In a bright flash, she glimpsed her first ever, empathic-induced vision. Half-blinded by intense light, she was trapped in a vortex of silver feathers, the long stretch of wings imprisoning her on both sides while they bludgeoned her body, flapping hard enough to take flight.
“Let go, Pruddy.”
She lolled into semi-consciousness at Dad’s rough command. Cuffed at the wrist in one of his enormous hands, he tried to pry the fabric out of her fingers with the other. Fully awake, she let go and then skittered back across the floor on her butt.
“You all right?” He tossed the cocoon onto the work table and then reached down to help her get up.
“I’m fine.” Mouth dry, she nodded, letting him guide her to her feet. “But—I had my first vision.”
“Figured that one out. What’d ya see?” As always, his voice remained steady, if a little sarcastic.
“Not much. Mostly light and wings, but it’s what I felt.” She splayed a hand over her heart. “So much distress. But I’m not sure from who or why. Considering the unbroken seal, I think we need an expert on ancient—”
“No. No one else. That’s the one hard and fast rule about Watchers. You can’t tell anyone—or else.”
“Or else what? Or else they leave?”
“More I’m pretty sure. And after seeing what happens when you touch the cloth, I don’t want to know what more is. You damn near broke the wax binding. Luckily, I caught it before it hit the floor.” His right hand had turned up while he spoke, revealing a stripe of burnt skin sizzled to near black.
She gasped, seeing his charred flesh. “What on earth? Did the seal do that to you?”
“No. That did.” He pointed to the far side of his workbench. “Found it on the floor under the cloth. Picked it up for a second and wound up with this nice tattoo. I threw it there. Hurts like a—” Dad censured his curse for a change.
As her eyes rested upon the innocuous circle, it glowed bright and began to pulse. “His halo,” she whispered, approaching the hallowed ring.
The desire to touch it, to hold it in the palm of her hand almost consumed her thoughts, but the residual zap from the cloth kept her in check.
“That’s what makes me most concerned. No angel takes off his halo. It’s not a fucking hat. It’s part of his supernatural being. Someone or something removed it. Forcibly. Not saying he couldn’t have done it himself, but that begs the bigger question.”
“Why?” she finished for him. “Maybe it’s not his halo. Or not a real one. Maybe it’s something left here as part of a protection.”
“That’s a lot of supposition. And we’ve no way to find out the truth. It’s not like we can ask him.” Dad’s gaze flitted to the window again.
“If we can’t tell anyone, how are we going to figure this out?”
“We’re not. I will. I’m going to watch the Watcher. See what he does while I research the insignia on the seal.” He held her by the shoulders. “And you’re going to keep your pie-hole shut. Don’t say a word. That includes your partner.”
“But Jesse’s an angel expert. He could—”
“No.” He shook his head emphatically. “We don’t know how much the Watcher can see or hear. It’s not worth the risk. At least not right now.”
As much as Prudence hated secrets, Dad was right. Until he knew more, she’d have to keep quiet. Reluctantly, she nodded her agreement, and he let go of her shoulders.
“There’s something else.” He stepped back and bent low to grab a rag from a plastic bin beneath the bench. “I guess I should have told you a long time ago. Your mom, too.” His lips thinned, and he walked past her. “Maybe all this wouldn’t be happening.”
Without finishing his thought, he snapped the rag out and let it drop over the raging Halo. The pulsing immediately stopped.
“All what?” She approached his turned back and gingerly touched his shoulder. “Tell me. Please.”
Hesitantly, he rotated to face her, every worry line in his face etched deep. “I moved to the council because as my visions became stronger, I lost my field abilities. Now the visions are gone, too. All except for one—one that keeps repeating. Lately, I see it almost every day. The details are sketchy, but—I,” his ragged voice hitched. “I lose you to Hell. Forever. When I wake up, my heart has a hole where you used to be.”
She’d always thought understanding his motives for holding her back would make her feel better. It didn’t.
“I believe the appearance of this Watcher is the beginning of my premonition. And I’m scared shitless.” He pulled her close and planted a kiss on her forehead. “I'd do anything to keep you safe,” he said against her skin before pulling back. “Please help me do that. Leave fieldwork. Cut Jesse loose. I promise I’ll get him a new partner.”
She’d never heard this pleading tone of his voice before. Never seen such desperation in his eyes. Without turning her gift on him, she knew the details weren’t all that sketchy. There was something he wasn’t telling her.
Before she could accuse him of omission, her cell phone buzzed.
Instinctively, she fished it out of the front pocket of her hoodie. The picture she’d taken of Jesse after their first mission lit the screen, and her raw attraction to him fired up hot like she hadn’t spent the last few hours trying to forget his hands on her body or his lips pressed to hers.
“His ears must’ve been burning,” Dad quipped, having glanced down at the screen. “Go on take it,” he said like he expected her to dump Jesse while he listened.
“I’ll be right back.” She jogged out of the open bay, relieved to be standing in the outside. No doubt Jesse was calling to talk about last night. And she wasn’t ready. Especially not over the phone.
And that’s exactly what she’d tell him. She leaned her behind against the hood of her car and connected the call.
“Where are you?” he blurted before she said hello.
“The farm. Listen—” She took a deep breath, unsure whether to state her peace up front or wait. She didn’t need to consider.
“We've got a bead on Ellie. Good enough to follow, but we gotta be fast. You in?”
All the butterflies in her stomach swooped. She should have known Jesse could be counted on to keep promises.
“Of course I’m in,” she said, mind on the Watcher swooping the perimeter of the farm. “How did you find—”
She heard a feminine voice call to Jesse in the distance and a motor revved from his side of the call, cutting her off. Did he intentionally hit the gas on his bike?
The engine settled to a chug, and he shouted into the phone. “Need to sleep. Been up all night. Be ready by nine.” The line went dead.
Abrupt and all business, he left no room for her to ask the details on how he’d located the stolen soul. Or offer any apology for kissing her senseless and then running off with Connie. By the sounds of it, he’d spent the entire night with Councilman Larkin.
The ache she’d forgotten for all of half an hour returned with a vengeance. And ignited a suspicion bent on driving a wedge between her and her partner.
Someone inside Hell Runners had tampered with their orders.
Someone guided by intense visions of Hell, like an oracle.
Someone with access to the chancellor—who was above suspicion.
Someone who could actually make Jesse Thorne jump when she called.
Tears stung her eyes, but she pinched them off. Mom was right. Time to stop leading with her heart.
“Pruddy?” Dad called from the entrance to the barn, his face expectant.
She was going to disappoint him. Worry him. But he’d have to tough it out. The appearance of the Watcher had only served to strengthen her commitment.
Because of him, Jesse found Ellie.
Because of him, she’d realized Connie was the traitor.
Because of their vows to defend the unfortunate, the misguided, the lost—the Guardian Angel came to help.
Prudence was the only one who could see thin
gs clearly, and she wasn’t about to let another Hell Runner go down the wrong path. Maybe she couldn’t disclose the Watcher’s presence to her partner, but she sure as hell could out Connie.
And she’d do anything to save Jesse’s soul.
Even if he never kissed her again.
Even if he hated her for the rest of her life.
Chapter Fourteen
Jesse concentrated, and with less effort than the day before, located Hell’s glowing trail, invisible to any eye but his own. It was a wonder his gifts worked. He couldn’t remember ever being as tense or anxious as he was at this moment.
All because he’d been reckless.
After a lengthy discussion with Connie, he’d conceded avoidance, not confrontation, would put things right with his partner. Prudence was upset herself, and if he didn’t broach the subject of their kiss, neither would she.
But from the moment she climbed onto the back of his bike and pressed against him, he could do nothing but think about finishing what he’d started. Especially when he’d do it again in a heartbeat, if not for the burn.
She walked beside him now, keeping her sights fixed ahead and speaking only when necessary. Her quiet reserve bothered him the most. Certainly, hypervigilance was in order. They’d chosen to run a clandestine mission that would take them deeper into Hell than anyone had traveled in fifty years. But the partner he knew talked as an emotional outlet, and as much as it used to annoy him, he missed her chatter.
“If you’ve got any doubts, now would be the time to tell me,” he said, meaning it as much as wanting to hear her voice.
“I got tons of doubts, but I’m not turning back if that’s what you’re asking.”
Prudence had doubts?
“If you waver at all—”
She shot him a searing glare. “I’m not wavering. I’m surprised a man as smart as you doesn’t have doubts of his own.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means we need to finish this and get back the same time as always or else we’ll activate the sensors outside the Gate. We can’t afford to get caught. How would we explain being out? Shit, we’re not even on tonight’s docket.”
She’d made a good point, but it didn’t answer his question.
“Got it covered. Cameron and Lieberman are trying their first doubleheader. They’ve cleared a late night, so we’ve two hours extra on the clock and Connie’s finagling the cameras again.”
“Lucky happenstance or did you goad Lieberman?”
“I’m lucky—Lieberman’s a competitive asshole. I bet use of my bike for a week they wouldn’t get back in time to run a second mission before sunup.”
“Shit, Jesse.” She actually looked upset and finally sounded more like herself. “He’s a terror on four wheels let alone two. He’ll probably wreck it.”
“He won’t get a chance to wreck it. Cameron’s got a bum knee thanks to an unforgiving basketball court. No way they’ll make two runs tonight.”
“You responsible for the bum knee, too?”
“Would you think less of me if I said yes?”
“Hmmm. Not sure what would make me think less of you.” Her mouth pinched in the corner as if considering.
“That a compliment or an insult?” He wasn’t sure if she was kidding or shooting a poorly cloaked barb.
“Chill, Thorne. Neither.” But he noticed she quickly changed the subject. “How close are we to the fissure, by the way? We’ve walked so long, we must be almost to Paris. Always wanted to go there, but not on foot.”
“We’ve only been out here twenty minutes,” he said and then muttered under his breath. “It just seems longer.” He pointed across the street. “Fortunately, we’re here. Do you see the silvery disk?”
“You mean the puddle?”
“Yep. That’s the fissure.”
They stepped off the sidewalk, and a high-pitched curse peeled from the ramshackle building directly in front of them. Jesse looked up, and a soda bottle sailed out the jagged-edged hole of a window. He ducked and turned, covering his partner his only thought.
Prudence had retreated to avoid the sudden projectile. In nothing flat, another enormous glass bottle rocketed from overhead, shattering on the street between them. She cringed and hopped sideways to avoid the popping shards.
“Shield your eyes,” he hollered, dashing around the broken glass toward her. “Looks like the fissure’s being guarded.” Something else crashed onto the pavement behind him, and he hunched over her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
Her chin grazed his chest as she raised her face to look up at him with those big liquid eyes. “Is this the only way to Ellie?”
“’Fraid so.” Jesse glanced right to left, spying a dumpster at the far end of the sidewalk. “’Come on. I’ve got an idea.”
Arm clenching her shoulders, he jogged her toward the dumpster.
Safe from the rain of breakable trash, she crouched in the shadow of the old green receptacle and panted. “I hope your idea doesn’t include getting in this thing.”
He gave the trash bin a nudge with his shoulder. It moved easily on its wheels. “Don’t worry, Princess. It doesn’t.” With a grunt, he heaved the lid up, and it flung back until it rested on its spring-loaded hinges, opening the dumpster and suspending the lid at a forty-five-degree angle over the street. “Perfect. Now, help me push.”
Strategically, they positioned the dumpster adjacent to the sidewalk, the open lid creating a protective roof over the fissure. They ducked under and stood face to face with the toes of their shoes over the edge of the mercury-smooth surface.
“Is it like”—Prudence swallowed hard— “the office elevator?”
He’d forgotten how much she hated the sensation of free fall. The tips of her teeth tugged at the corner of her luscious mouth, and he wished he could kiss her fear away. The best he could do was tell her the truth.
“Exactly. Only longer.”
A series of thumps rained down on the open lid, and she flinched. “After you. I don’t want one hundred and ninety pounds of Hell Runner landing on me.”
Lame reasoning. He didn’t have time to baby her apprehension. “I don’t trust you not to follow.” One-handed, he grasped her by the waistband of her jeans and hauled her across the puddle.
“No! Don’t throw me.” Instinctively, she flung her arms around his neck, and one leg crooked around the back of his knee. Faces mere inches apart, her short, scared breaths feathered over his cheek, and her lips parted. The temptation to crush her mouth with his was almost too powerful to overcome.
“Christ. I’m not going to throw you.” Wrapping both arms around her waist, he felt twin pebbles poke into the front of his shirt and the slight tremble ripple through her body. He liked knowing he affected her as much as she did him.
“We’re in this together,” he rasped into her ear. “Don’t ever doubt that.” Without a word of warning, he slipped off the edge and let the inevitable fall engulf them.
»»•««
With a smile wide enough to make Jesse suspicious, Niall waved them into the barn. Prudence scooted inside ahead of him, and with a heavy whoosh of air, Niall shut the door behind them.
“What’s with the shit-eating grin?” he asked the shade.
“What we’re doing reminds me of my old life. I rather like it,” he said, motioning them to a middle horse stall. “This way. We’ll drop into the Third Ring and—”
“More dropping?” Prudence moaned.
“Fuck,” Jesse said under his breath. Not the Third Ring. Not on the heels of last night.
Hearing his oath, her head whipped in his direction. “You didn’t have to hold me. I don’t like falling, but I would have followed.”
“That wasn’t why I cursed.” But in a way, it was. He could still feel her face snuggling into the crook of his neck and the sweet shift of her hips against his belly as they slid through nothingness. All that delicious connection was about to bite him in the ass. “Are you sure
it’s the third ring?” he asked the shade.
“Of course I am.”
“Then why didn’t you say so last night?”
“Because you might not have brought Prudence and you need her.”
“Wait.” She popped him on the bicep. “What do you know I don’t? Why wouldn’t you have brought me?”
He sighed hard through his nose. There’d be no avoiding the one conversation he’d tiptoed around all night. “The Passion Pit. It’s in the third ring.”
“So?” She shrugged and shook her head, and then her eyes widened, and a flush spread behind the smattering of freckles on her cheeks.
“You should stay right here.” He pointed to the hay-strewn floor. “Niall and I will get Ellie, and then we’ll come back for you.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You think I can’t handle a little debauchery because we shared one impulsive, stupid kiss?” She crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re more conceited than I thought.”
“Conceited?”
“You kissed Prudence?” The shade’s grin faded.
“He did. And I admit, I encouraged it. But then he gave me the shove off. Right before his girlfriend caught us.” She pointed a finger at Jesse and shook her head. “If I’d have known you were with Connie, I wouldn’t have—”
“I’m not with Connie.”
“Don’t cover up with some bullshit story. She snapped her fingers, and you jumped.”
He should have been glad Prudence didn’t know the real reason for Connie’s appearance, but her rationale infuriated him all the same.
“I don’t jump for any woman. Never have. Never will. Last night was strictly work.”
“Including when you groped my ass?”
“How far did this go?” Niall asked, attempting to bully into their conversation.
“Stop being pissy and listen. I’ve never two-timed anyone, and I resent the insinuation. It’s not what you think with Connie.”
“Oh. Come. On. Be a man and admit to your mistake. I get it. She’s drool-worthy and totally—”
Rule Breakers, Soul Takers (Hell Runners Book 1) Page 16
