Lightbringer (2 page)

Jared had flown halfway across the room before he realized Cassie didn’t need him to catch her. He resumed his seat at a more sedate pace.

Gideon grinned. “I’m glad to see old instincts die hard.”

Jared shrugged. “Don’t read too much into it.”

“Who is she? One of your dalliances?” Gideon asked Jared as Cassie and Linda slipped back into the foyer of the restaurant. He took Cassie’s vacant seat.

“No. And I don’t dally.” For some reason the question irritated him.

“Of course you do. It’s the only practical thing to do in your circumstances.”

His circumstances. With all their inconvenient—and delightful—physical demands. Gideon was right, but he didn’t like his friend’s cheerful assumption.

“I’m glad she isn’t off limits,” Gideon continued. “Maybe I can find some time to play a little before I have to return.”

“Leave her alone,” Jared growled.

“Oh, so she
is
off limits then?” The corner of Gideon’s mouth quirked up.

Jared frowned. Why should he care if Gideon wanted to get friendly with Cassie? He’d only just met the woman. She was nothing to him, even if she was Progeny. Gideon wouldn’t hurt her, but he couldn’t stand the idea of his friend
dallying
with her.

“Well maybe her friend is free. You can introduce us.”

Jared kept a rein on his temper, refusing to succumb to Gideon’s baiting. “I’m not your pimp. And what’s with you, Gideon? Surely you didn’t come here just to take advantage of the first woman you met?” He tsked.

“I never take advantage,” Gideon said lightly. “It’s always the woman’s choice. Let her exercise her free will, you know. You should approve. You’re big on that.”

Jared stared at him. “You really didn’t sense her?”

“Of course I did.” Gideon affected a shiver. “And she felt delightful. It’s rare to find a lady who carries not one, but two Celestial bloodlines. I can only imagine how good it would feel to be skin to skin with her.”

Jared’s irritation flared, but just then the bartender approached, cleared Cassie’s drink and asked Gideon what he wanted.

“Two more of whatever he’s having.” Gideon waved at Jared’s empty margarita glass. “And bring them to that booth over there, please.”

Jared followed his friend, wondering if Gideon had remembered to assume the form of a man with money in his wallet, or if he’d get stuck with the check. Again.

When the bartender placed the two drinks in front of them and left, Jared touched Gideon’s hand and spoke mind to mind to him.
*So what do the Guardians want with a Lightbringer?*

Gideon sipped his drink. “Oh that’s good.” He continued silently,
*I can see why you’ve lingered here, Jaradiel.*

Jared made a disgusted noise.
*That’s not why I’m still here, and you know it.*

*Yes, well, you were put in a difficult situation. Even Michael admits that.*

*Mikey! What’s he got to do with this? Are you taking orders from him now?*

*Hardly. I still answer to Rafael. But from time to time their interests coincide. Along with Lucifer’s.*

Jared laughed out loud.
*Michael in agreement with Lucifer? Is Beelzebub making snow-cones now?*
He waited for Gideon to explain, but his friend just sipped his drink, closing his eyes as if to appreciate it more fully.

He knew Gideon wanted him to ask what was so important that he’d assumed human form. Jared also knew Gideon was eager to tell him.
I can wait
. He leaned back in the booth and sipped his own drink.

A few minutes later, Gideon spoke. “Oh all right. You win. We need a favor.”

Jared touched Gideon again.
*We, meaning the Guardians? Or is this a favor for Michael?*

Gideon glanced at Jared’s hand, which covered his own. A smile played on his lips. “They’ll think we’re lovers if you keep doing that.”

“Doubtful. I’m clearly out of your league. Now answer the question.”

Gideon barked a laugh.
*The Guardians. But Michael doesn’t object.*

Jared’s lip curled.
*Big of him.*
But what could Gideon say? They both knew what Michael and his cronies were like.

Jared shook his head. “No. Not interested. I don’t trust anything Michael’s involved in.”

*He’s not involved. This is Guardian business.*

*Then what do you need me for?*

*We’re doing what we can, but you know how it is. All we can do is suggest and advise from the other Realm. Tweak small things. We need ‘boots on the ground’ this time, and I’m it.*
Gideon looked away, then back at Jared.
*Haven’t you been following the news? There’s a lot going on at the moment and we’re stretched a little thin. I need you to watch my back.*

Jared’s anger flared, and he jerked his clenched fist away from Gideon. “You want
me
to watch your back? And Michael signed off on it? How did
you
get on his shit list? Doesn’t that make you nervous?”

“That mess with Stauffenberg and Hitler wasn’t your fault,” Gideon whispered. “Even Michael knows that.”

“Then why am I still here?” Jared almost shouted.

Some of the men watching television turned to look, and Jared forced himself to relax. Gideon was a friend. But
he
was still able to go home. He had no idea what it meant to be stranded here, as Jared had been. To be cut off from his brethren, alone, isolated…vulnerable. “I’m out of it, remember?” he said in a voice like ground glass. “Thanks to Michael.”

“Rafael would like to change that.”

What?
Jared hated the way his heart jumped in excited interest.
To go home again
…

Jared forced himself to lean back in the booth. He even managed to keep a steady voice when he asked, “What do you mean?”

Gideon put his hand out and waited till Jared made contact.
*Just what you think. If you help me on this, Rafael will vouch for you. You can come home, back to the Celestial Realm.*

Jared clenched his jaw.
This can’t be right
. He’d been exiled for screwing up, not once, but twice. Even Lucifer, the head of the Lightbringers, had bowed to Michael’s will and left him to rot down here.
And Rafael will bring me home just for watching Gideon’s back? Not likely. Something else is going on.

*I can’t believe you’d even think twice about this,
* Gideon said.

Jared raised his eyebrows.
*And I can’t believe you’d be part of this charade. This isn’t Lightbringer business. Why can’t the Guardians handle this? Protection is your territory, after all. Why draw me into it?*

*The signs aren’t clear—*

*When are they ever?*

Gideon lifted a shoulder in a slight shrug.
* This is more than a simple case of protection. Certain secrets may need to be revealed.*

Damn Gideon
. The Guardian knew just what to say to pique Jared’s interest. He never could resist a chance to bring hidden knowledge to light. Jared sighed.
*Who are we supposed to be protecting?*

Gideon grinned at Jared’s capitulation and tilted his head toward the swinging doors.
*Cassie Lewis, of course.*

CHAPTER 2

*SINCE WHEN DOES a Progeny merit special attention?*
Jared asked.

*She doesn’t. Not because she’s Progeny, anyway.*

Jared took a sip of his drink. “So, it’s not because she carries two bloodlines. Which ones by the way?”

Gideon waited until Jared reconnected.
*Apparently a Guardian and a Seraphim got frisky over the generations with a couple of her great-great-grandmamas.*

*A Seraphim! That’s hard to believe. It wasn’t Michael himself, was it? Is that why he’s so involved? No, that’s impossible to believe. But if Michael’s interest isn’t because of that, why then?*
Gideon wouldn’t be asking for help on a regular peek and tweak. He didn’t need to be here in the flesh for that.

*Michael says she has a destiny.*

*We all have a destiny.*

Gideon snorted. “Yeah, and yours is to get smacked if you don’t stop interrupting.”

Jared grinned, but didn’t say anything else.

“Her destiny is somehow entwined with Michael’s prophecy, and it’s going to be…interrupted if something isn’t done.”

“Interrupted?”

*She’s going to die prematurely. Murdered.*

Jared tried to ignore the way his stomach clenched. He didn’t care about Michael and his cryptic prognostication. If Cassie died, her spirit would go on. Death wasn’t the end for mortals. But he liked her. He liked the way she’d told him she was psychic without apology, as if she were testing his reaction. He wanted her to have her full span of years. That was the only reason his hands were fisted on the table. It had nothing to do with the way his cock twitched every time he thought of her.

*By whom?*
Jared forced his hands to relax and stirred his margarita.

Gideon grimaced.
*We don’t know yet.*

*Where is this turning point going to occur?*

Gideon just shook his head.

Jared crushed his straw.
*How?*
His mental voice cut like a razor.

Gideon remained silent.

*When?*
Jared asked, not expecting an answer.

*Soon.*

Hot anger flashed through Jared.
*Soon? How the
hell
can you not know who, or how, or where, or even when someone is going to try to kill her if it’s ‘soon’?*
It was a good thing they were talking mind to mind, or his shout would have drawn attention.

Gideon winced.
*We think it’s because—*

*—an Apostate is involved.*
Jared finished, figuring it out for himself. His anger flared again, and he clenched his jaw. Some of their Celestial kindred preferred anarchy to order. Whenever those traitorous bastards meddled, it made seeing the future more difficult.
*But even so—*

*I know, I know. We should be able to see something more. We’re working on it. I’ll let you know when I do, okay?*

Jared rubbed a hand over his face. This was worse than his last job, with even less information. The chances of success, of keeping Cassie alive long enough to fulfill her destiny, of him rejoining his brethren, seemed to be turning into water and flowing out of his grasp before he’d even started. This was the opportunity Rafael offered? An impossible task? He ought to say “No,” and walk away. Let Gideon handle it. He was the Guardian after all.

But then Cassie might die
.

He sipped his drink. The thought made his margarita taste bitter.

“What do you want me to do?”

Dave Hopkins ran his finger down the phone listings on his smart phone.
Fallacaro, Fallahi ... Fallon. Greg and Linda Fallon. Bingo
. He entered the info and hit send. No answer, just voice mail picking up.
Good. No one home
. He’d be in and out before Ms. Fallon finished her salad. Something in Linda’s house would tell him where her friend Cassie lived.

Cassie twisted the cloth napkin in her lap. The waiter had come and gone, but the sound of gunfire still echoed in Cassie’s mind. Was that horrible vision of mass slaughter something that had already happened, or something yet to occur? And what could she do about it, even if she knew?

“Did you ask him out?” Linda asked.

Cassie shoved the intrusive memory aside and pulled herself back to the conversation. “Who? Dave? No!”

“He’s cute too, but we were talking about Jared. The hottie?” Linda raised her brows. “Remember? The guy who bought you the drink? Did you ask him out?”

“Of course not! I don’t know anything about him except that he likes history.” And that he made certain parts of her tingle in ways that hadn’t in a long time. Need coiled inside her. She was uncomfortably aware her panties were damp.

“And he’s as handsome as the devil and wears expensive suits. He’s perfect. Go for it.”

“Linda!” Now that Linda was married, Cassie’s best friend seemed driven to get her into that blissful state too.

“You said he didn’t flinch when you told him you were psychic. How often does that happen?” Linda gestured with a tortilla chip, emphasizing her question. “What did you see when you touched him?”

“You know I try not to peek uninvited.”

“I know, I know. So what did you see?”

Cassie closed her eyes. She remembered the surge of heat that had roiled though her when her hand touched Jared’s. Her pulse speed up. Desire slid through her veins.

“Ooh, that good huh?”

Cassie opened her eyes. She couldn’t lie to her best friend. “That good. But beyond that, I didn’t see much. He has strong natural barriers.”

“So he wants you, and you want him. Ask him out. At least give him your card.”

Cassie dunked a chip in the salsa and shrugged. “He knows my name. I’m in the book. If he wants to call me, he’ll call.”

Linda rolled her eyes. “Honey, in my experience, unless the guy is a player, he needs encouragement. Hell, some guys need a neon sign and a billboard. And if he is a player, you don’t want him. Give the poor guy a clear signal and see what happens.”

Maybe Linda is right
. She certainly did have the experience. Linda had dated a lot before she’d met Greg, and more than half the time she’d been the one asking the guy out. Taking the initiative wasn’t something Cassie often did. Not anymore. Not since Andy. “I don’t know …”

“Forget Andy-the-Jerk,” Linda said, reading her as if she were the psychic. “Give it a shot. If he says no, you haven’t lost anything. If he says yes, you meet him in a public place, have a nice dinner, touch him—not like that!—and find out if he buys those expensive suits second-hand.”

All she’d have to do is walk back into the bar and put her card down on the counter in front of Jared. That should be clear enough, right?
Unless he thinks I’m trying to drum up business
. Cassie rolled her eyes at her timidity and noticed Jared and Gideon were being led into the dining room. She couldn’t help staring. The man had a natural grace that drew the eye and made her heart skip a beat.

“Is that him? Which one is he?” Linda asked eagerly.

“The dark one.”

“Oh, good. I like the blond better.”

Cassie had to laugh. “Linda, you’re married.”

“I can look can’t I? Let’s ask them to join us.”

Startled, Cassie turned back to her friend.

“This way you can get to know him better before you ask him out.” Linda was already starting to get up.

“No, wait.”

Linda turned back to her.

“I’ll do it.” A weird mixture of fear and confidence surged through Cassie’s veins. “The Cass is back.”

Linda grinned and sat down. “Finally!”

Cassie smiled. She hadn’t used Linda’s old nickname for her for a few years. It hadn’t seemed to fit anymore. But it was time to crawl back out of her shell.

Cassie stood up, turned, and saw Jared heading toward her, Gideon and the hostess in tow. Jared’s dimpled smile bolstered her courage. “Would you like to join us?” She tried to sound as if she did this all the time.

“I thought you’d never ask.” Gideon grinned.

Cassie made the introductions as Gideon sat next to Linda and Jared slid into the booth beside Cassie. The close quarters were a little too intimate for comfort, but at least she had the outside seat. She sat on the edge so she wouldn’t accidentally brush against Jared.

After the waiter took their drink orders, Gideon turned to Cassie and said, “So you’re a psychic?”

The bold question took Cassie off guard. “Yes, I am.”

Jared turned to face Cassie more directly, placing his arm on the back of the banquette. “I hope you don’t mind that I told my
former
friend here. You didn’t seem shy about it.”

Cassie’s shoulder tingled at the nearness of Jared’s hand, anticipating his touch. But his fingers didn’t make contact and she quashed a feeling of disappointment. “I’m not, but I don’t usually tell everyone I meet.”

“Just the men?” Gideon asked.

“Smooth, Gideon. You can shut up now.” Jared glared at his friend.

Gideon’s question struck close to home, but not for the reason he probably meant. Cassie tried to not sound defensive when she answered. “I don’t hide it, and Jared did ask what I do for a living.”

“What do
you
do?” Linda asked Gideon a little forcefully.

“I’m in personal protection,” Gideon answered.

Linda raised her brows. “Like a bodyguard?”

Jared chuckled, and Cassie wondered what the joke was. But his dimples distracted her from asking.

“Something like that,” Gideon said.

“Have you guarded any famous bodies?” Linda turned even more toward Gideon.

“A few.”

Linda leaned forward. “Really? Who?”

“Sorry, I can’t talk about them,” Gideon said.

Linda leaned back again, her posture declaring her disappointment.

“Too bad, Linnie. No juicy tidbits for you tonight.” Cassie glanced sideways at Jared and tried not to notice how his slightly too-long hair curled around his collar, or to think about how soft it looked. Or how much she’d like to run her fingers through it. “What about you?” she asked him. “What do you do when you’re not picking up women in bars?”
Oh crap
. That had come out snarkier than she’d intended.

“He’s an independent contractor,” Gideon volunteered.

“Doing what?” Linda asked.

“A little this and a little that,” Jared answered.

Linda’s brow furrowed. “Could you be a little more cryptic?”

Cassie almost laughed. Her friend had wanted her to date more, and now she was being protective.

The corner of Gideon’s mouth quirked up. “He’s working for me. He’s being circumspect for my sake.”

“So you’re a bodyguard, too?”

Jared shrugged. “Sometimes.”

“And the rest of the time?” Linda’s eyes were intent.

“Linda! It’s just dinner, not a job interview,” Cassie exclaimed. But she wanted to know too.

Jared smiled. “It’s okay. The fact is, I made some good investments several years ago. I only work now and then to help out a friend.”

Linda’s face relaxed. “Oh. Cool.”

If he’s telling the truth
.

“And you?” Gideon asked Linda. “Are you a private investigator? You have the tenacity.”

Linda laughed easily, apparently not embarrassed in the least about grilling him. “I’m a reporter for the
Star
.”

“Ah, that explains it.”

Cassie was glad she didn’t have to resort to Linda’s tactics to find out about someone. A lingering handshake was usually all it took for her to learn who she could trust. Usually. She hadn’t discovered much about Jared when they’d touched, and so Linda was leading the charge, like the faithful friend she was.

The Cass wouldn’t let Linda do all the work
. She had to touch Jared again, and try not to let that wave of heat, or her response to it, distract her from finding out a little more about him. Any skin-to-skin contact would work, though she couldn’t help thinking about how it would feel to run her fingers over the firm flesh of the muscular thigh that was so close to hers—if he was wearing shorts—which he wasn’t. Or no pants at all.

Get. A. Grip
. Cassie forcefully pulled herself back to the here and now and leaned back to where his hand dangled on the back of the seat, hoping to make contact without being too obvious about it.

Jared’s hand itched to play with Cassie’s amber curls.
They probably feel like silk
. And after he’d let her tresses flow through his fingers, he could lift them from her neck and kiss his way down the swell of her breasts. He imagined she tasted as delicious as her peaches and cream complexion suggested, and her nipples—

“Jared?” Linda asked, dragging him back to the conversation.

Gideon was grinning, as if he knew what Jared had been thinking.

Jared shifted uncomfortably in his seat as his cock strained for what it couldn’t have.
Damn human physiology
. He removed his arm from behind Cassie and leaned forward, bracing his forearm on the table. “I’m sorry. I missed that.” What was the matter with him? She was Progeny. He was supposed to be protecting Cassie, not fantasizing about burying himself in her creamy sweetness.

“I asked if you had any hot tips for the stock market? Since you’re so good at investing.”

Jared shook his head. “Sorry, no. I don’t pay attention to trends. I’m more of a long term investor.”

“Great!” Linda exclaimed. “I’ve always heard you should start planning early for retirement. What should I be looking for?”

Cassie watched Jared as he and Linda discussed investment choices. He talked with his hands, making small, precise gestures to emphasize his points. His fingers were long, and his nails short and clean. Capable hands. Hands she wanted to touch, and wanted to touch her. She couldn’t stop herself from thinking about how it would feel. Her nipples perked up as she imagined his caress. It had been four years since she’d been with anyone. Too long.

Stop
. Cassie crossed her arms over her breasts. She shouldn’t be thinking that way. Hadn’t she learned anything? She didn’t know anything about Jared.