“Don’t thank me, thank Ronin.” Cresso turned to face him, holding up a needle. “Ready to give me some blood?”
Ronin nodded and Cresso walked over to inject the needle into his arm. “The sample I initially tested is still coming back negative for infection, so you’ll have at least half a day between injections.”
“That’s great.” Better than Ronin could’ve ever hoped for.
“I know. I’ve already got the folks back at the Elcorp Laboratory working on duplicating the formula. I should have a hefty supply ready for you to take back with you when you leave.”
“I really appreciate it, man.”
Cresso drew some blood and then straightened. “I’ll let you know if this tests out okay. If so, I’ll be back in an hour for another sample.”
Ronin nodded and placed his hand on Cresso’s shoulder. A rush of gratitude practically overwhelmed him, forcing him to clear his throat. “Thanks, buddy. I could never repay you for all you’ve done.”
Cresso clapped him on the back. “Why don’t we start with a new bed frame?”
When Ronin let out a laugh, Cresso turned and headed for the door. “See you two soon. Oh, and try not to break anything else before I get back.”
He left and Ronin headed straight for Amara, pulling her into his arms. She smiled, and his heart gave a funny skip that let him know he was in serious trouble. The kind he couldn’t get out of.
Mine. Whether he wanted it or not, his body had claimed her as his. Or maybe they’d claimed each other.
Almost as if she read his mind, her smile dimmed and her eyes grew questioning. “Ronin, if we catch Asmodeus—”
“When,” he interrupted.
“When we catch him,” she amended, “what happens then?”
“I don’t know,” he answered honestly. But he couldn’t imagine life without her.
Minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Cresso’s voice rang out. “All clear. Back in an hour.”
Ronin grinned at Amara. “A whole hour to ourselves. What should we do?”
She gave him a naughty smile, the erotic scent of her allure unfolding like a blossom. But then she let out a sigh. “I could use a shower.”
“Hmm...good idea.” Especially since there were so many inventive things one could do in the shower.
Amara lifted a brow. “Why are you leering at me?”
“I’m thinking you could deliver on that promise you made me earlier.”
“What promise?”
He pulled her forward into a kiss, breaking away to murmur, “I said I wanted to taste you, and you said later.”
“Oh.” Her eyelashes lowered to shield her eyes. When she looked back at him, they were alight with mischief. “Race you to the bathroom.”
§
At their New York City apartment, Dagan pored through the research Ronin had compiled on his laptop. He’d been at it for the past twelve hours and he was tired as hell, but he wasn’t about to give up. Not until he found what he sought.
Yesterday he’d gotten a seed of an idea for how to break through the shield protecting Asmodeus’s townhouse. Although he’d thought about telling Keegan and Taeg right away, he didn’t want to look like a fool if he was wrong. Especially since it seemed so simple when he thought of it.
So he’d come back to his apartment and started going through Ronin’s intensive collection of records. Something had been nagging at his memory, something he remembered seeing in passing after they’d first arrived here on Earth. If he was right...
Finally, after close to another hour of searching, he found it. His hands trembled when he read the passage. “Yes. Yes.”
He closed the screen and grabbed the laptop, then headed upstairs to speak to Keegan and Taeg. It was the middle of the night, but this couldn’t wait. Thankfully, Taeg and Maya had taken to sleeping over the last couple of weeks so Maya could be on hand to help during Brynn’s late stage of pregnancy.
When a shirtless Keegan answered the door, rubbing his eyes, Dagan motioned to the laptop. “I found something you both need to see.”
Minutes later, he and Taeg joined Keegan in his study.
“What’s so important that it couldn’t wait until morning?” Keegan asked.
Dagan placed the laptop on Keegan’s desk and opened it. Keegan and Taeg moved in closer to view the screen. After a long beat of silence, Taeg said, “You woke us up to read poetry?”
“Not just any poetry. Centuries-old poetry.” When Keegan and Taeg looked at Dagan like he’d lost it, he pointed to one of the lines. “Here. Read this part.”
“Whether iron or stone or ether or wood, the sword shall be used to fight only for good,” Taeg recited. “Uh...pretty?”
Didn’t the assholes get it?
“This is poetry on the Arthurian legend,” Dagan said. “It’s referring to Excalibur. That’s how we get through Asmodeus’s shield.”
Taeg straightened, scratching his chin. “Excalibur only works on tangible objects.”
“Says who?” Dagan retorted.
“The sword is strong, but that doesn’t mean it can dispel magic,” Keegan said.
“It says it can cut through ether.”
“So it can cut through air. Big deal,” Taeg said. “Anything can cut through air.”
“But at the time period when this poem was written, it was common belief that magicians received their powers by communing with the spirits of the dead. Air spirits, they called them, and the god of these air spirits was called ‘Aether.’”
Keegan’s brow furrowed as he took a seat in his chair. “You think this means that Excalibur can vanquish spells?”
“I think there’s a good chance.”
“Well, fuck me,” Taeg breathed, sitting down. “I never thought of it this way before, but what was it that made the Book of the Dead indestructible?”
Taeg was referring to a supernatural spellbook that Brynn had been bound to. When their father, Mammon, had concocted his plot to take over Earth, he’d planned on using the Book—and Brynn—to do it. They’d managed to capture him before he could. Later, Taeg and Maya had found Excalibur, which Keegan had used to destroy the book.
“Was it the type of metal it was made from that made it unbreakable,” Taeg continued, “or was it bespelled that way?”
Keegan’s eyes widened. “Good point. If it was a spell that he used, then it stands to reason that Excalibur will destroy Asmodeus’s shield.”
Taeg grinned. “Which makes it pretty fucking awesome that I know exactly where to find the sword.”
Keegan turned to Dagan. “I have to say, I’m impressed with your research and reasoning on this one.”
Girly as it might be, Dagan felt a punch of delight at Keegan’s words. His eldest brother didn’t tell him that often. “Guess sex isn’t the only thing I’m good at.”
“That’s true,” Taeg said. “You’re also a good swimmer. And we’re going to need that particular skill when we go back to Wales to get Excalibur. Once we were done with the sword, I threw it back into that damned freezing lake.”
Dagan groaned, but it was mostly for show. Truth be told, he was up for anything that helped put that sick incubus away. Not that Amara was growing on him or anything, but the bastard needed to pay for what he’d done to her and the other women. That, and...well, he knew how much it meant to Ronin.
Keegan’s cell phone, which lay on the desk, buzzed. He read the screen and frowned. “It’s Cresso.”
Those two words caused automatic tension to build up in the air. If something happened to Ronin, Dagan didn’t know what he’d do. Please let him be okay. Please.
“Hello,” Keegan said. Then, after a pause, “Really?”
“What?” Dagan said. “What is it?”
Keegan m
et their gazes and broke into a smile. “That’s the best news I’ve had all week.”
Taeg froze beside him. “A cure?”
“Fuck if I know,” Dagan replied, but something inside of him loosened. Their brother was okay.
“That’s great,” Keegan said. “In that case, our bit of news can wait.”
Chapter Eighteen
“You’re insatiable,” Ronin murmured to Amara, who lay pliant and sated beneath him.
“Mmm...I’m merely catching up.” She reached up to tuck a piece of hair behind his ear.
“I may not live through your ‘catching up.’” He rolled onto his back, willing his breath to regulate. Damn, was he exhausted. They’d spent the last four hours holed away in Cresso’s house, and man, had it been amazing. While part of him wished this time with Amara would last forever, he couldn’t forget what waited for them back at home. They were living on borrowed time.
“Can I ask you something?” Amara turned to her side, resting her head on one elbow. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and then trailed her free hand along his abs, making them contract with her feather-light touch.
“How long until I’m ready to go again?” he joked. “Give me five minutes.”
Amara blushed. “I’m serious.”
His eyes slid down to the peaks of her full breasts. Unable to stop himself, he drew his fingers over them, making them go erect. Hmm...maybe I won’t need five minutes.
“Do you ever think about your mother?”
That stopped him cold. He placed his hands on the mattress and pushed up so his back lay against the headboard. She sat up, too.
“Sure, I think about her.” All the time.
“Did you ever think about going back to Infernum to try and find her?”
“I did go back. A year ago, right after Mammon got put away.” That was the only time he’d ever felt safe enough to seek her out without fear of Mammon learning about it and getting to her.
Amara cocked her head. “So what happened?”
“She wasn’t there anymore. No one was.”
“What do you mean?”
He placed his hands around her waist, pulling her into his chest. “Do you know how angels live back in Infernum?”
“No. I don’t know much about it. Solara would never speak of her home world.”
“It’s different there. Clouds have more substance than here on Earth. They’re more like hills in the sky. Angels build communities right on top of them. Homes, a town center, everything you could think of.”
“So what happened to your community?”
“Abandoned. I searched for a few days, but I couldn’t find anyone who knew what had happened to it.”
“Oh, Ronin.” She put her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder.
“I think about it all the time,” he confessed. “What happened there? To my mother?” To Lina? He’d probably never know, and that killed him. Especially since he couldn’t help but wonder what he would’ve found if he’d gone back sooner, when he and his brothers first escaped Mammon. Would they still have been there?
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“You can ask me anything, Amara.”
She lifted her head to place a kiss to his shoulder, then moved her lips up his throat and to his jaw. “At least I know of a way to make you feel better.”
When her hand closed around his cock, he groaned and let his head fall back onto the headboard. “Yeah, that definitely helps.”
Her succubus allure folded around him like a soft, warm blanket, and the resulting rush of blood to his nether regions made him lightheaded. She tugged on his erection, bringing her other hand down to cup and squeeze his sac. “How’s that?”
“Better by the second,” he gasped.
She started to straddle him, but then his phone rang, making her pause. “Should you get that?”
He observed her from beneath half-closed eyes. “It can wait.”
She shrugged and began to lower, but then the phone rang again. “What if it’s one of your brothers? Do they know that I...that we’re both okay?”
Oh, damn. In all the craziness, he’d forgotten to call them. They must be worried as hell. His body urged him to save it for later, but his brain said they ought to know what had happened. Stifling a curse, he flipped her onto her back faster than she could blink. He lowered his lips inches from hers. “Don’t move.”
“Okay.” She grinned up at him.
Ronin found his cell phone in the pocket of his discarded pants. The screen showed Keegan’s name. “Hey, Keeg. Good news.”
“I heard about Amara and the vaccine. I spoke to Cresso earlier.” Keegan’s voice was flat. Something was wrong.
“What is it?”
There was a pause, then Keegan sighed. “I wanted to give you two more time together before I called, but some things have happened you should be aware of.”
A ball of dread curled in his gut. “What?”
“Well for one, Dagan found some of your research that indicates Excalibur might be able to cut through magical enchantments, including—”
“The shield,” Ronin said.
“Yes. You’re the research guy. What do you think?”
“The shield?” Amara asked.
He held up a hand. “Huh, I never thought of it in that way. But I guess if you view the shield as any other type of barrier, say a wall of steel, then it sort of makes sense. Definitely worth a shot. Go, Dagan. I didn’t know he had it in him.”
“I know. He did good. He, Taeg, and Maya are on a plane headed to Wales. You know how fucking long it takes to get there, though. It’ll be three days before they get back.”
“Yeah, but that’s not really bad news, and the sound of your voice tells me you have some of that for me.”
“Not bad news,” Keegan said. “More like something I don’t know what to make of. Asmodeus called me less than an hour ago.”
“Asmodeus?” Anxiety punched through him. He turned away from Amara. “How? Why?”
Amara rose from the bed and approached, trying to slide the phone closer to her ear.
“Amara was right about that band around her wrist. While it doesn’t give Asmodeus her location, it does allow him to get glimpses of her life.” Keegan paused for a breath. “He knows she’s romantically involved with you. Well, not you per se. With one of us. Seems like he’s starting to fear what the Council has in store for him. He wants to send his associate to Opiate tonight to make a bargain. Amara’s mother in exchange for some sort of leniency.”
Based on Amara’s sharp inhale, she’d heard Keegan’s words. Ronin rubbed his jaw. “He thinks we can get him that?”
“Apparently. I didn’t do anything to dissuade him. I’m not above lying to a sack of shit like that.”
Neither was Ronin. He didn’t believe in giving honor where it wasn’t due, and it certainly wasn’t due to Asmodeus. “When does he want to meet?”
“Midnight, and it’s eight in the morning here, so sixteen hours from now. I’ll go meet with the guy, see what he has to say. Maybe we can get Amara’s mother out of there before the rest of the gang even gets back with the sword.”
Beside him, Amara seemed so anxious. Whether or not either of them had wanted or intended it, she was his responsibility now. He’d taken that on the moment he’d decided she should stay at his place rather than be turned in to the Council. Which meant this was his deal to take care of. “We’ll fly back to New York. We should arrive with a few hours to spare.”
“I should go with you,” Keegan said.
“But then who would stay with Brynn?”
Keegan sighed. “I’ll call Bram and Reiver and see if one or both of them is free to go with you tonight.”
“I know, but I still don’t want you going alone.”
“Fine.”
“Okay, see you soon. Oh, and Ronin?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m really glad about Amara. Me and Brynn are happy for you both. You know we wish nothing but the best for you.”
Keegan’s unexpectedly kind words caused a lump to form in Ronin’s throat. “Thanks, Keeg.”
Chapter Nineteen
The flight back to New York City took longer than they’d anticipated. Ronin had tried to charter a jet back, but scheduling issues made it easier to catch a commercial flight. By the time they arrived, they had fewer than three hours to spare.
Amara didn’t truly hold out hope that she would get Solara back tonight. Something about this whole scenario seemed like a setup. Asmodeus had never before feared the Council. In fact, he’d always acted like he might someday love to go head-to-head with it, to see who’d come out on top. But then, what could he do in a crowded club like Opiate, especially when Ronin had his own contacts there? Maybe now that Asmodeus had gotten a taste of what it was like to be wanted by the Council, he’d decided it wasn’t as exciting as he’d fantasized.
Maybe.
When they arrived at Keegan’s apartment, Ronin knocked on the door and Keegan answered. A grin broke out across his face and he pulled Ronin in for a hug. “Good to see you home safe and sound.”
Ronin ducked as if he were embarrassed. It was the cutest thing. Then she noticed the way his shirt stretched taut over his back muscles and the way his jeans hugged his toned ass, and she lost herself in a sexy daydream that made her blood heat and her allure unfold like a blossom. She snapped out of it when Keegan also gave her a quick embrace, surprising the ever-living hell out of her.
“You too, Amara. Glad Cresso figured something out there.”
“Me too.” He’d sent a two-week supply of the vaccine with Ronin and assured them he’d have more shipped once he got additional vials of blood from Brynn. When they’d left him, he’d been hard at work on finding a way to replicate the immunity found in Brynn’s blood.
Touch of the Angel (Demons of Infernum, #3) Page 19