Angel Lover

by Tricia Skinner

  Low, low blow. He loved Jarrid’s girl, Ionie. He adored Katie as much as Cain.

  Jarrid and Cain’s eyes glowed with their Grace—and their anger.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Sit. Everyone, sit,” Nesty said from his chair.

  Kas faced him next. “Will you always do what Heaven demands?”

  The auburn-haired Nephilim’s eyes remained power-free, but a vein ticked along his forehead.

  “It’s fine to talk about being free, but in the end, we are bound,” Jarrid gritted out. “Unless the curse is lifted, none of us can break from Heaven.”

  Kas let another silence descend. His love for them was so great that his actions were killing him.

  No, he couldn’t waver. He’d break ties, get the Renegades’ secret, and return to free them. Driving a wedge between the team and him would focus the enemy on revenge on only one Nephilim—him.

  And he remembered Mariel, his shadow audience, was watching.

  “I’m done,” he said.

  “What the hell does that mean?” Cain’s eyes flared bright.

  “The Directorate. Hunting Renegades. The rules. The life. All of it.” He put every ounce of conviction behind his words. “It’s over.” He turned to leave.

  Nesty walked up to him and touched his shoulder. “Wait.”

  “Nothing we do will ever make the angels respect us or leave us alone. We’ll always be slaves. Guess what? I finally woke up. So should you.”

  Jarrid moved to his side and grasped his arm, nearly shattering his control. “Time for Tanis to make sense of your mumbo jumbo. You also need to explain that little visit you made to Councilwoman Bailey.”

  He pried the hand off then shoved away Nesty’s arm. “Touch me again and I’ll rip out your throat.”

  Kas turned away, and his vision tunneled. Teleportation vibes. He shook his head to clear it. Not now, dammit.

  He only made it a few steps when Cain called out.

  “Turn around,” came the order, layered with power.

  Kas’s muscles locked. “You asshole.”

  He fought against the mind control. As he slowly turned, his muscles strained, and his skin drew taut.

  “Let him go, Cain,” Jarrid said.

  “He’s coming with us.”

  “No, he isn’t,” Nesty replied, staring at Cain. “Not like this.”

  The moment Cain released him, Kas’s muscles relaxed from the invisible hold. With a final glare at his brothers, he stormed through the club and blew past Mariel.

  A chill skipped up his neck. She’d overheard his conversation. The tension between the team had rolled off each member and pooled at his feet. She couldn’t deny the depth of his words or the conviction in his voice when he’d announced he’d quit. At least, he hoped the ruse was enough to convince the Renegades.

  Kas rubbed at the tightness in his chest. This was another assignment, nothing more, but what she’d witnessed snagged onto a deeper part of him. Hadn’t Mariel said she’d let her friends die and was punished for it? His acting job must have disgusted her.

  Couldn’t be helped. She could think what she wanted as long as it served the end goal. Appearing to give up what was most important in his life flashed in his mind. His team. His adopted family. His role delivering justice.

  Kas walked toward the parking lot. The Directorate owned his service, but that had never been his choice. He’d never had one.

  At the SUV, he faced Mariel. Then his eyes flared.

  The team had followed from the club.

  Mariel moved to his side, her eyes ablaze with Grace and her hand to the gun at her back. His brothers noticed. Cain’s silver gaze radiated menace. Kas kept the others within his peripheral vision, but his focus stayed locked on Cain.

  He saw the exact moment Mariel’s angel eyes, and her obvious lack of plumage, registered.

  “Who the fuck are you?” Cain said on a half growl. “What the fuck are you?”

  “She’s not your concern.” The less his brothers knew about her, the better.

  Mariel tensed beside him with a pain-contorted expression. She clutched her chest with her left hand, the right one still on the holstered pistol. His anger sharpened on Cain.

  His brother had entered her mind to control her, but disbelief flashed across his face, probably when he encountered her mental static. Mariel set her jaw as sweat pebbled her skin.

  “Get out of her head, Cain!” Kas took a protective step to block her body, and then he pulled out his guns.

  The three half angels stilled.

  Mariel’s breathing labored behind him, but he had a hard enough time remembering to draw his own breaths. Christ. He was pointing weapons at his family.

  What choice did he have? Not a goddamned one. They didn’t understand, and he couldn’t explain what he was doing.

  Jarrid’s eyes glowed bright as he triggered his power and placed a sphere of energy around his two brothers.

  “Cut it out, Cain.” Kas thumbed the hammers back. “Or I swear to the God of All, I’ll find a way to drop you through that shield.”

  He stared at his brother, at the face of a man betrayed.

  But Cain left Mariel’s mind. She stumbled into Kas, and he gave her a cursory check. She pulled her gun with trembling hands and copied his posture, using his body as a brace.

  They had to get out of there. The situation was too tense, emotions too raw.

  Nesty crossed in front of Jarrid and Cain, his chin dipped and eyes gleaming. His bleak gaze passed over Kas and then hardened when he looked at Mariel.

  They were in serious trouble. If Nesty used his sonic resonance…

  Don’t. Don’t, dammit!

  His brother’s lips parted, and his chest expanded as he inhaled.

  “God of All help us,” Mariel whispered and took aim.

  Kas swung his arm protectively around her waist—and teleported.

  Chapter Fifteen

  They emerged near the Detroit River, away from the busy nightclub but within a few blocks of its location. Kas pushed Mariel away, then crumpled to the concrete and emptied his stomach, heaving the remnants of his beer onto the pavement. He shuddered until he finished. Stepping away from the mess, he sank to his knees.

  Slowly, he lifted his head and found a shell-shocked gaze fixed on him.

  “You all right?” he asked, his voice raspy.

  Mariel didn’t reply.

  He secured his guns in their holsters and leaned on his haunches. Teleporting left him achy. He flexed his trembling hands.

  “How…how are you doing that?” Mariel asked. “You should not have two abilities.”

  Surprise. He did. Somehow, the gift had remained dormant. He’d never imagined the power lay inside him.

  “Your sire.” She rose from the pavement. “This is his power manifesting in you.”

  Could proximity to Rahab after so many years have triggered the change? Kas hated the idea. His deadbeat dad was the last person he wanted to turn to for answers.

  Unsteadily, he got to his feet and inhaled deep. The team had seen him vanish. A childish part of him wished he could pop back to see how they reacted to their geek brother’s second superpower. When he returned home, Tanis would no doubt put him through a battery of tests.

  Home? He had no home.

  One foot after another, he moved like an android down the street, drawn mindlessly back to the nightclub to retrieve his SUV. Adrenaline lit his nerves and made him twitchy. The weight of his guns scraped his ribs.

  He’d pulled weapons on his family. Now he was solo, without the team for backup and only a damaged angel for a friend. If he could even trust her.

  Rahab, and by extension the Renegades, knew about the teleportation. If the Directorate found out, he doubted he’d live long. Abruptly, he stopped and stared at the night sky. Regret twisted inside him.

  Lighter footsteps fell silent behind him.

  “Seen enough?” He faced her and his brow twitched. “Got a good show?” Kas c
ontinued walking and riffled through his pocket for his keys. “Call your boss. I’m in.”

  Mariel removed her phone and sent a text. After a second, she peeked at him with a look he couldn’t decipher.

  He spotted his SUV in the distance, and his brothers were gone. A quick visual sweep of the parking lot found their vehicles gone as well.

  Her phone buzzed. “Rahab says you are to remain with me until he sends further instructions. Follow me.”

  At his ride, Kas grabbed a half-empty water bottle from the cup holder and rinsed his mouth. Satisfied the taste of vomit was gone, he popped the hood and felt behind the oil container. He found the GPS tag he’d placed in all the Bound Ones’ vehicles. One tug and the device came free of the OBD-II receptacle he’d spliced into the truck’s electrical system. He brushed his thumb across the cool metal, then dropped it to the hard asphalt. The heel of his boot ground the computer parts to bits.

  Expelling a slow breath, he reached in his pocket. The team used smartphones linked to the security system he’d set up in the Stronghold. He pulled the battery from the phone, walked over to a street trash bin, and flung in the phone and the battery. He knew how his brothers and Tanis worked. As soon as they returned to headquarters, one of them would activate the location matrix to track him.

  Mariel observed him from her idling sports car. Good. More proof he’d gone dark side.

  His chest ached. The dark side felt dirty and stained.

  …

  Forty minutes later, Mariel’s car slowed outside a house in the Boston-Edison historic district. Kas stared through the wrought-iron fence at the familiar, enormous, Mediterranean-style mansion with a white stucco exterior and recognized the 1914 landmark. Built for Sebastian S. Kresge, the founder of S. S. Kresge Company, which later became Kmart. The gates whined open.

  Pea gravel crunched beneath the tires as he drove to the back acreage, where a single carriage house stood amid a tranquil, tree-lined setting. Kas shut off the SUV and stepped out. A fountain trickled nearby, and the scent of gardenias and nicotiana filled the air. He caught a glimpse of the plants as he neared the structure.

  “Yours?”

  “Is that a problem?” Mariel asked.

  They continued in. Besides the clearly feminine scents outside, the small carriage house was a hideaway for a woman who enjoyed simplicity. To call the collection of basic but comfortable furnishings spare was insulting. No, the lack of stuff made the angel more intriguing.

  The couch would seat three adults easily. The puffy armchair called to him, inviting him to crash into it and drift off. There was a weathered travel trunk serving as a coffee table and a two-person table and chairs near the window overlooking the yard. Did she travel a lot? Did she have visitors? He rubbed the base of his neck, uncomfortable with the casual, homey surrounding.

  “I suppose you had thought of me as either Martha Stewart or Mad Max,” Mariel said, removing her gun harness.

  A sense of humor. Sexy. Despite the way his night had gone, he grinned.

  “Get comfortable. I do not know how long he will be.”

  Reminded of Rahab’s pending visit, Kas’s amusement vanished. “Why’d you help me in the fight with your boss?”

  Her expression shuttered.

  “I pride myself on kicking ass, but I also know the odds of me beating a purebred angel are low,” he continued.

  “Count your blessings.” Mariel walked past him, but he blocked her path.

  “Not so fast.”

  Her eyes glowed the instant he sent his power into her. A cloud of white noise fell over his mind, but he pressed.

  The unpredictable Act of Contrition chose to make a fast appearance. Too fast for him to release her arm. His fingers dug into the soft flesh and tightened as the first punch of pain slammed into his gut. He hunched over, gritted his teeth until his molars creaked, and then he groaned. His knees weakened and he crashed to the wooden floor. She tumbled on top of him.

  …

  The Nephilim’s body shook under her, but Mariel was trapped by the sturdy grip on her arm. Kas was a solid block of muscle, from sculpted chest to rippled abs to thick thighs.

  Would his surprise attacks never cease? Although he didn’t deserve her pity, she gave it willingly and pushed her Grace into him. His body slackened, the veins in his neck receding under the skin. He slowly opened his eyes, and she latched onto his gaze. Her raspy breathing matched the stolen puffs coming from him.

  He slid his palms down her arms, summoning bumps along her flesh. Kas rolled them over and the hard length of his erection pressed against her pelvis. She forgot how to breathe.

  “Mariel.” On his lips, her name sounded wicked. “Back in the park, why?”

  “Rahab would have killed you.” Her pulse galloped. She considered Kas between her rapidly increasing breaths. He was magnificent, a true example of the God of All’s creativity. She dipped her eyes to his mouth.

  “Your sire is a teleport, but he has also increased his skill with summoning holy flame.” She swallowed past her dry throat. “I could not be certain he would spare you.” Mariel passed her fingers through his silky hair. “Some Renegades speak of their offspring as if they mourned like any loving parent would.” She lowered her hand. “When Rahab saw you, he did not show emotions of a parent joyfully reunited.”

  “His heart is coal, as black as his wings. Angels like my old man didn’t flap to Earth to fall in love.” Kas touched his nose to her neck, and her stomach quivered. He inhaled deep and added, “Why do you care?”

  She couldn’t think of a response, not with him so close. Her mind tried and failed to process her recently awakened emotions. She wanted to touch his bare skin, feel his mouth against hers, and hear him say her name in reverence.

  “Rahab cares only about the Renegades’ endgame,” Kas continued, his gaze roaming her face, his fingers tracing fiery lines along her throat and chin. “I’m another cog in the machine. He didn’t make his offer because he cares. He made it to gain an advantage over his enemies.”

  How could he sound so calm? Her whole body burned from the inside out. “Now you have two abilities. You are even more important to him.”

  A shadow passed over his eyes. “Nephilim possess half the power of their sire, which either duplicated that Grace or warped into something new. No doubt my sire is glad his reject son has a power the Directorate hadn’t expected. And so far that power isn’t bound.”

  The notion was plausible. If the offsprings’ Grace developed differently, there would have been hundreds or thousands of mutations if the Nephilim children were allowed to survive. Heaven couldn’t have kept watch on all of them.

  If her superiors found out, Kas would be doubly bound. Strangely, the thought upset her.

  His intense gaze seemed to peer through her soul, and for a brief moment, the temptation to tell him her mission prodded her. She was tasked with uncovering what the Renegades planned in Detroit and then reporting their activities. So far, they appeared focused on gathering man-made weaponry—mostly surface-to-air missiles—but the mention of Project 19 brought additional questions. The Directorate believed the fallen angels simply prepared for an inevitable attack. Now, she wasn’t so sure.

  Kas kissed her chin, a light press that nearly drew a whimper.

  He was everything she shouldn’t have but wanted.

  Everything she should resist but couldn’t.

  Everything she should run from but wouldn’t.

  As he stared at her lips, her mind begged him to lower his head. Instead, he sighed as if pained and moved off her.

  Mariel regretted the loss of his body heat, but it could not be repeated. Kas had joined the enemy, his reasons selfish, so she needed to keep a level head. The Directorate would expect an update soon, which served as the perfect desire killer.

  “Will the Bound Ones search for you?”

  The inquiry had the effect she wanted. He walked to the armchair and slumped into the cushions. “They’ll tr
y. I trashed the GPS in the truck and tossed my cell.”

  She crossed to the couch. Of course he’d sever ties with the others, but the finality of his blunt reply stirred her temper while also sending an ache to her heart for his loss. He leaned low in the chair, his hand absently brushing his chin.

  Mariel believed in her soul the Renegades should be stopped. All of Heaven’s angels viewed their rebellion as an insult to the Creator. Yet Kas’s comments stayed in the forefront of her mind.

  What was going on with the Directorate? How would the Renegades strike against Heaven? Neither side had shared more than vague goals and plans. What would be the consequences of losing herself in a half-angel assassin who would no longer be bound?

  She forced herself to lock away the reminders of her secondary mission. First and foremost, she must stop the half angel from finding his freedom.

  Mariel lowered her head to the cushion and stared at the ceiling. Pain danced along her shoulders and back, but she closed her eyes. The throbbing served another purpose. It reminded her of the Directorate’s promise to regrow her wings when she was done. The chance to again be accepted among angels shone like a distant lighthouse, and she drew ever closer. And all she had to do was betray a man who’d already betrayed his own brethren.

  So why did she feel horrible?

  Chapter Sixteen

  The steady pounding of boots on the wooden steps of the carriage house jarred Kas from his quiet contemplation of Mariel. Lying on top of her had uncorked his desire until he’d either have to give in or retreat.

  He’d barely managed to draw away.

  The doorknob turned, and she gasped and rose from the couch. “He has my access code.”

  They shared a look. He aimed his guns at the door, ready to face the intruder. The door opened, and Rahab strolled inside.

  He glared at his sire’s imposing form. He still couldn’t believe the bastard was alive. Kas tried to find the remains of paternal feelings. But there was nothing, not even the hint of a bond. Had there ever been? They were strangers now, as they’d been millennia ago, in a land far from Detroit.

  The Renegade spared Mariel a brief glance, but his unreadable eyes fixed on Kas.