Nine
Jed!” Paige recoiled in horror as Jed fell to the floor of the restaurant, then she recovered and tried to yank her hand out of his grasp, but the wraith took over, forcing her fingers to dig even deeper, refusing to release its victim. “Dammit, Jed! Let go!” she screamed as she tried to stop the darkness from spewing out of her, but it poured into Jed. “Stop! God, please, stop! I don’t want to hurt him!” Her legs gave out and she dropped beside him, the darkness stripping her as it screamed out of her body and into his, and smoke began rising from his shoulders. “Jed!”
Then he was gone.
And in his place was a cloud of smoke.
“Jed?” She sagged against her chair, her chest heaving as the wraith subsided, fed and satisfied. For now. “Jed? Tell me you went shadow warrior.” The cloud began to dissipate and she felt herself start to panic again. “Tell me I didn’t incinerate you.”
And then it was gone.
It didn’t zip away like it had in her apartment when he’d taken off.
It simply vanished.
Holy shit. She’d killed him. Tears welled up in her eyes. “Dammit! This wasn’t how it was supposed to be!”
“Ma’am? Are you all right?”
She jerked her gaze upward as her waitress reached to help her to her feet. “No! Stay back!” She scrambled to her feet, her legs shaking so much she could barely stand up. She grabbed a butter knife and held it out, aiming it at the crowd of people who’d gathered around her. “Back off! Don’t touch me!”
The manager held up his hands in a soothing motion. “It’s all right, miss. Just relax. We’ve called an ambulance and they’ll be here in a few minutes.”
“No. No ambulance.” Keeping the knife out, she began to back toward the door. Her lungs still hurt with each breath, and her heart ached like someone had beat it with a tire iron.
“What happened to the man?” someone asked. “Wasn’t there a man with her?”
“Oh, go ahead and kick me while I’m down, why don’t you?” she snapped. “Could you be any more insensitive?”
The crowd began to part, making room for her as she moved toward the door, tables of breakfast forgotten. She glanced over her shoulder, making sure no one was trying to tackle her in some asinine heroic move. “I’m leaving. If you let me leave, no one will get hurt, okeydoke? Good plan?” The manager made a move and she pointed the knife at him. “No.”
He stopped.
“Good boy.” Paige reached the door and yanked it open. “I’ll send money for the bill, okay?”
Her waitress waved her hand. “My treat. Really. Don’t worry about it.”
“Thanks. Nice of you.” She took one last look to make sure there was no dark cloud hovering anywhere, but there was nothing.
Jed was gone.
A sense of hopelessness slammed into her, and she threw the door shut behind her, wincing as it rattled the glass. She tossed the knife into the gutter and hurled herself into the backseat of the nearest cab, which was lined up in anticipation of the morning exodus of business- people from the nearby hotels.
“Where to?” The cab driver glanced at her in his rearview mirror.
“Hell if I know.” She pressed her hands to her forehead with a soft moan. God, what now? The one man she could touch, and she’d killed him. She’d never feel the touch of a human again. Ever. No hug. No kisses. Not even the casual brush of a shoulder. Tears filled her eyes and she pressed her fists to her face, while she tried to regain control. “You can handle this,” she whispered. “It’s just a minor setback.”
“Miss?”
She looked up just in time to see Jerome and two men in white rush into the restaurant she’d just left. Oh, God. Heaven’s enforcers were with Jerome? The Men in White were even more ruthless than the Council, because they figured they had all the morality on their side. She shuddered and hugged herself, then took a deep breath and thought of Becca and all she’d survived. “This is nothing in comparison,” she said.
“Pardon?”
She looked at the driver’s registration on the glass divider, saw his name was Horvath.
Horvath was talking to her. Not afraid. See? Not everyone was afraid of her. Baby steps, Paige. She gave him Becca’s address, and he nodded and pulled away from the curb. She’d get in, get her stuff, and then take off. To where? Anywhere that Jerome and the Men in White couldn’t find her.
She leaned her forehead against the window as the cab pulled away, watching to see if her stalkers emerged from the restaurant, but she made it around the corner without seeing them.
Safe, for the moment.
She pulled out her cell phone and dialed Theresa. Her throat tightened when it went right into voicemail. She cleared her throat of anything that might sound like self-pity, then spoke briskly. “Hi, Theresa. I’m just calling to see if Zeke found Beatrice McFleet—” She suddenly remembered Jerome’s warning about her phone and snapped it shut, pressing it to her temple while she tried to think.
After a minute, she shoved it between the seat cushions, wincing when her fingers hit something wet and mushy.
Then she rapped on the bulletproof divider. “Horvath? I’ll get out here.”
She paid, climbed out, and watched her phone drive away.
How much time had she just bought herself? Not enough, she was certain.
Twenty minutes later, armed with a new disposable cell phone, she huddled next to a bus stop vestibule, wearing a big straw hat and a pair of oversized sunglasses she’d pinched off a street vendor for a bargain, flinching at everyone who walked past.
She punched in the only phone number she knew by heart, and Dani answered on the fifth ring.
“It’s me,” she whispered.
“Paige? Where are you calling from? Are you okay? Are you . . . um . . . still yourself?”
“I’m fine.” She didn’t miss the hesitation, the distance in Dani’s voice. She dug her fingernails into her palms, refusing to blame Dani for her wariness. “Did Zeke find Beatrice McFleet yet?”
“Hang on. Theresa’s here. Her computer’s on the fritz so she’s using mine.”
A city bus pulled up and Paige turned her back, trying to huddle deeper against the glass bus shelter as people clomped down the steps.
“Hey, sweetness, how are you holding up?”
Paige’s throat tightened at the cheerful tone in Theresa’s voice. At the utter lack of fear of her. See? One friend. She wasn’t alone in this at all. Everything was fantastic. She could have a party with Horvath and Theresa. “Did Zeke find Beatrice McFleet yet?”
“No, not yet. Apparently Satan lied about her name, so Zeke’s run into a bit of a dead end. But he’s not giving up yet.”
“Dead end?” Oh, God. She’d been totally counting on Zeke coming through for her.
“Satan has excellent resources for hiding people, but Zeke’s still the best missing persons expert in the world,” Theresa said. “Don’t judge him—”
“I’m not judging him.” Paige felt someone behind her and glanced over her shoulder, but there was no one there. Just the empty bus stop. “It’s just that I’m really in trouble.”
“I know, sweetie. That’s why I’ve been hitting the Internet for you. I followed up on the portal to heaven approach, and I ran into this really cool website on the cleansing moat. Turns out that it’s not designed for people with your level of evil. You’d blow up heaven if you used it. And yourself, of course, which would defeat the purpose of using it. So, it’s a no-go.”
Paige picked up an empty coffee cup and tossed it in the trash. Every little bit of goodness helps. She rubbed her temples. “So, no scientist and no cleansing moat.” She cursed. “So, what now? There’s nothing I can do?” Dammit! She wasn’t giving up!
“Not necessarily,” Theresa said. “I think I found a loophole in the angel thing.”
“Really? Tell me!” Paige felt a flicker of evil and she jerked her head up and scanned the area. Nothing but a few people in sui
ts rushing by, talking on their cell phones. Two teen girls giggling over something. No one that did justice to the feeling prickling down her spine. Had the Men in White found her? Or was she being stalked by her own inner wraith? “A loophole would be really good.”
“I hacked into the Council database. Apparently, that angel you killed was on probation for seducing the human he was guarding, so it’s not really a big loss, though you’d never guess it from the big deal they’re making of it—”
“Theresa!” She flared up a fireball and hid it by her hip, clenching her hand around it as she searched for whatever was causing that feeling. It was getting stronger. Darker. Her calf twitched in recognition of a comrade spirit, and she felt a trickle of sweat ease down her back. She checked out the street, then ducked her head when she saw a white van screaming by with Men in White leaning out the windows, scanning the streets for her. Her heart racing, she huddled down, frozen. Please don’t let them find me.
She waited until she heard the tires squeal as the van shot around a corner, then slid around behind the bus stop, trying to be invisible. “The loophole?” she whispered. “Talk fast.”
“Okay, so this is my thought. I’m not exactly the purest girl on the planet and neither is Becca, but you fried us both. And the angel was also a seducer of innocents, so he had his bad side too. So, I think that your death touch reacts to anyone with mixed credentials. You know, a little bit of bad for the wraith to twist to its advantage, and then, of course, the good for harvesting. So, if you found an angel that was truly pure, then your death touch wouldn’t do anything to him, and he could do his little thing to save you.”
She cocked her head, rolling the idea over in her mind. “So, someone that was all bad wouldn’t be affected either? Because there’d be no good to kill off?”
“Exactly. Which is why you could touch Satan.”
And Jed. She sighed and rubbed her eyes.
“The thing is, angels are a dicey bunch,” Theresa continued. “It’s illegal for them to save anyone other than the being they’re assigned to, and they really hate to break the rules.” There was a clicking sound, as if Theresa was still hammering away on the computer keys.
Paige pressed her thumb between her eyebrows, trying to get rid of a headache that was forming as she leaned against the plastic bus station bubble shelter. “So, you think I should threaten and torture an angel into saving me, so he’s blameless in the endeavor? I’m not sure that’s the right approach for me to take right now.”
“No, you dork. They can’t be tortured into anything. They can’t be vulnerable to coercion or the sanctity of heaven would be compromised. They have to do it of their own free will.”
“You just said—”
“Love or lust, sweeties. Same plan as in the coffee shop, only we need to ratchet it up a level. Angels may be angels, but they’re also men and ruled by their libido.”
She thought briefly of Jed and his kiss. So not an angel. Her throat tightened. Get over him, Paige. He’s dead. “Okay, so I assume you found out where I can find an angel on short notice? Seeing as how I can’t get into heaven to find one. I don’t have two weeks to hang out in Starbucks right now.” Something cold touched her neck and she yelped and flung the fireball backward without even taking the time to look. She spun around in time to see it crash into the side of an office building, leaving a charred black mark in the cement.
“Of course I did. There’s a club in New York where they all hang out. It’s called Saving Grace. How tacky is that? Want us to meet you there? We could meet out back around ten?”
She bit her lower lip against the urge to beg Theresa to do just that. “I killed someone today by accident. I don’t think you should be around me.” She heard the roar of a motorcycle, and she glanced at the street, then tensed when she saw Jerome cruising by on a Harley.
Unlike the Men in White, he was going slowly, searching the crowds very carefully.
Shit! She whirled around so her back was to the street and started digging through the trash can as if she were looking for lunch or bottles to recycle. She didn’t dare turn around, but she felt the skin on the back of her neck prickle as the roar of the motorcycle got louder, and she realized he was directly even with her now.
She bit her lip, forcing herself not to bolt or turn around to look at him, leaning farther into the trash can and holding her breath against the stench.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Theresa said. “What are friends for, if not to pick each other up after two accidental murders? Ten o’clock in the alley behind the bar, okay?” There was a faint scuffle and Paige heard Dani protest, and Theresa muttered something about getting some backbone and being there for her friends. “Dani can’t wait to see you. She sends hugs. Smooches. See you later. Try not to go over to the dark side.”
“Yeah, okay.” Paige kept the phone by her ear after Theresa had hung up, not moving until she heard the motorcycle engine grow more distant.
After what felt like an eternity, she lifted her head and peered over the rim of the trash can, just in time to see Jerome cruise around the same corner as the white van.
She took a deep breath and stood up. “God, I need to get out of here—” She froze as she felt a cold prickle on her skin and she whirled around, fireball up against the stalker she couldn’t see. “Where are you?” she whispered. She stared at the building behind her. Was he in there? Should she follow her natural Rivka tendencies and go in there and try to take him out, risking her wraith, or flee while she still had her own mind, hoping to get away?
“My price has doubled. Hazard pay.”
Her heart jumped and she spun around to see Jed standing behind her. Alive. Unscathed. “Jed!” She started to throw her arms around him, then checked herself. “Oh, God. I can’t touch you anymore.”
“Bullshit.” He grabbed her wrist and yanked her against him.
Ten
Paige squawked and struggled to get free, but he held her tight as he finished materializing from shadow form. “I’m okay. You can touch me. I know you need to.” He steeled himself against the feel of her against him. “Go ahead.”
Her body stilled, and ever so slowly, she began to relax, and her soft warmth melted into him. Her arms went around his neck and she sighed as she pressed her face against him. “I thought I’d never get to touch you again,” she whispered.
He stiffened as her breath warmed the skin at the base of his throat. He knew it wasn’t sexual on her part, but damn, it felt good. Her fingers twisted in his hair and she pressed herself tighter against him, her breasts flush against his chest. “I missed you,” she whispered.
It was those three words, the utter lack of pretension on her part about her feelings that kicked down the wall he’d managed to rebuild after she’d shut him down on the street. The evil that consumed him while he was a shadow still tingled in his body, but her total trust in him, her need for his touch yanked him right out of the shadow and into a sense of lightness he hadn’t felt in decades, if ever.
He groaned and let himself bury his face into the softness of her hair, drank in the scent that was hers, basked in how tightly she held onto him, relished in the fact that she needed him. Paige, with all her purity and embrace of life, needed him, an evil bastard with no redeeming traits at all.
She pulled back slightly and he reluctantly let her go.
But she kept one hand on his waist, and hesitantly lifted the other to touch his cheek. Her fingers traced along his jaw, and he faded into absolute stillness, so as not to scare her off. “I saw your skin turn black. And your shoulders were smoking.”
“I went into shadow form to escape it. Took me a while to regroup.”
Her face fell. “I did hurt you.” She pulled away and shoved her hands in her pockets, hunching her shoulders. “Dammit. You’re all bad and I still hurt you?”
“I’m fine as long as you don’t slam that blackness into me. It was just getting hit that hard all at once.” He rubbed his hand over her
shoulder, grinning when she didn’t push him away.
She bit her lower lip. “What if I can’t help it? I don’t have control.”
“I do. If I see it coming on, I’ll get out of reach. Okay?”
“You’re sure?” She wrinkled her nose at him, but he saw her beginning to relax. Saw the sparkle begin to return to her face.
“Trust me, I’m capable of handling it. I’m fine.” Actually, his body still ached from her touch . . . no, not his body. His soul. His soul felt like it was weighted down with lead and couldn’t break free. She’d damn near killed him. Paige was powerful enough to shift the balance of power in the Otherworld . . . and the mortal world.
The Council and the Men in White would be absolutely right if they decided she needed to be eliminated before she came into her power. If he had any sense of responsibility to the greater good, he’d kill her now, before she could destroy everything.
She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “Good. I didn’t like being without you.”
He stared down at her. Screw the Council and the Men in White. She was paying him to keep her alive, and that’s what he’d do. The fate of the world wasn’t his problem. He dropped his head to plant a quick kiss on her mouth, groaning when her lips parted under his instantly. Her tongue flickered into his mouth and for a moment, he kissed her back, yanking her against him.
But when she sighed and leaned into him, he clenched his jaw and pulled back. “Fuck. You’re difficult to resist.”
She grinned at him, her eyes sparkling. “Women love to hear that kind of thing.”
“Yeah, well, I didn’t mean it as a compliment.”
Her smile widened. “Even better. It wasn’t insincere flattery. It was from the heart, and that makes it perfect.”
“You’re a little bit crazy, you know that, don’t you?” But hell, he liked being around her. Too damn much, he was pretty certain. He tucked his hand under her elbow, searching the street for cabs. “We need to get out of here.” As he raised his hand to hail a cab, he felt her studying him. “What?”
“That was you I felt watching me, wasn’t it?”
Sex & The Immortal Bad Boy Page 7
