by S. J. Day
“Raguel.” Rounding on her, he said, “He’s dead, isn’t he? That’s why none of you are actively pursuing him.”
“Look on the bright side,” she evaded. “Would you want to suffer like Cain is?”
“Cain’s issues might be unique to him and you know it. And what if you’re all wrong? What if Raguel is alive and we can get him back?”
Sara’s knuckles whitened. “Then one of us would have to cede territory for the establishment of a new firm.”
Reed moved to the window. He stared out at the nocturnal cityscape, but didn’t register the view.
Cede territory. For the first time, he wondered if the archangels had cannibalized their numbers. Survival of the fittest, perhaps. Could they be affecting Cain in some way? Corrupting him? Pushing him into madness? Sara was supposed to be mentoring him, yet she was actively working to sabotage him.
Even though Reed had turned away from the screen when the video was on, he’d still heard everything. Cain had spoken in tongues. They both knew every language ever created, so that was not a surprise. It was the words themselves that chilled him.
I command you, unclean spirit, whoever you are, along with all your minions now attacking this servant of God—
The Rite of Exorcism. While fucking? It was perverse, and so bizarre Reed couldn’t begin to guess why the words were spoken.
Why did Azazel take Riesgo and not Eve? Why would Cain break up with Eve—then turn to Izzie of all people?
Cursing inwardly, Reed knew that he could trust only a handful of people now. They all had something they wanted, and were all ruthless about getting it.
Who could Cain trust since he’d alienated Eve?
Reed smiled grimly. Their parents.
He was surprisingly soothed by the thought. if Cain was aware of what was happening to himself, he’d be working to fix it.
Fixing it. . . Alienating Eve...
“Shit’ he breathed, considering that Cain might have pushed Eve away not because he didn’t care about her anymore, but because the reverse was true.
Reed looked over his shoulder and met Sara’s gaze dead-on. “Find out who helped Cain ascend. I don’t care how you do it, but make it quick.”
Sara nodded. “What does this mean for us? You and me? Anything?”
She couldn’t love him. He wasn’t sure why she bothered to act as if she cared.
“Not now.” Withdrawing his cell phone from his pocket, he prepared to shift. “My phone is on. Call me when you know something.”
He left to search for his brother.
Sara stared at the spot where Abel had been. There was something different about him, a change profound enough to make a noticeable difference since she’d spoken to him in Cain’s office that morning.
Suspecting it was connected to Evangeline Hollis, she woke her computer and tapped out a rapid series of keystrokes, pulling up the recorded feeds from the Mark’s home made earlier in the day. She stiffened when she found what she’d been desperately hoping she wouldn’t.
“Abel’ she whispered, hating him with a passion that equaled her lust for him.
She forwarded the video to Cain’s e-mail account.
For good measure, she sent a copy of Cain’s video to Evangeline.
Then, smiling, Sara left her office to set her backup plan in motion. If Abel didn’t have balls enough to get things back to normal, she would simply have to do it herself.
CHAPTER 14
Eve flipped through Riesgo’s Bible while making a mental list of all the things she needed to accomplish. She was on her couch, legs curled up, a glass of soda on the coffee table in front of her. Gavin Rossdale’s gorgeous voice was singing “Love Remains the Same,” and the History Channel was muted on the television in the hopes that a biblical documentary might air.
Going through the motions as if everything was normal was one of the ways she’d learned to cope with chaos. It didn’t always work—sometimes screaming was better—but in this case, she couldn’t risk freaking out and alerting Alec or Reed to her problem. Losing Riesgo and Gadara was too great a price to pay for breaking her deal with the Devil.
She needed answers, but without being able to discuss her problem with anyone, how would she get them? The archives in the Gadara system went back so far it would be like looking for a needle in a field of hay. The only solution she could come up with was to visit Hank, who could read her mind. If she managed to let something slip...
If she had the means, she would go to Hank now, but her car was still at the stadium, and asking one of the exterior guards for a ride would arouse suspicions she wasn’t sure she could deflect. She supposed she could call Hank through a landline and ask for a house call.
Alec’s front door opened.
Eve stiffened at the familiar, unmistakable sound. For a moment, déjà vu was so strong it was heartbreaking. She couldn’t help but think of her old neighbor, Mrs. Basso, and how much simpler life had been just a few months ago. Eve missed the words of wisdom and support her neighbor used to share with her, and she missed having her best friend Janice— presently on sabbatical—around to commiserate and laugh with.
When the knock came at her door, Eve forcibly tamped down her apprehension. For Alec to come to her the secular way had to mean something. Whether he wanted to talk about Riesgo and the guards or what had happened between them personally, it would be taxing for both of them. She breathed carefully, trying to attain a semblance of composure.
“Evangeline? Are you home?”
The soft, feminine voice froze Eve midstride. Frowning, she became more cautious, sidestepping to avoid being directly in front of the door. She considered grabbing the gun she kept in a padded case in the console drawer—clearly God was done giving her swords when she needed them—but she was concerned about what she might do with it. Jealousy was eating at her, goaded by the volatility of the Novium. What the hell was a woman doing at Alec’s place?
“Who is it?” Eve called out.
“I’m safe, I promise.”
Eve kept the chain on, but unlocked the series of dead bolts. She pulled the door open and peeked out the opening. The woman on her doorstep was so beautiful, she had to blink a few times to process it.
“Hi,” her visitor said with a friendly smile. “I’m Cain’s mother.”
Her mouth fell open and her grip on the doorknob tightened. Holy shit.
Lightning quick, she freed the chain and yanked the original Eve inside. She glanced up and down the hallway, then slammed the door shut and locked it. Spinning around, she faced Alec’s mom with her back pressed to the door.
She swallowed hard. “Hi.”
“You’re just as beautiful as I imagined you would be” Alec’s mother said with a warm smile. She approached Eve with arms wide and embraced her. “I’m so happy to meet you, Evangeline.”
“It’s a p-pleasure to meet you, too.. . Eve” she managed, while alarms were clanging in her mind.
Satan wanted this woman enough to give up Gadara for her. Why? And how had he known she would soon be within reach?
“I would like it if you’d call me Ima” Alec’s mother said, stepping back to study her.
They were of a height and similarly colored, but the biblical Eve was more exotic, with almond-shaped brown eyes and a luxuriously voluptuous figure.
She wore a simple linen dress that looked to be handmade, and she appeared to be somewhere in her midforties, which certainly could not be the case. She definitely didn’t look old enough to be Alec and Reed’s mother.
“Ima,” Eve repeated, her brain reeling over the fact that the mother of all humanity was standing in her living room.
“What a lovely place you have.” Ima walked deeper into the room, her head tilting back to take in the vaulted ceilings. “Cain says you’re an interior designer.”
“Yes.” Eve followed after her. “Would you like a drink? I have water and tea. Soda, too, if you like that sort of thing.”
Eve di
dn’t know whether the woman standing in her living room was a ghost or real. Did she eat and drink? Sleep?
“What are you having?” Ima asked, gesturing at the drinking glass sweating condensation onto the coffee table.
“Diet Dr. Pepper.”
“Diet?” Ima smiled over her shoulder. “You don’t need to diet.”
“Yeah. The whole mark thing…”
“Not because of that. You’re gorgeous just the way you are.”
“Thank you.” Eve passed her on the way to the kitchen. She hit the light switch on the wall and grabbed a cup from the cupboard. The barely there weight of the necklace felt like a yoke around her neck.
Alec’s mother pulled out a bar stool and sat at the kitchen island. “I’m making you uncomfortable.”
Pausing with the cup in hand, Eve sighed and offered a rueful smile. “No, it’s not you. I’m just surprised. I’m still getting used to meeting people I always thought were. . . mythological.”
“Didn’t Cain tell you I’m real?” The grin that accompanied the question had a touch of mischievousness that was endearing. “I saw that you’re reading the Bible. Is there anything in particular that you’re researching?”
For a moment, the rattling of the ice maker prevented speech. Then, Eve pulled a can of soda out of the fridge and turned to face Ima. She was debating whether she should talk about the whole Garden of Eden, apple, Satan incident so soon after meeting the pivotal figure in the tale, but time was short. Who knew what Father Riesgo and Gadara were going through right now? And how long could the priest be a missing person before his life was irrevocably changed?
Eve set the glass in front of Alec’s mom and popped open the can. “I was reading Genesis, actually.”
“Don’t believe everything you read.” Ima picked up the can and poured some soda into the glass. She sat with spine straight and shoulders back, elegant and delicate. Her hair was a deep chestnut curtain that fell to the seat cushion. There was a fine cluster of silver strands at her right temple, almost too faint to be noticed.
“Really?” Eve set her elbow on the island and rested her chin in her hand. “What shouldn’t I believe?”
“Well, you won’t find it in that version you have there, but that ridiculous story about my husband only liking the missionary position? Ridiculous. He’s a man. He’ll take it any way he can get it and the less work he has to put into it, the more he enjoys it. Lilith spread that tale because she’s bitter.”
Eve bit back a smile. Then a knock came at the door and she straightened abruptly.
“Stay here’ she said, rounding the back of Ima’s chair. “If something happens, run to one of the rooms down the hall and lock the door.”
A grip on her biceps stopped her.
“Unless you’re expecting someone’ Ima said, “it’s probably Adam.”
Eve blinked. Adam. The knock came again, louder and more insistent.
“Isha?” a masculine voice called.
“Isha?” Eve repeated.
“Wife.” Ima slid off the chair and moved toward the door. “He’ll be so excited to meet you.”
Eve’s brain took a moment to catch up, then she rushed forward protectively. If something happened to Reed and Alec’s mother on her watch...
When Adam entered her home a moment later, Eve was dumbstruck. The resemblance to his sons was disconcerting. He was gorgeous. There was a quiet dignity to his bearing, distinguishing him in the way some men achieved with age.
As Eve stood beside the doorway, staring, Adam perused her from head to toe. His face was austere, giving nothing away. Eve squirmed inside, wondering what he thought of her, whether it was good or bad.
She was surprised when he hugged her, so much so that she stood rigidly for a moment before she hugged him back.
“I can see why Cain thinks she was worth waiting for,” Ima said, smiling as Adam straightened and adjusted his rough-hewn vest with an awkward tug. Public displays of affection seemed to be uncomfortable for him.
Eve jumped as Reed appeared beside her with a plastic bag in his hand.
“Don’t shoot me, but I brought takeout.” He spotted his parents, and his eyes widened. “I didn’t know you were visiting!”
“Surprise!” his mother said, dark eyes sparkling.
“Sorry about dinner” he murmured to Eve. “It’s almost ten o’clock. I figured it was too late to cook. You didn’t eat without me?”
Feeling the heavy weight of his parents’ stares, she could only manage to shake her head.
“Good?’ He pressed a kiss to her forehead, then smiled at his parents. “Luckily, I couldn’t make up my mind and bought an excessive amount of food. We can all eat together. Hope you’re in the mood for Italian.”
He moved toward the kitchen. Eve followed with heavy footsteps.
She heard his mother speak quietly behind her.
“Dear God. Not again.”
Reed massaged Eve’s shoulders as they stood in the common area hallway and watched his parents disappear into Alec’s condo. “Relax. If this place is safe enough for you, it’s equally safe for them.”
When she heard Alec’s dead bolt slide into place,
Eve pulled out of Reed’s grip and returned to her own home. She’d spent the last two hours wondering if Alec was going to show up. She was both relieved and disappointed that he hadn’t.
“They like you” Reed said, closing her door and locking it.
Eve wasn’t so sure about that. They’d had a decent time together once the food had been served, but there was an underlying awkwardness that Reed seemed impervious to.
“How are Montevista and Sydney?” she asked.
“They were sleeping in the infirmary when I got to them, but the witch doctor said they’re stable and in no danger.”
Frowning, Eve settled onto the sofa.
He sat beside her and tossed one arm over the back of the couch. There was something in his face, a hint of strain.
She reached out and set her hand over his knee. “Is everything all right?”
“No. Everything is far from all right.” He laced his fingers with hers. “Obviously Azazel knocked the guards out of commission before going after the priest. The question is: why didn’t he come after you instead? He must want something from you in return—guilt, recklessness, anger. . . something. But then why not take your parents? Or your sister? The move was both really bold and too restrained. Makes no sense.”
Her grip tightened on his. “I would have lost it if he’d gone after my family.”
“Exactly. So he’s playing with you. Why? Why not go all the way and hit you where it really hurts?”
Because Satan was clever. He wanted her pushed into a corner where she’d be desperate, but not wild with it. He wanted her levelheaded so that she could do his dirty work. Perhaps he even wanted to seem reasonable. She didn’t see how, but then she didn’t understand how any of these people worked.
Eve shrugged in reply. “Maybe the bounty isn’t for killing me, but for fucking with me? Putting the screws to me because of the whole hellhound thing?”
“Is that what the yuki-onna told you?”
“She was under duress at the time,” Eve reminded him dryly.
“Why were you out there with the priest to begin with?”
Eve explained the chain of events, wincing inwardly as his face darkened with every sentence.
“So let me get this straight,” he said tightly when she finished. “You’re supposed to stay in the house. Instead, you left to talk to the priest about a nut job who wouldn’t bother you if you stayed in the house like you’re supposed to?”
“I guess. But—”
“But nothing. What the hell were you thinking?”
“You know what I was thinking! The demons want me. We want Gadara. Hiding here isn’t going to help move things along. I don’t need more guilt, Reed. I’m aware that Father Riesgo’s abduction is entirely my fault.”
Her eyes stung and h
er vision blurred. She scrubbed at her lashes with impatient fingers. She hated crying in front of other people, but it was worse with Reed, who fidgeted uncomfortably in reaction. Much like his father. So unlike Alec, who felt too much and was open about it.
Reed looked down at their joined hands. “Raguel is probably dead.”
Eve froze. It was a good thing her heart worked like a machine, considering how many times she’d been surprised today. “What would make you say that?”
“The impression I got from Sara is that Cain wouldn’t have been promoted if Raguel was still alive.”
“Do you believe her?”
“I don’t know. It makes sense. There have only been seven firms forever. Maybe that number is immutable.” His gaze lifted to meet hers. “I have to look into it.”
If Gadara was dead, then Riesgo might be, too. She supposed she’d rather take the word of an archangel over Satan. But she had never been a blind-faith sort of person. She couldn’t believe anything without proof. Which meant that somehow she had to get Satan to provide some evidence that he had the goods.
She had a long day ahead of her tomorrow.
“I need to crash,” she said. The sooner she fell asleep, the sooner she could get up and get to work.
“Yeah.” He watched her with dark, slumberous eyes. Waiting.
“I don’t want to be alone tonight.”
In answer, he stood and pulled her to her feet, then carried her to bed.
A ringing phone woke Eve.
Turning her head, she peeked at the nightstand clock with one eye. It was just before eleven in the morning.
“Oh man. . .“ she groaned. “We overslept.”
Reed pinned her in place with a heavy leg thrown over hers. “Ignore it.”
“The world is going to hell,” she argued, “and we’re in bed.”
“Anywhere else you’d rather be when the world ends?”
He had a point. She lifted the arm he had draped over her torso and kissed the back of his hand. “I have to answer that.”
He rolled onto his back with a growl, freeing her. By the time Eve picked up the receiver, voicemail had intercepted, but a quick scan of the caller ID told her the call bad originated from Gadara Tower. She was about to dial her office line when the phone started ringing again.