by Billi Jean
“Here’s what we do. You and you, can you spell him to sleep if we catch him?” Jaxon asked the witches. Aubrey nodded immediately, and Hunter shrugged.
“I’m more a ‘fry with electricity’ kinda girl, but I can stun him with it,” she offered. “Not hurt him too bad,” she added to Joey.
“If you can hold him still long enough, I can put him into a calming sleep. I will start my spell over there. Lead him to my spot, and when he steps into my circle, it will hold him.”
“Like a demon, huh?” Agni snapped.
Jaxon frowned at Agni, but Aubrey was clearly confused. “I dinnae know about demons, is this what you think he is, then?”
Agni stared at her for a heartbeat more, then turned to Evan. “No, he’s not a demon. So this spell, will he sense it?”
“I dinnae think he is sentient. What he is experiencing now is confusion, a threat and mayhap a wee bit of anger,” she said with a shrug.
“Uh, you think? He’s one fired-up guy.” Jaxon checked in with Joey, but she sent him a burst of warmth. “We’ll try the trap part, not the electricity angle.”
“Sure thing, I’ll watch over Aubrey while she spells. Joey, will you stay with us, or go with the guys?” Hunter asked.
“Stay and protect them, Joey,” Jaxon answered after a minute. “That way they won’t be left unguarded.”
“And shift to me if things go south.”
“I will. What should I do if he attacks them?”
“Draw him into the circle, if you can, that’s where we want him. If you can’t, shift away from him. He’s big, he’s moving quick, but not as quick as you. Trust your instincts.”
“Okay.”
“I hate you in this, but soon, we’ll have him safe, and maybe Beauty can reach him, you know? Heal him.”
“Beauty?”
“Torque’s good side.”
“Ah, his better half.”
“Yes. You’re mine. Now, go with them, and stay where I can see you and you can see me. Keep this open though.”
He heard her laughter in his mind, and wanted to knock Evan out and take her home. The only thing stopping him was that he sensed she wanted the same thing. She wanted this done, both Evan and Gerald taken care of so that they could start their lives. Their lives, he thought, still amazed that fate had given him this chance.
“Always. I love you. Be safe, no more scratches.”
He grinned, not caring that the other immortals were waiting. “No more, damn guy caught me by surprise.”
With a grin, she tugged him closer by his sweater and gave him a sultry, sexy look that had his blood racing. “Of course he did, Big J.”
“Not funny. Careful, Big J is feeling like he needs to teach his wildcat a lesson.”
“Mmmm, always. First, let’s do this and go.”
“We will, we’ll make this right.”
He broke off from her gently, and turned to face Agni and the witches. Agni gave him a look, like ‘it took you long enough’. Hunter and Aubrey were talking, quietly discussing what Aubrey would do, he knew.
“Agni, you and I will distract him, try to get him down here and hope he falls into this trap.”
“Bait him,” Joey suggested.
“With what?” Agni asked. “He doesn’t look so interested in food, and I doubt he will come down to say hello.”
They all stopped when they heard the SUV pull up. Grayson and the blond guy got out, but no one else was with them. Both men stared at Evan, their expressions turning tighter and harder.
“What should we do?” Grayson asked.
“Go home?” Agni offered, then misted out.
Jaxon popped his gum and grinned. “Keep up,” he said, and launched himself on the roof. The humans could act as a distraction, but they’d best not shoot at Evan. He sent his thoughts to Joey, and heard her tell Grayson and his buddy the rules of engagement.
Evan jumped to the other end of the roof as soon as Jax floated down. Agni misted behind and to the left of him, trying to urge Evan over onto their right and nearer to the girls.
“Come on, man, can you understand we’re here to help you?” Jaxon offered, walking along the pitch of the roof. “We’re not like the others, see? Joey is here, she’s not going to hurt you.”
Agni eased closer, nearly as big as Evan. At the last possible moment, Evan turned, raked his nails downward, missing Agni only because the big demon misted out and appeared two feet over. It was the chance Jaxon needed. He shifted, caught Evan in a chokehold and cut off his oxygen supply.
Evan went berserk on him, growling and fighting him. He nearly succeeded in tossing Jaxon off the roof. Jaxon tightened his grip, ignoring the brutal elbows murdering his kidneys, and applied hard, steady pressure to Evan’s neck.
“Jaxon! Watch out!” Agni’s call hit him a second before the scent of Gerald settled over his senses. Jaxon dropped Evan, shifted to Joey and shoved her behind him, facing the warehouse within seconds.
“He’s here,” Jaxon growled low.
Joey caught his arm and held on. “Jaxon, we have to trick him, somehow get—”
“Jaxon, Jaxon, Jaxon. Oh, how you surprise me. I had always considered you and I kindred, the same in so many, many ways.” Gerald slowly lowered himself to the ground, Evan now held up easily by the grip Gerald had around his neck.
Behind Gerald, he spotted the two humans. Agni suddenly shot down, hitting Gerald mid-air with a punch to the face, followed by rapid jabs to his body with a sword. Gerald barely grimaced, and as if in slow motion, he struck Agni with some kind of rod that sent the demon head over heels into a massive pine tree standing two hundred yards away.
“Such anger, don’t you think? Arrogance and anger, that is the demon’s downfall. They have no core, no binding morals nor elegance. But you, my dear vampire, you have always had such arrogance, but laced with such dignity, don’t you think?” Gerald settled on the ground.
“I am nothing like you, nor will I ever be,” Jaxon told him.
“You’re disgusting and evil. Jaxon is strong, a hero. There is nothing about you that resembles my mate,” Joey said from his side.
His heart lurched. She’d made herself a target once before with this man, now she practically rubbed his face in it.
Gerald’s pale face turned from humoured to angered. Slowly all evidence of humanity, a soul, disappeared from his visage and the truly monstrous part of him emerged.
Joey gagged next to him, but Jaxon held himself upright, facing the man who’d made him believe he’d killed a woman who had never loved him, never wanted him and in no way compared to the bright, fiercely loyal woman at his side.
“True, very true, my dear, but I wonder if you will feel the same once you too belong to me. Jaxon has never held onto one woman, not even when he believed he’d found his mate. Why would you be any different?”
“You have no power here,” Jaxon told him, shifting the satchel so he could reach the knife. “You will never understand what she is to me because you’re an empty shell, that’s why you won’t die, isn’t it?” Jaxon demanded, putting pieces together. This man, or what once had been a man, simply existed—surviving by the pain he inflicted on others and the pain others inflicted on him. Harming him only strengthened him, especially, Jaxon guessed, fighting him hand-to-hand or magic-to-magic.
Abruptly the dry, knee-high weeds moved, wound themselves around Gerald’s legs and began twisting around him. Behind him, Jax heard Aubrey’s chant and with a soft sound, Hunter sent a shot of pure electricity at Gerald. Evan roared and broke away from Gerald, holding his head in his hands in pain. He stumbled to the side and toppled, falling hard to the ground.
Jax tried to get the satchel open, but Gerald suddenly shot out from the weeds, and the air around them filled with dark, menacing shadows. Darkness settled around them, pitch black to even his eyes.
“Jaxon!”
Joey’s grip turned frantic, but he pulled her into his arms and tried to soothe her fear.
“How…how are you doing this?” Joey demanded.
“Flying, it’s a skill you should know, damn it.”
Joey stifled a sob and hugged him tight. “Later, later scold me for not knowing things. Right now we need to help them.”
Beneath their feet, he spotted Agni on his side, his body bent at an odd angle and blood staining his shirt and face. The black mist extended outward like a huge dark cloud, touching Agni’s boots.
“I know, stay with me.” He pulled her tighter to his side and landed on the roof again. “Watch,” he ordered tightly and lifted his arms, calling to nature to supply him with the wind to push it away. Blue shot out at the cloud again. It quickly swallowed it, but within seconds, the billowing mass began to swirl in tight circles. Jaxon concentrated on the sky, needing more power if he wanted to aid his friends.
Above him, he pulled the colder, higher winds and coaxed them downward with a roll of his arms. Gathering the storm, he held it tight then shoved into the unnatural blackness. The wind brushed it away like a leaf caught in a tornado and revealed Hunter and Aubrey facing off with Gerald. As soon as the darkness disappeared, shots sounded. They hit Gerald hard, sending him forward. None touched the witches, but over twenty hit their mark with Gerald. He spun around, facing the humans and laughed, letting them hit him full on. They did, landing more and more hits to his chest and head until abruptly Gerald stopped laughing, and with a shout, he disappeared.
Joey gripped his sweater in her fists. He pulled her closer, exhausted and feeling as if they’d just lost a battle. Evan was gone, as well. The humans came out of the warehouse slowly. Aubrey raced over to Agni with Hunter right behind her.
“Will he come back?” Joey asked softly.
“I don’t think so, or he would have.”
“He’s taken Evan, Jaxon.” Joey buried her face in his chest and he held her tightly.
“I’m sorry, darlin’, I’m so sorry. We’ll get him back, we will.” He soothed her gently, fearing that he’d never be able to deliver on such a promise. Where would Gerald go? And if he wanted Joey, how would he ever let her out of their home again?
“I’m always safe with you, Jaxon, you know that.”
But he’d failed her. He hadn’t saved Evan. He hadn’t kept her friend safe.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Joey studied Jaxon’s profile from where she sat, snuggled in one of his big armchairs by the fireplace. He’d changed subtly over the past few weeks. At first, guilt and sorrow over losing Evan—again—had consumed her, and she’d not noticed. For that, she felt even guiltier.
He was blocking her. Not a lot. Subtle, almost lost to her in that magnificent mind of his, but she sensed it—a shadow of thoughts he kept to himself. At first, she worried he didn’t feel the same for her—after the warehouse, they’d aided the witches in getting Agni out of there, then come home. She’d cried, unable to hold back the tears for her friend, and in response, Jaxon had held her. But that was weeks ago and now, well, she still missed Evan and worried over him endlessly, but she was healing. Only between her and Jaxon, there was a distance that hadn’t existed before the warehouse, not even when he’d been ‘missing’ those six months, she realised.
Had she done this?
She examined the way he sat, completely lost to whatever he read, and decided no, she hadn’t done this, not on purpose and if she had, she was fixing it. Now. More relationships ended because of lack of communication than anything else. Hers wasn’t going south because of it. Bravery had got her Jaxon. She wasn’t backing down now.
“Jaxon?”
“Mmm?” He didn’t turn, but he set his book aside, easing it under a pile of other books, and stiffened his shoulders.
“Can you help me with something?” she asked softly, a plan forming. Sure enough, he pushed his chair out and when he did, she shifted to fill the space between him and the table.
He hid a look of surprise with a smile that just didn’t reach his eyes.
Enough. She reached up, grabbed him by his button-down, and jerked him to her. “You have one chance to tell me why you’re hiding things from me, Jaxon.”
His blue eyes darkened at her tone, and his body hardened where her knee touched his groin. He breathed in deeply, no doubt scenting her immediate response to his arousal. All he had to do was look at her a certain way and she shivered. The heat of his erection sent her into that pre-orgasm state that her body had grown used to meaning hot, exciting climaxes.
“And that”—she pressed against his cock firmly—“isn’t getting taken care of until you give me what I want.”
“I thought I always gave you what you want.”
“You know what I mean. You’re hiding part of yourself. Why?”
“Joey, I’m not hiding anything,” he tried, even caressing his hands along her back the way she loved.
“You liar,” she whispered against his soft lips, but moved immediately back when he pressed forward to kiss her. “Now, once more, why? Or no sex, not until you tell me.”
“Joey, you’re being paranoid. I’m hiding nothing, and mates never withhold sex, remember?” He jerked her closer, dominating her mouth with a kiss that nearly had her dropping the issue. She shifted from his arms and sat cross-legged on his pile of books.
“No, no, no. I don’t remember that rule. I do remember the one where you promise to be all mine. All mine. Have I done something, is that it?” she asked, her temper leaving her as quickly as it sparked to life.
He shook his head adamantly, but looked like he was getting all worked up for some kind of fight she wasn’t sure she wanted to win. “Shit, no, it’s not you, it’s not anything. I don’t know what you’re talking—”
“Don’t lie to me!” she shouted, standing on the table and glaring at him. Forget not entering the battle. She wasn’t letting him do this to her—them. “If there’s one thing I know, it’s who you are. You’re not being honest and I can tell. Something is off. Something has been off, and if I hadn’t been so caught up in guilt over Evan, I would have seen it sooner—”
“Guilt?” Jaxon shot out of his seat and the chair crashed to the ground. “You shouldn’t feel guilty, Joey. Fuck, he was your friend. You have a right to feel sad over his capture, over what this fucked-up world did to him.”
“I did, I do. But I also have you and I’ve not been there for you, and now…” She paused and tried to calm down. “Now you’re blocking me.”
“Fuck, I’m not blocking you.”
“Then tell me what is going on, Jaxon, because my guesses aren’t right so far.”
He stared at her sullenly, his expression so cold and remote pain stung her throat. She was adrift without him. What would she do if she couldn’t fix this?
His T-shirt pulled tight over his chest with each of his breaths, as if he’d run a race instead of talking to her. What had him so worked up? Was it her?
“Do you think I want you involved in this? You should never have had to lose a friend like that, or been in a situation like that—”
“You stupid, wonderful man. You feel guilty. You feel like you should always protect me, and you feel guilty over all of it, don’t you?” She sat heavily on the table and stared at his shocked expression. His blue eyes told the truth of her guesses though.
“You still feel as if I should have never been a vampire… Never be what I am now, even though that is the only way we can be together.” She ended on a whisper, but the truth shouted inside her head, filling her with more sadness tha
n losing Evan. This felt like she’d woken from a wonderful dream, to realise she still lived in a grey, lonely world.
“Joey—”
“Don’t, just don’t. Enough. The lies, why so many lies, Jaxon? Why bother with it all if you never wanted this to begin with? Oh my God,” she whispered, covering her mouth, “you simply felt responsible. Like you do for everything. For Elizabeth, for that village and for the humans, for Viktor and everyone. You never truly wanted me, you—”
“Enough!” Jaxon roared, throwing half the books off his table aside to reach her. He grabbed her wrists and yanked her to her feet to face him. He was breathless, and angrier than she’d ever seen him. Ever.
“What the hell kind of shit is that?” he snarled. “I feel, Joey, all right? I feel sick as fuck that you’ve been hurt. That you’ve been exposed to this fucked-up dangerous world I live in.” He flung his hand out and latched onto her arm to pull her close. “If you think I am with you out of some kind of responsibility, and that I’d make you human again if some goddamn Tooth Fairy showed up and offered, you’re more fucked up in the head than I am. Shit! I’m never letting you go. Never, Joey.” His grip turned possessive. “I don’t care if you cry for the rest of eternity, you’re mine. I love you until you have me out of my mind with it. I want to be this hero you seem to think I am, but I fuckin’ failed, okay? I couldn’t even save Evan, how can I fuckin’ save you?”
They stood there, breathless and angry for a second before she launched herself into his arms. “Oh, Jaxon, I love you, you idiot! You. All of you. How could you possibly have saved Evan against that disgusting creature? I never expected you to, never once thought you were to blame—”
“I know you didn’t blame me, Joey, I know that, but I should have saved—”
“Oh, Jaxon!” She kissed him, pressing into his mind until she washed away all his guilt with all the different ways she loved him. She loved him—all of him—every rough edge and fine-tuned inch of him. Under her flood of emotions, slowly she sensed him relax by degrees, until with a burst he finally comprehended how well she knew and loved him still. “Of course I do! I love everything about you, even what you consider so bad—I love that too, because it made you a survivor. You could have easily given up and not been yourself, used people and discarded them, like Gerald. You’re more powerful than he is, but you didn’t.”