Eve of Chaos

by S. J. Day

  She smiled. “There’s a 2.2-square-mile zone around the amusement park that is designated as a resort district. When you’re inside the park, there aren’t any tall buildings to ruin the visitors’ sight lines. They don’t want to ruin the fantasy.”

  “Ah, well,” Jones said. “Some of us have to live in the real world.”

  Eve moved to her desk and sank into her slim leather chair. “What can I do for you, Detectives?”

  Jones glanced at Alec, who stood like a sentinel by the door with his wide-legged stance and crossed arms. The detective seemed prepared to protest Alec’s presence, then he shrugged and sat. The way he moved caught Eve’s attention. His stocky frame didn’t show the stiffness of an older man, like his taller partner’s did. With narrowed eyes she studied him and came to the conclusion that he was far younger than he appeared. She suspected the misconception was by design and she grew even more wary. Jones was a hunter, too, and the information she held was his prey.

  He went straight to the point. “Do you have any further information regarding the death of your neighbor, Ms. Hollis?”

  Eve shook her head. “If I had anything to share, I would call you. I still have your card.”

  “Do you know an Anthony Wynn? He graduated from your high school the year before you. Chinese American. About five foot—”

  “Yes. I know him. We attended the same elementary and junior high, too.”

  “He’s dead.”

  She froze. They had been no more than acquaintances, but she’d partied with him occasionally and thought fondly of him. “When? How?”

  “Drowning. Same as the others,” Jones said. “When was the last time you saw him?”

  It took her a moment to reply. “A-a few years back. I passed him in a grocery store aisle.”

  “So you haven’t kept in touch?”

  “No. We weren’t close. The only things I can say about him are that he was quiet at parties and drew really great pictures on napkins.”

  Ingram stepped up to her desk, taking one of her business cards from its beveled crystal holder. “You’ve only been with Gadara Enterprises for a short time, is that right?”

  “A few months.”

  “You were hired just prior to the murder of your neighbor, Mrs. Basso”

  “That’s right.” She resisted the urge to look at Alec. Where is this leading?

  Not sure yet.

  Ingram shoved her card into his pocket, then reached down for a briefcase resting against the leg of Jones’s chair. He pulled out a photo and set it on her desk. It was a picture of one of her business cards surrounded by an L-square ruler. It had the wrinided look that paper took on after it had been soaked with liquid, then air-dried.

  Alec approached. He looked at the picture, then at Ingram. “You found this at the crime scene?”

  Jones settled back into his chair, his forearms resting casually atop the leather armrests. “Do you have any idea why we would find your business card on the corpse of a man you haven’t seen in years, Ms. Hollis?”

  Eve stared at him, dismayed. The Nix was taunting her. “I have no idea.”

  Ingram reached into the briefcase again and pulled out an item just as familiar as the last—a photocopy of a sketch artist’s uncanny rendering of the Nix. The detectives had shown the image to her before. A florist had described the customer who frequented her shop to purchase water lilies.

  “We want you to look at this again,” Ingram said, holding the image directly in front of her face.

  She looked away, disgusted. “I’ve never seen him.”

  The mark heated at the lie.

  Jones heaved out a frustrated breath. “Look harder, Ms. Hollis. Think harder. He has a German accent. He got his hands on your business card at some point. Did he come here to see you? Did you run into him somewhere?”

  “I don’t remember him.” She rubbed at her burning arm. “I sent out letters that included my new business cards to all of my former associates, clients, college classmates, and friends. I mailed at least a thousand announcements about my move to Gadara Enterprises. I also frequently drop them into those fishbowls on restaurant counters, since you never know when you might get a lead.”

  “Was Wynn on that mailing list?” Ingram asked. “No. I don’t know where he lives. I told you, I don’t know him that well.”

  “He lived on Beacon Street.”

  Fear formed a knot in Eve’s gut. That’s next to my parents’ house..

  Alec mentally transmitted orders to subordinates with such velocity, she was dizzied by it. Her fingers lifted to her brow and rubbed.

  Jones straightened. “Can we get a copy of that list?”

  “Of course.” Eve reached for her phone.

  “This could be personal.”

  The detective’s low-voiced statement stopped her with her arm extended toward the handset. Her gaze met his. “You think this is about me?”

  The detective glanced at Alec, then back at her. “This guy stuck around Anaheim for the last nine months. He stepped out of his comfort zone only once that we know of—”

  “Mrs. Basso.”

  “Your neighbor. Then his next victim is an old acquaintance of yours and your business card is found floating in the punch bowl with the lily. Things like that are rarely coincidences.”

  Eve pushed back from her desk and stood, feeling too restless to sit. Jones rose when she did, then resumed his seat.

  “What about the other victims?” She looked back and forth between the two detectives. “Did I know them, too? Were they connected to me in some way?”

  Was it possible that the Nix had been circling her since before she was marked?

  This time it was Jones who reached into the bag of horrors and withdrew a typewritten list of names, birthdates, addresses. She looked the column of information over carefully, wracking her brain.

  “None of these names look familiar.”

  “We can’t find a connection either,” Ingram said. “Maybe you caught his eye just recently. It could have been something as simple as you cutting him off in traffic. Whatever the reason, we think he’s stepping things up a notch by terrorizing both the victims he kills and you.”

  Eve looked at Alec. I want him dead.

  He met her gaze. Me, too.

  She crossed her arms. “Were all the victims found in their homes?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then don’t worry about me. Nothing unusual has happened in my life recently. Nothing that concerns me or gives me pause. Since Mrs. Basso’s death, our homeowners’ association authorized the hiring of an extra security guard in the building, so now we have two. One roaming, and one at the elevator on the lobby level. You just concentrate on finding this guy before he gets to someone else.”

  “It’s our job to worry about you, Ms. Hollis.”

  “No, it isn’t.” The last thing she needed was to dodge the police while trying to bounce some bounty hunting demons back to Hell.

  “Yes, it is,” Ingram said dryly. “You see, Ms. Hollis. For the present, you’re our strongest lead.”

  Jones stood with briefcase in hand. “In other words, get used to seeing us around.”

  CHAPTER 7

  The detectives have left the building.

  “Somehow,” Eve said with a wry curve to her lips, “that doesn’t have the same ring as Elvis’s sign- off.”

  Alec sent a brief mental acknowledgment to the Marks monitoring the security feeds, then turned his attention to Eve. He knew she wasn’t going to like what he had to say, but he hoped she wouldn’t get overly pissy about it. He had too much shit on his plate, in addition to a simmering temper and a pressing need for a long, hard screw.

  Being in Gadara Tower only made things worse. He’d always gained strength and power from other Marks, always relished the rush he felt when he entered a firm. But now the Mark in him wasn’t the only thing that recharged. The dark place inside him responded similarly; it had even absorbed power from the infernals loi
tering around Olivet Place. That the resulting explosion had nearly injured Eve terrified him.

  “You have to let me handle this,” he said grimly. “You need to stay home with Montevista and Sydney until we figure out what the hell is going on.”

  She gave him the “you’re-smoking-crack” look. “You’re funny.”

  “Don’t cross me on this,” he warned, his voice sharper than he intended. He knew a clusterfuck when he saw one and this one had Eve right in the center. As usual.

  Her hands went to her hips. “What the hell did I go through training for?”

  “Why do you think you have a mentor?” he shot back. “You can’t learn everything you need to know in seven weeks. You’re not up to a fight like this yet, Eve, and I can’t do what needs to be done when I’m worried about you.”

  Cain. Sabrael’s voice throbbed through his brain with the unalloyed power of a seraph. You must speak with me.

  Alec was physically jolted by the violence with which the darkness inside him recoiled from Sabrael. Not a good time, he snapped.

  You owe me. Have you forgotten so quickly?

  Have you forgotten that I told you I’d get to you when I get to you?

  Eve pressed on, unaware of the silent exchange. “So assign me to another mentor.”

  Alec’s first urge was to hit her, which scared the shit out of him. He clasped his hands behind his back. “No.”

  “Why not? If you’re too busy to do your job, you should assign me to someone else.”

  Fury battered his control. How had Raguel managed it? Alec was exhausted by the constant struggle.

  “You’re mine, angel,” he said harshly. “Even if you don’t act like it.”

  “This is business we’re talking about.” Her chin lifted. “Raguel threatened to reassign me, so I know it’s possible. The mark system has a backup plan for everything.”

  “I’ll back you up.” He stalked forward. He felt himself move as if on autopilot, his mind disconnected from the seething emotions that drove his actions. “Against a wall. Nail you right to it.”

  Another couple of feet and she’d be cornered. Trapped. Nowhere to run..

  Eve held her ground. “You sound like your brother”.

  Alec’s brow arched. “You spit that out as if you don’t want him. And we both know that you do.”

  Impatient, he shifted across the distance to her, catching her ponytail in a fist and a belt loop with his fingers. The loop ripped free, the tearing noise sparking a wave of heat between them.

  “Alec. . .“ Her voice was breathy and tremulous. He wanted it throaty and hoarse. Wanted her nails in his back and her sweat on his skin.

  He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, relishing the feel of her slender body trembling against his. He felt the Infernals in the firm tapping into his lust and fury. He cut them off and heard the echoes of their protesting cries. Weakened by the loss of their power, Alec sucked the energy he needed from Eve, taking her mouth with a desperation that crawled over his skin.

  She gasped her breath into his lungs, her lithe frame stiff at first, then a surging warmth against him. Her

  lush breasts pressed into his chest, her fingers tangled in his shirt, her legs intertwined with his.

  Eve bit his lip. “Is this what you want? To take me down fighting?”

  The taste of blood hardened his cock until it ached. He shook her. “I don’t give a shit how I have you. I just want you to stop jerking me around and give up the goods.”

  Her hand fisted in his hair and yanked. “Who the fuck are you? Because you sure as hell aren’t Alec Cain.”

  Shaking violently, he felt like a drunk in need of booze. The vestiges of Eve’s Novium were leaching into his system, spurring his dark needs further. He changed tactics.

  “Come on, angel,” he coaxed. “You know you want it as bad as I do. You know how good it is between us. How hard you come when I’m fucking you. . . until you’re begging me to stop..

  Her dark eyes were fever-bright, her lips slick and swollen. “You’re pushing me like Robert,” she said scornfully. “Remember him? My ex from high school who wanted to pop the cherry I saved for you?”

  “Eve—” Bloodlust surged at the memory of the cocky blond kid who’d tried to hard-sell Eve into a screw in the back of a Mustang. Alec had known then that he couldn’t allow anyone else to have her.

  Don’t let the thing inside you have her.

  His grip ripped her jeans further. A second more and there would be nothing left.

  She yanked his head down to hers, her mouth slanting across his, wet and hot. Fueled by anger and determination, the kiss punished him so thoroughly his throat clenched tight against it. He hated her like this, hated himself for making her like this.

  I’m sorry, angel. .. sorry..

  She changed at the sound of his voice. Gentled. A low moan vibrated in her chest, a sound of longing and surrender. The convulsive flexing of her fingers at his nape and the feel of her hand sliding up beneath his shirt conveyed a wealth of feeling. Her tongue pushed past his lips, licking deep and slow. Savoring. She loved him too much to stay mad at him.

  And the part of him that had loved her before the ascension knew if he didn’t get her away from his personal demons, they would break her.

  He twisted his head away, gasping. He didn’t want her in rushed brutality. He wanted her slow and long. Soft and pliant. It was the thing inside him that wanted to turn what they had into something... wrong.

  “Alec.” Eve pressed her forehead to his. “Something isn’t right with you. Isn’t right in you. I can feel it.”

  Take her, the voices urged.

  “I need to fuck,” he said coldly. Deliberately. “Take your clothes off before I rip them off.”

  She pushed away. The pain in her eyes made him desperate to take the words back. He didn’t.

  “Alec?”

  He ripped open the button fly of his jeans, freeing his cock. “On your knees. I want your mouth first.”

  “Fuck you.”

  “I’m going to fuck you instead.”

  Her arms wrapped around her torso. She backed away a step at a time. He forcibly restrained himself from stalking her further.

  A tear slipped down her cheek. “It’s like there are two people inside you. The Alec I know, and a monster.”

  “You’re starting to bore me, Eve.” His mark burned at the lie.

  “You’re starting to scare me.”

  Alec struggled to remain upright, wracked by a pain in his chest that threatened to double him over. But she didn’t seem to see it. No, she saw only the darkness inside him that wanted to do things to her Alec couldn’t allow.

  “I changed my mind.” He rebuttoned the fly of his jeans with slow, leisurely movements.

  Her gaze was wary, as if she was considering running. He hoped she didn’t. He wasn’t sure he could fight the urge to hunt her down.

  “I’ve decided to accept your Dear John speech after all.”

  Her gasp was audible, as if he’d struck her. “What?” he queried snidely. “Didn’t you mean it?” Alec turned his back to her, walking around her desk to put something substantial between them. “That’s one of your problems, Eve. You’re a tease. You were fun while we were fucking, but now—”

  She reached out to Abel and an instant later was gone, shifted away by his brother before he could say more. Alec leaped over the desk, unable to fight the fury at her loss.

  An unseen force restrained his pursuit. His feet were rooted to the carpeted floor, causing him to nearly topple when he attempted to lunge.

  Sabrael’s amused voice spoke behind him. “You broke her heart with laudable precision. You always did cut to the quick?”

  Alec stumbled as he was freed. He pivoted, flinching from a blinding brightness that put the sun to shame. Blinking rapidly, he engaged the thick layer of corneal lubrication that enabled him to see through the seraph’s glow to the man within. Sabrael sat at Eve’s desk, his six wings
tucked away, his feet resting atop the edge of her desk. The wicked spikes that lined the outside edges of his black leather boots glinted in the glare of his luminescence. The brutal footwear was a stark contrast to the white, one- shouldered robe he wore. The visual dichotomy was a physical manifestation of the angel’s temperament. Outwardly a model of his station, Sabrael hid a razor’s edge of cruelty.

  “I’m busy, Sabrael. You’ll have to wait in line” The seraph’s eyes filled with the purest, bluest of flames and a hint of laughter that made Alec’s hackles rise. “Relax. I am not here to cash in my chips, Cain. I am here on behalf of your mother.”

  “No.” Alec shook his head, anticipating the question. “Not now?”

  “You keep delaying her. She is displeased.”

  Alec snorted. “Haven’t you noticed the world’s gone to shit? It’s not safe?”

  “Gabriel disagrees” Sabrael’s smile was both beautiful and frightening. “He is weary of her complaints, so you have a week to prepare for her. Besides, you have a home now. Surely this visit will be less hazardous than when you were roaming?”

  “You’re pissing me off.” The seraphim regularly withheld information from God, but the extent of their subterfuge never failed to astound. “Tell Jehovah what’s going on down here and he’ll settle her. He won’t risk her, you know that.”

  Sabrael crossed his massive arms. “You have everything under control, do you not? If you are incapable of the task you requested, simply let me know and I will relieve you of the burden.”

  Jaw clenching, Alec fought the urge to attack. With a seraph, it would be suicidal. “I’ve got a handle on things.”

  “Excellent. Then there should be no problem with your mother visiting.” Sabrael brushed at his immaculate robe, as if he were not intensely focused on Alec like a hawk with its prey in sight. “Does Evangeline know that this promotion is what you wanted? Did you tell her that?”

  “Does it matter now?”

  Sabrael laughed softly. “I suppose not.”

  “Sara was with Abel for a long time,” Alec said with a shrug, while inside, his discomposure grew. “Relationships aren’t impossible.”