“Thank you.” Liz rose, straightened her sweater over her jeans, and left the room.
Moments later, she walked into the study with its claret walls and mahogany furniture. Then frowned when she saw the man leaning against the desk examining his nails. He appeared utterly bored and out of place amidst the antique furniture, his scruffy jeans, faded navy tee, and a well-worn leather jacket clashing with the elegant decor.
The sunlight streaming in through the window glinted off his inch-short hair, turning it into spun gold. But the grin on his handsome face when he looked up irritated her.
His piercing hazel eyes made her feel like he could see right through the walls she’d erected around her heart, and that annoyed her more.
“Gaelin. I’m sure there’s a perfectly good explanation for you being here?”
The demon’s gaze leisurely swept down her body and up again, his stare assessing, sensual. His smile brighter than the sun, he countered, “Miss me?”
“Like the plague.”
“One day soon you will,” he promised with a laugh. He didn’t seem fazed by her intimidating stare. Then he straightened, his expression becoming somber. The fact that he didn’t continue flirting sent dread crawling up her spine.
“Something’s come up.”
“Oh, God—Saia.”
“Elizabeth.” Gaelin grasped her arms, made her look at him. Made her aware, too, it was the first time he’d touched her in the ten years she’d known him. “She’s fine. Réomer’s with her.”
A sigh of relief escaped, only to whoosh out again at his next words. “Seems she stabbed a demon out here in the park. He hauled her back to my world—”
“What?” Liz yelled, breaking free.
Gaelin hastily held up his hands. “All’s okay. Réomer went after them and has her now.”
Liz spun away and walked to the window, rubbing her arms. But the sensation of his touch remained, making her uneasy. The way her body reacted to him... Then she stumbled to a halt. This had to have happened the morning Saia confronted her mother.
She spun back to him. “Then why aren’t they back?”
His eyes caressed her face to linger on her lips. “I’m guessing that’s Réomer’s game plan… Eventually.”
She ignored his silent flirting. “What do you mean eventually?”
“His sire hasn’t seen him in over a millennium. He can’t exactly just up and leave until he’s paid his dues.”
“Dammit.” She rubbed her temples. Glared. “How long?”
He shrugged. “A week. Three. Hard to say.”
Dammit! “This can’t be happening.”
The door opened. Liz swallowed her curse as Noah entered. His eyes narrowed at Gaelin. With his psychic awareness to other-kind, he’d know what Gaelin was.
“What’s going on?”
At the thought of Noah finding out the truth of where Saia truly was, the blood drained from Liz’s head. Noah would go after Saia, and he would land in a nest of Caligos or worse, blood-demons. As dangerous as Noah was, he could still die. She’d seen firsthand what they could do. And after what had happened to him several years ago at the hands of those bloodsucking fiends, she preferred him safe and on Earth.
At least, Riley would be able to protect Saia…she prayed.
Liz settled for a version of the truth. “You know there’s a Caligo after Saia. Riley’s taken her into hiding—”
“Here? That thing followed Saia, here?” When most people would have been raising their voice by now, Noah’s dropped to an indiscernible, icier level. “And you didn’t see fit to inform me?”
“Noah.” Liz sighed. “You know what Riley is. Trust him to keep her safe.”
“This is my sister you’re talking about. I trust no man—let alone a bloody demon—”
“One who saved me,” Liz cut him off, ignoring Gaelin’s avid interest in their argument. “He took out those blood-demons who killed Jai. I trust Riley with my life.”
A tick worked furiously in Noah’s jaw at the truth of her words. He pinned his cold stare on Gaelin. “For his sake, he’d better bring Saia home without a scratch, or I’ll peel the skin off his damn hide an inch at a time, before I garrote him with his gut.” He turned to Liz. “I’ll get the other hunters in on this. We need to flush out this piece of trash after Saia and annihilate the bastard before it moves on to another body and we lose it.”
That would be disastrous. In a new host, the Caligo would still hunt Saia, and they would be tracking blind. “Okay. I have his pic. Riley sent it to me from the bar’s security cameras. I’ll download it and meet you at the offices. We can distribute it to the guys.”
Noah nodded and walked out.
At a light touch on her arm, Liz nearly jumped out of her skin. Gaelin’s eyes gleamed in amusement.
“See you soon, Elizabeth,” he murmured and sauntered for the door, but she heard the sensual promise in his words. Inhaling roughly, she shook her head, her worried mind slipping back to Saia.
No use putting this off. The devil had to be faced and blood drawn, hers probably.
Liz made her way back to the living room, not looking forward to telling her brother and sister-in-law this news.
When Liz entered the living room, Jemima didn’t look up, engrossed in the morning’s paper. Edward lifted his gaze from the finance section he’d been reading. Smiled. “You’re going out?”
“Yes, in a little while.” Liz raked back her hair and sat opposite her brother. “There’s something you both should know. Saia, she went off with Riley for a few days.”
Edward set his paper aside, his features gone grim. He thought it was because of that Caligo.
Jemima jerked to her feet, the paper spilling to the floor in a flutter of sheets. Her eyes spewed black flames. “You’re telling me this now? That Saia didn’t go back to the apartment? She took off with that-that barman for a jaunt, knowing how I feel about him?”
“Have you forgotten what drove her away?” Liz demanded, trying hard to keep calm. “Be thankful she’s gone off for a few days and not left for good.”
Jemima’s chest heaved as she fought to get herself under control. Which had to be a great feat in itself, considering that her sister-in-law rarely lost her temper…well, except, when she was around, Liz thought wryly.
“Did she call you?”
“Yes,” Liz lied. “Riley’s a decent person, Jemima. More than most I’ve met. I’ve known him a long time. Just because he tends the bar, it doesn’t make him any less than you. Besides, he cares about her.”
Edward rose and drew his upset wife to him. “Saia is safe, Jem, and that’s what matters. No more forcing her into your way of doing things.”
Her dark eyes widened in shock and she stared at Edward in dismay. “How can you say that? Look at all the trouble that’s happened recently.”
“What trouble? Most is because you’re overprotective. Let her be.”
Yeah, no way would Edward tell his neurotic wife about the Caligo after Saia. She’d probably lock Saia up.
Jemima pulled away from Edward, cutting him a dark look, one Liz couldn’t define. “If anything happens to Saia, Edward, I’ll never forgive you.” Ignoring Liz, she walked out of the room.
Edward faced her, all signs of affability disappearing. “I don’t like this at all, Liz. But with that Caligo stalking Saia, it’s good she has Riley with her.”
“And if it’s more?” Liz dared to ask.
His eyes narrowed. “Then you should have kept a better eye on her. I trusted you.”
She studied her brother’s rigid expression. “Are you still prejudiced, Edward? After all that’s happened? Riley doesn’t have to, but he kills most of the evil trolling the streets at night. Something that was once close to your heart. You headed one of the most powerful supernatural hunters’ organizations, and you gave it all up because you didn’t want to lose your family.”
Edward’s expression lost its stiffness, became pained. “You were
my little sister, I didn’t do enough to protect you. Those blood-demons targeted me for killing their leader.”
“Edward, no…” Her eyes misted. “You loved me. Saved me. For that, I’m eternally grateful. What happened with Jai and me, it was horrific, but no one could have foreseen it.”
“I should have, Liz, I should have.” He pulled her into his arms and hugged her. “We are a family supposedly blessed with psychic abilities. I should have seen, been more insistent that you stay off the streets.”
“At seventeen, it’s doubtful I would’ve listened,” Liz said with a wry smile as she stepped back. “Now you see why it’s better that Saia’s with Riley? He’ll keep her safe. We are mortal. He’s not.”
His jaw tense briefly. A terse nod followed. “I don’t have to like it, Liz. But you’re right. Saia is what matters.”
“And there’s Noah.”
No, it wasn’t fair reminding him, but it was time her brother accepted the facts and understood one couldn’t always help whom one fell in love with. “Noah still hasn’t dealt with Amelia’s death. He’s closed himself off, and he hasn’t been the same since.”
Amelia had been born on Earth to demon parents. She died trying to save Noah after he’d been ambushed by a group of blood-demons several years ago.
Edward had been dead-set against the relationship.
Her brother pinched the bridge of his nose, a heavy sigh escaping him. “My children never settle for normal in anything, do they?”
“We just have to trust their choices and be supportive no matter what. Like we have to accept there are other species sharing this world with us, too. It’s no longer just ours.”
“Yes, I know. Let me know if Saia calls again.”
Liz watched her brother walk out of the room, worry gnawing at her gut. She’d lied to him. But it was necessary. She prayed he never found out where Saia really was.
***
Saia walked along the path leading to the courtyard at the back of the fortress, her guard following behind her.
She stopped near several ash-colored trees. It appeared as if a storm had uprooted them and landed them on their heads to grow upside down. Fat, squat branches stretched out horizontally and ended in a large knot with a mess of mossy-type strands in various shades of gray-green.
The closest color she’d seen to actual green in this place…except for Riley’s eyes. But to see the color of life, she had to see him.
The day had been endlessly long and felt like a week instead. Sighing, she dropped on a stone bench under the messy tree, picked up a fallen mossy strand, and started to shred it.
The slap of running footsteps pulled her away from her thoughts. Seconds later, Ikaria rounded the corner. “Saia, come quickly, it’s Réomer. He’s hurt.”
A chill skating over her skin, she shot up and sprinted across the pavestones and raced for the stairs at the side entrance, skirting a group of demons walking past. She ran up the stairs, only to find a tall, striking redhead obstructing her way.
“Excuse me.”
The redhead didn't move, her gaze drifting over Saia in distaste.
“Do you mind?” Saia tried to hold in her irritation, her anxiety growing.
“Not at all,” the demoness retorted. “So, he’s truly bonded with you.”
Gah! She didn't have time for this. Saia stepped around her. The demoness grabbed her by the wrist, her nails digging in to her flesh. Saia’s teeth clamped down hard as pain spread.
“You think bearing his scent marks you as his mate?” Her expression darkened with resentment. “Réomer’s smell will soon wear off. Do you seriously believe he’ll stay with a frail mortal? I am from the House of Agares, I'm more suited to be his mate. You are nothing but his whore.”
Whore? Frail? Saia’s blood thundered in her head as understanding dawned.
Ikaria stepped between them. “Let her go.”
“No.” Saia held up her other hand, her temper teetering on a dangerous edge. She wasn't a fool. She probably wouldn’t win in a fight against this demoness, but this was the skank who’d tried to trap Riley into renouncing her. And that she refused to tolerate.
She pinned the woman with her haughtiest, coldest look. Hell, it worked for her mother, why not her? “Try your crap in tricking my man—er, mate again, and I will skewer you through your grasping black heart.”
The woman tossed back her hair, her eyes morphing to a deeper shade of malice.
And Saia had always thought green a beautiful color. At least on Riley, it was.
“You don’t know whom you’re dealing with,” the demoness hissed.
“I don’t care if you're the Queen of the Damned, get out of my way!”
The woman’s mouth thinned. Her grip tightened, cutting off the circulation in Saia’s arm. She ground her jaw against the pain and held her ground, didn't give an inch. Of course, having Ikaria as backup helped a lot.
Slowly, the woman released her, malevolence bleeding into her expression as she stepped back. The knowledge seeped into Saia that she’d made her first enemy.
Well, she didn't care. She wasn't going to be here long enough to cross paths with this slag again.
Saia pivoted and bumped into Ikaria, who stood right on her heels, looking both wary and awed. With a mumbled apology, Saia dashed up the stairs, grateful her disciplined jogging gave her the ability to run four flights of stairs without panting like an old woman and showing her nemesis just how frail she was.
“That was most impressive,” Ikaria said, easily keeping pace with her. “But watch out for her. She’s noble born and takes whatever she wants.”
“I don’t care who she is or what she wants,” Saia snapped. “Riley is off limits.”
She darted into the bedroom and skidded to a halt in fear when she found him sprawled on the floor like a felled oak. He appeared unkempt, unshaven, wearing only his pants. His body riddled with several slashes. Blood seeped from a deep wound on his abs and dripped on the floor. Oh, dear God!
At her noisy entrance, his eyelids flickered opened, his gaze unfocused.
“Riley—” She dropped to her knees, slapping her hand over the wound on his belly, yelled, “Get me clean towels, warm water, and whatever you use to treat wounds. Hurry.”
“We don’t heal soldiers,” Ikaria said, frowning. “You either live through an injury or fade into rebirth or Purgatory. It reveals the strength of a warrior.”
Were they freakin’ kidding her? Saia unclenched her jaw, snarled. “I don’t give a flying crap. Get me what I asked for, dammit!”
Ikaria rushed off. Moments later, she hurried to Saia’s side with a metal bowl of water and the rest of what she required.
“You need anything else?” she asked. Saia shook her head.
While Riley watched her through half-mast lids, she held the small towel to his ribs then dipped another in the water. “What the heck did you do?” Her voice cracked under the strain of her fear, barely aware Ikaria had left the room. “U-use yourself as a pincushion?”
Amusement flickered in his beautiful green eyes. Glimpses of the old Riley she knew resurfaced, merging with this new, harder, and dangerously sexy version of him. Her vision glazed with tears. “You’re scaring the life out of me.”
“And you’ve been scaring me from the moment I met you…” He raised his hand and brushed at a stray strand of hair that had escaped her braid. “It’s just another wound, I’ll be fine.”
“Another—? God, you should be thankful you’re still alive.”
“Wouldn’t that make it easier for you?” He pushed up and winced as he leaned against the bed. “Me, dead? You could leave, go back to your life.”
Annoyed, she pressed harder on his wound. “I think you have a fever—the only thing responsible for the bullcrap you’re spewing. I don’t want you dead, I never did. Perhaps the sword was poisoned and messed with your common sense?”
He gripped both of her wrists. Her gaze flew to his, became trapped by the she
er intensity in his darkening stare. For a weak man laden with holes, his strength astonished her. “Just admit it. You're scared of what I truly am. No, not my species. Me.”
Her heart thudded. The sudden feral gleam turned his eyes molten. A stare that told her he wanted her flat on her back, on her knees.
“Yes, Saia, anyway I can get you.”
Heat rushed to her face. For someone hurt so badly, he sure seemed quite lucid. But her tummy dipped at his words. “Why? You mated me to keep me safe, there’s no need to pretend you want more from me.”
He blew out a rough breath, dropped his head back on the bed, and stared at the ceiling. “Saia, I know I was an asshole at the party, I just didn't want you dragged into this treacherous life of mine—”
“So you hurt me, instead? Said I was too much work?” Pain seeped into her again.
He rubbed a hand down his whiskered face, his bleary gaze lowering to hers. “I had to get you to stay away from me. So, yes, I hurt you.”
Hearing it felt like he’d punched her in the chest again. She tried to hold in her anguish, rinsed the terry cloth, then dabbed at the blood trailing down his wound.
When she didn't look at him, he grabbed her upper arms, forcing her gaze up. “Gods, Saia, cut me a little slack.”
“You hurt me.” What he’d said had cut too deep. “I can’t help the life I was born into. If that’s what you honestly think, then you don’t really see me—”
“Don’t see you?” A humorless laugh escaped him. “I see you, Saia. I see every godsdamn thing—every facet of you. You beguile me, torment me so bad that, at times, I can't fucking see straight. I'm demon. My soul’s dark. Yeah, I used human females to ease that darkness. Then there you were, like a ray of light getting out of that menace you drive. And all I could do was just move, breathe. I couldn’t think beyond you…”
He brushed her jaw with his thumb. “Saia, I didn't dare take a chance and let you into my life. You saw the danger that follows me. I couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to you. I couldn’t. No matter how much I longed for you, I had to leave you alone.”
Tangled Sin (A Dark Realm Novel) Page 17
