Angel Kin

by Tricia Skinner

  First, Cain checked the room’s double window and the flimsy front door, then threw the motel blanket on the brown carpet. He smoothed his hands across the sheets and lifted the mattress. He let it go and unrolled his blanket, tucking the corners.

  “Should be fine now.”

  Her mind felt miles away. “Will it be? Fine?”

  He removed his jacket and pulled one of his guns from the holster. The magazine shot into his hand before he slammed it back. “As soon as I find Abel your life will go back to normal.”

  Katie huffed a half laugh. Normal sounded like a dream. “I—”

  Cain paused his movements. “You what?”

  “I wish I knew how to help you.”

  “Well you can’t.”

  She snapped her gaze to his stony face. “Would it hurt to pretend I just showed some compassion for you? You could at least act like you’d considered my words.”

  “Let’s analyze your sweet wish, little burglar. I’m an assassin, which translates to I kill people.” The half angel folded his arms and left no doubt about the arrogance on his face. “Sorry if the facts sting, but you can’t fight like I can. You can’t do what needs to be done.”

  Infuriating, arrogant, and stubborn was not a good look on him. Katie mimicked his posture and crossed her arms. “Tell me, Mr. Super Assassin, are you sure those legendary fighting skills you claim to have will work when you’re face-to-face with Abel?”

  “You think I’ll run from the fight?” A growl slipped through his gritted teeth.

  “That’s not what I meant. I want to know if you can”— she raised her fingers in air quotes— “do what needs to be done, when your opponent is your own brother?”

  Cain pressed his lips together, and she dove into the void left by his hesitation.

  “Family is about love, but it’s also about a shitload of pain.” Katie expelled a slow breath. “When you face off with your twin, the end result will stay with you.”

  “Abel’s my blood, but he’s done wrong. I’ll deal.”

  Katie tossed her hands up. “Say you’re standing near Abel and he’s got a gun pointed at some poor schmuck’s head. What are you going to do? You’d have to decide whether or not your brother is more important, or that innocent life.”

  He clawed his fingers through his hair. “I’d never allow him to harm a soul in my presence. I will stop my brother, but don’t tell me my only option is to kill him.”

  “I hope it doesn’t come to that.” Exhausted, she sank onto the edge of the mattress. “I truly do.”

  “Ridiculous,” he muttered under his breath.

  She shot up from the bed, ready to tell him exactly where he could shove his tough act, but Cain’s hand caught her wrist. They stared into each other’s eyes, but the emotions passing over his face cranked her heartbeat.

  “Let. Go.” She jerked her arm, but his grip held.

  “You should thank me for my honesty. An angel, even an impure abomination like me, could kill you before you could react. No more wishing you could help me. I don’t want to see you hurt.”

  “So we’re clear, if I wasn’t dealing with mind-controlling giants, I could hold my own in a fight,” she said.

  Cain’s expression darkened. “Could you? I wonder.”

  The Nephilim brought her crashing down onto the mattress, and Katie yelped. She thrashed under his heavy weight.

  “Overpowered by a body, not mind control,” he said as his breath fanned her skin. “Your nonassassin skills are sadly lacking.”

  He pinned her wrists above her head, leaving her body flush against his. Katie wiggled and tugged, but Cain had the advantage of position and strength. She stopped her frantic movements. Only one option left—surprise.

  She molded her lips over his, the pressure so heavy and intense she could only moan breathlessly into his mouth. The warmth of her tongue touched his, drawing her nerves guitar-string tight.

  The grip on her wrists loosened, and Katie raised her hands until her fingers slid into the thickness of his hair. She arched her body and his wide palm cupped her back. Distracting Cain to throw him off took a back seat, replaced by instinctual need pounding deep within her belly and ricocheting between her legs.

  Cain’s tongue continued a slow exploration of her mouth, lapping the depths, erotic as hell. Her trembling fingers brushed the expanse of his shoulders, his firm muscles jolting the tips as they passed over. Filled with untethered boldness, she ran light touches down the ridges of his firm pectorals. When her thumb flicked a pebble-hard nipple, her bodyguard growled.

  …

  Cain shouldn’t be doing this, but he was.

  He shouldn’t want this, but he did.

  His display of strength was meant to prove she couldn’t help him in a fight against his own kind, yet her wish that she could do more had affected him. Now, this slip of a human woman under him displayed devastating talents of her own. He approved of her fighting technique.

  “Katie.” His lust-blown vocal cords rolled over her name. “We must stop.”

  His cock jumped against his thigh, hating the idea. He groaned into her neck, gave one last squeeze of her lush bottom, and pulled away. Katie stayed on the bed, wisps of her red hair fanned around her face and her kiss-swollen lips parted in seductive promise. Lunging to recapture her lips would be bad, but the desire flaming her gaze almost melted his resolve.

  Cain cleared his throat. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

  A slow grin curved Katie’s pouty lips. “Do you hear me complaining?”

  No, he couldn’t hear a damn thing past his heart palpitations. She affected him and exposed the gaps in his control. Gaps that showed weakness.

  “My behavior was uncalled for,” Cain said, struggling for calm. “I apologize.”

  Katie’s grin graduated to a throaty laugh. “I think we know there’s a mutual attraction.” She mumbled what sounded like “thank God” under her breath. “I like kissing you.”

  A shock grenade exploded inside his brain. She’d enjoyed his kiss? If only he could continue, go further, explore more. He’d stolen a kiss here or there over the years, feeding his curiosity of the opposite sex. Flirting, kissing, a little touching. That had been it. He’d never allowed himself to fully connect with anyone, for good reason.

  Getting intimately close meant he had to let the person in. Letting them in meant exposing them to his life. A life spent wrapped around the Directorate’s collective middle finger.

  The same group that took his birth family from him.

  Never again. He’d never risk losing someone close to his heart.

  “Are you all right?” Katie sat up and stroked his jaw.

  Was he?

  “I wonder, if the circumstances were different,” she said, “would we still feel…”

  Katie lowered her gaze, and he didn’t press her to complete her sentence. They were two people thrown together by pretty fucked-up events. No soul match. No lover’s destiny.

  Cain pulled away, and instantly regretted the loss of her fingers against his skin. He paced the area between the front of the bed and an Eighties-era television set. It would be easy to let her slip past the doors guarding his heart when she’d already picked the lock.

  No. They needed distance. He removed his phone from his pocket.

  The problem was where. He couldn’t keep her locked in the motel room while he searched for Abel. The location was a pit stop to throw off her elf and vamp trackers. Getting her out of Detroit was the only option, but the cabin she’d mentioned would cost him a day to drive there.

  Too. Damn. Long.

  “I’m slowing you down,” Katie said, her eyes filled with startling warmth. “You’re stuck watching over me instead of chasing him.”

  He avoided her gaze. “If the team locates Abel first, they’re obligated to take him down.”

  His Grace rumbled to life. The energy filled his vision, fed by his turmoil. He faced Katie, eyes ablaze with its light and voice he
avy. “I won’t allow my adopted family to kill him.”

  She cautiously approached and cupped his fist in her hands. “Call Tanis. Talk to him.”

  His sharpened vision accentuated the hue of her skin. “No.”

  Cain wouldn’t beg his father to spare Abel. He’d track his twin himself, get to him first, and settle the personal business between them.

  “I’ve seen you and your team,” Katie said. “I may not know what rules The Bound follow, but I know this. All of you would break every single rule and burn the rulebook to protect each other.”

  “They won’t break sacred law.” Goddamn. Now he was scraping for excuses.

  “Are you actually feeding yourself that line of crap?” Katie asked, her hands gesturing wildly. “What is sacred law anyway? Whatever your Directorate says it is?”

  “Stay out of this.” Cain glared down at his snarky companion.

  Katie snatched his cellphone from his hand, opened his contact list and hit a number, and then she thrust the phone at him. “Talk to your dad. Find another answer. Don’t shut out everyone who cares about you.”

  Tanis answered on the second ring. “Report.”

  Cain took the phone and shook his head. “No dice on the primary target.”

  “We suspect the Renegades have him hidden. We’re backtracking to search for Grace trails, beginning at the second crime scene. With luck, we’ll narrow the search grid.”

  Standard reconnaissance. The team’s tactics fueled the conflict inside him.

  “Kas filled me in on your other request.” Keys tapped in the background.

  “You found the dark elf?”

  “Not yet. He’s spent time in prison. Fraud, attempted murder, statutory rape, torture,” Tanis said. “Several agencies want this guy. I may be able to pull a few favors, get us added to the cases.”

  “Don’t.” Cain planned to make the elf bleed for the bounty he’d placed on Katie. “He knows my brother.”

  A brief pause on the line.

  “Tanis, is there…” He stopped.

  “We’ll leave the elf to you.”

  “And Abel?”

  Silence.

  “I could contain him. Learn why the Renegades are here.”

  When Tanis spoke, his tone sounded weighed down by duty. “I believed you were alone. The house was engulfed. No one could have survived that inferno.”

  Cain’s chest squeezed painfully. “My goddamned brother survived. I don’t know how, but he did.”

  “If we find Abel first, he’ll remain unharmed. You’ll lead the interrogation.” Tanis’s voice was deep with authority. “You have my vow.”

  Disbelief hit Cain, and his body shook from the unexpected reply. “I know our directive from Heaven as well as you. My brother is either running solo, or he’s working for the enemy. Either scenario has the same end game. He’s a dead man.”

  “He would be, if I didn’t have doubts of my own,” Tanis said. “The Directorate’s been uncharacteristically quiet though they monitor the news networks and likely our communications. They will have seen Abel’s face splashed across the media.”

  Non-interference wasn’t the Directorate’s usual MO when Renegades were in the city. Why hadn’t their superiors sent in an angel legion? “Detroit should be a war zone by now.”

  “Affirmative. And Abel’s existence troubles me for another reason,” his father said. “Only four Nephilim were known to have survived.”

  Cain rubbed his temple. “My twin survived. So what?”

  “And if he is not the only one?”

  He froze. More Nephilim? Each with half the Grace of their fathers—powers in the service of the enemy. “Holy shit.”

  “We will find Abel and try to bring him in,” Tanis said. “If he’s not alone, then I want to find the others.”

  Before the Directorate was left unsaid. If the angels caught Abel first, they’d make sure only four sanctioned half-breeds remained breathing. Maybe.

  “I need to bring my assignment to base. The elf’s made one attempt on her.”

  “Negative,” Tanis said. “I met with the police chief, who made his position clear. They’ll accept your twin exists and is responsible for those murders if he’s brought in. Until then, you are the prime suspect.”

  Cain swore. “They know I have an alibi. Shit, I have several.”

  “How long can you stay put?”

  The motel wouldn’t be the first place the police or the elf would check. “One, maybe two days with some luck.”

  “Give us a day to widen our search,” Tanis said.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The thwack of a dagger penetrated one of the penthouse walls. Abel tried to ignore Dravyn, who had drawn a man-shaped target on the wall.

  Thwack.

  He thumbed the screen of his tablet and tapped a news photograph under the headline, “Who Is This Man?”

  Thwack.

  Thwack.

  Thwack.

  He swiped the screen and skimmed paragraphs in the story. “Do you have a problem?”

  “You could say that,” came Dravyn’s dry reply, behind him but at a distance.

  Abel turned his head. “The remaining council members will be dead in a few days. You can tell our employers they can move to the next phase soon.”

  The dark elf slid another dagger from under his jacket. He flipped the blade over and back, catching the light beaming down from the ceiling. “That’s not why I’m here.”

  “Spit it out.” Abel gripped his gun handle, his muscles tensed and ready.

  Dravyn continued to play with the dagger he held. The throwing distance wouldn’t be ideal unless his dark magic could bend the laws of physics.

  “Your brother and his female have disappeared.”

  Abel spun the stool around. With gun in hand and aimed at the elf, he casually leaned against the counter. “Go on.”

  A sneer etched across Dravyn’s dark face, his eyes focused on the gun. “I’ve had a man trailing the woman. After a minor altercation, your brother showed up and took her away. You wouldn’t happen to know why, would you?”

  “No.” He kept his features blank. His pointy-eared nemesis didn’t need to know the news came as a surprise.

  “I see. I also learned Valen’s dead, along with his bloodsucking crew.”

  The name meant nothing to Abel.

  “Valen is, or was, a vampire mobster I enjoyed conducting business with,” Dravyn said. “Someone put two bullets between his eyes.”

  Abel cocked his head back and laughed. “That’s what he gets for befriending you.”

  The elf offered a dark grin of his own. “I think Cain killed him.”

  “And?”

  Dravyn’s bushy white eyebrows dipped. “The vampires worked for me. I offered a financial incentive to find your brother. Valen’s death makes me think your bastard brother found out, killed him and eight of his men, and then bolted with his whore.”

  Abel’s gun muzzle remained aimed at the elf’s forehead. He should waste the mercenary right here. If the elf succeeded in catching his brother first, the years of waiting, of planning Cain’s downfall, would be worthless.

  “Keep away from him,” he said.

  Dravyn stalked across the room and yanked the dagger from the wall. It disappeared in a flash of light. Abel lowered his gun. The time to kill the elf would come. Not soon enough for his liking, but he’d learned patience under the Renegades’ tutelage. The death was one he’d savor.

  “The woman continued to intrigue me,” the elf said, turning around. “Weren’t you curious why your brother whisked her away? I was. Katherine Logan is a petty thief, but do you know her favorite crime?”

  Abel shrugged and wondered why it always took Dravyn so damned long to make a point.

  “She’s a burglar.” The elf’s wry expression intensified. “And it seems items were missing from Ray Washington’s house.”

  Abel straightened from his relaxed slouch.

  “Yes
, an interesting tidbit my sources uncovered after the police questioned the snake’s chef, who confirmed that the missing objects were in their places the night before your visit.”

  Abel closed his hands as the blood drained from his fingers, leaving them prickly. The human was a burglar. Cain had taken her, not to protect a friend or lover, but a witness?

  Impossible.

  He’d been alone with the snake shifter. He was certain of it.

  Dravyn chose that moment to walk up to him. Abel stared into his hard eyes, and he knew the elf would twist the information in his next report, if he hadn’t already. Leaving the scene without verifying it was empty was just plain sloppy, and the Renegades preferred no loose ends.

  “I see your peanut-sized brain has come to the only possible conclusion. The thief saw you in that house. I wonder, did you and the snake discuss anything about our employers’ goals?”

  The muscles along Abel’s back tightened. If the eyewitness had overheard the conversation, she could alert the authorities and focus attention on the Renegades. Suspicion would shift from his brother, returning his life to normal. All his plans would unravel.

  “She’s helping him to find you, half-breed. Isn’t that nice of her?” Dravyn said with an acid-laced tongue.

  So, the human and his brother worked together. Abel felt a pinch of envy. Cain had yet again found someone to stand by him.

  “Since you have a mission to complete before Mastema’s arrival, I decided to make this problem go away.” Dravyn strolled toward the front door. “One of my men found the woman before. He’ll do so again.”

  “No,” Abel said. “I will take care of this myself.”

  The dark elf’s body stiffened, and he stopped at the door. Slowly, he turned, and they shared a look that promised when their forced partnership ended, there would be blood.

  “Again I have to remind your infantile brain that I don’t work for you. I’ll make sure our employers know you need a refresher on your assassin skills of detection.” Dravyn’s grin showed off his yellowed teeth. “Follow me. I have an idea how to bring the lovebirds out.”

  …