And here I
thought I was running the show After I get back, you can go do whatever you
want,
she offered.
Whatever I
want, huh?
But jf you
take that necklace off, I’ll kick your ass.
What do I get
if I keep it on?
She stalked
right past Abel.
Keep the necklace on, keep a lid on your parents, and it’ll
keep you on my good side.
After yesterday,
he couldn’t ask for more. But she didn’t know about
that.
. . yet.
I’ve got shit
to do, angel.
After your personality transplant
yesterday, I still trust you,
she
argued.
You owe me a little trust in return.
I trust you.
Good. Then do
as I say. I’ll see you later.
He wasn’t used
to following orders from anyone but Jehovah. But she was right, he owed her.
And he was exhausted. He hadn’t slept in almost two days. That was too long
even for an archangel. He’d take a nap, then track down Sabrael when Eve
returned.
Abel pivoted and
followed her around the corner. Alec had no idea what his brother had done to
piss her off, but he was glad they were both on the outs with her.
He tried to tell
her that he’d have dinner waiting, but the connection was static again.
They’d
really
have to talk about that when she got back.
“Let me guess,”
Reed drawled. “You’re mad at me.” Eve reached the elevators and stabbed the
call button with her finger. “I don’t have time to play games with you now.”
He moved in
front of her, forcing her to look at him. As with Alec, the sight of him made
her a bit weak in the knees, despite what an asshole he could be. “How many
times do I have to tell you, Eve? I’m not playing with you.”
Her lips pursed.
“You know ‘The Gift of the Magi’?” Not the biblical story; the one by O. Henry.”
“Who doesn’t?”
His dark eyes narrowed.
“You and I are
working at cross purposes now, Reed. I know what I’m doing, you don’t. Take my
advice and take a trip somewhere. Come back in a few days.”
“Eve.” He caught
her hand. “What are you talking about?”
He had a great
game face, but she knew him well enough to sense that his guard was up. Guilty
as charged, apparently. But she believed he was trying to do the right thing—to
get Gadara and the priest back, and save her from the Nix. However, she didn’t
doubt for a minute that Reed was willing to let Alec be collateral damage.
Fratricide was ingrained in them, but damned if she’d he the cause of either of
their deaths.
She felt him
trying to probe her mind. She pulled away, breaking the physical contact
between them. “I have to run. Think about that story. Tack an unhappy ending
onto it and that’s what you’ll get if you don’t back off.”
The elevator
dinged and the doors opened.
“Abel.”
They both turned
their heads to see Sara approaching. Eve ducked into the car while Reed was
distracted, and hit the button for the lobby.
“Hey.”, He
caught the door before it closed. “What the hell?”
Eve pushed his
hand out of the way. “Your brother isn’t expendable to me, Reed.”
He stared at her
with a hard gaze until the doors shut.
Once she reached
the lobby, she switched elevators to catch the one that would take her up to
her office on the forty-fifth floor. The number of Marks in the tower was
declining steadily as the workday winded down, allowing the sickly sweet scent
of their souls to settle down to a manageable level.
As Eve entered
the reception area, Candace stood and offered a slight wave. Eve smiled in
greeting.
“Ishamel said
he’d be here at four-thirty,” the secretary reported, rounding her desk with
message pad in hand.
“Perfect.” Eve
headed toward her office.
“You have an
e-mail from your sister, and also one from Sarakiel that’s marked urgent.”
Eve paused and
Candace almost ran into her from behind. “If it’s urgent, why didn’t she just
call and tell me? She’s got my number.”
“There’s an
attachment, so that might be why. Want something to drink?”
“No, thank you.
You can go home now.”
Eve went to her
desk and sat before her computer. She accessed her e-mail and read her sister
Sophia’s note first. Pictures of Eve’s niece and nephew filled the screen and
caused her a pang of envy. She was the eldest, but Sophia was years ahead of
her when it came to settling down. And as long as Eve had the mark, she would
remain behind. Marks were sterile.
She typed out a
quick “as soon as I can” reply to Sophie’s query about when she’d be coming to
visit. Then, she reclined into her chair and took a moment to push past
unwelcome feelings of resentment.
As she often did
at times like these, she glanced around her office, taking in the mixture of
traditional modern and Asian-inspired bamboo pieces that made up the decor.
Most of the furnishings had been moved from her previous, much smaller office
at the Wiesenberg Group. Part of the effort to blend her old life with her new.
That’s what she remembered when she felt down—that she’d been allowed to blend
her two lives together. None of the other Marks were so lucky.
Refocused, she
straightened and clicked open Sara’s e-mail. The name of the attachment that
came with it gave her pause, since it was clearly a recording of a video feed
from “CainOffice” made yesterday. Had Sara become aware of Alec’s problems? How
much danger was he in if she had?
Eve
double-clicked on the video and waited for it to load.
Once the replay
began, it took her a minute to comprehend what she was watching. It took a bit
longer to break the stillness caused by horror, freeing her to kick the
computer’s power cord out of the outlet in the floor. The monitor turned black
and the computer’s cooling fan stopped, leaving behind an empty silence.
Breathing in and
out deliberately, Eve leaned into her desk and tried to forget what she’d seen.
“T-that wasn’t
Alec,” she told herself. “That wasn’t him. You know it.”
It’s ugly and
painful, but we have something worth fighting for...
He meant to tell
her. She knew it. Lay it all out there and hope she’d understand. But she was
still jealous and pissed off.
Standing, Eve
began to pace. Her emotions wanted an outlet and there wasn’t one. From the
expression on Alec’s face, he had been as much of a victim as Izzie. Whatever
comeuppance the German bitch deserved for making a play at another woman’s man
had been served during the act.
Which left only
Sara.
Eve stopped at
the window and leaned against the console positioned in front of it. What the
hell had the archangel hoped to gain by sending that video to her? Sara wanted
her away from Reed, so why send her something that was troubling enough to push
her right into his arms? Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, right? Sara
had to know that if Eve was pissed at Alec, the best way to pay him back in
kind was to hookup with Reed.
“What do you
want, Sara?” Eve wondered aloud, her fingers digging into lip of the console.
“What do you stand to gain?”
Hell hath no
fury—
Her eyes
widened, her mind jumping to the conversation she’d had with Mariel.
“Are you ready to
go, Ms. Hollis?”
Turning her
attention to the door, she found Ishamel standing there.
“What are you to
Raguel Gadara?” she asked, straightening.
His gray brows
rose. “I beg your pardon?”
“You’re his
lieutenant, right? His right-hand man?”
“Something like
that.”,
Eve nodded. “Is
it just a job to you, or do you genuinely care about him?”
There was a
slight hesitation, then, “Raguel is a friend to me.”
“Is. Present
tense.” She stopped in front of him. “You think he’s alive, too?”
He gave a brief
nod.
“Do you have
access to everything? Can you authorize investigations?”
“What do you
want, Ms. Hollis?”
She caught his
arm and directed him toward the door. “Call me Eve, please. And don’t shift us
downstairs. Makes me dizzy. Let’s do things the mortal way, if you don’t mind.”
Again, the terse
nod of his head.
“Now,” she
continued, “I don’t know if you’ll believe me or not, but I want Gadara back,
too.”
They moved out
to the hallway and turned toward the elevators.
“And how do you
plan to get him back. . . Eve?”
“I’m afraid I
can’t tell you that.”
Ishamel stared
at her intensely the entire length of the descent to the lobby level. Despite
her determination, it still made her squirm. He had the eyes of a shark. Dark
and dead.
They exited to
the circular driveway. Idling near the center fountain, the requisite limousine
waited. At least it was requisite for Ishamel. Eve was more interested in
Reed’s Lamborghini, which he’d arrogantly left parked directly in front of the
entrance. The convertible was a silver beauty, as sleek and dangerous as its
owner. She pictured him driving over from his meeting with the demons at
Downtown Disney and her jaw clenched. Instead of shifting from location to
location, he’d used the car for effect. Maybe as a way to humanize himself, to
seem at ease and unconcerned when meeting with a king of Hell. Bravado was a
necessary tool of the trade when dealing with demons.
She glanced at the valet booth and pointed to
the Lamborghini. “Do you have the keys for this?”
One of the three valets nodded but looked
wary. Ishamel snapped his fingers and the valet kicked into gear, ducking
inside the booth to pull keys off one of the many hooks on the wall. He ran
over to them and Eve held out her hand.
“Thanks.”, she said when he dropped the key
ring into her palm.
She pulled open the passenger door for
Ishamel before running around to the driver’s side. Sliding behind the wheel,
she adjusted the seat forward, then gripped the steering wheel with both hands.
“Wish I hadn’t left my sunglasses at home.”,
she murmured, half afraid to borrow Reed’s car without permission. He might
find it amusing, or he might be furious.
Ishamel held his hand out and she found her
sunglasses clasped between his fingers. With a wry smile, she accepted them. It
sure would be handy to be able to shift anywhere and back in the blink of an
eye. She pushed the key into the ignition and turned the engine over. It roared
to life, then purred deliciously.
“Seat belt,” she said, while securing her own.
Then they were off, gliding around the center
fountain and exiting onto Harbor Boulevard. The police station was on the same
street just a few miles down. Eve told herself that Reed shouldn’t get too
pissy, since she was just taking a straight shot up the road.
“What do you
need from me?” Ishamel asked. “Can you. . .“ She hesitated, then glanced over
at him. “Would you be open to spying on an archangel? Do you have people who’d
be capable and willing to do it?”
“Cain?”
She sucked in a
deep breath and hoped that she wasn’t screwing herself royally. “Sarakiel.”
“Ah. . .“ In the
periphery of her vision, she saw his fingertips drum silently on the seat. “And
you need this information for use in retrieving Raguel? Are you certain you
don’t have personal considerations?”
“You don’t have
to tell me what you find,” she said. “Just look into it and if something
strikes you as off, deal with it as you see fit.”
“An odd
request,” he murmured.
“Trust me, if
you find what I suspect you might, there won’t be any doubt that it isn’t
personal.”
He didn’t say
anything. Eve hoped that he was thinking it over.
A few minutes
later they pulled into the parking lot of the police station and she slid the
car into a diagonal space that had empty spots on either side. She didn’t want
to have to explain a door ding to Reed on top of the grand-theft auto.
They entered the
station and shortly after, Ingram joined them from somewhere in the back. He
led them to a room with a beat-up table and a large two-way mirror. A form and
a pen waited there. He directed her to sit and give her statement regarding
what she remembered in as much detail as possible.
Eve sat and
began to write. Ishamel moved to the far corner and sat in a chair with his
eyes closed. He looked as if he was napping, but she suspected he was sending
orders to whoever fell under his purview.
She was halfway
through her second page when the door opened. The stench of Infernal assaulted
her nose and her head snapped up. A uniformed officer entered the room with a
bottle of water in his hand. She watched, wide-eyed, as he set it on the table.
His mouth curved in a malevolent smile. His detail crawled up from beneath his
shirt, coming to rest over his Adam’s apple. It was an insignificant design as
suited a lesser demon.