Angel Rising

by LaVerne Thompson

  “Hmm, both excellent points,” she surmised. “The metal in the bullets might be distasteful since it can burn some, but the use of the laser is different. They’re trying to create a situation.”

  “I don’t give a damn,” Samuel seethed. “They’re using weapons now. Call in all the hunters. We’re going to have to get these guns out of here now, tonight.”

  Ray pulled out his cell and began making calls.

  “I think I need to call in some favors,” Devlin said. He pulled out his cell and stepped away from them.

  “What about the two men outside?” Thalya asked Samuel.

  “Can you keep an eye on them?” he asked Thalya. “Let me know if they move in this direction. If they do, we’ll take care of them then.” He gazed down at the two men slumped with their heads on the table. “These two should be out for a while. But at this point, I think it’s more important we get these weapons out of the hands of the soulless. I don’t know how they got them to begin with.”

  Devlin heard him and came over to them. “I think I can answer that. I called a friend of mine who’s a hacker and can access pretty much anything on a computer or stored on the internet. Seems a couple of days ago, a shipment of experimental weapons was stolen from a manufacturing plant. They were designed for military use in the Middle East for specific targets.”

  “Our military has these kind of weapons?” Samuel asked, surprised.

  “Not exactly. They’re flawed. When they’re discharged, the radioactive kickback could kill the user. So, the weapons need further work. The military scrapped the plan for the time being.”

  Samuel understood. “But the side effects to a human would not be the same on the soulless.”

  Devlin nodded. “Exactly.”

  “Does this person you contacted know what you do?” Thalya asked.

  Devlin shook his head. “No. She just thinks I’m into really weird shit.”

  “She?” Thalya queried.

  “Yeah, just an online friend. We have shared interests and help each other from time to time,” Devlin said.

  “So, have you met her in person?” Thalya asked.

  “No. But we’ve video chatted.”

  “Is she attractive?” Thalya asked.

  Samuel wondered about that too, something in the way Devlin’s emotions spiked when he spoke about his online friend.

  Devlin just grinned.

  “People, let’s focus,” Samuel said, interrupting them. “We don’t need to know Devlin’s business.” But he smiled to let Devlin know he found the situation amusing. Good to know some relationships could be easy and amusing. Too bad, his seemed anything but.

  “Yeah,” Devlin replied. “I also called some people and told them to get their asses down here by midday. I’ve got four guys coming.”

  Ray came back over to them. “I got all of our hunters coming, boss. I also called Chris’ people. No one’s seen him and they confirmed they’re having problems in LA and can’t spare anyone. Devlin’s intel was correct. There’s an influx of soulless all of a sudden in the City of Angels. The angels return.” Ray laughed at his own joke; no one else did.

  “It figures LA would be one of the areas on the list,” Samuel commented. “Makes sense lots of direct international flights out of LAX to other high traffic airports and major city hubs.”

  “What about the meeting tomorrow night?” Ray asked.

  “If we move the guns now, we might not be able to get as many of the soulless as we’d planned,” Devlin suggested.

  “True, but it’s more important to get these weapons out of their hands,” Samuel answered. “We still hold the element of surprise. We’ll take the guns out of the boxes. That might buy us enough time for at least the guy in charge to get here.”

  Ray looked at the sleeping men. “What about them?” he asked.

  “We keep them sleeping. Same with the ones outside if they try to come in. We need to cover our tracks as much as possible so no one knows we’ve been here until it’s too late.” He glanced over at Devlin. “So, what do you think? Can you rig this place to do enough damage to the soulless, so we can take them out?”

  Devlin nodded. “Yeah, I think so.”

  “There are really only three entrances. If we can block those, we can bring the roof down on top of those bastards,” Ray stated.

  “I thought we’d already settled this. That’s not going to kill them,” Thalya said.

  “No, but it will incapacitate them long enough for us to take their heads,” Ray countered.

  “Not if half the building is on them. We’d have to waste time digging them out,” Thalya pointed out. She stopped talking and turned to stare at the rear entrance. “Uh-oh. Company. I think the guy at the back is heading this way.”

  Samuel pulled her out of sight, to the rear of a few boxes. Devlin moved to a position near the back door, while Ray hid behind a loader.

  One of the guards opened the door and stepped across the threshold. He took two steps and saw his friends’ heads on the table. “Man, ain’t this some shit. I’m freezing my—”

  Before he could say anything else, Devlin came up behind him and placed his hand at the base of his neck. The man slumped into his arms, asleep.

  Ray came out from his hiding place. “I have got to learn that trick.”

  Devlin grinned. “It’s all in the touch, my friend.”

  “Impressive.” Ray grinned. “How long will he be out?”

  “Unfortunately, not long enough.”

  “I’ll take care of it.” Samuel approached the man and put his hand to his temples, making sure he’d sleep for a while longer. He turned to Thalya. “Can you do the same for those two? I want to make sure they don’t get up until we want them to.”

  She moved over to the men and placed the mind suggestion to sleep till morning. “I’ll take care of the other guy outside too,” she offered. Before he could protest, the door swung shut. He’d never realized she’d opened it. Never even saw her move. He smiled at his woman. The thought stopped him cold. A soulless one. A banished angel. His woman. Yet, something inside him melted.

  “I don’t think it would be a good idea to block the entrances,” Devlin said, turning around to stare at them. “We’d have trouble getting to the soulless still alive in here and most would be. If we take the guns out of the crates, I can rig smaller explosives in them, so anyone standing close will get blown up. That should knock them out enough for us to get to them before they revive.”

  Samuel nodded. “I like it.”

  “We’re going to need a couple of trucks to safely carry all of these,” Devlin observed.

  “Yeah,” Ray replied. “Already taken care of. The guys will be bringing some. But I didn’t know where to tell them to take the guns once they got them.”

  “For now, we move them to our warehouse,” Samuel said. “I own the entire block and the attached buildings are empty. Plus, the place is already wired as a failsafe. Even if the soulless find out where we’ve taken the guns, if they try to take them back, they’re not walking out of there alive.”

  “Man, I like your style,” Devlin said, grinning.

  “Later, we’ll have to figure out how to dispose of them permanently.” When he turned, Thalya stood by his side. Samuel reached for her hand. He had to touch her.

  “Now what?” she asked.

  “We wait for the trucks,” he replied.

  “Yeah, boss, the guys should be here soon,” Ray added.

  Samuel glanced around. “When they get here, we’ll open up those entrance doors, so they can drive the trucks right in, load up the guns and drive them out.”

  “It’s going to be a long night and an even longer day tomorrow,” Devlin said.

  They continued to check out the building, the roof and the surrounding area, trying to determine how best to position everyone. They went back inside the warehouse and compared notes.

  “I think we’ve come up with the best plan to keep our people safe,” S
amuel surmised. “We might not get all the soulless attending the meeting, but we’ll stop enough of them to put a serious dent in any plans.”

  “Someone’s here,” Thalya announced.

  They all hid. Then the doorbell sounded through the warehouse. Samuel stepped forward. “That’s got to be one of ours.” He walked over to the door and opened it.

  Karl stood on the other side grinning at him, a truck behind him and another one behind that.

  “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “Ray called me,” Karl replied. “Said you needed bodies to move some stuff. So, here I am.”

  Samuel frowned at Karl. “Does Brenda know where you are?”

  “Yes. I told her. She’s fine.” Karl smiled.

  Samuel sighed. “I’m happy for you, man. Okay, fine, come on. We have to hurry.” He walked over to the locks to unhook the doors, so the entrance could open wide enough for the trucks to pull in.

  Both trucks should be able to fit side-by-side. They backed in, and he and Karl opened the doors. By then, five other hunters had arrived. They quickly began opening the boxes and removing the weapons, closing them again to look like they were untouched. Within minutes, the rest of his people showed up, and then they made quick work of getting all the guns out of the boxes and into the trucks.

  Once they were done and any evidence the boxes had been tampered with removed, Samuel went over the plan with his people for tomorrow night. Then all the hunters disappeared to collect their weapons and get what rest they could.

  Devlin left before they were done to get the supplies he would need. Samuel sent Karl home to his wife and sent Ray to get food while he and Thalya waited for Devlin to return. They would help him wire the place, then go home and get what rest they could before returning later in the evening.

  His gaze rested on the woman sitting on one of the crates after she closed it, so it looked untouched. He still couldn’t believe she was meant for him. He frowned. The sun would be up soon. “I know you told me you can handle some sun, but how much sun exactly?”

  “I’ll be fine.” She grinned. “Don’t tell me you’re worried about me.”

  “What do you think?” He didn’t wait for her to reply but came over, stopping in front of her. She had her legs crossed but he parted them and stepped between her thighs.

  She wrapped her legs around his butt and pulled him closer. “Devlin’s back,” she whispered.

  “That man has the worst timing.” He leaned his forehead against hers, took a deep breath and stepped away. “I’ll get us home as quickly as possible.”

  “Got the stuff,” Devlin announced as he came through the door.

  “Cool. Just tell us what you need us to do.”

  “You both can help with the placing on the ceiling in the corners. I figure that won’t be a problem for either one of you.”

  “I thought you were just going to rig the empty boxes?” Samuel said.

  “Yeah, we’ll do that. But the more damage I can do to those bloodsuckers, the better. See those crossbeams?” He glanced up as he pointed to the grid of steel beams crisscrossing over their heads. “I figure to bring a few of them down. Not enough to get the entire roof leveled since we’ll be in here too, but enough to hit or trap a few of the bastards. I’ll angle the charge so the beams fall in front of the boxes. I’ll go ahead and set everything and all you will have to do is place the explosives where I tell you. And place it, so it’s not visible if anyone were to casually glance up.”

  “Got ya,” Thalya said.

  “Except Thalya’s going to have to place those,” Samuel said. “I can’t get up that high.”

  Devlin shrugged. “Okay.”

  They turned toward the door again when it opened. “I’m back, bringing goodies,” Ray said coming in. “I also checked on the guy in the car. He’s still out.” They’d dragged him back outside a little while ago, and they’d do the same for the other one stationed near the side entrance before they left, so everyone would be where they expected once they woke up.

  “While you get your stuff together,” Samuel told Devlin, “I’ll check on the other men and make sure they continue to sleep awhile longer.”

  Everyone got to work and they ate as they worked, except for Thalya, doing as Devlin directed. When all the explosives were placed, Devlin armed the system, so he would be able to detonate it from a remote device with one touch. “Okay, we’re all set. Or as set as we can be.”

  “We try to get the leader,” Samuel told them. “We can’t worry about going for quantity anymore. The longer we wait, the more likely someone’s going to look in a box. The minute they do and find those boxes empty, we lose our advantage.”

  “Okay.” Devlin grabbed his jacket. “We’ll meet you at the rendezvous point later this evening.”

  “How are we going to stop the soulless from knowing so many of us are nearby?” Ray asked. “We’ve never come at them with so many at once.”

  “All of our people have been trained to block, but you’re right,” Samuel replied. “I can help block some of us. Blur the fact so many humans are in the area and our intent.”

  “I can also help there,” Thalya stated.

  “Cool.” Devlin nodded.

  “Later,” Ray said, winking at them.

  Both men left him and Thalya alone. Except for the men who slept through the night. They planted a strong persuasion in their subconscious and that’s what they did—sleep. It seemed the simplest solution, and they’d never confess sleeping on the job to whoever hired them.

  “Ready?” Samuel asked.

  “Yep.”

  The sun had already crested the horizon when they got in the car. Thalya curled her feet up under her. Pushing the seat back, she closed her eyes and put on her shades.

  The city came alive with a fair amount of traffic on the roads.

  Samuel pulled down his street and around to the garage to park the car. After getting out, he went to the other side and opened Thalya’s door. Reaching in, he gathered her motionless body into his arms. Her lashes remained closed and she snuggled into his embrace. Holding her against his heart, he carried her into the house. He shut the door with this foot and crossed the foyer to the stairs and his room. Never once did Thalya wake up, not even when he placed her gently on his king sized bed.

  His room had thick drapes in it and Samuel closed them to make sure no sunlight would filter through. Then he returned to Thalya and removed her jacket, shoes and jeans, leaving her in her lightweight sweater and a barely there thong. The deep purple strip of material drew a smile from him. Undressing her while she slept wasn’t quite what he had in mind, but it would do. For now. She would lay with him, in his bed, by his side. Where she belonged.

  He double-checked to make sure the heavy drapes were drawn tight. After using the bathroom, he stripped down to skin and came back into the bedroom. No lights were on but he could see well enough to move around. He stretched out on the bed beside his angel, fixing her so she lay comfortably in his arms. Finally, he allowed his body to relax, kissed her forehead and closed his eyes.

  And dreamt of angel’s wings.

  Chapter Fifteen

  She dreamed.

  Her great wings flapped against the air as she soared high above the earth. Lifting her hand, she touched the heat from the cloud surrounding her. Shouldn’t a cloud be cool and soft? Instead, hardness and strength enveloped her. She opened her eyes and stared into a gaze of a vibrant emerald sea.

  Samuel did not look away from her and she couldn’t divert her gaze if she tried. Instead, she memorized every line, curve and crease of his features. Wordlessly, he shifted them until he rested full upon her. She finger combed his loose hair, letting it lay like a silky cloud framing his cheeks. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she guided his face toward hers. Open-mouthed, he covered hers with his. She parted her lips for him, but he held himself still as if waiting for the caress of her tongue on his.

  One touch and he groaned,
sucking on her tongue, taking her even deeper into the kiss. She’d been well sated last evening, so she shouldn’t have to worry about her hunger rising up to overwhelm her like last time. She could control herself. She must.

  He flexed his hips. His naked body covered hers so completely, she praised his length. Took pleasure in the heat warming her body. His mouth moved from her lips to her neck. His hand pushed her sweater up to reveal her breasts. She wore no bra, she seldom did. Once he uncovered her, he grinned before moving to touch her globes. They fit into his hands like they had been sculptured for it. She raised her head to watch him suckle her. Lifting her legs, she wrapped them around his thighs, trembling at the power she found there.

  The scent of his desire hit her with the force of a gale wind. Entranced, she watched the vein pulsing just below his ear. Her gums ached again, his touch exciting both pleasure and the pain from her elongating canine teeth. “No!” she screamed, throwing her head back onto the pillow.

  This was no dream.

  With a force of will and physical strength, she pushed him off her. A human male would have gone flying against the wall, but Samuel being not quite human resisted. Thalya merely pushed him off her body, so he lay on his back beside her.

  His head quickly turned and he stared at her in shock. This couldn’t be happening, not again.

  In a rush, she pulled her sweater down to cover her breasts and got off the bed, fleeing to the other side of the room, her back against the wall. If she could weep, she would. The sting of hunger for his desire bit sharply into her. Her teeth ached. Her mouth hungered for a taste of his blood. Her body craved his touch. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I cannot. I—we cannot do this. I crave your desire too much.”

  He sat at the edge of the bed, facing her. His state of undress he seemed to give not a thought, but she did. Thick, long and fully aroused, his shaft sat in a nest of dark curls and she wanted him as she’d wanted no other. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The smell of his desire infused her blood. “Oh God!” Her hands balled into fists.

  “What would happen if I let you take my blood?”