Unchained

by J. Lynn

  She descended the stairs to level seven. As she neared Nathaniel’s office, the tingle of Nephilim nearby slowed her. She couldn’t explain it, but it was a different feeling. Not the one she usually got from Nathaniel. Lily took off, covering the small distance in two steps. If she sensed the other Nephilim, that meant she was sensed, too.

  The door to Nathaniel’s office was ajar, but it swung open so fast that Lily stepped back. Her eyes widened at the Nephilim who stepped out of the empty office. “What are you doing in Nathaniel’s office, Micah?”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Lily’s fingers itched to release her blades. Her dislike of Micah ever since she returned from Michael’s apartment was no secret. The feeling was mutual, but she never expected to find him snooping around Nathaniel’s obviously empty office.

  His pale eyes narrowed upon her. “I was waiting for Nate.”

  She shifted, blocking him. “Alone in his office?”

  “Yeah, what’s the big deal?”

  “Nothing at all,” she said. “Do you want me to leave him a message or anything?”

  “No.” He tried to step around her. “Do you mind?”

  “Sorry!” she chirped innocently. “Don’t let me keep you, Micah.”

  His reddish-blond brows furrowed at her. With a faint shake of his head, he left level seven under her watchful eye. Had she just caught him with his hands in the proverbial cookie jar? She tipped open the door to Nate’s office and stepped inside. Nothing seemed out of place, but there was no telling how long he had been in there uninterrupted.

  Closing the door behind her, she observed the room she’d been in over a thousand times. She stepped forward, her lips pressed together. Yeah, she totally recognized the hypocrisy of her busting Micah for snooping around Nathaniel’s office and then doing just that herself. However, I’m different, she reasoned. I’m Lily.

  Going to his desk and sliding open the drawer where he kept the keys to the cabinet, she swiped the one that unlocked the personnel files. It took only seconds for her to grab Michael’s file and a few others. She quickly made a copy of each, put them back, and locked up.

  She thought she’d make a great spy one day.

  Taking the stack of copied files she’d swiped, she went back to her room. After reading through Michael’s, she didn’t know if she should laugh or feel sorry for him. His life had been painstakingly boring. With the exception of his mom’s suicide, nothing remotely exciting had happened in his life—not that his mom killing herself was exciting.

  She frowned. She needed to be less callous. Think a little more before she allowed certain thoughts to process into coherent sentences. If she had a soul—and who knew—she was dooming herself to Hell with some of the whoppers that came across her thoughts.

  There was nothing remarkable about him other than the fact that he wasn’t in the Book of Names. She set his file aside, grabbing Micah’s next.

  He’d never really done anything to her, but the thought of him soured her stomach.

  Maybe it was how he styled his hair in the trendy messy style. Yeah, the way one styled their hair was a valid reason for not trusting them.

  He had to have been up to something in Nathaniel’s office, and she doubted it was something good. She thumbed through his papers, finding numerous write-ups for failure to obey orders. Well, damn, Lily would have a stack of those suckers. She flipped over that page, finding something that made her eyebrows raise. Another Nephilim complained Micah displayed excessive and brutal force while carrying out his duty.

  Their job was pretty excessive and brutal. They killed things. Couldn’t get any more brutal than that. But to be considered excessive and brutal in their line of work, you had to do some real damage. It usually involved torture of some sort. The Powers That Be really frowned on stuff like that. So did Nathaniel.

  Minions and the Fallen were evil, but they were still living and breathing creatures that had been in God’s grace at one point. Their job was to dispose of them mercifully, which meant as quickly and cleanly as possible. Sometimes that wasn’t always possible, especially with the Fallen. They were messy. Lord, were they ever. However, torture was never in the equation. It was just wrong.

  This revelation left a bitter taste in her mouth. She flipped through some more pages. The only other unusual thing was a note about excessive time off. Lily found that odd. They got time off, just like humans did from their jobs, but even more. Nephilim had a more stressful work environment than those in cubicle farms.

  She supposed if he were sneaking off to meet up with the Fallen he’d need some time off to do that. Closing Micah’s file, she picked up Rafe’s. Okay, she really didn’t suspect Rafe. Other than the fact that he had the sex appeal of a fallen angel, and probably the conquests to match, he was a pretty good Nephilim. A go-to kind of guy with a ready smile and even readier helping hand. The kind of helping hand that perked up her walk when she needed a friendly pat on her ass. She had been on the receiving end of quite a few. There was nothing in his file that caught her eye.

  Rubbing her hand over her face, she reached for another stack of papers. The twins: Damon and Gabe. The only reason she grabbed their stuff was because they had access to all the young Nephilim. More often than not, they were sent to retrieve them when their names received a mark. That alone warranted suspicion.

  But she knew Gabe pretty well—obviously. She’d seen more parts of him than any of the others. And he was way too easygoing to be caught up in such treachery. That left his twin. Identical to the point that even she could barely tell the two apart, Damon and Gabe were pretty much hot stuff. Whenever the two were together, they communicated silently with each other. It wasn’t a proven thing, but she totally believed it. She had seen them one too many times look at each other silently, then act in the exact same manner.

  Damon was far too serious. Out of any Nephilim she knew, he was the most reserved, which was kind of funny considering Gabe was the total opposite. Hell, she hadn’t been to Deuces Wild in days, and she had a feeling she wouldn’t go back for a while. That was something she didn’t want to examine too closely.

  There was nothing in their files, either.

  She stood, gathering the papers together and sliding them into her desk drawer. She dug out her cell phone and dialed Luke. Of course, she wasn’t going to tell him what she had done. She just wanted to see if he’d answer. If so, she knew she had a hunting buddy for the evening.

  He didn’t answer.

  Grinning, she slipped her phone back into the pocket of her skirt and headed out of the Sanctuary. It was a quarter past midnight, the streets of the city still full of people. Lily kept to the sidewalks, listening and watching.

  She rounded a corner and heard the eerie whining of a soul slipping into a live body. Come out, come out, wherever you are! It didn’t take long to zero in on the poor sap. Off in Rock Creek Park. What the hell? Since when did souls go into the wilderness? They were more of an urban issue.

  Damn it, she needed to pick up her pace. Maybe she could swing by the zoo afterward. She loved to drop in at night and check out the animals.

  Hitting the back alleys so she could truly reach the type of speed that would give humans a startle or two, she sped toward the park. It was less than ten miles, but it was a heavily populated ten miles of major DC thoroughfare, and eventually she could no longer hide in the shadows.

  Slowing down to what could be considered a normal speed, she tugged at her skirt and wished she had worn something that could at least be passable as jogging clothing. The little skirt she had on probably made her look more like a prostitute running from her pimp than anything else.

  Lily jogged up the ramp to Beach Drive. Once inside the nearly two-thousand-acre national park, she was surrounded by nature smack-dab in the middle of DC. It was like being in a different world. Sticking to the thick tree line, she let her senses carry her through. She rounded a bend and spotted the deadhead.

  Damn. It was a park range
r. She liked park rangers and their hats. This one was missing his hat. He was young, and she kind of felt bad about having to kill him. She winced as he stumbled out onto the bike path, lifting his face to the sky. His mouth hung open at an odd angle. It was a silent scream. The kind of scream before they really started screaming and annoying the crap out of her.

  She started forward but halted, watching, stunned, as three more deadheads scrambled out onto the path to stand beside the park ranger. One looked homeless, another was a jogger, and the third was…really gross.

  It was once a person. Though, she couldn’t be sure. The hair had fallen out, the skin had turned brown, crusted over in decay, and the ears had sharpened to points. This one was not fresh. Oh no, it had been riding out the human body until it turned into what people would call a monster. Actually, it reminded Lily of primitive drawings humans did of minions. They had no clue minions were actually rather attractive. What they had drawn was a deadhead past its expiration date.

  They were a whole different type of problem. At some point, the body hardened, and the evil in them became darker. They were fierce—almost as bad as a minion.

  And, God, did they smell horrible.

  She rolled her eyes. Of course, it had to be her to hear the call. She shouldn’t be so bitchy about it, but these kinds of deadheads sucked. Starting forward once more, she didn’t make it very far. Cocking her head to the side, she felt a shiver go down her spine.

  Before she could say Mississippi, the head of the jogger snapped to the side. She went down like a bag of rocks, twitching and moaning. Then the park ranger flew up in the air and, after several hard bounces, fell in a heap to the left of the path. He made a sickening crunch when he landed. He twitched, too.

  Julian appeared in front of the deadhead, wrinkling his nose. “You want to handle this one?”

  She stepped out of the bushes, ignoring the sudden warm feeling that coursed through her. This was so not the time for that. “Oh no, you’re doing so well. Go ahead. Don’t let me stop your fun.”

  The deadhead tipped back its head and wailed. The sound, a cross between a coyote and a bobcat, was enough to make Lily’s ears bleed. Julian regarded it with annoyance. “Oh shut up.” He twisted the head right off the thing.

  “Holy smokes.” Lily plunged her blade into the jogger’s heart. The twitching stopped. “That was…wow.”

  Julian glanced down at his hands in disgust. “I’ll be right back.”

  Lily made her way over to the park ranger. Goodness, he was young. His name tag said Officer Joel Curry. “Sorry, Joel,” she whispered.

  The deadhead that was once Joel looked up at her through blank brown eyes. She sank the blade into his chest.

  By the time Julian had returned, all the bodies had faded. She noticed wet spots on his black trousers. Apparently he was disgusted enough to wash his hands. He stood a few feet down the path, stunning in the pale light of the moon. Tonight he wore a very expensive-looking suit. The shirt underneath was unbuttoned, exposing his perfectly chiseled stomach. She sighed.

  “I missed you, Lily.” His voice dropped low and sensual.

  Oh, it curled deep inside her. Reminded her of what had passed between them in her apartment a week ago, but she needed to play this cool. “I doubt that. I’m sure you had a bevy of women to occupy your time.”

  He smiled and stepped forward. “You know that’s not true.”

  She stepped back, deciding to change the topic. “You know, I had that handled. You didn’t have to butt in.”

  He shrugged. “They were going to take up too much of your time. Now, I have you to myself.”

  For the past week she had done her best not to think about him, not to lie in her tiny bed at the Sanctuary and remember what his lips felt like against her mouth, against her flesh. She had made a promise to Luke. “Julian, we can’t.”

  He came to her side. “We can’t do what?” He reached down, catching her hair around his finger.

  His heat swamped her, and when he drew the strand of hair out in front of her, she stared at his fingers. That wasn’t a good idea. She snatched her hair back. “Why aren’t you off doing…Fallen…stuff?”

  “Fallen stuff?” he repeated with a chuckle. “What silly notions you have.”

  She made a face and started walking toward the entrance. “I have a lot of hunting to do,” she told him. “It’s early.”

  He fell into step beside her. “Then I’ll come with you.”

  Lily stopped. “You can’t come with me.”

  “Why not?”

  “You can’t help me hunt, Julian. I appreciate it, but no. You can’t.”

  He frowned. It didn’t take away from his beauty at all. “Then we are at a standstill.”

  Crossing her arms, she stared up at him. “How so?” she demanded.

  “I wish to spend time with you,” he explained quite seriously. “If you cannot hunt with me, then I fear I cannot allow you to hunt.”

  “Julian…”

  “I like your skirt, by the way. What is it the humans say? Easy access or something?” he said with a flirtatious wink. “Anyway, I have nothing to do other than torment you.”

  Flushing, she glanced down at the black pleats. She liked it, too. “Um thanks. I think.” She cleared her throat. “Seriously, Julian, I’ve got work to do.”

  He smiled rather angelically, which was totally wrong. “I said I would work with you. I find your fighting incredibly sexy. Alluring really—the way you move?” He trailed off. The angelic look faded into something akin to sinful. “I’m fixated. Show me your nightlife, baby.”

  Fighting a stupid grin, she knew she shouldn’t be enjoying any of this. There was stuff to do—things to kill. Things like him. Yet, here she was, bantering back and forth with him. And she was having fun. Stupid Lily…and stupid hormones…

  She was so doomed.

  Lily sighed. She had to hunt, but no matter where she was in the city she would hear a minion if one got frisky, and there were other Nephilim out there. So what if she spent some time in the park with Julian? She bit down on her lip. I’m selfish, totally selfish.

  “All right,” she agreed. “But if I hear a minion, I have to go, and you can’t follow me. No questions asked. That is the only deal I am making.”

  “No deal.”

  Her eyes narrowed upon him. “What?”

  “Give me your hand. We shall do this like normal people.”

  She looked at him curiously. “Do what exactly?”

  “A date,” he said. “A walk in the park is considered a date by human standards. It’s a rather lame date, but it’s not like I can take you out to dinner without having the entire Sanctuary descending on us.”

  “A date?” she repeated dumbly.

  “Yes.”

  “Haven’t we kind of skipped right past that?” she asked.

  Julian bent down, brushing his lips over hers. “We can skip right to that again, but I am trying to be a gentleman.”

  What was funnier? The idea of going on a date with him or him trying to be a gentleman, she couldn’t tell. “We don’t date. Our two kinds? No way, buddy.” She gave him her hand anyway. “Here, if this will make you happy.”

  Julian smiled widely. He grasped her hand in his warm one. “We don’t date? There goes my movie idea.”

  “Ha-ha.” Lily let him steer her back toward the mouth of the park. She observed her hand wrapped in his. “This is by far the weirdest thing I have ever done.”

  “Really?” he inquired. “I find that hard to believe.”

  She thought for a moment. “Yeah, it is. Man, if any of them catch me right now I am so dead.”

  Julian led her off the beaten trail, into the woods. “Do you care so much about what they think?”

  “No,” she immediately answered. “Yes. I mean, what this is? I don’t even know what this is, but it’s not allowed. They’d think the…worst.”

  His eyes sparkled in amusement. “And what would that be?” />
  Her lips pursed. “That we are…you know, doing it.” Julian tipped his head back and laughed deeply. She scowled at him. “It’s not funny.”

  “But we aren’t doing it.” He stopped under a large oak tree and pulled her against him.

  The air caught in her lungs, and where her traitorous body brushed his, she came alive. “What are we doing?” she whispered.

  “I really don’t know.”

  His response seemed truthful, and she didn’t pull away when he bent his lips to hers. Nor did she stop him when the whisper of a kiss turned into something more. He parted her lips, deepening the kiss.

  Julian’s hands slipped under the hem of her skirt, teasing and daring. He lifted his mouth just an inch. “Do you know how badly I’ve missed you this week?”

  Her fingers curled against his chest as she stared up at him.

  A small lifting of his lips softened his harsh beauty. “That Nephilim has been everywhere you’ve been. I don’t like it.”

  She slid her hand along the collar of his shirt. “Luke worries about me.”

  He brushed his cheek against hers. “It’s the only reason I tolerate his presence.”

  She opened her mouth to respond, but he took advantage of the moment, delving his tongue deep into her mouth. When he broke the kiss and stepped back to capture just her hand again, Lily frowned.

  He flashed a knowing grin and started walking. “Ask me anything.”

  “Um,” she said, running a shaky hand through her hair. “Okay…what do you do in your spare time?”

  “Besides follow you?”

  Well, he got points for honesty. “Yeah, besides follow me.”

  “Well, I don’t sleep all day in my lair if that is what you think.” He led her around a small creek fed by the Potomac. “I actually own a couple of businesses in Maryland and a few in the city—clubs and bars.”

  That was not what she expected. The shock must have been transparent, because Julian laughed. “I’m easily bored, especially after centuries. It’s not uncommon for us to acquire certain things. You’d be surprised.”