Her lips tingled with a return smile, and it drew his attention back to her mouth.
His own smile slowly melted into a heavy-lidded expression. “It’s good to see you smiling again.”
Her insides heated another notch. His gaze was heated, intense, and it set off little wildfires everywhere it landed. She wanted to fan herself in the crisp night air. When he leaned toward her and slowly brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, the fires intensified, blazing to the beat of her heart.
“Good night, Brooke. Sleep well.”
“Thanks,” she whispered, hoping she would. Knowing she wouldn't. “You too.”
She wrapped her arms around herself as he walked away, because it felt like Levi sucked all the warmth away with him. With a shiver, she backed toward the house, feeling the cold shadows press in on her.
Chapter Five
Levi scrubbed a hand down his face. He'd wanted to kiss her. In the glow of the porch light, her eyes had been dark and soft, her lips wet and plump from biting them.
Picking her up had been a mistake. He'd been light and relaxed, and then he'd picked her up and the feel of her body pressed against him had set him on fire. Well, not literally.
It had been a different kind of heat. One he couldn't control any better than his powers, but those had been quieter. Calmer.
Shaking his head, he started walking again. He shouldn't have been here, but what else was he going to do? Twiddle his thumbs? No patrols, no fights. Only debriefings.
The closer he got to his car, the more disquiet he felt. He looked into the shadows, searching. The buzz was there, the low-level one from the Chaolt, but this was something else. The wind kicked up, leaves rustling in front of him on an otherwise calm street.
He reached for his knife as a dark shadow separated from the others.
"Easy, Levi."
With a quick inhale, he put his knife back.
Ajax stepped into the light with a grim smile. "Walker know you're here?"
He crossed his arms, staying silent.
"Thought not."
Bristling, he asked, “What do you want Ajax? Why are you here?"
The other man leaned against his car, flicking imaginary lint off his sleeve. "Funny you ask that, Levi. I'm supposed to be here, it's my rotation." He pinned him with an unblinking stare. "Why are you here?"
He took his time, slowly pulling the cigarette from behind his ear and putting it between his teeth. He didn't inhale, but the tip glowed bright orange. "What I do with my spare time is none of your business, Ajax."
Asshole.
"Nah, it's not. But Walker would probably be interested in knowing that you're getting all close to the woman you saved from the fire."
His shoulders began to tighten, but he kept his arms crossed.
"Bullshit. I was just checking on her."
"Really? Is that what you were doing?" Ajax put his hands in his pockets and began to slowly circle him. "It sounded a lot more friendly than that."
Ajax could use air currents to carry voices. Very useful for surveillance. He didn't know how much he'd heard, but it was probably everything.
"Not your business."
"No? I think you trying to get close to a human is a risk to us all. I'm pretty sure Walker would think so."
He feigned a relaxed stance. "There's nothing going on here he would be concerned with. Just checking on a civilian."
"In that case, you wouldn't mind if I try to get a date with her, would you?"
The last words still hung in the air when Levi slammed him against the car, fists in his collar. "You stay the hell away from her."
Ajax’s version of date involved no clothes.
Ajax tsked at him. "Your eyes are glowing buddy. Better put that shit away."
"I'd much rather burn your ass," he said through gritted teeth. The thought of Ajax anywhere near Brooke literally made his blood boil. His vision was edged with flames. Ajax's collar began to smoke, and Levi stared at it.
Too bad it wasn't on purpose.
He let go as if the jacket had burned him, instead of the other way around.
With a sneer, Ajax looked down at his collar. As quick as it had started, the smoke dissipated, deprived of the oxygen it needed to burn. "Still got that little control problem, I see. Why don't you do yourself a favor and leave the protecting to those of us who aren't a risk to everyone? You're gonna get someone killed."
He hid his shaking hands in the pockets of his coat. "You get anywhere near her, and it's going to be you."
Ajax stepped up to his chest, bumping him. His eyes had just the barest hint of teal light. "Fucking try it. You'll be dead well before me."
His lungs began to feel tight. He clenched his jaw, refusing to back down, even when he burned for a breath. Ajax was taking the air right from his lungs. Not all at once, like he could have, but slowly, teasingly, a smirk on his face.
Head buzzing and lungs burning, he brought a hand up, gripping Ajax's long, blond hair. Ajax's hair was his pride and joy, and not one he would risk for a pissing contest. Vain fucker did have nice hair though.
With his last bit of oxygen, he rasped, "I'll fucking torch it."
“Hi! Brooke, is it?”
Brooke jumped at the words, fumbling her keys before she could unlock the door. She caught them and turned around, heart pounding in her throat.
“Charlie?” Confusion and the spike of fear she’d felt made her voice high. What was her creepy ex-neighbor doing here? The last time she’d seen him was the morning of the fire. He’d rudely pushed past her as she was getting on the elevator. Wasn’t it his roommate who had died? She was glad to see him un-injured, but he’d always given her the creeps. What was he doing here?
“Yeah, hi. I’m staying down the street. I was taking a walk and I thought I recognized you. I guess the management company moved us close to each other! How great is that? I can’t believe my luck.”
His smile was wide and toothy, and he looked way too happy to see her. Like they were old friends, when she’d probably only spoken twenty words to him since he’d introduced himself a few months ago. So why was he now acting like they knew each other well?
“Um, hi. How are you?” Politeness made her ask even though he made her skin crawl.
“I’m good! Great actually.”
His comment made her brow wrinkle. He’d lost his apartment too, his belongings. His roommate. If his life was half as chaotic as hers was right now, he shouldn’t be ‘great’. But whatever. “I’m glad to hear that.” She waited a second for him to return the polite question, but he didn’t. He just stared at her, his dark eyes reflecting the porch light in a way that made them look glassy. “Okay, well, have a good—”
“I’m so glad you made it through the fire,” he said, stepping towards her. He took another step forward, and she took one back in response, feeling the door jam between her shoulder blades.
“Thank you. I’m glad you did, too.” And she was. She wouldn’t wish that fate on anyone. If Levi hadn’t…
Charlie taking another step toward her kept her from dwelling on it. He wasn’t quite in her personal space yet, but something about him made her wary. Something was off with this guy. She looked into the dark in the direction Levi had disappeared, wondering if he would hear her if she called out to him. Wondering why she felt like she needed to do just that.
She slid her key in the lock, half turned toward him. The skin crawling feeling was worse with her back to him. “Charlie, it’s been nice to see you again, but I’m tired. Have a good night.”
“I’ve seen your dreams of it. They’re glorious.”
She paused at his murmured words. “I’m sorry, what?” Did she miss something?
“Your dreams of the fire.” He closed his eyes and inhaled exactly as if he were sniffing a bakery. “So chaotic,” he said, opening his eyes with a grin.
The hairs on her skin rose up with a prickle.
His face… there was something wrong with his face. It melted on on
e side, bulged out on the other. She blinked, trying to clear her eyes, but it kept happening. It was as if parts of him were drawn outside the lines, bits of his body bulging away from his outline.
She was going to turn the key and shut the door behind her as fast as she could, screw being polite. But as soon as she made the move to turn the knob, he flashed forward and mashed a hand over her mouth, the other pressing in to her temple.
She cried out and tried to move his hands but became paralyzed by his eyes, unable to struggle or cry out again, or even blink. His irises were black and white static, just like an old TV that couldn’t receive a station. It spread out, swirling across her vision, until the static was all she could see.
And then she began to dream.
Instantly he could breathe again. He felt lightheaded as the air rushed back into his lungs and he put his hands on his knees. When he stood back up and faced Ajax, he noticed the sensation in his brain hadn't abated even though he could breathe again. It was rapidly getting worse in fact. His eyes scanned the darkness.
"Where is he, Ajax?" he whispered, tense. "I can't pinpoint his location, I can only feel him nearby."
"Same here," Ajax ground out.
Levi turned and looked at him in surprise. Ajax's face was grim. "Fuck."
A solemn nod was Ajax's answer.
Both of them silently pulled their knives as the shadows seemed to thicken. They turned and backed up against each other, facing opposite directions.
When the Chaolt appeared, he felt Ajax tense against his back, and knew there was another on his side.
He had only a split-second glimpse of an ever-changing face with black eyes before he was fighting.
Ten minutes later, he was bent over the remains of the Chaolt, cheek dripping blood into the pile of black dust. Seconds ago, he'd stuck his dagger into the chest of the thing as it held on to him. The touch had somehow stirred up his power, and now it was so close to the surface, so close to exploding, that he couldn't breathe.
It had been necessary though. It had to be a mortal wound, otherwise they would just keep fighting. It sent their souls back to the Chaotic plane, scurrying away from the Earth like roaches in the dark. Leaving nothing but dust behind.
He took a deep breath and leaned his head back as Ajax sauntered over, his enemy already dispatched too. The air smelled like burning plastic, the signature scent of Chaolt death, and his stomach rolled. He knelt down on his fists, breathing shallowly through his mouth.
Ajax stopped, boots at the edge of his vision. "You going to lose it again, Levi?" he asked, cautious.
"I'm fine," he gritted. He refused to be this weak.
"You sure? ‘Cause the road's not."
He focused on the road. Below his fists, the asphalt had softened, going shiny and wrinkled and steamy.
"I'm okay," he muttered, getting to his feet slowly.
"Good, because we have bigger problems."
Debatable. Him losing control of his powers again would be catastrophic. For miles. He turned his head and raised an eyebrow at Ajax, who snickered.
"Okay, maybe not bigger than that." His smile died. "But there are more Chaolt somewhere."
Levi took a deep breath again, centering. As his frenzy left, he felt that same buzz as he had before. Still there, still annoying. Still close.
Just then, he heard a brief muffled cry from down the street. His head shot up, eyes searching the darkness. "Brooke."
He took off running, Ajax at his heels.
He didn't stop, even when Ajax split away, following a deeper shadow running behind the houses. He reached Brooke's house in seconds, and saw them in the shadows of the porch.
The Chaolt wasn't attacking her in the physical sense, but his hands at her temples and her vacant stare told him the enemy was making his assault on her mind.
God dammit, Chaolt didn't attack regular humans except for indirectly. They weren’t worth the effort.
He grabbed the man by the shoulders, yanking hard so that he fell on the sidewalk. The Chaolt rolled quickly to his feet on the sidewalk and pulled his knife, teeth bared.
"Levi?" Her voice trembled behind him as he and the Chaolt squared off. "What's going on?" Her voice was reedy, confused.
"Go in the house, Brooke. This man is dangerous."
"What… you know him? You know Charlie?"
Without taking his eyes off his enemy, he asked, "Do you?"
"Yes, he… he lived in my apartment building. Management relocated him after the fire, too." She swallowed loudly enough for him to hear. "To another house down the road."
He heard the suspicion in her voice now, and took a breath. She was getting it, putting the pieces together. 'Charlie' was after her, though she wouldn't know why.
He did.
Every muscle tensed in preparation, the realization making his scalp tighten.
Brooke was an Erratic.
Brooke backed up as far as she could, breathing hard, until her fingers felt the door behind her. That cold, pressing feeling was still there, and fear made her chest tight.
Charlie had been stalking her. And then found her, touched her. Why? What did he do? She put a hand to her forehead. She remembered seeing him, speaking to him, seeing that smile, and then… Levi throwing him to the ground. The space between was just a blank space that made her stomach clench. Running her hands over her arms and face, she felt for bruises or cuts, but couldn't find anything wrong. She just felt wrong.
Her mouth was dry and her skin cold. Heart pounding. Gripping her hands tightly to her chest, she watched as Levi and Charlie fought. Even in the weak orange glow of the streetlights, it was clear that Levi knew what he was doing.
And that was scary too.
He’d sidestepped her question about what he did in the military. She should have pressed. She'd known Levi wasn't just a normal guy, but she'd blissfully ignored all the signs. There was no ignoring it now.
They weren’t brawling. There were no wild punches, no stumbling. Instead it was a savage dance that could have been choreographed, each one of them fighting with a quickness and fluidity that made it plain that they weren’t amateurs. Either of them. She looked in turn at the man she liked, and the man who attacked her. They moved the same.
So maybe Levi was Special Forces. Or Black Ops, or whatever. Maybe even FBI or CIA. Another chill went over her skin. Maybe he wasn't so noble. He could be a hit-man, or a spy. Her heart sank. Maybe that was a little melodramatic, but it would certainly explain his vague answers and the way he was fighting now.
She should call the police, right?
She took out her phone and dialed, cursing her bad reception when she heard the phone beep as it hung up automatically. She needed to breathe, to think.
Levi had never hurt her. He'd saved her, and was apparently doing it again. From whatever it was that Charlie had been trying to do.
Levi’s face was dead calm, and when Charlie landed a right hook, it barely fazed him. Instantly he was back to punching and kicking, landing several major hits of his own, the volley putting Charlie down on one knee. It looked like an MMA fight, but with no referees and no tap-outs.
And with knives. They both had knives.
Her heart dropped as the bright glint of metal flashed up through the air toward Levi. He grimaced and stumbled back a step, and as he did, a feeling of intense heat over took her, making her skin hot and prickly. She raised a hand to her head. Was she going to faint?
Just as Charlie began moving toward Levi, another man appeared under the street light; an angry Viking pulling knives from his coat as he ran towards them. Friend or foe? Would he fight her attacker, or Levi?
Brooke couldn't help it; she whimpered, at a loss for what to do. But he attacked the bad guy, and she sagged against the door in relief.
"Where the fuck have you been?" Levi yelled, still partially kneeling, clutching his side.
"Had another one to take care of," the other guy said between moves.
Wh
en he too, got knocked to the side, she was afraid Charlie would turn back to her again. And he did, but only for an angry look before he turned and ran into the darkness. The long-haired Viking ran after him.
Her brain kicked back into action when they were out of sight. Levi was kneeling on one leg in the street, arched over with his weight on one hand.
“Levi!” she yelled as she ran to him. “Oh my God, Levi, are you okay?”
She knelt by his side, one hand on his shoulder. He was panting, tense, and curled in on himself. She ran her hands over his back and arms, but couldn’t see where he was injured. “I saw the knife, is it bad?” He didn't answer, and her heart began pounding so hard it hurt. “Talk to me. Where are you hurt? Do you need an ambulance?”
“No ambulance,” he gritted out.
“Okay, are you sure? I’m going to call the police. Can you tell me why he attacked you?” she asked as she tried to dial her phone, but her hands were shaking and she could barely dial those three numbers.
Right as she was about to hit ‘send’ his hand came up and grasped hers, lowering it and the phone all the way to the ground.
“No police,” he said, keeping her hand pinned.
When he let go, Brooke sat back, flabbergasted. “If you don’t want me to call the police, then at least let me take you to the hospital.”
He was shaking his head before she finished, still looking at the ground.
“I don’t need a hospital. I’m just trying to… I’m just winded. I’ll be fine. You can go inside.”
“What… ? No, I’m not going to leave you out here. Can I call someone for you? Your family? That other guy?”
He shook his head again. “I’m okay.”
She eyed the back of his head. He didn’t seem well, but he obviously didn’t want any kind of help. “Levi, what’s going on?” she asked quietly, taking a calming breath. “Why… why is my neighbor dangerous? What did he want with me?"
Her forehead wrinkled when he just shook his head again. He still hadn’t straightened or looked at her, and her fear ignited anew. She leaned forward and brushed his hair back from his temples, trying to get a look at his face and see if he was okay, but he turned his head away.
Burn (Elemental Hearts Book 1) Page 5
