An hour later, Lilliah and Azrael pulled into an old warehouse. A few cars were parked outside, but other than that, the building looked derelict.
“Are you sure this is the right place?” Lilliah looked out the passenger window. They weren’t too far outside of London, but the place was in the middle of nowhere. A huge field stretched out on the west side of the warehouse, and two other buildings sat opposite, but that was it.
“Yes, I’m sure.” Azrael exited the car and walked around to open her door.
“And this is the werewolves’ headquarters?” she asked, holding Azrael’s hand as he led her to the door.
“Looks can be deceiving. This building is one of the most heavily guarded places in the world. They know you’re coming from ten miles out.” He pointed to a building opposite. “That’s their security unit. They can access any CCTV camera in Britain.”
Lilliah squinted. It looked like an ordinary office block to her. A part of her thought Azrael was joking, that at any minute he’d pull her back to the car, laughing, and then they’d drive to a country estate or something, to where the real headquarters were.
When they reached a small, green door, the paint worn and flaking off, Azrael knocked once. The door opened and a small woman walked out.
“Azrael,” she greeted formally, her eyes briefly flicking to Lilliah. “Martin has been expecting you.”
She walked back inside. Azrael and Lilliah followed. Lilliah jumped when the door slammed shut behind them.
The inside of the warehouse was nothing like she had imagined. People were everywhere, working at desks or running around. It looked like a busy, ordinary office.
“This is so strange,” she whispered as the girl led them through the room.
People stopped and stared as they passed—something she was getting quite used to with Azrael. Everyone in this world knew who he was, and because of that, they now knew who she was.
“They run everything from here—their clubs, restaurants, stock markets, hotels. They have their hands in everything.”
“Just like you, then?” She nudged his arm with hers.
“Similar, yes.”
The girl led them to a staircase at the back of the room. “Martin will be waiting for you at the top. Is there anything I can get for you? A drink perhaps?”
Lilliah shook her head while Azrael ignored her and started up the stairs.
“We really need to work on your manners,” Lilliah said quietly enough so the girl wouldn’t overhear.
“Why does it matter whether I speak to her?” Azrael opened the door at the top, letting Lilliah enter first.
“Because manners don’t cost a penny,” she replied, quoting something her mother used to say all the time. “It probably would have meant something to her.”
“Azrael,” a voice boomed.
Lilliah turned to see a man standing in front of them. He was smaller than her, and rounder.
“Martin,” he greeted coolly, placing a hand on the curve of Lilliah’s back. “This is Lilliah Daniels.”
“Of course it is.” Martin held out his hand to shake Lilliah’s. “It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Daniels. I’ve heard so much about you.”
He gestured for them to take a seat as he moved behind his desk. The office wasn’t modern—the wallpaper and furniture were dated—but it suited Martin perfectly, with his brown suit and eighties comb-over.
“Who told you about me?” Lilliah asked, her interest piqued. She knew it hadn’t been Azrael.
“My nephew Maliki. He’s very fond of you.” Martin took his seat and rested his arms on the desk, looking even smaller than before. Lilliah suppressed her laughter.
“Maliki?” She turned to Azrael for confirmation that they were talking about the same guy. When Azrael nodded, she turned back to Martin and smiled. “I didn’t know he was your nephew. How is he? What’s he doing?”
Maliki had helped Lilliah and Azrael when Ada Washington had tried to bring Lucifer back. Maliki was very eccentric and always dressed in the finest three-piece suits. The more Lilliah thought about him, the more she realised how different Martin and Maliki were. While Maliki looked as if he came from a long line of dukes and royals, Martin looked like a used car salesman.
“We hadn’t spoken in years—his gambling and drinking became too excessive—but now he’s back on his feet, not drinking as much, and trying to get his life back together. We’ve reconnected and I’ve welcomed him back into the family.”
Lilliah noticed how Martin was mainly talking to Azrael, as though he were trying to convince him that Maliki and he were truly on good terms.
Azrael was completely stone-faced. Lilliah decided to wait until they were back in the car to question him about it.
“So, yes.” Martin rubbed his hands together. “Everything’s good on the home front.”
Azrael finally spoke, keeping one arm stretched across the back of Lilliah’s chair. “What do you know about Lucifer?”
Martin’s body jolted at the mention of his name. “Lucifer?” he whispered.
“I’ve heard things. Rumours. I want to know what the werewolves know.” Azrael spoke so clearly, every word demanding and strong.
Martin’s mouth opened and closed repeatedly. “I—I know nothing,” he finally stammered out.
Azrael’s eyes assessed him for a beat or two. Lilliah noticed his eyes linger on Martin’s fear-stricken expression. The man was clearly petrified; either by the thought of Lucifer, or by Azrael’s intense gaze, Lilliah couldn’t tell.
“I want you to keep an eye on the situation,” Azrael finally said.
“It would be a disaster if Lucifer was to break out of Hell. An utter disaster. What are The Cure doing about this?”
“As I said, they could just be simply rumours,” Azrael said lightly, clearly trying to ease Martin’s growing panic.
For a moment, Martin didn’t look convinced.
Azrael continued, “I’m also here for the reports on the diamond mines. Do you have them yet?”
Martin’s eyes snapped up, changing from worried to thoughtful in seconds. “The reports? Oh, yes!” He jumped up from his seat and walked over to a filing cabinet.
“Diamond mines?” Lilliah mouthed, liking how Azrael had distracted the man so easily. Gone was the fear of Lucifer. Now it seemed everything was back to business.
Azrael smiled and nodded. “Just another business venture.”
Lilliah had rarely seen Azrael conduct business. She knew that was what he did most days, concentrating on one venture or another, but she had never witnessed it first-hand. Watching him with Martin just now, Lilliah could see him at work. She noticed how, without much effort, Azrael had not only calmed Martin but also got him focused. She could take a guess and say this was one of the many reasons why Azrael was so good at what he did. Somehow he got the best out of people. Even her.
Martin turned around. “Sorry, did you say something?”
Azrael held up his hand and shook his head.
“Okay, well, here is the file.” Martin handed it over to Azrael, then returned to his seat. Little beads of sweat were dripping down his face.
“As you will see, all the sites are clean and worker friendly. No blood diamonds here.” He leaned back. “Maybe if you come back another time, I could show you the diamonds that site is uncovering.”
“Or now.” Azrael didn’t look up from the file as he spoke. “I would like to see the diamonds.”
Martin dragged himself off the chair, his breathing still irregular. “Of course, of course. We do have a few here. If you’d like to follow me this way.”
Lilliah and Azrael followed Martin through the office and into a large room at the back of the building. By the time he reached the door at the far end, he sounded as if he’d run a marathon.
“Are you okay?” Lilliah reached out to rub his arm. Martin’s face and neck were bright red.
“I’m fine. I’m fine.” He patted her hand. “Not as f
it as I used to be.”
Lilliah nodded and wandered around the room. She had only met a few werewolves—a couple of them had tried to kidnap her in the past—and one thing Lilliah had noticed was how fit they had all looked. Martin, however, was not like that, which she found strange for a werewolf. When she thought of werewolves she thought of True Blood and the ripped guy from Twilight.
The space Lilliah walked into was bigger than the offices they had walked through, and it was filled with large wooden boxes, which had all been stood upright.
“What are in these boxes?” she shouted over to where Azrael and Martin were huddled over a table.
Martin looked up first, his face paling, and rushed over to where Lilliah stood. “The boxes contain our elders. Please, do not touch them.”
“Your what?”
Martin’s hand hovered over the wooden box, and he closed his eyes.
Azrael came to stand behind her. “Remember when I told you about all the original angels and how they turned into werewolves and vampires?”
Lilliah tried casting her mind back to when she had first learnt she was a fallen angel. Azrael had briefly told her about the originals and how they’d changed after being on Earth for too long. He had only survived because of his ring.
“I remember it,” she said.
“They turned to stone,” Martin said, answering her unspoken question. He stepped away from the box and faced them. “It’s my job to keep them safe.”
“So you keep them in a box?” She looked between Martin and Azrael, wanting to touch each box and see what was inside.
“No, they belong in a place of honour. We’re moving them to their new home in a few days.” He took Lilliah by the elbow and led her to the door.
“How many are there altogether?” Lilliah craned her neck, still trying to glimpse all the boxes.
“Thirty-five werewolf originals. The vampires have their own elders, of course.”
“Martin,” Azrael said in a low, warning tone as he walked back to her, and Martin immediately released her elbow and stepped back, gulping loudly.
“There are thirty-one vampires.” Azrael took Lilliah’s hand and returned the folder to Martin. “We’ll talk about the diamonds later. I have more questions about the quality; I’ll talk to Benedict and then call you.”
Without waiting for Martin to reply, Azrael walked out of the room, pulling Lilliah with him. People tried to talk to him as they passed, but true to his style, he ignored them all.
Once they were back in his car, Azrael asked, “Did the thought of all those werewolves in there scare you?”
Lilliah thought about it for a moment.
“Honestly, what freaked me out most was the thought of you in one of those boxes. It could have been you and would have been, had you not had that ring.” She pointed to the gold band on his finger. Unlike all the other original fallen angels, Azrael had foreseen something terrible happening when they fell to Earth. He knew that Earth wasn’t designed for their kind of magic, so he had sought out a magical artifact, something that would protect him. Enter his ring. “The thought of you in a box, unable to do anything or even breathe, it’s unthinkable.”
Azrael leaned over and kissed her lips. “Don’t worry. You’ll never find me caged in.”
She laughed as he pulled away. “Good.”
Chapter 5
Lilliah picked up a black dress and held it against herself. Seven o’clock was approaching fast. She wasn’t ready. After returning from their meeting with Martin, she had spent the day watching Netflix and eating badly. Now she was late —and she still had no idea what to wear. She looked at the dress again. Was it too dressy? On any other day, she’d have Rebecca over to give her advice, but not tonight. Tonight, Rebecca was on her own date, leaving Lilliah to fend for herself.
Giving up on the idea of a dress, she grabbed some tight blue jeans she had never worn and a simple white tee. She could dress it up with a blazer and a necklace if she needed to.
“I didn’t know you had so many clothes here.” Lilliah slowly turned at the sound of Azrael’s voice.
He stood in the doorway to his bedroom, wearing all black, with his eyes trailing over the mound of clothes on the bed.
“I’ve been bringing them over slowly so as to not freak you out.”
Azrael laughed, but Lilliah wasn’t joking. She put down the dress and started playing with her hair in the mirror.
“I didn’t even know you owned so many clothes.” He walked farther into the room, unbuttoning his shirt and shaking his head.
“Yeah.” Lilliah breathed a little easier. “I’ll be ready in five minutes.”
“Same.” He dropped his shirt to the floor before heading into the en suite, with Lilliah trailing him with her eyes.
***********
They started off their date at a posh restaurant Lilliah had only read about online. Her jeans definitely didn’t fit in, but no one looked at her twice. Everyone’s eyes were on Azrael. She’d felt the stares as soon as they’d walked in, and even felt them as they sat in a booth eating. Sitting back with his arm stretched out behind her, Azrael seemed completely oblivious.
“That man over there”—she discreetly motioned with her head—“hasn’t taken his eyes off you since we walked in.”
Azrael’s head shot in his direction.
“No, don’t look.” She giggled, spying beside him. She caught the man staring. He blushed and looked away. “He saw you.” She giggled again, the wine getting to her head.
“I think he’s looking at you more than me.” Azrael leaned into her neck, his chuckle giving her the shivers.
“Oh, no.” Lilliah’s voice shook. “He was definitely looking at you. Maybe he’s gay.”
“Maybe.” Azrael pressed a soft kiss to her neck.
“Did you have to book a table?” Lilliah turned to face him, needing the space. She didn’t want to make a scene by pouncing on Azrael while everyone was eating. “I bet a place like this gets booked up pretty quickly.”
Azrael smirked. “I know the owner.”
Her eyes widened with excitement. “Are you the owner?”
He shook his head. “Sadly not. I can’t own everything.” Still keeping one arm around her, he picked up his whiskey. “She actually owns a couple of restaurants.”
Lilliah stiffened. “A woman?” She looked around the room, acting casual. “That’s cool. So how do you know her?”
“You are ridiculously jealous.”
She couldn’t see his lips, as he was taking another drink, but she knew he was smiling. She couldn’t deny it, so instead she shrugged. “I can’t help it.”
“I don’t know her like that,” he reassured her. Putting his glass down, he leaned closer to her. “I said it before, but I’ll say it again: you don’t need to be jealous and you will never need to be.” He moved a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “Everything I did before you—”
“All the women you did,” Lilliah joked.
Azrael’s eyes narrowed but his expression remained playful. “The women, the killing—it doesn’t even feel real. Just a bad dream of a wasted life.”
“Your life was never a waste.”
Her heart thumped. How had she gotten this lucky? She used to look at pictures of guys in magazines, guys who were so perfect she sometimes doubted they were real. Then she met Azrael, the hottest, sexiest man she had ever laid eyes on. He was uncontrollable and untameable, but for some reason he wanted her. She still didn’t really understand it, though it wasn’t like she’d ever complain about it.
“Everything before you is a blur. You brought colour to my black-and-white world.” His eyes were intense and solely focused on her face. “You are the sun to my night.”
Lilliah giggled. She hated giggling—it made her sound like a besotted teenager—but that was what Azrael did to her: he made her giggle.
“Whatever you want to call it, you are it for me.”
“I’m it, huh?” She liked th
e sound of that. “I am it. And who said romance was dead!”
His chest rumbled with laughter. “I could have recited every beautiful romantic phrase ever written, but they’d just be words, and words could never describe my feelings for you, ever.”
Another romantic blow, and once again, Lilliah was rendered speechless. Instead of trying to think of something funny to say and ruin the moment, she kissed him. She poured everything she was feeling and thinking into the kiss, wanting him to understand she felt the same way.
“Oh.”
The voice startled Lilliah and she pulled back.
“Oh, no.” The woman held her hands up and nervously backed away. “I didn’t mean to disturb you.”
“You didn’t.” Lilliah jumped at the harshness in Azrael’s voice. He’d used his business voice, the voice he used with everyone but her. Under the table, he grabbed her hand and traced small circles on her palm. “Lilliah, this is Kristy Watson. She owns this restaurant. Kristy, this is my girlfriend, Lilliah.”
Kristy held out a shaky hand. “It’s such a pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.”
Having no idea what to say, Lilliah smiled back. “Your restaurant is so beautiful and the food is amazing.”
Kristy relaxed a little. “Thank you.”
She was young with long, mousy brown hair that hung just below her bust. Lilliah tried to get a better look without making it obvious that she was checking the woman out. She looked very formal in a black trouser suit, but her red lipstick and red shoes revealed her youth.
Her shoulders went rigid as she scanned the table and she looked panicked again as she noticed Lilliah’s empty glass. “You don’t have a drink. I’ll get you one immediately!”
“No, that’s fine. I’ll stick to water. I’m a bit of a lightweight.”
Kristy still didn’t relax, and Lilliah couldn’t help but notice how her eyes lingered on Azrael for a few seconds longer than necessary.
“So did Azrael call himself to book the table or did he get someone else to do it for him?” Lilliah was genuinely interested, plus she wanted to suss out how close Azrael was to this woman. She really couldn’t imagine Azrael calling up to book a table. It was too ordinary for him.
Ruthless (The Seraphim Series Book 2) Page 5
