by A and E Kirk
Not that he had sleeves. Exactly. He’d changed into a ribbed v-neck sweater and cargo pants. The sleeves of the sweater were pushed up, showing off those tan, toned forearms that could break me and my family in two. And he smelled so good.
Not that I noticed.
Okay, I noticed. But I didn’t mean too. Maybe it was all the luscious flower bouquets. But, no, he was— the aroma was far more masculine than that. Not sandalwood, though. That was Ayden’s scent. Ayden who was MIA in a secure facility. Possibly being held at gunpoint.
Focus, Aurora.
“Why are you here?” I said, a tremor in my voice despite the demanding tone.
Like I didn’t know. Death! Destruction!
“He’s looking for your Hex Boys,” Mom said. “They’re old family friends. The whole reason he chose to come to Gossamer Falls for the semester. Small world, right?” Mom laughed.
“Ha,” I rasped.
Feeling all kinds of panicked, but determined to overcome, I nonchalantly opened the drawer where we kept the sharp things and fingered one of Mom’s larger butcher knives. Armani glanced at the drawer, a smile twitching one corner of his mouth. His eyes showed absolutely zero concern. In fact, they glinted with amusement.
The jerk was enjoying this. Torturing me. What a wack-job.
“And,” Dad said in a low voice, “he’s here to apologize for almost killing you.”
The knife I was picking up nearly slipped from my fingers. For the first time I noticed Dad’s angry expression. But not toward Armani. No, Dad’s ire was directed at me, his mouth set in a grim line.
“When, unbeknownst to me and your mother,” Dad continued, “you were hit by a car. His car. Then before he could make sure you were okay, and not dying in a ditch from internal injuries, you ran away. Why in the hel—” Dad breathed deep. Toward the end of his rant, his words had rushed together. He made an effort to speak slowly, feigning calm. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
I blinked and shook my head, trying to clear it. What was this guy playing at? “I’m sorry, Dad. I didn’t want to worry you.”
“Didn’t want to worry me?” Dad’s face turned redder than his hair. I saw his eyes blazing just before he briefly squeezed them shut. “It is my job to worry. It is what I signed up for as your dad. It means I take care of everything, but in order to do that I have to know what is going on. Why does anyone think that it is okay not to tell me what is happening in this family!” He pressed his lips together, furious and struggling for control.
Dad was an affable kind of guy. Ninety-nine percent of the time. But if his Irish was up, especially over the protection and safety of his family, all bets were off.
“Dad, I was fine,” I said in an appeasing tone. “You examined me. No real damage. It was just a bump. He didn’t so much hit me as…it was more like I ran into him.” Oh, great, now I was defending the assassin. Making excuses for him not finishing the job. “I fell at the country club running away, like I always do, from the danger. Slipped on some debris, just like I told you. And Mom was already upset about everything that happened.”
“Oh, don’t put this on me,” Mom said.
“Well, Gemma,” Dad said sharply. “Where do you think she gets the idea to keep something like this from us?”
Mom shot Dad in irritated look and might have spouted off a snappy retort, but Cristiano interrupted in a calm, easy going voice. “Is there a container I might use for the flowers?”
Mom sighed. “Of course. I’ll be right back.”
As she left, Dad shook his head at me then followed her, saying, “I’ll help.”
Alone with Armani, I nearly choked on the tension clogging the air. I really wanted to run now, but instead gripped the knife tighter, desperate to keep the sweat from letting it slip from my hand altogether. If I gave this guy even one split second, I had no doubt he’d use it to finish me off. I’d be lying in a puddle of my own blood, and he’d be halfway back to Paris by the time my parents returned and found me dead on the kitchen floor. Assuming he let them all live.
Which wasn’t a sure thing. Guys like him didn’t like loose ends.
The ding-dong of the doorbell brought my mind back from the reverie of impending slaughterhouse visions. Good thing, or I might not have noticed the assassin step toward me.
I threw the flowers at him and swung the butcher knife. Flowers didn’t faze him. He struck my wrist. The blow knocked the blade from my hand. It clattered onto the countertop, spinning in place. We both stared at it. Then at each other.
His lips thinned. He shook his head and moved toward the blade. I lunged for it too. His hand closed around it first. I slapped my hand over his, pinning it to the counter.
“Hello, Deputy,” Dad said from the foyer, his tone pleasant but wary. “What are the police doing here?”
Cristiano and I froze.
Dad’s voice quickly changed to worried. “Who are all those people? What’s going on?”
Cristiano caught my gaze.
“I’ll scream,” I told him.
He gritted his teeth, then swore under his breath. A moment later he disappeared through the door to the garage. I gripped the knife and ran after him, slamming my body into the door and locking the deadbolt with a satisfying click. I wanted to collapse against it, but heard the front door close.
“Dad!” I called, but no answer.
I ran to a front window and looked out. A bunch of black SUVs lined our street with a whole lot of men in black piling out.
It was an ambush!
CHAPTER 52
The men in black peeled off in different directions, some heading up to the Grant’s front door. I couldn’t see any weapons, but since they wore bulky clothing I couldn’t be sure. There was also a sheriff’s car in the mix, two deputies talking to Dad along with one of the men in black who flashed a badge of some sort, then pointed at our house.
I sucked in a gasp and jumped back from the window. Dread dripped from every pore. This was it. Mandatum. They’d finally come for me.
What could he be telling Dad? Oh, gosh, sir, just taking care of the business of kidnapping your daughter. Please step aside or we’ll kill you. Nothing personal.
My hands started to shake. I closed my eyes, trying to figure out my next move, but a headache was coming full bore now. Lights flashing around the edges of my sight, I wiped sweat off my brow, then rubbed my temples. My hands felt cold and clammy. Stomach queasy. Maybe I was going into shock from my near death experience with Cristiano, or could it be the Mandatum hit squad outside our door?
Next to me, the phone rang. I jumped, then fumbled for the receiver.
“Ayden? Is that you?”
“No, it’s not Ayden!” Matthias hissed. “Because Ayden’s too busy getting himself killed because of you!”
CHAPTER 53
My knees buckled. My back slid down the wall as I sank to the floor.
“What?!” It came out more of a whimper than the scream that reverberated in my head.
“He left!” Matthias raged. “We were taking a break from debriefing, supposed to be settling into our rooms at Novo, but instead he slips through security and takes off because he’s so worried about you. They don’t know he’s gone yet. He left his jacket. Maybe I’m supposed to stuff it with pillows and shove it in his bed. They’ll never notice, right?” He let out a harsh, humorless laugh. “If he isn’t back before they find out he’s gone, it won’t be good. This is all your fault. I knew you’d eventually get us all killed. If you see him send him back here!”
“No! He can’t come here, there’s a Mandatum hit squad outside my house. They’ve come for me. If they think he knows anything, tries to help, they’ll take him too!”
“It’s not a hit squad for you, idiot. Not that I’d mind, but they’re just doing recon on all our houses because of this Novo demon invasion.”
“Oh.” That made me feel a little better.
“You’re probably the safest from demons you’ve ever been. Ju
st stay low. Our cell phones don’t work. I snuck in here to use a Novo landline and don’t have much time. So you haven’t seen Ayden?”
“No. But Cristiano was here. He left when all the Mandatum showed up.”
“Okay. Stay calm. He won’t try anything with the Society in town. Just don’t be alone with him.”
“Gee, ya think?”
“It’s Ayden we need to worry about right now, so get this through your thick, stupid skull. He could be in very, very big trouble. If you see him, tell him to get back here. And you bloody well stay safe so he doesn’t do something even more stupid!”
The phone clicked off.
It took me a few shaky attempts to get the receiver back on the cradle. Then I rested my head on it, gut twisting.
Ayden. On the run. Because of me. What was next? An official Kill Order from the High Council? There were enough Mandatum in town to make that happen.
The phone rang again. I yelped and knocked the receiver off the hook. It clattered to the floor. I grabbed it.
“Matthias? Did you hear from—”
“Aurora, thank God,” Ayden said with relief. “You’re okay?”
I gripped the phone, knuckles white. “Yes, but you’re not. Please go back to Novo.”
“Meet me in the forest behind your house. Don’t let them see you.”
“You’re here? No! Go back!”
“Not until I see you. Hurry!”
“Ayden don’t—”
But I was talking to no one. He’d hung up.
I slammed the receiver down, wrung my hands a few times, paced, then with a growl of frustration, I went into the kitchen grabbed the bag for the compost bin and headed out back. In the alley behind the house, I dumped the garbage in the bin, eyes darting frantically. When I saw no one, I called loudly, “Helsing! Here, kitty kitty!” Then I turned toward the woods.
And came face to face with a Mandatum Man in Black.
“Yeeeaacck!” I jumped back and went down having tripped over a rake, grabbed the handle, and pointed the spikes at him. From flat on my back, it probably didn’t look as threatening as I would’ve liked, but it was better than nothing.
“Whoa.” The man’s hands went up. “So sorry, miss. Didn’t mean to startle you.” He had a pleasant face. Friendly. Boyish. Especially when he smiled.
“Who are you?” I demanded.
“No need to fear, miss. Government agent.” He pulled out a black leather wallet and flipped it open. It had his picture, U.S. government markings, and looked very official. “I’m with the U.S. Geological Survey,” he lied with confidence. “Checking out the toxic chemical leak at the country club. What are you doing out here?”
Trying to avoid you, first and foremost. Glad that was going so well.
I set down the rake and heaved several breaths. “Jeez.” Heave, heave. “I’m looking for my cat.”
“I see. Allow me.” He held out a hand. After a moment, I took it and let him help me up. “Nice grip, but wow, you’re hot.”
I stepped back. “Excuse me?”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” he blustered awkwardly. “I meant your hand is very warm.”
“Right, uh, nerves.” I rubbed my hands together. They tingled. Crap. I’d been terrorized into Divinicus Defense Mode, and they were about to glow. I stuffed them under my arms.
“No need to worry. We’re here to assure your safety.”
Unless you knew who I was.
A faint meow echoed through the trees.
“There’s my cat,” I said. “Better go get him.”
“Would you like some help?” he asked. “Could be dangerous out there.”
Not as much as here. I smiled. “No thanks. I’m good.”
He stepped aside. “Okay then. Be careful.”
“Will do.”
I walked away, half-expecting him to come after me, shouting for his buddies that he’d found the Nex. But he continued toward Tristan’s house while I wandered into the woods.
My feet squished and crackled on a heavy carpet of pine needles, releasing the pungent earthy scents of the forest. I shivered, but whether from the damp and cold, or the fear, I couldn’t be sure. I walked farther into the woods, keeping up the “Here kitty, kitty,” pretense.
A noise off to my right had me turning. “Hello?”
I saw nothing. Too dark. And getting creepier by the second. Maybe Ayden had taken my advice and left, and now a bear was stalking me. I wrapped my arms around myself and backed away slowly.
A hand clamped over my mouth and muffling my screams. I struggled until I heard, “It’s me.”
With a choking sob, I turned and flung my arms around Ayden’s neck.
“It’s okay,” he muttered against my hair. “I got here as fast as I could. I’m not going anywhere.”
He felt good. Strong and solid, and so very alive. My heart hammered harder, but with relief and happiness rather than terror. I didn’t want to let him go. Then reality nudged its ugly head.
It took me several tries before I could blubber against his shoulder, “But that’s wrong. You have to go back before they find out. Before you get hurt.”
“I’m fine.” His hands cradled my cheeks so he could pull my face away and look at me. “I had to make sure you were okay.”
His eyes already swirled a bright amber and ran a little wild around the edges, embers sparking to life. As I watched, they flared brighter, and his irises began to glow.
“I was so—” The line of his throat moved as he swallowed. His hands gripped my face tighter. His voice came out a haggard, harsh rasp. “I was so scared.”
Then he was kissing me. Hard. Almost violent. His mouth crashing against mine. I didn’t mind. I kissed him back. I opened my lips. Our tongues met and danced in a ferocious connection. He rammed me up against a tree, pressing the full length of his body intimately against mine.
His hands were everywhere. So where mine. I felt the smooth skin of his back against my palms, his muscles hard and straining. Then my hands were on his stomach, his chest, pushing aside his T-shirt, touching every inch of skin I could find. Heat between us was rising. Common sense called for caution, but passion drowned it out.
My hands shoved fabric out of the way, and his arms lifted as he briefly broke contact so I could yank his shirt up over his head and off completely. I flung the annoying garment to the ground, then felt the bark press hard on my back, and we were all over each other again, mouths, hands, bodies. Through his naked chest I felt his heart pounding as fast as mine.
He felt good, alive. I wanted him badly. And he certainly wanted me.
“I won’t let anything happen to you,” he murmured against my lips. He lifted his head for a moment, his eyes, so bright in the darkness of the forest, traveled over my face. “I won’t lose you.”
My breath was heavy and labored, but as he watched me, I noticed the cuts. Small ones, on his face, neck, and shoulders. Fear and concern edged through my desire.
“You’re hurt,” I said, touching the wounds lightly. They were shallow, blood already dried, but that hardly made me feel any better.
“Can’t feel a thing except you.” His lips dropped to my neck. Kissing, sucking, nibbling. I felt his tongue hot against my skin, hands squeezing my hips. My fingers tangled in his hair, pleasure from his touch rippling through my every nerve.
“Ayden, wait.” I tried to breathe. It wasn’t easy. I wanted to close my eyes and give in to the sweet, hot feelings overwhelming me, but…“The Mandatum are here. They could find you.”
“I know,” he muffled against my chest. “But all that matters is keeping you safe.”
Safe? I wasn’t safe from him, from the emotions he sparked within me. However—try to think, Aurora—that wasn’t the kind of safe he was talking about, was it? No, no. He was referring to something else. I struggled to focus.
“But, Ayden, how safe, or happy, will I be with you in a Mandatum prison?” With a huge effort, emotionally and physically, I pushed him
off. “You need to get back.”
He staggered, eyes alight with flames, then shook his head and made to take me in his arms again, but I held him at bay. “No,” I said, panting, swallowing hard, trying to keep my wits about me. “I’m serious. Ayden, please.”
“Okay.” He blinked. “Okay.” His fingers raked through his hair as he tried to collect himself. He was certainly running hot. It took him a moment to settle down. Slow deep breaths in and out. In an angry, frustrated gesture, he snatched his shirt off the forest floor and slapped off pine needles and dirt. “You’re right. But first, I’ll take you to the sanctuary. They can’t get to you there.”
I started to shake my head.
In one fluid move Ayden spun, slammed his back into me, jamming me against the tree, and flung his hands out, shooting two thick lines of flame into the night with a roaring whoosh!
The blast of fire lit up the night so bright my hand tried to shield my eyes, but the blazing light seared my retinas, leaving me momentarily blind.
I gripped one hand on the rough bark, pine sap sticky on my fingers. Something big dropped from the sky, landed just behind me with a heavy thud and grabbed my hand.
I screamed. My hand flashed hot. The attacker let go, and I wrenched away. Ayden turned, dousing the flames on one hand so he could rip mine from the intruder, but I was already free. My sight had returned enough to see a shadow behind Ayden. He sensed it too and threw a punch with the hand that still flamed, but mid-swing he grunted and paused, his body doing an odd jerk.
In the flickering light, I saw a syringe sticking out of Ayden's neck. The fire in his pupils died almost instantly. His eyes rolled up into his head. The flames on his hand went out. Darkness returned. I felt his body sag into ragdoll status, boneless. As he crumpled, a black figure flopped Ayden over one shoulder, then shot up into the sky.
A shadow flashed against the bright orb of the silver moon, then they were gone.
