The Devil's Angel: A Paranormal Vampire Romance Novel (Devil Series Book 2)

by Raven Steele

  “How do you know these things?”

  “It’s called living. You should try it sometime.” Scott smiled warmly. “Go to her. If she begged a vampire to stay with her, then she must really need someone. Don’t let her suffer alone.”

  He’d never thought of it like that before. One more stupid mistake.

  “Besides, don’t you want to know who she is, and how she came to be in your life?”

  “More than anything. Thank you for the advice.” He walked to the front door, and Scott followed.

  “I consider you a friend, Lucien. If you ever need anything…”

  “I know. I’ll call you later.”

  Lucien parked in front of Eve’s house and listened closely. He’d become so familiar with her breathing that he could tell by the way she exhaled, the air slightly forced, that she was still awake.

  He exited his car and stepped onto her porch. Very quietly, he turned the doorknob and ascended the stairs to her darkened bedroom. Eve was lying on her side, staring opposite the open window. He watched her for a moment, hidden within the shadows, then stepped out of the darkness and knelt at her side. When he came into her view, she looked at him as if dreaming.

  “I’m back,” he whispered, wishing he had something more clever to say.

  She searched his face. “Lucien?”

  “I’m here.”

  She reached for him and pulled him close, burying her face to his chest. He sat awkwardly not knowing where to place his hands. But when his body began to hum with foreign energy, he pushed himself away and stood.

  Her eyes flashed to the open door and alarm spread across her face. “Don’t go.”

  “I need answers. Who are you?”

  She sat up easily and pain free and smoothed back her hair. “You’ve met me before, but I was a different person then.”

  “The witch in Coast City. But how?”

  “You remember?”

  “I remember a cruel and power-obsessed woman.”

  Eve glanced away, her face paling. “I was a different person then, someone I’m not proud of.”

  Because he recognized and understood her deep regrets, he changed the subject. “How did you heal yourself?”

  “I’m immortal.”

  He shook his head, more confused than ever. “But you’re not a vampire.”

  “No.”

  “Then what?”

  She paused, and her eyes grew dark as if remembering a painful past. “To put it simply, a vampire injected altered vampire venom into me, creating whatever it is that I am.”

  Lucien’s muscles tensed. “What vampire?”

  “It doesn’t matter. He’s dead now.”

  “Why would he do this to you?”

  “He wanted me to live forever by his side, but he didn’t want me to be a full vampire because he was afraid I would be more powerful than him. We did many terrible things together. I did terrible things.” She lowered her head. “Can you ever forgive me for what I’ve done?”

  He drew his brows together. “You don’t need my forgiveness.”

  “Yes, I do. I almost killed you.”

  He shook his head. “No, you didn’t.”

  She closed her eyes and sighed. When she opened them back up, she said, “Remember the black witch you fought in the woods?”

  Lucien did remember. She was the most powerful being he’d ever encountered. He’d thought for sure she would be the one to end his life.

  “That was me, too.”

  Before he could reply, Eve told him everything: the abuse she’d endured at her parents’ hands, the night they’d killed Madelyn, how they had also tried to kill her, which forced her to seek refuge with a powerful vampire friend of the family. She finished by telling Lucien about the cursed necklace that nearly destroyed her had it not been for Lucien.

  Her mood lightened when she also told him of the Deific and the magic of beauty she’d first felt from a crimson rose. She also mentioned the special children and the work she did at the Academy. Lastly, she spoke of him.

  Lucien couldn’t understand this part of her story. “But why? Why did you need to find me?”

  “Because of our connection.”

  He shook his head adamantly.

  She quickly continued, “I’ve never felt such beauty with anyone else.”

  “Beauty?”

  She came to her feet and crossed the room to him, so close he held his breath. He could feel the heat of her body inches from his. She reached forward and linked her fingers through his. “Don’t you feel it?”

  He flinched and stepped back.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m not used to being touched.”

  Eve exhaled a waited breath and moved past him to the window. She stared into the darkness, her body only a shadow in the moonlight. Her breathing was slow and steady, and she remained still.

  Finally, she turned to him. “There’s so much more to life than what you know, but I can’t force you to see what’s right in front of you. It’s your choice.”

  “My choice to do what?”

  “To live.”

  “Why do I have to choose?”

  “You are already choosing, whether to be in the shadows or in the light. There is no such thing as not choosing because not choosing is a choice, too.” She paused. “I know it will take time for you to want goodness in your life, but when that time comes, I’ll be waiting.”

  “I’m not sure what you’ll be waiting for. There can never be anything between us.” And he believed it. She was crazy to think they could have any kind of relationship, even that of a friendship.

  She tilted her head slightly. “Maybe you’re right.”

  A ribbon of moonlight stole through the window, illuminating her sea-green eyes. He wanted desperately to read her calm expression, but there wasn’t a hint as to what she might be feeling or thinking.

  She returned to the bed and sat down. “Why did you save me when I fell from the bridge?”

  “I find you interesting,” was the most he could say.

  Eve shook her head as if she knew he was lying. “Why did you jump after me?”

  He waited a long moment before answering. “I couldn’t bear the thought of you suffering.”

  “And yet you hurt me tonight.”

  A pain wracked his heart. With barely enough air to get the words out, he said, “I need you to see the monster I am.”

  “If you truly are a monster, then why do you feel guilty?”

  The pain in his heart raced to his head. These questions were twisting his brain all kinds of wrong.

  “My life is complicated,” he said, because he could think of no better answer.

  “Then uncomplicate it.”

  “I can’t do that.”

  Her shoulders dropped, and her eyes closed briefly. “What happens now?”

  “I’ll leave you alone.”

  “I don’t want to be left alone.”

  “You won’t be. You have good friends. And Charlie.” He tried not to say his name spitefully but couldn’t help it. “He would follow you to the ends of the earth.”

  “I don’t want Charlie following me.” Her voice rose. “I found you for a reason.”

  Lucien said nothing.

  Eve stood. “Fine. You’ve made your point. You prefer your empty existence over a life of happiness.”

  “It’s not like that.”

  “It’s exactly like that.” She crossed the bedroom to the door. “Go back to your alley or wherever you live and keep being depressed.”

  “I’m not depressed. I’m a realist.”

  She flashed him a cold, hard stare, then stormed over to him to take his hand in hers. The cells in his skin leapt as if reacting to a fierce heat.

  “This is real!”

  He pulled his hand away. “Not to me.”

  Eve shook her head and inhaled deeply, the tight lines in her face relaxing. “I’m sorry. I said you could choose, and I meant it. I didn’t mean to
pressure you.”

  “Please don’t apologize. This is for the best, you’ll see.” He turned to leave but stopped to say one last thing. “I’m sorry for ruining your kitchen. I’ll send a company by in the morning to fix it.”

  “I don’t care about the stupid kitchen.”

  “And I’m going to leave my number downstairs. If you are ever in trouble, please call me.”

  It took all his strength, but he left before she could say anything else.

  Back in his car, he leaned forward and rested his head against the steering wheel, mentally and physically exhausted. At least he knew who she was. As for why she sought him out, it was probably more out of some sense of responsibility she felt toward him for saving her life than any deep connection between them. Sure there was a physical reaction when they’d touched, but that could be because it had been so long since he’d experienced physical contact with someone, especially that of a woman’s.

  He sucked in a deep breath and squared his shoulders. It was better this way, he told himself as he started the car. Now that he knew who she was, he could leave her alone. Mystery solved.

  End of story.

  * * *

  ***

  * * *

  Instead of returning to the hotel, he drove to the marina. He sat on his favorite bench that overlooked the sea and thought about nothing… for the first ten minutes. Then all he could think about was Eve.

  He tried to hold still, but he didn’t remember the bench being so uncomfortable. He stretched out on it, but he was too long. He slouched into it, but his legs were too cramped. He sat up, but the back of the bench forced his body forward. How had he ever been comfortable here?

  He stood and walked the boardwalk. Behind him, the city lights glowed in the darkness.

  Eve wanted to be with him. Him! Of all the people in the world, she foolishly thought he was the one who could make her happy. He couldn’t make a leech happy, let alone someone as beautiful and complicated as Eve.

  Anger swelled in his chest. In one swift motion, he picked up a garbage can and tossed it far into the sea. He had to get out of Seattle. Now.

  He hopped in his car and drove away from the city, not stopping until he parked his Hummer in front of his home by the coast. He couldn’t actually call it a home. That was something you lived in day to day, a sanctuary to run to. No, this was just a house, a very strange house.

  It had three towers encased in grey stucco that reached into the sky like deformed fingers. They were an ugly obstruction to the rest of the home, which had smooth, architectural curves. Windows appeared where one wouldn’t expect, and the front door was almost entirely hidden by a curved stone wall.

  By merely glancing at the eccentric home, onlookers often assumed the home had no door, but if they were to approach by way of a stone path, the front door seemed to materialize out of nowhere. A clever optical illusion.

  The house had been on the market for over three years until Lucien had bought it, paying full price. Scott tried to convince him that it was worth only half that, but Lucien felt strongly that this house had been built for him. He would not pay less than what the builder wanted. It had been months since he’d come here, and, as he walked to the front door, he wished he had never left.

  Lucien stepped outside onto the deck overlooking the beach. There was just enough light in the early morning sky to watch the tide recede. A hundred yards from shore, black rocks stood as if a city floating on the water. Waves crashed against their jagged surface, spraying water in all directions.

  The sea had always been an important part of his life. It was a constant reminder of his insignificance in the world. If ever he felt greater than others because of his heightened abilities, he only had to look at the ocean. It had more power than he could ever achieve.

  Four days passed. Four days of pacing and mindless reading. The odd house he normally loved felt more like a prison, but he couldn’t trust himself to go back to Seattle without seeing Eve. He hoped with enough time away from her, his strange attraction to her would wane. And maybe Eve, too, given enough time, would realize how ridiculous her feelings were for him.

  It was almost three in the morning when his cell phone buzzed. Not recognizing the number, he almost didn’t answer, but at the last second, he turned it on and listened without saying a word.

  “Lucien?” Eve whispered into the phone. Her voice was full of fear and panic.

  “Eve? What’s wrong?” As he said the words, he was already racing to his car.

  “Please, help! They’ve found me!”

  Chapter 13

  Lucien closed the car door and revved the engine to life. “Who’s found you?”

  “Vampires. I’ve killed four of them, but there are two more, and I’m too weak to fight them,” she breathed through great gulps of air.

  “Where are you?” He pressed on the gas, forcing the car to 120 mph.

  “I’m in an airplane museum somewhere on Tukwila road where they forced me off.”

  “I know the location. Stay on the phone with me. Are you in a safe place?”

  “I’m hiding in a Ford Trimotor, but they’re out there looking for me.”

  “It’s best if you talk as little as possible. I don’t want them to hear you.”

  It was a long time before he asked, “Are you hurt?”

  “Not anymore.”

  Lucien punched at the steering wheel.

  “I think they’re gone,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “How have you been?”

  “Fine. And stay where you are and keep your voice down. They might come back.”

  “I’ve missed you.”

  He wanted to say it back but couldn’t. Instead he said, “Tell me about the lady in the restaurant.”

  “What lady?”

  “The one you slapped.”

  For a second, she was quiet, then said, “It wasn’t one of my greatest moments. I sensed that the man next to her was getting ready to call her a horrible name. Because I didn’t have time to react and since she was closer, I slapped her. The man ended up calling me the horrible name instead.”

  “You were helping her,” Lucien said more to himself than her.

  “Not really. I should have hit the man, but everything happened so fast.” She paused. “How often did you spy on me?”

  “You didn’t know?”

  “There were a couple of times I sensed you, and Charlie, too, but not all of the time. Did you follow me a lot?”

  “I never left you.” The words were out his mouth before the logical part of his mind could stop them.

  “I wish I would’ve known, maybe—”

  She went silent.

  “Eve?”

  Her breathing quickened.

  Metal twisting against metal echoed into the phone. Eve screamed, and the phone went dead.

  Still several minutes out, Lucien slammed on the brakes and parked the car on the curb. He burst free from the vehicle and used his vampire speed to cut through parking lots, back yards of a neighborhood, and across a canal until he came to a screeching halt in the parking lot of the museum.

  Eve’s car was out front with the front door wide open, her purse lying on the ground and her keys on the driver’s side floor mat where she must’ve dropped them in haste. There were no other vehicles around.

  In a flash, Lucien appeared inside the building, standing still, listening to the sounds of the massive room, his heart thundering against his ribcage. All kinds of airplanes hung above him, most of which he recognized. He’d been to this museum many times, as planes were just as interesting to him as rare cars, but he didn’t stop to admire any of them now. Across the room, he spotted the airplane Eve must’ve been hiding in; the side had been torn off.

  Lucien tilted his head and focused his hearing. Someone was being dragged across the floor in the back. He sped to the rear of the building and peeked around a corner. A vampire with spiked hair held a door open while another vampire dressed in all b
lack dragged Eve by her hair through the opening. Her body was limp, and the smell of her blood perfumed the air.

  Anger, intense and powerful, drove him forward. Lucien attacked the spiked-haired vampire first. After punching him in the jaw, Lucien tossed him into the air and into the side of an Air Force One. He turned to face the All-black vampire who looked like he was trying to decide between fighting Lucien or running away. Lucien decided for him and rushed him, fangs extended to their full length.

  Lucien swung his fist, but the vampire ducked and kicked back at him hard in the stomach, knocking Lucien to the ground. Before he could get up, All-black jumped on top of him and slashed at his face with long fingernails. Lucien managed to block many of the blows, but the first several claws cut deep into his cheek. He punched All-black in the throat, collapsing his larynx. The vampire fell off him, temporarily stunned from the lack of air to his lungs.

  Lucien rolled away and jumped to his feet, quickly withdrawing a wooden dagger from within his jacket. All-black growled and rushed him, his face contorting into sharp lines and angles. Just as he reached him, Lucien dropped to the floor on his back and jabbed the dagger upwards, slicing clear through All-black’s kneecap. All-black screamed and fell forward, but before he hit the concrete floor, Lucien was on top of him, shoving the dagger into his heart. The vampire burst into a million pieces, coating the ground with his ash.

  Lucien scrambled to his feet and glanced around for the other vampire, adrenalin flooding his system. When he couldn’t hear or see him, he knelt at Eve’s side. Her blood stained the floor in a long crimson trail leading back inside the museum. He held his breath, fear clenching his chest.

  He quickly inspected her body. There had to be a wound somewhere!

  When he couldn’t find anything on the front of her, he carefully rolled her body over. Directly under her arm, on the left side, a metal blade with no handle was embedded deep into her chest. It must be what was preventing her from healing. Lucien tried to grip the blade, but her blood made it too slippery. He cried out in frustration.

  Lucien stood and looked around the giant room, trying to see past the many planes. Using his vampire vision, he located a janitor’s closet on the opposite wall and sped to it. In one fluid motion, he ripped the door from the hinges and took mere seconds to find a pair of pliers inside of a toolbox.