Darkness Unbound (27 page)

Eventually she recognized that her time to exit had long passed, but her body responded to the command to twist off the shower as if on slo-mo. She slipped out of the shower and wrapped herself in a towel. As she turned she saw Kane leaning against the doorframe.

Everything in her body warmed and tightened. All thought slid from her brain. She drank in the tight T-shirt as it hugged his sculpted pecs, the carved abdomen, and the way his arousal pushed tight against the jeans. She choked out, “You guarding the door?”

He shrugged and granted her a once-over before pushing away from the door. “Next time, it might be safer for Ashor if I kicked his butt.”

Astrid grinned, drinking in his praise. “He came at my back.” Her pulse raced as he closed the distance. She ran her tongue over her lips and locked onto the heat brewing in his gaze. Electrical charges zinged throughout her body.

He grumbled, “If Javen hadn’t tackled me, I’d have been right there with you when he did that.”

“No comment on my little up close and personal gods moment?” She held her breath, terrified to hear rejection.

He tilted her head and lowered his head to hers. She opened at the first touch of his lips, drawing his tongue into her mouth and kissing him deep. He changed the angle of the kiss and licked inside her mouth with long, deep strokes. His hands gripped her ass and pulled her close to him. She moaned and wove her hands in his hair as she kissed him again and rocked her pelvis into his.

He pulled away and kissed down her neck. “I figured you and those gods have a unique relationship to have forced me into this the way they did. I’ve got other things to sweat, like making sure you stay safe.”

Sweet relief washed over her. She ran her hands under his T-shirt, tracing the grooves of his abdomen southward to undo the fastening of his pants. She freed him and glanced down at his thick erection. There was a drop glistening on the swollen head. Her gaze locked with his for a second before she smiled and dropped to lick it off. His entire body tensed. She took him in as deep as she dared, smiling at his throaty moan. His hand stroked her hair.

The heavy weight of him against her tongue, the warm scent of dominant male, the restrained urgency in his touch—she never wanted this to end. She withdrew and plunged again.

“Bella, that feels...so good.”

The hoarseness in his voice shot straight to her center. She reached between her own legs and pressed her fingers against her swollen clit, aching even for the slightest friction. The contact made her moan around him where he was buried to her throat.

Kane released a pent up breath and slid his other hand into her hair. She kept her eyes on his as she sucked him. His gaze filled with so much need and desire that her heart clenched. Her heart insisted that he wanted everything she had to give. That he wanted her on more than just a physical level. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking.

She shoved the thoughts away and focused on him and the slide of her tongue over his skin. His muscles tightened. A groan tore from his throat. And then he was coming, hands tangled in her hair, thighs crushing her sides. She swallowed what he gave and rested her chin on his lower belly.

He pulled her upright and latched onto her mouth. This was so right.

A desperate pounding resonated through the tiled room. Javen’s clipped accent carried through the door. “Astrid, I know you’re both in there. Open up or I’m coming in. This is important.”

Astrid groaned and pulled away from Kane.

Kane murmured, “We are not stopping right now. It took me over five years to be here. I can kill him or at least release the dragons on him to keep him busy for just a while longer…”

“Javen doesn’t get worked up over much.” She smiled up at Kane, struck with an unexpected insecurity.

He smoothed her hair. “You are so beautiful. We are not done here.”

“You’re just saying that because you don’t want me on your bad side.” She granted him a silly smile.

He briefly touched his lips to hers before righting his pants and striding to the door. He whipped it open.

“Ah,” Javen whooshed out and backed up with a knowing leer. He sought beyond Kane to her. “Your team has been called to action. Ashor is…well, you fucked him up. I don’t know whether to be proud of that or horrified. He’s pretty much the best at this shit. Kira said he couldn’t go. We’ve got two daemons together. Ashor wants to see if you can get us there and handle it before the team flying down there arrives. I suggested we get you pissed and send you in alone, but based on that look…” He pointed to Kane. “We’re keeping you on the organizational end of things right now. I rounded up the other guys.”

Astrid slid past Kane to grab her clothes. “We’re not ready,” she said to Javen.

Javen shrugged while discreetly not watching her. “You’ll have to be. I’ll go with you guys this time.”

Astrid pulled on her underwear beneath the towel, not comfortable with a full Monty in front of Javen. “We’ve never even trained together in the same room. This isn’t…Ashor is sending you as our babysitter, isn’t he?”

Guilt spread across Javen’s face.

“Fine. Just so long as you recognize I’m running this op.” Her gaze slid to Kane with the impulse to beg him to go too. At least then she’d have one person she knew she’d trained with on site. One person that she trusted. Right now, her guys were a disjointed group at best. She needed another week or two. Then, they’d be ready.

“Who’ve you got on your team?” Kane demanded.

His I-know-best tone raised her hackles. She cut her eyes away from him and pulled on her shirt. “You weren’t interested. So I formed my own unit.”

“Who?” Kane demanded, suddenly in her space.

Astrid put her hands on her hips just above her panties. “I recruited from those available.” She pulled on her tactical pants and shoes. She reached around Kane to grab her backpack, vest and sword. “Where are we meeting?” she asked Javen.

“Sunroom.”

She nodded. “We’ll make do with where we are in training, then.” She swung her gaze to Kane for a second. She wanted to ask if he was coming, but didn’t want to hear him say no. She left, following Javen.

****

Kane’s blood was on low boil by the time he rounded the curve into the sunroom. He’d caught the panic in Astrid’s mind at the thought of running her new team on this mission. Her safety left in the hands of a stoned Brit? No fucking way.

At the sunroom doorway, he pulled up sharply when he heard a rare softness to Astrid’s tone.

“I got you something.” She smiled uncertainly and handed a sheathed blade to Javen.

What was she doing giving that bastard gifts? Kane recognized the mark of topnotch craftsmanship in the seven-inch serrated blade.

Javen balanced the blade in his palm and then ran a finger along the steel. “How’d you know?” Javen never removed his eyes from the blade.

“Hard to miss how attached you are to your knife, and I know you were sad when you lost it a few weeks ago while fighting. I recognized its maker. A few years ago I did a little thing for the guy. He doesn’t like customs much, but for me he cranked that one out last week. Consider it a thank you for helping me.”

Javen grinned and slid the blade into his tactical vest. “Thanks.”

Astrid’s eyes went wide when she saw Kane. She inhaled sharply and stepped back.

Javen clipped his fist on Kane’s shoulder as Kane entered. “I told you he’d show up, Astrid.”

“So where are we headed?” Markus announced as he stepped into the room, wearing nylon khaki hiking pants and a rayon Hawaiian shirt.

“What are you doing here?” Kane asked.

“A little faith once in a while from you might be nice, bro. I was recruited for my…talents.” Markus smiled.

Astrid threw a tactical vest at Markus who caught it midair. “Please consider wearing it. It’s loaded out.”

“Which talents are we talking about exactly?” Kane asked, directing the question to Astrid.

Markus rotated the vest between his hands, grimacing. “If I thought you meant to sound like a condescending asshole, Kane, I’d punch you.” He slung the vest over one shoulder. “But I know you’re just suffering from chronic blue balls.” He cocked his head and stared at Astrid. “Still.”

Astrid’s cheeks blazed red. She pointed at the vest. “You’re gambling with your life if you refuse to wear it, Markus.”

Kane’s jaw clenched so hard he was surprised he didn’t break a tooth.
I don’t want you doing this, Astrid. I mean fighting daemons.

She stared up at him.
I’m not someone you need to protect. You know I can do this. I want you with me…with us, but if you’re going to be in my face about what you won’t allow, then I won’t let you through the portal. You knew I could win against Ashor. Why not now?

“Shit,” Kane cursed.
I knew Ashor would never kill you. But a daemon…
He rubbed his forehead in a useless attempt to stop the burgeoning headache. This was guaranteed to be a disaster, but he’d be damned if he let her go without him. “Give me five minutes. I’ll be back.”

Astrid nodded. Her tone gentled in his mind,
Team rules apply. That means doing what’s best for the team. No my-way-or-the-highway shit.
Out loud she said, “We’re waiting for Ashor to show up and let me know where we’re going.”

Kane sprinted to get his equipment.

Chapter Nineteen

Kane shuffled one step behind Astrid through the odd magikal doorway, which landed them into a starless night. The smell of recent precipitation hung in the air. Her gift was bizarre and inconceivable when he tried to wrap his mind around it, but it was also hands down amazing. She’d rested her hand on Ashor’s arm, instructed him to think of the daemon, and poof. They got an instant doorway to where they needed to go.

All he had to do was reach out to touch her tight ass, which filled out her black tactical pants perfectly. He remembered a time when a member of her team attempted that kind of stupid. She’d whipped around and broken the guy’s finger. The poor bastard couldn’t make a peep on that silence-critical op. Kane gazed at the delicate arch of her neck and swallowed his impulse to touch. He had to get his head in the game.

She ducked behind a dilapidated delivery truck that had been parked cock-eyed across the street from a warehouse. Everyone copied. A few streetlights cast a yellow glow. The building’s busted out windows, rusted entry gates, and overgrown greenery suggested it’d been forsaken long ago. The bullet spray high on the side of the building was a tragic tribute to wasted ammunition. Waves echoed against a dock nearby.

“Charming,” Javen bit out. “They’re in there.”

“Who’s in there?” Markus asked.

“Daemons. Hashishins.” Javen removed his new blade and absently twirled it.

Astrid asked to all in general, “I thought daemons liked churches. Have they used this type of venue in the past?”

“No. I don’t view this kind of change as necessarily good,” Javen answered. “It means they’ve been planning or got themselves someone new running the summoning department. Cripes, I bet that place reeks worse than daemons on the inside. There are probably cockroaches. I hate cockroaches.”

“That warehouse is at least a block wide,” Cy said. “Where are we? Looks American.”

Astrid consulted her smart phone. “Detroit. Harbor area.”

Javen stopped twirling his blade. “This place might be abandoned, but it’s crowded. Lots of people. The daemon…no, two daemons are in the center of that place on an upper floor. Humans on the lower floor. This stinks of a setup.”

Astrid asked, “Javen, can you get a lock on how many people are in there?”

Javen shut his eyes for a few seconds. “At least ten humans, maybe fifteen. Only a few
Fedavis
. Not sure if they’re outside or inside. I do not get why they’re here.”

“Everyone have ears on and active?” She tapped the wireless communicator in her ear while making eye contact with Cy and Markus. She handed Kane an ear bud.

Markus shoved the ear communicator in his ear, pulled it out, snorted, and then crammed it into his pants’ pocket.

Nate rolled his eyes. Kane chuckled.

“Let’s go around to the water side.” Astrid pointed to the street that ran parallel to the building’s rusted chain-link fence. “If there’s one thing the city will maintain it’s that fence to keep everyone out. But jumping that is an invitation to be snipered.”

As they jogged, they passed by several vacant homes, based on the overgrown grass, broken windows, and front fences dangling on hinges. Kane whispered to Nate, “What you got loaded in that thing?” He eyed the AR15 assault rifle with its long silver suppressor slung over Nate’s left shoulder.

“Blackout.” Nate adjusted the rifle and smiled.

“Nice.” Kane chuckled. “How’d you get the ammo? Thought supplies were depleted.”

“Astrid found it.”

“She’s good at that.” Kane grinned.

“The side gate’s open,” Markus said pointing at the deserted guard post. “Let’s go in there.”

“A little too easy, don’t you think?” Kane pointed out.

Astrid met his gaze and screwed up her lips in agreement.

“Why not enter there?” Javen asked. “It’s not like they want us to stay out. They just think they can control us once we’re inside.” Javen chuckled evilly. “Besides, now I’m pretty sure all the humans are on the opposite side of the building. Lower floor. Why don’t you guys do the daemons? Markus and I will round up the humans. Or kill ’em.”

“What?” Markus whooshed out. “Hell no. Those Hashishin assholes are insane. One or two, maybe I could handle, but fifteen to twenty or more…no fucking way.”

Javen grinned and punched Markus in the arm. “Don’t get your knickers in a wad. You’re the bait. The goal is for them to go after you. It’s in the rules that I can only attack if you’re threatened or they attack me. You’ll be fine. Trust me.”

“That’s not reassuring coming from someone who’s stoned.” Markus adjusted the tactical vest he had slung loosely over one shoulder.

“Wouldn’t it make more sense for you to help us deal with the daemon since you are the most experienced?” Astrid asked Javen.

Javen cocked his head. His gaze skimmed to Nate. “She doesn’t know, does she?”