by Tina Folsom
Actually, there was a second reason: he liked fucking her. He wanted to make her his sex slave. Nobody else would ever touch her but Zoltan. He would chain her to his bed and take her whenever he wanted to. Which was all the time. Yes, he would fuck her for eternity.
But right now, he had to move things along in the trust department, because for his liking, Enya was still too reluctant to open up to him, even though she was surrendering to him sexually in every way. So he’d devised a plan to give her a gentle shove in the right direction.
He’d chosen a restaurant that was bordering on a bad neighborhood, yet had excellent food. Since he’d confessed to Enya that he couldn’t cook worth shit, she’d been all too happy to agree to go out for dinner. For a proper date, as he’d suggested. The restaurant stood at the end of a cul-de-sac, which meant he knew from which direction Enya had to approach. She’d declined his offer to pick her up from her home, which, of course, he’d counted on.
At the entrance to the cul-de-sac, Zoltan had already smashed one of the streetlights, of which there were few to begin with. His action ensured that no light filtered into his hiding place, the entrance to an auto shop. He’d arrived thirty minutes prior to the time he’d made the reservation for, though he didn’t expect Enya to show up early. She had no reason to believe that he wanted anything more than to spend the night in bed with her. Nor did he think that she would arrive invisibly. At the very least, she’d make herself visible as soon as she entered the cul-de-sac to ascertain that no restaurant patrons became witness to her supernatural skill.
The stage was set. The curtain was about to rise.
Zoltan felt his heart pound. A lot of things could go wrong; however, he not only counted on his own demons’ inadequacy, but also on Enya’s fighting skills. He’d seen her fighting demons often enough to know that she could handle two of them, if with a little difficulty.
His ears perked up. He heard the clickety-clack of high heels on the uneven pavement grow louder as the person walked closer. A few seconds more, and he could make out Enya’s lithe form in the darkness. She wore a short dress again, showing off her slender legs. Her leather jacket was open in the front, and he had to assume that the only reason she wore it on this rather warm night was so she had a place to hide her weapons.
Enya walked to the entrance of the cul-de-sac. Nobody else seemed to be in the vicinity. Zoltan glanced around. Where were his demons? He held his breath and listened. But there were no sounds other than the distant humming of cars that drove by on a nearby street. A movement from the corner of his eye made him snap his head in that direction. It was them. They were approaching silently, staying in the shadows of the buildings, and in a few seconds they’d be at the entrance to the cul-de-sac with Enya facing the opposite direction. She wouldn’t see them coming. Nor would she hear them: the demons weren’t wearing their usual boots. They’d donned… tennis shoes? What the fuck?
Shit! He couldn’t interfere yet. Couldn’t simply call out to her. The demons would see him and most certainly blow his cover. But he had to do something. He bent down and grabbed a couple of small stones, a little larger than gravel, and tossed them in the direction of the demons. The sound of the stones hitting the pavement made Enya spin around.
The two demons, though appearing startled, immediately charged at her. They’d lost their element of surprise, but they still had an advantage: they were already holding their daggers in their hands, while Enya had to dig into her inside pocket to remove hers. But she was fast, ready to defend herself in an instant.
From his hiding place, Zoltan watched the fight, his heartbeat accelerating. Despite wearing a dress and high heels, Enya kept her two attackers at bay, delivering kicks and blows. She catapulted one of the demons against a wall, while trying to stab the other. But demons were strong, even the two losers Zoltan had chosen for this suicide mission. He counted on Enya, on her hate for the demons and her skill as a fighter, to hold her own. She’d done so before, killed more than her fair share of his underlings. At least tonight, she had Zoltan’s permission, even though she didn’t know it.
One of the demons landed a blow, then followed it up with a swipe of his dagger. Enya blocked it with her forearm, while kicking back to fend off the guy who was attacking from behind, but she couldn’t prevent the blade from cutting into her leather jacket. Had she not worn it, a deep gash would now grace her arm. Enya managed to grab the guy’s wrist and twist the dagger from his grip. It clattered to the ground, while Enya tried to drive her own dagger into the demon’s chest. The other demon attacking her from behind prevented her dagger from reaching its target.
Enya whirled around, simultaneously kicking back at the demon who’d lost his dagger, while she swung her blade at the other one.
Time to intervene.
Zoltan left his hiding place and ran toward the melee. The unarmed demon searched the ground for his dagger, but Zoltan had seen where the weapon had landed and was already heading for it. They got there at the same time. Zoltan kicked his underling in the stomach, catapulting him back, and reached for the weapon. His subject stared at Zoltan, his eyes wide with disbelief, his mouth opening. Zoltan flicked his wrist and let the dagger fly, planting it in the demon’s throat, cutting off the words that were going to make it over his lips.
“Eric?”
Enya’s panicked cry told him that she’d seen him join the fight. Good. But her surprise had also given the second demon a moment to gather his wits and thrust his knee into her stomach. She had to make a step back to keep her balance, then tried to kick back, but her leg was stuck. Zoltan focused on the spot—her high heel was caught in between the cobblestones. Her attacker grinned and lunged forward, his dagger in his hand, ready to stab Enya.
“Shit!” Zoltan yelled, and barreled toward his subject. There was no time to snatch the dagger from the dead demon. No matter. Zoltan charged the demon and wrestled him to the ground. But the bastard was stronger than Zoltan had previously thought. The demon blocked Zoltan’s next blow, and then their gazes connected. Surprise and disbelief flashed in his subject’s eyes in equal measure.
“Oh G—”
A dagger came flying and landed squarely in the demon’s throat, cutting off his words before he could betray Zoltan’s identity. From the corner of his eye, Zoltan saw Enya approach. He took a deep breath and pulled the dagger from the demon’s throat, ready for his next performance: to appear surprised at seeing green blood. He stared at it, then turned his head to Enya to give her a confused stare, and saw a movement behind her. Green eyes lit up in the darkness just a few yards behind Enya. A third demon.
“Eric, oh my God. Are you okay?” Enya asked.
Zoltan jumped up, dagger still in hand, and pushed Enya out of the way, making her crash to the ground. Just in time, because the third demon’s dagger flew through the air, aimed at Enya’s back. Seeing Zoltan, the demon turned tail, but Zoltan couldn’t let him escape. This third demon wasn’t part of the mission. Somebody else had sent him. And if this demon reported back that Zoltan, the Great One, had saved a Stealth Guardian’s life, his days would be numbered. In single digits.
“Eric, no! Stop!” Enya called after him. “He’ll kill you!”
He heard her footfalls behind him, but he couldn’t stop. His life now depended on killing this witness. He turned the corner and saw the demon already casting a vortex, but Zoltan couldn’t allow it. He aimed the dagger and flicked his wrist. The dagger hit the demon in the back before he could step into the vortex. As life seeped from him, the vortex collapsed as well. Zoltan breathed hard. This had been close. Too close.
“Eric, oh my God.” Enya stopped beside him. “You killed him?”
Zoltan turned his head to her, doing his best to turn his face into a mask of surprise and fear. Mimicking fear wasn’t too hard, since he’d truly been afraid that his plan would backfire. Besides, he didn’t want Enya dead. She was worth more alive.
“He tried to kill you. They all did.” He
let out a ragged breath and looked at his hands and the green blood on them. “What is this? What are these people? What did they want from you?”
She looked at him, a strange expression on her face. “You’re very good with a knife.”
He shrugged. He had an explanation for that too. “I wasn’t always an investment manager. I grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, so to speak.” He sighed. “But you haven’t answered my questions. Who are these people? Because for sure they don’t look normal.”
“They’re not. But… Listen, I can’t talk about this now. I need to get a cleanup crew here first. Contain the scene.”
“Well, let’s call the cops,” Zoltan suggested. That was what a human would say, wasn’t it?
Enya shook her head. “No cops. My… uh company will deal with it.”
“I just stabbed two men, and you killed a third. We have to tell the police now, or they’ll never believe that we acted in self-defense.”
Enya put her hands on his biceps. “We can’t. The police can never find out what happened here. Nobody can. Please, I’ll explain everything. Later. Tonight, I need to get this cleaned up. And you have to get cleaned up too. If any of your clothes got stained, toss them. The green will never come out.”
“What is it?”
“Blood.”
“Come on, Enya, don’t play a prank on me now. I’m kind of on the edge here.”
“It’s the truth. It’s green blood. And the three men we killed are evil. Truly evil. I can’t tell you anything else right now. I have to take care of all this before somebody comes across the bodies.” She pulled out her phone and pressed a button. “I need a cleanup… Yeah, guess they’re back… Three. All dead.” She gave the address. “Thanks. I’ll wait.” Then she disconnected.
“Who are we waiting for?”
“You’re not,” she said. “You need to leave now. It’s better if my colleagues don’t find you here.”
“But I can’t just let you wait here on your own. It’s dark and dangerous.”
She pointed to one of the dead demons. “I think I’ll be all right for tonight.” She put her hand on his nape and pulled his face to hers. “Please. Go home. I’ll see you tomorrow. Then I’ll answer all your questions. Okay?”
He nodded and kissed her. “Dinner tomorrow?”
“You bet.”
He turned around and walked away. Tomorrow Enya would open up to him. She trusted him now. Trusted him because he’d killed for her. He’d saved her life. His plan was playing out nicely. There was only one problem: who had sent the third demon and why?
10
While she waited for her brethren to arrive, Enya dragged the three dead demons, one by one, behind a dumpster around the corner. Luckily, nobody saw her. The blood the demons had spilled in the alley was substantial, but she couldn’t do anything about that before her colleagues were here.
Her heart was still thundering from the adrenaline pumping through her veins. She hadn’t been prepared for this fight. She’d let down her guard. How stupid of her to wear high heels and a dress! It had impeded her movements, made her slower, and nearly cost Enya her life when one of her heels had gotten stuck in the cobblestones. If Eric hadn’t shown up just in time and killed two of her attackers… She didn’t even want to think of the possible outcome. But he’d jumped right in as if a street fight with daggers was his hobby. She’d never seen such a brave human. Would he have been just as brave had he known that the creatures were demons? She shrugged. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that he’d helped her out of a bad situation.
A dark, unmarked van approached, and Enya recognized it immediately. She stepped out of the shadows and waved at the driver, directing him toward the dumpster, where he reversed to line the back of the van up with it. Moments later, Hamish stepped out of the driver’s side, while Aiden walked around from the passenger side and already opened the back doors.
Hamish looked at the bodies. “Nice job.” He pointed to her dress. “Guess the dress is a goner.”
She looked down at herself. Several green bloodstains were visible on her dress. “Sucks! I just bought it. Fucking demons!”
“Weren’t you the one complaining that there hasn’t been any demon activity lately?” Aiden asked.
“Whatever.”
“And what’s with the dress anyway?” Aiden asked. “Not exactly the right outfit for patrolling.”
She narrowed her eyes and pointed to the dead bodies. “You gonna lift them into the van or not? I’ve got to clean up the blood in the alley.” She reached into the van and pulled out a heavy can with a hose and a nozzle attached to it, without waiting for Aiden’s reply.
“Well, let’s get to it, then,” Hamish said.
While Hamish and Aiden loaded the dead guys into the back of the van, Enya walked back to the scene of the fight and washed down the green blood, directing it into the drains along the sidewalks, until all evidence was gone. She placed the half-empty can back into the van and shut the doors.
“You coming to the incinerator with us?” Hamish said.
“No, but you can give me a ride halfway home.”
Enya squeezed onto the front bench of the van, next to Aiden, and pulled the door shut. Hamish got in on the other side, started the engine, and drove off.
“So three, huh?” Aiden asked. “That’s impressive, even for you.”
“Particularly in those heels,” Hamish added with a grin.
Enya looked out of the side window. They would soon realize that she couldn’t have killed those three without help.
“Yeah, well, I got lucky.”
“Cut the crap,” Aiden said. He motioned to her dress. “Who were you with? Because for sure you weren’t patrolling in this.”
“Maybe I was playing bait.”
“Enya, stop,” Hamish said calmly. He’d always been more like a brother to her than all the others at the compound. But their relationship had changed when Hamish bonded with Tessa, the mayor of Baltimore. “As much as I admire your fighting skills and know how good you are, defeating three demons in a dress and high heels is nearly impossible. What really happened?”
She glanced past Aiden, met Hamish’s sideways look, and let out a sigh. Here it went. “I had help.”
“Who?” Aiden asked.
There was silence for a few heartbeats before she answered, “A guy. He managed to grab one of the demons’ daggers and stab him with it. And when the third ran off, he chased him down and killed him.”
Hamish stopped the car. “Human? Vampire? What is he? And more importantly, where is he now?”
“Human. I told him to go home.”
“After what he witnessed? Damn it, Enya. You know the protocol,” Aiden grunted with displeasure. “Grayson or Ryder could have tried to wipe his memory. How could you just let him go? What if he talks to the press? Or the police?”
“Don’t get your knickers in a twist,” Enya snapped. “I know what I’m doing. He won’t say anything.”
While Aiden glared at her, Hamish shook his head. “You know him.” Then his gaze dropped to her dress. “You’re dating him.”
“What the fuck, Enya?” Aiden cursed. “When were you gonna spring that on us?”
“How about never?” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t have to tell anybody if I’m dating someone.”
“You do, if that someone becomes a witness to what we’re doing,” Hamish said, though he seemed much calmer than Aiden. “What did you tell him? Did you reveal who you are?”
Somewhat pacified by Hamish’s calm tone, Enya shook her head. “Of course not. I told him they were evil guys and that we can’t go to the police. I sent him home and told him I’d talk to him tomorrow and explain everything.”
“We have to check him out, see if we can trust him,” Aiden said. “Pearce should run a background check on him.”
“I did that already,” Enya said. Well, not a full one, but a cursory one, and together with a search of his cond
o that had turned up nothing odd, she was confident that she could trust Eric.
“When?” Aiden asked.
“A few weeks ago, after I met him.”
“You might have overlooked something,” Aiden said. “Pearce can run another one.” When she opened her mouth to protest, he cut her off. “He’s the best. If there’s something to find, he’ll find it.”
“There’s nothing to find. He’s just a guy, okay?” And after what Eric had done for her tonight, she trusted him. How close to death she’d come because of her stupid high heels, she didn’t even want to tell her colleagues.
“We’re just looking out for you,” Hamish said. “Let Pearce run the background check the moment you get back to the compound, and tomorrow morning we’ll discuss how much to tell this guy and how to proceed. Agreed?”
Reluctantly, she nodded. It didn’t mean she had to do what he said. After all, none of her brethren had asked her opinion when it concerned their love life and how much to reveal to the women they’d fallen in love with. So why should she be restricted to how much to tell the man she…
She stopped herself. She wasn’t in love, of course not. She was in lust. Yes, and she enjoyed Eric’s company. Plus, she trusted him. And now, she also owed him her life. That was why he deserved to hear the truth from her.
“All right if I let you out here?” Hamish asked, pointing at the next stoplight. “We’ve gotta get these bodies burned ASAP.”
“The stench is unbelievable,” Aiden groused.
“Yeah, let me out here. It’s just a few blocks. I’ll be all right,” Enya said.
Moments later, she hopped out of the car and walked to the compound. She covered the green bloodstains on her dress with her leather jacket. Ten minutes later, she was back in the compound.