When Ryan finally stood, I couldn't help but breath a sigh of relief.
“That's it? We're done?” I asked.
Ryan shook his head. “No, we're just starting. Zip up your coat, we're going for a walk. Once we hit that door, I need Oscar-worthy drunk, giggly college kid on the sidewalk, okay?”
“Well, I've never felt so giggly in my life, so this should be a breeze,” I deadpanned.
Ryan pushed open the door, and I hooked my arm in his. We walked a block, and then made a turn. After two blocks, we turned in a different direction.
“This is obvious,” I said, noting the dark street.
“Sshh, we're being followed,” Ryan whispered.
“Goody,” I said, trying to keep my steps in line with his.
Before we reached the corner, two men stepped onto the sidewalk from the alley. Ryan stopped, pushing me behind him.
“Hi there, boys,” Ryan said.
One of the men smiled. “That's a pretty little girl you got there.”
Ryan was clearly irritated. “Thanks. Tell your boss I'm insulted.”
“And why's that?” the other man said, amused.
Ryan smiled. “You're smaller than I expected,” he said, looking up at the ominous man looming over him.
Without warning, Ryan headbutted the first goon. The man stared into Ryan's eyes, stunned. Blood suddenly streamed from his nose, and then he stumbled back, finally falling to the ground.
The second man pulled his weapon. His small smirk quickly faded when Ryan and I traded glances, and then pulled ours. Every nerve in my body was on edge. Instead of fear, I was fighting back a smile. Pointing a gun, and being on the offensive was so empowering that I had to work to keep from giggling with excitement.
“He set us up!” the man said, kicking at his partner, shaking as his kept his gun pointed in our direction.
“Get up, Lenny! We got set up!”
“Put your gun on the ground!” Ryan growled. His voice sounded different than what I was used to. No doubt residuary from his tour in Afghanistan.
The man did as Ryan commanded, and then scampered off, pulling his friend with him. I clicked the safety on the pistol in my hand, habit from my lessons with Jared, and then stuffed it into the back of my jeans.
“That was the plan?” I asked.
Ryan put his hands low on his hips, spitting on the ground. “No. That was most definitely not the plan. They were supposed to take you.”
“Take me?”
“Well…not take you, take you…try to take you, I guess. I really don't know.”
“That makes me feel a lot better!” I huffed.
Ryan froze when a clicking sound echoed in the alley behind us. Donovan stood just feet away, pressing the barrel of his gun to Ryan's head.
“So they're trusting humans to watch their Taleh's now, are they? I don't care if you are some sort of hero, I ain't buyin' it,” Donovan said, looking around.
I reached for my gun, but a warm hand encircled my wrist. “She's a brave little pistol, isn't she?”
If it weren't for the voice, I would have expected to turn and see Jared standing behind me. The same warm skin, the smell, the blonde hair — but his eyes were a lighter blue than Claire's — almost white. He was so tall I had to take a step back just to get a good look at him.
“Isaac?” I whispered.
He smiled, and then smirked at Donovan. “I'm famous.”
“And dead if we don't get the hell outta here. They wouldn't leave her alone.”
“Of course not,” Isaac said calmly. “But we'll play.”
Isaac and Donovan led us down the alley to a waiting car. Isaac wasn't nearly as gentle as the other celestial beings I'd met. It shouldn't have surprised me; a Hybrid that protected a man who worked for demons had to have been so far detached from his origins and core beliefs. I didn't dare attempt to let my mind linger on what he was capable of.
After tying both of our hands behind our backs, Donovan hit Ryan on the head with the butt of his gun, and after a short crack, Ryan fell limp. Isaac slipped a black cover over his head, and then tossed him into the back seat of the car. Ryan's head fell against the door on the other side.
“Don't!” I said, recoiling.
Isaac smiled, and then shoved the same black covering over my head, tenderly helping me to a spot next to Ryan.
“I don't tolerate violence against women,” Isaac said.
A part of me was relieved, but knowing they meant to kill me, I obsessed about the meaning behind Isaac's words for the entire trip to our destination.
Still blinded by the fabric over my face, I was pulled out of the car, and then escorted up a short flight of stairs. We paused for a moment, but quickly continued after the sound of a creaking door.
“More stairs,” Isaac said, patiently waiting for me to find my footing. Our footsteps echoed against a hardwood floor, and then I was seated.
The fabric was lifted from my face. Instinctively I gathered my surroundings. The room was large, and as my eyes scanned over the axes and swords that hung on the walls, absolute horror struck me.
“This is Shax's building,” I gasped.
“Yes,” Isaac said. “The last place you'll ever see.”
I swallowed, hard. Isaac's voice was so pleasant; almost maniacal. His soft tone, coupled with the absence of all humanity in his eyes, was beyond frightening.
“Nina?”
I rotated my neck to its limit to see Ryan sitting in a chair directly behind me, his back to mine. “Are you okay, buddy?” I said.
Blood saturated his hair line just above the temple. “Besides my head throbbing so hard my eyeball feels like it's going to pop out? Peachy.”
He squinted, obviously in pain.
“You didn't have to do that,” I growled at Donovan.
“That's the beauty of it,” Donovan smiled.
“Where's Shax?” I asked.
“Whoa, there, Cupcake. Don't be in such a hurry to die,” Donovan said, scribbling something on a notepad sitting on the desk. “He'll be here soon enough.”
Isaac stood before me, and then crouched just a few inches from my face. “I knew Jared as a child. Did he tell you that? I remember the way he spoke of you. Now that I see you,” he said, gently touching my cheek, “I can't fathom what he sees in you that is so special. You are such a plain little thing.”
“Ow!” I yelped, looking down.
Isaac dug his thumbnail into my wrist, and blood oozed from the half-moon-shaped gouge.
“Leave her alone!” Ryan said, jerking in his seat.
Isaac licked the crimson liquid from my arm. “I thought maybe it was something I couldn't see. Merovingian, and nothing to set you apart from the rest of them. Very disappointing.”
I lowered my chin and glared up at him. “Like you must be to your father. With all of your amazing talents and abilities, and you're a sell out — a sycophant for the other side.”
Isaac reared his hand and let it fly, back-handing me so hard I fell over onto my side, crashing to the floor in the chair I was tied to.
“You son-of-a-bitch!” Ryan screamed, wildly struggling to get free.
“So much for not tolerating violence,” I groaned.
“That was just a warning,” Isaac said, setting me upright. “I have less tolerance for disrespect.” He slowly leaned in, kissing my forehead.
“Let's go,” Donovan snapped. “They'll be here soon.”
Isaac nodded, and then they were gone.
“You okay?” Ryan said, scooting his chair until I was in his line of sight.
“I'm not going to lie. That hurt.”
Ryan leaned in, inspecting the bump quickly rising above my eyebrow. “Jared's going to be pissed.”
“I'm sure he already is.”
“They should be here by now. Something's wrong. Jared said if they weren't here within a few minutes, that I should get you out of here.”
I looked around. “We can't leave. There's a s
afe behind that desk, in the wall. The book is in there.”
“How do you know?”
Ryan's wrists and feet were tied to his chair like mine, and he pulled and twisted his arms, ineffectively attempting to escape.
“Jack told me. We have to get into that safe.”
Ryan raised an eyebrow. “Did Jack tell you how to do that if you're tied to a chair? Because I got nothing.”
I sighed. “Didn't the Special Forces teach you anything?”
Ryan smiled. “Yeah: Keep a knife with you at all times.” He wiggled his right leg. “In my boot.”
The chairs complained against the wood as we positioned ourselves so that I could reach the knife. After several minutes of grunting and groaning, I finally felt the handle.
“I think,” I grunted again, straining against the tight restraints, “I think I've got it!” I said, grasping the hard plastic between my fingers.
“Don't drop…it,” Ryan said too late, watching the knife fall from my fingers to the ground.
“Crap,” I huffed, blowing my bangs from my face.
“Okay,” Ryan said, taking a deep breath. He jerked to the side until his chair tipped over, and then maneuvered his body until his hand was within inches of the knife. “Nothing's ever easy when I'm around you, Grey.”
“Shut up,” I said, unamused.
“What the hell is going on in here?” Claire said. She stood in front of the half-open window sill, arms crossed, her hot pink duffel bag over her shoulder.
A wide grin erupted across Ryan's face. “Better late than never, Gorgeous.”
“Shut up,” Claire said.
“Wow, I'm getting it from every angle,” Ryan said, letting his entire body relax and fall against the floor in protest.
“Where's Jared?” I asked.
“Behind me. We don't have much time,” Claire explained, tearing the cloth around my wrists and feet with a flick of her finger.
“I'm on the floor, bleeding, and you save her first? I'm hurt,” Ryan said to Claire.
Claire freed him, and then lifted Ryan to his feet. She pushed back his head to inspect his wound, overly rough. “You'll live.”
Ryan winced. “Thanks, Honey, I love you, too.”
I walked over to the window, searching through the dark for Jared. “I thought you said he was behind you.”
Claire chomped on the large wad of gum in her mouth. “He had to calm down. When he sees that knot on your head and that hand print on your cheek, he's going to freak out all over again. Back up.”
I took a step back, and Bex appeared in the window, barely making an effort as he pulled himself through. “You smell like beer,” he grimaced.
“Nice to see you, too,” I frowned.
“Where's the safe?” Bex asked.
“Where is Jared?” I said with an impatient tone.
“Right here, Baby,” Jared said, crawling into the window behind Bex. “I'm right here.” I didn't wait for him to crawl all the way into the room before I grabbed him. After a few awkward maneuvers to stand while encapsulated in my arms, he kissed my forehead, and then inspected the remnants of my brush with Isaac. His jaws fluttered under his skin. “I'm going to enjoy killing him.”
“The safe!” Bex said, intent.
“Behind the desk,” I said, pulling Jared with me. “It's there,” I pointed.
“But,” Claire said, bending down to touch the wall. “It's just wall.”
Bex twitched, and then closed his eyes. “They're coming.”
Claire ran her hands over the drab paint. “I don't feel anything.” She knocked. “It doesn't sound like anything's back there.”
“Are you sure? Maybe we're in the wrong room?” Ryan said.
I looked around, seeing the same paintings on the wall. “No, I'm sure. I've seen this a million times; the safe is right there.”
Bex looked to Jared. “We have two minutes.”
Jared sighed. “Claire? Move.”
Claire obeyed, and Jared rammed the wall with his fist, pulling back broken sheet rock. Claire helped him, and within seconds, the entire panel was open, revealing the safe, three feet inside the wall.
Thousands of dust motes flurried in the air.
“That explains why you always saw them waist-deep in the wall,” Jared said.
Claire held up her hand. “Quiet.” She leaned her ear close to the safe, and then moved the dial back and forth, nodding intermittently. Within moments, the safe clicked open. Claire seemed stunned. “That was too easy. It's rigged with explosives or something.”
Jared shook his head. “I don't smell anything, do you?”
“No,” she said.
“Shax is notoriously pretentious, Claire,” Jared said. “I'm not surprised.”
She stood. “This whole thing is too easy. They take our bait, sit Ryan and Nina in the room with the safe, knowing we would come after them…and then leave?”
Bex pulled out the book. “Got it!”
“Make sure it's the real thing,” I said.
Bex flipped through the pages. “It's real, all right.”
Jared grabbed my hand. “They left because Shax is bringing his legions to end us, Claire. They wanted us to come here and give them a reason to take us all out. Heaven can't step in if we provoke them.”
Bex took a few steps toward the door, his head jerking in every direction. “Legions is right. I think the whole of Hell is coming. We should get them out. Now.”
“The roof!” I said. “They always used the roof!”
“Who did?” Ryan asked.
“We don’t want to repeat what Jack and Gabe did, Nina. That leads to the same end,” Claire said, looking out the window, planning an escape.
“Maybe not,” Jared said, looking up. “Maybe she had the dreams to show us how to get out.”
“Fine,” Claire said, grabbing the book from Bex.
Screeching from below echoed throughout the halls, turning my blood cold.
Ryan’s eyes darted in every direction. “Is that…?”
“Yes. Let’s go,” Claire said, shoving the book into her hot pink duffel bag. “Bex?”
Bex nodded, running across the room and diving out the window.
Ryan’s expression was a mixture of disgust and alarm. “It sounds like a dying animal…a thousand dying animals.”
Claire pulled her sidearm from its holster. “You should hear one when you send it back to Hell.” She gestured to me, “Show us the way, Nina.”
The howls and screams of Shax’s minions grew louder. Jared turned to me, cupping his hands on each side of my face.
“This is it, isn't it?” I said.
Jared looked deep into my eyes, as if he wanted to pass the truth through them instead of just saying the words. But he said them, anyway. “I won't let them touch you.”
“I'm afraid,” I said, shaking. The fear was so intense I felt powerless to control my own body. As the screeching grew closer, it became a physical effort to avoid slipping into a flew blown panic. I looked to Ryan, then. “Remember what we talked about.”
Ryan nodded once. “I remember.”
I grabbed Jared’s hand and we fled, climbing the staircase, and then sprinting down the hall.
“This way!” I yelled. I stopped in front of a closed door at the end of the hallway. It was pointless to whisper, with the deafening shrieking of the demonic filling the air. I pulled on the knob, but it was locked. Jared moved me aside, and then landed a lethal blow with his foot. The door swung open, and hit the concrete wall, wooden pieces splintering and then falling to the ground.
“Come on,” he said, pulling me up the crumbling staircase.
On the roof, the wind mercilessly whipped all around us, and the night sky crowded even the brightest lights below.
Jared ran to the edge. “Which building?”
I lifted my chin in the right direction. “That one.”
Ryan frowned at Claire, unsure. “You’re going to jump the length of a football
field?”
She smiled. “Yes. And you're coming with me.”
Ryan shook his head. “I’ll take the fire escape.”
I grabbed his coat, and then pushed him into Claire’s arms. “Thousands of those things are going to swarm this roof in about seven seconds. You won’t make it to the landing.”
Jared wrapped his arms around my waist, and then took three long strides, grunting when he leaped from the edge. My fingers locked around his neck. I didn’t dare look down, afraid the second I realized we were doing something impossible, his powers would fade, and we would fall five stories to the ground.
He made the same grunting noise to land as he did when we departed, but the landing was not as rough as I had anticipated.
I could hear Ryan’s yells somewhere between our building and Shax's. His voice grew louder as they approached, and when Claire's feet hit the ground just ten feet away, she let him go.
He fell to the ground, rolling onto his back. “Let’s never…ever do that again,” Ryan puffed.
Claire grabbed his hand and yanked him to his feet. “Don’t be a baby,” she grinned, pulling him to the roof access.
After two flights of stairs my lungs begged for air, but the adrenaline surging through my body made my legs feel they could go on forever.
Jared stopped, looked above us, and not a second later, a loud crash sounded on the roof, followed by the sounds only demons on the hunt could make.
“We’re not going to make it,” Jared said, looking to me, and then to Claire. “Take Nina and Ryan out.”
“No!” I said, gripping his arm.
“There are too many, Jared!” Claire said. “Half of them will slip past you.”
They both looked to Ryan, and then Jared grabbed Ryan’s coat with both fists. “Get Nina out of here. Get her to the alley.” Ryan looked at Claire, and Jared jerked him again, demanding his full attention. “Get Nina out! We’ll hold them off.”
Jared pushed Ryan back, pulling two Glocks from their holsters. Claire threw the duffel bag to me. “Make sure he doesn’t get himself killed, all right?”
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