“Good.” Dante stood and stretched. “I’ll be in touch.” He tapped Abby’s nose with a surprisingly gentle hand. “Buona notte, bella.” With that, he rounded up all of the police and forced them out of Seth’s town house. He winked at Seth. “Stay safe, my brother.” And Dante was gone.
Seth moved into his bedroom, ready to leave then and there. She still sat in the ruins of his living room, looking so sad his heart broke. He packed swiftly. He still had some clothes and stuff at his father’s cabin. He’d just need to grab Abby’s and they could head out.
He was almost finished packing his bag when the sound of the vacuum startled him. He hurtled down the stairs, wondering what Abby thought she was up to. “What are you doing?” He spoke softly, his tone controlled. He didn’t want to frighten her any more than she had been.
She jumped, straightening up from the handle of the vacuum. She turned it off, biting her lip and glancing wildly around the room like a child with her hand caught in the cookie jar. “Um, cleaning up the glass so no one gets cut?”
“I can call my cleaning service. They’ll be over first thing in the morning.” He leaned against the wall, one leg crossed over the other, his arms folded in front of him.
He watched as she blew a strand of loose hair away from her eyes. “Well, someone could still get cut. You can’t leave glass lying on the floor like this.”
“Abby—”
She gave him a bright smile. It didn’t fool him for a moment. She was as brittle as the glass she was trying to clean up. “Don’t worry, I know how to use one of these things.” She turned the vacuum on and started to sweep up the broken shards of glass. Her movements were quick and jerky.
“Abby,” he yelled over the vacuum.
“What?” she yelled back.
He stalked over to her and turned off the vacuum. “It’s midnight. You’ll wake the neighbors.”
“Oh.” She stared down at the vacuum with blank, uncomprehending eyes. She raised those eyes back up to him, and he ground his teeth at the swirl of emotion in them. “Maybe I’d better—”
“Abby, don’t run from me.”
She blinked in shock. “What do you mean?”
Fuck. Despite her promise to Dante, she was still planning on running.
His hands framed her face. He did his best to calm his own raging emotions, the terror that raced through him at the thought of her out there, alone, chased by Shem. “That’s what he wants you to do. He wants you away from me. He knows I can protect you from him. If you run, you’ll be vulnerable.”
Her hand went to her scarred arm and began rubbing absently. “But you’ll be safe,” she whispered.
He took in a deep breath. His hands were trembling as he slid them down her arms. He maneuvered her away from the vacuum, both of them ignoring it as it hit the ground. He allowed some of what he was feeling to seep into his voice. “Will I? Don’t you know that I’ll come after you?”
“Seth, I have to go.” She reached up and caressed his cheek, the soft touch burning into him, branding him. “It would kill me if he hurt you. Can’t you see that?”
“All I see is that if you run from me, he wins.” Seth pulled her against him, running his hands from her arms to her hips. “And I won’t allow that.” He bent his head, and kissed her.
* * *
Lightning raced along her body at the touch of his mouth. He deepened the kiss, and her knees went weak. She returned his kiss with equal fervor. He buried his hands in her hair. “Beautiful.” Seth’s mouth brushed along her neck and the hollow of her throat before returning to her lips. “So beautiful.” He kissed her with a mixture of passion and desperation, and she began to drown in him, his taste, his scent. She lost all sense of where she was, or what had just happened. All she felt, saw or knew was this moment. This kiss that seemed to go on forever. She surrendered to him.
She wasn’t going anywhere.
He must have felt her yield, because his kiss changed, softened, the desperation no longer there. The caress turned sweet, unbearably so. He began to unbutton her shirt, and Abby did nothing to stop him.
If he needed to make love to her, she didn’t want to stop him.
The phone rang. Seth lifted his head, and she read the conflicting emotions in his eyes just before he let her go. He moved to the phone, took a deep breath and answered it.
“Hello? Yeah, Trish, everything is fine... What? Detective Zucco called, did he? Hmm? No, everything will be okay. Trust me. She’s okay.” His eyes burned into her, and she felt her cheeks flush. She bit her bottom lip, watching the slow smile that crossed his face as she fumbled with the buttons of her shirt. “No, she’s in the bathroom at the moment. I’ll have her call you tomorrow... No, I’m taking her away for a while.” She gasped as Seth winced and pulled the phone quickly away. She could hear Trish’s voice yelling in the background, still too faint to make out exactly what she was saying. Seth made a face and put the phone back to his ear. He waved her away, mouthing the word pack, before returning to his conversation.
She moved to obey, shivering a little.
Doug could have done the damage at any point during the day. The only reason she could think for why he’d waited was that the darkness would cover his ass. Which made sense but meant that he’d have to wait for his moment, concealing himself in the shadows. Watching them.
She shuddered. She didn’t want to think about Doug hiding out somewhere, a pair of binoculars trained on her at all times.
He might even have seen the kiss Seth had given her, the one where he’d talked her into calling him if she felt even mildly worried. If Doug thought Seth was her lover, Seth would die screaming.
She’d do almost anything to protect Seth from Doug’s insanity.
If it wasn’t Doug doing this, then... She bit her lip. She didn’t know whether that thought was more or less frightening, because the person would have to have known Doug. It could be a friend or relative who resented the fact that he was in jail and wanted to get back at her. But if so, why wait all this time? Doug had been in jail for over three years, and as far as she knew he hadn’t exhausted all of his appeals. There was a slim chance he could still walk free.
Maybe that was it. Maybe the person was hoping that by terrorizing Abby, they’d prove that Doug hadn’t set the fire. If they could cast reasonable doubt that Doug was the perpetrator, he’d get out, perhaps even gain a new trial.
Ugh. It was better not to think about it, not right now. The urge to run, to keep Seth and her family safe, was still damn strong. She had to think about something else or she’d drive herself right out of Seth’s house and to God only knew where.
She began to gather her clothing. Where was Seth taking her, and why did Detective Zucco seem all right with it? Hopefully it was some place nearby. She had to be at work on Monday. Her hands shook as she unzipped her bag, her attention focused on getting the stubborn thing to work. It always liked to stick right at the midpoint.
Hell. Who was she kidding? The thought of leaving Seth scared the crap out of her. She wasn’t sure her hands were steady enough to cut paper, let alone hair. If Doug got his hands on her, he would leave her broken and bleeding on the floor while he went off to do something unspeakable to her family. Again. Shivering slightly, she finally got the zipper undone and opened her suitcase.
Abby screamed and flipped the suitcase onto the floor. She turned to run from the room, and found Seth already in the doorway.
“What is it?”
She pointed to where the suitcase lay. He walked toward it and flipped it over. “Son of a bitch.”
On the floor was a gold locket in the shape of a heart. He picked it up and opened it. She saw the muscles in his shoulders bunch together before his hand moved back and threw the locket away from him violently.
She didn’t need to see the etched words, the picture of the two of them. It was the locket Doug had given to her all those years ago, and it scared the shit out of her.
“That’s it.
We’re leaving. Now.” His tone was clipped as he grabbed her by the arm and marched her out the door of her room. Every muscle in his body seemed to be clenched for battle.
“Seth, my clothes,” she protested weakly.
“I’ll buy you some new ones when we get where we’re going. Hell, I’ll buy new for me. But we’re leaving. Now.”
She couldn’t bring herself to go back into that room, so maybe that was a good thing. God only knew what Doug had done to her clothes. “Where are we going?”
“I’m taking you home to meet my mom.”
“Oh.” Abby blinked as what he said sank in.
Wait. What?
She was whisked out of the house before she could respond. Seth had to book them into a hotel for the night, but he had her on a plane so early, even the birds thought they were nuts. She’d called Nancy before boarding the plane and filled her in on what had happened the night before. Seth had been less than pleased that she was calling anyone, but it was either that or lose her job, and she wasn’t about to do that, no matter how large a hissy fit he looked ready to throw. They landed in Colorado before breakfast, starving and still tired. Seth managed to rent a car, and they began the two-hour drive to his parents’ home in Hidden Springs.
They barely spoke a word.
When they arrived at the Van Licht’s beautiful glass and wood home, she went straight to the bedroom his parents escorted her to and crawled into bed, completely drained. She’d managed a muttered a hello to Seth’s parents, people she barely knew. Seth had been Bill’s friend, not hers, so she’d only seen his parents in passing. She hoped they understood how tired she was, because soon she’d be seeing little ponies prancing on the ceiling, farting rainbows everywhere.
Hell. Everyone was lucky she still spoke English.
Seth settled her down on the bed and pulled her shoes off. “Get some rest. You’re safe here.”
She yawned. “Night, Seth.”
He pulled the comforter up around her shoulders and kissed her on the forehead. “Good night, Abby.”
* * *
Seth tiptoed out of the room, not surprised to find his father standing just outside it. They exchanged hugs. “Hey, Dad.”
“Seth. It’s good to see you, even if I wish it were under better circumstances.”
“Me, too.” It had been months since he’d seen his parents. Between his day job and his work with the Nephilim, Seth was kept busy. “How’s Mom?”
“Upset, as you can imagine, and ready to defend her cub.”
Seth chuckled. His father led him into the kitchen where his mother always held court. “She possesses mighty Shoe Fu.”
Joseph van Licht rubbed the back of his head absently. “Yeah. I know.”
“Seth!”
Seth braced himself as his mother threw herself into his arms. “Mom. You look beautiful.”
“Flattery will get you brownies.”
“Score.” Seth fist-bumped his dad, both men ignoring Marian van Licht’s amused disgust.
“I swear, you two.” Marian shook her head. “Well? Tell me about Abby. Is she all right?”
Seth sat at the table. It might be in a different house than the one he’d grown up in, but it was still the kitchen table, where all important family meetings took place. He felt at peace the moment he settled his elbows on the edge. “She’s mine.”
Joseph put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. “You sure?”
“Yes.”
His father shook his head. “Guard her well, then. This isn’t the easiest life to build a family in.”
Joseph had given him the same speech just before he married Fiona. “I know. Worse, she’s going to have to know about us, and soon, if only for her own safety.” He hadn’t informed Gabriel that he planned on revealing his true nature, but if things went the way he hoped they did, Gabriel would be all right with it. Hell, he’d probably give them his blessing.
“Tell us everything.” Marian handed her son and husband mugs of steaming coffee, then put a plate of warm brownies on the table between them. “What is going on, and how does it involve the Nephilim?”
Joseph smiled at his wife as he took his seat at the head of the table. “Gabriel wasn’t very forthcoming when he called us last night.”
Marian snorted. “Gabriel Viator wouldn’t know forthcoming if it came forth and hit him in the face with a dead mackerel.”
Seth grinned. “He’d blame that on—”
“The Shem,” Joseph finished.
“Ugh.” Marian rolled her eyes and grabbed the eggs out of the fridge. While her men might indulge in brownies for breakfast, Marian swore by eggs and toast. “I swear, that man. He farts and blames it on the Shem.”
Seth and Joseph exchanged a quick glance while Marian’s back was turned. Neither of them was willing to laugh, because with their luck, Gabriel would somehow hear it.
“All right. Tell me about that poor girl upstairs.” Marian began breaking eggs into a bowl with the neat efficiency of a woman who had raised two hungry boys. “What happened and what do you need us to do? Should we contact Eli?”
While Seth had chosen to remain in Delaware and had joined Gabriel’s cell, his little brother, Eli, had moved with his family to Colorado, joining a cell there. He missed Eli and the rest of his family, but staying with Gabriel had felt like the right thing to do. He hadn’t regretted his decision once.
“Calling Eli might be a good idea, just to alert him that there might be problems here, but if he’s on assignment, let him be.”
“He is, last I checked, but we’ll call him anyway.” Joseph grinned at Marian with a hopeful expression and made a swirling motion with his hand over the plate of brownies.
Marian shook her head at her husband, but pulled the can of whipped cream out of the fridge. “Your brother would be happy to see you.”
“No. That’s all right. Let him be. I’ll see him next time I’m in town.” If Eli had been given an assignment, odds were good he wouldn’t see his brother this trip. Eli was an Oracle, an angel-born with the power of visions. If the leader of his cell had him in lockdown due to his visions, it could be days or weeks before he was free to help Seth, and even then he might not be able to. If Eli wasn’t meant to assist his brother, no visions would come to him no matter how badly they might wish for them.
The Oracle didn’t control the visions. The visions controlled them. It was an awesome, frightening gift that Seth wouldn’t wish on anyone, let alone a blood relative. Eli had suffered, learning to master his powers, but he’d come out stronger than any of them had believed possible.
But Seth wasn’t here to see Eli. He had much bigger problems. “We think Finley’s working with the Shem, and he’s obsessed with the woman I plan on marrying.”
Both his parents stared at him in horror, and not because of his future marital plans.
“What?” Marian was the first to speak. “I swear, Gabriel is a bad influence on you.” Marian shook her head, handed her husband the whipped cream and got back to making breakfast. “That was even less information than Gabriel gave us.”
“Is that even possible?” Joseph chuckled and winked at his son as he put whipped cream all over his chocolaty breakfast.
“Yes.” Marian growled and beat the eggs within an inch of their yolky lives.
Joseph eyed his wife warily. “Guess we’re having scrambled.”
God, Seth loved his family. He bit into a brownie and moaned. Why his father wanted to pollute his mother’s perfect brownies with whipped cream, he’d never know.
If you’re going to do that, at least add ice cream.
“You’re exhausted. Fill us in, then head to bed.” Joe was staring at him, his concern obvious.
“I will. Guard her for me.”
“My word on it.” Joe might be retired, but he was still a Knight, still a powerful Nephilim. He’d guard Abby while she slept.
Seth yawned, his jaw cracking painfully.
Joe took the brownie out of h
is hand.
“Hey!” Seth snagged his brownie back and shoved half of it in his mouth at once.
Joseph laughed. “Never mind. Fill us in later. Take your brownie and go get some rest.”
Marian plated her eggs. “Your father’s right. Trust us. She’ll be okay.”
“Thanks.” He hugged his parents and staggered to his room, collapsing onto his bed with a weary groan. He kicked off his shoes, finished the brownie and set an alarm before tumbling headlong into a deep and dreamless sleep.
* * *
Later that evening, after a long nap and a shot of caffeine to wake him, Seth watched Abby enter his parents’ kitchen and felt his breath catch in his throat. She was so beautiful. She smiled at the room at large, peering around awkwardly cheerful in her borrowed clothes, and he moved to her side to help put her at ease.
He could see the lingering shadows under her eyes and wasn’t fooled for a moment. She was still tired and putting on a brave front. He slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her close, ignoring her gasp of surprise. “Mom, Dad, this is Abby Marcheson, Bill’s sister. Abby, these are my parents, Joe and Marian.”
“Hello.” Abby clung to Seth’s arm, her eyes big as she stared at his father. She smiled sweetly at Marian, but her gaze never left Joe.
His parents welcomed her, but the tension in her shoulders didn’t ease. His mother tried to make her feel a little more comfortable. “You sit and have a drink with Seth, Abby. He’s told us a little of what’s going on, and it sounds like you could use a little pampering. Have you called your parents to let them know where you are?”
Abby flushed. “No, I haven’t yet. I was so exhausted when we got here that I didn’t even think of it.”
Joseph handed her the phone, ignoring her slight flinch, but he shared a look with Seth that said it all. Abby would be protected. “Better call them now. I know how I’d feel, if it was my child.” His father was right. Perhaps Abby would feel better hearing the sound of her family’s voices.
“I’ll do that, thanks.” Abby headed for the living room, phone in hand.
All for You Page 9