Chapter Six
Damn it! Devlin couldn’t fucking believe she had a date. He had a suspicion it was with the guy she’d met at the coffee house, had to be. She hadn’t been around any other males for any length of time since she’d been in town.
He had to find out who the hell this guy really was. If he was the one for her, Devlin needed to know. Ah, hell! He was sorry now he’d promised her he wouldn’t kill the damn soulless they were going to try to catch tonight. He needed a good solid fight. One where blood got spilled—lots of theirs.
He drove over to his office. More the base of operations where the LA hunters coordinated everything from. The first thing he’d done when he showed up was move them to this new location. Chris was well aware of the old one and managed to get into the place one night just before he’d gotten to town; he’d stolen a lot of files and corrupted some of their drives.
Where they were now was set up more like the place he ran in Canada. Like a police command center. They were in a shady part of LA in a four story building which Samuel bought. From the outside, the windows on the first two floors were boarded up. The other two floors the windows were dark. The first two floors were actually the garage. Entry required a key fob and an eye scan. They kept a few cars constantly parked there for hunters to use, as well as their regular cars for those who manned the center. There was also an emergency area for any hunters needing medical treatment, so they didn’t have to go to a hospital and get asked questions they couldn’t answer.
The third floor was a gym, where they all worked out, and a few rooms for martial arts. The top floor was where all the action took place. There were about five guys sitting around computers. In the center of the room was a digital map of the city of LA. Each computer covered information on specific areas of the entire state of California, but one computer focused solely on LA and Hollywood, it made up the center map. There were red dots or yellow in certain areas. Red for confirmed places soulless hunted, yellow were suspected areas.
Since he’d arrived six months ago, there were more red and yellow dots showing up on the maps all over the state. There was also a green dot for places where Chris and hunters with him had been sighted. Those places matched some of the places where the soulless fed. Chris had been able to convince at least three of the hunters to follow him. Mostly the younger hot heads, but still that wasn’t good. Now they had hunters fighting each other as well as the soulless. Two of them had already gotten killed. Devlin needed to put more resources to finding Chris, but for now, he wasn’t a priority. Keeping Evangeline safe was.
He’d dated women off and on over the years, but had been unable to make a commitment. None of the women he’d met would be able to handle the life he led. Even Eva knowing what he was, being a part of it herself, couldn’t handle it. The woman made him feel like an unsure and untried fourteen-year-old again. All he wanted to do was protect her. No, he also wanted to get into her pants, and she knew it. But shit, no one who has ever seen her would blame him. Which is why he had to get some information on this man who’d recently entered her life and the other reason why he was back at base. The first was to locate a possible sighting of a soulless.
He’d taken a picture of the guy on his cell phone and uploaded it to their facial recognition database. If this guy had any kind of government issued ID requiring a photograph Devlin would find him. Usually, it only took about five minutes, but ten minutes later it was still searching. It had even gone through the international databases, then finally came back. No match found.
That sent up red flares. He tried a couple of other files and every single one came up negative. Jason come over to him, he’d told him he was doing a background check on someone Eva had met. Was it possible the guy was soulless? They didn’t show up in databases. Some of them were strong enough to block his abilities to sense them, although from what he understood, Chroniclers could sense soulless too. But he couldn’t be too careful, especially with Eva. He didn’t like the guy was a blank in the system.
“Any luck?” Jason asked staring at the screen.
“No. The guy isn’t in any official database. I’m running through social media and some private databases now and so far, nothing.”
“That’s extremely rare, and suspicious. He’s either a military spook or a soulless.”
“I’ve checked the military files too. If he were one of theirs, a red flag would have come up. He wouldn’t be ID’d but it would be clear his info was classified, didn’t happen.”
“Then you think he’s soulless?”
“It’s possible. In this day and age, picture IDs are a requirement, not to mention social media. Even if you don’t have a social media account, odds are someone somewhere who does took a picture of you and posted it online. I’m not taking a chance.” Devlin pulled out his phone to call Evangeline to warn her, but he hung it up before he could push the button.
“What’s wrong?” Jason asked.
“Just trying to figure out how to tell her I was watching her for the last few weeks without her knowledge. Then did a background check on the guy I saw her meet a couple of days ago.”
Jason chuckled. “Hmm, that could be a problem. Good luck with that.”
“Well, shit!”
“Ah, then you might want to think about talking to her in person as opposed to over the phone. Maybe you can talk to her tonight when we set up our sting.”
Jason knew about the operation Dev had planned for tonight. He was one of the hunters Chris tried to get to change sides. Jason was good, very good, but Jason told Chris to go to hell. At the time, he hadn’t known that Samuel had named Chris a traitor to them all. Jason would have put Chris out of his misery if he’d known. Too bad.
“Yeah, I think I might, but I’ll have to do this before the operation. Eva’s got a date with the guy right before we pick her up.”
Jason whistled. “Like I said, good luck with that.” He patted him on the shoulder and moved off to check on the center map to determine where they should set up an op tonight. He had military training and made an excellent strategist. Unfortunately for the military, he was injured and honorably discharged. A bomb exploded in his ear and his hearing was shot, but a digital hearing aid seemed to work just fine. So the military’s loss was the hunters’ gain.
Devlin checked his watch and stood up. “I’m going to go see if I can catch Eva at her store before she leaves for the day.” He knew after they parted, she’d been headed there before going on her date.
“Later,” Jason called.
“Good luck,” someone else said. There were other words of encouragement from the hunters in the room who’d overheard his dilemma. He’d need it.
When he got there, only one workman was in the shop, he seemed to be doing some rewiring in the ceiling.
He nodded at the guy.
“Can I help you? The store’s not open,” the man said.
“I’m looking for Evangeline,” Devlin said. “Is she in?”
“Nah, she left already. She won’t be back until tomorrow. Do you want to leave a message?”
“Thanks, but I think I’ll just catch her at home.”
The man grunted and went back to what he’d been doing.
Devlin left the bookstore and climbed back in his car. He smacked the steering wheel. She either left for her damn date already but it seemed too early for that or she left early to go home and get ready. Was she primping for this bastard? Did she really like this guy? “Oh, hell.”
He pulled out his phone and called her. He wasn’t sure what he’d say but no way could he let her met this guy without telling her what he’d found out and suspected. She might be pissed at him for butting into her life but she had to know this guy could be soulless. But if he was, why would he be going out with Eva? What the hell was going on?
The call went directly into voicemail. “Hey Eva, it’s Devlin. Can you give me a call as soon as you get this message? Please. It’s important.”
He didn’t know what else to do, he headed over to her house to wait. At some point, she had to come home.
He almost didn’t recognize her. Only the stupid excuse for a car gave her away. The woman who stepped out of that thing no longer had her hair pulled into a ponytail like it had been when he had lunch with her. The way she usually wore it. Instead, her hair was parted in the center and hung in waves just above her chest, framing her face. Even through the car window he could tell, if the way her features crinkled was an indication, she didn’t look happy to see him. She walked around to the rear of her car and opened the door pulling out two bags. Both had names sprawled on them even he recognized.
“Whatever it is,” she said as she approached him as he sat on her steps. “Will have to wait. I’m running late.”
He stood up. “Fine, this won’t take long.” He wished. She was gorgeous. Was she wearing makeup too? Fuck! Glamour girl cover model, take his breath away drop dead gorgeous. Not that she wasn’t beautiful before, but now. What the fuck!
She walked right past him, he caught a whiff of some expensive perfume as she opened her front door while he stood there with his mouth gaping. He stepped inside and shut the door. “What the fuck is this dude to you?”
She spun around to face him. “You did not just ask me that.”
“He’s a soulless, Evangeline. He’s a fucking soulless.” Damn, he hadn’t meant to be that blunt. But she seemed to bring out the worst in him. He raked his hands through his hair. He’d never been so worked up over a woman, but she wasn’t just anyone, not to him.
“Get out!”
“What?”
“You heard me. I don’t know what the hell your problem is but get out of my house.”
He covered his hand with his face and moved it down to his neck. Calming his jealousy because that’s what drove his actions. “Let’s start over.”
“Nothing to start over with.” She continued into the room and dropped the bags on a chair. “Do you take me for some kind of idiot?” She raised both hands into the air as if in surrender. “What am I saying? Of course you do.”
“The guy is a soulless, Eva.” He was 95% sure, good enough.
She tilted her head to the side. “Don’t you think I would know, and if he was, so what? Wait a second. How would you know about him? And how do you know he’s soulless?”
He was tempted to ask her for a drink, but didn’t think she’d accommodate him. “I think it might be best if we sat down.”
She crossed her arms under her breasts, pushing them up so they looked fuller than they already were.
He couldn’t take his gaze off them.
“Hello, I’m still in the room,” she said, anger laced in her voice.
He went over to her and took her arm. “Sorry, really sorry.”
At least, she followed him over to the couch, but she did pull away from his grasp.
“You make me nuts, do you know that?” he said sitting beside her.
“The feeling is mutual. Now do you want to tell me what’s going on? What makes you think Michael is soulless?”
“Michael? That’s his name. Michael what?”
“None of your business. Now talk.”
“Your aunt Wilhelmina called me before you came out here.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.”
“She made me promise to take care of you, to watch over you. She was worried about you. Samuel asked me to do the same thing. He didn’t like the way the soulless seemed to be focused on LA right after we got rid of Abel. Chris was from LA, and the LA leadership as you know was in trouble as a result of his treachery. It splintered the group.”
“I’m listening.”
He took a deep breath. “I promised both Samuel and Willy, I would take care of you. The only problem was I knew you hated my guts.” He paused to give her time to deny it.
She didn’t, she just continued to watch him with those big eyes.
Something inside of him ached that it wasn’t true, that she didn’t hate him. He wanted to reach up and rub his chest, but he forced himself to continue. “Anyway, I knew you didn’t want to have anything to do with me. I thought I would respect your wishes and honor my promises by keeping an eye on you from a bit of a distance.”
She placed her hands on her hips and glared at him. “You were spying on me.”
He held up his hands toward her in denial. “No, no not exactly.”
“Oh yes, exactly. Have you been following me around? Is that how you know about Michael?’
“Yes damnit! And if I hadn’t been, I wouldn’t have been in that parking lot to stop you from getting hurt.”
“We’re not going there. How do you know that Michael is soulless? Even if he were, I know what I’m doing. Don’t you trust I can take care of myself?”
Shit. Hell no. But he couldn’t tell her that. “Not if he’s an Olden, or at least strong enough to block us. Sun was still up when you guys met.”
“Do you know what color his eyes are?”
“No. He was wearing dark glasses when I saw him.”
“Okay, but then how do you know he’s soulless? You weren’t close enough to him to get a sense of that.”
“I—I did a background check on him.”
“You what!” She got up off the couch and paced in front of him. “You are unbelievable.”
“Aren’t you going to ask me what I found?”
Eva stopped pacing and stood in front of him, placing her hands defiantly on her slender hips. “Okay, what did you find?”
“Nothing.”
She frowned and dropped her arms to the side. “Nothing. What do you mean by nothing?”
“This guy’s picture isn’t in any known databases, and you know I know how to check. Not even a blip on the military screens. And before you ask, yes, I checked them all. And social media.”
“So what?” she challenged.
“That’s impossible. No one his age could get away from having his picture posted online at some time or an ID.”
“Unless he’s soulless.” She finally sat down beside him and seemed to really listen to what he had to say.
Thank God!
“Here’s what we’re going to do. Since we were going hunting tonight anyway, I say we capture him and put a few questions to him.”
She shook her head. “Oh no, I don’t think so.”
“Why? This is perfect and we can also find out why he’s trying to date you.” As soon as he saw the hurt look on her face, he knew he said the absolute wrong thing.
Her next words confirmed he was such an idiot. “Of course no man in their right mind would want to date someone like me.”
“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”
“Whatever. Doesn’t matter, you aren’t going to capture Michael. You are not going to ask him his motives. This is between Michael and me.”
“You can’t be serious. He’s a soulless.”
“And I’m telling you, it doesn’t matter. How many times do I have to repeat, not all soulless are bloodsucking killers. They too, have a chance at redemption and deserve the right to find it. Michael is maybe seeking his. He’s done nothing to indicate he means me any harm. Who knows, I might be his redemption.”
Those words had his nostrils flaring. “Like hell.” Devlin pulled her to him and captured her mouth with his. At first, she didn’t respond but then he felt her open her mouth to let his tongue inside and her arms wrapped around his neck. He would not be denied.
A wild current of sensation flooded his senses. Drenching him in her essence and damned if he ever wanted to come up for air. Eventually he eased back, but didn’t quite release her entirely. He placed his hands on the sides of her face. “Eva,” he whispered. It was all he seemed capable of. His eyes traveled over each of her precious features.
Devlin began to kiss her eyes, her nose, each cheek until finally, he returned to her sweet lips. Wanting to devour her again. A shrill chirp broke his haze. A cell phone, hers. She pulled away from him, and reluctantly he released her.
She picked her purse off the floor where she’d dropped it and answered the phone, “Okay, yes. That’s fine. I’ll see you then, and I have to leave a little early, I have a meeting first thing in the morning and I still have to prepare for it. Great.” She hung up and straightened.
He reached for her hand but she pulled away from him.
“It was Michael wasn’t it?” he asked.
“Yes.”
A knife buried in his chest wouldn’t hurt as much. “You’re still going to meet this asshole, after…after.”
She finally swung her gaze to his. “Yes. So we kissed. So we have chemistry. I’ve always known that. But sooner or later, we’re going to disappoint the other. I can’t give you what you want. Besides, I don’t do casual, I can’t.”
He gritted his teeth, unwilling to give up. “It doesn’t have to be casual between us.”
She snorted. “Really. You do you know I’m the lead Chronicler for the next generation and will always be in the thick of things? My role in this new age with what we now know has changed. Chroniclers can no longer be strictly neutral. Thalya and Samuel changed everything.”
He sighed and spread his arms along the top of the couch. “Yes, I get that. Listen, I’m not talking about forever here, but we have something between us. Let’s just enjoy it for now.”
She shook her head. “You just don’t get it, do you?”
“Why don’t you explain it to me?”
“What’s the point? You better go, I have to get ready. I’m meet you back here about eleven.”
He stood up to tower over her, angry at her, at himself for handling her all wrong. For his inability to get her to act on the attraction that flowed potently between them. All they needed to do was get it out of both of their systems, so they could go on with their lives. She was right about one thing: he didn’t want her dealing with soulless directly or indirectly. He was wired to protect. But she was wrong, he did understand what she was trying to tell him. At least he thought he did, was she a virgin? Didn’t matter, but clearly, she needed an emotional connect. And goddamnit, they had that. He’d be damned if he let this Michael have her. She was his. At least for now. But in some deepest part of him a word echoed…forever. He shook that shit off.
She raised one eyebrow at him expecting him to leave.
But he wasn’t ready to give in gracefully. “Eva, you can’t be serious. He’s a fucking soulless.”
“So was Thalya and she found her redemption. So was one of your own grandparents.”
He had no easy argument for that one and she knew it.
“Now, please leave. I’d ask you not to follow me anymore but I know that would be pointless.”
“You’re damned right.” He got up and walked out of the house. Every step away from her caused his chest to tighten and his stomach to clench in pain. She was going out with another man, a soulless one, and it was his job to watch over her. His job to watch her fall in love with another man. A fucking soulless being. He knew the bastard was a soulless and so did she, and she didn’t care.
When he got in his car, he almost called Jason to come meet him to take over watching her. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it. If anything happened to her and this soulless turned out to be using her, to be some kind of bloodsucker he’d never forgive himself for not being there if she needed him.
He didn’t bother to try to hide the fact he’d followed her. He knew she saw him sitting in his car when she came out of her house.
If Eva was gorgeous before in jeans and a t-shirt, in her black halter dress that stopped at her thighs, showing off those long, long toned legs, capped off in her fuck me red heels, she was lethal now.
Devlin groaned and shut his eyes. By the time he opened them again, her car was already halfway down the block.