“It doesn’t matter who helped me,” he managed
finally.
“Helped you?”
Ima scoffed. “Helped themselves is more like it.”
“Whatever,” He reached
for the juice on the table just to have something to do. He drank it, but
tasted nothing.
“What about
Evangeline?”
Exhaling
harshly, he snapped, “What about her?”
“Oh my.” His
mother sank back into the chair. “What have you done?”
What had to be
done. “I came here to talk about the archangels, not about me.”
“Are you no
longer together?”
At that moment,
he felt Eve gently prodding through the connection between them. Her sadness
was a salve, soothing the voices inside him that were irritated by the relief
he found by being with his mother. They wanted anarchy and chaos, not peace. He
closed his eyes and willed himself to be still inside, a sleeper not yet
awakened.
She will turn
to Abel,
they whispered, fighting his
restraint.
Let us have her before it is too late and she no longer wants
you.
Alec mentally
bared his teeth.
Fuck off.
Eve pulled away.
His hands fisted as he held back the part of himself that wanted to snatch her
close and use her. Instead, he shut a door between them, a thick barrier that
took great energy to erect and maintain. He had no choice but to trust that
Abel would keep her safe for now. There was too much inside him that could hurt
her, not the least of which were his most recent memories—
“Cain.”
His mother’s
voice brought him back to the world around him. He opened his eyes.
“Your eyes,” she
breathed, with a hand to her throat. “They’re
gold.”
A prickling
chill swept over him, like the shock of jumping into an icy lake.
She stood. “You
still live next door to Evangeline, don’t you?”
Alec nodded.
“Good. I’ll talk
with her while I’m staying with you, see if we can salvage things.”
“Ima. . .“ His
tone was a warning. “You are
not
coming to visit now. It’s the worst
possible time,”
“Bullshit.” She caught up her hair and twisted
it into a knotted bun. “It’s the perfect time. Have you considered that things
might be so crappy because I haven’t visited in a while?”
His brows rose.
In every myth and fable, there was a grain of truth. In his mother’s case, the
tale of Persephone’s journey between Hades’s underworld and Demeter’s Earth had
been inspired by his mother. She didn’t make flowers bloom or increase crops,
but she did seem to have the ability to rejuvenate Marks. For many, her
existence established the veracity of the Bible in a way that not even he nor
Abel could.
“There are
rumors that Sammael has set a bounty on Eve’s head,” he explained. “Demons from
all over the world are flooding the area where we live. You’re a prime target.
You always have been.”
“Like Evangeline
is?” she rejoined. “And now she doesn’t have you to lean on.”
His teeth ground
audibly, his temper barely checked. “Abel will keep her safe. That’s his job.
Not that he’s been doing it so far—”
“Then, he can
keep me safe, too.”
Alec pushed to
his feet. “For fuck’s sake, Ima! She’s a Mark. She is trained to kill demons.
You can’t compare the two of you.”
“Don’t use that
tone with me!” Her hands went to her hips. “You need me. Evangeline needs me.
I’m sure your home is a veritable fortress in order to protect her. It can
protect me, too.”
“Not like
Shamayim. Nothing can get to you here.” He ran an aggravated hand through his
hair. “I can’t deal with worrying about you right now, okay? I can’t,”
“I’m coming
along to worry about
you,
not
the other way around.” His mother left the room, heading toward the back of the
house and her bedroom.
He followed, but
stopped when he found his father filling the front doorway with his
broad-shouldered frame.
Adam shrugged. “Her
mind is hard to change once it’s been set. I’ve never been able to do it.”
“She could be
killed’ Alec bit out. “It’s as dangerous now as it’s ever been.”
“I heard.”
Which meant that
after Alec had come inside, his father had left the field to make inquiries and
get brought up to speed on events. Since Jehovah was probably unaware of the
full extent of the story, either Adam still didn’t know everything or he had a
source of information within the ranks of the seraphim.
The seraphim
didn’t give anything for free.
Alec was
beginning to wonder if his entire family was a pawn in a bigger game he
couldn’t see because he was in the thick of it.
“How much were
you told?” he asked.
As Adam stepped
inside, he pulled off his hat and met Alec’s gaze squarely. “Enough to know
that your mother isn’t going anywhere without me. So you better have enough
room for both of us,”
***
The new Alpha of
the Black Diamond Pack met Reed outside the gates of the Charleston Estates
community and together they began walking toward a nearby public park. Although
the Alpha appeared to be alone, Reed knew wolves followed them. If Chaney was
an idiot, he’d try an attack. Taking Abel down could be seen as a way to firmly
establish his new position. But if Chaney was smart, he would consider a
long-term alliance more valuable than a quick strike that would bring the wrath
of God upon his pack.
California had
three Brentwoods—one in Northern California, where Reed presently was; one near
Victorville; and one in Los Angeles. This particular Brentwood had once been a
farming community, but it was becoming increasingly residential as the years
passed. The sidewalk they traversed framed a wide street. Around them, the
youth of the buildings was evidenced by their modern architecture.
As they walked,
Reed worked judiciously to keep his connection to Eve at bay. At the moment,
the less she knew, the safer she’d be. He had no choice but to trust that Cain
and the guards would keep her safe for now. Cain was a prick, but he wasn’t
idiotic enough to jeopardize her life over personal issues.
“To say I’m
surprised you came to see me would be an understatement,” Chaney said, after
they’d walked a couple of blocks. “Are you here about the breeding operation?”
“No. I’m well
aware that Grimshaw’s hellhound whispering days are done.” Reed had moved on to
the next problem in line.
“So, then,”
Chaney glanced at him. “What do you want?”
“I think we’d
better start off with what
you
want. Are you taking part in the bounty
hunt for Evangeline Hollis?”
The Alpha’s
stride faltered, a mistake Grimshaw would never have made. “I don’t know what
you’re talking about.”
It didn’t matter
that Reed had no intention of following through with his plan. Just discussing
it aloud—especially to an Infernal—scared the shit out of him, but he needed a
bargaining chip to get things rolling. Later, he could work on the logistics of
the double cross. There were a lot of bigger fish in the pond than Eve, even
with her ties to him and Cain.
“Well, you’re
still up here,” Reed continued. “So I could take that as a sign that you’re not
interested in collecting the prize. But it’s such a rare opportunity to
participate in the kind of free-for-all we’re seeing in Orange County now.”
Reed kept his gaze straight ahead. “I thought every ambitious demon was
pursuing
it.”
“Like you said,”
Chaney muttered tightly, “I’m still here and I’ve got enough on my plate at the
moment. Besides, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Right.”
They reached the
park and turned into it, taking a winding cement path toward a cluster of
sheltered picnic tables. The night air was temperate, the breeze light and
pleasant. Around them, Reed could sense wolves watching, moving, even though he
couldn’t hear them. They kept downwind and he wondered if they thought he was
stupid, or if they were just poorly trained.
Stopping
abruptly, Reed said, “Then we’re done here.”
Chaney rounded
on him, slightly hunched as if prepared to pounce. His lip curled back,
revealing pointed canines. “You didn’t step out of your comfort zone for
nothing,” he growled. “What do you want?”
Reed shoved his
hands in his trouser pockets. “I want Raguel back.”
“What the fuck?
Since when is he gone?”
It was clear the
Alpha was clueless about the archangel, as evidenced by the strength of his
reaction compared to the one he’d had to the mention of the bounty hunt.
Sammael was cunning enough to know that the knowledge would be more valuable to
upper-level demons when kept a secret; whereas for lesser demons, sharing would
be of greater benefit.
Chaney
straightened, his eyes glowing yellow in the moonlight. “Whatever it is, I want
in.”
Reed hid his
satisfaction behind a bored mien. “It will take more than enthusiasm to get the
job done.”
“And it’ll take more
than vague references to missing archangels to get the rest of what you need
from me?’
So. . . the
Alpha had a little bite to go along with his bark.
Rocking back on
his heels, Reed asked, “Were you privy to the discussions Charles had with
Asmodeus?”
“I was privy to
everything.”
“Excellent.
Let’s get him involved again.” The overly-ambitious king of Hell needed to be
dealt with as well.
Chaney’s head
cocked to one side. “I take it you’re offering your brother’s whore in trade?
I’m not sure that’s fair. An archangel for a green Mark.”
“Sammael clearly
thinks she’s valuable.”
“But you don’t?”
“Like you said,
she’s Cain’s whore,” Reed drawled, fists clenching in his pockets.
“You two still
haven’t gotten over yourselves?” Chaney laughed, the yellow of his eyes
softening. “His promotion must really sting.”
“You assume I
couldn’t have prevented it, had I wished.”
The narrowing of
Chaney’s eyes betrayed his renewed unease. It was best if the Alpha didn’t get
too comfortable around Reed.
Clearing his
throat, Chaney said, “Ah, well... Works in my favor, doesn’t it?”
“I’m also
willing to discuss sweetening the deal, but first, I need to know that Raguel
is alive.”
“I’ll get to
work on that.”
Reed extended
his hand to the Alpha. When the gesture was accepted, his mouth curved.
The Alpha began
to scream, then howl, his knees giving way so that he kneeled before Reed like
a supplicant. As dark forms rushed out of the bushes and - leaped over backyard
fences, Reed released him. Chaney held his injured hand in the palm of the
other, gasping.
“You should
memorize that,” Reed suggested, gesturing to his cell phone number now seared
into the Alpha’s palm, “before it heals.”
Chaney’s head
tipped up toward the moon and his true visage shimmered just beneath his mortal
guise. As his pack bounded toward them, his mouth widened into a terrible maw,
his yellow eyes glowing from pain and the resulting bloodlust.
Reed sketched a
quick bow, then shifted to Gadara Tower.
* * *
“You hired
bodyguards to protect you from... demons?” Riesgo asked carefully.
“Um.. .“ Eve’s
mark heated, even though she hadn’t yet voiced the lie.
“Do you believe
the reverend is a demon?”
“No! He’s a pain
in my ass, but he’s not a demon.” He shook his head, as if she were a
troublesome and frustrating child.
“Those two are
guarding you like they expect something to run onto the field and tackle you.”
“How do you know
so much about guards?” She shifted in an effort to get more comfortable on the
cold metal bleachers. Mark or not, a hard seat was a hard seat.
He bent forward,
putting his forearms to his thighs. “I was born in Inglewood, raised in
Compton, and nearly killed in a knife fight when I was fifteen.”
“Gangs?”
“Sureno.”
“Wow. Is that how..
. ?“ Eve touched her cheek in echo of his.
“No. Got the
scar in the Rangers.”
She nodded to
herself. That made sense. Military service explained the confident, capable,
yet dangerous vibe he gave off as well as the knowledge hinted at by his comments.
Eve wondered if
he’d joined the priesthood as a way to save his life. Most gangs were “blood
in, blood out”—you killed someone to get in and you had to be dead to get out.
But a priest’s robes would be a hard barrier for a would-be killer to get past.
Fact was, the
majority of the United States population believed in a higher power.
He steepled his
fingertips. “The Army gave me a way out of South Central. God gave me a way out
of the Mexican Mafia. Okay, so I’ve told you mine. Now, you tell me yours.”