.

And somewhere in all of this, I needed to continue collecting fragments, building power, preparing for whatever came next.

It was too much. Too many variables. Too many ways for it all to fall apart.

But I'd chosen this path. Made these choices. Now I had to see them through.

My phone lit up with one final message for the night.

Unknown: Heard interesting things about you, fallen one. We should meet. I have a proposition that might interest you. -A

I stared at the message. Unknown number. Signed with just an initial.

Who the hell was A?

I was too tired to care. I'd deal with it in the morning.

Tomorrow: dinner with Vivienne. The day after: whatever conversation Sarah wanted to have. The day after that: meeting with Catherine Morse from the Covenant.

And somewhere in between, I'd find time to not completely lose my mind.

I closed my eyes and tried to sleep.

In my dreams, I saw golden light and silver hair, heard warnings whispered in ancient languages, and felt the weight of too many secrets pressing down.

Three days.

That's all I had to get my affairs in order before everything changed.

Again.

---

The next morning, I woke to find Tommy at my door, looking worried.

"We've got a problem," he said.

"What kind of problem?"

"Someone's been asking questions about the Jackals. Specifically about you. They've been hitting our contacts, our informants, anyone who might know about our operations."

"Who?"

"Don't know yet. But they're good. Professional. And they're getting closer." He showed me his tablet, displaying a map with marked locations. "They started on the outskirts of our network three days ago. Now they're two degrees of separation from the safehouse."

Three days ago. Right after the vault job.

The Covenant? Or someone else?

"Keep monitoring," I said. "Let me know if they get any closer."

"Will do. Whoever this is, they're not fucking around. This is serious investigative work, not just casual curiosity."

After Tommy left, I checked my messages.

Vivienne: Still on for tonight?

Me: Absolutely. Looking forward to it.

Unknown (A): No response? I'm disappointed. My offer stands. When you're ready to hear it, you know how to reach me.

I still had no idea who 'A' was, and frankly, I had enough to deal with without adding another mysterious player to the mix.

At 2 PM, I met Sarah in one of the safehouse's private rooms. She looked nervous, which was unusual for her. Sarah was normally confident, controlled, professional.

"Thanks for making time," she said, gesturing for me to sit.

"What did you want to talk about?"

She paced for a moment, clearly trying to organize her thoughts. "The other night. At The Scarlet Room. I said it was just the job."

"And I agreed."

"I know. And I meant it at the time. But..." She stopped pacing, looking at me directly. "I can't stop thinking about it. About you. About what it felt like."

"Sarah – "

"Let me finish. I know this is stupid. I know we work together and it complicates everything. I know you've got other things going on – other women, other complications. But I need to be honest with you, and with myself." She took a breath. "I want more."

There it was. The complication I'd been expecting.

"More as in...?"

"More as in I want to do that again. Without a job. Not because we have to maintain cover. Just because I want to." She moved closer.

I studied her. Sarah was being honest, vulnerable in a way that probably made her uncomfortable. She deserved honesty in return.

"I sometimes do too," I admitted.

"So where does that leave us?"

"Complicated. I have other entanglements, other situations I can't explain. Getting involved with me right now is probably a bad idea."

"Probably." She sat beside me. "I'm not asking for exclusivity. I know what you have with that witch – Vivienne, right? I'm not trying to compete with that or replace it. I just want... something."

"Something," I repeated.

"Yeah. I want you to touch me, and be inside me on days where I can't stop thinking about how it felt when you were." She looked at me.

Sarah was attractive, skilled, and now apparently interested in continuing what we'd started. It would add another layer of complexity to an already complex situation, but it would also provide something I needed – fragments, if we took things further than we had at The Scarlet Room.

"Yes," I said. "I can give you that."

"Good." She leaned in, kissing me. It was different from the performative kiss at the club – more genuine, more exploratory.

When she pulled back, she was smiling. "So. When?"

"How about tonight, after I get back from dinner with Vivienne?"

"You're going to have dinner with another woman and then come sleep with me?" She laughed. "You really do like to complicate your life."

"Apparently I do."

"Just promise me one thing."

"What?" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"Don't lie to me. If this stops working for you, if you need to end it, just tell me."

"Deal. Same goes for you."

She stood. "I should get back to work. But tonight... I'll be waiting."

She left, and I sat there processing.

In the span of a week, I'd made significant progress with Selene, maintained my arrangement with Vivienne, and now started something with Sarah. All while preparing to meet with the Covenant and managing my responsibilities to the Jackals.

I was a master juggler or I was about to watch everything crash down around me.

At 7 PM, I arrived at Vivienne's townhouse. She answered the door in casual clothes – yoga pants and a sweater – looking relaxed and happy to see me.

"You're here," she said, pulling me into a kiss. "I was starting to think you'd forgotten about me."

"Never. Just been busy with work."

"The kind of work that explains why you look exhausted?"

"Exactly that kind."

She led me inside, where the smell of cooking filled the air. "I made pasta. Nothing fancy, but comfort food seemed appropriate."

Over dinner, she vented about coven politics – disputes over territory, arguments about modernization versus tradition, the usual organizational drama that plagued any group of powerful beings trying to coexist.

"And then Sebastian had the nerve to show up at the last council meeting," she said, refilling her wine. "Glaring at me the whole time like I personally offended him by not falling into his arms."

"He's still bitter about the gala?"

"Oh, he's beyond bitter. He's been spreading rumors about you, trying to figure out who you really are. It's pathetic." She smiled. "But also kind of flattering. I haven't had men fighting over me in years."

"We're not fighting over you."

"No? What would you call it?"

"I'd call it Sebastian trying to kiss your feet, while i have your whole body."

She laughed. "Fair point."