Chapter 3
“Come and get ’em.” Cordelia stared at the card in shock, then up at the empty shelves. How the hell had he done that? She had Minerva from down the street pull an uninvite spell over the office; no way had he broken that.
How had he gotten in? Her heart raced as she tried to think what to do. He had the books. And that note was meant for her. And the last time she was there, he said…
The phone rang, startling her. She reached over and picked it up, still a little dazed. “Hello?”
“Cordy, it’s me.”
Cordy panicked. “Mmmm…hey Wes. How’s the gut?” She closed her eyes and winced.
“Well, actually, I’m feeling a little peaked today. I think I may just have a lie-in, if you think you can cover the office yourself.”
Cordelia waved a hand in the air, thinking fast. “No, I think that’s a good idea. Rest. Rest is what you need, and plenty of it. You just…lie-in.” She paused. “Unless that’s like some British thing for not going to work so you can stay home and boink.”
There was a silence. “I’m going to ignore that, Cordelia. Call me if anything comes up. And don’t stay late. Go home, relax.”
Cordy smiled sadly as he spoke. “Yeah, that’s the ticket. Rest, Wesley. I want you better.”
Silence. “Because you need me there?”
“No, Fauntleroy. Because I’m tired of you hurting, and I’d rather have you happy.”
“Well, then, I’ll get to it.” Cordy could hear the smile in his voice. “Call…”
“…if anything comes up. Yeah, got it. Go rest.” And smiling, Cordy hung up, only to feel the smile drain from her face as she looked up at the shelves. The empty, mocking shelves. Dammit.
The door opened and Gunn came strolling in, leafing through the mail. “Yo, Barbie. Where’s…..” his voice trailed off as he looked up at the shelves. “Shit. Where’s the books?”
“Mmmmm….uhhhh…..” Cordy drew a blank. She finally worked up a cheery smile and chirped. “Reorganizing. I’m reorganizing. I packed them in the….back…..and….I’m going to dust the shelves because, you know…” she waved a hand in the air “dust. Lots of dust. I’m just going to do some cleaning because….well….Wesley!”
Gunn looked at her as if she had spoken in another language. “OK. I got the cleaning part. What about Wesley?”
“He just called. He feels pretty crappy so he’s staying home. Told him I could handle it here, but you know…it’s kind of slow. Thinking I’d clean a little….”
“Great. I’ll help.”
“NO! I mean…this is boring, and dirty, and….” Her mind raced “I’m all BLOATY and cranky because, you know, PMS..”
Gunn threw up his hands and backed slowly away. “Hey, I’ll leave you to it. I have some things…oh…somewhere…I need to …call if you need help.” And he was gone. Cordelia shook her head. There was no uninvite spell that worked better on the average Joe than the threat of dealing with PMS.
Slumping back in her chair, she tried to come up with a plan. And realized that short of hauling Gunn and rolling Wesley over to the Hyperion, there was no plan except for her to go alone. If she took Gunn, there might be blood spilled, and it would be Gunn’s. She had no faith in Angel’s sense of right and wrong anymore. She thought for a moment, then stood up, reaching for what she thought she might need.
***
An hour later, she stood across the street from the Hyperion, letting traffic whiz by as she faced the once elegant building, a large tote bag slung over one shoulder. She had hopes, here.
It was only 10:30 in the morning; with any luck, Angel would have gone to bed and not be expecting her this early. She could cruise in, find the books, load some….a few…..
She sighed. She was so screwed. In more ways than one. She took a deep breath and crossed the street, her heels tapping on the pavement as she walked. She could have gone with the docs, but noooooo……Barbie had to have her stilts today. Cordy pushed the front door open quietly and leaned down to pull her shoes gently off, setting them aside.
Silence hung like a pall over the lobby. She straightened up and entered, letting the door fall shut behind her. She looked down into the lobby and let out a huge sigh. Stacked neatly in the middle of the lobby was the old, musty library collection of Angel Investigations.
Cordy trudged down the stairs, quietly circling the pile.
No way was she gonna be able to haul these out alone. She raised her hands to run them through her hair, trying to think, when an arm, thick and strong and muscled, appeared from behind her and wrapped around her middle, yanking her back against a solid wall of chest.
Her heart beat a tattoo that could be heard out in the street. She reached to grasp the arm, anchored under her breasts, just as she felt a cool set of lips brush against her ear.
“Didn’t I tell you what would happen if you came back here?”