Redemption: The Evolution of Grace: A Nephilim Urban Fantasy (Grace Gamble Trilogy Book 1)

by Sabra Kay

  “Just like we choose not to do anything about high-level demons like Billy Blaine.” I retorted.

  Miles smiled broadly. It was unsettling.

  “Oh, but we are. We have been.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. Your father has been working very hard to help us with problems like Billy Blaine, and just as importantly, if not more importantly, our tenuous working relationship with upstairs.”

  “My father spends his days and nights in a lab cooking up ways to fuck up my life. Not sure how that helps the cause.”

  He pursed his lips and was silent for a few moments. His eyes softened a bit. Just a bit.

  “It's unfortunate that your treatments have resulted in negative experiences for you. I am sorry for that.

  My jaw dropped.

  “Negative experiences? Treatments? How about asking me if I consent to treatments in the first place?”

  He disagreed vehemently. “That would have been impossible. Your treatments began before you were born.”

  “Excuse me?”

  The phone on his desk rang, startling both of us. He put up his finger, motioning for me to hold on. I rolled my eyes and folded my arms across my chest, eying his coffee and the flaky, buttery croissant sitting on his desk.

  “...I see. Yes. I did anticipate the possibility...”

  I perked up my ears but drew my phone from my pocket, half pretending to check my own messages while I listened. He glanced my way a few times while he listened intently to the call.

  “...Not a good time, really, but is it ever...”

  “Okay, yes. We need to move on it, absolutely...”

  I saw I had a few texts from Darah, and that she and a full team were getting ready to attend a briefing, and that she'd update me if she could.

  Chuck had texted me, so had Harry. I didn't read the messages.

  “...I'll do what I can on my end...”

  I was growing impatient. He either needed to tell me what he knew, or I needed to get on with things. I thought back to the conversation with Luz from earlier. I needed to get her by the dark of the moon. How did she think I was going to accomplish that? I had no idea where she was.

  “It's of the utmost importance we get her back.”

  The last statement struck me funny. Obviously, rescuing Sera was of the utmost importance, but his wording didn't sit well with me.

  “...No, we can't afford that. I'll take care of it...”

  What the hell is he talking about? Take care of what? Get her back? What the hell can't you afford?

  Miles hung up the phone, leaned forward in his leather chair and studied me. I felt uncomfortable. Stifled. The air felt heavy, and my hands were feeling all prickly. Great, this. Anxiety could hit me any time, even when there was no apparent reason. It was usually inconvenient. I didn't understand what had triggered it this time. Maybe the confusion, the uncertainty. Maybe the slight inkling that the tables had turned, and maybe that I wasn't in control like I had thought I was.

  “Okay, what was that all about?”

  He sighed. “Grace, I would love to sit here and continue this conversation, but I'm a busy man. I can give you five more minutes, but there just isn't enough time to get into everything with you. I can offer you a cup of coffee, though.”

  “Coffee.” I repeated the word slowly. He was seriously going to bribe me with coffee?

  “Yes, coffee. Would you like a cup? Maybe a croissant? Or are we done here?”

  I nodded, then shook my head. “Yeah, I'll take some coffee. We can talk while it's brewing. I'll take one of those nifty pour over brews.

  He smiled slightly and got up to make the coffee. I decided to finally sit down.

  “So, Miles, tell me more about my father and what he's doing to fight demons and keep our kind safe from angels.” My voice dripped with sarcasm.

  He handed me a steaming cup. “I'm going to be honest with you.” He tilted his head and took his seat on the edge of his desk. “I thought about telling you. I thought about spilling the whole thing, which was impulsive and reckless thinking on my part.”

  “Excuse me?”

  He waved his hand in my direction to silence me.

  “Your father is a brilliant man. He is a visionary. I understand that he hasn't been the most present father to you but trust me when I tell you he has been working for years to create solutions to some of our kinds most pressing problems.”

  I shifted in my chair, not ready to believe these assertions. “That makes no sense.”

  “Oh? How is that?”

  “If he was really working to deal with our upstairs issues, he'd be gone by now. They aren't going to just stand by while he masterminds some kind of bullshit plan.”

  “They don't work the way we work. Their time is different than ours, and you're also assuming that they are all-knowing beings that have a constant eye on us, but that's not the case. Of course, they'll realize eventually, but you'd be surprised what escapes them.”

  He looked at me for a moment, then continued. “Do you know what angels and demons have in common?”

  I was genuinely confused. “Common? Nothing.”

  “You're wrong. Angels and demons have a common bond with humans. It's not about good and evil. It's not about destruction, it's not about guardianship, no matter what you learned at the academy.”

  “Okay, what is it, then?”

  “They need humans. Humans are unique, and so is the symbiotic relationship that both angels and demons share with them. Without humans, there are no angels or demons.”

  “Okay. I guess I’m following.”

  He shook his head. “Not fully, and I don't have time to explain it to you. But you'll understand at some point. And when you do, when you realize what your father has been working on all these years, you'll forgive him.”

  While there was some appeal in sitting here, sipping coffee, and shooting the shit with Miles, learning the long-held secrets of the inner workings non-corp world, there was only a couple of things I needed to know. I held up my hand.

  “It doesn't matter, Miles. I mean, it's fascinating, and all, but all I need to know is what you know about me.” I pointed at my chest when I made this statement and managed to slosh coffee all over my hand and sleeve. “What the— “I set my coffee down and grabbed a handful of tissues off the desk while Miles waited patiently. After I mopped it up as well as I could, I sat back and stared at his face. He was a good-looking man. His eyes had a twinkle, and he had a really nice smile...

  What the fuck is wrong with me?

  I sat up in my chair for a moment, then relaxed back into it. The coffee had gone down warm and smooth, and my belly and chest felt relaxed. It was nice.

  “I need you to tell me about ...me.”

  “Grace, I really don't have time to tell you about you. All I can say is that you're important. Very important. We can't afford to lose you, and we can't afford to lose Sera.”

  “I have to save her.” My eyes felt heavy.

  Miles chuckled. “I know you have a relationship with the girl. Don't worry, we'll find her.”

  The mug slipped out of my hand and crashed to the floor. “Oh, shit. I'm so sorry.” I slurred.

  Miles smiled. “Don't worry about it, Gamble.”

  I attempted to pick up the larger pieces of the mug, but when I leaned over, I became dizzy and nearly fell out of the chair. I put myself back in the chair with some effort. My eyelids felt heavy, like lead, then nearly closed.

  That rat bastard.

  “You drugged me.”

  “Yes, sorry about that.”

  “Why would you do that?”

  “Because I need you to stay put, and I can't trust you. I need to get you a babysitter, and I don't want anyone getting hurt when you get all pissed off about it. We aren't at your father's lab. I don't have any of the medication you need.”

  “Need? I don't need it. And—”

  I faltered, struggling to keep my head up. Ugh, I need to f
ight this, get it together.

  “—How is medication that blocks my abilities going to help anything.”

  He shook his head. “The dampening meds are to keep you from getting yourself and anyone else into trouble. You don't need to be using your gifts. That's not part of our plan.”

  “I don't understand.” I covered my face and focused on not passing out.

  “Someday you will.”

  “Can you escort Miss Gamble to her room, please? Make sure she's comfortable?”

  “What?” What's happening. What the hell did he give me?

  Miles' face loomed in front of me as I slouched on the chair. “Gamble, you need to rest, you need to trust us, you need to stay the hell put until I tell you otherwise. It's for your own damn good.”

  Firm hands helped me up and guided me out the door. My head was so fuzzy, and I could barely feel the ground under my feet. We walked through the tunnel that connected the Church to the Grove, up the stairs, and into the underground parking garage. From there, we came in through one of the back entrances into the hotel and then into an elevator.

  Internally, I tried with everything I had to fight whatever drug was coursing through my system, but it was no use. I was high as a kite, and while I knew what was happening, while I knew my own anger, outrage, fear, and frustration, they were so very far away. At the forefront of my mind was the fear that I was drooling.

  I wondered if one of the guys grabbed my purse, and I also wondered if there was anything to eat in my room.

  The last thing I remembered before passing out, face-first on my bed, was thinking about Sera. She made me promise I wouldn't let anything bad happen to her.

  Chapter Thirteen

  I woke up to a hand on my shoulder, shaking me and hissing my name. I peeled my face from the pillow and opened my eyes.

  “Grace!”

  “What?” I mumbled.

  “Wake up kid, c'mon.” It was Chuck, and he sounded unusually tense.

  “Okay, okay. I’m up.”

  My tongue felt thick in my mouth. I felt queasy and dizzy, and my vision was still blurry from whatever drug Miles had dosed me with. I felt vague anger and irritation but mostly just sick.

  “Kid, you gotta get it together. Here, drink this.” He handed me an insulated cup, and I raised it to my lips. Coffee, beautiful coffee. I started to drink but pushed it away. The thought of coffee made me nauseated. Next, he handed me a bottle of water. I downed half of it, nearly choking in the process. He waited for me to finish coughing.

  I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and finally looked at Chuck. “What time is it?”

  His expression was heavy, but he still smiled. “Hey, there you are.”

  A knock on the door startled me. “Who the hell? Don't let them in, Chuck. I don't want to get drugged again.”

  He waved me off and opened the door. I couldn't see who it was from my end, just the sound of voices. I was still out of it, and they spoke too low for me to catch anything.

  “Was it them?” I asked.

  “You mean your babysitters?” Chuck rolled his eyes.

  “Yeah.”

  “I told them to take a hike, go get some lunch or something. They'll be back, though. Grace, what the hell did you do to get a security detail assigned to you?”

  “Not a damn thing. No, they are hiding something from me, and Miles wants to keep me from finding the truth and from finding Sera.”

  He studied me dubiously but said nothing.

  “Hey, I'm serious, Chuck. I went to my father and Ayana and Miles. They know things about me that they aren't telling me.”

  “Okay, kid. I hear you. But why are they keeping an eye on you? What happened?”

  “I went to talk to Ayana.”

  “Okay, what else?”

  “That's it, he's pissed I did that, but there's more, Chuck. Lots more. I talked to my father, too.”

  “I don't get it, kid. I'm sorry, but I've known you for two years now and no offense, but I just don't get the drama. I was told you were drunk and out of control, that you were insubordinate, and that Miles needed to have you escorted from his office and brought to your room.”

  I blinked. “He drugged me.”

  He blinked back. “Drugged you?”

  “Yeah, Chuck, that's what I said.”

  He looked at me.

  “I know what you're thinking, Chuck.”

  He nodded. “I suppose you do. Look, you can be straight with me. I won't judge you.”

  “I wasn't drinking. I was drugged.”

  “Don't bullshit me. It won't make anything better.”

  “What the fuck, seriously? I'm telling you there is something going on, and it's not okay. My father has been injecting me—”

  “Yeah, I know. I get it.”

  “You don't get it, Chuck. You aren't listening to me.”

  I stood up and started pacing. My chest was getting tighter by the minute. Why won't he listen to me?

  “Hey, I can prove it. The other night, the glass door. That was me. I broke it.”

  He shot me a look. A pitiful, patronizing look.

  “Seriously, Chuck? You were there! How do you think it happened?”

  “I don't know, but I'm getting really worried about you.”

  The sound of my phone buzzing in my purse broke the tension. I made a mental note not to let Chuck off the hook for his lack of faith in me. How could he just assume I was drunk? Or that I was lying? How could he not?

  I picked up the phone. It was Darah. “Now isn't a good time, Dare.”

  “I just wanted to let you know a team was dispatched to retrieve Sera. They'll be at the site she's being held any minute. Thought you'd want to know.”

  “Yeah, yeah, I want to know, of course. Sorry.” My heartbeat quickened, and I broke into a cold sweat. Could it be happening? Could she be on her way back home today? Somehow I didn't think so. “Where are they? Is it local?”

  “Southern California. Out in the desert a couple of hours from Los Angeles, is what I've been told.”

  “Hey, Darah?

  “Yeah.”

  “What else was it you were going to tell me? When we talked?”

  She sighed. “I was going to tell you that there was a rather large file on you, separate from your registration file. I couldn't get into it, but then again, I was in a hurry. I was also going to tell you that whatever is going on, they don't want me to know about it.”

  “Yeah, they don't want me to know about it, either. They are fucking liars and they are up to no good.”

  “Whoa, Grace. That's enough.”

  “It's not enough. They drugged me and have been shooting me up with drugs to suppress me!”

  My head was still foggy, but I was desperate to make somebody understand. I glanced at Chuck, who was sitting in an armchair, looking disappointed. Ridiculous. I slid open the balcony door, waving my pack so he would know I was going to smoke. As I did, my phone beeped alerting me I had a call on the other line.

  It was a number I didn't recognize. I moved my finger to dismiss it, but a lurch in my belly prevented me.

  “Hello? Grace?”

  “Yeah, I'm getting another call.”

  “Do you need to get it?”

  The number disappeared, and I put the phone up to my ear again. “Darah, I need you to do me a big favor. Actually, big favor is an understatement.”

  The phone beeped again. It was a 415 number, so it was local. “Hold on, Dare, they're calling again.”

  I accepted the call, and before I could get a 'hello' out of my mouth, a man’s voice spoke.

  “Grace Gamble?”

  “Yeah? This is her.” The man's voice was vaguely familiar and gave me chills.

  “Good. I want you to listen carefully.”

  “Excuse me? Who is this?”

  “A friend.” His voice was deep, velvety, mischievous.

  “Seriously, who the hell is this?”

  “Who the hell indeed? Are you
listening?”

  “Jesus, what the hell do you want? Who are you? I'm having a shit day, so if you're selling something, you can go fuck right off.”

  He laughed, and the chills intensified. It clicked. Gregory Blaine. I couldn't believe I hadn’t realized immediately who it was. A wave of nausea swept over me, and I clutched my free hand to my stomach. Chuck stepped out onto the balcony next to me, guiding me back in.

  “Who is it?” He mouthed.

  “Gregory Blaine. You motherfucker. Where is she? Do you have her?”

  “She's safe.” His voice had more edge to it, the playfulness was suddenly gone.

  Chuck's eyes widened, and he furiously motioned at me to put the phone on speaker. I fumbled, hearing him speak but not understanding while I frantically tried pushing the button.

  “Ah, someone is there with you? That your partner, Chuck?”

  “Why are you calling me? What do you want?”

  “Well, I'd prefer we speak privately, but I have a feeling that's not going to happen. I guess I'll just have to hang up.”

  “No, no! I'll take it off speaker. I'll have him leave.”

  “Doesn't really matter. I'm just delivering a message.”

  “What? What's the message?” I reached behind me for the armchair, sinking down, suddenly unsteady on my feet. Chuck sat on the edge of the bed across from me, elbows on his knees, eyes on mine.

  “Your friends have arrived. The girl is here. But it's just not a party without you.”

  I gulped. “My friends?”

  “Yeah. People from your so-called force.”

  “What?”

  “I'm going to be honest with you, Grace. Your organization is a joke. Your talents are wasted. It's sad, really.”

  I stood there; my jaw dropped. Chuck was texting furiously. Seconds later, he was up, phone to his ear, heading out the door.

  “Tell your partner if he breathes one word of this call to the CDT, they're all dead.”

  “Are you watching us?” I jumped up and over to the slider, then pulled the vertical blinds across.

  “Haha, no. But if he's sitting there with you, he's going to want to fact-check everything I'm saying.”

  “What do you want, Blaine?” My hands trembled and I drew in a shaky breath.