CHAPTER EIGHT
Austin shed the clothes she’d had on for less than an hour and found another outfit. In a strange way, it comforted her that Zander seemed as lost as she felt. He hadn’t told her everything, but did she want to be more involved in—whatever this was?
Five hours with him and she felt like she’d been run through the thresher.
One of his friends, dismembered and left on his doorstep. Another, some kind of a monster. A woman, abducted from his sex club. He’d found her naked and beaten in a warehouse and gotten himself stabbed.
How did a man live in such a spiral of violent chaos?
How had she been sucked into it?
She balled up the bloodied clothes and placed them on the floor. There was more to him, though. She felt it. He held himself to a moral code. Strong. Proud. Stubborn as all get out.
She ran her fingers over her lips. That kiss. The gentle touch of his mouth on hers ignited a longing that made no sense. She closed her eyes and relived his touch, possessive hands roaming up her back, crushing her against his muscled frame. Her nipples tightened, her nerve endings firing, ready for more.
But no. It wasn’t real.
Psych 101: intense feelings could form in the wake of highly stressful situations. This qualified. She swallowed and ran her fingers through her hair, smoothing anything out of place. There would be no more kisses. She had no interest in speaking to Detective Creed, so there was no reason for her to stay.
Zander could call that cab and she would go reclaim her life. If the Toronto PD had questions, they could send someone else to interview her. Set in her conviction, she opened the door and made her way out to the hall.
With her fingers skimming the fabric wallcovering, she retraced her steps until she found the antique hall table outside Zander’s home office. She followed the satin edge to the other side and continued until she reached the living room.
Raised voices carried from the outer foyer. Their friend, Tanek, had been important to them. The pain of losing a loved one ached in her heart. She’d lived a long time in that empty well of sadness and learned a valuable lesson. Avoid that trap altogether. If you didn’t depend on people, you didn’t get hurt when you ended up alone.
The voices continued to escalate in temper and volume, and she decided to head back to the spare room until things simmered down.
“—bullshit. Your little Texas flower knows more than she’s saying.”
Austin hesitated, recognizing the detective’s voice.
“Even before we found Tanek, she freaked. She looked right at me and called me a monster. Why the hell would she say that to someone she’s never laid eyes on?”
“She was confused,” Zander said. “And she didn’t lay eyes on you.”
“Zandros,” another voice said, “if we’re exposed, we have to scrub her and get her the hell gone. Your time to pump her for info has passed. Dispose of her. She’s a liability.”
A growl vibrated through the air. Austin’s pulse quickened. He’d only wanted to find out what she knew? And now she was a liability?
“Listen,” Zander said, his voice tight. “Maybe she had a warehouse flashback, a PTSD reaction she attached it to Colt for some reason.”
“Or maybe she’s not blind at all and saw a shitload more in that warehouse than she let on.”
Austin stiffened. Not blind? Well, not completely. She found the wall beside her. Dispose of her echoed in her head. Would they let her leave? Should she call the police?
An uncomfortable tingle needled the back of her neck. She raised a hand to scratch the irritation and tension rose in her chest. The air behind her emitted a powerful electrical charge and she whirled.
Her mouth dropped open as the living room beyond filled with a brilliant golden light. Two exquisite men in white tailored suits materialized—in the middle of the room—just appeared from some kind of iridescent mist.
And she saw them. Really saw them. White silk shirts stretched over muscled chests. Perfectly symmetrical knotted ties tucked under sleek, buttoned vests. True sight.
Their agonizingly beautiful faces shifted from quizzical looks to severe displeasure as they saw her staring. If possible, seeing them captivated her more than seeing Zander and Kyrian when they spoke. As their forms solidified, the mist dissipated and the tingling on her skin subsided.
The door to the foyer whooshed open and heavy footsteps raced inside. “Austin? Is everything all right?” Grasping her shoulders, Zander leaned close.
“Other than two men appearing four feet in front of me?”
He dropped his head and cursed. “Shit. You see them? How is that possible?”
“Indeed,” snapped the blond. He strode closer and cast her a glance about as friendly as a bramble bush. “How is it that a male of your considerable training and responsibility could expose an innocent to our existence?” The man’s tone snapped sharp and aristocratic. The vowels flowed like molasses in July, the consonants smooth and long.
Zander’s hold on her arms tightened and he pulled her behind his shoulders. “Michael, no offense, but how could I expose you when you dropped in unannounced and uninvited?”
Austin peeked around Zander. Michael scowled.
The second man, equally intimidating, seemed wound up tight and fixin’ for a fight.
“Zandros, that you believe we require an invitation is a testament to your arrogance. Amusing but arrogant none the less. In actuality, we answered an earthbound call dispatched moments ago.”
Zander pivoted toward the inner foyer. “Which one of you assholes called them?”
“Not them,” Michael answered, gliding forward. “Raphael received the summons from one of his Virtues. The balance faltered, and the source of disruption led us here.”
Zander exhaled. “Yeah, well, a lot has happened. I’m sure Gabriel has filled you in.”
The blond held up his hand and frowned. “There is much to discuss, but first, let us revisit the human problem and how she ended up here.”
Zander stepped back and trapped Austin between him and the wall. “We had little choice. She was kidnapped by Shedim and bound with enchanted handcuffs from high up the hierarchy. Danel, show them.”
Metal clinked together, and footsteps crossed the living room hardwood.
“We couldn’t leave her in the kill zone and we couldn’t send her home until we freed her from those cuffs and found out what she knew. She’s an innocent under my roof and in my charge. I won’t allow her to be harmed.”
Austin’s heart raced as her scattered attention flit from one face to another. These men weren’t military soldiers. They weren’t even mafia or drug dealers, though part of her wished they were. That would make more sense than the theory rattling around in her head. Michael? Raphael? Earthbound call? How was any of this possible?
She grabbed at the base of her throat. “I can’t breathe.”
“Kyrian, get her a drink,” Zander snapped.
Strong hands supported her elbows and pulled her to sit on a couch. The leather cushions dipped as Zander sat beside her. He steadied her hands in his. “Austin, everything is all right.”
Wrong. Everything had gone haywire—but the funny thing was, this was the most grounded she’d felt in the past three days. “Who are you, Zander? What are you?”
The room remained silent.
When he finally spoke, his voice was soft but strained. “Austin, I need you to trust me.”
“Trust you while you pump me for information? Trust you while you determine if you should dispose of me? I heard your boys in the foyer, Zander, and I’m nobody’s fool.”
Zander cursed. “I won’t allow anyone to hurt you. Believe that.” There was no mistaking the conviction in his promise, but as she glanced beyond him to Michael to Raphael, she doubted he could stop them if they thought different.
Could they be Michael and Raphael? The archangels?
Impossible. She closed her eyes. Yes, as impossible as two men materializing in the living room, riding a blinding mist. “All right. I believe you don’t want anyone to hurt me.”
He squeezed her hands. “Good. We need to know what happened between the time you were taken from your building’s entrance and the time I found you in that warehouse. What did you see? What had you panicked about Colt earlier?”
Zander pressed a glass against her palm. “Take a drink. You look faint.”
Faint? Fainting was the least of her worries. Her insides were knotted up like Gran’s yarn when the barn cats came in the parlor window. She’d be lucky to get through this without throwing up. She took a sip of water and tried to calm. “All right, it is a blur, but here it is.”
She told them how she’d been grabbed at her building, about Stetson attacking, about the drugs and being taunted and stoned. She explained about her nausea and slashes of white fangs and claws that the monsters triggered, and how Colt’s voice caused the same effect. She kept to herself how Zander’s blue silhouette made her stomach flutter in all kinds of girly ways but did tell them what she saw around him when he spoke.
“But you see Michael and Raphael entirely? And they don’t fade?” Zander asked, a noticeable disapproval in his voice.
She nodded.
Michael scratched his head, his long golden waves loose around his chiseled features. “We need to determine if this sight phenomenon is due to Darkworld drugs still in her system or some unique form of Otherworld perception. Synesthesia maybe.”
Austin had no clue but at least they stopped scowling at her. “And that matters, why?”
Raphael unbuttoned his jacket and sat opposite her. The man dazzled her. Soft brown hair settled on strong shoulders and brilliant emerald green eyes that drew her gaze no matter how she tried to look away. Captivating. But . . . Raphael?
“Drugs dissipate and would allow us to scrub your memories and reinsert you into your life. The Otherworld sight scenario would be unfortunate. Intriguing. Yet unfortunate.”
Zander rose and pulled her to her feet beside him. “Austin, would you excuse us for a moment. I need to have a word with my superiors and you look like you could use a break from all this excitement. Let me escort you back to the guest room while we straighten this out.”
Zander was losing his mind. He’d failed yet again. Austin threatened full exposure and everyone in the room knew it. He hadn’t realized she could see them, had exposed her to a face-to-face with the archangels and, if it wasn’t drugs, there was no way they could alter her state of vision so that it didn’t happen again. She was dead.
His insides raged as he escorted her down the hall toward his bedroom. What could he do? How could he save her? The answer to both questions was the same—he couldn’t. The fact that he wanted to do anything outside his sworn duty smacked of treason. The law of secrecy superseded his duty to protect the innocent. Superseded everything.
“I’m in a heap of trouble, aren’t I?” she whispered. “What are you, Zander?”
“Tired,” he said.
“But it’s bad, right? Me knowin’ you’re some kind of angel? That’s real bad?”
Zander released his touch on her elbow and exhaled. Between the night’s stress, Tanek’s death, and now this, he was a goddamn zombie. What did it matter if he told her what she wanted to know? He wanted to be honest with her. “Raphael and Michael are archangels. My brothers-in-arms and I are Nephilim, offspring from couplings between archangels and the daughters of man—human women.”
Austin blinked. “Okay, and where does that leave me?”
Zander shook his head and leaned closer. “Okay? I just told you that I’m an archangel’s bastard son and you say okay?”
She lifted her chin, her hazels clear and steady. “My grandad always said, letting the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin’ it back in. So, yes, you’re an angel. Where does that leave me? How do I survive this?”
He took a step back, waiting for her to crack. “It’s a lot to take in—”
She rolled her eyes. “Losin my family in a freak flood was a lot to take in. Goin’ blind because my hands tangled in my reins was a lot to take in. Wakin up in a warehouse with dead bodies was a lot to take in. This is,” she waved her hand between them, “just another messed-up moment in my messed-up life. Now focus. What’s my next move?”
Ah hell. Here she was, a human woman half his size, ready to take on his world. Over four thousand years and he’d never once thought of anything but his duty. Where the hell did this conflict come from? He eliminated threats to his world. She was exposure. Pure. And. Simple.
Yet, when he looked at her, some new software uploaded into his brain. A manual of behavior that overrode his original programming. He couldn’t let them kill her.
Before he realized he’d moved, he grabbed her wrist, strode through his bedroom, and beelined into his walk-in closet. Unlatching his gun safe from the false wall, he punched in the security code to access the roof. The hidden door led them into a closed stairwell. “I’ll fix this for you, cowgirl, but you can’t be here. If I fail, they’ll come for you. Do you understand?”
Austin nodded, eyes wide. “What do I do?”
The fact that he’d finally gained her trust melted him. He brushed her hair back and tucked it behind her ears. “These stairs go to the roof. Sixteen steps up and then a landing and a second door. Straight out the door about thirty feet there is a covered portico area with lounge furniture. Get yourself there and I’ll have someone I trust escort you somewhere safe.”
She scowled. “Those don’t seem to be the kind of men you double cross.”
“Not your problem.” He pressed his lips to her forehead and breathed her deep into his lung. This is not a mistake.
Her hands pressed flat on his chest. “You barely know me. Why risk it?”
He stroked her cheek with his finger. He didn’t have time to explain a fraction of the things racing through his head. Because you’re mine. Deciding to keep that opinion to himself, he set her hand on the railing. “I’m one of the good guys, remember?”
Zander watched her climb the stairs, sent a quick text, and put on his game face. The archangels would end his existence for this. No question. Guilt twisted his insides into knots. He needed to step up to avenge Tanek and lead the garrison, not distract his superiors long enough for Austin to get gone.
If his last act in life was to save Austin Navarro, he’d go out with a clear conscience. He had no idea how things had gone so far off the rails. He breathed deep and Austin’s scent swirled in his head. Oh yeah. That’s how.
Shoulders back and scowl affixed, he strode back down the hall. The archangels waited in the living room with Danel and Colt. The four looked grim.
“What did I miss?” he said, heading straight for the bar.
Colt stepped forward. “Well, the elevator is clean, Kyrian got called away, and the twins escorted my guy from the coroner’s office back to the morgue. They’ll call the minute they figure out anything.”
Raphael leaned back in his seat and crossed his ankle over the opposite knee. “Let us discuss the mass slaughter and murder of a Nephilim commander and how it occurred unnoticed by seven highly trained and skilled warriors.”
Zander emptied his glass on a oner and refilled before he faced the group. “Obviously, we caught wind of this late in the game, but too much is unknown to point fingers. Who was behind it? Why? How could they eviscerate Tanek? No weapon we know can do that.”
He strode back and stood behind one of the club chairs. “And there’s more to it. Auriel should be notified that a female was taken from the club last night. A Shedim Hunter kidnapped her from the front lot.”
Michael frowned, looking bored. “And why would Auriel be concerned?”
Zander cleared his throat. “Because we’re fairly certain she was a Cherub and with Tanek down, she’s most likely dead as well.”
The two men in white glanced at each other and then Michael rose to his feet. “Why would a Cherub come here? Did she have a Seraph escort?
“We’re looking into it.”
Michael raked him with a look of violent disdain. “Is there anything you do know about the happenings in your territory?”
Oh, he knew a few things, yeah. He knew five hours wasn’t enough time to gather all the answers. He knew there were things in play they’d never come up against. He knew this wasn’t just an Otherworld strike. It hit way too personal for that. And he knew if they didn’t give him some fucking space to do his job he would—
“Z!” Danel shouted.
Zander hadn’t realized he’d closed the distance and had gripped his sire’s fancy lapel. He released the threads and took a healthy step back.
“I’ve got something.” The Persian stood against the window wall, tinkering with his tablet. “I ran a trace on all things in Otherworld cyberland. Michael can you cast this for everyone to see, please.”
Zander’s gut twisted as a video of Tanek being tortured appeared in the air above his Aubusson rug. Filmed so they couldn’t see who played the part of Sweeney Todd, the attackers left nothing else to the imagination. He swallowed to hold back the booze rising in his throat.
Colt wiped his lips with a gloved hand. “If this has gone viral, the Otherworld just flipped on its chaos-loving ass. Dark Ones will posture and Light Ones will panic. You guys are indestructible. It’s what keeps things in check. This is bad—very bad.”
Zander refilled his glass. Was it possible for life to pull the stopper from your vital organs? Felt like it. “Can you call that video back? Take it down?”
Danel shook his head. “I have, but it’s too late. It hit the far reaches before we even cleared out the warehouse this afternoon.”
Colt whistled. “Freddie Kruger images of Tanek getting tagged won’t just upset the Matrix, boys, you and your kind are in the spotlight. You best watch your backs.”
His kind. Fabulous. That sentiment never failed to piss him off, but it was the truth of their lives. Not Dark or Light or Choir, the Watchers were other. And other got damned old at times. “Is there any way to trace it back to who leaked it? I want to know who this asshole is.”
Colt grabbed a soda from the bar fridge and snapped the tab. “I wondered that myself. Who the fuck could get the drop on both you and Tanek? The machismo combo is flat-out lethal. I can’t imagine anyone with balls enough to go after you two.”
True. Tanek had been a bulldozer and Zander had the strongest sensitivity to energy fields. No way a Darkworlder should have snuck up and caught them unaware.
Colt stepped closer to the video projected in the air between them. “Tanek looked like he’d been taken down by a chainsaw. It’s just a weird, red-metal dagger, but check it. That alloy rips through your boy like butter.”
“Fuck you, Colt,” Zander snapped. “Show a little respect.”
Colt shrugged, pulling out his cell when it beeped at his hip. “Demon moment, my bad. You can learn a lot from this video. The metal seems to block your natural tendency to heal. I’d guess there’s a strong paralytic as well. Tanek isn’t bucking and they’re dicing him. It’s some seriously nasty shit.”
Zander probed his side. It had finally stopped oozing.
Danel cut off the feed and cursed. “So Tanek couldn’t even defend himself while he was getting vivisected?”
Colt looked up from his phone’s screen. “And the weird just got weirder. My guy at the coroner’s office says Tanek’s body parts just dematerialized off his table.”
“What?”
“Yep. One minute there, the next—gone. No idea why or where he went, but my man said the vanishing act held a powerful vibe. Like hugely high up on the scale of things. That ball falls in your court, Angels, not mine.”
Zander was numb. His body. His mind. His very soul. “Michael, if you and Raphael could investigate Tanek’s disappearance and why that Cherub came here last night, I promise we’ll have a full report within a few days.”
“And what of the human woman?” Michael asked.
“I’ve got it covered.” He closed his eyes and prayed they’d just get the hell gone. He needed time to think things through. He needed to get some sleep. He needed to check on Austin.
“Very well, Sumerian. You have twenty-four hours.”