Blessed (31 page)

She was finishing her closing paragraph when her cell phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number marked as private. She went out to the hall by the elevators and answered the call, not wanting to disturb the other girls in the lounge.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Shay,” said Devon's deep voice, smooth as melted chocolate.

She frowned into her phone. “How did you get my number, Devon?”

“I looked it up.”

“You mean you abused your authority and illegally attained my private cell phone number. Stalker.”

“Don't flatter yourself. If I'm going to stalk someone, it's going to be someone who does a lot more interesting things than you.”

“What do you want?”

“Come down to the circular drive out front. I have some things to tell you about your friend Linda, and I don't want to do it over the phone.”

“Fine, I'll be down in a minute,” she grumped.

Devon hung up without replying, leaving her to glare at the phone. She stopped back by the lounge and asked the girls there to keep an eye on her stuff for a minute. She hesitated at the door of her room and knocked loudly. Getting no reply, she carefully opened the door and peeked inside. The last thing she wanted to see was Chrissy and Jack going at it. The rooms were quiet, but the shower was running in the bathroom, and she could hear the muted sounds of Chrissy and Jack talking.

In a hurry, she grabbed a black leather jacket lined in fleece from the closet and locked the door as she left.

On her way out the front door of her dorm, she caught sight of Devon right away and groaned. He leaned on his Temple Guard SUV in his uniform, looking better than he had a right to, but he’d evidently not gotten Aiden’s memo about blending in. The pants clung to his muscular legs, and his biceps bulged as he crossed his arms. Devon’s appearance screamed “dangerous” as he watched the people walking past him. Around his waist he wore a utility belt that held handcuffs and a large gun.

“Subtle, Devon,” she mumbled to herself. Students gaped as they meandered past the SUV, giving him a wide berth. He was an intimidating giant of a man with a stone-cold expression on his face as his eyes scanned everyone going past.

It was mostly the guys who didn't return his gaze, dropping their eyes to the ground as they shuffled by. The girls, however, either darted glances at him or boldly stared back. Some, the braver ones, even gave him flirty smiles and put extra wiggles in their walk. He seemed to ignore all of them, standing straight as she approached, his expression never changing. She was annoyed at herself for feeling intimidated as she got closer. So what if she would have had a heart attack if he pulled her over looking like that. He had no right to look up her information like he had.

“Hello, Shay,” Devon said. He gave her the same head-to-toe look that he’d given everyone else who passed, except his gaze seemed to linger on her lips and chest longer than necessary.

Perturbed, she said, “Nice outfit, Devon. No wonder you're always in such a bad mood. Your pants are so tight they must pinch your balls.”

With a grin, Devon made a subtle gesture toward his groin. “I can't help it that I'm...bigger...than the average man.”

Trying to hide her blush, and not look at his groin, she said, “Funny, your gun looks a little small to me. Is it a snub nose?”

Devon narrowed his eyes at her and opened his mouth then shut it again. “Can we talk inside my car? What I have to say is not for your nosy neighbors' ears.”

Looking around, she noticed a good number of people lingering out in front of the dorm and even more looking out their windows. Evidently word spreads fast when it looks like someone is being arrested. She avoided meeting the worried gaze of one of the girl’s from her floor as she openly stared at them.

“Fine, but I have a lot of homework to do today, Devon, so let's make this quick. And if you think I'm sitting in the backseat, you're high,” she said as she climbed in the passenger seat of the SUV and shut the door after herself.

The SUV leaned slightly as Devon slid into the driver's side. He seemed even bigger inside the car, filling the space with his presence. Leaning over, he turned down the chatter on the radio and stared at her with an intent gaze.

Feeling self-conscious, she resisted the urge to check her hair in the side mirror and returned his look, holding his stare. His teal eyes, a neon color against the black of his uniform, seemed to darken as he looked at her. The desire in his eyes made her uncomfortable and slightly aroused. She dropped her eyes and fiddled with the zipper on her jacket, pulling it down in the warm car.

The seat creaked as he turned to look out the windshield. “We searched the house that Linda was using as her hideout. I think we caught her by surprise at the store 'cause she left a bunch of stuff behind. Including a pile of bodies in the garage.”

Feeling her face pale, she said, “She killed people?”

He gave her a strange look. “She's killed lots of people and will probably kill a lot more if we don't stop her. She's a Chosen of Eris, a nasty Greek goddess. A small shrine was still set up in the garage. Looks like she stole a bunch of stuff from your workplace to make it, though shoplifting is the least of her crimes.”

Eliana was silent as she listened to him talk. He was easy to listen to when he wasn't being an asshole. His smooth voice continued to remind her of melted chocolate. He turned to look at her as he talked.

“We aren't sure what her real name is, but we do know that she had someone else living there with her. Judging by the clothes, it was a man. There were also used boxes of hair dye in the bathroom, so we don't think red is her original color.”

“Well, duh. Any woman could have told you that.”

Giving her a brief glare, he continued, “We found some half-burned maps in the fireplace. It looks like they’re planning an attack on the Temple District in Philadelphia. It would cause the deaths of some of this country's top Creation followers and strike a great blow to the gods they serve. That would make sense considering the massive amounts of fertilizer they stole could be used to make bombs.”

Letting out a low whistle, she said, “Did you guys let the police in Philadelphia know?”

He looked away. “The local police, the FBI, the CIA, and the Temple Guards, everyone we could give a heads-up to. They’re on high alert up there now, but I'm afraid that will make Linda and her cohorts switch targets.

“Which brings us back to you,” he said and stopped scanning their surroundings to focus on her. Having his entire attention was an overwhelming sensation and she found herself fighting the urge to stare him down again. She had no idea why, but for whatever fucked up reason she wanted him to acknowledge that she was the dominant person in the car.

“Me? What do I have to do with this? I just had the bad luck of working with that psycho bitch.”

“I'm not trying to scare you, but she has an agenda as far as you're concerned. In her home, we found notes on you: what time you came to work, what kind of car you drove, what you like to eat. I've already alerted Aiden about it. For all the good that does.” He ignored her glare. “My mother is trying to do what she can to keep you safe as well. She has taken a great liking to you, Gods know why. My mom doesn't seem to understand why I think you're such a pain in the ass.”

The last part he said with a grin that made her want to scratch his eyes out. “You bring out the best in me, cupcake,” she said with a bright, and false, smile.

Narrowing his eyes, he said, “Why do you keep calling me cupcake?” He lowered his voice until it was a bass purr. “Do you want to eat me up? Lick me all over and taste me?”

Frozen for a second by that erotic image, she jumped when someone knocked on her window. Jack stood outside with a stern expression on his face. Devon rolled down the window. “Hop in the back seat, Jack. It won't be the first time you've been in the back of a Temple Guard’s car.”

Laughing, Jack got into the SUV. His laughter died as he noticed Devon's smirk and Eliana's glare at Devon. “Did I interrupt something?” Jack asked as he spread his arms across the back of the seats.

“Nah. Shay was telling me how she wants to lick frosting off my body,” Devon said.

With a growl, she lurched across the middle of the seat at Devon, managing to grab his shirt before Jack reached from the backseat and held her back. Devon merely laughed and, using pressure points, made her release her grip.

She felt Jack's energy humming along her shields as he tried to calm her down.

“Easy, bunny. I know he's full of shit. He wants to make Aiden jealous.” Turning to Devon, Jack said, “All right, dude, stop provoking her, or I will let her loose. What is so important that you had to drive out here to tell her? Her roommate sent me down here to find out what was going on and bail her out of jail if necessary.”

“I'm okay, Jack. You can let me go,” she said, taking a deep breath and imagining ten different ways to kill Devon.

After Jack let her go, Devon caught Jack up on what was going on. Jack shook his head in disbelief when Devon got to the part about the fertilizer bombs that Linda was planning to set off in the Temple District in Philly.

“So what does she want with our bunny?” Jack asked.

“She has the attention of a couple different Destruction Gods. From what our prophets can tell, Shay is going to be as big of a pain in the ass to the Destruction side as she is to me. I almost pity them. I'm sure the Destruction prophets saw the same thing and passed the word along,” Devon said with a sigh, ignoring Eliana’s extended middle finger. “We also managed to retrieve a partially burned message.”

“What was it?”

“A note from one of her superiors. Linda's instructions were simple: eliminate Shay as a threat without killing her, turning her to Destruction if at all possible. She decided to do that by framing her as a terrorist, assuring that Shay would spend the rest of her life in a federal prison under magical lock and key. Would have made an offer from a Destruction god to get Shay out of jail in exchange for her changing sides very tempting.”

“Fuck me,” she said with a stunned expression.

“I'd rather not with Jack in the car.”

Jack tightened his hold on her and stared at Devon with a glare of his own. “Seriously, dude, one more quip out of you and I'll help her beat your ass.”

“You can try,” Devon answered with a grin that was pure alpha male.

“Can we get back to me not spending the rest of my life in prison please?” Eliana yelled at them.

“I need to put a tracking spell on you. We could have you under guard 24/7 until you’re Chosen, but that may interrupt your god's plans and leave you Rejected. And even I don't want that to happen to you.” He glanced in the rear view mirror and his gaze was actually compassionate before he returned his attention back to the road. “I’ve also gotten a lead on Linda. Don’t worry, I’ll find her and she won’t threaten you anymore.”

Nodding, she said, “Okay. Throw a whammy on me, and let's get this shit over with so I can get back to my homework.”

Devon turned and glanced through the windshield. “I can't do it in the car, and I need to attach some of my energy to your aura.”

“I'm not going anywhere with you, Devon.”

Quirking his full lips, Devon said, “Invite me to your dorm room. Jack and your roommate will be there to make sure nothing bad happens to you.”

Jack said from the backseat, “The sooner we get this done, the sooner we get rid of him, bunny. Devon may stroke you the wrong way, but he's good at his job and right now his job is keeping you safe.”

“Fine,” she said in a huff. “But you're in and out as quickly as possible.”

“Okay. I'm sure that's what you're used to with Aiden in bed.” Devon ducked out the door and slammed it before she could reach him.

Jack laughed from the backseat. “Man, what I wouldn't give to see you and Devon duke it out.”

“If he keeps this shit up, I'm just going to shoot him.”

They stood there as Devon made sure his car was secure and entered the foyer of the dorm together. People who had been watching from the foyer window were now busy as they walked in. The door guard didn't even check her ID, just waved them through with wide eyes.

While they waited for the elevator, she saw Janet motioning her over from one of the couches. “Be right back. I have to talk to a friend real quick,” she said.

Feeling Devon’s and Jack's eyes on her back, she stopped in front of Janet, blocking her view of the men and vice versa. “What's up, Janet?” she said, trying to ask casually.

“Are you in trouble, Eliana? Or is that handsome Guard a stripper? And if he's a stripper, why didn't you invite me?” Janet asked, her expression shifting between worried and curious.

Eliana laughed. “No, that's a friend of the family. He came here at my dad's request to check on me and make sure I'm doing well in school. It's no big deal.” She was slightly ashamed at how good she was getting at lying.

Janet appeared disappointed for a second. “I wonder if his Temple Guard does those fund-raising calendars. You know, the ones where they pose all oiled up and shirtless.”

Her reply was cut off by Devon yelling in a deep voice, “Elevator's here, Shay,” making every person who wasn't watching them turn to see who that deep, commanding voice belonged to.

With red cheeks, she said good-bye and hustled to the elevator where Devon was holding it open wearing his unreadable Guard face. There were a couple people standing outside the elevator with their backpacks. “Going up?” Devon asked.

“No, uh, we'll take the stairs, good exercise,” one of the guys said as he dragged his admiring girlfriend off by her hand.

When the doors closed, Devon said, “So, your friend thinks I'd look nice with my shirt off?”

Leaning her head back on the wall, she stared at the ceiling and tried hard to ignore Jack as he snickered. They made it to her floor without her turning the elevator into a bloodbath leaving Devon's corpse. She stopped by the lounge to retrieve her laptop and books while Jack and Devon waited for her. The other girls in the room were silent, but as they left, a flurry of whispers followed in their wake.