Bound by Revenge (Guardian Series) (15 page)

But he could barely mask his resentment as she drew near. He’d been trying hard to advance in his group. To have her walk in and take over was a powerful kick to the groin but for his own safety, he needed to keep that thought to himself.

Morgan slipped into the seat directly next to Max’s and not the one across the table that held the pre-ordered iced tea in front of it. Always the touchy-feely type, she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a quick kiss on the cheek in greeting.

The single action destroyed everything Max had worked so hard to build. Abby stood at the door blocking the entire outside world from the suddenly very enclosed bistro.

“Ms. Andrean, your father is already at the table waiting for you.” The hostess’s words cut through the air, making it hard for Max to breathe, as he realized what had happened.

Bradley bore the mark, a symbol on the back of the neck, identifying him as an enemy. He had seen it the first time they met.

Abby didn’t have it yet and Max assumed that it was his job to prevent her from joining the guardians, though no one had given him the express direction. The assignment hadn’t been that bad at all. It was actually a pretty good way to spend his time.

The look on Abby’s face silently screamed across the room that it was all over. There would be no going back, no way to repair what had been destroyed in an instant.

Max had only heard rumors about the guardian’s existence before coming to Ruthers. It was the demon group here in town that finally filled him in on the details. There was a war teetering delicately on the brink and the guardians were there to protect humanity. But since the demon group here was just looking to cause chaos and to get as much enjoyment as possible, it just made sense for them to have someone keep an eye on the guardians, to protect themselves from the backlash they wanted to avoid and that was his job, to stay with Abby and report back anything he learned about her life and her family.

Once Morgan took control she began to focus the group on preventing guardian intervention rather than just observing. His job hadn’t changed yet, he was still just a spy, but somewhere down the road, it would. He’d be left to destroy the group from the inside. That’s what he’d thought before, anyway. Now looking around the room, caught in a trap he couldn’t escape, his future was a complete blank.

Max’s pride reeled as he realized that he hadn’t gone undetected as he previously thought. Bradley not only followed him today, but Max was willing to bet that he had been on surveillance for some time now. And Bradley bringing his daughter in to catch Max with another woman was the sure fire way to sever their ties.

Max pushed past Morgan to approach Abby. He reached out to turn her to face him to try and salvage the relationship they had built and the time he had spent building his cover.

But Abby pulled free from his grasp with the unnatural strength of someone fighting for their life, choking back tears until she ran into the outstretched arms of her father.

“You’re fired.” The words that resonated over everything else, coming from Bradley’s silken baritone, were simple and expected. That was the end of the road. His mission failed. The war hadn’t even begun and he was already out of the game.

Max looked back at Morgan, who sat calmly at the table as if no there had been no interruption. She opened her small purse, threw five dollars down onto the table, enough to pay for the two drinks and tip, and walked Max out through the front door.

Two blocks away, Morgan turned down the dark alley way that separated two large brick warehouses. Garbage littered the ground and everything seemed damp, even though it hadn’t rained in days.

Max followed Morgan. His every instinct told him not to, rational thought concurred. How foolish would he have to be to put himself face to face with such a worthy adversary? And yet, he couldn’t stop himself as his feet kept moving one in front of the other.

Max watched as, in slow motion, a gleaming silver dagger slid out of that black beaded purse and into Morgan’s hand. She turned faster than he could react and the blade sunk deep into Max’s chest.

His legs buckled under his own weight and he could feel himself falling to the ground while Morgan pulled the dagger from his chest. She wiped it clean on a small kerchief before tucking both back into her bag.

Max could hear her footsteps getting fainter with each second. He lay on the cold ground, surrounded by nothing but brick, asphalt and garbage. The sticky warmth of his own blood was the last thing he would ever feel as he took his final breath and closed his eyes.

Her father sat with her for hours that day. Something that Abby would never have predicted, since he always seemed to have some place else he needed to be but this time, he was there, holding her as she sobbed and brushing her hair back while she struggled to breathe through her despair. All the while, she wondered how she would ever move forward with her life.

It had been three weeks now and Abby hadn’t heard from Max since that night. Not an apology. Nothing. Somehow she knew she’d rebuild her life. No betrayal could take away her strength.

But for now, she ran. Away from her broken heart, into the unknown, into a future with nothing but promise.

Bradley watched his daughter run. Tears dripped from the corners of her eyes and streaked trails of black mascara down her cheeks.

He would never tell her the truth about Maxwell. It would just be cruel to let her know what Max actually was and why he’d been there, with her. It was hard enough on her thinking that she lost her love. He didn’t know if she’d recover from the knowledge that it was all a lie and that he never loved her. 

Chapter Nine

The board of directors sat silently around the long oval table in the conference room. They looked up as Arratta strolled in and took his place at the head of the table when he was ready to bring the meeting to order.

“We all know why we’re here today.” Arratta started. “Our first order of business is dealing with Leus.”

Just as the words echoed through the room, Leus walked casually through the open door off to the side of the table.

“You started without me, Gramps. I’m insulted.” Leus feigned confidence as he took his rightful seat on the board. “What have we decided? Do I get kicked off the board, beaten, decapitated? Or are you gonna be creative?”

“Glad to see you’re taking this so seriously, Leus. And don’t worry, I’ve already come up with the perfect punishment for you.”

Leus cringed as he watched Arratta’s lips curve up in a self-satisfied smile.

“You’re going to stay on the board. And you’re going to stay in the war. You’re too good of a soldier to take out now that we have no choice but to fight because our cover’s been blown.” He said, shooting an accusatory glance at Leus before continuing. “I have something else in mind for you. I thought about it for quite a while. And I’ve come up with something that will solve my problem and make you pay for your insubordination.” Arratta paused and watched Leus squirm in his chair. “I’ll be working with your team.”

“What do you mean working with my team? Am I getting reassigned?” Leus asked, even know the sinking feeling in his stomach told him exactly what Arratta meant.

“Oh, no. That wouldn’t be much of a punishment, Leus. I’m
joining
your team. I’ll be fighting right alongside you and your soldiers. I’m going to know exactly what you’re doing. Exactly what you’re saying. Exactly what you’re thinking. And if you try anything that I don’t think is right, I’m going to step in and override your command. In order to keep control of your team, you’re going to have to start playing by the rules. My rules. Not yours.”

The room filled with the low murmurs of the board members, as they excitedly whispered among themselves acclaiming the punishment Arratta presented.

“Now that that’s taken care of,” Arratta interrupted the chaos, “we need to start thinking about strategy. I won’t be going into this blind, again.”

This time, everyone in the room focused their attention on Leus. The accusatory stares blamed him for their current position.

The leanthans best weapon had always been the element of surprise. Any other strength they possessed would be not only equaled by but far surpassed by the guardians they would face.

The leanthans were strong but their abilities were limited compared to those that they’d face with the guardians. The guardians by definition were the strongest of the immortals. In physical strength and in skills.

“While Leus was off planning a secret raid, I’ve been doing something far more constructive. Morgan, can you join us please?” Arratta projected his voice and turned to look over his shoulder at the doorway.

A second later, the petite blonde flashed to Arratta’s side.

“I’ve made an alliance with a small group of demons in the area.” He raised his voice over the shocked murmurs. “Morgan will be our contact with their group.”

The collective gasp of the leanthans hung heavy in the air as Arratta finally continued.

“They know more about the guardians than we do and as this fight is not with angel or demon, but rather with humanity, we need to accept any help that we can get.”

It was Leus who broke the silence by pounding his fist down on the table before jumping out of his chair and moving aggressively into Arratta’s space.

“You can’t do this. We’ve been fighting with the demons for centuries. How do you know you can trust her?” It was the demons, after all, who had provided the weapons that killed his Arriana. They were the reason that he was alone. And there was a real chance that it was Morgan’s group that had been instigating the humans in the area. But Leus knew better than to verbalize that thought since Arratta wouldn’t do a thing about hypothetical situations. He’d just get more pissed off and that would make it even less likely to get the old man to believe him.

“Think strategically Leus. They’ve broken ranks from their group and they no longer focus their behavior on keeping balance on earth. This is exactly the upper hand that we need to win this war. The war that
you
started.” Arratta growled, balling his fist at his side, clenching and releasing in a calming pulse.

That all but confirmed Leus’ suspicions. She led the rouge group in Ruthers. They were the real cause of the war.

The two men glared at each other, neither one breaking down.

The rest of the board members were as hesitant to work with the demons as Leus was. He could see the terrified expressions on each face but unlike Leus, they wouldn’t have survived if they’d challenged their leader and no matter how wrong Arratta was, he’d have the backing of the leanthans if Arratta and Leus fought.

So Leus withdrew for the time. He couldn’t get revenge for his wife’s murder if he was dead. All he could do was try to be patient. The truth would come out in time. It always did. Until then, he’d be watchful. He’d keep a wary eye on Morgan, so she couldn’t attack him or his family.

Morgan watched as the tension between the two men grew. This was the leanthan leadership, the two strongest fighters in the war. They would be easy to manipulate to accomplish her goals. It just happened that the two shared a perceived common enemy, the guardians.

Morgan had been watching Bradley since she followed Vance to Ruthers. She couldn’t believe that Vance had been called into the guardians and she, his partner for so long, had not. Vance would have been nothing without her help and now, he was just turning his back on her and joining the enemy.

That’s why Morgan went rogue and she had no trouble finding a team of demons that had already assembled. She had even less trouble becoming their leader. There were always plenty of demons around and Morgan was great at manipulating the males. So here she stood, primed to take out the guardians and Vance in the process and to finally take over the earth in the name of the immortals. She’d never be a slave to humanity’s needs again.

For now, she’d have to play nice with the leanthans. In her mind, the race was little more advanced than the humans she detested, but she needed their army to obtain the numbers that the demons would never have. Once she took her rightful place as ruler over the humans, she’d use them to overtake the leanthans. She’d bring all other species under her power and force them all into slavery by keeping a select group by her side to help make the others stay in line.