“You can see why I am having such a problem buying this whole angel thing,” she whispered under her breath. “That guy isn’t any sane person’s idea of an angel.” Kassian simply squeezed her to silence in reply.
“Talk,” said Luca in a low, clipped voice. Kat couldn’t help staring. The change in Luca was astounding. Gone was the laid-back baseball fan. Tall and broad, he stood at tense attention. His smile was grim and cruel with no hint of warmth or welcome. Dimitri eyed Kat suspiciously, and waited until Kassian’s imperceptible nod let him know it was safe to speak.
“We posted a couple of our people around the House of Angels as you asked. About half an hour ago, a girl tried to get in at the back entrance. It was after curfew, so the doors were locked. The animorti started moving in almost as soon as she got there, and they came in from every direction…a lot of them…Rapier must be recruiting heavily.” He shook his head like a massive lion tossing his mane. “We managed to drive them back, away from her. We took out most of them, but a couple got away and have no doubt run back to report to their maker.”
“The girl?”
“She was pretty shaken up, but she wasn’t hurt. Galen wiped her memory and she’s at the shelter now with Estelle. She’ll be fine.”
“Casualties?”
“Nothing serious…Alec got the worst of it, but as usual, they were using mortal weapons and he’s a fast healer.” He glanced nervously at Kassian and then quickly away.
****
“Alec?” Kassian said quietly at first, but his voice quickly rose. “Alec! What in the hell was Alec doing there and why didn’t I know about it?” He finished slightly short of a roar glaring at Luca. Luca, in typical fashion, arched a brow and simply shrugged. Kassian’s eyes narrowed, sending Luca a message without words to let him know the discussion was not over, not by a long shot.
“Have Galen bring Alec here,” Kassian directed in a clipped tone. “Put him in the guest room.” He’d deal with his brother later. He hoped Dimitri was right and Alec was a quick healer because as soon as he was recovered, Kassian planned to pound the living hell out of him. “What about…the other location?” The other location was Elle Gates’ apartment, but Kat didn’t need to know that.
“Quiet.”
Well, at least something was going according to plan. Dimitri nodded and turned to leave, presumably to contact Galen and have Alec delivered to his brother. Luca followed him out without a word to either Kassian or Kat.
“Make it snappy!” Kassian called after him.
When the door closed behind him, Kassian moved Kat around to stand in front of him with a hand on either shoulder. Her earlier fatigue had all but vanished, replaced by adrenaline and alarm. He saw it in her eyes and rubbed his hands briskly up and down her arms.
“I need to go out for a while.”
“Uh huh. House of Angels?”
So, she hadn’t missed the reference. Of course she hadn’t. She was a bright girl.
“Yeah…”
“That’s so funny, McAllister,” her voice was deceptively mild. “There was a shelter in the East End of London in 1888 with the same name; all of Jack the Ripper’s victims were affiliated with that shelter in some way.” She looked at him steadily and swallowed hard. He could almost hear her mind working though her shields were up, her research with Elle Gates, the girl in the dumpster, the photographs. He knew the moment all of the ugly pieces began to fall into place. The color left her face in a rush and she swayed slightly.
“But of course, you already know that, right?” She cleared her throat repeatedly and swallowed hard again. “Exactly how old are you, McAllister?”
“Old enough to know better and young enough to get away with it?” he quipped with a quick grin. She didn’t return his smile.
“Jack the Ripper…he wasn’t human, was he? That’s why he was never caught.”
“No, he isn’t human.” He knew the fact that he’d said “isn’t” and not “wasn’t” didn’t escape her, either.
There wasn’t much time, but he was determined to let her work it out for herself. He would answer her questions as honestly as he could; but he wasn’t offering anything, either. God knew she’d already had more dumped on her today than most women would have ever been able to cope with. She gripped his wrists so hard that her knuckles turned white and her nails drew blood. He doubted she was even aware of it.
“He’s here, isn’t he? The murdered woman, the evil I felt, the energy I intercepted at the party…it’s him. He’s who you think is after me?” Her voice rose dangerously and he gave her a little shake to get her attention.
“Kat, you’re safe here, this place is protected. No one can get in except through the door until I get back, and there will be a guard there. No snap, crackle, popping allowed, okay? Haven’t you noticed even Luca comes and goes in a civilized manner? Not that he likes it.” He flashed a tense smile. She let go of his wrists and wrapped her arms around herself.
“I know I’ll be safe, but what about you? Why don’t you send that Dimitri guy? He looks like he could take down a rhino,” she mumbled. She didn’t look at him when she made the suggestion.
Kassian froze. When was the last time anyone had been concerned about his safety? He really needed to teach her to have a little more faith in his abilities. Maybe it was only that she was afraid of what might happen to her if he didn’t come back. Either way, he didn’t want her sitting here worrying about it all night. And he couldn’t afford to be distracted by thinking about her worrying.
“I’ll be fine, Kat. I doubt he’ll even show his face tonight. He prefers to send his peons to do his dirty work, and his little entourage is down by quite a few at the moment according to Dimitri. It’ll take some time for him to regroup. Luca and I are going out to have a look around, that’s all. It’ll be fine.”
****
Luca chose that moment to strut back in, obviously having popped home to change. He was clad in black leather from head to toe. Gone was the blasé GQ model in cashmere and khakis. In his place was a cold, calculating killing machine. The sleeves of the jacket had snaps from wrist to elbow to allow easy access to his daggers. Kat simply stared. His cold indifference was gone; he looked positively lethal.
“C’mon, Mac…get moving before we miss all the fun.”
McAllister eased Kat away from him, pushed her down into the chair, and strode into the bedroom. Luca paced restlessly while Kat simply watched. Finally, Luca stopped and spun to face her.
“What exactly is your problem with me, Kat?” he demanded.
“What makes you think I have a problem?” Her chin came up.
“Maybe because you seem completely pissed off at me for no reason?” Luca glared at her for half a minute, and then shook his head and forced his features into his trademark look of disinterest. It was obvious she wasn’t about to talk. So he’d showed up unannounced and killed an animorti in her living room. Granted, there were better ways to make a first impression, but otherwise he thought he’d been perfectly charming. And he’d even taken care to clean up after himself. Women! But he’d have to be blind to have missed the change in Mac, and that was something to consider. Mac had been like the walking dead ever since Callista was taken. Luca reckoned he could put up with a hell of a lot from anyone who might have the ability to help Mac get over himself.
“Just because you don’t know the reason, doesn’t mean I don’t have one,” Kat countered.
The conversation ended when Kassian marched back into the room dressed almost identically to Luca with the exception of his coat, which was a long leather duster. There was a sharp rap on the door and Luca opened it to find Dimitri filling the doorway with another man slung limply over his shoulder.
“Galen should be right behind me,” he told Luca. “He’ll stay out here and keep an eye on…” His eyes flicked to Kat. “...things until you get back.”
****
“In here.” Kassian opened a door off of the lacquered wall of the li
ving room. The door was almost invisibly flush and led to a second bedroom Kat hadn’t realized was there. Dimitri shouldered past him and laid his burden on top of the king-sized bed with more gentleness than one would expect from such a large, rough-looking man. But it wasn’t gently enough to stop the groan that rose from the man on the bed. He bore a strong resemblance to Kassian, though the younger man had a thick head of dark curls where Kassian’s was longer and nearly straight. His face was white and tense with pain. As Dimitri stepped back, the reason became obvious. The entire right side of his black tee was soaked with blood. Kat gasped, and Alec opened one startling blue eye and focused it on her.
“Only a flesh wound, honey.” He tried to smile, but Kassian chose that moment to roll him over to check his back, and it turned into more of a grimace. Kat frowned as Kassian rolled him back again and lifted the tee to reveal a long, wicked-looking gash that started near his armpit and extended almost to the waistband of his leather pants. Alec opened the same eye again and regarded his brother calmly.
“How bad is it?”
“Only a flesh wound, honey.” Kassian mocked with a tense grin. “Hell, Alec, you could be dead and you’d still find a way to flirt. I guess there’s comfort in seeing that some things never change.
“But you can damn well find someone else to flirt with, brother.”
Alec’s eye widened and he stared at his brother.
“McAllister, that needs stitches.” Kat gnawed on her lower lip.
“He’s fine, Kat… it isn’t as bad as it looks.”
Luca came out of the en suite with a first aid kit along with a couple of towels. Kassian used a pair of scissors to cut off the tee and then the leather jacket, the latter over loud protests from the patient, complaining that he’d finally gotten it broken in to his liking. He deftly made quick work of cleaning the wound, and after rubbing his palms together briskly and giving the wound a dose of the blue light special, he pressed a heavy layer of bandages in place, taping them tightly. His hands worked with a competency and confidence of someone who’d done this many times before. He pulled off Alec’s boots and lifted him in his arms motioning to Kat, who moved forward quickly and turned down the bed, then stepped back out of the way. Kassian placed his brother gently in the center and pulled the sheet up to his chest.
“Alec, what in the hell…” Kassian began hotly.
“Kass, how ’bout sleep now, lecture later, huh?” Alec interrupted through stiff lips. There were white lines at the corners of his mouth and a deep furrow between his brows. It was evident that he was in more pain than he was letting on. Kassian swallowed whatever he had been about to say and motioned for everyone to precede him from the room. Kat paused and waited in the doorway as he leaned down and tenderly stroked the curls away from his brother’s forehead then laid the back of his hand against Alec’s cheek. He straightened to leave and Alec’s lips moved again.
“Kass?”
“Yeah?”
“It’s good to see you, brother.” He smiled without opening his eyes. Kassian swallowed hard and his voice sounded hoarse when he replied.
“It’s good to see you, too. Get some rest and we’ll talk later. Kat will be here if you need anything.”
Kat stepped back to let him pass and closed the door quietly behind her. She ignored Luca and Dimitri who were waiting and watching, and surprised everyone by stepping up and laying her palms against McAllister’s solid chest. He was as hard as stone, but even stone could crumble. She knew he wasn’t the heartless tough guy he presented to the world, even if he didn’t. She felt his hesitation and then his arms came around her, pulling her close. She tilted back her head and stared directly into his eyes. Was it the novelty of a man she didn’t have to hide her abilities from combined with his overwhelming sensuality, or could she really have come to care about this man so quickly? She’d never felt such an instant attraction to anyone in her life. He was gorgeous, he was funny, he was strong and unyielding when he wanted his own way, and yet she’d also seen him be gentle and tender and take on the responsibility for everyone around him. She guessed maybe he really was an angel…sometimes. She knew he was some ancient warrior and had probably fought thousands of battles, but she didn’t want him to go out there tonight. She was afraid that either he or Luca would be hurt. And a selfish little part of her that she wasn’t especially proud of at the moment cared more about keeping them with her than sending them off to fight the monster, though she knew it was the right thing to do. It was who they were. She might not know very much about them yet, but she already knew that much.
****
Kassian saw the worry shimmering in the depths of her deep gray eyes and prepared himself for an argument. This was who he was and she had to accept it. And if she couldn’t? As long as Jacques lived, people were in danger, she was in danger, whether she stayed with him or not. It would be hard to watch her walk away, but it would be much harder to watch her die.
“Be careful, McAllister.”
Kassian drew back in amazement. He looked quickly at Luca and Dimitri. Neither of them gave any indication that they’d heard. She’d found her own mental pathway to communicate with him privately. What the hell? Truthfully, she was beginning to freak him right the hell out. He had no idea what she might come off with next.
“Kat, I don’t know how you did that. You shouldn’t have been able to hear us earlier either. Is there any chance either of your parents were Earthbound?”
“I have a theory about that. We can talk about it later. Right now I want you to promise me that you will be careful and come home in one piece.”
“You got it.”
For the first time in as long as he could remember, he felt reluctant to go out hunting and that was something he couldn’t allow. Rapier had to be stopped at all costs; he couldn’t allow anything to become more important than that. He owed it to his sister, his mother, and every other woman whom Rapier had destroyed. Reluctantly he put Kat away from him and turned toward the door.
“McAllister?” He turned back and regarded her expectantly.
“Bring Luca home in one piece, too.” She closed her eyes and grimaced as though the request had been painful. He smiled broadly looking from her to Luca and back again.
“It’s good of you to worry about him.”
“I’m not worried about him; I’m worried about you. It would upset you to lose him.”
Kassian burst out laughing. Luca’s brows lowered ominously.
“She’s doing it again, isn’t she?”
Kassian only laughed harder and shoved Luca in the direction of the door. “Let’s go. Kat…try to get some rest. There’s aspirin in the bathroom if Alec needs it when he wakes up. I’ll see you later.”
“McAllister?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m going to be really pissed if you let something happen to you.”
****
His warm laughter wrapped around her like a security blanket as the door closed behind him. She caught a glimpse of a bald giant with gauges in his ears and tattoos that looked suspiciously like shurikens all over his skull, standing right outside the door. He was looking at McAllister with an odd expression; as though he’d never heard him laugh before. This, she assumed, was Galen. Yeah, she could not see this dude in a long, white robe singing the “Hallelujah Chorus” either, no matter how good her imagination was.
She glanced at her watch; it was a little before eleven. She wandered into the bedroom where Kassian had deposited her bag earlier and dug through it until she found her pink, flannel sleep pants and a white cotton tank. She changed into them, washed her face, brushed her teeth, and stuck her head in to check on Alec. He seemed to be sleeping comfortably, but she left the door open a crack, just in case, so that she could hear him if he called out.
Uneasy and at loose ends, she curled up on the sofa, pulled a chenille throw around her shoulders, and pointed the remote at the TV. She thought of calling Elle now that she was alone and had some t
ime to talk, but it was already late. And really, what would she say? Kassian was right; it was better to keep Elle as far out of this loop as possible until it was resolved. After clicking through what seemed like a hundred channels, Kat decided that there wasn’t a single thing on that could capture her interest long enough to distract her from wondering what was happening beyond the safe, protected walls of the penthouse. She hated that she was suddenly uneasy being alone. She spent most of her time that way, by choice, and had never minded it before. At least not that she would admit to herself. So why did she feel like something was missing now? She threw back the blanket and wandered into Kassian’s office thinking maybe she could find something to read.
She clicked on the lamp and a soft glow lit the room. She wandered over to the bookshelves which seemed to hold an endless supply of books, some looking as though they had gone undisturbed for years. Many were antiques and first editions. She smiled faintly when she noticed three more slim volumes by K.L. Brookes. On another shelf, in a row of dusty yellowed texts in foreign languages, she found something that appeared to be an old photo album. Feeling like a thief, she slid it from the shelf and began to carefully turn the brittle pages. The photos seemed to be from the nineteenth century, but Kat didn’t know enough about fashion to approximate the year. There were several of Kassian and Alec, looking much the same as they did today, but there was a mischievous lightheartedness to Kassian in the photos, despite the typically somber expressions of the period, that was absent now. She still had trouble wrapping her head around the fact that he had to be several hundred years old, at minimum. Another photo showed a handsome couple that Kat guessed might be his parents, and then she saw a portrait of an extremely delicate and beautiful young woman. Her stare was frank and direct; a Mona Lisa smile hovered on her lips, hinting at secrets she wouldn’t share.
Undiscovered Angel Page 9