“You made it. I would have bet Moscow that you wouldn’t have,” the man named Gerald said.
I leaned my head against the floor, sweat pouring off me from the exertion, when I heard another enter the room, and I looked up to see it was Caden.
He looked at me on the floor, and I could see him about to blow a casket.
“What the hell did you do?” he screamed at the group.
They all shook their heads and pointed at Jack.
“You are a bastard! She wasn’t ready!”
“She made it so apparently she was. She went willingly, I didn’t force her.”
He looked at me. “I did,” I said in the smallest voice possible because I felt like a complete nitwit.
“You dumb idiot! I should leave you here with them if you’re going to do such stupid things.”
I didn’t actually fear that because he was picking me up as he said this. He was carrying me out the door when Jack yelled, “She’s only on loan.”
“Fuck you,” Caden yelled back.
“What does he mean? I’m on loan?”
He stepped briskly and we were outside. Then just as quickly, we were inside the hazy layers again. I was afraid to speak until we got back out. After what had just happened, I was worried about any kind of fog entering me. I felt like I used to when I was a kid when my brother and me would hold our breath as we drove past a cemetery so the spirits couldn’t get us. I now felt that fear might have been completely valid.
We quickly came out, and I recognized the alley behind the bar instantly.
“Well? What did he mean? Did you know who those people were?”
“Yes, I know them. And they aren’t people.”
“You know who Jack is?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I wasn’t sure if that was who had visited you at first. I never saw him. I only had your vague description.”
“But what about after I told you his name?”
“I didn’t think it made a difference.”
“Who is he and why is he saying I’m on loan?”
“He’s a full blooded demon. He thinks he owns everyone. All the people in that room were demons. Why did you go with him when you didn’t even know what he was?”
“I don’t know. It was a spur of the moment decision. I thought he could help me find Mike.” It had been a spur of the moment choice, but I wasn’t going to explain my entire reasoning. It seemed excessively dumb in retrospect. I wanted to make my own decisions, but that didn’t mean that I had to make stupid ones.
“He helps no one but himself. Don’t ever do that again. And I already told you, I’m going to find Mike. You almost got yourself killed.”
“I figured that out on my own, thank you.”
“And you’re a wreck.”
That one hurt. He looked perfect no matter what he was doing. He actually looked better when he was working out and sweaty.
“Where was I?”
“The house is a hangout for demons and all sorts of supernatural creatures.”
“I know there are demons and vampires but there are more?”
“Yes, and anybody who is as clueless as you shouldn’t be so quick to run off to hang out with them.”
“Back to what he was saying about me being on loan, do you think he is going to want me to go back there with him?”
“It doesn’t matter what he wants. He can’t take you from my place unless you want to go willingly, which I had never anticipated being a problem.” The sarcasm was dripping with that last comment. “You aren’t to go anywhere without me. Once you are out of my building all bets are off.”
“Fine, but then you have to start taking me with you when you go wherever it is you go because I can’t sit there another day.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No,” he said almost at a shout, thinking that would subdue me. He thought wrong.
“Then I’m going to have to handle my business alone I guess.” I was completely bluffing. I’d just barely made it out alive this last time, but the thought of sitting on my hands for another month was making me desperate.
He was dead silent for a few minutes.
“Fine!” He was fuming at the capitulation I’d forced, but I was so happy I didn’t care. I just smiled up at him, and I would’ve sworn it made him even more pissed off. I had to giggle at that and he practically threw me on the couch in the apartment and stormed out.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“I’m going to go look for Mike tonight. Are you coming?”
I looked up from rereading Stephen King’s, “The Stand” to see Caden hovering over me, looking especially handsome, even if not exactly happy. I had started to doubt that he was going to honor our deal because it had been two days. I’d been, not so secretly, monitoring his every move, and if he had gone anywhere other than down the street for a coffee I was going out, even if it was stupid. I didn’t care. We had a deal.
I nodded my head yes. Of course I was coming. He knew I was stalking his every move. Did he, even for a second, think I’d say no?
“Be ready in an hour.” He walked away none too happy. He was obviously not thrilled with the new arrangement, but I didn’t care. I was getting out of here and helping get Mike out of whatever mess I’d gotten him into.
Exactly one hour later, I was sitting in the living room ready to go.
“Are the guys coming too?” I said to Caden as he walked into the room, right on time.
“No, we don’t need them.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me along after him.
“Wouldn’t it be helpful though?”
“All I need is a location which I have.”
We got outside and the Hummer was waiting for us. “Where do all these cars come from? I never see them parked in the lot?”
“See that building over there?” He pointed to a five story building diagonally across the street. “That’s where I store them.”
“What else is in there? It can’t just be your garage.”
“Offices, storage. Your apartment furniture is in there too, as well as your Mini Cooper.”
“It is? When did that happen? Why didn’t you tell me?” I felt relieved and annoyed all at once.
“I just did. I had a crew go clean out your place. They stored everything that was salvageable.”
“Do you know how high handed you are?” I asked annoyed.
“Do you realize how much you talk?” he retorted.
“Being talkative is better than being bossy. You can’t just make decisions like that for people. That was my place.”
“That you can’t go back to anyway. You should be thanking me for fixing a problem.”
“I understand that you thought you were helping, but you can’t make my decisions for me. My landlord is going to think I’m moving out and not telling him.”
“I told him already.”
“You told him that? You called my landlord?”
“I already knew him, so I just gave him a call and asked him to terminate your lease.”
“Where am I going to go? Do you know how hard it is to get an apartment in this city?” I put my face in my hands. I didn’t even have a home anymore. Every time I thought it couldn’t get worse, it did.
“Why would you go? You’re one of us. There isn’t a reason to leave. There are empty apartments in my building. I can renovate one of the floors for you.”
I fell silent. I thought he had been arguing because he had wanted me to stay with him at his apartment, not on a separate floor because I was one of them. I had resented the control he had taken, but that had been tempered by the fact that I thought he had wanted me to stay with him. Now it was just plain old controlling. I was just another one of his little pack. I don’t think so, being part of his pack was far from my goal in life.
“I’ll stay for now, but I’m not living with you guys forever.” I wasn’t arguing anymore.
“Did I say
something wrong?” the insensitive jerk asked, clueless to my feelings.
I stared out the window of the Hummer watching the city at night and wished could be a little less transparent just once in my life.
“I don’t like my decisions being taken over.” I’d bite my cheek bloody if that was what it took to not tell him how he made me feel. “Where are we going anyway?”
“They own an empty warehouse about twenty minutes outside the city in the projects. I picked up some activity on the satellite.”
“You have a satellite that can do that? I thought only governments had those?”
“No, I don’t, and yes, they do,” he said casually.
“How do you get to use it? Do you know someone?”
“Contrary to popular belief, not all knowledge is good. There are some things you really shouldn’t know.”
I sat back and decided not to push the issue. After this all got resolved one day, I didn’t want some crazy Jason Bourne, CIA type lunatic coming after me for knowing.
We pulled up and parked the Hummer in an abandoned alleyway. This place was definitely wasn’t what I thought of when I was longing to get out of the confines of the bar. I edged a little closer to him.
A group of men stepped out of one of the doors of the empty building across from where we had parked. There were five of them approaching, and they slowly began circling us. I was scared out of my wits, but Caden was as casual as ever. He had that weird black out trick, so I knew he’d get us out of here, but I was far from my normal comfort level. Come to think of it, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had any type of comfort level lately. My life had become nothing but varying levels of discomfort.
I grabbed onto his arm making sure he didn’t forget me. He looked down where I had a death grip and shook his head.
“You really think I’d leave you?”
“What if you got distracted?” He sighed loudly and just shook his head again.
“Can I help you gentlemen?” He asked calm as could be. He was so unfazed that I couldn’t help but feel a bit reassured.
“Nah, you can’t, but the cute here looks like she could,” what I guessed was the group leader said. His guys all snickered. They eyed me up as if I was a nice side of beef and as quick as that, whatever calmness I had fleetingly felt, slipped away.
“No, I don’t think she can. This is my vehicle. I would appreciate it if you would look after it while I’m gone.”
The group laughed at him. If I was a man, I wouldn’t ever want to go against a man like Caden, but I guess outnumbering us five to one, they thought their odds were good. They circled in closer, and I saw one to my side eyeing me in a way that made my skin crawl.
The leader made a move in and before he could even touch Caden, he went flying ten feet back slamming into the cement wall. Then a ring of fire was encircling us. It grew wider and wider as it drove back the other men. And, that wasn’t the scary part. I looked at Caden, knowing he was causing this, and his eyes were glowing red. I let go of his arm and stumbled back from him landing on the ground still within the circle of flame. The men started crying. Begging nobody in general for forgiveness as they ran down the alley away from us. One of them stopped to help their leader, who looked like he might have peed himself, and half dragged him with them.
The flames encircling us slowly lowered until nothing but a charred circle on the ground remained. Nervously, I looked back at Caden’s face hoping that his eyes weren’t still glowing. They were back to his handsome silver grey shade.
“Is this what I’m going to become?” I didn’t need to explain further.
“No.”
“But you don’t know?”
“No, I don’t, but you won’t.”
“Why?”
“I’ll explain some other time. Let’s just go find Mike.”
I pushed the red glowing eyes from my mind. This was Caden. He had been the one constant for me through this. He’d pulled me out of danger time and again. If he had a couple little idiosyncrasies, well, who didn’t? It’s not like he was a women beater or something. It wasn’t his fault he had freaky glowing eyes. He was what he was, and I was going to accept him as that.
He held my hand as we walked. It was completely out of character, and I couldn’t help but think it was only because I must have looked completely appalled by the whole show. He was probably afraid I’d bolt. I guess he didn’t read me that well. If I was going to bolt, I’d definitely wait until we got to a better neighborhood. No way I would bolt here. The demon you know is better than the thug you don’t and all that.
“This is it,” he said.
I looked up at the large warehouse with its broken windows and partial sign hanging crookedly. The only thing left on it was some green letters reading FLE with a DY hanging sideways at the end.
“Stay close.”
“Duh.” Wow, that was obnoxious, but I just couldn’t help myself.
“I would have thought you would know better than to have gone off with Jack. So now I’m just going to make everything explicitly clear.”
“You’re not going to let that one go, are you?”
“It’s going to be tough. It was pretty stupid.”
The most irritating thing about it was, he was right. I couldn’t think of an argument. All I could do is daydream about catching him doing something stupid. It would happen eventually, and I would beat him to death with it.
We walked in the place, and I accidentally kicked an empty box that read, “Fleming’s Candy” only two steps in the door. He turned, and I could see his face by the streetlights that were flooding in through the broken windows.
“Must you be so loud?”
“I didn’t do it on purpose. Not everyone is freakishly quiet.”
“How could someone so small be so frigging loud?”
“Just go!”
“Shhhh…. if they hear us and take him somewhere else, it could be another couple weeks until I find the new place again.”
I refrained from arguing this time. I wanted no part in screwing up a possible rescue. We were both anxious, afraid to hope Mike was going to be here somewhere although the place looked abandoned.
He continued forward, pulling me in tow behind him. We crossed the large open first floor that had to be at least ten thousand square feet to stairs in the corner. They only went up. I sighed in relief, finally not a basement. It only took how many creepy buildings? At least now, I could envision getting pushed to my death, instead of rotting away with rats eating me. Being thrown to your death seemed a decent way to go. Not as good as a heart attack in your sleep, but it ranked much higher than drowning.
We reached the fifth floor, and he put his hand up motioning for me to stop. He leaned forward, and I couldn’t see past his broad shoulders, so I poked him in the side and motioned to ask what was going on? He pulled me forward slightly and I saw Mike, crumpled in a heap on a dirty floor. He didn’t look conscious. My protective instincts kicked in immediately, and I went to rush into the room, but Caden wrapped his arm around me and pulled me back against him. He pointed to the other side of the room where three brutish looking men were sitting at a collapsible card table.
“Stay here. I’ll handle the three.”
I was watching Mike, who could be on the brink of death, but being pulled up against Caden, with him whispering in my ear sent goose bumps down my arm. I was instantly aroused. It was the most inopportune time possible. He instantly tensed and I knew he knew he was affecting me. I was watching my friend who was hurt and lying injured. What type of deranged sex crazed animal was I?
He pulled me slightly closer. “Wait here,” he said and then moved me to the side as he went into the room.
I watched as he strolled into the room like he owned it. The three men stood and all moved on him at once, and they were just as quickly laid out on the floor. I couldn’t even say for sure what had happened, he had moved so quickly. One second they were lunging for him, then it was a blur
of movement and they were scattered at his feet. He turned to wave me in, as he walked over to Mike and kneeled to check his vital signs.
“Is he okay?” I asked kneeling next to him and feeling Mike’s wrist. I couldn’t feel a pulse myself, but his body was warm and he was breathing still.
“He’s fine. Only drugged. It’s very hard to do permanent damage to a Drauth.”
Caden threw Mike, who had to weigh at least two hundred pounds, over his shoulder as if he was tossing a sack of potatoes. I followed him down to the Hummer, which sat untouched and pristine, waiting. He laid him down in the back seat, and I jumped in the back with Mike, not wanting to leave his side while he was so vulnerable.
“Now, why aren’t I going to get red glow eyes?” I asked from the back seat. I couldn’t drop it.
“You won’t. Leave it at that?”
“Can you tell me why we should leave it alone?”
“Certain things you’re better off-”
“Not knowing, yeah, yeah, yeah. That seems to apply to an awful lot.”
“According to our earlier discussion, you might not be sticking around very long. Am I really supposed to lay out my every secret for you to peruse?”
“If I’m going to be like you, why’s it such a secret?”
“I don’t owe you explanations. I’ve taken you in, watched your back, and pulled you out of some real shitty situations. Some of which you brought on yourself. As far as I see it, you owe me.”
“You’re only protecting me because you don’t want them to get me. You didn’t do this for me.”
“I’ve saved your ass time and again. It doesn’t matter why. You owe me.”
“I owe you nothing. As far as I’m concerned you owe me for not having their little mean babies,” I tried to speak softly as I rested Mike’s head on my lap.
“If you did that it would make us enemies. You don’t want to be my enemy.”
Obsidian Souls (Soul Series) Page 16
