Secret Worlds (380 page)

“I’m going with you.” She leaned forward, ready to get out of the car.

Lash placed his hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her back. She opened her mouth to protest and he grazed his finger over her lips. “Please.”

His heart pounded, and he couldn’t tell if it was because of the motor that grew louder by the second or if it was the way her eyes grew darker the longer she stared at him. He shook his head.
Get your head in gear!

Bear’s barking grew more frantic.

“I’ll be right back.” He jogged to where Naomi had left Bear and her backpack. Unzipping the carrier, he took Bear out. She yapped at him and licked his face. “I know. I’m worried too.”

He handed Bear and the backpack to Naomi. “If something happens, don’t come after me. Run.”

A motorcycle came to a stop a few yards ahead of him. Lash couldn’t tell who the rider was with the helmet still on. He turned around to make sure that Naomi was still in the car and wished there was more distance between them. Without his full powers, he didn’t know how long he could hold the attacker off.

The rider sat on the bike, arms folded over his chest, waiting for Lash. As he grew closer, the black helmet tilted to the side.

What’s he doing?

The rider pulled off his helmet, and a familiar face beamed. “Doing a little sightseeing?”

“Jeremy.” He let out a sigh of relief. “What are you doing here—and in your human form?”

“I come bearing gifts.” He jumped off and took out a red gas can from a saddlebag hanging on the bike. “I figure you’ll be needing this.”

“How did you know?”

“Oh, I have my ways.”

“Have you been spying on us?” From time to time, archangels checked in on the seraphim and guardian angels to make sure they were on track with their work. However, it was unusual for an archangel of death to do it.

Jeremy laughed. “You know me—always looking for some entertainment. Watching you is as exciting as watching an action movie. You dodged a close one back there at the airport.”

“I almost lost her. I can’t let that happen again.” Lash gazed at Jeremy for a moment. Gabrielle and Michael loved Jeremy. Maybe they’d given him some information. “Do you know anything about this safe house? I don’t know if Naomi will be safe there. Maybe I should take her out of the country.”

Jeremy frowned. “Stick to the plan.”

“What plan?” Lash asked, exasperated. “All I have is a location that I have to find with this.” He showed him the GPS.

“You were okay with limited information before. What’s the problem now?”

“Oh, nothing. I just wish I had a little bit more to go on. I was hoping maybe you knew something.”

He could feel Jeremy’s eyes on him as he fiddled with the gas canister. No matter how hard he tried to hide his thoughts, Jeremy could always read him like an open book.

“The blast at the airport wasn’t the only explosion I saw,” Jeremy said.

His eyes flashed up to Jeremy’s. “So, what of it?”

Jeremy scowled and kicked the ground, sending a spray of dirt and rocks. “Don’t you ever follow the rules? This is your last shot to go back home. Stop messing around with her and do your job.”

“I
am
doing my job. I’m supposed to keep her safe, and that’s what I’m doing.”

“Damn it, Lash! The reason she’s in danger in the first place is because of you.”

Lash staggered back, his eyes wide, as if he’d been punched in the stomach.

Jeremy cursed under his breath. “You weren’t supposed to know that.”

“Know what.”

“Forget it. Forget I said anything. Go do your job.” He turned and headed back to the motorcycle.

He did know something.
“I’m calling it.”

Jeremy paused and held his head up. “Don’t.”

“You owe me. Remember?”

Jeremy turned, his eyes blazing. “That was a poker game. This is life.”

“And you’re supposed to be my friend.”

Jeremy marched to him. “You already know this. You just refuse to see it. Jane Sutherland
is
Jane. Luke Prescott
is
Lucifer.”

The blood drained from his face. It couldn’t be her. Jane, the little girl who’d held on to Javier Duran’s hand, forgetting about her own fears to take care of him,
that
Jane was not Jane Sutherland. The same Jane Sutherland who crashed into Naomi’s father; the same Jane Sutherland who was close friends with the darkest and most evil of all angels—Lucifer.

He groaned. This was his fault. His fault that Naomi had lost her father, his fault that she had been pulled into a world where fallen angels wanted her killed. “Why? Why do they want her?”

“I don’t know. I suspect that she’s a threat to Lucifer and his followers.”

A threat
. That meant he wouldn’t stop coming after her until she was dead.

“I can fix it.” He swallowed the bile that swam up his throat. “I can make it right again.”

“I know you love her.” Jeremy let out a breath. “But she’s not for you. When the time comes, let her go,” he said softly.

His nostrils flared. Jeremy had always had his back, no matter what. And now, when it really mattered, he was turning against him.

“Thanks for the help,
friend
.” He spat out the word as if it soured his mouth.

“It’s because I’m your friend that I’m telling you this. Do what you were told because if you don’t, you’ll lose everyone who loves you.”

“I’ll take it under consideration.”

As he turned to head back to the car, Jeremy grabbed his arm and jerked him back. “If you care about her, don’t do this. Don’t hurt her this way.”

“Let go of him or I’ll split your body from that melon you call a head.”

The expression on Jeremy’s face went from bewildered to amused. “Pardon me.” He dropped his hand. “I didn’t mean any harm to your friend.”

When Lash turned, he saw Naomi a few feet behind him, clutching a tire iron. “I told you to stay in the car,” he growled.

“When do I ever pay attention to what you say?”

Lash groaned. He didn’t know whether to kiss her or to chastise her. “There’s nothing to worry about. This is my friend Jeremy. He’s also an angel.”

She looked Jeremy up and down. “Do all of your angel friends try to rip your arm off?”

Jeremy took a step forward. “We were having a bit of a disagreement. Lash and I have been friends for a long time.”

“Look,
Jeremy
,” Naomi sneered. “I don’t know what problem you and Lash are having. But we’re in a hurry and—” her eyes widened and she went to the motorcycle. “That’s my bike.” She stroked the seat as if to see it was real.

“Yes. I must say it’s a marvelous contraption.” He walked up to her. “It rides—”

Naomi spun around and lifted the tire iron. “You stole my bike. Nice friend you have there,” she said to Lash.

“Let me explain.” Jeremy held out his hands. “I borrowed it. I had to get here somehow to bring gas.” He motioned to the canister Lash held.

“Why didn’t you just fly here?”

“I wouldn’t have been able to bring the gas can with me. It would’ve been a strange sight, seeing a flying gas can.” Jeremy grinned. “On the other hand, we
are
in New Mexico, where UFOs are the norm.”

Naomi scowled.

“Tough audience.” He glanced at Lash. Then he turned and sniffed. “What is that smell?”

Her eyes followed his as they drifted down to a fresh stain on her shirt. Her faced turned pink and she scowled. “None of your business, and stop trying to change the subject.”

“Look, I was actually doing you a favor taking the bike. Some big guy wearing a tuxedo t-shirt pushed it into a garage and left the door wide open when he left. A couple of kids were eyeing it, and I chased them away.”

“Lalo,” Naomi growled. “I’ll kill him.”

“Hey, no harm no foul. I’m taking it back as soon as I—”

A little brown fur ball launched toward them, and Jeremy looked at Bear, surprised. She yapped and growled, running around in circles.

Jeremy looked down at Bear. “What’s wrong with your dog?”

“She doesn’t like you.” Naomi bent down and patted her head. “Good dog.”

Then Lash heard it. This time he recognized the sound. It was the same engine that he heard at the grocery store parking lot. His eyes met Jeremy’s for a moment.

“Leave. Now,” Jeremy said. “I’ll try to slow him down.”

“Come on.” In one smooth motion, Lash took the tire iron out of her hands, tossed it into the field, and pulled her back to the car. “We need to go.”

“He’s not the boss of you.” She looked back at Jeremy as she stumbled back to the car. “Is he?”

“It’s Sal. He’s coming.”

Naomi pulled away from. “I’m getting the tire iron.”

“That’s not going to stop him.”

“If he’s driving then that means he’s in his human body. I can do some damage.”

“Get her out of here!” Jeremy yelled. “And get off the main road as soon as you can.”

“I don’t trust him,” she said.

“Do you trust me?” Lash looked deep into her eyes.

“Yes.”

“Well, I trust Jeremy.” He tossed her belongings back into the car.

Without another word, Naomi climbed into the car. He took one last look at Jeremy through the rearview mirror. He trusted Jeremy. The only problem was, it didn’t seem like Jeremy trusted him.

***

Jeremy pushed the motorcycle to the center of the highway and stood waiting for Sal. The black truck came to a screeching halt an inch from him. Leaning against the bike with arms folded across his chest, he tried to appear unfazed by the hulking figure that climbed out of the truck.

“Saleos,” he said as if greeting a long-lost friend.

“Jeremiel,” Sal sneered as he looked down at him. “I see they’re still putting you on babysitting duty. Although I think the job is perfect for you, Lucifer wanted me to assure you that his offer to you still stands.”

“As I’ve said a dozen times before, I’m not interested. Although I
am
interested in those boots. Are those crocodile?”

“It won’t work.”

“What do you mean?” Jeremy cocked his head.

“Your attempt at diversion. Eventually, we’ll get the girl.”

“I don’t think you will.” He took out a wallet from his back pocket. “Care to make it interesting? It’s only human money, but it’ll do.”

Sal looked at him for a moment, then threw his head back and laughed. “You’re one of a kind, Jeremiel. I like that. So I’m going to do you a favor.”

Sal lunged and wrapped a hulking arm around his neck. Jeremy struggled, twisted and turned, clawing at his arm. His face turned red, and Sal squeezed tighter. He then placed his other hand next to Jeremy’s temple and whispered in his ear, “Hizaher.”

An image of a woman with long dark hair flashed in front of his eyes. Soft hazel eyes crinkled when she smiled at him. Then the image shifted, and he saw the same woman arguing with a blond-haired man. The man slammed his hand on the table and Jeremy gasped when he saw a dark-haired boy push at the man and then speed past him. The man turned and shouted, “Lahash!”

“Enough.” Jeremy shook the vision from his head and ripped Sal’s arm from his head.

Sal chuckled. “That’s a side of Raphael you haven’t seen before, have you?”

“I’m not falling for your lies.”

Sal laughed and turned back toward the truck. “Tell yourself what you want. But it’s only a matter of time before we get her. And once we do, all that is meant to be will fall into place.”

“Don’t underestimate us,” Jeremy growled.

“It is you who shouldn’t underestimate Lucifer’s powers—

or his allies.” Sal opened the door and paused. Turning back to Jeremy, he said, “Search deep within yourself, Jeremiel. What I’ve shown you is true. Join us and you’ll have what was meant to have been yours all along.”

“I know who I am,” Jeremy said defiantly.

Sal opened the door and climbed into the truck. “Do you?”

Naomi tugged a faded t-shirt over her damp skin. There was only one towel in the bathroom, and it was so thin she could see through it. At least she had washed the awful fish smell off her. She sighed as she wiped the fogged mirror. “You’re an idiot,” she said to the reflection.

“What was that?”

Crap!
The walls were as thin as the towels.

Lash had stopped at a cheap motel just outside of Vaughn, New Mexico, saying that they should lay low for a while. He hid the car in the back of the motel. She thought he was crazy because there was a big sign out front with a big red arrow pointing to the building basically saying, “They’re in there. Come and get her.”

She trusted Lash, so if he thought it was safe to stay there for the night, so be it. She was tired and she really wanted to take the stink out of her clothes. Lesson learned. Don’t eat tuna from a gas station.

“Nothing. Just smashing one of the dozen roaches in here.” She slammed a shoe against the floor, wishing someone would do the same to her. Yes, that was what she needed—someone to slap her back to reality.

Naomi reflected on the drive to the hotel. Once they’d been at a safe distance and sure that they were no longer being followed by Sal, she had calmed down and watched Lash drive from the corner of her eye. She couldn’t stop staring at him, especially his lips. Something was wrong with her. Really wrong. Here she was with her life in danger, the demons of Hell literally chasing her, and all she could think about was his hand on her body, and those lips—those perfectly shaped, luscious lips.

She caught herself in the mirror mid-pucker and made a face. She was hopeless. She plopped down on top of the toilet seat, dropped her head in her hands, and willed herself to focus on what needed to be done. First, she had to call Welita.

She took the cell phone out of her backpack and was happy to see that she was able to get reception for the first time since they’d crossed the New Mexico-Texas border.

“Mijita? Is that you?”

“Yes, Welita.” Her throat constricted, and her eyes pricked with tears. Had it only been hours since she last talked to her? It felt like days. “I wanted to let you know I’m okay.”

“I knew you would be,” she said. There was a beat of silence. “Is there something wrong?”