Fighting Evil

by Mary Abshire

  "Look," I said. "I'm not saying I'm perfect. I'm sure many of you here have made a bad choice at some point in your existence. I too have made bad decisions…" I paused and glanced over my shoulder at Jeremy. He clenched his jaw and looked away. I returned my attention to the members. "But I only send evil souls to Hell."

  "The fact remains you rushed to judgment. You had no proof Renaud killed Sean other than an internal feeling, an emotion," Quon said.

  "You should have come to us and let us investigate the matter," Anton added.

  "And if I had, would you have let me send his soul to Hell?" I asked.

  Members turned their gazes to each other, silently communicating.

  "I'm sensing the answer is no," I said.

  "An immortal man's soul is worth more than the life of one person," Quon said.

  Bullshit! I screamed in my head. What fucking bullshit! Thank God they couldn't hear me.

  I shifted my gaze to Drake. He held a calm pose with an impassive expression. I wondered if he felt the same way as Quon.

  "Why did you destroy Renaud without notifying us?" Anton asked.

  I stiffened and clenched my hands tighter in my lap. They weren't going to like my answer. "Because I knew you wouldn't let me claim his soul."

  Quon shifted in his seat. "You assumed—"

  "No!" I snapped. "You just said an immortal man's soul is worth more than a life. You proved you wouldn't have done anything."

  "Nobody here said we would not have disciplined him," Constantine said.

  "Discipline a vampire?" I chuckled. "Yeah, right. You let Alexander live for centuries killing people, and children. You knew and you didn't stop him." Fury made my voice quiver.

  "We are losing sight of the issue," Dimitry said, voice elevated. "Did she rush to judgment or not?"

  "If we agree she did, then we must consider how we can prevent this from happening," Quon said.

  Prevent me from making judgments? What the fuck did that mean? I didn't like the sound of it, especially since Quon said it.

  "We should remember that she did capture the right person," Dimitry said. "We may never fully understand her unique ability to sense evil. Perhaps we should consider the ones that she has sent to Hell. We know for a fact Renaud and Alexander murdered."

  "Two people out of sixty or a hundred is not enough to base a decision on," Quon said.

  Nassar shifted his gaze to Quon. "Gentlemen, I suggest we move forward."

  Dimitry and Quon hushed, bringing silence to the room. Dimitry might be able to convince most of the members to back me, but I doubted he could persuade Quon.

  "Are there any more questions for Jessie?" Nassar asked.

  "Yes," Ramon said. "Dimitry saved your life, to which we are all grateful for. It is our understanding Drake shared his blood with you to strengthen you. Did you ingest any other energy to heal?"

  "No," I said in honestly. "Not this time."

  "But you have in the past?" Ramon asked.

  "I have taken energy from another source…in the past. Not often, though, and I do not foresee doing it ever again."

  "You act as if your relationship with Jeremy as changed," Elissa said. "Is there a problem between you two?"

  "The problem is I'm tired of being in the middle of him and Drake. Jeremy is always arguing with Drake. He doesn't understand that I love Drake. I have voiced my feelings repeatedly, but the hard-headed demon refuses to listen." I swallowed and prayed Jeremy would remain calm.

  Elissa's lips twitched. "Demons can be stubborn."

  "Shall we move on?" Sophia asked.

  "Any more questions for Jessie?" Nassar asked.

  "I move for discussion," Quon said.

  Nassar looked my way. "Jessie and Jeremy, you are free to return to your lodging. If we need you to return, someone will notify you."

  Before I rose from my seat, a loud click and a thud stole my attention. Jeremy's chair lay sideways on the ground and the door was wide open. Jeremy had left and it looked obvious he was not in a good mood.

  "Will he be a problem?" Anton asked.

  I stood. "I doubt it."

  "If he becomes a problem, you need to notify us at once," Nassar said. The sternness in his tone frightened me.

  "I will." When pigs fly.

  I left the building and headed back to my lodging. Along the way, I sorted through what had happened in meeting. It had been a small success in my eyes. Quon seemed to be the only one against me, although Anton and Ramon had plenty of questions. Maybe they were undecided. My worries concentrated more on them preventing me from making judgments. How on earth could they stop me other than killing me? Surely, they wouldn't go to that extreme.

  The door was ajar when I arrived. Pushing it open, I cautiously stepped inside. "Jeremy?"

  I peeked down the hall to the bedroom. There was no sign of him. The quiet suite appeared empty. The television was off. Lamps in the living room and bedroom remained lit, showing no signs of movement. Yet, I sensed a source of heated energy. The bathroom door was open and the light was off. Since he wasn't in the suite, I guessed he was somewhere nearby.

  Stopping midway in the living room, I kicked up one of my feet behind me and slipped off my shoe. I repeated the process with the other. Shoes in each hand, I strolled into the bedroom.

  Hot hands gripped my shoulders and shoved me across the room. I dropped the shoes and stumbled after a few steps. My feet got caught in my long skirt and it tangled my legs even more. I was on a downward path and way too close to the stone wall. Unable to stop, I twisted and hit the back of my head instead of the front on the hard surface. Darkness invaded my mind in a flash.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Taps on the left side of my cheek and then on the right awakened me from the darkness. Slowly, I lifted my heavy eyelids. A blurry image of a man hovered over me. I blinked as a warm hand brushed across my forehead. The back of my head throbbed while a sharp ringing stung my ears. I breathed in the scent of burning leaves. My vision was clearing, but I already had pieced together that it was Jeremy above me. I attempted to turn on my side and discovered a heavy weight pressed my stomach and hips.

  "What the—"

  Jeremy brought a finger to his lips and I quickly silenced my next words. What was going on and why was he sitting on me? Confused, I took a glance around the room. I was lying on the floor and my shoes were scattered nearby. My memory returned. Jeremy had pushed me and I'd crashed into the wall. Had he intended to knock me out? I was going to beat the crap out of him if he did.

  "Jer—"

  He clamped his hand over my mouth, then shook his head. Understanding his signs to keep hush-hush, I nodded.

  Jeremy removed his hand, then reached for something on the floor. Moisture glistened on his forehead. He lifted a small notepad and held it in front of my eyes. The note with his handwriting read WTF is going on? with a big question mark at the end. He lowered the pad on my chest.

  I shifted my gaze away from him. I refused to tell him my secret. He needed to let me go. His life depended on it.

  Jeremy took hold of my chin and brought my attention back to him. "Tell me," he mouthed, then scrubbed the back of his hand over his forehead before sweat trickled into his eyes.

  "Get off me," I said silently.

  He clenched his teeth and snatched the pad on my chest. Numbness settled into the lower part of my body where he sat while he jotted another message for me. When he finished, he showed his note to me.

  Tell me, or I send us both to Hell.

  The underlined words caught my attention. I widened my eyes. Surely, he wouldn't do it. The demon had always said he would never hurt me. Yet, here I was on the floor after being knocked out because of him. But would he go so far as to kill me and then commit suicide? He was crazy at times, but I didn't think he was suicidal crazy.

  I shook my head. He set the pad on my chest again, then reached behind his back. When he produced a small dagger in his grasp, my pulse went into overdriv
e.

  Fear rushed through me. "Don't you—" He covered my mouth with his hand. I braced my hands against his chest and my feet flat on the floor. Bucking and wriggling, I tried to push him off me. The notepad slid off me and landed near my ear. Heat from his hand began to burn my face and mouth. He pointed the tip of the blade above my heart. The knuckles on his hand turned white as his grip tightened on the handle. Somber eyes stared deep into mine. Oh shit! He'd do it and I'd be stuck in Hell with him.

  Breathing heavy, I nodded frantically. I couldn't let him do it. Maybe he planned to bluff me, maybe not. Was his love for me so strong, devoted, and consuming? The answer frightened me. I slowly lessened my resistance against him and, at the same time, he backed away with the knife.

  The dagger disappeared behind him again. He removed his hand from my mouth, then gathered the pad and pen nearby. He handed them to me.

  While the anxiety within me had lowered, my fast beating heart hadn't yet. I quickly wrote on the paper, Your life is in danger. Play along. I hoped it would be enough to end his death game.

  I turned the pad around and showed it to him. After he studied my note, the corner of his lips twitched. He took the pen and pad from my hand, then stood. Relief passed through me.

  Jeremy took a seat on the bed as I sat upright. My head ached and was pulsating. I grazed my fingers through my hair and felt something sticky. I held my fingers in front of my eyes. The substance was blood. I probably had a nasty bump too.

  "Asshole," I said in an angry tone.

  He didn't respond. He was too busy writing another note.

  Slowly, I got up from the floor, then took a seat on the bed next to him. He handed me the notepad. The new message read, U R half-demon and a woman. I can take care of myself.

  I shook my head and yanked the pen out of his hand. Why couldn't he just obey me this once? Why did we have to argue all the time? I wrote a response. Fuck you! Play along. Please.

  He chuckled as he took the pen and paper. I watched as he wrote another note. You are hot in that skirt. You should wear it more often.

  I took the pen from his fingers and wrote three big letters. PIG. Then I rose and threw the pen on the bed.

  Standing at the dresser, I dug inside my purse. The ache in my head and ringing in my ears irritated me more than Jeremy, which was a surprise. Aspirin would help dull the pain. Jeremy deserved a black eye for his shoving me into the wall. A task I might consider once we made it back home.

  "I've been thinking about what you said earlier, at the meeting," Jeremy said.

  He stood behind me, holding the notepad up. His new note read, I'll play.

  "About what?" I asked.

  "You claim I never listen to you. Well, I'm going to prove you wrong. When we get back, you won't see me. I won't call. I won't visit. You can forget about me."

  "Good. Maybe Drake and I can finally settle down together." I tugged open a drawer and gathered clean clothes.

  "Go fuck your vampire and enjoy life. I've got plenty of women to keep me happy." His tone was surly, fitting for an argument.

  The notepad made a slight squeak as Jeremy slid it across the dresser. I glanced at the note. Hungry?

  I nodded. He tore the paper off, then crumpled it into a tight ball.

  Holding clean underwear and pajamas in one hand, I slammed the drawer shut. "Stay away from me and I'll stay away from you."

  "No problem," he said in a rude tone.

  I stormed out of the room, smacking my bare feet on the floor. Pretending to fight was actually kind of fun.

  The bathroom door thudded after I shut it with extra force. With a deep sigh, I undressed and then stepped in the shower. Red streaks flowed toward the drain as I washed the blood from my head. In a way, it reminded me of the night Sean had died. I'd stood, numb, and watched the blood disappear down the drain. Thinking of Sean brought back a wave of grief. Though I knew he no longer existed, I found it difficult to accept I would never see him again. Would the sorrow of his loss ever go away?

  A half hour later, I stepped out of the bathroom, clean, dry, and dressed in thin cotton pajamas. Voices from the television in the bedroom drifted into the living room. Thank God I'd taken aspirin earlier. The loud volume would've inflamed my headache.

  I strolled into the bedroom and dropped my dirty clothes into the growing pile in the corner. If we stayed much longer, I'd ask to have them washed.

  Jeremy was lying on the bed with his arms behind his head. The sound of thumps on the front door brought him to his feet. He rushed out of the room.

  While he was away, I lowered the volume on the television. Maybe the loud noise did bother me some. Why did he have it cranked so high anyway?

  A cart rolled into the living room, pushed by a male servant. The two exchanged words and then the servant left. I headed toward the food, inhaling the scent of pasta, garlic, and seafood—my favorite.

  "What did you get?" I asked.

  "Food." He sounded like a true smart ass. "Get your own."

  Ignoring him, I lifted one of the trays. Pasta with little bits of shrimp filled one plate. My mouth watered.

  Soft taps on the door distracted me from the delicious plate of food staring up at me. Why did people always show up at the worst times? I covered the dish as Jeremy opened the door.

  Drake strode in with a serious look on his face that disturbed me. His cool energy glided over my flesh, tickling the hairs on my arms and back of my neck. He stopped in front of me.

  "Please, come right on in," Jeremy said in a mocking tone as he shut the door.

  "What's wrong?" I asked.

  "They asked me to leave," he said, voice dreary.

  Worry added beats to my heart. "What?"

  "They are still meeting and they asked me to leave."

  A small chill crawled under my skin. "Why would they do that?"

  Jeremy stood at the other end of the cart. "What were they talking about when they asked you to leave?"

  Drake rubbed a hand on the back of his neck. "They had decided they were uncomfortable with Jessie making decisions on which souls to send to Hell. Quon wants assurance that what happened with Renaud doesn't happen again."

  "That prick," I said.

  "Dimitry suggested I leave since I have a special interest in you."

  I crossed my arms. "Is that what he called it?"

  Drake lowered his arm. "I have worked for them for centuries and not once have they asked me to leave."

  More unease spread through me. If Drake felt uncomfortable, then something was definitely amiss. Whatever they were going to discuss about me, it was clear they didn't want Drake to know or for him to tell me.

  "Tough luck." Jeremy lifted a tray, then took the plate of food. The odd news didn't perturb him none the least.

  The muscle over Drake's temple jumped. His dark eyes slowly swelled. Trouble was on the horizon between the two, as usual, and I needed to stop it.

  I took hold of one of his hands, then tugged him into the bedroom. After closing the door behind, I dragged him to the farthest point of the room.

  "Be honest with me." I splayed my hand on his dark blue sweater, in the area of his silent heart. "Do they want me dead? Do they want to get rid of me?"

  He trailed his fingers down the side of my face. "No. They would never do that. Your gift is too unique."

  "Wouldn't that be reason enough?"

  "They do not intend to kill you." His left hand slid around my waist. Fingers slipped under the waistband of my pajama bottoms.

  "Then what do you think they will do?"

  His eyes lowered and focused on my mouth. "My belief is they will ask you to assist with investigations."

  A conversation I'd had with Sean before his death emerged in my thoughts. He'd told me they would use me because of my special ability. I found it interesting Drake used the word ask. What if they did and I refused?

  On second thought, if I worked alongside Drake as a vampire soul catcher, I'd enjoy the job. I'd
love being off duty with him as well.

  "Would I work with you?" I hinted at a smile.

  "I would assume so." He leaned in, bringing his lips dangerously close to mine.

  "I could handle working with you…" I slid my hand down his hard chest and continued onward. "Catching vamps." Finding his cock stiff, I rubbed the outline of him. "And sending their souls to Hell."

  "We would make a good team." His hand dived deeper into my bottoms.

  Before I had the chance to reply, he claimed my lips. His tongue frolicked with mine and all my anxiety vanished—replaced with passion, love, and need. Oh yeah, I could work with him, all day and all night.

  The momentum of our kiss grew while hands explored, rubbed, teased, and played. His desire was strong along with his cock. I loved feeling his strength, his passion, his need. We longed for each other, desperate to have, to hold, and to cherish.

  I broke the kiss for a breath. "I would work with you for free if every night was like this."

  He planted a wet kiss on my chin while his fingers slid between my wet folds. "Every night would be a pleasure, working with you."

  The base of his palm rubbed against my core while his fingers slid in and out. My temperature spiked as erotic thrills of joy spread through me like a wildfire. He nibbled at my throat and zings of desire spread through me. Overwhelmed with pleasure, all my fears, worries, and grief were a distant memory.

  "You are so warm…and so wet. I love it."

  Threading my fingers through his soft hair, I locked my mouth over his and devoured his tongue. This man, this vampire, was mine. All mine.

  Drake guided me to the bed. "Lay down."

  I complied with his order and stretched out over the small width of the twin-sized bed, leaving my legs to dangle off the side.

  He gripped the band of my jammies, then gently tugged them down and kissed my naked flesh along the way. After the bottoms slid off my ankles, he examined me with his dark eyes. "Beautiful."

  I reached my arms up for him. "Come to me."