by Jess Buffett
Rebecca smirked. “I’m afraid not. But even if he had I wouldn’t tell you. There is a reason you haven’t been told everything yet, and you will in time.”
“You sound just like them,” Sebastian grumbled.
Hunter laughed and headed for the front door. It was times like this that he remembered that despite all his years, and all his knowledge, the older angel was just as clueless as the rest of them when it came to the grand scheme.
They hastily bundled the mother and son into the car. Hunter got behind the wheel and Brock joined him while the older and stronger angels took to the sky to keep look out. He glanced down every street and continuously checked his rearview mirror. The closer they came to the city, the more nervous he became. They had taken indirect routes to make sure they had no tails, and were now somewhere near the city limits, but it all looked like empty land. Too empty.
Hunter couldn’t explain it, but something about all of this was just too easy. Granted, with Gabriella’s help they had found them quicker, yet Hunter knew he was missing something. He linked with Sebastian while he continued to drive.
“I have a bad feeling about this, Sebastian.”
“Everything is all clear from up here,” the angel replied.
“Maybe, but I still think something isn’t right. It was too easy.”
“Take your wins where you can get them, and stop borrowing trouble. I swear to you that there is nothing in front or behind us, brother,” Sebastian reassured him.
Damn. Maybe he was right. Hunter’s mind had been spinning ever since he claimed Gabriella, something he was dying to do again. In fact, the need for her had already begun to set in. He could feel the itch just underneath his skin, telling him it had been too long since he had last been with her. Hunter missed her smell, the soft curves of her body, and the delicious taste of her on his lips as he trailed his way down her body.
He groaned as the image of her spread out before him popped into his head.
“Dude,” Brock hissed, glaring at him. “Now is not the time for that shit. Keep it in your pants until we get back.”
“I can’t help it, arsehole.” He growled, discreetly trying to adjust himself. “I think it’s been too long.”
“Ah, man. That’s not good.”
Hunter grunted in response. No shit!
Now that he had acknowledged it, the slight itching under his skin had become a slow burn, steadily boiling to the surface. He could feel himself sweating, his hands slippery on the wheel. He shook his head to try and clear it.
“I chucked my phone in the console, can you call Nolan’s number for me?” he asked Brock.
“Sure.” Brock looked at him in puzzlement. “But why Nolan?”
“Don’t have Gabby’s number yet. Just call. See if she’s okay.”
Brock did as he asked. “Hey, Nolan. It’s Brock. Hunter wanted to know how Gabby’s doing.” There was a pause, then Brock cursed. “Ah, fuck, really? Yeah…nah, he isn’t looking too good either, but we’re nearly there.”
Brock continued to speak to Nolan, but Hunter wasn’t paying attention as Sebastian called to him.
“Hunter! You need to watch out!”
“Why?” Hunter asked, not liking the concern he heard.
“You were right. Something is wrong. There aren’t any vehicles up ahead.”
What? How could that be? They were right near the fucking city. There should be at least someone on the roads.
“We need to turn around then. This is obviously a trap.”
“We can’t, Hunter. Out here we’re sitting ducks. At least if we head to the tower we know when to be prepared. We have you surrounded, no way are they getting to you. Even if we take a lot of damage, your only job is to get them to the tower, do you understand me?” Sebastian ordered.
Fuck! They were so screwed.
There was no way he wasn’t going into the city. Gabriella was there. He just didn’t like the thought of taking Landon and Rebecca with him. He glanced at Brock, to see him still talking.
“Tell them to be careful. We may run into some…complications,” he whispered so as not to worry mother and son.
Brock’s eyes widened, but he nodded that he understood. “Hey, make sure you keep an eye out, will you? We’re heading in but things might get a bit crazy first. I can see the tower now, so you should see us sh—”
Another vehicle suddenly came out of nowhere and crashed into the side of the car, sending it spinning out of control. Hunter struggled to regain command of the vehicle, but it was no use. Glass shattered from his window when the car collided with a power pole. He had brought his arm up to cover his head, though it didn’t stop all the damage to his skull. Hunter swore he could hear it rattling in there. A jarring pain shot through his leg and up his spine, and he was certain that had he been human, he would have been in a lot more trouble. As the car came to a stop Hunter breathed heavily, glancing down and wincing at the amount of blood coming from his right thigh.
“Is everyone okay?” He twisted in his seat to check on Landon and Rebecca, ignoring the pain. “Rebecca? Landon?”
Hunter’s stomach dropped when he got a good look at Rebecca. Blood matted her wavy hair, and her eyes were closed. She shouldn’t have looked so pale, and he couldn’t tell if she was breathing. Next to her, Landon struggled with his seat belt, trying desperately to reach his mother.
“Mum!” the boy shouted. He grew more concerned when she didn’t answer. “Mum, please!”
Beside him, Brock kicked open his door, forming his flamed sword as soon as he was free. Hunter couldn’t see what was happening, but he could hear fighting. He managed to pull free of his belt seat and climbed over the inner console, stumbling out of the car.
Damn, his body felt like it was on fire.
Something dripped down his face, and a swipe of his hand proved he must have had a head wound. Trusting Brock to have his back, Hunter pulled the door off of the car, helping Landon out.
“No! I can’t leave her,” the young man shouted as he fought Hunter’s hold.
“We’re not leaving her. I just need you to move so I can get to her,” he gritted out through the pain.
Landon moved, and he reached in. Yanking on the belt, he broke her free. A creaking sound caught his attention and Hunter’s heart jumped into his throat.
Fuck. The pole was tipping.
Hunter scrambled to get Rebecca out of the car before the pole collapsed over it. He made it to the other side of the street just in time to see the pole finally tip, metal groaning as it caved in under the pressure. Getting a better hold on Rebecca, Hunter latched onto Landon as well, pulling him to the tree line. He watched helplessly as his friends battled the Fallen that were attacking, unable to help or he’d leave Landon and his mother vulnerable.
“Landon. I need you to check your mum for me,” he ordered. “I can’t risk looking away, but I need to know how bad she is.”
Hunter waited for Landon to reply and grew more concerned when the younger man said nothing. Having no other choice, he took his eyes off the scene in front of him.
“Fuck. No,” he shouted.
He looked on in horror as Landon tried to heal his mother. Once an angel or Nephilim began the healing process on someone it wasn’t safe to interrupt for either of them, however, Rebecca’s injuries were so extensive Hunter wasn’t sure what would happen. Although Landon was indeed healing her, he shouldn’t be able to. Not to the extent he was.
“I have to save her,” Landon whimpered as he began to sweat.
“Landon, you need to stop.”
“I can’t. Too many. Too much. If I stop now she won’t make it.”
Dammit. They were so screwed.
“Hunter!”
The sound of his name drew his attention, and his eyes zeroed in on a sight beyond the fighting that made every nerve in his body freeze. What the hell?
“Gabby?”
Chapter 11
Gabriella winced as Nolan shouted into
the phone again. Something had gone wrong, she knew it before her brother had started yelling. Her stomach cramped as another wave of pain rolled through her. Well, she was calling it pain, because it hurt like hell, but it was more like need. A deep-seated need for Hunter.
They had waited too long.
“Nolan. What happened?”
Nolan threw the phone down in frustration. “I don’t know. Brock was saying something and then…”
“And then what?”
Nolan appeared nervous. “There were screams, sweetie. I heard smashing, and…”
“Oh God,” she gasped.
No. She wasn’t losing him now, not after everything. She had only just gotten him back, dammit!
“Gabriel!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. She didn’t care about their rules, or their fucking timing. The archangel was going to get his arse down here now and help his son. “Gabriel!”
“I’m here, Gabriella.”
Jumping at the unexpected voice behind her, she spun around to glare at her…what? Father-in-law? So fucking weird.
“Hunter needs you. Something’s wrong.”
He gave her a sad sigh. “I know.”
“You know?” she asked incredulously. “And you’re not doing anything?”
“There is a lot you don’t understand.”
“I guess you’re right, because I can’t understand how a father can sit back and watch his son suffer,” she snapped irritably. She had no idea where all of this was coming from, but fury poured through her at his lack of actions. “He needs you, has always needed you.”
“He will be okay, I promise,” he assured her. He stepped toward her and held his hand out, opening it to reveal some sort of pendant.
She scrutinized the delicate piece of jewelry. “What is it?”
It was gorgeous. The small teardrop stone hung from a satin string, almost pearl-like, but not quite. Inside it sat a miniature lily in the center.
“This is a protection charm given to those who bond with angels. It is normally given by the parent of the angel as a welcome gift. This is yours. Wear it and you’ll be safe. No Fallen will be able to harm you,” he explained.
“How does it work?” she asked, accepting the exquisite piece and slipping the chain over her head. The pendant fell in between her breasts, shimmering as it began to glow. “Whoa. What is that?”
“It’s energy, it’s life. And more importantly, it’s love. What else would better protect a person?” Gabriel placed a large, comforting hand on her shoulder, a smile lighting up his face. “The stronger your love is for my son, the brighter it will grow when you need it.”
“Well, I don’t need protecting now, so why is it glowing?”
“Because you sense that Hunter needs help,” he replied simply with an indefinable expression. “While he is in no danger, he is in pain and he will need you. Are you ready?”
Cryptic much!
A sudden flash of blinding light forced her to cover her eyes and stopped her from replying.
What the hell?
Dropping her arm, Gabriella swore when she found herself standing in the middle of a battle. “Shit. Shit. Shit. What the hell has he done?”
Angels and Fallen were swinging swords, throwing punches, and Sebastian suddenly struck out with a whip-like weapon. She winced when the flamed cord sliced through the attacking Fallen. Oh, that was just a little gross. Cool, but gross.
Her eyes frantically surveyed the area for any signs of Hunter, finally landing on him near a grouping of trees off to the side. Next to him kneeled a young man, who leant over an unconscious woman. Hunter was shouting something at the boy, who shook his head and shouted something back.
“Hunter!” she called out, trying to make her way to him.
No one seemed to even notice she was there, except Hunter who turned to her, his face paling. “Gabby?”
Ducking, weaving, and sometimes downright rolling across the graveled ground, she had almost reached him when a hand wrapped around her arm like a steel band.
“If it isn’t sweet, dear Gabriella.” Ash chuckled gleefully. “I have missed you. Won’t you stay a while?”
She tried to pull back her arm, but failed—his grip was too tight. “Fuck off,” she spat.
“Oh, Gabby. Such a temper,” Ash crooned. “I think I’ll enjoy training you. Don’t worry, pet, it won’t hurt much.”
Ash raised his hand and she brought her other arm up to attempt to block him. Suddenly her body jolted, as if someone had shocked her. The pendant Gabriel gave her began to heat up and glow even brighter than it had when Gabriel gave it to her. She heard Ash cry out and his grip tightened on her for a second then loosened until she was free. Stumbling backward, a brief glance revealed Ash crumbled onto the ground, moaning in pain. Wow. Gabriella examined the pendant still hanging from her chest. The tiny thing packed a hell of a punch.
“Well, he did say it would keep me safe,” she muttered to herself in astonishment.
When Ash rolled over onto his back she took the opportunity to kick a foot out, the heel of her boot collided with his groin. The Fallen wheezed and groaned.
Huh. Guess it doesn’t matter what species you are, if you’re a man, that’s gonna hurt.
Not waiting around to see if he would get back up, she darted over to Hunter. She was breathing heavily by the time she reached him and could barely put two words together. “Sorry. I think…I…need to…work out more.”
Unsurprisingly, her joke fell flat. “What the fuck are you doing here? And what the hell was that light thing?” He captured her in his arms, clutching her tightly. “My God. You could have been hurt.”
“Nice to see you too, dear,” she drawled, rolling her eyes. He was kind of cute when he got all flustered but now wasn’t the time nor the place. “You can thank your father for that, but first we should probably get him—” She pointed to Landon. “—to stop whatever he’s doing. I saw flashing lights just up ahead. We’re going to have company soon.”
And the last thing they needed was more exposure. Who knew how long it was going to take to clean up all this mess, and after last night’s incident, they really didn’t need to push their luck. There may not have been anything physically obvious to what he was doing, but it would still rouse suspicion if he didn’t back up when the medics arrived.
“He won’t stop.” Hunter sighed, swiping a hand roughly down his face. “He says if he stops now she won’t make it.”
Gabriella gnawed on her lip. “If he holds on until they get to us, will it be safe? Can you take over for him?”
“I don’t think so. To be honest, I don’t even really know what he’s doing. Healing someone with injuries of this magnitude would be next to impossible for even someone like me.”
“Then why can he?” she asked softly, aware of the tension running through his body under her hands.
“Maybe because his father is Raphael. As the archangel of healing it makes sense for his son to be capable of more in that department, just as my father is considered the messenger of God, so I have stronger telepathic abilities than others my age. But still…”
She followed his worried gaze to the boy, and understood what he wasn’t saying. Landon’s abilities were too strong, his transition was nearing too quickly. What that meant, she had no idea, but it didn’t sound good.
“If I attempt to take over, I may end up doing more harm than good.” Hunter’s face said it all. He didn’t think even what Landon was doing would help in the end. The paleness of Rebecca’s skin looked wrong somehow, almost lifeless. They were losing her.
Curses sounded from where the others were fighting. Ash stepped forward, having obviously recovered from whatever the necklace had done to him, and her not-so-delicate kick to his groin. All she could think of as the bastard moved closer with a sneer on his face was damn, this guy doesn’t give up. “We may have to leave because of the humans, but we know where you are now. Don’t think that tower is going to keep you safe fore
ver.”
“Why do you suddenly care about humans? One may be dying because of your actions,” Sebastian spat.
“I still follow the rules, just maybe not the same ones that you do. Humans are, for the most part, off limits.” Ash shot him a cocky grin. “A mother of an abomination is no concern to us. She lost her innocence when she agreed to carry such a thing.”
“Bastard,” Gabriella whispered in disgust as Ash and his fellow Fallen disappeared into the nothing. “What the hell? Where did they go?”
“They’re shielding themselves. Seems Ash and his men still have a few tricks.”
Gabriella didn’t get anything else as the lights grew near and the men around her scrambled to hide any evidence that suggested angelic activity. Sebastian ordered the other men to clean up while he attempted to hold off whoever was coming. It was exhausting just watching them.
All the while, Landon continued to work on his mother. The woman was breathing, though by the strain on Landon’s face, Gabriella guessed that it wasn’t on her own. He was panting, and even groaned a few times. Gabriella worried what kind of damage this was doing to him.
“I think I’m losing her,” Landon suddenly cried out in a panic.
The flashing lights grew nearer; Sebastian hadn’t been able to distract them for long. When an ambulance and two police cars pulled up, Gabriella knew it was too late. If Landon hadn’t healed his mother to the point of breathing on her own, then they had lost her.
She panicked herself when Landon’s eyes suddenly rolled up into the back of his head. “Landon!”
Wrenching herself out of Hunter’s arms, she crawled to Landon’s side, breathing a sigh of relief when she felt his chest move up and down, but she was concerned at how quickly his heart was beating.
“Hunter? His pulse is out of control.”
“Shit,” he growled. “Dominic. You need to get him out of here now.”
Dominic hurried over to where they were. “What’s happening?” His eyes widened when he noticed Landon. “Fuck. Is he transitioning? Now?”
