by Brux, Boone
Manufactured in the United States of America
First Edition April 2012
For everyone who has loved and lost—I hope you get a second chance.
Prologue
110 BC…
Cade offered the golden goblet to Eleni. “Drink.”
Hands wrapped around his, she raised the cup to her lips. Cade held his breath—his hopes and dreams within his grasp. But at the last moment, she glanced up at him, and uncertainty flickered in her dark eyes. “If I drink, will we be together for always?”
“For eternity.”
Her sweet mouth curved into a smile as she leaned toward him and sipped the liquid. Cade watched the movement of her throat as she swallowed, the tension drained from him, and his silver wings spread in triumph.
There was no going back now. Right or wrong, the deed was done.
He had betrayed his own people in stealing the Elixir, but he had no regrets. He would gladly forsake Heaven if that was the price he had to pay to be with Eleni. He’d found his own heaven here on Earth, and he knew his brothers felt the same.
He dropped the goblet to the ground, cupped her beloved face in his hand, and lowered his head to kiss her. The sharp, bittersweet tang of the elixir lingered on her lips, and a shudder of unease ran through him. He shook off the feeling. There had been no other way. “Come, we need to leave. The others will be waiting.”
A small frown formed between her brows. She nodded at the goblet, where it lay in the sand at their feet. “Will you be in trouble for this?”
He forced a smile. “Not if they don’t find us.”
He had arranged to meet his brothers at a small clearing close to Eleni’s village. Clasping her hand in his, he pulled her against his side, and fought the urge to take to the air—but they couldn’t draw attention to themselves. The theft would be discovered soon enough; they had to be away from this place before that occurred.
The sun blazed high above them. An unnatural silence hung in the air. Cade couldn’t dismiss the nagging sense of disquiet, and he increased his pace.
They were almost there—he could see his brothers and their wives gathered, waiting—when a clap of thunder sounded overhead. The sky opened, and a host of angels appeared, blocking out the sun. The beating of a thousand wings filled the air. In seconds, they were surrounded.
Cade cursed. How could they have discovered the theft so soon?
“Cade!” Eleni’s high-pitched scream tore into him.
Hands were reaching for her. Cade tried to wrap her in his arms, but they wrenched her from his grasp. He fought, then. Furiously. But there were too many, and too strong, and he could only scream his rage as they dragged her from him.
All around, his brothers were fighting. Cade drew the sword from the scabbard at his back, whirling and countering the blows that came from all directions, desperate to reach Eleni. But for each one he cut down another took his place. Finally, his strength failed, and the sword dropped from his fingers. He hung exhausted in the grip of two of his captors, his breath coming hard and fast, as despair swamped him.
He lifted his head. Gabriel stood before him, golden wings spread. “You broke the rules, Caden. This time you’ve gone too far. You stole the Elixir of Life.”
The words were softly spoken, but beneath that, Cade could hear the outrage.
“How did you know?” he asked.
“You should have remembered that humans are fickle, jealous creatures.”
Cade’s mind frantically searched for a way out. “My wife? Where is she?”
“The human?” Gabriel shrugged. “Her own kind will deal with her as they see fit.”
The fighting had died to nothing, but Cade couldn’t see Eleni, and panic clawed at his guts.
“Cade!”
Through the confusion, she cried out his name, her voice hoarse with terror and panic. The host parted, and he caught sight of her. They had tied her to a stake—people from her own village, people she had cared for—and piled brush wood around her. She was struggling wildly against the restraints, but to no avail, and fear stopped his heart. It couldn’t end like this. He tore at the hands that held him, screaming her name.
For a brief moment, their eyes met and some of the panic faded from her face. “I love you.” She mouthed the words.
“For eternity,” he whispered.
Then the flames licked at her bare legs, and she screamed in agony.
He lost sight of her as they closed in around him. The acrid scent of smoke, burning pitch, and roasting flesh clogged his nostrils, and he fell to his knees and gagged as Eleni’s shrill screams filled his mind.
Finally, she fell silent.
Cade’s heart shattered. He threw back his head and howled.
Long minutes, he knelt there, unsure whether he could even move. His mind reeled in disbelief. She couldn’t be gone, but there was a huge gaping hole inside him, where she had been for so long.
He pushed down the pain and allowed ice-cold fury to envelop his heart. Struggling to his feet, he saw that they had gathered his six brothers together. Their faces reflected his own despair.
“For violating the laws of Heaven, you are banished.” Gabriel waved his hand and a portal opened, a break in reality.
Cade sensed the shadows reaching up to him, and he embraced them.
He stood immobile, barely feeling the pain as they ripped his wings from his back, and then he was plummeting through darkness. He fell for an age, until he finally crashed to the ground.
His mind was numb as he stumbled to his knees. He’d wanted Eleni to live forever, be at his side for eternity. Instead, he had brought about her death, and he would be alone until the end of time. A scream welled up inside him. He knelt in hell, but it was nothing compared to the darkness in his soul.
An icy wind blew across his skin, and he looked up from his torment. In the half-light, a woman stood before him. “I’m Lilith, Queen of the Damned. Welcome to the Abyss.”
Chapter One
Present day
“Tell me why I’m here again?” Cade had to shout over the whir of the helicopter blades.
“Here” was about twenty miles south of Kabul, the environment an inhospitable mix of low rocky outcrops and scrubby bushes beneath a washed out blue sky and a pale yellow sun.
“Press conference,” Finn replied. “You’re talking; I’m your bodyguard.”
Cade examined him—Finn certainly looked the part in his camouflage gear and more weaponry than could ever be needed. But then Finn did love his toys. “I don’t need a bodyguard.”
“Maybe not.” Finn grinned. “Okay, definitely not, but it wouldn’t look right for the big boss not to have a bodyguard around here. You might not have noticed, but we’re in the middle of a war zone.”
The helicopter was slowing now. Below them, Cade could make out the vague outline of manmade structures, the same pale ochre as the landscape, so they merged with the rocky terrain. They circled the compound once, hovering above the small crowd of people in the wide open central area, before coming to land on an open rooftop off to the side.
A faint hum of excitement vibrated deep in his gut—maybe he’d been missing this. As CEO of Stormlord Securities, he spent way too long in the office. What he needed was something to take his mind off the fact that time was running out for all of them.
Cade slipped on his dark glasses and jumped down. The sun prickled his skin, but he ignored the sensation; sunlight no longer had the power to harm him—he’d grown beyond that. Thick red dust permeated the air, and he grimaced as he ducked under the still-turning blades and ran for the edge of the roof, Finn at his back.
Despite the sun, the day was bitterly cold, but Cade hardly noticed as he smoothed his suit and breathed in the icy air. The cool breeze hinted at snow and something else—a lingering scent almost forgotten, but still familiar. He came to an abrupt standstill.
The hum of excitement grew to a buzz that spread through his being, filling him with a wild sense of a
nticipation. His whole mind focused on the elusive scent that teased his nostrils, sweet, spicy with a hint of lemons. A wave of longing swept over him, so strong he almost stumbled. Bracing himself against the low stone wall in front of him, he tried to clear the fog from his brain, as excitement warred with terror.
Eleni.
Could she really be here?
He fought for control, but a fierce exhilaration was building inside him.
“What is it?” Finn asked, but the words scarcely registered.
After all the years of searching, was he finally going to find his Eleni again?
Would she know him?
He fought down the need to leap over the edge of the building, to find her, confront her. But he couldn’t do that. She had to come to him of her own free will, or this time he would lose her forever.
“Cade?” Finn’s low voice came from behind him, and a hand pressed down on his shoulder. “Are you okay?”
Cade shook it off and headed down the open staircase that ran alongside the building.
The scent was stronger here, but mixed with the stench of too many people crowded together. Cade searched the sea of faces. A few wore western clothes, but the majority dressed in dark robes with traditional scarves wrapped around their heads.
Panic clawed at his insides. He couldn’t find her.
A man stepped up toward him, blocking his view, and he gritted his teeth in frustration. “Mr. Wolfe, can you tell me what you think about the current situation in Afghanistan?”
“Mr. Wolfe…”
Cade stood, letting the questions flow around him, while the adrenalin surged through his system.
“Mr. Wolfe, would you like to comment on the allegations that Stormlord Securities uses illegal means to gain government contracts?”
A woman’s voice. Clipped and assured. The words hardly registered. For a brief moment, his brain ceased to function. He looked down. A long way down. The woman in front of him was small, but then his Eleni had been tiny—it had always made him feel protective. She’d laugh at him and tell him she didn’t need protecting.
A scarf wrapped around her head, leaving only a narrow band of her face showing between the folds. Dark brown eyes, flecked with gold, stared up into his. They were all he could see. But they were enough. Eyes he’d dreamed about for over two thousand years. He couldn’t believe it; after all the years of searching, she finally stood before him.
“Eleni?”
Her dark brows drew together in a frown. “The allegations of corruption, Mr. Wolfe—could you comment?”
The scarf muffled her voice, and he wanted to reach out and drag the dusty cloth from her, reveal her to him.
“Cade, we have incoming.” Finn’s voice shouted in his ear, the urgency of the tone finally getting through to him. He tore his gaze away from the woman.
“What?”
“Goddamn it, Cade. This place is going to explode.”
He forced himself to look upward and shock punched him hard in the gut. Like a comet, a trail of fire streaked across the sky. A rocket heading straight for the compound.
Straight for Eleni.
…
The guy was definitely acting weird.
Phoebe had studied him as he came down the steps. Unlike his companion who was dressed in full combat gear, Caden Wolfe wore an elegant silver-gray business suit, white shirt—no doubt silk—and a dark red tie which matched his immaculately cut dark red hair.
Prior to the press conference, she’d found out everything she could about him, but even so, nothing had prepared her for Caden Wolfe in the flesh. He was stunning. Which didn’t mean he wasn’t also corrupt.
Patrick, her boss—and one of the best editors in the business—had always told her that the most important quality for a successful investigative journalist was gut instinct. And her gut was screaming that there was something very off with regards to Stormlord Securities.
But she also needed to be fair. Phoebe was the first to admit that she loathed and despised the big multinational corporations. Hated the way they believed themselves above the law, and the way they used and discarded the “little” people as though they didn’t matter.
People like her father.
Because of that, she always went the extra length to make sure her facts were right, always did her research meticulously. She’d looked at Stormlord Securities from every angle, examined the statistics, and the numbers didn’t add up. No company managed to get that many government contracts without making payouts somewhere along the line.
And Phoebe Little, ace reporter, was going to find out where. Expose his sleazy company, and his shady dealings. This story was going to right some wrongs and put her name into the top ranks of investigative journalism.
But she wished he’d stop staring at her—it was making her feel distinctly odd, hot and fluttery. He wore dark glasses, but still she sensed his eyes fixed on her as though he were starving. She tightened the scarf around herself and glanced down. She was covered from head to foot—what was there to gawk at?
His bodyguard spoke to him, and at last he broke eye-contact with her. As he stared upward, horror flashed across his lean handsome face. Phoebe followed his gaze to the sky, and her mind locked in terror. A rocket was heading straight for them. No way could it miss.
A moment later, something slammed into her, and the world went black.
Chapter Two
Phoebe was falling through darkness, hot air rushing past her as she twisted and turned.
Had the rocket hit?
She appeared to be heading downward, which was a little worrying, but her mind refused to focus, and all she could do was hold tight as she spun out of control.
All awareness of time faded. She could have been falling for minutes, hours, or even lifetimes, but finally, the descent slowed until she was drifting through the warm air. Still downward, but at least she could think again.
Strong arms bound her tight, pressing her face against a rock solid chest. Wriggling was impossible, and after a moment, she gave up and relaxed. She became aware of other things, the soft whoosh of air as though brushed by huge wings, the clean, spicy aroma of the man who held her locked in his embrace.
They landed with a soft thud. This time when she struggled, he loosened his hold, but now, when she could move, she found she didn’t want to. She wasn’t scared exactly, although something told her that perhaps she should be, but she felt so safe wrapped in his arms. How long had it been since a man held her like this? Not in this lifetime, she was sure. But something felt so familiar, so right.
Maybe the rocket had knocked her out, and she was dreaming.
Either that or she was dead.
No, definitely dreaming.
She pulled free, took a step back, and blinked. Level with her eyes was a broad, naked chest, the skin pale over the smooth swell of muscles. Phoebe bit her lip and took another step back until she could look up and straight into the wickedly handsome face of Caden Wolfe. She closed her eyes tight, counted to ten, and peeked through her lashes. What she saw in his face made heat stir to life low down in her belly.
Carnal hunger.
Didn’t you dream about the last thing that you saw before you fell asleep? Obviously, the last thing she had seen was Caden Wolfe, so it made sense that she’d brought him into her dream. It didn’t mean he was real. None of this was real. At that moment, she became aware of something else, something that definitely proved her point. He had wings.
Blood red wings, each a yard in length. While she watched, they swept the air once then folded against his back, so only the tips showed above his broad shoulders.
Caden Wolfe—an angel.
Though thinking about it, what sort of angel had wings the color of blood? And she’d headed downward—not up—so she was pretty sure she wasn’t in Heaven. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She swallowed and tried again. “Am I dead?”
“No, you’re alive.”
That was reas
suring. She peered around her; this place certainly didn’t look like Heaven, but then it didn’t look like Afghanistan, either. In fact, it was like nowhere she’d ever been. The light was dim as though the sun had just set beyond those glittering black mountains, the sky violet shading to midnight blue. They stood on a black sandy beach, by a running stream, surrounded by black boulders.
“Where are we?”
“We’re in the Abyss.”
She swallowed again. “Sounds nice. Isn’t that another name for Hell?”
He shrugged but didn’t seem inclined to answer the question. Maybe he thought she would panic. But why would she panic when it was all a dream?
“Mr. Wolfe—”
“Call me Cade.”
“Cade—”
He reached out a hand and stroked her cheek, locking the words in her throat. Her skin tingled under his touch, sending quivers running down her spine. She looked up into his face to find him gazing at her with such wonder in his dark blue eyes, as though he couldn’t quite believe she was here. She was finding it hard to believe herself.
In real life, she’d never wanted a man to look at her like that. But this wasn’t real life. She stifled her initial urge to run and stood immobile beneath his touch, while he traced the lines of her face, trailed the pad of one thumb over her sensitive lower lip. A tight knot clenched in her belly, and the flickering heat burst into flames.
Phoebe said nothing as he drew the scarf back from her face and dropped it to the ground behind her. Her shoulder-length hair was tied back in a ponytail, and he loosened the band and ran his fingers through the strands, then cupped his hands around her skull, tipping her head so she looked up into his eyes.
“Eleni,” he murmured.
She frowned at the strange name, but before she could even think to ask, he lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her. All rational thoughts fled from her mind. His lips were soft at first, almost reverent as he learned the shape of hers, then they hardened. His hands held her steady while he slanted his mouth over hers and parted her lips.
As his tongue pushed inside her, the knot in her belly unraveled. A warm wet heat washed through her, saturating the core of her body, and she swayed toward him.