by Tessa Cole
The muscles in Gideon’s jaw tightened. “I’m done with her,” he said, his tone so cold it made my throat tight.
Another bit of my soul fractured, and I couldn’t help but feel there was more to his words than just a dismissal from this conversation.
I’d been told Marcus had demanded Gideon release me, let me return to my normal human life with no further involvement with the supernatural world. Now I was sure Gideon would have done that without Marcus’s demand. The angelic mating brand wasn’t a beautiful destined thing when you were stuck with someone you didn’t love, and I was just a reminder to Gideon that his real love was dead. Not to mention, as far as he knew, I was a mostly powerless human, a detriment to any partnership.
And if he ever learned the truth, it would be even worse.
Abby stepped toward the street, but I didn’t follow, Jacob’s claim keeping me where I was even though I wanted to get the hell away from there and Gideon.
“Essie?” Abby asked.
The light from Gideon’s eyes billowed. “Jacob, get her out of here.”
Jacob shifted toward me. “Essie—”
My pulse leaped, and my essence zeroed in on him. Give me an order. Tell me to do something. Anything.
Please.
Release me from your claim.
But a vampire’s claim didn’t work that way. If he didn’t bite me again, eventually his essence would work its way out of mine, but until then I was his to command whether either of us wanted that or not.
A silver sedan pulled onto the sidewalk behind the JP SUV, drawing everyone’s attention, and an average-looking man in all respects, height and weight, with brown hair and brown eyes got out. Chief of Police Ken Fields.
I’d only met him once before and that had been at my graduation from the academy, but given that this was the second serious super incident in just over two weeks, it wasn’t a surprise that he’d come to the scene himself to put whatever pressure he could on the JP agents to deal with this quickly and quietly.
Not that Gideon didn’t already know the serious nature of this situation. Relations between humans and supernatural beings were still tentative, and while most humans were happy to abide by the law and let the supers be, many of them did that because the supers stuck to their Quarter and didn’t mix with the human population.
“Done with the scene already?” Chief Fields asked as he marched toward us.
Abby straightened as the chief approached and my insides squirmed, desperate for Jacob to finish his command since there was also a chance the chief would want to have words with me for being involved in both of the recent supernatural incidents.
“We just arrived,” Gideon said.
“You were called over two hours ago.” Fields crossed his arms. “There’s more to this city than the Quarter.”
“And there’s more supernatural crime than whatever your officers stumble across.” The chill in Gideon’s expression deepened — I hadn’t thought it was possible for it to get any colder — but a hint of heat, which had to be anger, also started to dance through the air around me.
“Some are questioning if you have the safety of the human population in mind,” Fields said. “Your JP team doesn’t have a human agent and therefore doesn’t have a human perspective.”
The heat from the anger — best guess it came from Gideon — increased. “We don’t deal with human perps.”
“But you do deal with human civilians.”
“What are you getting at, Chief?” Jacob asked.
“The LA news just ran an exposé on JP teams and their lack of human consideration. That’s not the kind of press I or the mayor want for Union City. You may have managed to keep most of the details quiet from the case two weeks ago, but details still slipped out.” Fields met Gideon’s glare head on. “Namely the damage done to an apartment building and all the 911 calls that night when we received the report about a fight among supernatural beings.”
“That couldn’t be helped,” Gideon said.
“I don’t doubt that,” Fields said. “But that’s not the point. Policing isn’t just about catching the bad guy any more. It’s also about optics. Showing up to a crime scene two hours later doesn’t look good. Destroying an apartment with civilian neighbors still in the other units isn’t good, either. It looks like supers are taking over without any consideration to humans.”
“I don’t know how we could make it more obvious that we’re protecting humans from supernatural perps,” Gideon said.
“The mayor has told me to assign a human member to your team and I heartily agree.”
Sweat trickled between my breasts and I tried not to squirm. Come on, Jacob, just tell me to leave. If Gideon and the chief wanted to go at it, fine, but I didn’t have to be standing there, aching for Gideon and straining for Jacob, while they did.
“You can’t just assign someone,” Gideon said. “My team doesn’t fall under your jurisdiction or the mayor’s.”
“The trial period for a human agent has already been approved by the Joined Parliament. I’m sure you’ll receive notification soon,” Fields said.
Gideon’s eyes narrowed and the heat around me billowed, making my face flush as if I’d gone out running in August at noon. “Our work is dangerous, even for a super. I can’t guarantee your officer’s safety.”
“I’m aware of that.” Field’s attention slid to me. “Officer Shaw has taken advanced combat training for supers.”
My pulse stalled. Oh, shit. He was going to assign me to Gideon’s team, immersing me in the supernatural world again, and worse, forcing me to spend time with Gideon.
“Sir, I—”
“And she has more experience with serious crimes by supers than any other officer,” Field said, cutting me off.
I doubted I actually had more experience than the senior officers.
“I can’t—” I could barely stand five minutes with the yearning from the mating brand and Gideon’s icy demeanor. I couldn’t work with him. Not even for one case.
“Congratulations on your new assignment.” Fields turned to Gideon. “She’s all yours, agent. Now, Detective McLellan, show me this scene.”
“I won’t accept Shaw on my team,” Gideon said, his words stinging a part of me I desperately wanted to ignore.
I didn’t want to be on his team, either. In fact, I was thrilled he was fighting to keep me off the team. His rejection shouldn’t have bothered me.
“You don’t have a choice. The mayor wants a human seen working in the field with your team, and I don’t want to sacrifice any of my other officers.”
Jeez, he wasn’t even trying to keep his true intentions a secret.
Gideon’s back straightened, and the temperature turned sweltering. Light flared from his eyes, and Jacob cleared his throat.
The light snapped back to normal and so did the temperature, as if Gideon had been reminded to control himself, something I’d never thought an angel would ever need.
“Feel free to complain to the Joined Parliament. I’m sure training more human agents will be in the works soon.” Fields headed to the doorway into the school. “Remember, the mayor wants her seen working in the field with you. Now, show me the crime scene, Detective McLellan.”
Abby shot me a worried glance but hurried after the chief.
“Just great,” Gideon growled and marched after them as well.
The ache for him swelled as he left and so too did the buzz in my body, nipping under my skin almost at pre-nicotine levels. At least the temperature dropped back to normal, but the sweat slicking me from Gideon’s anger made me shiver even though it wasn’t close to being cold out.
“Well, that’s a development,” Kol said, his eyes wide with surprise. “Not it. No way am I telling Marcus the news.”
Chapter 4
I hugged myself to ward off the chill from my sweat, not caring if it made me look weak. I didn’t need to be strong in front of Kol or Jacob, just Gideon and Marcus. My mind whirled, bu
t there wasn’t a way out of this situation. At least not one that let me keep my job. If my new assignment had come from my captain, I might have been able to ask for a transfer, but the order had come from the chief. There wasn’t anyone higher in the ranks to go to.
If I wanted out, I had to quit.
That thought stung. All I’d ever wanted to be was a cop. A life of running from an unjust danger had only strengthened my desire to help those who couldn’t help themselves. If I wasn’t a cop, then who was I? I had to be more than just a nephilim, more than the nightmare monster everyone believed nephilim to be. I—
I drew in a steadying breath and squared my shoulders. I needed to not make any rash decisions, not after the night I’d had and with Gideon’s brand making me exhausted.
I glanced at my watch. 2:30 a.m. “My shift is almost done. Jacob, please tell me to go to the hospital to get stitches and check in on my partner— former partner.” I fought to keep my gaze down and not meet his eyes. If I did, my request would change to something personal and desperate. Take me. Command me. Let me ease the worry I see in your eyes.
How the hell was I going to be a productive member of the team if I couldn’t do anything without Jacob’s say so? But then the chief didn’t know about any of my supernatural conditions and that wasn’t the point.
“I can take you to Amiah and then we can check in on your partner,” Kol said.
The memory of the first time Amiah had healed me flashed through my mind. It had been painful, like an electric current scorching through me, because she knew I was responsible for turning Marcus into a werewolf and she had — still had? — a thing for Marcus. I didn’t know if she’d forgiven me or if she’d be back to being angry at me because I was now stuck on the team, recklessly endangering the guys again.
“The regular human hospital will do.” I’d already hit my quota of angelic searing agony for the day. I didn’t want a repeat even if it meant I’d have a scar.
Come on. Let me go. Please. Don’t fight me on this.
“All right,” Jacob said, the rumble of his voice sliding over me, drawing my attention against my will back up to his face. The strain around his eyes twisted his claim tighter within me. “If this is what I think it is, we’re working through the night—” He glanced at the moon, partially hidden behind the clouds. “Or rather morning. Kol, take her to get stitches, then cleaned up, and then to Operations. Make it quick. Gideon will want to get on this, fast.”
My soul thrilled at the order. I needed to go now. It would make him happy. It would—
I clenched my jaw. “Can I check on my partner?” I asked between gritted teeth.
The strain around Jacob’s eyes tightened. “Yes,” he said, the word clipped, then he headed into the school, leaving me with Kol, the only member of the team I wasn’t somehow bound to — and yes, what I had with Marcus was as strong— no, stronger than what I had with Gideon and Jacob.
“Is he all right?” I’d been given my orders so I couldn’t follow him inside even if a part of me wanted to, but something wasn’t right with Jacob. I couldn’t put it into words. I just knew it with a knowing that was more certain than anything I sensed from Gideon through the brand.
“It’s been a rough night.” Kol pulled out his phone and sent a text. “Gideon was seriously injured tonight.”
“I know.”
“How—?” His gaze jumped to my right forearm, where Gideon’s brand lay underneath the sleeve of my uniform. “The brand, of course.” His eyes widened. “Oh, jeez. No wonder you look like shit. The brand probably used your strength to stabilize him.”
“Wow, way to make a girl feel pretty.”
The expression in his eyes turned to horror. “No, I didn’t mean— I— You look… fine? Hurt but fine?”
I rolled my eyes at him and winced as I started to shake my head, sending pain slicing into my neck. “Aren’t you supposed to be the slick charmer?”
“Women don’t usually tease me. Well, not in that way.” A hint of hellfire flickered in his eyes.
Yeah, I imagined the teasing was a lot less innocent.
His expression turned somber. “I know Gideon said you were fine, but you really don’t look fine.”
“I hurt and I ache and I want to scream at the fact that two weeks later I still need Jacob’s permission to do anything short of breathing.” And now I had to work with the source of most of that pain. Unless I left the force. Which was the worse choice ever. “And my boss thinks I’m expendable. How was your night?”
“We raided a zip lab that had more security than we initially saw when we scouted, and Gideon took two in the gut just under his vest and one in the leg, severing his femoral artery.”
No wonder the brand had gone crazy. Even with his angelic healing — which was better than a human’s but not nearly as good as a vampire’s or an incubus’s — he wouldn’t have been able to heal that. “Well, then, looks like it was a shitty night all around.”
“You sure I can’t convince you to go to Amiah?”
The claim twisted in my chest. Even if I wanted to risk her anger, I couldn’t. “Jacob said stitches.”
Another chunky medium gray SUV drove onto the street and stopped on the road across from us, not bothering to pull over.
“Then let’s get you some stitches,” Kol said, heading to the SUV.
An angel I also recognized from my brief stay at Operations got out, leaving the vehicle running.
“That was fast,” Kol said.
“Summer had called for another set of hands, so I was already on my way.” The guy pulled out a packed duffle bag from the back seat. “I’ll grab a ride back with Summer, so it’s all yours.”
Kol got in behind the wheel and I settled into the front passenger seat. The buzz was getting stronger, but it was also nearing the eight-hour mark, when I needed to replace my nicotine patches. At least the exhaustion from Gideon’s brand wasn’t getting any worse.
We drove to the hospital, and Kol parked in an emergency-only short-term parking spot and flipped down the front visor, showing the SUV’s JP credentials. But he hesitated before getting out of the vehicle.
“You should probably go in first,” he said. “By yourself. Even if I do everything I can to suppress my nature, I tend to be… distracting.”
“You were there the last time I was brought into emergency.” A shiver of desire tickled along my spine and heated into embarrassment. He’d been there when I’d been on the verge of unconsciousness, in writhing agony, and the doctors had stripped me of all my clothes. Every last piece.
“You were in serious condition then. That’s enough to make any doctor or nurse ignore me.” He flashed me a wicked smile that made my skin heat, even though I suspected the smile was supposed to be encouraging and not sexual. “You’re in much better shape this time.”
Thank God for that. And while I hoped there wouldn’t be a next time, the only way to guarantee that would be to leave my job. Which was looking like the only way out of this situation.
I bit back a sigh. “Are you going to wait in the SUV?”
“No, I’ll give you a few minutes then join you.” He frowned and for a second he looked uncertain of himself, the expression strange on the face of someone who exuded such sexual confidence. “Unless you don’t want the company.”
“I’d rather have the company while a doctor repeatedly pokes my neck with a needle.”
“I’m sure he’ll numb your skin first.”
Not the point. “It’s been a shitty night. Keep me company, Kol.” Help me forget how much my heart hurts.
His smile brightened, sending a flood of sensual warmth through me. “See you in a few, then.”
I got out of the SUV and walked through the emergency department’s sliding doors. A nurse took one look at the uniform, the big piece of gauze taped to my neck, and all the blood covering me — it caked my hands and sleeves almost to my elbows, my shoulder and over my chest from the neck wound, and my knees — a
nd hurried me to a bed.
Kol soon followed, sliding in the chair beside the bed with a sensual boneless grace, and shortly after, a doctor arrived.
“I’m doctor Ing,” he said, sliding the privacy curtain aside to enter with his attention on a tablet, probably with my history already pulled up. “Officer Shaw—?” His gaze lifted and landed on me and my bloody mess. “The paramedic report says it’s just your neck.”
“Only about a quarter of this is mine.”
“That’s still a lot.” He set the tablet on a nearby trolley and pulled on a pair of latex gloves. He was handsome in a very human, very comforting way, with warm eyes and short black hair. I pegged him at about my age, maybe a little older into his mid-thirties, and while the blood had made him pause, it hadn’t been in horror, more in a professional assessment. “Are you light headed?”
I was, but not enough that I was going to tell him and risk getting held in the hospital for observation.
Although that at least would buy me some time to figure out what the hell I was going to do about my new assignment to Gideon’s team.
The claim twisted tight in my chest, and I fought to keep my expression the same.
Jacob had said stitches, cleaned up, and then go to Operations. Quickly. A stay in the hospital wasn’t quick.
“I’m good,” I lied. “Nothing some stitches and a good sleep won’t fix.”
Ing’s gaze jumped to Kol and back to me. “So long as you actually sleep.”
Kol rolled his eyes and pulled out his identification. “JP agent assigned to Officer Shaw’s case. How about we focus on those stitches.”
Ing didn’t look like he fully believed Kol, and I wondered if the incubus got that a lot. Was he always being judged when he was with a woman? God, I couldn’t imagine trying to go on an innocent date with someone and having to deal with those assuming looks.
Of course, did an incubus ever go on an innocent date? Did Kol? How did someone who survived on sexual energy manage a relationship that was more than just sex?
“Let’s get your shoulder out of your uniform so I can get a proper look,” Ing said.
