Elixxir (The Brethren Series)

by Remiel, Deena

  “I’m so sorry. So these killers have found you and are now after you for…?”

  “For an item my father was going to have on display at his Curiosity Shop.”

  “And this item is what? A shrunken head? A monkey claw?”

  “You’re an ass.” She punched him solidly in the shoulder, got up, and padded over to the hotel room window. “My father had wonderful pieces in his shop and traveled around the world to find them.”

  “Sorry, communication skills are not my best attribute when it comes to civilians. Out in the field, if you don’t make jokes about everything, nothing is a joke and you wind up killing yourself. Consider my ass kicked. Come sit back down, would ya?” He patted the seat next to him. “So you’ve been able to stay hidden for how long again?”

  “It’s been about twenty years,” she said, and sat on a chair instead. He whistled and raised an eyebrow. “Until stupid me impulsively clicked the contact button on a web page. Before I knew it, bam, a live-chat window opened up with someone ready to talk with me! Then, my lawyer, Mr. Watkins, left me a message on my answering machine telling me I’d been found and to run. Nathanael, I think something horrible’s happened to him. He didn’t sound good at all. The rest, you know. I thought you were the killers come to get me when you knocked on the door.” She yawned and kneaded her shoulders.

  “Where is this item now?”

  “I don’t know. It’s hidden somewhere. I remember discussing it with Mr. Watkins, but you gotta know I was really messed up in the head. Most of that time is a blank to me now. He gave me an envelope with a note in it. He told me never to open it, to keep it in a locked box at all times. The paper has the location and directions on how to obtain the damn thing.” She yawned again. “Whew, excuse me.”

  “No problem.” He pressed on. “Where is, or was, your father’s shop and what’s its name?”

  “Can’t we finish this up in the morning? I’m exhausted and achy.”

  He scrubbed his face with his hands. “Just tell me the name of the shop and where it’s located and we’ll stop for now.”

  “Fine, you big brute!” She paused and took a breath to calm her frustration. “It’s called Murati’s Curiosity shop now, and it’s in Las Vegas. His shop, well, now my uncle’s shop, is off the Strip. Now I’m not answering another question tonight. I’m going to bed. If you’re not satisfied with my answers, you can leave, or stay. Your choice. If you’re staying, I’ll sleep under, you sleep over, and stay on your own side or I’ll knee you in the balls. Understood?”

  “I think I’ll hang around a bit longer. We’ll finish up in the morning. You can have the whole bed. I’ll be up for a while working.”

  “Suit yourself.” She stripped down the bed cover and began the ritual of wrapping herself up like a mummy with the sheets. She had done this bedtime ritual ever since “brother dear” first visited her, always with the hopes that he couldn’t get through all of the many wrappings protecting her body all the way up to her neck; most of the time it worked. He’d get so fed up he’d curse and leave her room. To this day, it still comforted her being bound in such a way. She’d never make it easy for anyone, ever.

  All Nathanael could do was stare in awe. She looks like a freakin’ mummy! Only someone who’s been through a personal hell would require that sense of security and control. And Lord knows, I’ve seen plenty of men do the very same thing as she. What else besides her parents’ murders is she hiding?

  He sat at the small table by the room’s window and took out his phone. It would be best to start with a bit of research, but then, she’d never said her real name. He could locate the store easily enough, but without her real name, he wouldn’t get much further, so tempting the fates and preparing for her razor-sharp retort, he asked. “Before you fall asleep there, what’s your real name?”

  “My real name?” Her eyes remained closed. “I…I don’t think I can say it out loud. I whispered it just yesterday and nearly had a coronary.” Her eyes opened. “I’m scared.”

  Nathanael approached the cocooned lump on the bed. He knelt to caress her hair. “Why don’t you whisper it to me, then? It’s only you and me here, no one else. No one is gonna come charging in as soon as you say it. Okay? A small whisper for me, that’s all.” He watched as fear gripped her tighter than the bed sheets, and then subsided slowly as she nodded and closed her eyes.

  “Come closer. Give me your ear,” she croaked.

  He leaned in so her lips nearly touched it.

  “Ariana. Ariana Kupi.”

  No louder than a ghost’s breath, she said her name, and he sensed years of pent-up anguish and terror. It pierced straight through to his soul, and he had no choice but to collect her in his arms and hold her. Hers trembled as she wrapped them around him.

  “Shh. Shh. It’s okay.” He softly stroked her hair and murmured against her neck. How he knew what to do, he hadn’t a clue. He’d never consoled or comforted a woman before. But it seemed right, and she smelled so good, he continued. “It’s done. It’s finished. Only you and I know. Rest now. I’ll keep you safe.”

  She nodded against his chest and he laid her back down. She blinked up at him with eyes fringed by moist lashes. “Okay,” she said, and sniffled, closing her eyes.

  “Okay.” He smiled and got up to return to the table. He had a name. And now, the researching could begin. Earlier, he had surreptitiously tried to trace her intent, tracking her by sense. When he put her backpack on the sofa, he’d stuck a hand inside to touch pieces of her clothing. Fear, anger, and a need to hide were strong threads throughout. There was no thought imprint about the sought-after piece itself or its whereabouts.

  He sent a text to Gabriel Seeker, a Brethren Protector and information guru. If anyone could expose tightly guarded information, he could. Nathanael knew she had the Elixxir, but fiercely protected its identity. Smart girl. If she knew its true capabilities, and he believed she did, telling just anyone about it would put her safety at risk. Her parents were a prime example. But he needed her to trust him and tell him everything about it herself.

  Was it really a need? No, he could find that flask without ever saying its name, without her sharing one more bit about it at this point. It was a want. He desperately wanted her to open up to him, to trust him implicitly. A very tall order, to be sure, looking at it from her standpoint. She’d always remained closed off from others, and now he knew why. But it stung to know that she closed herself off from him as well. Guilty by association. Kemuel screwed up and left a wake to follow. Add to that, killers hot on her trail and other childhood experiences that probably left her with emotional scars, and you got a person who wouldn’t trust anyone.

  He wanted to be that one person to break through all of that mess. Her situation had dredged up all sorts of memories of his own from his last black-ops’ mission, where all of his team members had died. Since that devastating blow, he’d stopped believing others would ever trust him to lead a successful mission. So he’d quit and turned to bounty hunting instead, where he could work alone. Helping her could be his chance at redemption, his opportunity to show her—and prove to himself—how reliable he could be.

  Furthermore, if she believed in the Elixxir’s powers, then maybe he’d have a better shot at her believing in him and his true identity. He scratched his head. Why? Why am I doing this? Why am I letting her get under my skin? She’s nothing but trouble with a capital T. But those violet eyes. Mesmerizing, with a capital M. Ah! She hates me, and I don’t need a woman in my life. It’s too dangerous. I should just do my damn job. Find the Elixxir, get it, and go. Oh, and get the jerks that are after her. That would be a supreme pleasure. His body shook with the thrill of an impending hunt.

  Rustling of sheets broke through his musings. She turned over in her sleep, muttered something unintelligible, and settled back down. As much as he didn’t want to leave her alone, he needed to do a little search-and-recovery over at the apartment complex.

  He locked the hotel
room up tight with the deadbolt and a chair wedged under the doorknob. He knew the adjoining room would come in handy, not just for protection, but as an easy way for him to get in and out without compromising security. Stepping out of the empty room and onto the second floor walkway, he saw not a soul in sight. Unfurling his wings, he flew off into the night, as silent as an unspoken thought.

  ***

  Blackened bits of unidentifiable matter lay strewn about the parking lot in front of what used to be Callie’s first floor garden apartment. In its place remained a black hole encompassing not just hers, but a few others as well. Nathanael waited silently in the trees overhead for the last of the gawkers to go home. It didn’t take long. Well into the middle of the night, he floated down as close to the opening as possible and hid his wings away. The acrid stench of burnt, wet plastic and wood permeated his nostrils. As he looked around he could tell whoever did this used a combination of natural gas and spark to completely incinerate the place. The assholes didn’t seem to care who they took down with her!

  He scoured through the muck, looking for the lock box she had mentioned earlier. There were no more wall divisions so he couldn’t tell where one room finished and another began. Crunching and sloshing through the charred remains of her life, he finally came upon a sizable metal box standing about two feet high and across. Bingo. He squatted to check it out. Thick black soot covered it, but beyond that, the thing remained intact….and opened. Damn it! Nothing inside. Figures. Whatever Gabriel uncovered in his search would be the only chance of finding the Elixxir now.

  Something glinted at him out of the corner of his eye. He turned to his left and trudged over toward the back of the apartment. He bent over to find a two-inch silver key attached to a chain. Given the fact that other apartments had been burned, he couldn’t be sure if it belonged to her or not. Pocketing it, he made a mental note to ask her about it in the morning. With nothing left to see, he flew away as silently as he had come.

  ***

  Nathanael alighted by their hotel window and his supernatural hearing picked up on a distressed woman’s voice. He immediately grabbed the Beretta from his boot. The voice sounded like Callie’s for sure. He hadn’t heard anyone else’s coming from the room, but being in his line of work, you never could tell.

  “I don’t owe you anything, Dennis. Get off me. No…won’t tell your parents…. I know I’m not your real sister. It doesn’t matter! Please don’t!”

  With angelic speed, he entered their unoccupied room and burst through the adjoining door, ready to pummel the bastard that had found his way in. He aimed to the left and right and to the bed, fully expecting to see some thug accosting her. But she was alone. Her arms worked feverishly to remove invisible threats to her thighs as she tossed about, the terror in her voice escalating. He put the safety back on the gun and holstered it.

  “Damn it,” he muttered. He hurried over to the distraught woman and gently shook her shoulder. “Callie, wake up. You’re dreaming.” She carried on, yelling for Dennis to leave her alone. Telling him she was too young and asking how he could do this to her after everything she’d been through. She twisted herself into a frenzy, nearly falling off the bed. “Callie! Wake up!” He shook her harder. She jolted awake, flailing her arms about, slapping his chest in the process.

  “What? What? Why are you waking me up?” She sat up and squeezed herself out of the sheet’s wrappings like a snake shedding its skin. “What’s going on? And where’s your shirt?”

  “You were having a nightmare and almost fell off the bed.” He rubbed his stubbly cheeks and chose to ignore her last question. “You all right now? You wanna talk about it?”

  She put her head in her hands as awareness washed over her face. “Shit,” she muttered. “No. I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “It might help.” He reached out to her.

  “Don’t touch me. Just leave me alone, okay?” She got out of bed and scurried to the bathroom. Before he could blink, he heard the shower going.

  He sighed and sat down on a chair. Shit is right. Dennis must be the son from that family the lawyer placed her with. That son-of-a-bitch sexually assaulted her. It explained so much. He heard her crying softly. Between the obvious post-traumatic stress and sexual abuse, he had no idea how she’d kept it as together as she had. Over his many centuries in the military and bounty hunting, he’d seen it all. Stronger men had been brought down by less. So she tucked herself into bed funny and talked in her sleep. She was abrasive and secretive. He could get past those walls, given enough time and some advice from Emma D’Angelo. She would know how to reach her. Heck, the Great Savior Mother could even heal her. He made another mental note to call Emma in the morning.

  The shower stopped. Curtain hooks scraped and screeched across the shower rod. A few minutes later, Callie emerged, rubbing her hair with a towel. She wouldn’t look at him. She wore her boxer shorts and tank top again, giving him a perfect view of bright red skin that accentuated the lingering cuts and scrapes earned earlier in the evening. She’d scrubbed herself raw.

  “All better now?”

  “Yeah, tons.” She sneered and sat on the bed. She looked at him for the briefest of moments and then down at her hands, using her wet hair as a curtain. “Listen, I’m really uncomfortable now, here, with you having seen and heard…. It happens sometimes, my nightmares.”

  “Hey, we all have crap to deal with from our past. Even from our present. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. You’ve had a hell of a couple of days here that I’m sure played a big part in bringing them out. I can’t unhear what I’ve heard, though. So you’ll have to get past it.” He leaned forward in his chair, forearms resting on his knees. “Tell me, is this Dennis anywhere in your life now?”

  She looked up at him, shamefaced. “I reported him to the police and he got seven years in jail. He was released, but I know he’s had some run-ins with the law since. So no, no he’s not a part of my life, except in my nightmares. He doesn’t seem to want to let me go. As much as I try, he comes back every now and again to terrorize me like he used to.”

  “Do you usually scrub yourself raw in the shower like you did just now?”

  She looked at her legs and arms and started to cry. “I can feel his hands on me. Still. Every time. When I wake up from one of these, I still feel his punishing touch. If I scrub hard enough, the pain numbs my skin.” She wiped her tears with the towel and shook her head. “Oh, this has so not been a good day for me.”

  Nathanael knew she’d probably throw a fit, but he dared to do what his heart wanted him to do and his conscience screamed against. He sat down next to her, and putting his arm around her shoulder, pulled her in close. Ready for a slew of curses and yelling, he winced, but they never came. Instead, he felt her arm loop around his waist and her head fell against his chest.

  “You know, if you tell me where he lives, I can beat him up for you.” She tittered softly. “Or I could have him thrown in jail again on some trumped-up charges so he can be some inmate’s bitch for a night.” She slapped him lightly on his stomach.

  “You’d do that for me?” She leaned her head back so she could see his face. He nodded. “Okay, you’re not an ass anymore.”

  “Oh good, because that was really bothering me all day. I don’t mind being called a piece of ass, but plain old ass just makes me sad.” He winked. “Hey, slide back on the bed. I’m gonna show you how to sleep soundly and comfortably without wrapping yourself up like a mummy.”

  She looked dubious but complied with his demands. He lay down next to her and gathered her over to him, moving so fast she didn’t have time to complain. At first, her body went rigid and tensed against his. “Nothing like a heartbeat’s rhythm to relax you. Now settle in, take a few deep breaths, and close your eyes. I’m here, and you are safe. Think sweet thoughts like puppies or kittens or whatever you girls think is sweet.” He didn’t know what to say anymore, so he went for touch instead. If only I had a Protector’s skills of comforting
and bringing peace, this would go a lot easier. My strength and cunning are all I got. He smoothed his hand against her damp hair and then stopped to massage her head lightly. Her body loosened. She groaned and snuggled closer. He smiled. Maybe I don’t need Emma’s help after all. I must be a natural.

  He waited until her breathing became even and regular.

  Nah, just damn lucky.

  Chapter Six

  Callie decided that on her list of must-haves should be one of those sound machines with a heartbeat on it. Nathanael’s real heartbeat, slow and steady, was the perfect remedy to her restless sleep and she could very easily get used to hearing it every night. She smiled. Get a load of you! Going soft on him, are we? Could it have anything to do with how he said he could beat up Dennis for you, or is it his luscious, half-naked body fitting perfectly next to yours? Or could it be the way he said he’d keep you safe? Check off all of the above.

  Kemuel never said stuff like that to her. No, he was a total lunkhead. A sexy and funny lunkhead, but clueless in the women department. He may have been good for many a romp in bed, but long, deep conversations weren’t his forte. Then again, she hadn’t wanted that at the time, either. She’d wanted an escape from her sorry excuse of a life. In the end, if she analyzed their relationship, he couldn’t possibly have been the right one for her. Nope. Not at all.

  Nathanael isn’t either, Callie-girl. She had to remember she’d sworn off men completely. Abstaining from all relationships until she got her shit together took top billing in her book. Maybe softening a little toward him would be harmless to her goal. He had been super nice and willing to help fight off the bad guys and find the Elixxir. She frowned slightly against his chest. Why, I wonder? What’s in it for him? Another puzzle to solve another day. She set it aside and sank in deeper to his body, drifting off to sleep.