IT’S TIME.
Time to fuck Luc’s world up. Sweat rolls down my chest under my T-shirt, and I briefly remember back to a time when Alpha and I first came down here together. The heat was omnipresent and we were both way out of our league. It was also a time when Corson almost got his head bashed into the fucking table.
And now, as I descend in the elevator, I can’t help but wish that my best friend were here with me again, partnering with me to face the evils of the world together. Instead, I sent him home. Back to Lark and Alysson. Where he belongs.
This task is dangerous, and I wouldn’t ever ask him to risk what he has for me. I could tell he wanted to argue. He wanted to help, but he’s no longer a Minder training to be a Seraph Guardian.
He’s human.
And fucking fragile as hell.
I shove my hand into my pocket and produce the flash drive. This tiny drive is the key to a better future. So much can be accomplished, and it relies on me.
I’ll be successful for her. Love.
When I reach the basement, I’m nearly suffocated by the sweltering heat. I’m already debating peeling off my shirt and I’ve barely made it out of the elevator. My eyes skim over the other doors in the hallway, and I force away a tremble. One is the server room, but the other is the abysmal horror closet. Stalking past both, I make my way toward Luc’s lair.
Once I’m there, I groan in frustration.
The keypad on his door is one I never paid much attention to—until now. Before, I had no desires to come back here uninvited. However, now, I need to get inside. Once I’ve taken a couple of steps back, I turn to my side and charge forcefully toward the door. The moment my shoulder connects with the solid door, I wince in pain, but the door hardly rattles.
“This is fucking ridiculous,” I grumble.
A door clicks shut somewhere in the hallway, and I spin around to face whomever is witnessing my attempted break-in. When I see Gabe and not Luc or Corson, I sigh in relief.
“What are you doing?” he hisses as he stalks over to me.
“Something that needs to be done.”
He glowers at me. “You can’t go in there. Why would you want to go into his office?”
“You wouldn’t understand,” I shake my head at him. “All you people here are demented, and I don’t fucking belong here. I’m doing something good—something right, Gabe. I’m asking you, friend to friend, to back the fuck off. This doesn’t involve you.”
“Omega.”
“Yeah?” I stiffen, preparing myself to knock his ass out if need be.
“I’m sorry, but I have to do this.” The moment his hand grasps my bicep, I’m catapulted into my past.
The graduation ceremony earlier should have been a joyous occasion.
You’d think I’d be happy to get my ass out of this town, but I’m not. I’m fucking terrified out of my mind. Who will protect her when I’m gone? My asshole father won’t let me stay—that’s for damn sure. A bank president’s son goes on to do great things in life, like take the college scholarship that was offered.
But I can’t leave her.
He’ll ruin her without me here to protect her.
She’s no longer the woman I grew up with—funny and loving while he wasn’t around. No, my mother is depressed and not quite right in the head. Her eyes don’t sparkle and shine. They’re dull and lifeless.
My fists clench at my sides to exact damage on the man who single-handedly killed my mother. She is dead inside. Lost because of him. He deserves punishment for what he’s done to her.
I’m larger than my father now, and I could crush his skull in. And I’m barely hanging on. One more hair on her head gets touched and I’m going to kill him.
People with cocktails in their hands mill about the bank lobby that’s long been closed for the night. My father decided to throw me a graduation party, but it wasn’t for me or my mother. It was to show off to his friends like usual. They all gush and laugh at all of his jokes, clearly blind to the monster that lives within. I’ve even heard them whispering about how sorry they felt for him now that his wife has lost her mind.
It’s all too much.
“I’m proud of you,” a soft voice says behind me.
I turn to see my mother, and for the first time in years, her eyes shine. My knees buckle beneath me. She’s so beautiful. An absolute angel.
“Momma,” I choke out and pull her to me.
We clutch each other, and I hate that this hug feels like goodbye. She’s letting me go. Well, fuck that. I’m not going anywhere.
“I’m staying,” I tell her gruffly.
She sniffles and draws away to look up at me. “Andrew, darling, you’re going. I will be just fine.”
Tears swim in my eyes, and I shake my head in vehemence. “No. He’ll kill you.”
A fierceness that matches my own flashes over her features. “Listen to me, son. No matter what happens, I want you to live life to the fullest. I want you to be the good, kind man you are—the one I am so proud of and can do great things. You’ve always been my tough little guy, even when you struggled to survive in the NICU when you were born six weeks too early. I always knew you’d become something amazing. It’s your destiny. And my destiny was to see this day—to see you turn eighteen and fly the coop. My job, keeping his attention on me rather than you, is done. It is time for you to live free without worry.”
My tears have long since begun to flow, and she cups my chiseled jaw in her hands. With a little tug, she pulls me forward and kisses my forehead.
“I love you, sweetheart. Don’t ever forget that.”
I’m choking on my emotion. “M-momma. I’m staying.”
Her lips press into a firm line. “You’re going. And speaking of going…” She sucks in a breath that seems to give her strength. “I’m leaving this party to take your father home. It appears the last drink I gave him has made him sloppy drunk. I’ll take him back home. You stay here and enjoy your party. Ronnie and Benji were looking for you.”
She points to my friends, and I wave at them.
“We’ll talk more when I get home,” I tell her before hugging her once more. “I love you.”
“I love you more than you’ll ever know, Andrew.”
My memory fades as Gabe releases my arm, and I glare at him in confusion. How in the hell can he do that? Leviathans don’t have that power. The lingering loss of my mother yanks at my heart. That night was the last time I saw her. She drove my father’s Buick, with him in the passenger’s seat, right into the ravine. At the speed she was going, they both died on impact.
“The door is too sturdy. Even for big-ass bears.” Gabe grins crookedly at me.
My head swims with questions, but when he punches a number into the keypad, I stare at him in astonishment. “How did you? Why are you—”
He gives me a little shove toward the door. “You don’t have much time. I was just in the server room and looked over the video surveillance. Luc will be here soon, and Corson is hot on his heels. They know you’re down here, so get to it. I’ll do what I can to create a diversion.”
I nod and burst into Luc’s hot-ass office. I’m not sure why Gabe is helping me, but I’ll take it nonetheless. Perhaps he’s the intel Jes told me about.
The door shuts on its own behind me, and I stride over to his immaculate desk. His computer is the only thing on it aside from his black business cards in a neat pile. While sliding into his desk chair, I search for a place to plug this flash drive in.
The loud, horrific music Luc loves so much distracts me and causes my stomach to shudder in disgust. I fucking hate this place.
Think of Love.
I snap my eyes closed and take in her perfect vision. She’s relying on me to do this. I have to get my shit together and make this happen. Popping my eyes back open, I tune the noise out and find the slot. Then I shove the drive into it and wait.
“What the fuck do I do now?” I grumble to myself.
The program on the drive must be working, because the screen flares to life and a progress bar shows up. It appears to be loading “The Christ Curse”—whatever the hell that is.
Forty-six percent.
Come on.
Fifty-three percent.
Voices.
Sixty-seven percent.
Shouts.
Seventy-nine percent.
Crashing.
Eight-five percent.
Numbers being pressed on the keypad.
Ninety-four percent.
The door slinging open.
Tearing my gaze from the computer, I’m met by the raging glare of Luc.
“What in the ever-loving fuck are you doing in here?” he snarls as he prowls toward me.
Standing abruptly, I match his evil stare. “Fucking you over, asshole.”
Hate flares behind his eyes as he stalks toward me. I don’t give him a chance to attack, though, because I leap first, clocking him in the jaw with my fist. He stumbles backwards from the impact. His roar is unearthly, and fear seeps into my soul.
But I think of her.
Love.
Determination surges back through me as I charge him. When my shoulder connects with his chest, I tackle him right through the door that seemed so solid only moments ago. As we crash through it, both of us fight like two alpha lions trying to gain the upper hand.
I roll him beneath me and pummel his pretty face with my massive fists, enjoying the way his skin splits upon the impact of my knuckles. But a noise farther down the hallway steals my attention. Corson is hitting Gabe. And now, he has him by the throat and is dragging him toward the horror closet.
“No!” I roar and scramble off Luc. He grabs at my ankle but I kick him off and charge toward Corson.
Corson’s eyes widen when he sees me charging for him like a pissed off bull. I end up tackling them both and thankfully save Gabe from the goddamned fiery abyss. Corson’s head slams the floor with a sickening crunch, and it seemingly knocks him out.
Gabe grunts as his eyes meet mine. “Stay strong, Omega,” he hisses.
The warning chills me in this hot fucking place, and I snap my head over my shoulder.
Luc is menacing toward us, and the fumes of his livid rage are almost visible as his body quakes with a never before seen fury. When he begins ripping his coat and dress shirt off, I glower at him. Why in the hell is he removing his clothes?
“Fucking worthless human bodies,” he snarls as he shoves his pants down.
I clamber to my feet and square my shoulders at the naked demon. As much as I don’t want to, I’ll kick his bare ass right into the horror closet. But when his body starts to grow and change form into something otherworldly, I understand Gabe’s words. “Stay strong.”
Holy shit.
Holy fucking shit.
Luc’s skin stretches and reddens with each passing second as he transforms into something fucking scary and wicked. Horns protrude from his forehead and the evilness that was always so present multiplies as he becomes his true self.
A monster.
My inclination is to look away—to hide or cower from the beast with the hate-filled eyes and razor-sharp teeth. Steam hisses from his scaly flesh as he stomps for me, a tail whipping and slashing the air behind him.
Any normal person would run.
Any normal person would plead.
“Love is all you need.”
John Lennon’s voice blares on the loud speakers, and time pauses for a moment. The screams of horror are gone. The agony is silenced. Replacing it is the poetic music stating the simplicity of life. Love is all you need.
It gives me strength.
I am no normal person.
I am Omega. The great warrior.
Hell’s worst nightmare.
I am not afraid.