Devil's Tango (Running with the Devil Book 1)

by Claire J Monroe

  “Good,” Tango said then nodded to the other two. “Hold out your wrists.”

  “You can’t do that,” Caliv cried. “The magic will go into you and then—”

  Tango ignored Caliv and laid his hands on their wrists, then opened up his mind and let that black magic shit pour in. His head fell back and power surged into him. Pain, scalding hot pain rolled up his forearms, to his chest and gripped his throat until his mouth opened and a primal roar jolted from his body as his god slayer started to emerge.

  Caliv fell back on his haunches, shocked. “What the hell are you?”

  A pissed off god slayer with a low tolerance for questions and a need to hurt the fuckers that dealt in demonic shit they had no business using against decent people in this god forsaken world. Tango forced himself to swallow back the darkness and ball it up into a tight, compact pin point that needed to go back where it belonged. “Cut. Them. Off.”

  Caliv snapped his fingers and the cuffs opened then clanged to the ground.

  Tango blinked and, rolling with energy, looked at the soldiers staring at him with jaws dropped. “Rafe. Go!”

  Rafe tossed a grenade out into the courtyard then spun around and raced by him. “On it.”

  Tango calmly rose from his position, then turned and walked towards the end of the alley. “Caliv, carve a hole in that building, get Zed, then you three get out of here.”

  “Tango, no! Maddie will kill us if anything happens to you. You can’t—”

  “That’s an order!” Tango stopped at the mouth of the alley to power up. He held out his hands, palms flat and parallel to the ground. Energy, pure and strong, snaked up from the ground and into his body. Bullets whizzed past his face and hammered into the plaster building breaking off bits and pieces that pinged off Tango. “Go!”

  “But—”

  Tango shrugged his shoulders and arched his neck, letting the energy roll up his spine and trigger his transformation. He couldn’t have stopped it if he’d wanted to. The dark magic in those bracelets had pushed him past his limit. There was every chance he wouldn’t make it out this alive, but the team would get Zed out and back to Maddie.

  “Do as he says,” Rafe ordered. “He needs us out so he can shut this shit down!”

  His shoulder blades burned and pulsed with life as the transformation gripped him. Wings sprouted from his back and Tango let loose a deafening roar that heralded his transition into the war mongering beast that had captured Sinclair’s attention.

  Tango rolled his neck and flexed his shoulders, then stretched out his wings until the tips of his white feathers brushed the roof of the building. His transformation into some Biblical personification of Gabriel the Archangel was complete. It was time to kick ass and give his team enough time to clear the compound.

  Tango grabbed the ribbons of energy pouring up through the ground, then funneled them straight out in front of him to clear a path.

  Kaboom! The earth rumbled and the ground shook as the bastards that’d been shooting at him flew through the air on shrieks and screams.

  “Two minutes,” Tango warned in a deep voice that echoed with power and determination. “Then all hell breaks loose.”

  “Copy that,” Rafe shouted. “Caliv, move! Grab Zed! He’s—shit! Tango, need you to remove—”

  Tango sensed the darkness binding Zed to this place before Rafe had a chance to finish his sentence. He lifted a hand and drew the essence to him.

  “Got it! Go! Meet you at the plane!” Rafe shouted.

  No further invitation needed, Tango tugged back his wings to assume battle position, then stepped out in to the fray.

  “Can you fly this beast,” Sinjun asked.

  Maddie grabbed him by the arm and shoved him away from the pilot’s seat. Her seat. “Yes and no you can’t fly it.” She slipped past him and claimed her seat, then grabbed her headset and slid it on. “Status, Mabel.”

  The plane’s onboard diagnostic system started talking. “Refueling complete. Power cells charged. All systems green. Experimental rocket boosters are offline. Shall I engage them?”

  “Yes,” Maddie ordered. “Calculate time to charge.”

  “Three minutes, thirty-four seconds.”

  “Copy that.” Maddie flicked and punched buttons on the console, then turned and hammered a red button on a metal box on her left. “Kennel up!”

  “Woof!” Lily darted forward, nudged open the door on the specially designed crate Maddie had designed to keep her safe and snug during takeoff, then disappeared inside. The door would close on its own after Lily found her comfy spot and settled in.

  “Comms check,” Maddie called.

  Kenny was at the comms chair behind her and typing fast and furious. “No answer on Tango’s phone. Tried Caliv’s. Same thing. Working on hacking into Caliv’s plane. Will transmit data packet with deets once up.”

  “Good. Encrypt it with Eastside protocol.”

  “Eastside it is,” Kenny mumbled. “Four minutes to link. Mabel’s checking traffic and plotting course.”

  “Once sent, shut down comms. I’ll need all available power diverted to engines to engage turbo.”

  “Will do,” Kenny said.

  Maddie looked at Sinjun. “You’ve got four minutes to call in whatever backup you have stashed in the area. After that, we’re dark until we land.”

  “I don’t have anyone close enough to his location. Tango’s it.”

  Dell hovered behind Maddie’s chair. “What about contacting Sinclair?”

  “No,” Sinjun and Maddie answered in unison.

  “Chances are he let this happen,” Sinjun said.

  “Or arranged it,” Maddie muttered.

  “But he might have resources in the area.”

  Sinjun snorted as he pulled on the copilot’s head set. “He does. Andrei works for him.”

  Maddie looked at Sinjun from the corner of her eye. “Surprised you knew that.”

  “Little brother doesn’t keep secrets from me. Unlike some people I know.”

  Maddie took Sinjun’s accusation on the chin and nodded. “Later. Promise. Press that button.”

  Sinjun pointed to flashing green button in front of him. “This one?”

  “Yeah. Roof access. Strap in. Once we’re in the air, you’ll need it.”

  Sinjun grunted, depressed the button, and then started buckling. “Dell, can you get to Tango?”

  “Not and get back to the plane while it’s moving.”

  “You’ve got less than a minute before we’re airborne,” Maddie informed them.

  “Wait,” Sinjun said. “Who was with Ben?”

  “Two vamps. Rand and Charlemagne.”

  “They can’t blink,” Sinjun muttered. “But Ben can.”

  “He doesn’t know about Ajax,” Dell said.

  “No, he doesn’t,” Sinjun murmured. “Because I didn’t tell him. Shit.”

  “Let it go. You’ll fix it when you get back,” Maddie said to Sinjun. “But if Ben can get there now, you need to make the call.”

  “Can’t,” Sinjun barked. “Amelia and Beau need him. Ben being home is the only thing stopping whatever new threat there is from moving in.”

  “Who are Amelia and Beau?”

  Maddie rotated the thrusters on the wings and the plane started to lift off the ground. She ignored Dell’s question. “Then we go with Plan B. Dell, go to Van. Tell him everything. Then get him and Delta team over to Belize ASAP. We’ll meet him at the airport.”

  “Anything else?”

  “Yeah,” Sinjun said. “Be diplomatic about it and make sure he knows Maddie has promised to only fly the plane to the airport and will wait for him to arrive. She will not do anything stupid and will not be anywhere near the trap. Right, Maddie?”

  “He’ll still flip a gourd.”

  “Not if he knows you’ve promised not to do anything stupid.”

  “I never do anything stupid and he doesn’t know I can fly. At least I don’t think he does. He might.”r />
  “Give the man your word, Madeline, so at least one of us can die without having lied to your mate.”

  “Fine. I promise I won’t do anything stupid when we get to Belize.”

  “Not even I believe that,” Sinjun muttered.

  “Nor I,” Dell mumbled. “But it’ll have to do. Tango’s powered up. Meet you at the airport. Don’t leave without me. Mean it, Maddie. Do not put yourself in harm’s way.”

  “Sure thing.” The plane cleared the roof and was high enough off the ground that Maddie was able to rotate the thrusters back into position to start climbing. “Go, get out of here, and make sure Van stays safe, doesn’t open a portal to Hell, and meets us at the airport.”

  Dell blinked out and disappeared.

  The calculated time for arrival popped up on heads up display. “Crap,” Maddie muttered.

  “We won’t make it at this rate,” Sinjun said.

  “We’ll make it,” Maddie said.

  “No, we won’t.”

  “Yes. We. Will.” Maddie flipped some switches and pushed back from the helm to toggle one overhead. “What part of experimental rocket boosters did you not get?”

  “Data packet sent. Caliv will get it as soon as he boots up his unit.”

  “Good. Shut it down and make sure Lily’s in good.”

  “Even with whatever experimental rocket boosters you’ve installed, there’s no way we can make it before Andrei walks into the trap.”

  “Sinjun has a point,” Kenny said... “AJ’s fanatical about being on time. Even with us landing at five minutes ‘til, it won’t be enough time to get to him before he walks into the trap.”

  “We will make it,” Maddie bit out.

  “Maddie,” Sinjun said. “It’s over a thousand miles away and we have less than forty five minutes.”

  “We. Will. Make it.” System fully powered up Maddie gripped the controls. “Because I say so and,” she mashed the button to engage the experimental boosters, “I built this jet to do exactly what we will do and,” the engines started whining with power, “I’m not stupid.”

  “Aw hell. God, grant me the serenity to survive women who think they can fly a jet and—”

  “Mabel,” Maddie called out over Sinjun’s neurotic praying. “Punch it!”

  Turbo engaged, the plane jerked once, twice, then zipped past sonic speed into the stratosphere.

  Compound clear of idiots with guns, Tango willed his wings to disappear back where they came and then went hunting for keys to one of the trucks parked by the house. First truck he came to had them stuck in the ignition.

  Truck fired up, Tango shoved it in gear, then slammed on the brakes. “What the…?”

  Dell stood ten feet in front of the truck.

  Tango leaned out the window. “Did Whiskey send you?”

  Dell shook his head and jogged to the passenger side, then yanked the door open. “No, Maddie did.”

  Tango opened his mouth to ask, then thought better of it. “Do I want to know why?”

  “Yes,” Dell said right before he launched into a sitrep that had Tango struggling to keep the truck on the road and headed to the airport instead of doing like he wanted and flipping the fuck out. Tango compartmentalized the Ajax walking into a trap bit, checked the clock, and then lit up the cabin with a string of curses that blistered not only his, but Dell’s soul as well.

  “And you left her alone,” Tango roared.

  “She’s not alone! K-dog and Archangel are with her.”

  That was something. Not much given that Tango knew exactly how Black would react once he got the news. “Not for long. Black will ditch her like a bad habit to get to Ajax.”

  Tango jerked the wheel and the truck spun out onto the main dirt road leading towards civilization. “Fine. I got this. You got to me. I’ll grab Delta and then head out. You, get back to Maddie. Now.”

  “Can’t. Not until she lands.”

  “Not until she what?”

  “Lands,” Dell repeated enunciating each syllable of a one syllable word. “Maddie, Kenny, and Archangel are zipping down to the island and will meet you there.”

  “In what? Sinjun doesn’t have a plane nearby. And even if he did they’d never make it.”

  “Maddie’s plane.”

  “Maddie doesn’t have a plane.”

  “You’re right. She has a helo-jet with turbo that wouldn’t make it in time without her engaging the turbo and that’s why I’m here instead of there.”

  Tango tried and failed to make sense of that. He shook his head. “Start over and this time make sense.”

  Dell did and by the time he was done, Tango was beyond furious.

  Tango slammed on the brakes and jerked the truck to the side of the road. “Get to that airport. Be there when she lands and guard her until I get there.”

  Dell pulled back with a healthy dose of fear in his eyes. “Yes, sir.”

  “I’m not kidding, Dell. She better keep her ass on that plane and be waiting for me when I get there.”

  “I’m not staying on this plane,” Maddie shouted at Sinjun’s back. “You need me!”

  “It’s not safe, Maddie.”

  “No shit, but you need back up and we need that frequency jammer down.”

  Sinjun bodily moved her out of his way. “This is not up for negotiation.”

  “You’re right. It’s not.” Maddie scurried to keep up with him as he started for the rear bay and the all-terrain jeep stored there. “Because I’m the only one who can get you into that compound and right up to Andrei and close to whatever the heck they have that frequency jammer plugged into.”

  “I can shadow walk, Maddie. Nothing can stop me from getting right up to Andrei.”

  “Except a compound full of others who can see others. Don’t tell me they can’t, because I’m not stupid. You others sense each other before you see each other.”

  “They’d see you before me,” Sinjun fired back.

  “But I’m human and not a threat. So they won’t react. You? They’d react. Immediately and with much vigor.”

  “She has a point,” Kenny piped up to add.

  “You,” Sinjun pointed at Kenny, “stay out of this.”

  God bless her little brother and his inability to follow orders. “But you’re the one who put a bounty on her head. If anyone can walk through the front doors, it’d be you delivering her to Andrei to confirm the suit is the real suit. And then she can disable the jammer. Blindfolded. With her eyes closed. In no time flat.”

  “Exactly,” Maddie cried. “Get me near the frequency jammers and we’re golden.”

  “No. Forget it. Not happening.”

  “All you have to do is pull that intimidation thing you do and order them to let you in and then we’ll locate the jammer and poof! No more comms dark. You can contact Andrei, pinpoint his location, dash to his rescue, and save the day.”

  Sinjun was silent.

  “It’s easier than hunting Andrei down,” Maddie said.

  “And once communications are up, I’ll connect with Andrei. Then get him in touch with you. Then you can ditch Maddie and go it alone.”

  Sinjun looked at Kenny. “You can disable the jammer. She stays, you can go.”

  Kenny shook his head. “I’m a hacker, not an electrical engineering genius like her. She can do it with her eyes closed. That and I’m the only one Dell can blink to in this group and we don’t know if the frequency jammer would interfere with that.”

  “He’s right,” Maddie said. “Dell tracks off of energy signature and a frequency jammer would interfere in his ability to pick up a specific energy frequency.”

  “I don’t like it,” Sinjun said.

  “It’s a contingency plan in case we miss Andrei before he’s in,” Maddie suggested. “With a dual purpose. Superefficient. Double edged.”

  “It’s a shitty contingency plan that won’t work,” Sinjun accused.

  “It’s the only way you’ll be able to get close enough to the compound b
efore the trap’s sprung and get Andrei out,” Kenny said.

  Maddie touched Sinjun’s arm. “You know he’s right. With how hard they’ve worked to keep you away from there, you’ll need something of value to buy your way in. That’s me. And it’s highly unlikely the goons at the door will have any idea they’ve been playing you for months.”

  “Not helping and I don’t like it.”

  “Yeah well, karma’s a bitch and you should have thought of that before you stuck a bounty on my head.” Maddie slipped under Sinjun’s arm, then crawled across the driver’s side to the passenger seat and started buckling. “Tick tock, move it, move it. Time’s a wastin’ and you know how Andrei is about punctuality.”

  “Dammit.” Sinjun got behind the wheel and slammed the door shut behind him. “Gabriel is gonna kill me.”

  Maddie leaned over and started the truck. “I won’t let him.”

  “Won’t be any let about it.” Sinjun popped the jeep into reverse and dropped his foot on the gas. The jeep propelled back and off the plane, then screeched to a stop. “It will happen.”

  “What do you mean my wife is not on the plane,” Tango demanded.

  On screen, Kenny and Dell both winced. “They rolled out ten minutes ago to drive up to the compound. They were hoping to catch Andrei before he went in. Hoping he’d be running late.”

  “Ivanov is never late,” Tango roared, frustrated. “She should have waited and—goddammit! Rafe! How far out?”

  “Twenty minutes,’ Rafe called back form the cockpit.

  “Shit, sh—for fuck’s sake! Stop staring at me and give me something! Visual! Comms! Anything! Now!”

  “I’ve been trying,” Kenny shouted. “The entire compound is communications dark. He’s got a frequency jammer going and—”

  “Show me!” Caliv shoved Tango out of the way and got in front of the computers. “Patch me in and let me see.” Kenny did and Caliv hmmed. “Do you have Maddie’s phone or does she?”

  Kenny held up a phone. “I do.”

  “Good,” Caliv said, eyes glued to the window and lines of code in front of him. “I can work with this.”

  “Work with what?”

  Derek piped up to answer. “Maddie’s phone and frequency jammers blocking anything from going in and out.”