The Lost Soul Trilogy (Primani Book 5) (26 page)

I lined up my shot and scratched. Damn it. I sucked at pool. “What are you asking about, Ricki?”

Killian took his shot, and of course, the ball went into the pocket. He was killing me. The night wasn’t a total loss. I
did
manage to get him to laugh and smile and look human so my friends felt safe staying in the same building with him. Ricki was too intent on grilling me to let him intimidate her right now. Besides she once threatened to screw him in a cave… She frowned at Sean and rephrased her concerns.

“Are you happy with
him
?” She glanced at Sean under her lashes.

Shocked, I said, “What kind of a question is that? I’m deliriously happy with him! Why would you ask that?” My voice rose, and Sean and Dec both glanced over.

Not done yet, she continued, “You flinch every time he tries to touch you, and you have bruises on both of your arms…” she trailed off and faced me. “He’s… they… they’re all so…”

Straightening stiffly, I filled in the blanks. “Protective? How about
strong
or
kind
? Maybe those are the words you’re looking for!”

Killian’s lips twitched as he lined up another shot. I started to say something more when Sean came up behind me. He draped an arm around my shoulder, and I sank against him gratefully. With a puzzled half-smile, he kissed me and asked what was going on. Ricki turned red, and Killian twitched again. What was wrong with him? Then I heard him chuckling inside my head. He was trying to send his thoughts but couldn’t stop laughing to focus them. Was he counting? Smiling as naturally as I could at Sean, I was trying to tell Killian to shut up when I realized what he was laughing about. My shoulders were tingling and the feeling was spreading down my back. Ugh! Not now! Shit. Killian finally burst into laughter, causing everyone to stare at him long enough for me to run to the bathroom.

When I reappeared, Dec grinned at me, and whispered, “Girl, you’ve got to get a grip on that! You can’t bust out in light every time he touches you. It’s not natural!”

I guess the ice was broken because Tyler was playing pool with Aric, Sean and Dani. Killian leaned against the bar nursing a beer. Kevin and Ricki were at the table. She was crying. Kevin glared at me and Dec as we came over. I inhaled and hesitated. Dec gave me a gentle nudge and reminded me that Ricki loved me. Okay, good point. I can do this. I’ll just have to be creative.

“I have bruises because I’m learning Krav Maga. I can’t learn without a partner and bruises happen. Sean isn’t abusing or controlling me in any way. I flinched when he reached for me that day because I was mugged in Quebec and am still a little jumpy.” I took another deep breath and plunged ahead. “If he’s protective, it’s because he’s seen me bleed. You don’t know this, but he… they… all
three
of them, have pulled me out of Scott’s hands more than once.”

She was dumbfounded and shook her head in denial. ”When? I didn’t know.”

“No, you didn’t know. I didn’t tell you, and they respect me too much to talk about it. All you need to know is they
all
care about me and would never hurt me. Look at them! Do they seem dangerous to you?”

Sean was laughing at Dani’s bad shot. Dec threw out his best dimply smile at her. No, they didn’t look dangerous just then. I hugged Ricki and grimaced as she accidently squeezed one of my many bruises. I have
got
to learn how to heal myself…

Days later I got my chance. Sean and I just finished another brutal session, and I was sweating like a pig and sucking in oxygen. The air in the basement was stuffy, and I gulped at it like it was water. Unfazed by the workout, he tapped his fingers on his thigh and reviewed my progress. I’d learned to disarm a gunman, dodge a knife attack and break someone’s neck so I expected some praise.

“You have to do more, babe. You’re not giving me everything you’ve got. In real life, you’d be dead ten times over.”

My face fell. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Do I look like I’m kidding?”

Frustrated, I threw a right hook at the punching bag. “Do you think I’m not taking this seriously? I’m working as hard as I can!” I punched the bag again. “I’m not you!”

In two strides he crossed over to me and blocked my next swing. Holding my fist inside of his, he said, “No, you’re
not
me! That’s the problem--you’re
still
too vulnerable. Do you have any idea how easy it is to kill a fragile human?” His voice was low and silky.

Still holding my fist, he lightly touched my bare stomach with his other hand. “One small blade right here would do it. Or here, or here.” He trailed his fingers over my kidneys, my heart. My heart pounded through his palm as he ran through the many ways a human can die. I was hypnotized when he finally wrapped his fingers around my neck and looked into my eyes. “Give me more!”

We were back on the mats again, and I had a new plan. Raphael’s words echoed in my head:
Use your strengths to become stronger.
Instead of lunging at him, I stood very still and reached out to his mind. Eyes slightly closed, I waited for his attack. It came almost immediately. He feigned a lunge to my right side, but then dove into my legs. I jumped to the right, and he hit the floor and rolled. Back in a crouch, he aimed a rib-cracking kick at my side. At the last second, I twisted so his foot barely grazed me. I flipped backwards and then tried to sweep his legs, but he blocked me and I fell hard to the mat. He used this to his advantage by yanking my legs out from under me and flinging me several feet to one side. I threw my hands out to stop my fall and landed hard on my elbow. The crack was excruciating. I collapsed on my face with a cry.

“I heard that. You okay?” he asked.

I think not. I moaned and rolled onto my back. I gave him a weak smile. “I think I broke my elbow… Ow.”

Being the excellent boyfriend that he is, he carried me upstairs to the living room. After getting some ice, he left me to find Dec. My favorite healer took one look at the black and blue swollen mess and declared it was time for me to heal myself. Grinning at my dismay, he logically argued that I couldn’t practice healing myself unless I was really hurt. This was a perfect opportunity. He was right. It hurt--a lot! I didn’t share his enthusiasm. I wanted him to fix it and fix it now. I didn’t get my way. Instead, I found myself lying on the floor with my poor elbow resting on a bag of ice because the pain kept me from focusing.

“This is really very easy. Close your eyes and imagine your energy inside of you. Picture the flow like a current that passes through your blood… your muscles. Do you see it?”

I murmured that I did. He continued softly, “Good. Now picture it surrounding your whole body… arms, legs, head, everything. Okay?”

I nodded. My body was tingling and warm all over. I cracked open my eyes. The faint glow of energy enveloped me like a cocoon.

Dec made a small sound of approval, and said, “You’re doing excellent. I can see what you’re doing. You’re controlling it, aren’t you? Now guide that energy to your elbow. Focus it on the break.”

I tried to picture the energy pouring into my arm and then surrounding my elbow. It wasn’t that easy though. The image wavered, and the energy flowed back around the outline of my body instead of into my elbow. It was like pouring water on top of oil… It kept trying to separate.

Dec encouraged, “Focus, Mica. You have the power. You have the will. Concentrate.”

Inhaling deeply, I re-attacked. This time, the energy wrapped around my elbow and stayed put. Okay, so now what?

“Okay, now imagine the break is knitting back together. Picture the healing in your mind as you keep the energy focused. You’ll see when you’re healed.”

I did as he said and gradually the bones straightened and knit back together. The process was intense though. My brain was exhausted with the effort, and I finally gave up and fell asleep.

The clanking of dishes woke me up. I wandered into the kitchen to see what was being destroyed. Lounging against the doorway, I smiled to myself. Dec and Sean were cooking dinner, and it actually smelled good. Sean spotted me and waved me over.

“Hey, come and try this.” He held up a fork of grilled chicken.

“Wow, that’s good. I had no idea you could cook.”

Lifting an eyebrow, he winked at me. “I have many secrets!”

After dinner, Killian announced he had news for us. The delicious food formed a lump in my gut that threatened to come back up. They had new orders from Alex. The Manhattan team finally had some detailed intel on Dagin’s operations. Sean and Killian had managed to immobilize Xarchi at Dump and taken him to an interrogation chamber. While flatly refusing to give me any gory details, Killian explained that Xarchi had been particularly helpful before he was sent back to hell in a cloud of ash. It seemed Dagin was dabbling in the arms trade. His engineers were producing a new weapon that he was getting ready to put on the black market. No one had any doubt the new weapon would be catastrophic and create mass chaos. There was simply no other reason for demons to get involved with humans. The problem was we still didn’t exactly know what we were dealing with. The techies were still reverse-engineering one of the weapons that Dec hijacked from the red warehouse.

I swiveled towards Dec. “You took one of the weapons? Why didn’t you tell me?”

He shrugged. “It’s no big deal. I snatched it from the warehouse and brought it to our lab.”

Killian added without a smile, “You didn’t have a need to know, Mica. Sorry. Our final orders are to blow up that lab and destroy any chemicals or equipment we find. That’s the plan. We’ll head out later.”

I frowned and started to argue, but he raised a hand to cut me off. “I hope you’ve learned what you need to. It’s time to get serious. Playtime is over.”

Chapter 27: Playtime is Over

“
PLAYTIME IS OVER. Playtime is over
.” I stomped to my room muttering the entire way down the hall. Did he really,
really
, think this was fun for me? I snorted through my nose. Yeah, sure I loved getting thrown around the basement. And turning my brain inside out was just hilarious! Ugh! He was an idiot. I should’ve kicked him in the head. I slammed the door and felt better.

A soft knock interrupted my sulking. I didn’t want to talk to any of them right now so I ignored it. The door cracked open and Sean poked his head inside.

“I know you’re not asleep. Can I come in?”

Ungraciously, I grunted at him and turned my back. He took that as permission and came inside. Instead of coming over to the bed, he walked to the window and stared out at the fading light. He was absorbed in his own thoughts as the sun set for the night. I had alternated between staring at the ceiling and staring at his back for the last 30 minutes. By the time it was fully dark, I was over my bad mood and wanted to talk. The silence stretched uncomfortably, and I didn’t know how to break it. Just as I was about to go to him, he flopped down on the bed.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I wish I knew.”

“Cryptic.”

“It’s the best I’ve got.” He ran a hand through his hair until it stood up in spikes. I smiled at the sight. He didn’t smile back.

The pattering of rain on the roof filled the silence. A soft rumble of thunder echoed in the trees, and a faint flash of lightning lit up his face. I shivered in the cool air. A storm was coming, but when? Sean reached for me, and I slid into the circle of his arms. His mood was grim, and my imagination took great liberties as it tried to figure out the cause. He was still keeping secrets. What did he know that he wasn’t telling me? What did Alex tell him? What was going on? I hated being left out.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

He took my hand and kissed it. Peering into my eyes, he traced my jaw with a fingertip, and whispered, “I can’t find the words.” He yawned hugely, and added in a more matter of fact tone, “Maybe I just need some sleep.”

I didn’t really believe that; he was just changing the subject. I let it go for now though and curled up with him. Even as his breathing slowed, and he relaxed in sleep, I stared at the ceiling. Something was very wrong. I felt it in my bones. I trusted the feeling, and it scared me to death.

The coming of the new day brought with it only watery sunlight that washed out the hard lines of the room. The effect was a sense of being underwater as the rain poured down the windows. A loud crack of thunder brought Sean upright suddenly. Instantly alert, he scanned the room for intruders, hand halfway to his gun, before reluctantly relaxing again. His eyes were deep blue, but the shadows under them were purple in the grey light. His face was white with fatigue and the tiny crease between his eyes was more pronounced this morning.

He gave me a crooked smile, and said, “You look tired, babe. Didn’t you sleep at all?”

Funny, I was just thinking the same thing… I kissed the tiny crease and smoothed my fingers over his face until he sighed.

“We’re a mess, aren’t we?” I asked.

He stopped my hands and kissed them one at a time before tucking them behind my head. As I gazed into his unguarded eyes, the truth of his thoughts came crashing into me. He was barely hanging on. Closing my eyes in denial, I pulled him against me. We clung to each other as the full force of the storm broke over the house. The incessant scream of the wind urged us on. Hurry, hurry… Time is running out. Rain slammed against the glass, drowning out all other sounds. When the last rumble of thunder was very far away, we fell into a dreamless sleep.

They were grouped around the big dining room table looking at sketches when I finally made an appearance that afternoon.

“I want to talk to you.” 

“Can it wait?” Killian asked.

“You’re going over the plans for tonight, right?”

He nodded.

“Then no, it can’t wait.” I pulled up a chair and straddled it.

“Fine. What’s on your mind, Mica?”

“I’m going inside with you tonight. I can help.”

Sean protested, “No, you’re not. You’ll stay outside and be our eyes.”

“You need me to balance the team. I can fight as well as you, and I can shoot a gun now. I’m just as trained as you guys are.”

Killian’s eyebrows went straight up. “You think you’re as trained as we are? Really?”

I backpedalled. “Okay, maybe not, but I have skills you can use. Let me help!”

I appealed to Dec for support, but he bolted to the kitchen to feed Domino. Coward! Sean set his lips together and glowered at Killian in silent conversation.

After an eternity, Killian picked up his wicked boot knife and pointed to a position on the sketch. “You’ll be here. I need you to be eyes and ears outside. Bring the NVGs and check your earpiece and mic. You got that?”

I gritted my teeth and must’ve looked mutinous because he added, “Or you can stay here. It’s your choice, princess.”

I glared between them and threw up my hands. “Fine! I’ll do whatever you tell me to do. But I don’t like it! What if something happens to one of you inside? I could help. I--”

Sean stood up so abruptly his chair fell over. Angry now, he shouted, “Stop it! What if something happens to one of us? What would you do then? If Dec is killed, how will you help him? If I’m killed, how will you help? If Killian is killed, then what? What! Mica, you’re not thinking! You can’t help. We’ll be dead, and so will you. That’s what will happen if this mission goes south tonight.”

Now it was nearly time to head out, and I was nervous. I checked and double-checked my body armor, cleaned my Sig, loaded it, stuffed extra magazines into my pockets, and strapped on my new Bowie knife. I checked myself in the mirror and flexed my biceps. I looked bad-ass! I had on black camouflage pants and a thin long-sleeved black shirt. I had black boots on my feet and body armor covering my chest. My gun was tucked into its holster, my knife strapped to my thigh. I was a mercenary. Geez, my dad would kill me if he knew what I was up to… One more reason to come out of this raid alive and in one piece. I looked out the window and groaned. The rain had come back with a vengeance. Our fearless leader checked the radar and announced we’d have rain all night. The storm was moving to Vermont so we’d have to deal with it for the next six hours. Well, at least we’d have cover…

Two hours later, Domino huddled under a bush and shook water out of her ears. My hat kept the water from running into my ears, but it still ran down my back. I was already soaked through to my underwear so it was pointless to look for shelter. When he dropped me off, Killian reminded me that I wouldn’t melt. Guess he had a point. As long as I could hear and see, I would be able to do my job tonight.

Sean studied the clearing and reminded me, for the 20
th
time, to watch the driveway and the back of the property for latecomers. He had about five more minutes before he had to move into his position. Killian wanted it to be fully dark, and it was nearly there. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and the wind picked up again. It made me uneasy, and I shivered. Sean peered through the binoculars at the roofline and mumbled to himself some more. He had gone over the plan twice since we got here. All business now, he didn’t waste any time worrying about me. It was go-time. He was a professional. He’d do what he’d have to do tonight. I understood that, and I--

Cutting off my thoughts, he pinned me against the tree. My head was spinning by the time he released my mouth, and I dragged in a ragged breath of air. The relentless rain sluiced between us like a waterfall. The dense woods surrounded us like a jungle in the pouring rain. Lost in the moment, there was only him, only now. He dragged his mouth across my throat, kissing me with an unexpected tenderness.

“God, Mica! You’re ripping my heart out!” Before I could respond, he crushed me against him, ravaging my mouth with a hunger that set me on fire. His hands dug into my shoulders, bruising, clutching me to his hard body. My skin burned as the current ripped through my blood, and I shook with too much energy, too much power to contain. Arching with the pain, I moaned against his mouth until he released me to search my eyes in the darkness. A pale flicker of lightning cast an odd shadow over Sean, and for a moment, just for a moment, I thought I saw a different face. Then the illusion was gone, and I saw only the flickering gold lights in his eyes.

With one last hard kiss, he pulled away, hissing fiercely, “Stay alert!”

And he was gone.

I let the cool rain soak my overheated body, my thoughts ricocheting like a pinball machine, my mouth tingling and tasting of Sean. Everything would be okay, right? Sure. This was a routine mission. Nothing too hairy, right? Everything would be okay. I repeated this positive thought until I was almost convinced.

I used my night vision goggles to scan the perimeter. The farmhouse compound was surrounded by an electrified fence with concertino wire running along its top. There was one gate that was monitored with a camera and an electronic keypad. Killian’s intel source said it was the only gate onto the property. I hoped he was right about that. I couldn’t see much on the other side of the building from my position. That made me a little nervous. What if reinforcements could come in from that direction? We’d be screwed. Moving my eyes slowly along the fence line, I was relieved to see it was clear. I focused on the house next. There were sentries posted on each end of the second story porch. As I watched, one of them tossed a cigarette over the side where it fell like a tiny shooting star. A moment later, he slumped over in a quiet pile as Dec took him out. He slid the body out of sight and picked up the man’s rifle. He faced my direction and whispered into his mic, “I’m in.”

I breathed out. One down, two to go. Sean should be next. Endless seconds later, Sean called in too. Just one more. Killian was on the other side of the compound and was supposed to slip into the basement to set the charges. They would set the timers, and then get out of there. Killian should’ve been there by now. Where was he? I peered at the house with the NVGs again. Everything looked quiet. Wait a minute! What’s that?

“Company! Three men… no, not men. Make that three demons. Shit. They just appeared on the driveway.”

Domino growled under her breath. Not tearing my eyes away from the scene in front of me, I reached down and lay a hand on her head.

Sean’s voice came through the earpiece. “Where now?”

“Heading into the house. Uh-oh, they’re looking up at the second floor. Dec, they see you! Move!”

My vision was blinded as the demon threw a fireball at Dec. I couldn’t see where he was now. Did he vanish? The demon was still there…

“Sean! Dec’s gone.”

Domino snarled and backed into my calf.

“Chill, Cujo, before I shoot you.”

I whipped around with my gun in my hand. He aimed his at my head at the same time I leveled mine at his chest. He stood about six feet away. I liked my odds.

The man drawled, “Well, hell, you’re just a chick. Why don’t you put that gun down so we can get to know each other before I bring you to the barn?” He cocked the gun with a click.

Domino bared her teeth. The wind was picking up again and gusts were blowing branches around the two of us. I waited, searching his eyes. They flickered the moment he made his decision. In a split second, I lunged for his gun hand and shoved it to the side, snapping his finger in the trigger. I jammed my other hand into his nose. As he lost his balance, I threw myself backwards and came up with the gun pointing at his chest again. Nose dripping, he lunged at me. I pulled the trigger, and he dropped to his knees with a hole in his chest, a look of surprise on his face. I shot him again. Killian told me to always double-tap. The man listed to the right and slid over in slow motion. The driving rain filled his open brown eyes, and I bent over and threw up.

The rain and wind muffled everything so I prayed no one heard the gun shots. Still shaking with adrenaline, I crept back into my position. I didn’t see any new movement on the ground. The demons were gone! No! Where did they go? Frantic, I scanned every inch of the property and came up empty. No demons and no sign of Dec either. Sean and Killian were still out of sight and off the radio. I chewed on my lip. Come on, guys… Where are you?

I tried the radio, but no one answered me. Domino nudged me and whined. I stiffened and strained to hear. It was no use. The rain was too loud. I couldn’t hear anything at all. Should I go down there? Hesitantly, I took a couple of steps and stopped. Sean’s words echoed in my memory and I was torn. Go or stay?

After yelling at me in the dining room, he finally threw up his hands, and shouted, “My God, Mica, is it so wrong for me to want to keep you alive? I’m supposed to protect you! I love you! No matter what happens tonight, promise me you’ll stay out of that farmhouse. If it goes well, we’ll all come out. If it doesn’t, well, you can’t help us in there.”

Against my better judgment, I promised him. It was a promise I regretted now as I stood in the pouring rain with a dead guy and a wet dog. I anxiously twisted my locket as if that would make them magically appear. The locket was my connection to them all. I clutched it like a talisman and prayed they were okay. As the seconds ticked into minutes, I paced, thinking furiously. Finally, an idea started to take shape. Killian expected me to use my abilities or he wouldn’t have agreed to bring me tonight. Maybe I didn’t need to
go
into the house because I should be able to see into it from here…