Chapter Eight
Eva had been about to close her front door when the palm of a man’s hand slapped against it, pushing so she couldn’t shut it in his face. Knowing she’d lose the tug of war, she sighed and pulled it open instead. “Well, come on in.”
“I can’t believe you,” Devlin growled following behind her.
She didn’t bother to turn around, she just kept walking toward her living room. “Don’t you go growling at me. You had no business spying on me and my date.”
“So is that it. Are you dating the soulless bloodsucker now? This wasn’t just a one-time thing to get intel?”
She stopped and swung around to face him. “Whatever it was or wasn’t, once again, isn’t any of your business, Devlin.”
He slammed the door shut. “Well, I’m damn well making it my business.”
She turned and continued to walk away from him, thinking it wasn’t even worth responding to such an asinine statement. She’d only taken two steps before he’d grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him. Before she knew it, he pulled her hard against his chest and his mouth covered hers. Something inside her exploded.
Eva must have shut her eyes, because her vision was filled with pinpoints of light peppered against a black velvet night. One light shone brighter than the others and seemed to surround her, bathing her in its intensity. She became a creature of tactile expression. Her hands had never felt anything as soft as the silkiness that was Devlin’s hair, his body pressed to hers was harder than anything she’d ever felt, and every membrane strained toward him.
Devlin must have been a mind reader because he raised her hands above her head, pulling her dress up and off her before she lowered her arms back to wrap around his neck. Even her skin cells sighed in pleasure at the closer contact to him, they were closer to an unspoken goal, yet not close enough. His clothes remained intact.
Eva began tugging at his shirt when sounds in the room changed. Their breathing was broken by something else finally penetrating her senses, jarring her forcefully into awareness. What was she doing? She retreated quickly away from the brilliance of the attraction.
The further away she moved the more she was returned to herself until she opened her eyes and looked into the blue sapphire-like stones his had become. “Door,” she groaned out.
Spinning, she sped down the long hallway to her room, leaving him to deal with whoever it was, unable to have a conversation with anyone. The kiss had shaken her to her core. She needed a minute or six. She heard the alarm chime when the front door opened just as she slammed her bedroom door shut and leaned against it. Placing her hands over her face, she didn’t know if she should laugh or cry. Saved by the bell. Literally. Laughter finally won, but the laughter wasn’t one of joy, more like that of a demented person. Because surely she was, out of her mind.
She did not just kiss Devlin like her life depended on him for the very air she needed.
She touched one finger to her puffy lips. They continued to tingle, she could still feel the press of him there and feared she always would. This wasn’t right. Wasn’t possible. He couldn’t be the one. Couldn’t be for her. That was Michael. It had to be, it fit, she could help him. They could help each other, she could redeem him and with his blood her children would be the strongest Chroniclers ever.
Eva had always known her role in the war between the soulless and hunter was to help the soulless, to bring an understanding and help stop the war. The world was changing, and Chroniclers had to change with it. What better way than to be the redemption for a being such as a fallen angel. One to father the next generation of Chroniclers, of course that wasn’t as far off into the future. The time was nearing, but still. She wondered if Michael kissed her if he’d have the same effect on her Devlin did. Could he wipe Devlin from her senses? Did she want him to?
Before she could talk herself out of it, telling herself she had to know, had to practice what she preached. She pulled her phone out and texted Michael. Thursday 7pm and she typed in the name of the restaurant. After she pressed send, she shuddered in anticipation or anxiety from something else. Like she’d just done something wrong. She shook her head from side to side and placed her arms around herself. Straightening up, she ignored the unsettling sensation in her gut.
Moving to her closet, she tore off the dress and changed into jeans, a t-shirt, and boots. The vibrating sound coming from her smartphone sitting on her dresser told her she had a text message. Picking it up before she opened the door, she saw it was a reply to her message.
It said… Looking forward to it.
The sensation twisted tighter.
When Devlin raised his hand to unlock her front door, it trembled. Damn! A woman had never made him react like this before, but then there never had been a woman like Evangeline. He might have initiated the kiss but she’d taken it further. Taken them further. She’d kissed him back. If Jason and Tony hadn’t shown up, he’d be buried balls deep in her right now. The thought had him shifting where he stood. He was still semi-hard and he’d be that way until he had her under him, on top of him, backward and forward. Every which way he could think of, and still he wasn’t sure if he’d ever go back to normal again.
Whether she was a virgin or not, the woman did something to him that he’d be damned if he could explain. He just knew he had to have her. He would be all kinds of a fool if he just sat back and watched some fucking soulless take her away from him. Not happening.
When Eva finally came downstairs she was casually dressed in jeans and a dark navy shirt. He could see the outline of the weapons she carried; while she might have looked prepared, if she thought he’d let her get anywhere near danger… she had another think coming. He’d have her stay with the car.
Two of his men had joined them and he introduced them to her. “This is Jason and Tony.”
“Oh yes, from last night. Hello,” she said.
Both men returned her greeting.
Eva walked over to the closet he stood next to. She grabbed a short lightweight jacket. When she turned around, he could see the sheath strapped to her back with the short sword tucked inside.
It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her she wouldn’t be needing that, but he knew better than to go hunting for soulless and have anyone unarmed. At least she was trained to protect herself, and he knew she could hold her own in a fight. At least long enough for him to intervene. Still, something inside him protested her having to fight at all to protect herself. He shoved the feeling down. “You ready?” he asked.
“Yes.”
She still hadn’t looked at him.
He wasn’t going to let her ignore him. Fuck that shit. He stepped right into her personal space until the edge of her opened jacket brushed against his clothed muscular chest.
Only then did she look up into his eyes.
And finally he saw what he was looking for. Desire. He let her see the answering flare in his own. “Then let’s go,” he whispered, touching her arm, sliding his hand down until he enclosed hers. Without waiting for a reply, he headed toward her door, holding it open until his men walked through ahead of them.
When she tried to pull her hand away, he wouldn’t let her.
“I need my house keys and ID,” she said, the notes of exasperation evident in her tone of voice.
“Get them,” he said, letting her go.
She’d dropped her purse on the side table, and went back to get it. Opening it up, she took out her keys and a small wallet. She stuck the keys in one jacket pocket and the wallet in the other. There were zippers on the pockets and she zipped both up. “Now I’m ready,” she said, walking past him.
He followed her out and waited for her to lock her door, but as soon as she put her keys away, he took her hand again.
This time she looked down at their joined hands and frowned. Devlin waited, daring her to say something. She didn’t. Perhaps she must have known it was a fight she wasn’t going to win.
Together, they headed toward his car. Jason and Tony were parked behind him, he nodded at both men. They already knew where they were heading, a little bar just off Wilshire Boulevard. They’d had hunters watching the place for a few days; police reports from around the location had escalated. If he hadn’t been following Evangeline around, he would have already checked the place out. They’d start there tonight.
The alley behind the bar backed up into a fenced-off area separating the train tracks. Plenty of privacy for the soulless to finish whatever frenzy they’d start in the bar and take it out back. The trains moving across the tracks drowned out any screams. The place also gave the hunters the privacy they’d need to take on a soulless, hopefully capture one, and keep him alive. Long enough to get some answers.
They pulled up into the dirt parking lot of the bar. The place was crowded, so both cars weren’t able to park next to each other. Jason found a spot a little down the street.
Devlin waited a few minutes for his men to go in first and take up defensive positions in the place. Taking a deep breath, he turned to the woman who sat silently beside him. “Stay with the car and cover us from out here. I promise if there’s a soulless in there I’ll bring him out to you.”
Eva chuckled. “Dream on. I’m going in with you.”
“Damnit.”
“No, get over yourself. I’ll be fine.” Without waiting for a comment, she placed her hand on the door handle and pushed it open.
Devlin had no choice but to get out of the car. At least she waited for him to come around to her and didn’t try to walk into that hellhole by herself. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her against him. When she tried to move away he said, “Since you’re insisting on coming, we do this my way. You are not to leave my side.”
“Is this really necessary?”
“Hunting is my profession. If you go in with us, you do things my way.”
She nodded.
A ruckus had them both turning as the door to the bar was thrown open and a man came flying through. He landed flat on his back on the hard, unforgiving ground. His arms pushed off the dirt as he tried to sit up, seemingly stunned. Still, he managed to get himself standing upright, albeit he swayed from side to side like he’d topple over one way or the other.
Neither Devlin nor Eva moved to help, they merely watched as a woman came hurriedly out the door behind the man. She helped him steady himself. “Damn it, Stan. I’m tired of this shit!” Stan leaned his not quite six feet maybe three-hundred-pound frame against her. Good thing she wasn’t a slight woman but one of some substance; she managed to get him walking beside her. They veered away from where Devlin and Eva still stood.
“Still want to go in?” Devlin asked.
He could feel her chest move taking a deep breath. “Let’s get this over with.”
“Okay.” Devlin pushed the door open and thankfully, no one else was tossed out as they entered. His senses were immediately overloaded. Too many bodies, too many aromas, not all of them good, and cramped into a small space.
The stench of stale beer, cigarette smoke, and charred burgers permeated the air. The small dance floor was crowded while people gyrated to the rasping sounds of music he didn’t recognize and hurt his ears. A few people stood around the three pool tables and even more clustered next to the long bar. He didn’t need the senses of the soulless to know the people who frequented this place were full of defeat, anger, and hate. A few faces turned in their direction, most rested on Evangeline. Even with her dark clothes that weren’t overly revealing and blended in anywhere, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to know she didn’t belong here. One look at her spoke of refinement and class.
Devlin made sure to make eye contact with a few men on their walk to the bar. The kind of eye contact that said, What the fuck you think you’re looking at? They managed to make their way across the room and to the end of the bar without incident. He hovered over the poor soul seated there, projecting menace at the man until he grabbed his beer and decided to move. Devlin dragged the barstool closer to the wall and had Eva sit there so he could angle his body in a way effectively blocking her from the gazes he could still tell were directed at them.
He wrapped his hand around her waist to make it clear that she was with him and motioned for the bartender with his free hand. When the man came over Devlin ordered two beers.
“I don’t see Jason and Tony,” Eva said, placing one of her hands on his shoulder.
He leaned over and nuzzled her neck.
“Is that really necessary?” she hissed.
“It is for me,” he whispered back. “Jason’s by the first pool table standing against the wall. Tony is on the dance floor with a redhead.” Devlin straightened up and watched her search for them without being obvious.
“Ah yes, I see them.” Her gaze met his. “Wow! I’m impressed I didn’t easily spot them.”
“That’s because you didn’t know where to look. Strategically, they’re well placed in the room.”
“Oh, okay. That makes sense. So is that where you would have gone?”
“Yes, either position. They’re flanking us.”
The bartender placed the two beers they’d ordered on the bar. Devlin took out some cash and put it down. Picking up one of the bottles, he handed it to Evangeline. “At least it’s nice and cold,” he said. They clinked bottles and took sips. She leaned forward like she was going to kiss his ear, and his breathing increased in anticipation. He should have known better.
“I don’t feel any soulless here,” she whispered.
Eva was so close, the heat from her breath had the short hairs rising along the side of his body. “Me either. But the night’s early yet.” He took another sip of his beer and rested it back on the bar. “Come on, let’s dance.” He waited for her to place her bottle down next to his and taking her hand, not giving her any time to resist, led her onto the dance floor. From the corner of his eye, he watched as Jason shifted position to better have them in his sight.
Devlin stopped in the center of the floor and wrapped his arms around her slender waist. She came to him willingly, twining her arms around his neck, and resting her head just below his chin.
The motion was so natural, like something they’d done a million times before, an intimate move between people very familiar with each other, comfortable even. He relaxed, allowing himself the fantasy.
Even though they were in the middle of a war for not just their own lives but also for the lives of the humans he’d pledged to protect, Devlin took this moment to savor her in his arms. Was this the elusive peace others spoke of? At last, for once in his life, his mind was clear and he felt peace. But alas, as with all things—it comes to an end. But hell, did it really only have to be for five minutes?
The tickle in his mind told him a soulless was present, totally killing the mood. As plastered as Evangeline was to him he felt her body tense even though she didn’t miss a step. They continued to sway from side to side in synchronicity to the music, but he knew she had also sensed the presence of a soulless. Turning slowly in time with the music, he looked over the crowd but the disturbance near the pool table told him where to keep his focus.
The men who earlier had seemingly been only interested in their beer and playing pool, suddenly found another activity. A more violent one, as two of them began shoving each other. A third stepped in to try to separate them, instead both turned on him with the pool sticks in their hands.
The taller of the men struck the man who stepped in on top of his head, breaking the stick in two, while the other man hit the player across the arm. Devlin’s gaze swept the shadows and found what he’d been looking for. A man stood in the darkest corner against the wall, seemingly to just watch the melee unfold. But Devlin knew he was the reason for the sudden spike of anger in the air. The presence of this soulless was amplifying it, feeding it.
“Stay behind me,” he told Evangeline as he moved in the direction of the soulless male. He turned to stare at first Jason then Tony, silently directing them in the corner toward the motionless man leaning against the wall.
The soulless must have sensed something, because he raised his head and glanced in his direction. It wasn’t Devlin he was staring at but over his shoulder—Evangeline. He moved so fast that if Devlin wasn’t a hybrid, he wouldn’t have been able to see him, but he was and he did. The man rushed toward the back door. But Devlin was fast behind him and knew Jason and Tony were already headed around back. He kept a handhold on Eva, tugging her along as they raced after the soulless.
At the end of the hallway, Devlin found a man unconscious on the ground. He was still breathing so Devlin didn’t risk stopping to help him, he had a soulless to catch. The lock on the door he came to was broken so he just pushed it. It led right into the back alley, he could see the soulless now. He looked a little like the same guy he’d encountered before in the parking lot at the concert. The one who’d gotten away, but it wasn’t the same one. This one had blond hair instead of brown. Well this one wasn’t getting away, not this time. Not if he could help it.
He watched the man stop suddenly. Jason and Tony were blocking the end of the alleyway. The man turned to stare in his direction. But Devlin was already moving, knowing instinctively what the man was going to try. He’d jumped the fence and landed while the soulless was still in the air. Devlin ran to intercept him. He felt more than heard the presence running alongside him. Evangeline. He was surprised she’d been able to do that. He knew the Chroniclers had certain gifts, so he wouldn’t underestimate her again.
Devlin ran full out; Eva couldn’t keep up, but the soulless was faster, it would be close. Luck favored him though, he heard the sound of a train, then he saw it. The soulless must have thought he would be able to beat it but he lost that bet. The train clipped him and sent him into the air. Devlin took full advantage of that. While the soulless lay stunned on the ground Devlin reached him. Withdrawing his sword, he held it to the man’s throat.
“Don’t kill him,” Evangeline hissed beside him.
“I’m not. Not yet, anyway. Right now, we need answers.” Devlin looked around to see if there was anywhere they could take him nearby. He spied a boarded up building on the other side of the tracks. Hopefully abandoned and as good a place as any to do what had to be done. His cell rang just as the soulless opened his eyes.
“I don’t think so,” Devlin said knowing the man thought he could beguile Devlin by staring into his eyes. But being a hybrid had its perks, among them, immunity to that death stare.
“Who are you?” the soulless asked. “You don’t look like Samuel.”
“I’m not. How do you know what Samuel looks like? I know for a fact if you’ve ever met him you wouldn’t be here having this discussion with me now.”
The man growled. “We have our ways.”
“Well, lucky for you, I’m Devlin. Your second worst nightmare.”
Devlin’s phone continued to ring. He knew it was Jason trying to reach him. They had gone farther away from the men, but he wasn’t taking his eyes off the prick to answer it. “Eva can you take the phone out of my front pocket and tell Jason or Tony, whichever one is calling, we’re fine and I’ll check in again in a couple of hours. If not, come looking for us.” He listened as she told them that and also described the area where they were as much as possible.
“Jason wants to know if they should come back you up now,” she said.
“Tell him no need. We can take care of this.” He waited until she got off the phone and returned it to his pocket. Then he shoved his short blade straight into the soulless’s neck.
“What the hell are you doing?” Evangeline screamed in shock to match the scream of the soulless on the ground.
“Come on that was just a little prick. Hardly hurts at all. But at least it got his attention. He’s less likely to try anything. With that piece of steel in so close to his neck, he should be more docile.” With his free hand, Devlin pulled out the gun he had strapped to his ankle and the other long sword he had in his jacket. He pointed both at the man. “Now get up and move. We’re headed for that boarded up house on the other side of the tracks.”
“You sonofabitch!” the man snarled.
“Now, now, none of that. There’s a lady present. Now get up and walk or I put a few rounds in you and just drag your ass.”
He could feel Evangeline’s eyes boring into him but he had no time to make nice with her or this bastard. They needed information and they needed the soulless in a state where he wouldn’t be trying to kill them so they’d be able to get the answers they needed. Simply talking to the bloodsucker and making nice wasn’t going to cut it.
The soulless got to his feet and staggered toward the building. Devlin’s blade stuck in his neck slowing him down. He also kept the second sword pricking the man’s side.
When they got to the boarded door, Evangeline moved to the front and tore the board off, kicking the door open.
Devlin grinned. “You’re strong.”
She shrugged and stepped across the threshold, not bothering to look at him.
He sighed, understanding she was still angry with him and the way he was handling the soulless. But damn, these weren’t beings you cuddled to your chest. He needed this one as incapacitated as possible. They were no longer angels but stone cold killers.
As if the guy could read his thoughts he turned and growled at him, but a firmer press of Devlin’s sword to his side halted any plans the soulless might have had to escape.
The house only had a partial roof over the top, but it wasn’t raining and he wasn’t planning on them being there for any length of time. There was no furniture left in the room they were in, just trash on the floor of a rotted carpet and evidence that rodents, both the four legged and two legged kinds, at some point had been there.
He found a somewhat clear area in one corner and prodded the soulless in that direction. Evangeline continued her inspection of the place but he had to keep his focus on the soulless. This being was far from helpless.
“Sit!” It was a command and the man knew it.
He slinked down with his back against the wall of what might have once been a dining area. The blood flow from the steel stuck through his neck was slowing. “Are you going to take this out any time soon?” the man rasped.
“Not just yet,” Devlin replied.
“We just need you to answer a few questions for us and then you’re free to leave,” Eva finally spoke.
He knew Eva stood behind him. His body always knew where she was in proportion to it. Devlin just wished she hadn’t said that. This bastard wasn’t going to talk unless he believed they were prepared to end his existence, which he was, even if Eva wasn’t. Damn.
The soulless gave a harsh bark, maybe it was a laugh, as much of a laugh as could get out of his throat with a sword taking up residence through it. “That’s rich. But you, you have got to be Evangeline. The Chronicler.”
Devlin’s blood ran cold. This confirmed his suspicions that the soulless here knew who she was, yet this one didn’t know who he was. So they were tracking her whereabouts, not his.
“You know who I am?” she asked.
“All soulless know who you are. We’re all out to bag you.”
This time, Devlin growled a warning, but Evangeline spoke again before he could say anything, “How do you know me?”
That was a good question. Yeah, by now, the soulless would know about the Chroniclers, but why specifically Evangeline?
“The hunter,” the man replied.
“Son of a bitch! Chris,” Devlin hissed.
“Yes. Him,” the man confirmed.
“So it’s true, he is working with you all,” Eva asked.
“Was there any doubt? You know his hate is most filling.” The soulless licked his lips. “As well as his lust.” The guy raised his head and those dark dead eyes stared right at him, bringing the full force of his power into play, he tried to pull Devlin down into the abyss. “Hmm, much like your own,” the man said then laughed.
“Stay the fuck away from my emotions,” Devlin growled.
The soulless shook his head and closed his eyes.
Dev wanted to gut the bastard for feeding off him, even if it was secondary. He raised the short sword in his hand to end the sonofabitch, but the feminine hand on his shoulder immediately calmed him.
“What’s your name?” Eva asked, stepping closer to the other male.
“Percy.”
“Percy. Why are the soulless seeking me?”
“Because you are the key.”
Hmm, maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all. Maybe they’d get the answers to their questions without having to threaten the bastard. Regardless of Eva’s preferences, whether he answered or not, this soulless wasn’t going to be leaving the building alive. Devlin would just have to steel himself against her hatred. It wouldn’t be the first time. The thought left him feeling hollow inside.