Wicked Kiss

by Michelle Rowen

  Bishop had already drawn the dagger out and I eyed its sharp edge with trepidation. “Time to talk, Stephen.”

  “I like talking. When I feel like it.”

  “Wait,” I said. “Stephen, are you better now?”

  His forehead furrowed. “Better than what?”

  “Before, you were so depressed. You wanted to die.” His confused look told me everything I needed to know. “You were right, Bishop, the effects of the angel’s touch fade if given enough time.”

  “Good to know.” Bishop was silent for a moment. “You and Jordan need to wait outside now.”

  I turned a dark look at him. “And let you do your thing?”

  His blue-eyed gaze remained neutral. “That’s right.”

  “Your way of dealing with problems kind of freaks me out, Bishop.”

  “We’re going to have to agree to disagree on this subject. There’s no time to argue.”

  Stephen snorted. “Are you defending me, Sam? That’s so nice of you.”

  I spun to face him, anger heating my cheeks. “I should let him carve you up. You haven’t done a damn thing to earn my trust or respect. Everything you’ve done has been to hurt me. To hurt Jordan.”

  His expression shadowed. “I never wanted to hurt her.”

  “Are you serious?” Jordan sputtered. “You knocked me out, you kept me prisoner. You nearly had a hobbit feast on my soul. What do you call that? True love?”

  He stared at her incredulously. “Yes, actually. I did all that so we could be together again.”

  I stared at the two of them, realizing that Stephen really did this out of love for Jordan. This was one seriously twisted romance I was witnessing.

  Jordan let out a frustrated shriek, spun around and stormed out of the room.

  “Go with her,” Bishop advised.

  His shoulders were tense as he clenched the dagger. His body language showed his stress more than his even expression did. He didn’t want me to see what he had to do to save my life.

  How many times have you hurt someone to get what you want? I thought. How many have you killed on your missions for Heaven?

  I couldn’t read his mind, but I knew the answer would probably scare me very deeply.

  Still, I didn’t budge from my spot.

  Bishop groaned. “Samantha, you have to be difficult, don’t you?”

  “Don’t let him hurt me, Sam,” Stephen said tightly. “I did it all for love. You get that, don’t you?”

  I believed he did. And I also believed he was manipulative enough to use my sympathy for that weakness against me.

  Bishop wasn’t filled with patience tonight. He sheathed his dagger, then took me by my arm, sending a shiver of electricity racing across my skin. He then directed me out of the office and back into the sanctuary where Jordan had fled to.

  Cassandra joined us.

  Bishop nodded toward Jordan. “Can you help with her, Cassandra?”

  The angel nodded, and approached the redhead who watched her with a tense, guarded expression.

  “What do you want?” Jordan asked sharply.

  “Look at me.” Cassandra smiled when Jordan did what she asked. “You need to go home now. It’s been a difficult ordeal for you, but it’s over. Everything is okay. You don’t have to worry. Everything you’ve seen tonight, all the strange and confusing things that have scared you—you’re going to forget them. They’ll be like nothing more than a fading dream.”

  Jordan blinked. “What are you, crazy or something? Get away from me.”

  Cassandra cleared her throat. “Um, it usually works much better than this.”

  “You’re losing your edge, Blondie,” Kraven said. He’d also left the office, and now leaned casually against the back wall of the church.

  “What are you doing out here?” Bishop asked.

  “I follow the drama. It’s entertaining. Besides, Connor and Roth have Mr. Tall, Gray and Devious under control. Don’t get your feathers ruffled.”

  I inhaled sharply as Bishop took my arm again. I’d been trying my best to ignore it, but his soul was doing crazy things to my head right now.

  “You need to leave,” he said firmly.

  “I can’t.”

  “I can’t think when you’re here. And I need to be able to think.”

  The events of the night swirled around me, making me dizzy. So much had happened I couldn’t process it all, but I didn’t want to leave. I slid my hand down my leg to feel the leather sheath strapped to my thigh.

  Suddenly, I remembered what it had held.

  My eyes bugged and I grabbed the edge of Bishop’s shirt. “Bishop...Stephen, he took my dagger earlier. He probably still has it.”

  Clarity shone in his eyes, then he turned from me and stormed out of the sanctuary and back to the office. The rest of us followed.

  Connor lay unconscious on the floor near the wall, which now bore an angel-sized dent. Roth lay on his back, gasping, the familiar, small golden dagger protruding from his throat.

  The wooden chair the super-gray had been seated in was now in pieces.

  Stephen had escaped.

  Chapter 24

  Cassandra let out a strangled cry and rushed to Roth’s side. She pulled the dagger out and immediately set to work at healing him.

  Kraven went to check on Connor, but thankfully he was already starting to regain consciousness.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered, my chest so tight it was hard to breathe normally. “I forgot all about the dagger. I should have said something earlier. Now he’s gone.”

  Bishop turned to me, and I expected to see anger in his eyes that I’d been so thoughtless, but there was nothing like that. There was frustration there, but it wasn’t directed at me.

  “No.” He took my hand and squeezed it. “You’ve been through a lot. You didn’t forget on purpose. This isn’t your fault.”

  “Sure it is,” Kraven said.

  Bishop sent a glare at him. “Actually, if you’d stayed in here this could have been avoided.”

  “Or I could be the one with the knife sticking out of me.” He shrugged. “Maybe you’d like that.”

  “Maybe I would.”

  “Ouch.”

  The anger fell from Bishop’s gaze as he turned from his brother and, if you asked me, it was as if he regretted his harsh words. He kept my hand in his like he needed the contact to keep his mind clear.

  The longer I was near him, the less clear my head became.

  “Connor, take Jordan home and make sure she stays there,” Bishop instructed, his voice tight.

  “Can’t,” Jordan said. “I have plans tonight.”

  He looked at her with surprise. “You were kidnapped and imprisoned in a locked basement storage room by your obsessed boyfriend for nearly two days and you have plans?”

  She glared at him. “I have a social life, you know. There’s a huge Halloween party tonight I can’t miss. I spent a ton on my costume.”

  Bishop gave me an exasperated look, which almost coaxed a smile from me despite everything that had gone so horribly wrong.

  I shrugged. “She says she has a costume.”

  “I’m Cleopatra,” Jordan said, as if that explained everything. She cocked her head. “Wait a minute. I think I’m remembering something important.” Then she inhaled sharply. “When Stephen first found me, before he knocked me out, I told him about the party. He seemed...interested in going. As if it might make him f
eel normal again. He said we could go together.” Her eyes moved back and forth rapidly as if she was remembering the moment in detail. “I mean, obviously he was just playing games with me, trying to get closer so he could grab me. But still, maybe he’ll show.”

  “Where’s this party?” Bishop asked, his voice measured and almost too calm.

  “It’s Noah’s party.” Jordan looked at me. “You’re invited, too, right? He has the hots for you, FYI.”

  I cleared my throat. “Yeah, well, the feeling isn’t mutual.”

  “Gray-girl’s curious charm doesn’t seem to be lost on many,” Kraven drawled, amused. “Hobbits are hot.”

  “It’s not at his house,” I said, remembering what Kelly told me in the school hall yesterday. “He found another place?”

  “Yeah, an abandoned house in a private area on the far east side of the city—at Oak and Peters. Thinks it’ll add a spooky touch. Figures it might be busted, but that’s supposed to make it more exciting.” She crossed her arms. “I’m going.”

  I watched Bishop carefully for his reaction to the stubborn redhead. “Connor, like I said, take Jordan home safely. What she does after that is entirely up to her.” He shifted his gaze to his brother. “Kraven, go with Roth to this party and keep an eye open for our gray friend. Connor can meet you there later.”

  “And if we see him?” Connor asked.

  “Detain him. Any way possible.”

  Connor’s eyes narrowed and there was a hard set to his jaw. “With pleasure.”

  They didn’t wait. They left, Jordan sending a glance back toward me, but no goodbye. It would have been easier for her if the angelic influence had worked. Whatever made her different, that gave her the supernatural intuition, had prevented her from being influenced.

  She would remember everything she’d seen, everything she’d learned.

  It was dangerous information for a seventeen-year-old. I should know.

  When they left, Bishop looked at Cassandra. “You’ll go with Samantha back to her house. Wait for her outside the church, all right?”

  “All right.” Cassandra glanced at me, then left the two of us alone.

  “And where will you go?” My chest clenched at the thought of saying goodbye to him again.

  “The others want me to stay away from you. I think we’ve already proven how dangerous it can be when we’re too close.”

  I swallowed hard. “Yeah, very dangerous. So where are you headed?”

  He held my gaze. “To your house.”

  My brows rose. “What?”

  He snorted softly at my surprised reaction. “I honestly don’t care what anybody says, I’m not letting you out of my sight right now. Understand?”

  I just nodded, stunned he was even suggesting this. He could have easily let Cassandra take me home and joined the others at the house party.

  But he wanted to stay with me.

  He took hold of the small dagger now lying on the top of the empty wooden desk. He wiped the blade on his jeans to clean it of Roth’s blood.

  “I believe this is yours.” He handed it to me. When I took it from him, our fingers brushed against each other.

  I returned it to its sheath under my skirt. “Thank you. I’m sorry about what happened—”

  “Don’t apologize. And Kraven’s wrong. It wasn’t your fault. What Stephen did to you...” His expression darkened. “I could have killed him for that.”

  “Killing isn’t always the answer.”

  “I know that.”

  I swallowed hard. “I saw you kill Kraven. In your memory.”

  He turned away, but I caught his arm.

  “It wasn’t you,” I said firmly. “It couldn’t have been. There has to be some other explanation why you’d do that.”

  When his gaze met mine again, this time it was stormy. “It’s funny, you seeing that memory.”

  I laughed this time, a dry, humorless sound. “What’s so funny about it?”

  “Because...a lot of the details are a blank for me. But I guess, somewhere in my head it’s all still there, crystal clear.” His brows drew tightly together. “What happened with Kraven...he was my brother. We had our problems, sure, but—I remember the cold certainty that came over me that night. The knowledge that he had to die and that his soul was bound for Hell...but—” he rubbed a hand over his mouth and looked away from me “—I don’t know why I couldn’t stop myself from killing the one person who ever gave a damn about me.”

  I stared at him. This was the confirmation I’d been looking for. “You can’t remember why you did it? Seriously?”

  He gave me a wry look. “It doesn’t excuse what I did.”

  “But in a way it does. It tells me you weren’t yourself at the time.”

  “But I still did it. Nobody else. You saw that yourself.”

  I tried to figure it out, but failed miserably. “No matter what you might have done, you’re still an angel. Your soul was not dark and heavy enough to become a demon, so as horrible as it was, it must have been the right thing to do at the time. You told me yourself—killing Kraven and sending him to Hell is what helped you become an angel. There has to be a reason for that.”

  “There was.” He inhaled deeply and let it out slowly. “There was somebody on my side. Somebody who put in a good word for me—somebody who also sent people to Hell whenever he got the chance.”

  “Who?”

  He searched my face as if waiting for me to recoil from him with disgust and horror over all of this. But I’d been in training lately to handle a lot of bizarre stuff. I could handle more. I was like a pack mule for supernatural craziness now.

  “My father,” he finally said.

  I blinked with surprise. “Your father?”

  He nodded slowly. “Just like your birth mother—my father was an angel. That got me a chance when otherwise I know I would have been damned.”

  “Your father was a—an angel.” Maybe this pack mule’s back wasn’t as strong as I originally thought.

  “Yeah. Let’s just say, my mother had widely differing tastes when it came to men.” He shook his head, his expression shuttering as if he’d realized he’d said far too much. “Come on, I’m taking you home.”

  I needed more time, more information. But he’d put an end to it. Quite honestly, I think this was the most I’d ever gotten out of him. While mind-blowing, I considered it serious progress.

  We caught up with Cassandra, and together we headed back to my house. Once there, it felt very strange to have Bishop come in through the front door. It seemed like such a mundane thing for someone like him to do.

  Entrances through bedroom windows, however...

  “I’m starving,” Cassandra said immediately. She hadn’t said much on the way here, keeping quiet and looking pale. Now that her secret was out, her real mission, I had no idea what was going on in her head. When I’d met her eyes to try to find out more by reading her mind, I’d found that her walls were up—solid and impenetrable.

  She disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Bishop and me alone.

  “Are we going to the party tonight?” I asked.

  “No. The others have it under surveillance. We’ll go back to Ambrosia and look for Stephen. Someone there has to know where he is.”

  His gaze moved over everything in the foyer, from the throw rug, to the coatrack, to the framed pictures of me and my mom.

  “Pretty boring stuff,” I said, embarrassed by the level of mundan
e he was able to witness in such a small space.

  His attention moved to me. “Hardly. I find everything here...very interesting.”

  My face felt warm. His soul was hard to ignore right now, as was my hunger, but I hoped I had a decent lock on it.

  The calm before the storm, I thought. Gets better before it gets worse.

  Such a pessimist.

  No, a realist. There was a big difference.

  “Earlier, you said that you didn’t want to let me out of your sight,” I said cautiously.

  He didn’t take his eyes off me for a moment. “That’s exactly what I said.”

  “There might be a slight problem with that plan.”

  “What?”

  I took my coat off and threw it on the coatrack like I’d done hundreds of times before. “I need to take a shower.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Okay. Well, make it a fast one and I won’t have to check on you.”

  “Fastest ever.” I turned away from him before he could see me blush and rushed up the stairs to the second floor.

  Before I hopped in the shower I quickly checked voice mail. There was a message from my mom about how much she was enjoying her vacation. Another one from Kelly confirming the new location for Noah’s Halloween party and how she hoped I’d be there, even though I’d been missing in action lately. No calls from the school. I’d missed the better part of two days, but they hadn’t checked up on me yet. For all they would have known I was sick at home. It was a big relief.

  When I hung up, I heard my bedroom door open, and I repressed a smile.

  “It’s only been five minutes. You’re already checking on me?” I turned to the door, surprised to see Cassandra standing there, not Bishop.

  “Are you all right?” I asked, concerned by how upset she looked.

  She shook her head. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

  I swallowed hard. “Care to be more specific? There’s a lot happening.”

  “With the angel I was sent to find. How much damage she’s done—how many lives she’s destroyed after escaping the Hollow.”