An Archangel's Promise (11 page)

“I have to save her,” Landon whimpered as he began to sweat.

“Landon, you need to stop.”

“I can’t. Too many. Too much. If I stop now she won’t make
it.”

Dammit. They were so screwed.

“Hunter!”

The sound of his name drew his attention, and his eyes
zeroed in on a sight beyond the fighting that made every nerve in his body
freeze. What the hell?

“Gabby?”

Gabriella winced as Nolan shouted into the phone again.
Something had gone wrong, she knew it before her brother had started yelling.
Her stomach cramped as another wave of pain rolled through her. Well, she was
calling it pain, because it hurt like hell, but it was more like need. A deep-seated
need for Hunter.

They had waited too long.

“Nolan. What happened?”

Nolan threw the phone down in frustration. “I don’t know.
Brock was saying something and then…”

“And then what?”

Nolan appeared nervous. “There were screams, sweetie. I
heard smashing, and…”

“Oh God,” she gasped.

No. She wasn’t losing him now, not after everything. She had
only just gotten him back, dammit!

“Gabriel!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. She didn’t
care about their rules, or their fucking timing. The archangel was going to get
his arse down here now and help his son. “Gabriel!”

“I’m here, Gabriella.”

Jumping at the unexpected voice behind her, she spun around
to glare at her…what? Father-in-law? So fucking weird.

“Hunter needs you. Something’s wrong.”

He gave her a sad sigh. “I know.”

“You know?” she asked incredulously. “And you’re not doing
anything?”

“There is a lot you don’t understand.”

“I guess you’re right, because I can’t understand how a
father can sit back and watch his son suffer,” she snapped irritably. She had
no idea where all of this was coming from, but fury poured through her at his
lack of actions. “He needs you, has always needed you.”

“He will be okay, I promise,” he assured her. He stepped
toward her and held his hand out, opening it to reveal some sort of pendant.

She scrutinized the delicate piece of jewelry. “What is it?”

It was gorgeous. The small teardrop stone hung from a satin
string, almost pearl-like, but not quite. Inside it sat a miniature lily in the
center.

“This is a protection charm given to those who bond with angels.
It is normally given by the parent of the angel as a welcome gift. This is
yours. Wear it and you’ll be safe. No Fallen will be able to harm you,” he
explained.

“How does it work?” she asked, accepting the exquisite piece
and slipping the chain over her head. The pendant fell in between her breasts,
shimmering as it began to glow. “Whoa. What is that?”

“It’s energy, it’s life. And more importantly, it’s love.
What else would better protect a person?” Gabriel placed a large, comforting
hand on her shoulder, a smile lighting up his face. “The stronger your love is
for my son, the brighter it will grow when you need it.”

“Well, I don’t need protecting now, so why is it glowing?”

“Because you sense that Hunter needs help,” he replied
simply with an indefinable expression. “While he is in no danger, he is in pain
and he will need you. Are you ready?”

Cryptic much!

A sudden flash of blinding light forced her to cover her
eyes and stopped her from replying.

What the hell?

Dropping her arm, Gabriella swore when she found herself
standing in the middle of a battle. “Shit. Shit. Shit. What the hell has he
done?”

Angels and Fallen were swinging swords, throwing punches,
and Sebastian suddenly struck out with a whip-like weapon. She winced when the
flamed cord sliced through the attacking Fallen. Oh, that was just a little
gross. Cool, but gross.

Her eyes frantically surveyed the area for any signs of
Hunter, finally landing on him near a grouping of trees off to the side. Next
to him kneeled a young man, who leant over an unconscious woman. Hunter was
shouting something at the boy, who shook his head and shouted something back.

“Hunter!” she called out, trying to make her way to him.

No one seemed to even notice she was there, except Hunter
who turned to her, his face paling. “Gabby?”

Ducking, weaving, and sometimes downright rolling across the
graveled ground, she had almost reached him when a hand wrapped around her arm
like a steel band.

“If it isn’t sweet, dear Gabriella.” Ash chuckled gleefully.
“I have missed you. Won’t you stay a while?”

She tried to pull back her arm, but failed—his grip was too
tight. “Fuck off,” she spat.

“Oh, Gabby. Such a temper,” Ash crooned. “I think I’ll enjoy
training you. Don’t worry, pet, it won’t hurt much.”

Ash raised his hand and she brought her other arm up to
attempt to block him. Suddenly her body jolted, as if someone had shocked her.
The pendant Gabriel gave her began to heat up and glow even brighter than it
had when Gabriel gave it to her. She heard Ash cry out and his grip tightened
on her for a second then loosened until she was free. Stumbling backward, a
brief glance revealed Ash crumbled onto the ground, moaning in pain. Wow.
Gabriella examined the pendant still hanging from her chest. The tiny thing
packed a hell of a punch.

“Well, he did say it would keep me safe,” she muttered to
herself in astonishment.

When Ash rolled over onto his back she took the opportunity
to kick a foot out, the heel of her boot collided with his groin. The Fallen
wheezed and groaned.

Huh. Guess it doesn’t matter what species you are, if
you’re a man, that’s gonna hurt.

Not waiting around to see if he would get back up, she
darted over to Hunter. She was breathing heavily by the time she reached him
and could barely put two words together. “Sorry. I think…I…need to…work out
more.”

Unsurprisingly, her joke fell flat. “What the fuck are you
doing here? And what the hell was that light thing?” He captured her in his
arms, clutching her tightly. “My God. You could have been hurt.”

“Nice to see you too, dear,” she drawled, rolling her eyes.
He was kind of cute when he got all flustered but now wasn’t the time nor the
place. “You can thank your father for that, but first we should probably get
him—” She pointed to Landon. “—to stop whatever he’s doing. I saw flashing
lights just up ahead. We’re going to have company soon.”

And the last thing they needed was more exposure. Who knew
how long it was going to take to clean up all this mess, and after last night’s
incident, they really didn’t need to push their luck. There may not have been
anything physically obvious to what he was doing, but it would still rouse
suspicion if he didn’t back up when the medics arrived.

“He won’t stop.” Hunter sighed, swiping a hand roughly down
his face. “He says if he stops now she won’t make it.”

Gabriella gnawed on her lip. “If he holds on until they get
to us, will it be safe? Can you take over for him?”

“I don’t think so. To be honest, I don’t even really know
what he’s doing. Healing someone with injuries of this magnitude would be next
to impossible for even someone like me.”

“Then why can he?” she asked softly, aware of the tension
running through his body under her hands.

“Maybe because his father is Raphael. As the archangel of
healing it makes sense for his son to be capable of more in that department,
just as my father is considered the messenger of God, so I have stronger
telepathic abilities than others my age. But still…”

She followed his worried gaze to the boy, and understood
what he wasn’t saying. Landon’s abilities were too strong, his transition was
nearing too quickly. What that meant, she had no idea, but it didn’t sound
good.

“If I attempt to take over, I may end up doing more harm
than good.” Hunter’s face said it all. He didn’t think even what Landon was
doing would help in the end. The paleness of Rebecca’s skin looked wrong
somehow, almost lifeless. They were losing her.

Curses sounded from where the others were fighting. Ash
stepped forward, having obviously recovered from whatever the necklace had done
to him, and her not-so-delicate kick to his groin. All she could think of as
the bastard moved closer with a sneer on his face was
damn, this guy doesn’t
give up
. “We may have to leave because of the humans, but we know where you
are now. Don’t think that tower is going to keep you safe forever.”

“Why do you suddenly care about humans? One may be dying
because of your actions,” Sebastian spat.

“I still follow the rules, just maybe not the same ones that
you do. Humans are,
for the most part
, off limits.” Ash shot him a cocky
grin. “A mother of an abomination is no concern to us. She lost her innocence
when she agreed to carry such a thing.”

“Bastard,” Gabriella whispered in disgust as Ash and his
fellow Fallen disappeared into the nothing. “What the hell? Where did they go?”

“They’re shielding themselves. Seems Ash and his men still
have a few tricks.”

Gabriella didn’t get anything else as the lights grew near
and the men around her scrambled to hide any evidence that suggested angelic
activity. Sebastian ordered the other men to clean up while he attempted to
hold off whoever was coming. It was exhausting just watching them.

All the while, Landon continued to work on his mother. The
woman was breathing, though by the strain on Landon’s face, Gabriella guessed
that it wasn’t on her own. He was panting, and even groaned a few times.
Gabriella worried what kind of damage this was doing to him.

“I think I’m losing her,” Landon suddenly cried out in a
panic.

The flashing lights grew nearer; Sebastian hadn’t been able
to distract them for long. When an ambulance and two police cars pulled up,
Gabriella knew it was too late. If Landon hadn’t healed his mother to the point
of breathing on her own, then they had lost her.

She panicked herself when Landon’s eyes suddenly rolled up
into the back of his head. “Landon!”

Wrenching herself out of Hunter’s arms, she crawled to
Landon’s side, breathing a sigh of relief when she felt his chest move up and
down, but she was concerned at how quickly his heart was beating.

“Hunter? His pulse is out of control.”

“Shit,” he growled. “Dominic. You need to get him out of
here now.”

Dominic hurried over to where they were. “What’s happening?”
His eyes widened when he noticed Landon. “Fuck. Is he transitioning? Now?”

“I think so. You need to get your shield up and get him out
of here before they see him,” Hunter murmured, trying not to draw attention to
them as the emergency crews exited their vehicles.

The angel did as Hunter suggested, hiding Landon and himself
from sight.

Gabriella blinked when they abruptly disappeared. “That is
so weird.”

“Dammit,” Hunter muttered.

Gabriella focused on him, realizing what he meant when she
peered down at Rebecca. “Is she…”

“Yeah.” He sighed, dampness hinting at the edges of his
sapphire eyes. “The moment Landon let go.”

“Oh God,” she whispered softly, tears of her own forming.

Hunter bundled her up in his arms as he moved them out of
the paramedic’s way. “There was nothing we could do. Landon helped her hold on
for a little longer, but I’m not even sure if Sebastian could have done much.”

Hours must have passed as she, Hunter, Brock, and Sebastian
were questioned by the police. Julian and Elijah had left with Dominic to take
Landon to the tower where he would be safe as his transition started.

Everything that could have gone wrong, had seemed to.

By the time they were walking into the lift at the tower,
she was exhausted. And yet her body burned at the same time. While everything
had been happening she had been able to ignore the heat that had been running
through her, the need that had coursed through her veins. But now she barely
managed to keep herself from attacking Hunter in the lift. Gabriella trembled
with need while at the very same time felt overwhelmed with guilt that she
could want Hunter so bad when so much tragedy was around her.

As if sensing her inner turmoil, Hunter gathered her close
and whispered in her ear. “It’s okay. What you’re feeling is normal, I feel it
too. What’s happened is horrible, but we can’t help the timing. We will help
Landon mourn, but right now I need you.”

She moaned as he pressed himself against her, thankful they
were the only ones in the lift. “Yes.”

The doors opened, and in a flash Hunter had her leaning
against her main door. When her door opened without any assistance she assumed
he had used one of his many talents.

Nifty.

He pinned her against the closest wall, trailing his lips
down her neck. He nipped and nibbled, eliciting whimpers and mewls from her.
The noises were so foreign it took her a moment to realize that they came from
her.

She turned her head, and his hot mouth claimed hers in a
hungry and demanding kiss. He groaned deep and long as she sucked his
plundering tongue into her mouth. Gabriella heard the clinking of his belt and
the lowering of a zipper. His hand slipped between her legs and nudged her
panties to the side. Even as the heat flared between her legs, he was lifting
her to stand on tiptoes, and she sank down onto his cock until the tip touched
her very soul.

“So tight, but so ready for me,” he rasped, licking a hot
path across her nape.

“Now, Hunter. Now.” She braced her hands on his shoulders as
he held her hips, thrusting in. The slow, yet sure, drag of his cock pushing in
and out had her coming faster than her racing heart could beat. The tremors
still shaking through her, he began to speed up.

“Do you know how much I love you?” she whispered in his ear.

“Almost as much as I love you,” he murmured as he took her
mouth again.

It was so corny, but she loved it. Loved him.

“Take me,” she demanded. “Prove I’m yours.”

Her words spurred him on, making him pump his rigid cock
harder and faster. She arched her back, trying to accept more of him into her
wet heat as she felt herself rising to another peak. It amazed her, the heights
he was capable of driving her to.