by A and E Kirk
“The team was on lockdown, unable to hunt me down.” I nodded. “Score one for us.”
“Until now.”
I closed my eyes. “So they passed the psych evaluations and got released.”
“Something like that. They kind of disappeared off the radar.” He paused, looking uneasy. “As of five days ago.”
My eyes bugged wide. “Five days?”
“Maybe seven.”
“How did you miss that?”
“I didn’t miss it!” he almost shrieked, then quickly lowered his voice. “They covered it up! Look.” Tristan bolted out of his chair to dig through wads of discarded paper, picking out one then another and tossing it on the desk. “Reports were delayed so it looked like Cristiano and his team were still under lock and key, but in truth they’ve been out on another assignment.”
“What assignment?”
“Don’t know yet. Madame Cacciatori set it up. Labeled High Priority and Top Secret and every other code to keep it as stealth as possible before she went incommunicado on her own secret mission and left her assistant on the Divinicus Task Force in charge.”
“She has an assistant?”
“She has an entire task force, Aurora, of course she has an assistant, this…” He shuffled papers until he found what he was looking for. “Here is it, her assistant's name is Catherine Dubois. Some longtime friend of Madame Cacciatori’s. And Dubois herself has two assistants, a man and a woman. Gunther Helms and Ivana Ko…shevni…something. And they in turn have assistants who have assistants and—
“Okay! I get it. I’m popular. Yay. But what about Armani’s new assignment? You can hack in and find out what it is, right?”
“Not yet, but I’m working on it. I’m trying to track their passports, but according to every travel database there is they haven’t used them to get out of France, which means nothing. If Mandatum wants to go under the radar, they can get in and out of any country without leaving a trace.”
“So they could already be here?” I asked.
“Yeah. But we’d know, right? No one’s shown up trying to kidnap or kill you.”
I stared. I knew he was tired but…“Did you miss the complete catastrophe at the country club?”
“I meant no hunters. You think Cristiano’s team is involved with demons?”
“The traitor has no problem using demons. Fiskick, Echo, Eros. Maybe these latest creeps were part of an early strike team.”
“How do you know about strike teams?”
“Mrs. Ishida and Mrs. Hough. Part of my self-defense and weapons training.” I rubbed my hands over my face, hating my new normal. “Please keep trying to track down the Sicarius. The last thing we need is another surprise attack.”
“You keep studying those files we gave you on each team member. Just in case.”
“You mean the files that give me nightmares?”
“Yeah.” Tristan turned back to the computer. “And for the record, those files give us all nightmares.”
That didn’t make me feel any better.
“Hopefully, I can get some answers before I leave for Novo,” Tristan said.
Oh, right. He had his trip coming up. “How’s your dad?”
As a youngster, Tristan’s Hallucinator power had nearly turned his dad’s brains to mush, causing him to lose his memories and most cognitive function. Recently, however, he’d miraculously improved.
“Getting better all the time,” Tristan smiled. “And I know I couldn’t track down Heather on my last trip, but this time I’ll try harder. See what she knows about Dr. Jones and the traitor.”
Ah, yes, Heather. My high school friend who’d helped beat me to a pulp in the alley. A quiver of fear skittered through me at the mention of her name. The traitor had her locked in Novo trying to uncover the secret of how I’d survived the attack. If Heather’s memories could be accessed, I was dying to hear them. I’d blacked out and remembered nothing.
Tristan chewed on a fingernail. “I was supposed to stay a couple of days, but I can cut it short. We’ll see. I won’t be—”
“As awesome as me!” Blake shouted as he burst into the garage. He did a little shuffle- step/double-punch like a boxer would do. “You should’ve seen me.”
“I did see you,” Tristan said.
“I was amazing!” Blake did a quick twirl then punched the air again.
“No,” Tristan said. “You were afraid to bury that guy.”
“Until I knew he was a demon,” Blake said. “No offense, Aurora. But then I literally buried him down into Hell. Especially after he damaged the spa, which I fixed before anyone even noticed it had been damaged. I mean, I need my workout room for sure to showcase myself for the ladies. I couldn’t save the boats though. Too many people saw that disaster. No offense, Aurora.”
Wow. How much of this was considered my fault?
“But still,” Blake continued, “I am so awesome. Just like your dad. Saving people’s lives. He’s right behind me by the way, so I’d better…” He put a finger to his lips as Dad entered the garage.
“Hey all,” Dad said, trying for a cheerful tone, but sounding tired. “Using the computer again, Tristan? Great someone is. Can you hack into to the school’s system and up Aurora’s grades? Just kidding.” He laughed as he gave me a hug and kiss. “Do I smell chili?” He sniffed the air. “And cinnamon buns? Fantastic. I could use a treat after tonight. There was a huge disaster at the country club. Luckily, no one was seriously hurt.”
“Uh,” I glanced at the Boys. “Actually, Dad, the guys and I were there. Since she knew you’d be swamped at the hospital and wouldn’t want to be distracted, Mom was going to mention it when you got home, so hey…” I smiled brightly. “Now you’re home! And now it’s been mentioned. We’re done here!”
Dad froze. “Excuse me?”
I should’ve known it wouldn’t be that easy. “You know how Mom is, and I was fine. Nowhere near any danger.” Other than the demons and their henchmen and explosions.
His gaze swept over me then he snatched my hands and looked at the scratches. “What about this?” He saw the cuts on my neck and arms. “And that and that?”
“Slipped, fell, ended up in the lake. And, uh,” I touched my neck, “something sharp. That’s it. Promise.” Hey, it was kind of almost true. I still felt like crap for lying. Again.
He cleared his throat. “Well, I’m just very grateful you and the Boys are okay.” He kissed my head and stalked toward the kitchen, his cheeks flushed hot, eyes flashing. “Put some of my special ointment on those wounds, pronto, while I go have a word with your mother.”
“Yes, sir.” He didn’t see my salute.
He strode into the house, the door slamming behind him, but not before we heard him demand, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Mom’s response was muffled. But then her voice started rising, and they started going back and forth for a few moments. Then the voices faded. They must have gone upstairs for some privacy.
“They’re fighting?” Blake shot me a frantic look. “It’s all my fault.”
I frowned. “What? No. Mom does this thing where if Dad’s dealing with a crisis at work, she thinks she’s supposed to handle any problems at home. Drives him nuts. Besides, if it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine. I’m the demon magnet. They’ll be fine.”
“No,” Blake shook his head. “There wouldn’t have been a crisis if I’d believed you and shut the human-looking demons down faster. There was too much damage. It’s all too public. Can’t cover it up. Your mom was freaked. Now your dad.” He muttered something under his breath and began turning pale, his fists opening and closing. “Maybe I should talk to them?”
“Whoa! Negatory, big guy.” I stood in front of him as he made a move toward the house, his eyes more than a little wild. He stopped, thank goodness, because heaven knows Blake could walk right through me if he wanted to. “It’s not a big deal, I promise. Now, can we get back to our more immediate problems? Like getting the evidence to J
ayden? Tristan, everything he needs is in your room. Did I mention your grandma put me in a body bag?”
“Did she zip it up?”
“No.”
“Wow. She really likes you.”
That was disturbing.
Blake kept staring at the door that led into the kitchen.
“Right!” Tristan thumped him on the back and almost shouted, “Blake, let’s go.” He gathered up papers and crammed some at the big guy. “Here, hold this.” The pom-poms hanging on Tristan’s colorful yak wool hat swung wildly as he shoved it on his head and pushed a distracted Blake out the door.
Okay, this day was a serious bust. Demons, death, destruction. Everyone acting weird. I wanted ice cream. I didn’t get it. At least not right away. But I did find something else just as sweet.
CHAPTER 15
I followed Blake and Tristan out. They jumped the fence into Tristan’s backyard and disappeared inside his house as I noticed Ayden in our driveway leaning on our minivan. At my approach, he unfolded his arms and stood straight. He’d lost the tie. His dress shirt was untucked, had a couple of holes and smudges, and was even missing a few buttons. But compared to me, he’d come out unscathed. At least I’d had a shower.
“I still don’t think this a good idea,” Ayden said.
“Of course,” I smirked. “Is this where I get your but?”
He gave me an odd look, then shook his head, smiling. “Depends on what you plan to do with it. A light pat I might let you have for free, but anything more involved, like for instance, a full-on grope, I’d expect you to at least buy me dinner first.”
I really needed to recheck my clever one-liners. “Yeah, that didn’t come out right.”
“Oh, I’m good with it,” he said. “And since we completely missed tonight’s edible part of the evening, if you throw in dessert, well, I might even be willing to flash a little skin.”
He gave me a come-hither look as his hands bunched up the hem of the ravaged shirt, lifting it high to flash the contours of those amazing abs.
“Oh, no,” I giggled. Yep, his workouts really paid off on that body, but… I gave a nervous glance around. “Stop.”
He turned his voice into an overly dramatic deep, sultry rasp. “Oh, I haven’t even started yet, because after dessert, I’d offer up a few moves that will take you to Heaven.” He kept the smoldering eye contact and demonstrated scandalously sexy hip gyrations while turning in a slow circle.
Wow. He could move. My blush went inferno. Heck, my whole body went inferno. “Ayden, please.”
“That’s it, keep begging for more, and I’ll give you both skin and steamy sensuality you can’t resist.” In one smooth move, he grabbed the front of his shirt and ripped it open. Buttons shot into the air, as he threw back his head and ground out one last forceful hip thrust.
“Oh God!” I screamed and—mostly—covered my eyes, giggles turning into laughing squeals of embarrassed delight as buttons pinged at my feet. His countless muscles contracted and contoured from neck to…where his dress pants were riding very low on his hips. Not that I was staring. Too obviously. Through my fingers. “You shouldn’t do that!”
“Why not?” He looked down. “The shirt was already ruined.”
I shook my head. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Come on, pay attention,” he said, pulling my hands from my face so he could hold them and lead me along in a tempting tempo. The tails of the open shirt swung back and forth, giving me a full view of rippling muscles as he swayed his seductive moves with flawless rhythm. “You’ll miss my big finish. Remember that dance I promised you tonight? Here we go. Bow-chicka-bow-wow.” He suddenly flung my helpless body against his bare chest and held me tight as his hips rolled into mine and took us on a racy ride.
“Oh, God.” He was really, really good. My cheeks burned like red-hot coals.
He spun us around and sashayed and swiveled until I was out of breath for so many reasons.
“Okay, Stripper Central.” I tried to compose myself, but it was difficult. Talk about some sizzling entertainment. “Stop, please. I don’t have any singles anyway.”
“Aww,” he said with dramatic disappointment then threw me back into a low dip. “My hopes for food and foreplay brutally dashed.” He grinned, took a playful nip from my neck, then swung me upright and backed away while holding his shirt open wide, showing off that incredible physique one more time. “Are you sure you don’t want some of this? Really? I’m willing to give it all.”
Oh, I soooo wanted some of that. Lots of that, but…I shook my head and rolled my eyes. “Another time.”
“Fine,” he sighed sadly. “A raincheck, which I will definitely hold you to.” He let go of his shirt. “So I guess this is where I say goodbye. If you believe you can handle getting the evidence to Jayden, I do too, because I’m the supportive, trusting boyfriend.” He gave me one last hip swivel. “See, I’m flexible as well as way mature. And extremely wise.”
I laughed. “Yeah, well, Yoda, you can relax. Mom already put the kibosh on me going anywhere. She’s too freaked. Wants us all under one roof. Preferably for the rest of our lives. Or at least until the age of thirty. Blake and Tristan are going to make the delivery.”
His head dropped back as he released a heavy sigh. “Thank God. Did I mention how much I love your overprotective mother?”
“You might want to tell her that. At the moment she’s dealing with an unhappy husband, who's less than thrilled with her overly stoic attitude.”
“Now I know where you get it.”
“Hey.”
“And it’s one of the many things I adore about you.”
“Nice save, Romeo, but as soon as I’m out of Lahey Lockdown, I should go do some reading in Lizzy’s sanctuary. Maybe there’s something in the Divinicus Nex Chronicles about demons with special masking powers.”
“Speaking of romance,” Ayden said with a mischievous smile.
“Romance?” I tapped my chin thoughtfully. “Was that the reference to literary teenagers dead by suicide or me being grounded?”
“Neither, I just meant—”
“Or could it be the creepy underground cave with an extensive set of books written by a woman who lost her entire family then lived a long, lonely, miserable life.”
“Are you done trying to kill the mood?”
“Why would I want to do that?”
“No clue.” He swept me into his arms, carried me down the side of the house, then pressed my back against the wall. “So,” he said firmly, “speaking of romance. I’ve been thinking a lot about Lizzy’s sanctuary.”
“Right. That romantic spot where a dead woman’s skeleton still—” I uttered a muffled squeal as Ayden’s lips landed on mine with ferocity. The kiss captured my full attention. Goosebumps jumped to high alert, especially with my hormones still on fire from his wicked dance moves. My arms were moving to twine around his neck when he raised his head.
“Oh, I get it,” he said, pausing to chew thoughtfully on his lip. Why was that so sexy? “You blabber incessantly in the hope that I will kiss you silent. Quite the manipulation tactic. I feel so used.” He shrugged. “But dealing with such a lusty girlfriend, I’ll just have to get over it.”
I leaned back to look at him and into those eyes that were so easy to melt into. “Very big of you.”
“I thought so.”
I had to grin. “Okay, Mr. Martyr Man, I get it. So you’ve been thinking about Lizzy’s sanctuary because her diaries or the archives can help us figure things out.”
He let out a melodramatic sigh. “While that makes sense, I think I mentioned something about romance, not research.”
“Oh. Right.” I frowned. “Romance.”
“You’re killing me here.”
“Sorry, it’s just that tonight’s events were way too dangerous for this town.”
“And you,” he said. “But reading in the sanctuary messes with your head. Stick to the rules. Never go alone. Always have at least
one of us with you.”
He was right. I didn’t “read” the books in the sanctuary in the regular sense. Once I touched one of Lizzy’s creations, the information just, I don’t know—downloaded?—into my head. It was a heady feeling. Totally exhilarating.
Until it wasn’t.
If I did it too much, I got some kind of overload, and I crashed. Headaches, nosebleeds, unconsciousness, my body pretty much breaking down.
“I know. You’re right. I’ll play by the rules.”
“I’m serious,” Ayden said, sounding very, very, serious. “Those double spirals only open when you touch them. If you were alone in there—”
“And something went wrong, no one could get in to help me.” I sighed. “I said I get it.”
“Do you? Because…” His voice trailed off as he looked away and ran a hand through his hair. He swallowed hard, then turned back to me with a desperate look. “I’m not sure I’ve made it clear. I don’t want anything to happen to you. So promise me, Aurora, because I couldn’t bear to—” His voice cut out, and he looked away again, jaw clenching.
My chest tightened. Ayden usually kept things light, fun, cocky, and playful. This didn’t feel like any of that.
I took his face in my hands and brought his eyes to mine. “I promise, okay?” Wow, even I sounded overly morbid. Like we needed any more of that tonight. I lightly slapped his cheek. “Snap out of it! Too much serious for one day.” I gave him a playful grin and wrapped my arms around his neck. “Now what was that you mentioned about romance?”
His lips rolled in and out of his mouth. “Right, nothing serious, but romance is okay?”
“Does a girl ever get enough?”
“Apparently not.” He tucked a wisp of my hair behind my ear as a sly smile hinted over his lips. “I was thinking we’d have a picnic in the sanctuary. I’ll bring your favorite sparkling cider, which I’d ordered for tonight, but…that didn’t happen.”
