Excerpt: Angel by J.L. Merrow

[reviews_and_ramblings]

Angel by J.L. Merrow
Release Date: 03/2009
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Publisher Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=55_125&products_id=1725

Blurb: Having abandoned his childhood dream of becoming a priest, Don now tries to help people through his work as a parole officer. His latest assignment turns out to be Michael, a young man Don hasn’t seen since he took Michael to church as a child—and saw his parish priest cast Michael out of the church as a demon. Meeting Michael as an adult re-ignites the obsession Don had with the boy he couldn’t save—but can Michael be saved at all? Or is the demon with the compelling face as damned as he believes himself to be?

Excerpt:

THE new guy was late. Don drummed his fingers impatiently. He hoped this wouldn't turn out to be a no-show. He was about to make a note on the file when the door opened without warning and a slender figure slouched in, his face half-hidden by long, raven hair.

"Michael Andras?" Don asked, and the guy looked up at him. The hair was longer, but the man's looks were distinctive enough that Don could easily recognize him from the mugshot on the file. Shockingly cold blue eyes regarded him intently, making Don uncomfortable, although he couldn't have said why.

A surprisingly full mouth quirked up at one side as Andras continued to stare at him in silence. Don swallowed, suddenly remembering the man was gay. Don was used to being checked out by guys-with his looks, it happened a lot-and he could handle it okay when he was on his own time, but here in his office, it seemed like an intrusion.

"You don't remember me, do you?" Andras said at last. He laughed, a short, dry sound without much humor in it. "Must be twenty years ago, now. But I remember you, Donnie." He paused. "Not the sort of thing I'd ever forget, is it? The day I found out I'm a demon."

Don froze. It all came flooding back: the cloying scent of the incense, the panic he'd felt at the kid's cries. He heard his chair clatter to the floor and realized he'd stood up, leaning over his desk to stare at Andras. When he looked closely, he could see faint patches of scarring on Andras's face, the skin there a slightly paler tone. "You-where did you go?" Don asked at last, feeling like he was being a coward, straying away from the real issues into more comfortable territory. "I never saw you again. Where did you go?"

Again the mouth quirked. "Oh, we went lots of places. Didn't go to church again, though."