Absolute Surrender (7 page)

Echo poured a mug of the steaming brew, took a sip, and hummed in pleasure as the life-saving beverage slid down her throat. The caffeine buzzing through her system powered her up and eased her frayed nerves.

The doorbell rang, ruining her moment of bliss. Bob stirred from where he lay asleep on the couch and cocked open an eye.

“It would help if you could answer that, since you’ve already had
your
breakfast,” Echo told the ball of gray fur. Setting her mug on the counter, she headed for the door and peered through the peep-hole before she opened it. “Damon?”

“Expecting someone else?” he drawled, amusement lighting his eyes.

“Yeah, right. No one in their right mind would disturb me at ten past six in the morning, ’cept you.”

He laughed.

But her mind rushed back to the sexy, blue-haired stranger like a heat-seeking missile. Ugh, she must have lost her ever-loving mind. The man was far too dangerous and she wanted normal.
Normal, Echo,
she reminded herself. Stepping aside, she let her guardian in. As usual, he was impeccably dressed in black dress pants, white shirt, and a long, rough leather coat.

She frowned. Damon being here this early wasn’t a good sign. She shut the door behind him. “I thought you were in San Francisco?”

He glanced around her apartment then turned to her. Inky black hair fell from a widow’s peak and framed his striking, but serious face.

“I was, but business brought me back, and I wanted to see you before I leave for Romania in a couple of hours. Here.” He handed her a brown paper bag. A light touch on her shoulder was his way of greeting. Damon wasn’t a demonstrative person but then neither was she.

She stared at the package. “What is this?”

His brow shot up as he removed his outer garment and dropped it over the armchair. “Coffee. What? You stop drinking the stuff?”

Her panic eased. She carried no scars or bruises from her nighttime activities. And he didn’t seem annoyed about anything, so all was cool. She hoped.

Relaxing a bit, she inhaled the contents. Her one weakness, the rich dark coffee Damon always indulged her with. A definite change from the cocoa he used to make for her when she was younger. No surprise his favorite brand had become hers.

“Thanks, Damon. There’s food. Kira cooked...er...something, if you’re hungry. It’s in the fridge.”

A pained grimace crossed his face. “Tell Kira to take up another hobby.”

“It’s edible this time,” she protested, defending her friend.

“I’ll pass, thanks.” He picked up the remote from the coffee table and switched on the flat-screen TV. Turning to the couch, he shoved Bob aside and sat down. An annoyed hiss left her pet. The cat hopped off the sofa and took up space on the armchair.

“So? Anything occurred since I’ve been away?”

“You’ve been gone two days. What can possibly happen in that short amount of time?” Echo reached down, scratched Bob’s belly, and was rewarded with a euphoric rumble.

“You don’t want me to answer that question, do you?” His eyes narrowed when he saw her stroking the cat. “For Christ’s sake, don’t scratch that lazy creature’s belly.”

Her fluff-ball purred even louder. Echo smiled. It was as if her pet understood what was going on. “Really, Damon, you’re so temperamental with Bob. I can’t understand why you won’t get along with him. You gave him to me.”

“My mistake. I should have given you a dog.” Damon gave Bob another black look.

“Do you want coffee?” she asked him, heading for the kitchen.

“No.” He shook his head, switched off the flat-screen, and tossed the remote aside.

Retrieving her coffee, she took a sip and studied him. Something was off. Unease started to rise in her again. “Damon, what is it?”

He turned. Echo was taken aback at the dark expression on his face. Despite their constant disagreement about her hunting, Damon wasn’t one for dramas or ordering her about. A nerve ticked in his jaw. His mouth was drawn into a thin line. “I don’t want you out on the streets. These are dangerous times.”

“I can look after myself, Damon. After all you were the one who taught me how to fight.”

“So you could protect yourself, not go hunting after those bastards!”

She watched him warily. He never got angry.

“Bloody hell—I’m sorry, Echo. I’m concerned.”

“Then why don’t you help me?” she said softly. “You were once a hunter. We could find the fiend sooner and get rid of him. That’s the only reason I go out, and you know it.”

He pushed to his feet and roamed the small room like a caged animal. Impatiently, he raked back his hair, which just fell forward again. “Echo, I gave that up when I adopted you because I want you safe.”

“I know, Damon, but I can’t. I have to find the
demonii
who killed Tamsyn. I owe her that for keeping me safe when I lived on the streets—”

“I know exactly what she’s done for you,” Damon cut in, his voice harsh. His violet eyes darkened with anger.

Oh hell, this can’t be good.

“I still have contacts out on the streets.
Demoniis
are searching for you. You go out there, killing the bastards, now they’re coming after you.”

She opened her mouth to speak. But there was nothing she could say without further riling him, so she shut it. Finally, she understood why Damon had cut short his trip and rushed home.

So, the soul-sucking fiends wanted her dead? Well, they could try.

CHAPTER 5

Aethan headed down East Houston Street as bleak afternoon sun filtered through a thin layer of smog which hovered around the tops of the skyscrapers. He’d concluded his business midtown but had been too edgy to go back to the castle, so he took to the streets. He hoped Michael got back soon from wherever he’d disappeared to. If they were going to stop some prophecy from unfolding, he wanted to know if the female they searched for was tied into this prophecy about the angels Riley had spoken of.

Stopping under a leafless tree, he sent out his senses and performed a wide scan of the humans in his immediate vicinity. If he picked up on a strong psychic vibe, then he would investigate it. Hands shoved in his pockets, he waited for anything resembling a psychic spike. Nothing. Not one gods-damn glitch. Just a shitload of stray thoughts...

Oh yeah, he’s a big one. Hot-damn
!
He can ride me anyway he likes—

Aethan narrowed his eyes and found the Hells Angel eyeing him from across the street where he sat astride a Harley. The male wore a leather vest and had chains draped over his jeans. He didn’t seem bothered by the cold weather. Tattoos spread like a virus over chunky arms, his expression sporting an “I’m-all-yours” look.

Urias
! Not even if he was inclined in that direction.

His mood dropped another notch. He should head back to the castle since he had a training session with Týr. Reaching Sunshine Cinema, he crossed the street and staggered to a halt.

Children scampered around the playground like colorful little rainbows, dressed in warm clothes against the crisp bite in the air. Some climbed the jungle gym, others swooshed down slides, letting out whooping shrieks of laughter.

The sounds of their joy took Aethan back fast and hard—cracked open dark painful memories that rendered him helpless. Ones he had no way of shutting off.

‘
A’than!
’ A childish voice filled his head. ‘
Here, for you.
’
A few wilted stems of wildflowers dangled from her fist as she came careening to him...

‘
Ariana, no—get back!
’
Frantic words she didn’t understand as his sword went winging through the air.

Blood, so much blood.

His lungs seized as if a tanker had landed on his chest. He couldn’t breathe. His mind scrambled around like a blind man, found his off switch, and shut down
.
He inhaled a harsh breath, pushed up his shades, and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Urias
, he had to get the hell out of here.

Leaving the playground behind, he headed down the street and was looking around for a place to dematerialize when a tantalizing spark brushed against his psyche. He faltered mid-step. That touch unforgettable...

Focusing on the taunting sparkle, Aethan tracked the psychic tug. He dashed across the street, crossed over to the corner of Norfolk Street, and stopped, zeroing in on the basement gymnasium there. Wilde’s Health & Fitness Center.

He took the few stairs down and pushed open the glass door. A female receptionist popping gum, sat at the front desk, the phone pressed to her ear. She looked up and her mouth dropped open as the phone slipped from her grasp.

Her expression changed, became sultry. “Hello. Can I help you?”

The words were a subtle invitation he ignored. Removing his shades, Aethan slipped them into his jacket pocket, then held the blonde’s gaze, and willed her mind to open to his. Her pupils dilated and took over her blue irises.

“I’m looking for someone. This tall.” His hand stopped below his chin. “Short, spiky black hair, brown eyes—”

“You mean Echo?”

Echo. The name wrapped around him and seeped into his soul. “Yes.”

“She has a class at the moment, should be done in five. Please have a seat.”

Before releasing his hold on her mind, Aethan planted the suggestion that he was waiting for Echo, and she should ignore him. Leaning against the wall, he scanned the massive place.

White walls displayed photos of humans in various stages of exercise. His acute hearing picked up on the sounds of an intense workout session of some kind, taking place farther down the corridor. Grunts and curses, along with the hiss of a steam room, added to the cacophony, but through it all, he kept track of her provocative psychic sparkle.

Arms crossed over his chest, he waited, ignoring the flow of human traffic that stopped to gape at him. It reminded him why he preferred the night. Way easier to disappear into the shadows.

***

Echo rubbed the goosebumps on her arms, still far too restless to settle. Damon had left that morning, only after she’d promised to be careful. She realized hunting for Tamsyn’s killer would be dangerous, just like he understood it was something she had to do. And Damon didn’t need to know she used her pheromones to lure and kill the fiends. He’d have a coronary or lock her up forever. With him, probably both.

A quick glance at the wall clock reminded her it was time to slow down, as the class drew to an end. “All right, people, cool down phase—five minutes and no dodging this part. It’s as important as the actual training.”

As usual, this group of teens didn’t care about easing off. They bolted for the door like a tornado of human bodies.

Who knew a self-defense class could be this much fun?

Echo picked up her hoodie from the floor and headed for the staff lounge. The room was a white square box, broken up by several bright prints of New York’s skyline. Vivid-colored sofas and two armchairs, in greens and blues, surrounded three low, glass-topped coffee tables. Two small basement windows, at street level, revealed the assortment of feet that ambled, walked, or jogged by. A small kitchenette was set back off the lounge.

She went in and helped herself to a shot of caffeine. The strong aromatic made her mouth water. Drinking her coffee, Echo strolled out of the kitchen, just as the door to the lounge opened. She glanced up with a ready smile, expecting it to be another staff member or her boss, Jimar. And froze. Only her excellent reflexes kept her mug from crashing to the floor.

The man, who persisted in haunting her ever since she’d seen him at the cathedral, stood in the threshold. Every moody inch of him.

Her eyes clung to him, then like treacle they glided slowly over his body. He wore leathers again. God, the man was way too sexy—too hot. He should come with a warning sign for susceptible women like her, because he made breathing impossible.

His striking hair was tied into a queue. The small silver earrings he favored gleamed in his ears. Her eyes collided with his and she found him watching her like some dark, hungry predator.