My Soul Laid Bare: Book 4 (The Soul Keeper Series) (22 page)

This new threat with the devil has me on edge as well. I'll need to use every morsel of instinct and skill to keep her safe.

Michael, my old friend, sly old dog sneaking a hug into my wife. I know he has a thing for Emmagen and Brennen is the spitting image of her. He's been after Emmagen for years but I think she really loved Brennen's father, William. He wasn't just a pawn in their quest for the perfect father genetically.

Michael pulls me to the side. His alabaster skin glows almost white againstthe dark gray walls
.“
Elijah, it's time to do what we talked about
.
”

“
Wait she can't..
.
”

“
She can
,
” he says before disappearing once and for all. Michael never was one to stick around long. I rush back to Brennen eager to tell her the news. She's showing her mother her wedding ring from Sam. Sh
e’
s going to have so much guilt when Sam does come home. And now, this news is just unbelievable, I can't tell her. I can't take the riskthat it does
n’
t work and leave her disappointed yet again

~
.

“
It's time to go love
,
” I call out to her. She captures my heart when she throws a smile my way. She hugs her mother goodbye and we walk back to the transport room hand in hand.

“
Do you want to try and get us back home
?
” She studies the air between us wondering if she is brave enough.

“
I don't know. What if we end up on Pluto
?
”

“
Why, are you concentrating on Pluto
?
”

She laughs
,“
No but you know my mind wanders
.
”

“
You'll do fine, the worst that can happen is only half your body arrives at home
.
”

“
What
?
” She looks mortified. And I can't help but laugh.

“
I'm only kidding. Just think about your bed, better yet, think about your bed with me in it
.
” I flash her a smile and a smoldering glare and she laughs. That sound is music to my ears.

She closes her eyes and I take her hand trusting her implicitly. I've never known someone
as fragile as a human being to be so brave. We arrive safe and fully whole a moment later. Emmagen chose her gift well. If anything should happen to me, Brennen will be able to get away safely.

“
I can't believe it's only Tuesday morning, yesterday seems like it happened ages ago. I guess I'd better get ready for work
.
”

Brennen disappears into her closet and I make a quick check of the perimeter. The yar
d is crawling with demons, the Live Oaks are stock still, their largest branches weighted with flocks of the ugly beasts. I make a call for back up and try to get this place cleared out before she leaves for work. I have a shield up around her house so that nothing can get through.

Elena arrives and choses to fight instead of guard Brennen, she's in and out of the house in a second. Within minutes
i
t’
s a slaughter house outside. Demon heads rolling around the green pastoral yard like a heard of beaked bowling balls.

Brennen emerges from the bathroom in a slim fitting ivory skirt and cropped jacket
.“
Mm nice
.
” Her hair is pulled back into a low ponytail exposing her long slender neck. The spot between her shoulder and nape, begs me to kiss it. I can't resist, and follow through with the urge. She melts against me as I do and my hands grip her body tightly before releasing her to leave for work. 

Her phone rings on the night stand. Sam always calls at this hour. She moves away from me to answer it and fear grips my heart. What if the guilt is too much for her to bear? What if she banishes me from her sight again? Not that
Michael would even honor the request now, too much is at stake.

There's an obvious edge to her voice. He's saying something to upset her. I hone in on his voice and learn he's decided to extend the trip another three months. How about another year Sam? Make it count. She glances over to me conflicted about something. She sounds
disappointed but doesn't try and convince him otherwise.

I disappear from sight as she leaves her room. She keeps herself occupied at work but I can tell she's tired today more than usual. I suppose we did have a very exhausting trip to the In-Between. Just as she's waiting for the elevator doors to open I hear a slight tinkering noise in the elevator shaft. I have Elena stop Brennen from getting on. She whispers in her ear to return to her office because she forgot something. I transport myself inside the shaft and spot a black shadow fading into the dark. The elevator car groans below ready to break free. The doors open and people step on. The cables come loose and the car begins to fall. The emergency brakes fail and people scream in horror. I grab the steel cable with my bare hands, wincing in pain as the cable
rips through my flesh. I'm able to slow it down enough so that it lands roughly but far from fatal. Gasps of relief cry out inside.

My hands are deeply cut and bleeding. I make some bandages appear and wrap my hands up for now. I find Brennen and Elena downstairs helping people out of the elevator. Brennen mouths the word thank you to me when no one is looking. I hate these constant attacks on her life. I've never seen anything like it in all of my days.

Five people, shaken up but unharmed, exit the elevator, luckily they were only six floors up. Elena heals my hands once we're in the car. I remove the soaked bandages to reveal the perfect skin underneath. The wound reminds me of the time I stopped a two ton block of limestone from crushing an Egyptian slave that almost left a mark.

Brennen blinks into the other realm to check on me. She rolls my hand over in hers and caresses the new skin. She looks exhausted. She lays her head down on my shoulder and actually falls asleep.
I don't have the heart to wake her when we pull into her drive. I kiss her forehead softly and Elena nudges her awake. She scares herself forgetting she's not in her own realm and quickly returns to her world.

She tells her cook she's not that
hungry and not to go to too much trouble for dinner. From the smells emanating from the kitchen, I gather he's already had the prime rib slow roasting for hours. I follow her up to the bedroom, appearing to her once behind closed doors. I unzip her skirt and offer her a night gown.

“
Are you feeling okay
?
”

“
I'm just really tired
.
”

Brennen has never been sick a day in her life. The angel blood that courses through her veins keeps her healthy. I'm sure it's just the stress of the job combined with me being severely injured taking its toll on her.

“
Will you lay with me
?
” she asks slipping under the covers. I do and she nestles herself against my chest and falls asleep in minutes.

A couple of hours later the intercom in her room goes off announce dinner is ready. She stretches her legs out over mine and I give her a small hug
.“
Feeling anybetter
?
”

“
I feel like I could sleep for days
.
”

“
We could go to Amorous tonight and you could literallysleep for days
.
”

“
No, I'm only exaggeratingI'm sure I'll be fine by morning. Besides it's probably the three days in Amorous relaxing and loving you that has me so groggy
.
” She lends me a weak smile as she slips into her robe.

I pull Elena aside while Brennen picks at her dinner
.“
What do you thinks the matter with her
?
”

“
How should I know? From what I can tell she's physically fine. Let's see how she is in the morning
.
”

“
What if the chef is poisoning her food
?
”

“
The chef's been vetted by Michael himself, he's a good guy and we've blessed his soul to protect against possession
.
”

We both round the corner as we hear her groan out. She bolts from her chair and runs to the nearest restroom. She expels her dinner promptly and rests her back against the small vanity. I offer her a cool wet cloth
.“
Tell me what's wrong
.
”

I grab hold of her hands and try to heal
whatever illness has come over her. Elena brings her a glass of ginger ale.

“
She's still half human maybe she finally caught a bug. Or maybe the meat was tainted before coming into the house
.
”

“
I'll be fine. You two quit worrying so much
,
” Brennen admonishes from the cool tile floor
.“
I'm just a little queasy. I'm going back to bed
.
” I offer to carry her up but she refuses my help and makes her way back up the stairs.

That night it snows, the roads freeze over unexpectedly. The city of Austin
tr
y’
s to make sense of the unexplainable storm and scurries to salt the roads but there are quite a few accidents already. I watch the television with the sound nearly off. Brennen wakes up before her alarm and gets sick in the bathroom again. She's really starting to worry me.

She takes a shower hoping the heat will ease her illness. She comes out wrapped in a plush robe and climbs back into bed
.“
It's probably best you don't go into work today anyway the roads are a mess. It snowed last night
.
”

“
Snow
?
” She climbs back out of bed and goes to the window to marvel at the grounds covered in a blanket of pristine white powder
.“
It's so beautiful
.
” I go up behind her and wrap my arms around her
.
“

“
You should call down and let the staff know
.
”

“
I'm feeling a little better, I'd love to spend a snow day locked in here with you
.
” She turns around in my arms and presses her lips to mind. She smells of mint with a soft sweet honeysuckle emanating off her skin naturally. Her Rainbath body wash has left her skin silky smooth and begging to be touched. I pull the cord to her robe and it falls in a puddle around her ankles. I light the fire from where I stand as the snow begins to fall outside again.

“
Ah ah, business first
,
” she giggles out as she plops naked on the bed and grabs the phone from her nightstand.  I blanket her with my body as she talks to the person in charge of her daily schedule. She tries very hard to not let the person on the line know that she's being caressed and bathed in touch right now. She ends the call and rolls over to her side with a smile just for me lighting up her face.

“
You are so bad. You're not really an angel at all are you
?
”

“
Not around you I'm not
.
” I laugh.

I spend the morning showing Brennen another side of me all together. It's a challenge for her to stay quiet but we make a game of it. I'm glad to know she's feeling better.
Whatever it was must have got out of her system this morning with her shower. Maybe her blood just took a little longer to heal her. ~

Brenne
n
~

"Do you think it's safe to go outside? I really want to feel the snow under my boots." The cloudless sky is painted a crystal clear blue. The trees are dusted with piles of snow like some New England Christmas card. I watch a cardinal land on a branch from the window and preen its feathers, posing for my camera.

"I can make sure it is," Elijah says looking out over my shoulder. Elena comes through the door startling me.

"I see, make like you're sick and shack up all day, but now princess wants to play in the snow."

"What Princess wants, she shall receive," Elijah placates her. He must have sent her a message through their mental connection.

"Elena, you know you want to throw snowballs at my head
,
” I say with narrowed eyes.

Her face lights up like a small child and bounds out of my room to get a head start on what must have been a brilliant idea.