With the blood spreading a warm chill through my body, I crossed to the computer and opened the email. My legs turned to jelly and I sat down in the chair.
“What’s wrong?”
I guess my face registered the shock at Lucifer’s words and I could almost hear him chuckling. “He didn’t buy my attempt to snow him,” I said. “Someone saw the lights in the garage last night. The good news is he hasn’t connected us to the house yet. He thinks we’re in the garage and he knows I’ll eventually have to come out.” I chuckled at the last question, raising my gaze to hers. “He’d like to know how I got in.”
I pulled out my computer because I knew it had mechanisms that rendered it untraceable and opened the email. I pressed the reply button and typed, ‘Isn’t it amazing what fingerprints can do?’ and sent the email. I smiled at my wit wondering if my question would stump him or not.
“Did you just confirm where we are?”
I met her gaze. “I confirmed where he thinks we are.”
“Do you have a fucking death wish?” Naomi snapped and stomped out of the room. I tried to catch up to her but she was up the stairs and into the belly of the house before I could stop her. I found myself halfway up the basement stairs before my internal alarms sounded.
“That’s not fair!” I yelled at the cracked door and made my way back to the underground sanctuary. She didn’t understand how long this game with Lucifer had been going on or how tired I was of always being at the shit end of the stick.
I sat down behind my computer and brought up the reply prompt again and typed another message. ‘You know where I am, but are you so sure that drop off in Buffalo didn’t contain a very special package of mine? Did you check all the northbound traffic?’
I sat back and smiled. Punching the send button gave me a moment of pure satisfaction. Lucifer would spend the next several days hunting down all the rental agencies and ticket counters in Buffalo looking for Naomi. When he finally came to the realization I led him on a wild goose chase, I had better buckle down for a long quiet stay underground.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
The sun set while I tinkered with the new computer, building it out with everything I needed for both the day job and the URL bounce I built for the laptop we’ve had for years. A yawn caught me off guard and I stretched, arching my back in the chair to get the stiffness out of the muscles. A glance at my watch told me it was safe to proceed upstairs and find Naomi.
I stepped into the family room, finding Michael and Valerie engaged in a game of chess and Ted in the kitchen whipping up food.
“Where’s Naomi?”
All three of them looked at me like I should know and my skin flushed hot. I turned toward the bedrooms and skidded into the empty room. The bathroom was empty too.
“God damn it,” I muttered and took a closer look at her clothing. Her jogging shoes along with the parka I bought her were gone and I spun around, stalking to the living room.
“She went out jogging,” I said and the shocked silence filled the room. Then everyone scrambled at once and I put out my hands to stop them. “I’ll find her, just give me the controller for the gate, okay?”
Michael glared at me but didn’t say anything.
“Just let me borrow a coat and a hat and I’ll go look for her,” I said. “And I’ll need the remote to open the gate.” I headed downstairs and grabbed my sneakers, slipping them on before returning to the living room. Ted handed me a coat and a hat and then he offered another item that made my eyebrows rise. A nine-millimeter.
I met his gaze.
“Platinum rounds just in case,” he said.
“If a vampire bites her, they’re doomed.” Both Valerie and Ted registered slack jaws. “I’m not the only one that’s allergic to her.” I offered a smile, but I took the gun anyway. A bullet would do just as much damage to a demon regardless of the metal components.
I made sure the safety was on and slid it into the inside pocket of Ted’s jacket. He handed me a Red Sox cap and I tucked my black curls under the hat before looking at the group. “A remote?” I asked and put my hand out.
Valerie crossed to the kitchen and pulled a small key ring from the pegs, tossing it to me. I slid it into my pocket and headed out the front door. Walking the driveway with my attention focused on the asphalt, I sniffed the air, letting my sense of smell dictate the direction Naomi had headed.
I stepped through the open gate and pressed the remote securing the property behind me. Turning left, toward the path that headed into the woods, I adopted the slow gait of a jogger warming up. The urge to take flight and soar over the area took hold and I squashed it. That would give away our tie to the house. Instead, I forced myself to maintain the slow casual pace.
My heart thundered with each step and after I had traveled a little over a mile, the scent on the air thickened, mixing her natural musk with an undertone of fear. It drove my feet faster and when I turned the blind bend in the road, I saw her. She stood between two men, her hands clenched in fists and her stance defensive.
I stopped and inhaled, assessing her attackers. They were more than mere mortals and anger bloomed under my skin. Demons toyed with her, circling and laughing at the weak human girl. I caught a hint of wariness in their stance, like she had already delivered a couple of blows and they treated her with caution.
All upper level brain functions ceased and the animal in my heart took over. I growled as I darted toward the closest demon, but he turned, prepared, like this had been a set up all along. I dodged the glinting blade, ignoring Naomi’s cry of caution.
I should have listened to what she said because pain bloomed in my temple. The bastard had a knife in one hand and a hammer in the other. I stumbled from the blow, but was able to react quickly enough to deflect the knife from my chest. It cut through the layers of the coat and seared my arm.
A chain wrapped around my neck, burning my skin as the second demon pulled me against his chest, holding me in place as the one I attacked stepped closer. My gaze flicked from the knife to Naomi and both fear and wild fury filled her features.
She launched at the demon, screaming like a banshee, but something happened halfway through the leap. The demon was so intent on running me through with the knife that he ignored Naomi’s war cry. When the white tiger hit him, it knocked him on his side and the hammer shot from his hand, but he still had the knife.
A shot of adrenaline ran through me and I yanked the chain forward, bringing the demon’s hand into view. With no hesitation, I sank my fangs into the meat of his thumb and he yelped, dropping the chain, and I used the surprise to flip him over my head and onto the ground with my teeth still embedded in his hand. As much as I hated demon blood, I still drew a mouthful in and swallowed before I released. Instead of going in for a more lethal bite, I drew the gun and flipped off the safety, planting a bullet into the bastard’s brain.
The shot stunned both Naomi and the second demon enough so I had a second to train the gun on the demon, but he rolled away, putting Naomi in the way. His attempt to swipe the knife across her abdomen missed doing the damage he’d hoped, but it did break through the skin under her fur and the smell of her sweet blood filled the air. She didn’t yelp, instead, she roared and her teeth caught his wrist, snapping it. The knife tumbled away and he punched Naomi with his free hand. She snarled and yanked at the wrist her teeth were embedded in.
I still didn’t have a clear shot and the demon’s punches were connecting with her torso hard enough for me to hear the bone on bone connections.
“Naomi, off!” I yelled, praying she would listen and for once, my prayers were answered. She moved to the right and the demon lunged to the left, reaching for the knife. He never made it. The bullet shattered the back of his skull, exploding out the front of his face, leaving him unrecognizable.
I flipped the safety on the gun and turned toward Naomi. She lay on her back in human form with her hands clutching her stomach. A trickle of blood flowed through her finge
rs, igniting my hunger as well as the fear in my soul. I tucked the gun inside the pocket and ran toward her, transitioning and wrapping my talons around her. I took flight, ignoring the burn of her blood against my talons.
As the crow flies, I had less than a mile back to the house and I made it to the back yard within minutes, setting her down on the frozen ground before transitioning back into human form. I scooped her up, carrying her to the door, kicking it and waiting for someone to open it up.
Valerie opened the door, shuffling us both inside. I placed Naomi on the couch and stepped back, letting Valerie take over inspecting her wounds.
“What happened?” Michael asked as he took the space next to me.
I looked down at my blistered hands before returning my gaze to Naomi. “She was attacked by a couple of demons,” I said and shifted. “I got there just in time.”
“If you hadn’t...” she started and winced as Valerie swabbed the cut on her abdomen.
“Well, if you hadn’t been dumb enough to go jogging alone, they wouldn’t have known you were here,” I snapped before she could continue. “The only thing I confirmed was that I was in the garage. Not you. Do you really think I’m that much of an idiot?
Her lips pursed and my fists clenched in response despite the pain.
“Val, are you going to be able to get any more blood this week?” I asked.
She shook her head without looking my way and I inhaled. I’d have to hunt to heal my wounds and I turned away from them. I stripped the coat and the hat, tossing it on a kitchen chair before heading toward the back door.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Hunting. I’m ravenous.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The door slammed and I took flight before anyone could stop me. I wanted to hunt for human blood, but I knew better. Right now I needed to lay low and even taking flight was risky, but the distance to the meadow was far enough to drive me to the air.
I was rewarded with a herd of deer and I didn’t hesitate. Swooping down, I plucked one from the midst before the others knew what happened and turned back into the woods. I landed far enough away not to spook the herd and before the animal got its bearings, I sank my teeth into his throat, relishing the hot pulse of blood.
Hunger still sang in my veins and I took flight, repeating the ritual until I had half a dozen carcasses at my feet and the blisters on my hands were healed. I wiped my face and turned back toward the house, opting to walk instead of fly. I needed the time to plot out our next move and as much as I didn’t want to leave, that was probably the best for all of us.
Lucifer would assume Naomi went where I did, and I had the opportunity to draw his attention away from the three of them.
It took me a couple of hours to navigate the thick winter woods, even without snow cover. I stepped out of the woods twenty feet from the fence line. Naomi stood with her fingers looped into the fence.
“We need to leave,” she announced.
“I need to leave,” I corrected after I covered half the distance.
Her face transitioned to that hard stubborn stare I knew too well and I knew if I went inside the fence to our underground escape, I wouldn’t get out of there without her. Movement behind her caught my attention and I met Michael’s worried gaze.
I offered him a half-hearted shrug and took a step backwards.
“This is the way it has to be,” I whispered. “My presence is lethal. I can’t bring that down on everyone.” Another step back and the panic formed in her eyes. She had no idea how much strength it took not to give in to her. An invisible hand reached into my chest and squeezed my heart to the point tears sprung from my eyes.
“Don’t you dare leave me,” she begged but my mind was made up the moment I rounded the corner and saw the demons playing with her like they were poking sticks at a caged animal.
I took another few paces backwards, sensing the edge of the woods within a couple of feet now. “I have to.”
“Bull shit!” she screamed.
“I love you, baby,” I said and went to turn. A sharp pain shot through my leg and I stumbled, not understanding what had just happened. My gaze snapped to my thigh. To the blade sticking out of my flesh. Hands grabbed me, but I fought. Unfortunately, I wasn’t hungry enough to override the platinum and change into my shadow form, but I was able to slip from their grasp and I bolted toward the fence.
I had no idea what the plan was as I limped forward. Scaling the fence wouldn’t work but I might be able to jump it if I got enough speed. Naomi was going bat-shit on the other side of the platinum barrier, but Michael held onto her, keeping her from climbing out.
I only got a few steps before a crack filled my head and then nothing.
Chapter Thirty - Naomi
“Damian!” I screamed and laced my fingers into the fence. I could scale this in a matter of seconds and I got my foothold when Michael’s arms grabbed me around the waist.
“You can’t help him right now,” he said, but I struggled.
I refused to let him pull me away, to stop me from trying to save my husband; but it was futile. Michael’s grip was as strong as iron and the clan that blindsided Damian dragged him into the woods and out of my line of sight.
I let out a wail of distress that sounded more like the cry of a child than a grown woman and released the fence, collapsing in Michael’s grip. Numbness settled over me, right down to the core. Damian was now in Lucifer’s hands and there wasn’t a thing I could do to save him this time.
Michael carried me back to the house, but I didn’t care. The man I loved was as good as dead. Despair crept in over the numbness, cramping my muscles and forcing sobs from my throat. Nothing on earth could take this pain away.
“Naomi,” Valerie whispered and I turned my face into my hands, unwilling to acknowledge anyone. I just wanted Damian back. As hard as the last few days of not touching was on us, we were still together. I began to understand how crippling it was to lose your soul mate.
Was this what Damian endured when Athena was slain in front of him?
God, how did he survive all those years with this emptiness as big as a fathomless gorge?
The questions circled through my brain, drowning out the people in the room and I curled tighter in a ball, trying to escape from this pain.
Damian’s stupid email today probably set the vultures in motion.
I sat up like I had suddenly been reanimated and before anyone could ask what was going on in my head, I bolted downstairs. They followed, like a posse of body guards protecting me from falling to a million pieces.
“What are you doing?” Michael asked when I propped open Damian’s laptop.
“Nothing. I’ll be up in a few minutes.” I didn’t want Michael to know what I was doing. I didn’t want to argue or explain myself. I just wanted to find out what Damian said to Lucifer.
When no one moved, I looked up. “I’m not going to do anything stupid. I just want to find out where Lucifer’s emails came from.”
They still didn’t move.
“I promise, I will not engage him or do anything foolish or stupid.” I focused on Ted. “Whatever you’re cooking smells wonderful. I’d love to have some when I’m through here,” I added for good measure. Valerie and Ted nodded and traded a glance before heading upstairs.
Michael’s lips pressed together and his gaze bounced between the computer and me like there was something on the computer I shouldn’t see. He crossed his arms and waited.
“I promise I’ll be fine,” I said and he met my gaze. “All I’m going to do is open the last email and run a trace.”
Whether he realized it or not, relief softened his features. “Fine, but if you’re not back upstairs in five minutes, I’m coming to get you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Tracers take a little longer than five minutes.” Besides, five minutes wasn’t enough time for me to look through the other emails from the same address. Michael sparked my interest whether he wanted to
or not.
“Ten minutes,” he said and pointed at me.
“Fifteen would probably be better,” I said and he crossed his arms again. “I have to analyze the ping,” I added even though I had no clue how someone traced email, Michael didn’t know that and he nodded.
“I’ll check in fifteen,” he agreed and headed upstairs, leaving me to a bogus task.
I opened up Damian’s email account and stared at the latest message. It was unopened and the subject line sent ice through my blood.
“If you want to see him alive...”
Instead of opening the email, I sorted on the sender and filtered through the messages to the one that set Damian off in the cave. Each message was short and chilling, but one in particular outlined Lucifer’s twisted plans for me including a demon fuck-fest just for Damian’s benefit. The nauseatingly detailed scenario ended with Lucifer ripping my heart from my chest and draining it at sunrise. Long enough for Damian to feel the loss just before the sun cooked him to oblivion.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The outlined scenario gave me a glimmer of hope. Lucifer didn’t know that I could produce a trinity, and it also didn’t give an indication that he knew what Damian was either. I could work with that.
I glanced at my watch and exhaled. I had five more minutes and I opened the latest email.
The directive along with the address set me in motion. I snapped the laptop closed and bolted down the hall toward the garage. It was time to plan a full out rescue mission, starting with a hijacking.
Chapter Thirty-One
I rummaged around in the dark of the garage, looking for the fucking control panel and getting more frustrated by the minute. Lucifer gave me twenty-four hours to make a decision. If I didn’t show up at the address he specified within twenty-four hours, Damian would suffer a great deal before the following sunrise and Lucifer would send me Damian’s ashes.
Tigress (Night Hawk Series) Page 12