Read Online The Immortal Greek by Monica La Porta - Free Book Online Page B

she looked like a child. She was definitely going to punch him as soon as she regained consciousness and realized she had lain scantily clothed on his lap. He rearranged the lapels of the terry robe to fully cover her chest.
    When he called Samuel, the angel told him to wait for the para unit to arrive and that it would take a few minutes. He had snarled back at Samuel to send them over yesterday, surprising both the angel and himself. Now, the adrenaline rush was ebbing and he shook as if he were running a fever. On unsteady legs, he rose from the couch where he had sat to take a breather, then carried Ravenna to her bed. When he bent to his knees to lower her on the white coverlet, she moved against his chest, burrowing closer to him. He lowered both of them to the bed and laid her on its center, then peeled away one side of the bedding to cover her with it. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the man’s feet and decided he had to remove the body from the bedroom. Alexander grabbed the man by his ankles and dumped him in the middle of the kitchen, where he furiously paced, waiting for the cavalry to show up.
    The para unit and Samuel arrived a few minutes later. While the doctor and the nurse examined Ravenna, Alexander took Samuel to see the body. “My guess is he bit a poison capsule.”
    “I’m sure the autopsy will confirm that.” Samuel crouched by the dark figure and removed the ski mask covering his face. Then he turned on a recorder similar to the one Ravenna had used and gave the man a good look. “Immortal. Approximate human age between thirty and thirty-five. Average height and build. Sudden, unexplained death. Possible cause, poison, self-administered.” He then rose and headed to one of the kitchen counters where he opened and closed several drawers before finding a wooden spatula. He strolled back to the body, then used the flat end of the spatula to raise the dead’s lips, first the upper lip, then the lower. “Scratch that. Sure cause of death, self-ingestion of poison.” He gestured for Alexander to step closer and lowered the man’s lower lip to show him the dark brown stain coloring his gums and the inside of his lip. “He must have truly feared his employer’s anger.”
    Alexander straightened his legs then hugged himself, rocking on his heels. “Why the attack on Ravenna?” He caught himself one word too late. “Why Miss Del Sarto?”
    Samuel looked at him from under his lashes. “Don’t know yet.” He stood and went to the counter and rummaged through the drawers again, found a box with transparent freezer bags, and dropped the spatula inside one of them.
    Alexander followed him and leaned on the counter. “She was distraught back at your office. Was she just upset about having to work with me?”
    “Well, I’m sure she wasn’t thrilled about that.” Samuel moved to the sink and washed his hands with soap and water, then grabbed a towel from a hook and dried them.
    Alexander raised one eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest. “That’s disappointing.”
    The angel moved about the kitchen as if it were his home. He reached for the moka sitting on the higher shelf of the cabinet next to the fridge, then grabbed the coffee beans can sitting on the counter top. “Would you like some coffee while we wait for the doctor to finish?”
    “No, thanks. I’m fine.” Alexander sat at the kitchen table. For some reason, he didn’t like that Samuel was familiar with her place.
    Samuel poured a good handful of coffee beans into the coffee grinder and let it run until the whole kitchen smelled of freshly roasted coffee. He brought the container with the ground beans to his nose and breathed in with great gusto.
    “Why do you think the doctor is taking so long?” Alexander wanted to check on what they were doing to Ravenna.
    “Relax. She’s in very good hands. The doctor knows her well.” Samuel fixed the moka and turned on the smaller burner on the gas stove.
    “Is she often in