Night Hawk Trilogy (Night Hawk Series)

by J. E. Taylor

  * * * *

  The remainder of the ride was quiet and despite Lebaron’s less than subtle attempts at flagging for help, Naomi remained quiet and subdued in the front seat. Staying in character despite the silence.

  The wall of stopped cars ahead made me pause, even though we were approaching the George Washington Bridge. Traffic here wasn’t uncommon, but my internal alarms started tripping and my gaze shot beyond the traffic to the red and blue flashing lights beyond.

  I swiveled my gaze to the man. “Pull over.”

  He saw the red and blues too and his hands tightened on the wheel.

  “Pull over or she dies,” I said, moving the barrel in Naomi’s direction. I played the bluff and it worked. Muttering under his breath, Lebaron pulled to the side of the road. “Now please step out of the car.” I kept my gaze on Naomi. “I’m talking to you, not him,” I clarified.

  Her jaw dropped. “But,” she started.

  “Get out,” I growled and she blinked before sliding out of the car. She shut the door and I swung the barrel against Lebaron’s head. “Step on the gas.”

  Lebaron hesitated and when Naomi reached for the door handle, he peeled away from her. I got a quick glimpse at her aggravated features before I focused on the man in the front seat.

  “You’re going to drive right by that barricade unless they wave you over to the side of the road. If they do, then I’ll make sure to keep them busy and you just drive away. Understand?” I asked and he looked at me like I had sprouted another head. “I was desperate, okay? I needed to get to the city as fast as humanly possible and I really need to get through that barricade.”

  “What about the girl?” Lebaron asked and I inhaled looking out the window at the approaching checkpoint.

  “I didn’t want her caught in the middle if this gets nasty.”

  He leveled another glare in the rearview mirror and gave a curt nod.

  “I’m gonna fade into the shadows back here, but I still have the barrel of the gun aimed at your back, so please don’t make this any uglier than it already is.” I leaned back in the seat, using the shadows to my advantage. Lebaron glanced back at me and his eyebrows creased. “Drive,” I said and he snapped his gaze back at the road.

  The closer we got to the checkpoint, the more the supernatural chill bit at my bones. The bastard was here and when the state trooper turned his flashlight on our vehicle, I clenched my teeth.

  Lucifer stared right at me before moving his gaze to Lebaron.

  “Sir, please pull to the side of the road and put your hands on the wheel where I can see them.”

  As Lebaron pulled to the side, I dropped the gun on the seat next to him and whispered, “As soon as you hear the door, hit the gas.” I met his gaze. “I’m serious, if you don’t, you’ll die tonight.”

  When Lucifer had crossed half the distance, I opened the back door and rolled onto the pavement, landing in a crouch, facing the devil himself. I rose to my feet, irritated that the car still idled behind me.

  “Where is she?” Lucifer asked and unclasped his gun.

  “Gone,” I answered and my heart slammed in my chest as I looked around at the number of demons converging on the scene, every one of them wearing the skin of a cop.

  “Hands on the wheel!” a voice growled behind me and I closed my eyes.

  “I held a gun to his head and made him drive me down here,” I said.

  “Why would you do that?”

  “Because I want to skin the bastard who sold her out.”

  “Get on your knees and put your hands on your head,” Lucifer growled.

  The click of a hammer made my teeth clench and I dropped to my knees on the cold pavement, putting my hands on my head. The burn of platinum bit my wrist and I winced as one of the officers secured my wrists in specially designed handcuffs.

  Lebaron started arguing with one of the demon officers and I heard the click of another pair of handcuffs.

  Lucifer yanked me to my feet and surveyed the onlookers, he shoved me in the back of the squad car and leaned in. “You’re going to wish I had shot you before this night is over.”

  The door slammed and I leaned back, closing my eyes. All manners of torture danced over my eyelids and I ground my teeth together to keep them from chattering. When the door on the opposite side of the cruiser opened and Lebaron was shoved into the cage next to me, I met his gaze.

  “You should have listened,” I said and he just glared at me. The poor soul thought we were going to the nearest precinct. I knew better and when the car pulled into an abandoned warehouse, I let out a breath of air at the chains glinting in the center of the building.

  My gaze rose to the upper level, specifically to the upper wall of windows on the east side of the building.

  “What time is it?” I whispered to no one in particular.

  Lucifer pulled the keys out of the ignition and turned. “You have a little over eight hours before sunrise.”

  “This isn’t the police station,” Lebaron snapped interrupting Lucifer’s concentration. “And why is my car here?”

  I looked at Lebaron. “Because they don’t leave loose ends.”

  Lucifer stepped out of the car and opened the back. He reached in and grabbed a handful of my hair, dragging me from the car before tossing me toward the waiting chains. Platinum utensils glowed on the table and I swallowed the fear constricting my throat.

  Two demons stepped out of the shadows, yanking me to where the chains lay. I struggled and when they unclasped the handcuffs, I twisted out of their grasp. My right fist landed in the middle of one of the demon’s faces and I had a moment of satisfaction at the feel of bones crunching under my knuckles.

  All those years of different martial arts disciplines kicked in and I used the momentum of the second demon and spun him, tossing him into the first asshole. More demons came out of the woodwork and I have no idea how many I took down before the click of a hammer caught my attention. I turned toward the noise.

  Lucifer held the barrel of the gun against Lebaron’s temple.

  “I think that’s enough, don’t you?” he asked.

  “Fuck you,” I snarled.

  “Let me put it a different way. If you don’t cut the shit, I’ll blow his brains out.”

  My fists clenched as tight as my jaw and I sent a glare, but when the remaining demons grabbed me, I didn’t struggle. Instead, I let them pull me into the center of the warehouse, over the dead bodies of over a dozen demons to where the chains awaited.

  My chest rose and fell with the fury filling my cells, making the fear seeded in my stomach abate. Fabric ripped and I jerked my shoulder away, reviving a fraction of my fight as they stripped the shirt off my back.

  A growl formed in my chest until Lucifer clucked his warning, tapping the gun on Lebaron’s temple as a reminder. When the first stab ripped through my left shoulder, a protest of pain peeled from my throat.

  The burn of the platinum hook locked my ability to reason and when they pierced my right shoulder, I started spouting curse after curse, alternating between my native Greek and English. Each wrap of the chain around my arms burned and the fuckers had the audacity to laugh. There wasn’t a god damn thing I could do now and I struggled to remain standing under the crippling pain.

  Lucifer gave a nod and one of his henchmen turned a crank, tightening the chains until my arms stretched to the sides.

  Lebaron just stared at the spectacle, his eyes blinking rapidly and his mouth hanging open in shock. I could tell he didn’t have a clue what was coming.

  “You’ve made your point. Let him go,” I said, mustering up enough anger to send a glare at Lucifer.

  The report of the gun silenced Lebaron for eternity and I bit down on the flash of envy that gripped me at his quick death. What I had coming was worlds away from quick and I ground my teeth together, grasping at the fleeting fury, trying to hold onto some semblance of sanity.

  Lucifer glanced into the darkness to my right and I followed
his gaze. A man stepped out of the shadows. A human, and the anger came back full force, enough so I lunged against the chains, the motion creating a ripping agony in my shoulders and I thundered my discontent.

  I knew exactly who this fucker was and he waltzed up in front of me, his smug expression just as infuriating as the memories of how he treated Naomi.

  “You’re the asshole who sold her out,” I said, my voice raw from pain.

  “Yes, and you made the mistake of intervening.”

  I allowed a smile to form. “The mistake was yours.” I straightened, standing tall. I narrowed my eyes, inspecting him in a way that made him shift uncomfortably, his eyes bouncing from my face to the barbed hooks piercing my skin.

  “What kind of loser sells out his girlfriend because he can’t get into her pants?”

  “Shut up,” he snapped.

  “And while we’re talking about that, why was it you couldn’t get her to do the deed? Oh yeah, it must be because you’re a world class dick,” I taunted, pushing his buttons and watching his aggravation grow.

  “Like she would ever sleep with a vampire,” he laughed.

  I raised an eyebrow and produced a knowing smile, letting my mind flow over every nuance of her. The memory gave me strength and I inhaled.

  “Mhm, and she was so fucking good.”

  I let the words hang on the air, enjoying the effect they had on her ex. His face turned a shade of red that I wasn’t readily familiar with, one usually reserved for heart attack victims.

  “Worth dying for?” Lucifer asked.

  “Yes.”

  Both Lucifer and Mark blinked, not expecting my immediate answer or the smile that accompanied the single syllable.

  It took a second and Mark’s face scrunched into a mask of anger. His brass-knuckle-clad fist slammed into my cheek hard enough for me to stumble back a step, but the chains kept me in place. He didn’t stop with just one swing either, and the brass knuckles he wore were platinum-plated for maximum damage.

  I blinked away the gray spots in front of my vision in time to see Mark pick up a whip from the table. He had worked himself into a frenzy while Lucifer leaned against the car, watching the beating with amusement. The rest of the demon horde had spread out around the perimeter, to watch the show.

  The first snap of the whip sliced a trail through my back, dropping me to my knees and forcing a bellow of anguish from me. A pain-filled haze gripped me, tearing at every cell and my gaze rose to the windows.

  “Michael, keep her safe,” I whispered at the night sky and another crack of the whip followed.

  The sunrise couldn’t come fast enough.

  Chapter Thirty-five – Naomi

  Pissed didn’t begin to describe the fury cramping my muscles as I stomped down the breakdown lane toward the distant police strobes. The frigid winter wind tossed my hair behind me, but I hardly felt the bite of it. It wasn’t until I got closer to the checkpoint that I noticed the effect of the chill and my gaze shot to the barricade now within sight.

  I slowed, listening to my internal alarms instead of barreling through like a crazy banshee. When the procession of cop cars rolled away from the scene, I caught a glimpse of the Lebaron and I almost sprinted, until I saw the driver’s profile.

  A chill settled over me and I could feel the growl form in my throat.

  Mark was driving the car, which meant only one thing.

  They had Damian.

  I took a step toward the cars and stopped, unsure of what to do next. All of my instincts told me to turn and run in the opposite direction and I knew that’s exactly what Damian wanted. He wanted to die knowing I was safe and I bit down at the flare of anger.

  That’s why he ditched me.

  And I was damned if I’d let him die at the hands of Lucifer.

  By the time I got to where the police barricade had been, all traces of the demons and Damian were gone and the flow of traffic had picked up again. I stomped my foot on the pavement and cursed under my breath. There was only one person that I could think of that could help and I turned, crossing into the small outcrop of woods lining the road.

  “Michael?” I asked, hoping I had the ability to call my long lost relative.

  The wind shifted around me and I turned, meeting the angel’s questioning gaze.

  “They have Damian.”

  “I know,” he said, crossing his arms.

  My mouth dropped open. “So, what are you going to do about it?”

  His gaze narrowed. “Watch your tone with me.”

  I stepped closer, leveling a glare. “You can’t let him die.”

  He closed the distance, towering over me. “I can’t intervene,” he said through clenched teeth, and I caught the measure of frustration in his tone.

  “Why the fuck not?” I shot back, challenging him.

  “Because they have the facility marked. I can’t get in and Lucifer can’t get out.”

  His answer wasn’t what I expected and I saw the anguish in Michael’s gaze instead of the anger he displayed earlier in Damian’s presence. It was almost akin to a father’s grief and I raised my eyebrows unable to voice the questions that flooded into my head.

  “He was supposed to be my son-in-law,” Michael said to my questioning stare.

  “So, you care about what happens to him?”

  Michael nodded.

  I looked down at the ground for a minute, digesting the conversation and then my gaze snapped back to his. “You know where they took him.” It wasn’t a question and when he looked away, he confirmed it.

  “Take me there,” I said and Michael laughed. “I’m serious. I can get him out.”

  “Damian was right about you being naïve,” he said.

  “I have to try,” I whispered, my lilt on the cusp of begging. “Please.”

  His lips pressed together and he shook his head. “I can’t protect you and neither can he.”

  “Did it ever occur to you that I can hold my own? After all, I’ve been able to get the drop on you a number of times.”

  Wings fluttered and he sighed. “If I agree to this, the first thing you have to do is find the mark that looks like this.” Michael turned and drew a symbol on the tree that looked like a complex and detailed Chinese symbol. “And destroy it.”

  “How?”

  “If it’s on the glass, break the glass. If it is on the wall, scratch it so you put a break in the pattern. That will allow me to get inside.”

  I looked at the symbol. “And it will allow Lucifer to get out.”

  He nodded and I shook my head. “I want to tear his head off myself.”

  “Damian expects me to protect you,” he started and I opened my mouth to argue, but he put his hand up, stopping me. “He expects me to protect you and considering how much he has done for me over the years, I need to honor that.”

  “I cannot let him die,” I said. The thought of losing him made my heart hurt, like a bullet tore through my chest, producing an overwhelming panic. “I love him.”

  Michael’s eyes closed and his chin dropped to his chest. “Naomi,” he started.

  “I will not let him die,” I said, the force of my words brought his gaze back to mine. “Whether you help me or not, I’ll find them and I’ll stop them.” I turned to leave and his hand clamped down on my arm.

  The transition of time and space warped my brain and when I blinked, we stood at the edge of a deserted parking lot. At the far end stood a large building made of brick and glass and steel. The second floor windows were what caught my attention and I turned, meeting Michael’s gaze.

  “They’re going to let him burn, aren’t they?”

  Michael inhaled. “Yes, that’s if he doesn’t bleed to death first.”

  I took a step toward the building, unaware that Michael still held my arm. I looked at the grip that stopped me and then up into his eyes. “Let go,” I whispered.

  “You’re not going to wipe out that symbol, are you?”

  I debated on giving h
im a line of crap but somehow I knew he’d see through me, so I shook my head. “If I can’t save him, my choice is to die with him.”

  Michael’s eyes misted over and he looked at the building before returning his gaze to me. “If you get out of there alive, I expect you to keep this information to yourself. Anger works with us and has for millenniums. If he knew I loved him like a son, he might not stay on the righteous path he’s on.”

  “So all your threats?”

  “Were serious. If he steps over the line again, I will destroy him whether I want to or not. I made an exception with you, but I won’t in the future. He cannot spill innocent human blood.” Michael raised his eyebrows. “Neither can you.”

  “I have no intention of doing that.”

  He smiled and with a nod, he held out his arm, exposing his wrist to me. “If you’re damn sure you aren’t going to destroy that mark, you will need some extra magic to have a prayer of pulling this off. But understand, if you drain me, I won’t have the strength to intervene,” he clarified when I took his hand.

  “You won’t die?”

  Michael shook his head. “No, I’ll just be out of commission for a few days. Take what you need, child.”

  I hesitated and then brought the soft flesh to my lips. His sweet scent brought forth my fangs and I bit, closing my eyes and drinking his pure blood, feeling it fuse into my muscles like an armor plate. Revelation after revelation fed into my consciousness, things he had blocked the last time I bit him, and I sighed at the depth of the angel’s mercy.

  Damian’s pain-filled voice echoed in Michael’s head. “Michael, keep her safe.”

  I stiffened and my eyelids flew open, meeting Michael’s gaze before my teeth retracted and my head swiveled toward the warehouse. I dropped his hand and bolted toward the building. Within two paces, I transitioned and my fury and panic melded into the perfect cocktail, giving me the speed and focus I needed.

  Scanning the front of the building, I honed in on a lower level window next to the left corner and headed straight for it. The glass disintegrated the moment I launched and when I landed inside the small room, I rolled, coming to a standing position in my human form. I glanced over my shoulder and gave a nod of thanks to Michael. He returned it with a look that begged for me to be careful and then he was gone.