Hear No (Hidden Evil, #1) (24 page)

“I’m fine.” She glanced at Eddy. “He’s being nice. I’m just a little overwhelmed.”

Eddy gave her the thumbs-up sign.

“I’m sorry for earlier,” she said.

“It’s not your fault, Kaylee,” Nathan replied softly. “We need to get through this. When it’s over, we’ll talk about last night.”

That doesn’t sound promising.

“You should stay away, Nathan,” she told him. “Shadowman and Eddy aren’t going to let you near me anyway.”

“I’m coming for you, sweetheart. I don’t care who or what gets in my way. They can’t stop me anyway.”

“You’re such an arrogant asshole.”

“I hear that a lot. Must be a turn on to be around someone who’s always right. Makes women drop like flies around me.”

“Oh, really? You’re wrong about a few things,” she retorted. “First, Shadowman didn’t kill Mike. A blonde with blue eyes did! Second, it’s not being an asshole that makes women fall at your feet. It’s your twelve inch dick! That’s all you have going for you, Nathan, because your people skills suck!”

“Ten and a half, but thanks for the boost.”

“Third, I swear to god, if you think I’m going to fall at your feet or if call me sweetheart one more time, I will use the knife Eddy gave me on you.”

“You don’t have it in you,” he replied, laughing.

She hung up on him.

“That’s not a healthy relationship,” Eddy said, accepting the phone back. “Does he really have a twelve inch dick?”

“Ten and a half.” She wiped her face, furious enough to shake. “I don’t want to talk to him anymore. Remind me of that if I ask again or if he calls me.”

“Yeah, sure,” Eddy replied. “You want to talk about it?”

“No, I don’t.” She opened the car door and got out. She wiped her eyes. “I want this to be over.”

“I don’t think that’s possible. You might as well get used to me and Shadowman.” Eddy held the door open for her.

“Why are you so happy?”

“Because I love my job.”

“That’s just … insane.”

The happy, Satan-worshipping assassin went to the counter to order them coffee. Strung out on emotion, Kaylee sat down in a corner.

Her skin smelled of Nathan. It was killing her. She wanted to be wrapped in his arms again, even if he was the biggest asshole she’d ever met in her entire life.

Chapter Seventeen

Nathan winged his phone across the room. It smacked into the wall and clattered to the ground. He faced the blank wall, fuming.

“Dude. Take the meltdown outside,” Maggy snapped.

“I can’t
think
straight,” he returned. “I need to go.”

“Nathan!”

He turned to gaze at her. She, Jordan and Randy were seated in the garage, planning how to address the Kaylee issue.

“We’ve almost got a plan. Just chill,” Maggy said.

“I work better alone, Mags. Sorry.” He snatched his jacket and left, slamming the side door leading out of the garage. The tears in Kaylee’s voice bothered him in a way he didn’t expect them to.

Worse – he already felt guilty about killing her and hadn’t even done it yet. He’d never failed in a mission and he was having a whole lot of doubts about this one.

“Nathan!” Maggy followed. “Would you stop?”

He did and breathed deeply.

“What is wrong with you?” she demanded, moving to face him.

“You really have to ask?” he replied.

“Yes. And no. I know about Zyra appearing and this mess with Kaylee. You can handle this. You’ve handled worse. Just suck it up and focus.”

Nathan clasped his hands on top of his head, struggling not to just walk away.

“Do you know where you’re going?” Maggy asked.

“To fix this.”

“You can’t, Nathan, not without us.”

He bit back his words.

“This plan is
your
idea. You can’t run out on it!”

“I’m not running out,” he replied through clenched teeth. “I’m going to get Kaylee.”

“You’re going to fuck up any chance we have of making this work.”

Some part of him knew she was right. He dropped his arms, forcing himself to calm down.

“You’re the most dedicated guide I know. What is with you?”

Nathan gazed into space for a moment. “I treat every case the same. I’m having a hard time doing that this time.”

“Oh, so you
do
have emotions.” Maggy rolled her eyes. “First gens and every other incarnated angel love you, because they see that part of you that you refuse to. You put this thick shell around you, but you’re the only one fooled by it. You know what?”

He met her gaze.

“I’m
glad
you finally realized you’re still human. What you’re going through is what every other guide goes through. Maybe understanding that, you won’t be such a bitch to deal with.”

“Did you just call me a bitch?”

Maggy whirled, stalking back to the house.

“I fucked up, Mags.”

She froze. “You’ve never,
ever
admitted to being wrong about anything since I met you five hundred years ago.”

“Not saying I’m wrong. Just did something I wouldn’t normally do.”

“Surprise me.”

He chuckled. “You asked me where I was last night …”

“No!” she exclaimed, facing him. “You didn’t sleep with Zyra!”

“Not Zyra.”

Maggy’s puzzled expression turned down her lips on one side.

“Kaylee.”

Rather than incite her, the words had the opposite effect. Her shoulders dropped and she twisted the ring on her finger.

“All right. I give. Why is that bad?” she asked. “I mean, I know you date lots of women. If it was Zyra, yeah, I’d have your balls for that one.”

“Hel-lo. The woman you want me to kill?” He crossed his arms. “I’ve never killed anyone I slept with.”

“Only you would use sex as a measure for whether or not you kill someone. Maybe it’s my female brain, but I don’t have any idea what’s wrong with you.”

“I. Feel. Bad.” The words sounded as painful as they were to say. He didn’t like emotions – hadn’t bothered to tap into them for many centuries. “I can handle anything. Just not this.”

“Wrong,” she said. Amusement appeared with her smile. “You can handle it. You just don’t want to, because God help you, you actually
like
this girl. After what? Four days? How long did I try to wring any sort of affection out of you?”

“This isn’t about us,” he warned.

“Nothing ever was. I’m glad you get to kill Kaylee, because I want you to know what it’s like to lose someone you care about. At least Kaylee will be back in one piece, unlike the hearts you broke over your lifetime.”

“You’re not getting it,” he said, unfazed.

“Omigod. I can’t do this.” She spun and left him. “Fuck you, Nate.”

He watched her, suspecting she was right about everything for once but not wanting to admit it, especially to her. He’d never been conflicted about any case he worked or the outcome or about doing his job. He didn’t want to imagine what losing Kaylee for good might feel like.

It was a horrible feeling.

“The funny thing is – she’ll still drop her clothes in a heartbeat if you ask her,” Troy said from behind him. “No idea how you do that, Nate.”

Nathan turned to face his longtime friend. He looked Troy over then grinned. The spirit guide was the way Nathan remembered him from five years ago: cleanly shaven with a goatee, trimmed hair, and dressed casually. His large, dark eyes were visible, and he smelled earthy rather than like a man who’d been wallowing in his room for weeks.

“I’m just that good,” Nathan responded.

“Still your own biggest fan, I see.”

Nathan laughed, grateful for the brief release of tension.

“Why aren’t I invited to this party?” Troy complained, crossing his muscular arms. “You drop off some little girl at my place with no explanation and no warning she can’t hear a word I tell her. Oh, and about the portal to Hell? Thanks for mentioning that, too.”

“How’s she doing?”

“Fine. Alive. Typical first gen. Thinks I’m wrong to want to kill myself.” Troy shrugged. “You gonna clue me in or do I just keep guessing?”

“Come on. We’re planning.” Nathan drew a deep breath then started towards the garage. “You really want in on this?”

“Tired of trying to kill myself. Maybe someone else can do the job.”

“Pedro won’t let you go.”

Troy walked with him towards the townhouse. “Is he the smartest person in the universe or the dumbest? I can’t figure it out.”

“I’ve been asking myself that since I met him,” Nathan responded.

They entered the garage, and the three waiting for them looked up. Maggy’s face was still flushed from their discussion.

“You all know Troy,” Nathan said, seating himself on a box.

“I thought you were dead,” Randy said to Troy.

“Not yet.”

Nathan snorted. When they had some down time, he’d have a talk with his old friend. Something was wrong, but he didn’t know what.

“The plan,” Jordan began “is to temporarily kill Kaylee. We’ve got a distraction planned to draw Shadowman’s attention away from her. Probably won’t give us much time, so Nate has to be quick.”

Nathan listened. The demon was cunning to pull in Eddy, who was skilled enough and more than willing to try to kill any of them, if given the chance. Along with their other duties, the guides kept tabs on certain members of the Satanist movement, specifically those who were reincarnated angels.

Eddy was a second gen. Not innately bad, he’d somehow gotten mixed up with the wrong crowd when young, possibly because his spirit guide was a newbie who didn’t know how to recognize the signs his charge needed help.

“We got a report this morning that Zyra’s group is close to Kaylee. We don’t think they’ve figured out where she is, or they would’ve acted. Sorry, Nate. I don’t trust the two day truce she offered you,” Maggy said.

“Me neither,” he agreed.

“We’re moving tonight,” Randy added. “Distraction – boom. Nathan pops in, takes care of Kaylee. We bring her back when Shadowman is gone.”

Assuming this works.
Abruptly, Nathan understood what was bothering him.

He listened to them walk Troy through the plan, distracted by his thoughts. While he didn’t need a woman permanently in his life, he didn’t want to lose the only chance he may ever have with an OTL, either. The type of love between two destined to be together was the stuff of legends. He never in his life thought he wanted something like that, not since losing Zyra. But he wasn’t willing to kill the only chance he might ever get at having it.

What did that make him?

A confused idiot.

The most important question wasn’t what happened if they couldn’t bring her back. It was what happened if he failed to execute the plan in the first place. Tonight was the only chance to save her, and to do so, he
had
to kill her.

He couldn’t hesitate. He had to do what he did best: put his emotions on hold, clean up this mess then deal with the consequences tomorrow. After all, there was no chance with Kaylee, if he failed in his mission. He could still decide to walk away from her tomorrow, but at least she’d be alive.

Resolve solidified within him.

There was no other way.

Maggy’s phone rang. She glanced down at it and frowned then stood and walked a short distance to answer.

Though he couldn’t hear her, Nathan saw her face change at the short conversation. She hung up then stood in thought for a moment before returning to them.

“Guys, we have a problem,” she started. “3G found Kaylee. They know who she is and where she is right now. We think they’re going after her at some point tonight.”

“They might be doing us a favor. Providing a distraction so we don’t have to.” Nathan rose. “Looks like we’re moving the plan up.”

“We’ll have to.”

The others rose and quickly began to gather their shoes, weapons and gear. Maggy’s soft hand rested on Nathan’s roped forearm.

“You ready for this?” she asked, studying him.

“Absolutely,” he replied. “It’s the only way.”

“Okay. I’ll send word to have the medical gear on standby.” She reached over to the table to grab a small, black bag that contained two syringes. “Just one of these. It’ll be painless for her. If for some reason, you don’t have the three minutes it takes to put her out, then use two. But only if you have to. We need to be able to clean out her blood when we revive her. It’ll be harder with two.”

“No worries, Mags,” he assured her with a smile. “I’m the best guide for a reason.”

“With the worst possible rating in history.”

“Because I always get the job done.” He winked and grabbed his gear then smacked the button on the wall to open the garage door.

Ducking beneath the rising door, he breathed in the cool fall morning air deeply with a glance at the bag in his hands.

They’d gone with fast acting poison as the method to kill her. There were quick ways involving a gun or knives, but this would be painless with the added bonus that they’d limit the physical damage of her body. He didn’t think all the spirit guide’s healing energy in the world could repair a bullet to the head – but modern medicine could clean her blood of poison, once they got her heart beating again.

He didn’t exactly want to feel her blood on his hands anyway. This way she simply fell asleep and woke up later.

It’s just another case.
The reminder wasn’t working. It made him feel ill, knowing what exactly was on the line.

Chapter Eighteen

The Shadowman was chasing her. Amira ran through the streets, breathing hard and legs burning. The faster she ran, the closer he seemed to get. The red stone was clenched in her hand, glowing. It gave her away whenever she tried to lose him in an alley or doorway, a beacon he could see no matter where he was.

“Run, Amira!” Scott was ahead of her, fighting off Zyra and one of the men with her, the way he had the night he died.

It’s just a dream.
Amira repeated this to herself once more, but she couldn’t help the fear or escape the clutches of the nightmare to wake up.