Angelic Avenger (29 page)

Tucking my handgun at the small of my back, I walked through the living room to the back deck. Tony must have been watching for us because he rounded up the cougar and the child. I smiled at her as she raced into the house.

“Lizzy, honey. Why don’t you take Craig upstairs to your room and curl up for a nap? Mr. Ben and I need to step out for a little while. We’ll go to the movies tonight as a special treat if you take a good nap this afternoon so you can stay awake for it.”

“Really, Ms. Bella?” Her face shone with excitement and I sighed as I cupped her cheek, leaning down to kiss her on the forehead.

“Really. Go nap a little extra so we can make it happen.”

Craig’s amber eyes stared up at me in question, but I shook my head. The good thing about the animal form is that he couldn’t ask questions. Instead, he trotted up the stairs taking a little too much pleasure in scratching up the hard wood floors with his claws. When they’d disappeared down the hallway, I turned to Gavreel who stood waiting.

“We need a ride on the cosmic express.”

He reached out and cupped my face. I let him dig into my mind for an image of DeFlores. I’m not sure if I could have stopped him anyway. He was an archangel, after all. Something flared deep in the back of his eyes. Letting his hand fall to his side, he summoned the thin moonbeam of light.

Without a word, Ben and I stepped into it. It took everything I had not to look back at Gray as we left. I’d probably ruined whatever we could have had between us, but my choices were diminishing faster than I would have liked. First things, first. I had a revolution to either jumpstart or finish, starting with one very bad wolf.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

The good thing about a mind scan from an angel is he knew exactly where I wanted to go. The shaft of light dumped us in the middle of what was left of the brawl in what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse. The air was heavy with the scent of blood, sweat and fear. I suppose we were in luck. The other kings and alphas had fought the wolves to a standstill. They faced each other across the room, shouting. At least they weren’t trading blows. That would have been a bit difficult to put an end to. Regular men have a hard time stopping the frenzy of violence once it got rolling. For shifters, it was damned near impossible to stop an all out clash.

“Well, lookie here, Ben. I think we missed the fight.” Silence fell like a cloak as both groups turned to face us. Shock rippled through the respective groups and I knew they were thinking about worse case scenarios.

“Yep,” Ben answered solemnly, standing with his arms akimbo a pace behind me. It looked like he was being casual, but I knew from the stance that he’d tucked an extra handgun at his back for a cross draw. He was prepared to fight. “Shame about that. I think I could have used a good round of fisticuffs.”

Fear had already been rampant in the room, but now it spiked into a tangible thing. The kings and alphas spaced themselves out as if they were getting ready for an attack. I ignored them, my eyes on the target of my rage.

He stared back at me with hard, dark eyes even from the distance. Let him look like the big bad wolf because I was playing the part of the woodsman in drag.

“DeFlores, you don’t seem to listen very well. You can’t go around abusing people in my city. I get a little put out by that. What were you thinking?”

I kept my tone bland, but my senses were open to all the magical nuances floating about the room.

“I didn’t lay a hand on your pet wolf,” DeFlores countered smoothly. “That was internal conflict, beyond the purview of either of us. I’ve stood by my word. I didn’t lift a finger toward him.”

I didn’t like the way he grinned at me. Then again, I didn’t like much about him at the moment. I had given a blank check to an archangel to save Gavin’s life and this man was to blame for it. The reminder made me lust for vengeance.

“Well, there’s the letter of the law and the spirit of the law.” I pursed my lips and sighed as I shook my head. “The good news? The Wolf King is not dead, so whatever bid for succession that went on here is invalid. So sorry. The bad news? You, DeFlores, have totally stepped over the line of the spirit of the law. You might not have been the one to beat him, but you incited the riot. That means you’re to blame.” I scanned the crowd. “Now, everyone who wants to go down with him, keep standing there. You’ll get your wish. Anyone who wants to cross the fence to the safe side, move to the other side of the room out of harm’s way.”

“He’s not dead?”

It was a good thing I couldn’t identify the outraged voice from the mob in my present mood. I knew for a fact I didn’t want to add another soul to my list. After all, I was mad enough to opt out on the big fish and let Ben take him and find my satisfaction elsewhere.

“Nope. I’m afraid not. I have a problem letting people die who try to do favors for me. He’s alive, hale and hearty. He’ll be good as new within the week. Doesn’t that make your day? Now, I say again. Anybody wanting to jump ship, now’s the time to do it.”

No one moved, but a few cast uneasy glances around. There was the smooth slide of metal on leather that let me know Ben had drawn his weapons, but his hands remained loose at his side. He had my back, but this was my show.

“You can’t take all of us.”

I stared at the young man who spoke from behind DeFlores with a shrug. “I have no intention of taking anyone but him. The rest of you can get hurt in the process, but you’ll live to regret what happens today. Your little revolution is officially over. When you get fanatical enough to start killing off the people who speak out against you, it’s time to realize that you’ve stepped over a line.”

I was talking a lot of bravado, banking on my reputation to sway the crowd. It was a gamble, and it wasn’t paying off as well as I would have liked. A few people moved from behind him to cross the floor to the other side. It wasn’t nearly enough for my peace of mind. I’d take what I could get, though.

“You can’t best me in a fair fight,” DeFlores challenged. Shifters understood clear challenges best of all. I was certainly not going to walk into
that
trap. Despite my apparent taste in men, I wasn’t stupid.

“Nope and I have no intention of trying. I’m much more comfortable the easy way.” My hand slid behind my coat and my equalizer slid into my palm, but I didn’t point it at him. Nope, I was being good. No pointing until I got to start shooting.

“Assassination.” His tone was smug and our gazes clashed across the distance. This was what he wanted. The reality of it washed over me. I tried to stall to give myself time to think it over. In a lot of ways, this was a battle of wit as much as tactics. I needed him to say enough to damage the seed of revolution he’d planted before I took him out. Why can’t the bad guys all be idiots? Better yet, why couldn’t I find one when I needed a sweeping victory?

“Maybe—” I agreed amicably, “—the possibility is hanging in the back of my mind, but I have a few questions first. Why does it mean so much to you to start a war? You know what’s going to happen, right? The mortals are going to try to wipe you out. That can’t be good for business.”

Something like satisfaction crossed his face. Without my enhanced vision, I would have missed it. Why did I get the impression that was his goal? It made so little sense.

“They can try. Once they realize we’re imbedded in every aspect of society, the initial panic will pass.”

Murmurs of agreement waved across the crowd at his back. A few more people defected to the other side of the room. If I could keep him talking, maybe more would think better of taking the fall with him. How do you keep a madman talking? Using his favorite subject: himself. If I could get him mad enough to talk more than platitudes, it would certainly help my cause. The one thing I was good at was busting on male egos.

“If only it were that simple.” I let my mind scramble for something appropriately insulting. “Man’s the top of the evolutionary ladder, you know. They dictate the terms we live by, not the other way around.”

That got a glare from a few people on my side of the fence as well as his, but I ignored them. I was working for provocation, after all.

“Once they realize that evolution has passed them by, they’ll come on task. They’ll have no choice but to accept us or it’ll be a war in truth.”

Something in the wistful tone keyed me in for a second. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t have caught the subtle nuances in his tone, but my new and enhanced senses came to the rescue. He empathized with the blight of mortals.

Everyone thought he was a hereditary natural wolf, but what if he wasn’t? What if all this wasn’t based on high-minded ideals, at all? What if it was all based on something far simpler to understand? What if he had been turned either by force or by choice and come to hate what he had become?

“How old were you when she turned you?”

It popped out before I could filter it and the response electrified through the room. If I hadn’t been watching his face, I would have missed the widening of his eyes. I’d surprised him. Good. I could use something to turn the tides.

“I was born a wolf.” He sniffed disdainfully, but the slight hesitation had not been missed by the wolves around him and had done exactly what I’d intended. The doubt was there. Several of the men closest to him inhaled sharply, scenting him. Unfortunately, that didn’t help since I was betting he’d been a wolf long enough for the human to fade from his scent. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been possible for him to pass as a natural shifter, especially for as long as he had.

“You’re no more a natural wolf than I am an angel.” I let my scorn show, more certain that I was on to something. “Who was it? A girlfriend? Lover? Parent? Who wanted to make you into a monster for their amusement?”

It was an even bigger gamble. If I was wrong, this whole thing was going to blow up in my face. Yep, that’s me. She-who-walks-through-minefields-without-maps.

Fury replaced the placid calm on his face. I’d found the right button. Yay, me.

“You’re down to slinging insults, so soon? That is all the infamous Arabella Morrison is capable of? From what I’d heard of you, I’d expected so much more.” He tsked under his breath and power boiled over us all.

For the shifters, he was grandstanding in an attempt to stem the doubt my accusation might have caused. Turned wolves were generally weaker than hereditary ones. It was a nice safeguard so they didn’t run amok before they learned how to master their gift. If he was trying to impress me, he was falling short by a mile. Then again, if the Devil’s General couldn’t impress me, how could some charlatan in a fur coat?

“Well, it should be easy enough to prove, shouldn’t it? Strip. Show us you’re not carrying the scar.” Turned shifters always scarred from the contact that exposed them. No one knew why, but it was one of the simple truths that sometimes can make my job easier. I was all about easier at the moment.

In mass, the pack around him took a step back, giving him room. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who thought that blast of power was sent out to cover up a dirty little secret.

“You’re mad. I’m hardly going to strip in front of everyone here just to humor you.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Ben spoke up from behind me. “Sounds like a pretty good idea to me. I thought shifters were all about the natural look. Don’t tell me you’re hanging on to your maidenly modesty?”

I fought to hold down the laughter that wanted to bubble up as I scanned the crowd to see how the show was going and spotted a familiar face. Angela Yarrow, the late Wolf King’s daughter, stared at me from the back, her ethereal blonde mane haloed about her. She was a true truth seeker, but she feared the strength of her gift so had kept it hidden except from a select few. Her secret became my secret weapon. Yes, God was listening to my prayers all of a sudden. When did I get so popular?

“You know, there’s another way.” I let it drawl out as if it were an idle thought. “A little truth-seeking among friends, maybe? I could do it myself, but it would be better if it came from your own kind, don’t you think?”

I didn’t carry the gift, but no one needed to know that. The crowd muttered agreement in my favor. I was gaining ground or so I thought. Some days, I needed to stop thinking. I’d get into less trouble.

“You’re right,” DeFlores agreed way too readily for my peace of mind. God, please don’t let me be wrong. “But you said yourself you were hardly an impartial source.”

My gaze locked with Angie’s and I waited. She gave a nearly imperceptible nod that I would have missed had her hair been any darker. Whichever side of the fence she’d started the night on, she was firmly on mine now. Things were suddenly looking up.

“And if I told you we had our own resident expert from our own wolves?”

“I’d say you were playing games to cloud the issue,” DeFlores countered.

“Here’s a free tip, DeFlores, I don’t play games. I suck at them. Ask anyone and they’ll confirm it.” I paused for effect, and then called out. “Angie?”

The crowd parted to let her pass. DeFlores’s power spiked. He had finally realized I hadn’t been bluffing. Surprise, surprise, surprise.

Then it all went to hell in a wicker basket.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Angie moved to the front of the crowd with a slow grace. I wondered if she realized I was setting a stage and helping. Gregory DeFlores narrowed his eyes, but immediately dismissed her. The power in the room dropped to a more bearable level and I resisted the urge to smirk. What was it about men dismissing women as just a pretty face?

“Please,” he began dismissively, “now you’re being insulting. I find it hard to believe the Yarrow bloodline could wield a forgotten power. It’s simply not strong enough.”

“I’ve seen her do it.”

Oh goodie, that came from his side of the fence. I couldn’t place the dark face, but I recognized it. His swarthy skin indicated a heritage more common to Brazil or South America than Deep Dixie. I knew who he had been. I couldn’t place the name to him, but he had been one of the former king’s lieutenants and had been in the running to replace him. At least I knew what his motivation was, which is more than I could say for the rest of the room. Murmurs of agreement floated through both sides. People who were intimates of the former king would have known about her like I did.