Death eBook 9.8.16

by Lila Rose

  He’d kept the date simple, which was a relief since I’d been nervous enough. We’d gone for the most delicious seafood I’d ever eaten at a small hole-in-the-wall shack right on the beach. After, we’d walked along the sandy shoreline and talked about absolutely nothing and everything. It was all random, effortless, and amazing. We’d then headed home to his apartment, his bed, and I hadn’t left since, nor did I plan to.

  The days since were all so very normal, and I’d definitely needed a little normality at that point. Each night, after we’d done our own thing during the day, he’d return home, and we’d eat dinner, watch a movie, and talk. It was my favorite part of the day, snuggled up on the sofa with him while we chatted about ourselves, our likes, dislikes, past relationships, dreams, future plans, and family. What we didn’t do was talk about the enormous elephant in the room. I had no clue where or when Decay was going to strike next, and I preferred it that way. I wasn’t kidding myself; I knew he would. Though the mere thought that there could be a dagger thingy out there that could kill Dean terrified me. It was also why I happily buried my head in the sand.

  I was in love. Though we hadn’t said the words out loud, I knew it would come soon because I could actually feel Dean felt the same as me. The bond between us was growing each day, shining brighter at every moment together, and it developed to a point where I could sense him, both physically and emotionally. It started out as simply just knowing he was near, and had matured to the point where I could sense stronger and more powerful emotional moments. It all felt so natural, as though it was how it’d always been or should have been. With all that in mind, I chose to continue living for the moment, for love, and I’d enjoy the whole ride. Even if we could inevitably crash and burn, I was going to enjoy every last second, and all being well, that would be for an eternity, apparently.

  It was the thought of forever, as in truly meaning forever, that had me giggling as Fallon entered the room.

  “How is my favorite editing wench doing today? Are we still living in sin? Or did Falcone finally find the wedding vows?” Fallon asked as she made her way to the stool next to me in the kitchen. I was just finishing a sample edit for a new client before we went to lunch, our normal Wednesday date since college.

  “I’m good, and yes, still living in sin, which I’m loving. And no, he hasn’t, but not for a lack of trying. He’s been darn near living in the library for the last two weeks, looking for both books. I think the only time he leaves is to come up here and babysit me.” I was starting to worry about him. Looking back to the computer, I hit save and powered it off before stretching and leaning back in my seat.

  Fallon looked around the room before asking, “Speaking of babysitters… where’s today’s?”

  I let out a long suffering sigh. “Hard to believe, right? They backed off a little when I started my period again on Monday and I dragged Warren to the drugstore down the street for supplies. He seemed a little traumatized after. Probably shouldn’t have spent the drive over explaining the whole process, in vivid, bloody detail.” I waited until Fallon calmed down enough to wipe her tears of laughter away. I didn’t blame her; I had been cruel and yet genius. “They now do their own things. Someone is always on the same floor with me though. Today it’s Connor’s turn. He’s on a conference call for his business in the office at his apartment.”

  The first week of babysitters had been fun, but I was sick of the constant company. I needed space, and nothing scared men away faster than shark week.

  “What about you, how was your week?” I hadn’t talked to her since our quick phone call last Friday before her shift at the bar. She usually dropped off radar Fridays through Wednesdays. The weekend shifts, working until early hours in the morning, meant sleeping during the day. Then her Mondays and Tuesdays were spent on edits. So unless something interesting happened, like me disappearing, which caused her to give me the voice mail rump chewing weeks ago, I normally didn’t hear from her.

  “Meh, can’t complain. Tips were good and I finished editing our next release. Other than that… not much. I do need to start looking for a new place to lease. Slum Lord Stew informed me he’s raising the rent again. My lease ends next month, and I am not spending another six months in that hellhole. Took me two weeks of daily calls to the bastard and finally withholding the rent to get the refrigerator fixed last month.”

  “Why don’t you just stay at my place until you find something decent? I mean, with Decay on the loose, the boys aren’t going to let me leave anytime soon. Who knows how long it’s going to take, and it’s better you being in it than having it sitting empty or some stranger lease it out. You’d be doing me a favor,” I added with an extra pathetic whine to the end to help convince her. Fallon was fiercely independent. If my offer held even a hint of it being a handout, she’d tell me to firetruck off. Though, of course, she’d use the real f-word instead. “To tell you the truth, I’m not sure if, when all this is said and done, I will even be going back.”

  She snorted and bumped her shoulder into mine. “In deep, aren’t-cha, cupcake? It’s about damn time. You have no idea how nice it is to see you truly happy. Have you told your crappy excuse of a mother yet?”

  “Ah, nice try. I see what you’re playing at, trying to change the topic back to me, and since I am in a good mood, I’ll humor you. No, I have not and will not be saying anything to her, or at least not until Dean and I make for something permanent, like us finalizing the mating. Hence, why I’m still happy. She would either make it about her or find a way to ruin it for me. Not happening.”

  The woman I could call my mother hadn’t even called after the train accident to see if I was okay, and she most definitely knew I took the train almost daily. When she’d visited, the one and only time in the last five years, she’d spent three days giving me a hard time about not living in the city, not having a car, and not having things better planned that would entertain her. That was after she had called me the day before showing up on my doorstep with six bags of luggage. My best guess, she had been in Vegas with whoever she’d been currently sucking dry, in more ways than one. No doubt she would have pissed the poor slob off enough for him to dump her; in turn, she would have needed someplace to stay the last three days before her flight back home. To her, a bus to LA and then a train ride to me was a hell of a lot cheaper than a hotel room. Yay me, not.

  If she couldn’t find the time to call to see if I was alive, then I was not going out of my way to tell her.

  Smirking, I raised my brows and said, “Now that I’ve answered, it’s your turn. Will you house-sit for me or not?”

  She sighed at my redirect. Tough tatas. If she didn’t like it, then she should have picked a topic I would have actually wanted to talk about. “Fine, I will watch the place. For now. But I will be paying all the utilities and mortgage while I’m there.” I went to butt in, until her hand came up in my face. I swore she got that trait from copying me. She went on, “Seriously, Julie, I was there when you bought the house, I know how much it is monthly. So I will temporarily be putting everything else utility wise in my name. If you’re okay with that, then you have yourself a deal.”

  It was my turn to dramatically sigh and shove her hand aside. “Fine. God forbid you let anyone do something for you for a change.”

  “You know you love me, sweet cheeks, and I appreciate it.” She leaned over as she got off her stool and gave me a kiss on the cheek. She then grabbed her bag. “Now, come on. Momma needs fuel in the form of eggs Benedict. She’ll need her strength if she’s moving before the weekend.”

  “Sorry, ladies, but, ugh—” I screamed and kept going when Connor popped up out of nowhere. Fallon, being her ninja self, moved quickly and next, Connor was hunched over gasping for air. Then Fallon straightened and covered my mouth to shut me up.

  “You done?” she asked, and since she still had my mouth covered, I stopped screaming and nodded. Uncovering my mouth, she turned to address Connor again. “Jesus Christ, dipshit! What th
e hell is your damage? Did your mother drop you as a child? Seriously, you can’t just appear out of thin air. You may be immortal, but we can still have heart attacks. Knock next time, shit for brains.” Wow, she was pissed.

  “Woman, you got a mouth like a trucker and a gut punch even Lennox Lewis would envy. Will you marry me?” he proposed with a wink as he straightened, though he was still rubbing his stomach over his When the Zombies come, I’m so tripping you! tee.

  “Cut the crap, you ain’t no Girl Scout, so I ain’t buying whatever you’re selling ’cause it smells like bullshit. Did you have a reason for scaring Julie bad enough she will need to do a panty check before we leave?” They both looked at me. I did a quick wiggle. Nope, I was all good. I gave her a thumbs-up before we turned our attention back to Connor.

  He rolled his eyes and began with, “As I was saying before you went all Xena: Warrior Princess on me, was that I’m sorry, ladies, but you’re going to have to settle for lunch here. The building is on lockdown.”

  “That doesn’t sound good. Is everyone okay?” I asked, though what I really wanted to know was where Dean was and if he was he okay. All I could feel through the link was that he was pissed. Would I have felt if he were in pain? That was actually one question I’d be happy to never know the answer to.

  Connor made a face like he was going to fart. “Ugh, Warren is on a tear. He’s giving me a bloody headache with all his yelling in my damn head. Everyone is fine, Julie, but you better make lunch to go. His grumpiness has demanded everyone to be in the meeting room down the hall in ten minutes.”

  We were out the door in five. I had no idea what was happening, but I knew that Dean was in the meeting room, and that was all I needed to know to get my butt up and moving, even without food.

  Chapter Seventeen

  DEAN

  When the door to the meeting room opened, I turned in my swivel chair to face it. First through was Connor, who was rubbing his stomach. He sent us all a pointed look, indicated behind him and then twirled his finger in a circular motion around his ear. Fallon was next through the door with a glare in her eyes. Though, my eyes didn’t stay on her long, not when my mate came in next. Without looking at anyone but me, she bounded up to me, threw her arms around my neck, and then proceeded to sit in my lap. A chuckle, not only from me but Connor and Falcone, filled the room. I turned us both in the chair to face Warren, who gave my mate an eye roll. I knew he was pissed about the delay in obtaining Kayne, but still, the lift to the corner of his mouth told me he also found my mate’s play humorous.

  “So, what’s the go, hos?” Fallon asked.

  Warren’s lips no longer twitched. Instead, he turned a glare upon my mate’s best friend. “What in the fuck are you even doing in here?” he demanded.

  I felt Julie stiffen in my lap and before I could say anything, Fallon pointed to Julie and said, “She’s my family. Whatever goes on in her life, goes on in mine, and if you try to remove me from it, I will calmly remove your penis from your body while you sleep. I don’t give a flying fuck if all this is paranormal shit that should be in a book and not in real life. I’m here, I’m dealing, and now you need to accept it and move the hell on.” She stopped, eyed Warren with a raised brow, and asked, “Hear me?”

  He ran a hand over his face. “Julie seems to trust you, and so, I guess, even though you piss me off, it would upset Julie if I kill you myself, so you can stay.” He smirked. “For now.”

  “Um, can someone please tell us what this meeting’s about?” Julie interrupted, obviously uncomfortable with the tension. Not that she needed to worry. Once Fallon and Warren had their pissing match, it would settle down. Besides, Warren would never harm her.

  My hand drifted to her back, gently rubbing circles there. A shot of lust drummed through our connection. I chuckled. She looked over her shoulder to glare at me. I got it; it wasn’t the time. My hand stilled. Besides, I wanted to know the reason Warren had called Falcone and me home, especially since we’d been out searching for our brother.

  “My patience is at the lowest. I have been told by an informant, he has a lock on a warehouse where Kayne could be holing up in.”

  Connor stood quickly. “What in the hell are we waiting for?”

  “Obviously, we can’t leave Julie home alone,” Warren stated before I could. “Falcone, I’d like for you to stay.”

  He was the better choice. Falcone was never one to want to dive into a fight. He’d rather talk it out before anything physical started, and he’d always had a soft spot for Kayne. To this day he believed we could bring our brother back from insanity. I wasn’t so sure myself.

  “Who’s the informant?” Fallon asked abruptly. “Can you trust this person’s not leading you into a trap?”

  Julie stiffened. I wrapped my arms around her in comfort.

  Warren scoffed and leaned forward in his chair. His elbows rested on the table. “Why would you care if he was?”

  Fallon rolled her eyes. “I care for Julie’s sake. If you all stupidly walk into a trap and get yourselves taken and tortured, Julie would be devastated. I won’t let her feel that.”

  Warren’s eyes flicked to my mate and then back to Fallon. “It’s someone I would trust with my life. He’s an old friend.”

  “Zander?” I asked. Warren gave me a stiff nod. Zander was a warlock and Warren was right. He’d been a friend for a long time and was the one who helped Warren deal with his anger after…. He helped him deal. Falcone, Connor, and I had respect for the guy.

  “My jewel, he is someone we can trust.”

  “But….”

  My hand went to the side of her neck, where I gave her a reassuring squeeze. Leaning in, my lips touched hers briefly. “I promise everything will be fine.”

  Even though tears shone in her eyes, her jaw clenched and she offered a nod. My mate was strong.

  “Julie,” Falcone called. She looked to him as he stood from his chair, holding out his hand. “How about we go and stuff ourselves with some sweets. Isn’t that what women do when worried?”

  She giggled. I could have kissed my brother. The worry seemed to disappear, though I knew it wouldn’t stay away for long. Before she left, she turned back to me and molded her mouth to mine. Her arms wrapped tightly around my shoulders, and I didn’t give a flying fuck if my brothers were watching.

  Pulling back, she whispered, “You come back in one piece to me.”

  With a smile, I nodded. “Of course.”

  She studied my face for some reason. I didn’t have the heart to tell her my brothers and I had been running into danger our whole lives. “Okay.” She nodded. She looked to Warren and then Connor. “That goes for you two also. Got it?”

  Warren’s eyes widened a fraction, but he said nothing, only offering her a chin lift.

  Connor’s eyes warmed and he teased, “Don’t worry about us, little sister. I’ll be back watching porn on your TV in no time.”

  A snort left my woman as she stood and made her way to the door. She didn’t look back, and I didn’t expect her to. Already I could feel the panic starting to take hold of her. That was, until she locked it down and away from me.

  Strong.

  My mate was strong; she didn’t want me to worry about her in case it would distract me.

  Fuck, I loved her.

  As soon as Fallon closed the door with a final angry look at us, where Connor blew her a kiss and she gave him the middle finger, I turned to Warren and asked, “What’s the plan?”

  We stood out in the warm night air, only a few warehouses down from the one we would be infiltrating. Hope was burning brightly in me, causing my stomach to spin. I had hope the night would lead to the capture of our brother.

  Dread, though, shot through me. It caused my stomach to clench and my heart to hurt. Kayne, despite being psychotic, was still our brother, our blood, and it fucking killed me what we had to do to him. However, I just had to remember it would save thousands of lives.

  “Dean,” Warren call
ed.

  Looking at him, I nodded. Unleashing a small hold on my powers, I reached out and whispered, “Come to me.” Two spirits, one female, one male, appeared. The female was from the 1960s and young, in her early teens. She wore the clothes she’d passed in, even down to the flowers in her hair and wide flared pants. The male was a businessman. He looked late forties and from recent years with a suit and glasses.

  “Yes, my dark prince?” The teen giggled, her voice light and floaty on the wind.

  “I need some help, if you will. See that building.” I pointed down the way. They looked, then back to me and nodded. “I’d like to know if anyone is in there.”

  “Will you help me cross over?” the man asked.

  “I would do it even if you don’t do this for me.”

  He smiled. “Then I’ll do it before you help me reach the other side.”

  “I appreciate it.”

  “You know,” the teen started, her head tilted to the side as she looked at me. “You’re not so scary. I thought Death would be like a skeleton or something. Actually, you’re very cute for the death dude.”

  Connor snorted behind me.

  “Ah, would you like to cross over also?” I asked.

  “No way, man. I’m having a heap of fun being all ghostlike.”

  “Kid,” the businessman said. “Let’s get this done. I have people waiting on the other side for me.”

  “Righto, old dude.”

  In a blink, they disappeared. I looked back to Connor and muttered, “Do not say a word.”

  He smirked. “I wasn’t planning on it.”

  Warren snorted. “Yeah, right.” His eyes never strayed from down the street. I assumed he was feeling what I was, that something was off. He then voiced his concern. “It doesn’t feel right.”

  Nodding, I admitted, “I agree. We’d be able to feel Kayne, right?”

  “Not really, the connection, like the mind link, could have broken when he started to decay.”