Relic (The Brethren Series) (13 page)

He stayed seated in the prickly brush outside the property line, biding his time. He needed to catch her inside or out, alone and unawares. It would be difficult.
This place is a fucking a fortress, but I can wait.
He had all the time in the world. He took out his chewing tobacco and pinched a good amount between his fingers, shoved it between his cheek and gums, and waited for the nicotine to kick in. He felt a tingle in his shirt pocket. His cell phone. Steve was calling, again.
So sorry, asshole
, he thought.
Bull can’t come to the phone right now. Bull’s gone a huntin’
.

***

Between the cozy fire and the homemade pizza and beer, Serena seemed relaxed for the first time in quite a while. They were leaning against the couch, sitting in amiable silence and watching the flames lick and tease the crumbling logs.

That very comfortable silence reminded Raphael of the many times he and Sirona had lain with their bodies tangled by the fire, giving each other room for private contemplation. To know that her soul could be so close to his right now had him contemplating the right and the wrong of starting a relationship with Serena. At this point he had to admit to leaning toward it being more wrong than right.

And he hated that.

“I think I’ll go take a bath and turn in.” Serena interrupted his musings. “It’s been quite a day.” She stood up to leave.

“Okay, I’ll just sit here and watch the fire die down before doing some work. Towels are in the closet in your bathroom, and the tub is Jacuzzi style in case you want to try that out. Good night, Serena,” Raphael said with aloofness.

“Good night, Raphael,” Serena responded just as distantly, and she bent down to kiss him lightly on the cheek and gave him a quick smile.

The way the firelight is playing with her hair and dancing in her eyes, she’s simply irresistible
. Raphael slowly exhaled the breath he’d been holding. It took all of his energy not to reach out and grab the woman.
But, my cheek. She kissed my cheek
?
What the hell is that all about
?

After the kisses they’d shared, she thought to kiss his cheek.
Well, isn’t that a fine how do you do? She brushed me off like lint. And why am I getting so bent out of shape? I’m the one who’d been arguing in my head earlier about the pros and cons of getting involved with her
. He had decided to back off until he could sort things out. She didn’t know it yet, but he did.
And darned if she hadn’t beaten me to it
!

He took the fireplace poker and poked the crap out of the logs so they resembled charred, mangled bits. The fire blazed anew and embers floated majestically up the chimney. Suddenly, he didn’t feel much like a fire. He scowled and tossed the remains of his beer on the guiltless flames. His immortality didn’t matter. He could act very childish sometimes if he tried to, and it had been a while since the last time. He figured he was due.

Chapter Fifteen

Serena soaked in the Jacuzzi tub resplendent with oils and fragrances. The heat from the water and the pulse from the jets served to batter away at the threads of anxiety and grief. She knew it wouldn’t take them away forever, and tears threatened to expose themselves. When she decided that to hold them back would be worse than having a good cry, she let them flow.
My brother is dead
. She would never have the chance to hug, laugh, scold, or tease him ever again. With every tear that mixed with the bath water, she said a prayer that he would rest in peace and be in a happier place.

She ducked under the water as if to cleanse herself spiritually. As her head broke the surface, she took a breath, like the first one a baby entering the world took in. It
was
a new world for her. A solitary one. And she decided to make the best of it.

Resting against the back of the tub, she looked around at the bathroom for the first time and thought it a shame it had no windows. But a safe house and windows weren’t the best combination. Brushed nickel faucets and accents tastefully appointed the room, with white subway tile for an overall clean and sleek look. She closed her eyes and let the bath oils and jets work their magic. And thoughts of Raphael entered her mind. He’d become so distant by the fire. Why?
He’s such a puzzle. He deserved that kiss on the cheek instead of on the lips! I hope he’s as unsettled as I am
. The bath oil aroma made her drowsy.

And she dreamt.

“
Come wash my back, Raphael. I cannot reach
.”

“
You are too far away, my love. All the way across the tub, you are
,”
Raphael teased back.

“
Then I shall have to move you closer, my love
.”
Hands wrapped seductively around Raphael’s ankles and tugged hard. She had taken him so by surprise that he plunged under the water and quickly came back up again, squirting water at her. They laughed and splashed and tussled with each other until she found herself straddling Raphael.

“
I can reach your back now, sweetheart. Do you still need a scrub
?”
Raphael asked, his voice—along with another body part—thick with need
.

“
Yes, but first, I need you
.”
Breathless with desire and ecstasy, she filled herself with him.

“Oh, my heavens!” Serena gasped and choked as she slipped under the foaming water. She pushed herself back up and sputtered. “Holy bejeebers, what the hell was that?” Her heart raced, and her stomach quivered, on the verge of a most exquisite orgasm. “And what the hell is this? Oh!” she groaned.

“Everything okay in there, Serena?” Raphael called from behind the door, worry clearly evident in his voice.

“Yes! Yes!” she croaked out. “Everything is fine!” Hell yeah, everything was fine. She just had a wicked orgasm without even being touched. How was that for safe sex?

“Okay, I’ll leave you be.” She heard his footsteps retreat, and she let out a sigh of relief.

This is crazy
, she thought as the last ripples of pleasure ran up and down her body. She thought about the dream itself. Raphael had played Raphael in her dream, but who the heck had she been? She certainly didn’t feel as if she acted as herself even though she looked through her own eyes. Getting nowhere, she decided to give up trying to decipher the dream. With the bath water cooled and her fingers perfectly raisined, she drained the tub and wrapped herself in a luscious towel. Sufficiently exhausted from the day and whatever
that
had been in the tub, Serena tucked herself into bed.

Sleep came easily enough, but she found herself wide awake by three o’clock in the morning. She’d already played ten hands of solitaire and read through the magazines left in her bathroom. Figuring the night air might help, she opened her small window and peered out at the stars.

“Oh Jared, I really do hope you are in a good place. I’m so sorry for being hard on you. I’ve missed you so much and now that I know you’re not coming back, I miss you even more. If you see mom where you are, tell her that I miss her, and I will love her always.”

She sighed as she continued looking at the twinkling stars. She recalled something she’d learned in school about stars. When she’d gone to a planetarium on a field trip, she remembered learning that some of the stars she saw may not even exist anymore because of how long it took light to travel. She marveled at the mysteries of the universe, and now itched to go outside rather than stay cooped up in the house. But she thought better of it, and settled for leaning out farther from her window. She heard what sounded like wind chimes tinkling.
How relaxing
.

***

Being vigilant, Bull hadn’t so much as closed his eyes for more than a minute since laying siege in the brush. He noticed a small window opening. He looked through the scope of his sniper rifle and saw Serena’s head peeking out and looking up the stars. Her lips were moving, but he couldn’t make out the words. It didn’t matter. Here was his chance! With the silencer already screwed on, he unlocked the safety as he continued to look through the scope. He aimed at her pretty head.

Bull squeezed the trigger and instead of seeing Serena’s head explode like a watermelon, he heard a tinkle, like a coin dropping down a metal pipe. He aimed and fired again. She remained oblivious and again he heard the tinkling sound.
What the fuck is going on
? He wildly unloaded his magazine in a fit of anger, only to get even madder than hell at seeing and hearing the same results. He had no explanation.
What the hell do I do now? Retreat and regroup
?

***

Raphael slammed through Serena’s bedroom door like a snarling grizzly bear. “Get down!” he shouted as he raced to her side, pulled her back through the window, and pushed her down flat to the carpet.

“What on earth are you doing, Raphael?”

“Stay down. Shots were fired. Crawl over to the hallway and into your bathroom. Don’t come out until I come and get you myself. Go!”

Serena scuttled across the floor as quickly as her trembling legs could move. She entered her bathroom, closed the door behind her, and crouched in the farthest corner, waiting. Bull. He’d found her! But she hadn’t heard any gunshots, only wind chimes. It must be that angel thing, she figured. Raphael could probably hear better than any human.

What is Raphael doing
? She worried for his safety. Could immortals still get hurt? She could fix a simple injury; she’d taken first aid classes for her business. But what if he got hurt worse than she could handle? Could another Savior get to him in time?

“Shut up and stop thinking, Serena!” she berated herself. “Be a good girl and do as you are told. He didn’t tell you to freak out, so knock it off!” She sat in a tight, huddled ball waiting for disaster to strike.

***

Raphael walked the perimeter of the property and stumbled across a pile of shell casings. Whoever the sniper, he didn’t seem to care too much about cleaning up after himself. Raphael knew it had to have been Bull. The other men Serena mentioned were on Chappo’s payroll and looking to snatch her, not kill her.
Bull is driven by some skewed vendetta towards Serena, and he’d never been shy about it. At least he had the sense to get the hell out of here before being found out
. Raphael would have surely killed him first and asked questions later.

He flipped open his phone and speed dialed Kemuel. “Hey, Kemuel. Bull’s been here, shooting at Serena. Can you come and trace him?”

“You bet. I’ll fly right over.”

He walked closer to the house, easily passing through the invisible protective shield Michael had erected, the latest and greatest in Brethren protective technology. It detected the DNA signature of people allowed on the property. While at the hospital, Raphael had collected DNA from Serena and given it to Michael to submit into the program. Anyone else’s DNA could be put through the program, no problem. As he walked the edge of the shield by Serena’s bedroom window, he found the flattened bullets on the ground and silently thanked God the shield had held.

No more than five minutes passed and Kemuel stood under the window shaking hands with Raphael, looking over the bullets. “Go take care of your woman, Raphael. I got this.”

“I want him brought back here, brother. He knows too much about us now, and he wants Serena dead. That’s enough for me to level some serious justice on his ass.”

“You know the law, Raphael. You’re a Savior, not a Warrior. I’ll bring him, but if he doesn’t provoke you in a threatening manner, you can’t touch him. Lethally that is.”

“What do you think he was doing to Serena? Giving her flowers?” he shouted. “I’d call unloading a full magazine at her enough provocation, brother.” Calming himself, he continued, “Don’t worry. I won’t do anything to jeopardize my position in The Brethren. However, I get the distinct impression it doesn’t take much to set this psychopath off.”

“I’ll do my best to bring him here alive, ’cause if he provokes me, you know he’s a dead man.” Kemuel flew off into the night to go hunting Bull.

Raphael went back inside the house, checking every latch and securing the house. Satisfied, he went to release Serena from her hiding place. He lightly rapped on the door so as not to startle her. “Serena, it’s me, Raphael. Open up. All’s clear.”

A few moments passed. He heard the snick of the lock. The door opened a crack. He saw her peeking around and the door flew open wide. A blur rushed into his arms, squeezing him tightly.

“Whoa! Easy, there. It’s all right, sweetheart. Everything is all right,” he cajoled, kissing her lightly on the top of her head.

“You were gone for so long, I worried. I know you’re immortal, but I don’t know if you can still get hurt, and if you did, would I know what to do? And what if Bull injured you so badly and came after me and….”

“Serena, whoa…take a breath. I’m here, and I’m fine. Bull is gone, but Kemuel’s gone after him. He’ll bring him back, and we’ll have justice served upon him.” He reveled in the feel of her body molded to his. Oh God, what had he decided to do about her? Something about staying away, right? He couldn’t remember for sure. She pulled back and looked up at him, an eyebrow raised.

“What exactly does that mean?” she asked.

“He can’t be dealt with through human law at this point. He knows where our safe house is. He’s seen our protective shield in action. That’s why the bullets never reached you. They hit the shield and dropped to the ground. Plus, the man has tried to kill you three times now. He’ll be dealt with by Brethren law. It is swift and permanent.”

“Swift and permanent, as in dead?” Serena looked horrified, and quickly sought the shelter of his arms once again.

“Sweetheart, the Brethren vanquish evil. That is our main goal. Some of us protect against it, some of us heal those who have suffered from it, and some of us send it back to the depths of Hell, where it came from. This is who we are and what we were created for.”