by T. G. Ayer
“Yeah, must’ve been hard.” Steph’s eyes widened and she snorted.
I tried to hide my grin. “It wasn’t funny.” That just made her giggle. “Look after them, you hear?”
Giving her one last warning glare, I hurried to my room and grabbed my bag from beside the door. I peeped into the spare room to see Samantha asleep on her father’s arm, with him sitting at an awkward angle, his eyes closed. I left them to sleep and hurried back to Saleem.
When I entered the sitting room, Saleem was on his feet, pacing. “I wasn’t gone that long.” I grinned.
His eyes lit up as he turned to watch me enter. He shrugged. “Just eager to get going.”
I pursed my lips and nodded. “Right then, let’s go.” When I held out my hand, he took it. The touch of him sent hot shivers up and down my spine. Just the feel of his skin next to mine set my heart racing. I blinked, trying to shake the attraction off. I needed to concentrate.
I still had a connection to his mother, a memory of the threads along which I’d projected to see her the first time. Following the thread, I floated ahead, projecting first, wanting to be careful. I made it all the way back to the room in which Saleem’s mother sat.
Her lips were set in a hard, angry line, making the rest of her face an assortment of shadowy slashes. Her high cheekbones and almond eyes screamed her Persian heritage. Beautiful, even as she aged.
And stern. She looked like she was capable of ruling a kingdom.
Happy she was still safe, I returned to my body. Gripping tightly to Saleem’s hand, I jumped, landing us among the trees at the edge of the property. Large overhanging branches gave us good cover to observe the grounds of the house and still remain unseen.
“Her room is protected,” I said as we studied the house.
“Protected like your house?” he asked, chuckling.
“Yup. Just like my house.” I grinned. “So no trying to jump through it.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I frowned, scanning his face. “You ready?” He nodded, his eyes roaming the large grounds. Between the wall at the perimeter and the walls of the house stretched a neatly manicured, almost endless lawn. A pathway edged all the way around the house, dotted here and there with gigantic ceramic pots and carefully pruned trees. Whoever had Saleem’s mother didn’t suffer from lack of money.
An armed guard turned the corner and strode along the path, passing a line of picture windows. He reached the far corner to take the turn and I tugged on Saleem’s sleeve. “Let’s go. The sooner we get in, the sooner we get your mom out.”
He didn’t answer, just moved to stand beside me. “The gazebo,” he said, then disappeared, leaving behind a fluttering of orange and black embers. A shadow appeared at the far edge of the small structure and I followed, arriving close to him. Too close to him. I couldn’t step forward to steady myself. Instinctively, I tried to step back but it was too late. I was already falling. Straight into Saleem’s arms.
He grabbed me and held me a little too close to be legal. His face was so near, his mouth mere inches from mine. So close that our breath mingled and all it would take was for me to move slightly forward for our lips to touch. Saleem gazed back at me, eyes heavy-lidded and sultry.
Somewhere on the grounds, gravel skidded and an engine revved. We pulled apart, looking around for the source of the disturbance, but we had entered at the back of the property. The sounds traveled to us from the driveway at the entrance. I blinked and took a deep breath, trying to control the speed of my heart. What the hell was I doing, almost making out with an Omega operative? And while entering a property illegally? We were vulnerable crouching behind the gazebo. I’d never lost sight of the mission before.
I flicked Saleem an annoyed glance but his eyes were already on the building a few feet from us. From our vantage point, we watched another guard take the corner and head along the path toward us. Saleem breathed deeply, so harshly, I asked, “What’s wrong?”
He shook his head, his gaze remaining on the approaching man. “The guard. He looks familiar.” Saleem met my gaze. “Too familiar.”
My phone vibrated in my pocket. I ignored it for now. Frowning, I glanced at Saleem. “What do you mean? You know him?” My voice rose and I had to remind myself to keep it down.
When Saleem nodded, I went cold. “He’s Omega.”
“Omega took your mother?”
His jaw tightened, tanned skin tense and tight. “Maybe.”
I flailed about for a reason. “He could be working for the abductors without Omega knowing,” I offered. But the feeling of dread that blanketed me suggested otherwise.
All Saleem said was, “Maybe.” A few moments of thick silence passed and then he drew in another harsh breath. “The only way to find out is to find out.”
“Right then, let’s do this.” I put a hand on his arm, hoping to make him feel a little better but knowing it would probably not help at all. The possibility that this was all Omega’s doing made my blood boil. And I wanted to know the truth. Now.
“Can you lead us to her?”
I nodded. “But how are we going to penetrate the magic?”
“You said the ward is only around her room?”
“Yes, but it’s powerful and dark. I can travel through most wards. It’s rare that a ward is too strong for me to penetrate.”
“What if we got close enough that she could leave the room herself? On the off chance the ward is meant to keep her in and not prevent her from leaving.”
“Why hasn’t she just teleported away from them?”
“I’ve been wondering the same thing all these years. They must have her bound in some way. A powerful curse should do it. The witch who casts the spell needs to be strong. Dark helps.”
“Good enough reason to get her out as soon as possible.” He nodded, but his thoughts were already on the building.
He got up into a crouch. “Let’s go.”
We were about to jump when a buzzing sound caught my ear. I held onto Saleem’s arm and felt him tense. Tilting my head, I listened, trying to see if I could hear the sound again. It didn’t take me long to figure out that I hadn’t heard it. I’d felt it. Deep in my gut and in my bones. Worse, deep inside my skull. It pulsed and throbbed like a living thing, making me taste bile at the back of my throat.
I dug my fingers into Saleem’s arm. “Don’t move. There’s a ward around the property”
“I thought you said there wasn’t.”
I gritted my teeth. “So I thought.” I shook my head. “This thing is powerful. So strong it makes me want to puke. But it’s also spelled to be undetectable from a distance.”
“A trap.” His words were an angry growl.
“Exactly. And one we almost stepped right into.”
“So we can’t get inside?”
“Not this time. We need something to break the outside ward as well as the inner one holding your mom.” By now, the guard was too close, so I remained silent as he strode by. Seemed their watch was on a short timer, about three minutes apart.
After he passed and was out of earshot, Saleem said, “I know him as well. He was one of the additional support operatives I had on my last job.”
“Then it’s probably Omega.” I said the words, feeling a sense of dread filter through me. “But why would they want to keep your mother hidden away? How would it benefit them?”
Saleem shrugged. “No idea. It’s certainly not because they wanted me as an agent.”
“Are you sure? You are quite valuable in the sense that you are the only demon-born that can be trusted, especially with your power to jump.”
He frowned and studied my face. “It is possible. The last job I had was to enter the Graylands and try to retrieve a blue stone.”
“You mean the stones that control ghosts and spirits?”
He nodded, his eyes guilty. “I didn’t enjoy the subterfuge, the lies. I felt like I was betraying a friend the entire time.”
My eyes narrowed remem
bering a very recent case where the sister of Alpha Walker Kailin Odel had been trapped in the Graylands, slowly going mad. “You’re talking about the Greer Odel case, aren’t you?” He nodded, his brow furrowed. “I did the initial tracking but found her in the dead lands. I have to admit it got me a bit upset knowing what it was doing to her mental state. Did her sister get her out?”
Saleem nodded, his face darkening as he looked back at the house. “Yeah. Kai got her out but Greer is dead.”
My eyes went wide but it wasn’t the time to go further into how the walker had died. I’d ask him later. Once we were safely home. “Ready to leave? It’s pointless sitting here watching the guards circle the house.”
He seemed reluctant to go and I understood. “Your mom is okay. She’s strong. Besides, we have no way to enter the house. We could try again. Bring a witch with us to counter the spell and the ward.”
Saleem nodded slowly, his eyes still scanning the house. I knew what he was thinking. Any one of those upper floor windows could lead to his mother. It would be incredibly hard to come this close to her then turn back and leave her here. But we had no choice. I placed a hand on Saleem’s arm. He patted it. “Yeah, I hear you.” Then he sighed and shifted around. “Let’s get back.”
I nodded and in an instant, we were back in my sitting room. For a moment, I wondered if Saleem would disappear somewhere to nurse his wounds, but he was still at my side, finding his landing feet. We’d arrived so close to each other I could see the golden streaks in his onyx eyes. He stared at me for an awkward moment, our proximity causing a slow heat to rise in the pit of my stomach. Then he turned to leave.
I grabbed his sleeve. “Wait. What are you going to do?” He didn’t owe me an explanation but he swiveled around anyway. I didn’t move my hand.
“I’m going to do a little investigating of my own.” His voice held a steel edge. He tried to soften it with a reassuring smile but it didn’t work. There was no reason why he shouldn’t be pissed off at Omega.
“Be careful,” I said softly, worried for his safety. Omega was not an organization to be messed with.
He moved closer. “I will. I’m just going to be asking questions for now.”
“Questions can get you killed.” Saleem had moved so close that my voice had lowered to almost a whisper
He placed a finger under my chin and lifted my face to his. “Depends on the questions you ask.”
I swallowed hard. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what?” His lips were so close.
Clearing my throat, I answered. “I didn’t rescue your mom.”
He moved his hand, his thumb grazing the side of my lips. “No, but you gave me proof she is alive. And you gave me hope she can be saved.” I didn’t know what to say to that, especially with the blood rushing in my ears.
Then he kissed me, claiming my mouth, hard and possessive. This was no tentative kiss. It was deep and steamy, no holding back. I lost my footing and stumbled back a few feet. Saleem came with me, moving until I felt the wall behind me. My arms curled around his neck, tightening so he wouldn’t be able to stop that incredibly sexy kiss. He had a hand in my hair, pressing me to him. The other slipped around my back and under my shirt. Skin sizzled as he traced his fingers up my bare spine. I shuddered.
My phone vibrated again in my pocket, breaking through my passion-soaked haze. I’d ignored it the first time. I pulled away, my eyes never leaving Saleem’s face. He seemed as reluctant as I to stop, but I had to check my messages. I cleared my throat then shifted to reach into my pocket for the phone.
My blood ran cold the moment I saw the message.
Samantha taken Steph hurt come now.
Chapter 25
Mel
I shoved my phone in Saleem’s hand, no time to relay the message. I ran from the room, checking the kitchen on my way to the stairs.
“Drake?” I yelled for him and heard footsteps slamming the floorboards as he came running.
“What happened?”
“Demons. Two of them. They appeared in the bedroom. Steph was with the kid. She tried to protect her, to stop them from taking her but they hit her. She’s hurt, mostly bruises and maybe a broken rib.”
I rushed past him, heading to Steph’s room. Saleem’s footsteps reached the landing, and Drake said, “Who the hell are you?”
“Drake, meet Saleem.” I left the gargoyle and the djinn to get better acquainted and entered Steph’s room. She lay on the bed facing the door, her face pale, bruised and twisted with pain. I hurried closer and knelt beside her bed. “I said look after the kid, not get beaten to shit.”
“My bad,” she croaked.
I laughed. “What happened?”
She swallowed. “I was with Samantha. Martin went out for pizza and I was keeping the kid company. Probably a good thing I was there or we’d never know who took her. There were two of them. Demons, bulky, red-skinned, sharp teeth. I tried to stay in front of her. Screamed for Drake. They pulled me off but I fought them. They swatted me like a fly.” She snorted. “Hit me so hard I flew through the air and slammed into the wall. Sorry, Mel, there’s a Steph-sized dent in your wall.”
I just raised an eyebrow at her comment. The whole thing didn’t make sense. “So they knew exactly where she was.”
“And they penetrated the wards,” said Drake from behind me.
I sat back on my heels looking at Drake, stunned. Of course, they would have had to breach the protection to enter my home. “Yeah, our wards aren’t dark magic. Easy enough to break through if you are willing to dabble in evil.” I almost laughed at my words. I’d done exactly that, dabbled in evil, to get Samantha safe. It didn’t make it right just because I wanted to do good with it. And I saw the look in Drake’s eyes. I glanced away and asked, “Where’s Martin?”
“In the room. He’s taking it pretty bad.” When I rose to go to him, Drake placed a hand on my shoulder. “Leave him. You won’t make him feel any better no matter what you say.”
I didn’t like it, but I conceded. For now, I needed to know if Samantha was safe. “Fine. Go and get me something of hers. A hairbrush or a piece of clothing or something. I’ll be in the office.”
Drake nodded and strode out the door, and I hurried downstairs to my office, Saleem in tow. As we entered the room, I turned to him. “You don’t have to stick around. I can handle this.”
He folded his arms, bringing his decidedly sexy chest into prominence. “I am not going anywhere. You helped me, and I plan to return the favor.”
I hesitated, not wanting to get him involved but the look of hard determination in his eyes made me smile begrudgingly. “Suit yourself.”
Then I went to the large armoire set against the left wall and tugged the door open. I stiffened as I took in my stash of weapons and devices, both of the exploding and the non-exploding kind. Saleem was Omega. How did I know he wouldn’t rat me out for having such a large and probably illegal stash?
Some of my weapons were from the demon planes, brought home from other missions. I glanced at him over my shoulder and he chuckled. Raising his hands in submission, he said, “Don’t worry, I didn’t see a thing.” I wasn’t convinced and my face showed it. “Look, I mean it,” he said. “I don’t trust Omega right now. And even if I did, I wouldn’t tell them anything. You helped me find my mother. That means more to me than I can explain right now.”
I flushed. “Okay,” I said softly, and returned to the cupboard to grab a few things to stock up my bag.
Drake’s footsteps in the hall announced his imminent arrival and I closed the armoire door to see what he’d brought. His face was dark as he handed me the little brush Steph had bought for Samantha. “No clothing. Just this.”
It was all I needed. I set my bag on the floor by the door, took the brush and headed to sit in my chair. My body felt heavy, drained from all the jumping. I sat and was about to grab hold of a blonde strand when Drake said, “What the hell is that?” His voice was low and raspy and not ha
ppy.
I looked up at him. “What the hell is what?”
He grabbed a tissue from the little box at the edge of my desk and pressed it to my nose. His movement was harsh, not in the least bit tender. But I wasn’t hurt. Drake always got mad at me if I didn’t take care of myself. I grabbed the tissue and wiped my upper lip. A thin line of blood marked the white tissue. Damn. The jumps were taking a toll on me. Nine so far in the last twenty-four hours. And four carrying a load.
I sniffed and stuffed the tissue in my pocket. When I looked up, two sets of dark eyes stared straight at me: one confused and angry, the other angry and angry. “Come on, Drake. I promise I’m being careful.”
He grunted.
“So what’s with the blood?” Saleem asked, but when I glanced at him to answer I found he wasn’t talking to me. Really?
“Her body can’t take too many jumps in too short of a time. She needs time to recover.”
“She’s right here.” I waved my hand over the table at them.
“So, she’s been overtaxing herself then?”
“Yup,” Drake answered, flicking me an annoyed glare.
“Okay, I get it. Take care of yourself. Fine. Can we just get on with finding Samantha?” I snapped at them. “We’re wasting precious time.”
I didn’t wait for their response. Just returned my attention to the brush. I reached out and plucked a strand from the bristles, already preparing myself for the pull of Samantha’s feedback thread. A jolt of awareness went through me as I felt her heartbeat, rapid enough that I knew she was terrified. I slid along the connection between us until I reached her. The room was large.
And familiar.
Nathaniel’s lair.
I was so furious I wanted to scream. The jolt of anger sent me flying back to my body and I gasped as I opened my eyes. As expected, both men stood in front of me, a little angrier now that I’d left them without so much as a warning.
But the expression on my face gave away my rage. “What happened?” they asked in unison.
“It’s Nathaniel,” I said, as I rose and hurried to my bag at the door. “We’ve got to go. Now.” I looked around at Saleem.