Awakening Kiss (Watcher's Kiss Book 4) (22 page)

No one slipped through the brothers’ hands. But today’s Deserati female had evaded them with the help of that damn Watcher.

Wondering where she was now, Antonio eyed a group of fairies that flirted with several young human men. The whole lot was intoxicated, stumbling and laughing as they exited the city’s national league baseball stadium. The team had lost again, but this particular ballpark was like an outdoor bar, more crowded every year, despite a long streak of losing seasons.

Nothing special about these fairies, as far as Antonio could tell. Flirty and trusting, they’d make the men’s night a memorable one.

“Fucking Watchers.” Soren kicked a beer can and it sailed across the street. “What the hell are the odds? We find a Deserati with lightning power and she’s hanging out with him?”

“He was the same one from the other night,” Antonio added.

“She must be young. To do that shit in front of everyone, and in broad daylight?” Soren shook his head. “She might be a do-gooder, or dumb.”

“Regardless, we’ll catch her,” Antonio said. “If she has a passion to help the less fortunate and she allied with the Watcher, it’ll be harder.”

“He recognized us.” Soren eyed two human women, who stared at him with hungry expressions. Soren, like many Deserati, never lacked for attention from the opposite sex.

“Good for him. It’s not like he can find us, in this whole damn city.”

“I would love to find the Watcher home base,” Soren grumbled. “Get their nosey asses out of there.”

Antonio grunted but didn’t reply. The Watchers kept a presence in most big cities around the globe. And by presence, they worked in teams of four to seven warriors. Too many for him and Soren to take on without backup. And backup wouldn’t happen, not when catching Watchers had nothing to do with their job. Splinter paid them to find the unique, the unexpected, creatures who no one would suspect could manipulate, destroy, infiltrate, distract.

They turned away from the brightly lit streets ringing the ballpark and onto a street packed with bars and revelers. Antonio scanned for the dark-haired female they’d seen today, but came up empty.

Young, stupid, or altruistic—he wasn’t sure which one, but there was something different about her. And the fact that she had a Lash protector only upped the intrigue. She shouldn’t need a Watcher, or anyone. A female Deserati was lethal enough, but add the lightning power, and she would be a truly formidable opponent.

“I don’t see her,” Soren said. “Maybe we should go back to that block on Clark.”

“Done that already.” Antonio scowled. They’d retraced their steps. They tried to follow by scent. But the rain had nixed the trail.

“Then what do you suggest?” Soren stopped, hands in his pockets. His piss-poor mood radiated like the smell of the disgusting light beer that so many people around them had already drunk tonight.

“We search block by block. Each neighborhood, every street and alley in this entire city,” Antonio said. “Even if it takes all year. We will find her. And maybe when we find her, we’ll find the Lash house too.”

“Yeah, yeah. Find the girl. Gods, she’ll bring us so much gold.” Soren’s eyes glittered. In all their years of tracking the uniquely skilled, they had never brought in a Deserati with lightning power. There were so very few, and the ones who had the ability got assessed and trained from an early age. Prestige and honor for their entire clan and family followed. Two things that had been expressly denied to Soren and Antonio.

None of the lightning wielders ever willingly left their families to work for the darker forces on Torth, and no one had been coerced into doing so for centuries. Capturing one now would be nothing short of a triumph.

Soren rocked back on his heels. “Ground zero should be where we saw her today.”

Antonio nodded. The female didn’t act like a predator. She’d taken crazy risks and then run, when she and the Watcher could have easily challenged Antonio and Soren in an alley, away from human eyes.

Either she wasn’t really the predator she ought to be, or she was, but was careless and green—and bound to make a mistake.

And Antonio would be waiting.

He pushed into the closest crowded bar, shouldering past human men all shorter than his height of six foot four. He and Soren always dressed to blend in, in whatever clothing was popular for their given city and time. They’d done this for years. Some things never changed. Except for the bland disinterest that the endless parade of creatures in front of him now held.

Blissfully oblivious to the parallel world that existed alongside their own,
homo sapiens
had never been Antonio’s concern—except for the ones he’d slept with, and that usually happened at his species’ fertile times. Human women were pleasantly entertaining to him, with their element of joyful, surprised bliss after he’d given them several orgasms in one night. Though they all blended together in his mind. Only one had ever made a lasting impression on him in his decades of scouting work.

A woman bumped into him now, sloshing some of her cheap, watery beer onto his shirt.

“Oh my god!” she yelled, heavily made-up eyes wide. “I’m so sorry! Are you okay? I’m such a klutz!” She patted his chest with her bare hand in a futile attempt to dry him off.

“Don’t worry about it.” He gave her a small smile and removed her hand, which had moved from patting to stroking along his abs.

“I’m Kelly.” She flicked blond hair over her shoulder and thrust out her breasts, half exposed in a low-cut tank top.

“Nice to meet you.”
Not really.
Antonio sidled away from her and closer to the U-shaped bar.

“I didn’t get your name,” she called after him.

Antonio ignored her, knowing Soren was behind him and had probably seen the whole thing. Soren would flirt if he felt like it, get her number and fuck her if he wanted her. That’s how he rolled.

Antonio had supernatural females on his mind tonight, determined to find one, since the mysterious Deserati had slipped through their fingers earlier.

Soren’s voice drifted from behind him. “Just ignore my friend. He’s a complete ass. I’m Soren.”

“Hi. I’m Kelly…”

Their conversation continued, but Antonio stopped listening. He sat at the bar and ordered a shot of Jack Daniels, studying every soul around the worn wooden structure. Some people huddled, speaking closely to their friends or flirting with potential hookups. Some gestured and talked wildly, while others scanned the crowd.

His gaze settled on a pair of nymphs, one blond and one dark haired, who held two human men rapt with some story. Lots of touching punctuated their words. Antonio skimmed over them. Nymphs were in every bar lately, it seemed. Always petite, always pretty, always ready for sex. He gave a quick perusal of the other patrons, seeing that the rest of the bar crowd was human.

About to get up and walk through the room, shouts of laughter drew his attention. The nymphs had finished whatever they were talking about. With hugs and sultry giggles, they scooted onto the laps of the men. One nearly toppled, and her date caught her in time. A fresh round of drinks was placed in front of them.

Typical. Antonio didn’t need to see any more. Standing, he turned to look for Soren, when the unmistakable hum of magic reached him.

The nymphs?
He turned in surprise. One had picked up her beer and was balancing it in her hand, while the others crowded close. They nearly blocked his view. Nearly.

He watched in surprise as the blond nymph focused on the full glass…and it lifted up off her palm. The dark-haired nymph grinned. The men gawked in dopey astonishment, in the way that humans did when they saw something they didn’t understand.

Soren was at Antonio’s side in a heartbeat, his senses also attuned to the release of magic. “Who did that?”

Antonio didn’t take his eyes from the blonde. “She did.”

Oblivious to the fact that she was being watched by more than her chosen company, she did it again.

“Levitation?” Soren frowned. “By a nymph?”

“Yup.” Not something they saw very often. And she may not be able to raise an object more than a few inches, but it was something to make up for their shitty day. They had a job to do, and she fit the profile of who they needed to find. “Let’s invite her home.”

“Hell yes.” Together they made their way around to the nymphs’ side of the bar and crowded close.

“How about you pretty girls hang with us?” Soren said.

The men had the oblivious audacity to look offended, scowls darkening their expressions. The nymphs’ eyes widened and tiny nostrils flared as their own senses kicked in and they realized they had two powerful males vying for their time. Males who could crush the humans they’d been flirting with. Nymphs were well aware that humans didn’t have the stamina that supernatural creatures had.

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” One man stood up, displacing the blond nymph, who stumbled into Antonio.

“No one you want to mess with,” Soren growled.

“He’s right,” the dark-haired female said. “They seem really tough. We don’t want a fight.”

“Yeah? And we don’t want you being mauled like pieces of meat.” The other man stood.

So stupid. These two would be unconscious in under a minute if he and Soren actually used force on them. “Let’s let the ladies decide, shall we?” he said.

“Um, so, you guys are really nice and all,” the blonde said, “but Rain is right. You could get hurt, and we don’t want that.”

“Yeah. We’re sorry.” Rain smoothed her tight tank top. “We’re gonna go.”

“Seriously?” The first man’s brows shot up.

“Whatever. Fuck it,” the other said.

The females exchanged shrugs, then turned smiles on Antonio and Soren, expressions showing no idea how much things were about to change.

Soren tucked one close to him on each side. Antonio led the way out of the mass of humans and into the street, heading to a less crowded area. The whole time the nymphs chattered on, giggling.

“Where are we going?” the one called Rain asked.

Perfect timing. A dark alley yawned between two apartment buildings. “Here,” Antonio said.

“Here?” the blonde said, a note of curiosity coloring her voice. “Okay.”

Antonio took her hand and held her gently but firmly, backing her toward a brick wall. “We saw you do your little magic trick in there. Pretty impressive.” He kept his voice pleasant, not threatening. There was no need for that. He and Soren were vastly more powerful than any of the fae creatures. He tilted his head. “What’s your name?”

“Cara.” She peeked up at him through thick lashes. “Want to see it again?”

Antonio stroked a finger down her cheek. “Can you levitate people?”

“No.” A pout formed on her red lips. “Only things that are light, like a few pounds.”

Great. That was more like a parlor trick. He glanced at his brother, who had the other nymph pressed flush against him.

“That could be a useful skill,” Soren said. Translation:
Take her, she’s better than nothing.

“Really, you think?” Cara frowned. “I guess. It seems kinda useless most of the time. Now, if
I
could levitate, that would rock.”

“I think it’s very special.” Antonio slid his hand up to her bicep. “We’d like you to join us.”

“Sounds good.” She twirled a lock of blond hair. “Let’s go.”

“Mmm, yeah, I’ll be happy to take off these shoes.” Rain dragged a finger down Soren’s chest. “Unless you’d rather I keep them on.”

He removed her hand. “You’re not coming.”

“What?” Rain’s voice jumped an octave.

“No. We stick together.” Cara straightened from her lean against the brick. “It’s both of us or none.”

Soren rolled his eyes. “How selfless of you.” He turned to Rain. “Do you have any special tricks?”

She licked her lips. “Take us home and I’ll show you—”

“Magic,” he snarled, loud enough to make her squeak. “I’m talking about magic.”

She frowned. “No. And why does it matter?”

Antonio let out an irritated breath. They could take both nymphs. He had no idea if Splinter would keep Rain or kill her, if they found her lacking in skills. Even Cara’s skill wasn’t really that great, though who knew. Maybe she’d levitate an important piece of paper or something. He met his brother’s gaze. “It’s too late to make a trip.”

Soren nodded. Torth was vicious at night, full of nocturnal creatures that even predatory demons steered clear of. They’d have to keep Cara until morning. Antonio hated to bring girls home, but he didn’t want to lose her.

Or, they could go to the nymphs’ place, or even a hotel. Soren’s black American Express would get them a room in the city’s trendiest hotels. They could do what nymphs did best—fuck all night—and then they’d just ditch Rain in the morning, taking Cara to Splinter’s camp on Torth.

Antonio cleared his throat. “Soren’s a little on edge tonight. We’ve had a shitty day. I think what he needs is something to take his mind off it. All of us together.” He gave Soren a pointed stare over the nymphs’ heads. “It’s nice that you two watch out for each other. And I say, the more the merrier. How about your place?”

“Thanks for being cool about that,” Cara murmured, tucking one finger into his belt loop. “We don’t live far.”

Antonio slid his hand down her arms, lacing his fingers with hers. “Lead the way.”

C
HAPTER
23

E
NZA DARTED INSIDE HER BUILDING
and Rhys fought not to follow her. He wanted her with a need that seized his heart, but in his veins the desire for retribution surged to take down the males who had dared to chase them today. He turned and stalked to the curb, where Brenin was texting rapidly. No cab in sight.

He finished and stuck his phone in his pocket. “Ready to kick some Deserati ass?”

Rhys nodded. Unsaid was the fact that they would take the rooftops, racing faster than humans could run, to get to the West Side neighborhood. “You tell the guys?”

“Yup. Said to call if we need backup.” Brenin cracked his knuckles.

Standard procedure. They got to the nearest lonely street and strode briskly, until the apartments gave way to warehouses and low offices. Vaulting up, they flew across roof after roof.