Return to Me (Storm Lords)

by Nina Croft

  A woman stood in the doorway, her hand raised, ready to repeat the knock. She was small, around the same height as Bella, with blonde hair cut off blunt at the shoulder, framing a heart shaped face, pointed chin with a deep dimple, and dark brown eyes flecked with gold. She was also at least seven months pregnant.

  It was so unexpected that Bella’s mouth dropped open again.

  The woman thrust her hand out in front of her. “Hi, I’m Phoebe.”

  “Phoebe?”

  “Didn’t Cade mention me?” She cocked her head to one side, a small frown on her face. “You did meet my husband, didn’t you?”

  “Cade is your husband?” Though, she remembered now, he’d said he was meeting Phoebe for lunch.

  She grinned. “Yeah, aren’t I lucky?” She glanced down at her hand, then back up to Bella’s face, one eyebrow raised.

  “Sorry,” Bella muttered. “I thought you were Torr, coming back.” She took the hand and felt her own shaken vigorously.

  “May I come in?” Phoebe asked.

  Bella’s first inclination was to get out of there fast and avoid any further confrontations with Torr. Her lips still tingled where he had kissed her, and her mind felt curiously light as though she might float away at any moment. However, that could be the champagne. Served her right for drinking in the morning. Then again, she could blame only so much on the alcohol. But she was also insatiably curious about this place and these people, and maybe Phoebe would tell her something about what was going on.

  She opened the door wider and gestured for the other woman to enter.

  “Be careful,” she said. “There’s glass on the floor.”

  Phoebe glanced down. “So there is.” She stepped over the smashed bottle and looked around. “You know, I stayed here when I first met Cade.” Crossing the room, she sank onto the sofa, kicked off her flats, and let out an audible sigh of relief.

  Bella followed her and took the seat opposite. “You did? How did you meet him?”

  “I’m a reporter. I came to do a piece on the company. You know the sort of thing—how sleazy multinational organizations succeed by means of bribery and corruption. Cade offered me the chance to stay and see how the company really worked and I never left.”

  “So are they sleazy?”

  “No, boringly clean as far as I could tell. And I’m good. If there was any dirt, I’d find it.”

  A suspicion formed in Bella’s mind. She studied the other woman, but Phoebe smiled serenely.

  “Did Torr send you in here?” Bella asked.

  “Not really. I was on my way up to see you and I met him outside.” She grinned. “I’ve always been terrified of Torr, those eyes and that scar, and he’s always so self-possessed.” She shivered dramatically. “It was good to see him not entirely in control for once.”

  “He seemed pretty much in control to me. So why were you on your way to see me?”

  “Just to say hello, welcome, and all that. This place can be a bit overpowering.”

  “I’m not overpowered,” Bella replied. Phoebe seemed like a nice woman, but Bella wasn’t ready to pour her heart out to a stranger. It wasn’t her way. “So did Cade tell you anything about me?”

  “A little. That they were bailing you out of the police station.”

  “Do you know why?”

  Phoebe glanced away, then back, and Bella got the distinct impression she was thinking of how much to say. Which was a huge indication that what she was about to say was not going to be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

  She waited, curious as to what Phoebe would reveal.

  “Just that Torr wanted you for some sort of advisory position, here at the company.”

  “And does the company employ a lot of potential cons?”

  “Cons?”

  “You know criminals, people with a police record.”

  Phoebe shifted, and Bella almost smiled. It was obvious the other woman was uncomfortable with making things up. Maybe that came from being a reporter. “Well I—”

  A knock sounded on the door and Phoebe jumped to her feet. “I’ll get that.” She headed for the door.

  “Watch out for the—”

  “Ouch…shit!”

  Too late.

  Bella winced. “—glass. Don’t move,” she muttered, making her way over.

  The knock sounded again, louder this time.

  “It’s Cade,” Phoebe said, leaning against the wall and lifting one foot so she could examine her bloody sole.

  Bella frowned. “How do you know?”

  “I just know. Let him in before he breaks the door down.”

  Bella opened the door. Cade stood there, her dog at his feet, a frown on his face. “What the hell? Phoebe—”

  “It’s nothing,” Phoebe said hurriedly. “Just the tiniest little cut.”

  Cade swung around to face Bella. “What did you do to her?”

  “She did nothing, Cade. It was my own stupid fault.”

  Bella rolled her eyes and didn’t bother to answer. Instead, she held out her arms. “Skip,” she called.

  The little dog leapt into them, and she carried him through into the bedroom and shut the door.

  When she came back, Phoebe was in her husband’s arms, her own wrapped around his neck. She glanced across at Bella. “Well, it was nice meeting you.”

  “Yeah, we must do this again sometime.”

  She watched as Cade strode down the hallway, Phoebe clasped tightly in his arms. He obviously loved her very much. Bella could sense the bond between them.

  She closed the door slowly. She had to get out of here. At least she had to find out what she was involved with. Justin would know. He knew everything and everyone.

  She picked up her cell phone and punched in his number. Once again, it kicked into voicemail.

  Where are you?

  She’d stick around for today, keep trying, but in the meantime, she was locking the door.

  ***

  Torr had spent the last hours in a fruitless search for information, but people appeared to be avoiding him, and he knew no more now than he had that morning. He wanted this mess cleared so he could concentrate on Bella. But he suspected it wasn’t going to be so easy.

  Damn Lilith.

  His brothers were waiting for him in his office. All except Cade, who was walking Bella’s dog again. And Bryce.

  Of course, thinking about Bryce brought Bella to mind, not that she was ever far from his thoughts.

  Bryce had found his own love two years prior, and lost her again, this time for eternity. Eleven months ago, he’d asked Torr to end his life, as he could only die at the hands of another immortal. Torr had sent him away. If his brother still felt the same when he returned in a year’s time, he would do as Bryce had asked. The year was nearly up. Would he return to them whole or still broken?

  “What’s going on?” Finn asked. “We thought you’d be with Soraya.”

  “Her name is Bella.”

  Finn smiled. “We heard. Belladonna. Have you and she made up?”

  “No.” Torr’s tone was terse, but he couldn’t help himself. Goddamn Lilith for doing this now when he needed to concentrate on Bella. Though he suspected that was her purpose. But how far would she go? Would she be willing to let his soul be destroyed? Was the decision still in her hands or was it now out of her control?

  “Wait until Cade gets here and I’ll tell you all together.” He had no wish to go over this more than once.

  Cade came in at that moment, slamming the door behind him. He stalked across the room and poured himself a drink, brought it with him, and flung himself down on the sofa.

  “Is she okay?” Torr asked.

  “Fine. I think. Grabbed the dog and slammed the door in my face. So what’s happening?”

  Torr waited until his brothers had taken their seats.

  “Lilith has ‘lost’ my soul,” he said.

  Cade sat up abruptly. “What?”

  Torr sank down int
o the chair behind him, the full realization washing over him. What if he won Bella back and lost his soul? Without a soul, at best he’d be an empty shell, incapable of loving. But there were worse implications. What did the thief want? Would he try to coerce Torr into some sort of action? And just how far would he go to save his soul and have the chance at a life with Bella?

  “Lilith claims it was stolen, which means she allowed it to happen. And she doesn’t know who took it, but then she mentioned Razul had been around.”

  “Shit, that’s wicked luck, man,” Finn said.

  “And bad timing,” Cade added. “Just when you need to concentrate on Bella.”

  “I doubt whether either luck or bad timing has anything to do with it.”

  “You think she knows you’ve found Bella?”

  “She has to. Goddamn bitch!”

  “Why? What does she hope to gain from it? What does she want?”

  “She wants Torr back,” Cade said. “And she wants the rest of us under her command once more. But to let Razul have your soul—that’s bad.”

  “Maybe she believes she can control Razul,” Finn said.

  “Can she?”

  “Probably, if she wants to.” Torr stared morosely out of the window, where darkness was falling. Red-hot rage built inside him. But that was no doubt also part of Lilith’s plan. She wanted to show him what he really was. Make him embrace his dark side once more. But he would not give in.

  He would find Razul, get his soul back, win Bella.

  “Roark and Devlin, I want you to go down to the Abyss. Find any information you can. Razul always had a big mouth. If he’s up to something then someone will have heard.”

  “Okay,” Roark said. Devlin nodded.

  “Finn and Kill, I want you two to search the city. Find out if there’s been any demon activity anywhere near here. I want to know if Razul is out there.”

  “Will do.”

  “What about me?” Cade asked.

  Torr studied the other man. While Cade would want to help the others, his responsibilities were here now. Phoebe should come first. “You stay here. You have Phoebe to look after, and I’d prefer one of us stay in the building at all times.”

  “What about you?”

  “I need some air.”

  He needed to get out, clear his mind. Then go see Bella. His cell phone rang. He listened.

  “Shit. She’s left the building.”

  ***

  Justin had finally returned her call. Bella arranged to meet him at a bar not far from the Stormlord Securities building. But worry nagged at her mind. Justin hadn’t sounded like himself at all, and he’d refused to tell her anything over the phone. Just asked her to come as quickly as she could.

  Maybe she could be there and back before anyone even knew she was missing. She’d been going over things in her head during the long day, and she’d decided she didn’t want to cut all her options yet.

  She’d almost expected to be stopped as she exited the building, but the security guard just gave her a curious glance as she walked out the main entrance. She glanced back up at the building as she hurried away. She hadn’t noticed it when they drove in, but it was an impressive structure, all stainless steel and smoky glass. Stormlord Securities was written in big black letters above the door, with what must be the company insignia—some sort of angel’s or demon’s wings, she couldn’t decide which.

  Bella knew London well, had lived here all her life, but tonight something was creeping her out. As darkness fell, her sense of unease grew. She couldn’t shake the idea that someone was following her. The sensation started as soon as she stepped onto the street. A prickling at the small of her back. A trickle of darkness seeping into her mind. The feeling intensified as she walked, until finally, she stopped and swung around.

  The streets were still busy, filled with normal people going about their normal lives, and she could see nothing unusual. This was merely Torr freaking her out with his talk of her ‘powers.’ Her imagination was going wild.

  She hurried on. All around her, the streetlights cast strange shadows. She swallowed, wiping her clammy hands down the sides of her jeans.

  Why didn’t I stay put?

  She wanted desperately to be back within the safety of the building, and she had no clue why.

  Inside the bar, the light was dim after the bright streetlights and she stood blinking until her vision cleared. The place was full of business people from the city, drinking instead of heading home. She searched for Justin’s bright blond head, but he wasn’t anywhere in sight. She so needed him to be here, and he’d never let her down before.

  Now she stood, fidgeting, uncertain what to do.

  “You Bella Dixon?”

  She glanced up as the barman spoke to her. “Yeah,” she said. “Who wants to know?”

  He raised an eyebrow at her belligerence but nodded toward the phone on the wall. The receiver lay on the bar. “There’s a call for you.”

  Bella frowned but picked up the phone. She poked her finger in her other ear, trying to block out some of the noise of the bar.

  “Bella?” His voice sounded odd, strained.

  “Justin, where are you?”

  “I’m with some guy. He came into the bar straight up to me, said he knew you, and you’d asked him to take me to you.”

  “I have no clue what you’re talking about.” But her stomach was roiling and a heavy lump formed in her throat. Who would even know about her meeting with Justin? She hadn’t told anyone. Unless someone was monitoring her cell phone? But why would anyone do that? It didn’t make sense. “Where are you now?”

  “Just down the road from you. Under the railway bridge….”

  “Come back to the bar, Justin.”

  “I really don’t think that’s going to be an option.”

  Panic tinged his voice, and her stomach cramped.

  “They said to get here fast and to come alone. They just want to talk,” he added.

  “Do you believe them?”

  He was silent for a moment. “I—”

  He broke off and she heard a scuffle on the other end of the line. She gripped the phone tighter. “Justin?”

  “Belladonna?” The voice was low, and an icy cold shiver trickled down her spine.

  “Where’s Justin?”

  “Justin can’t come to the phone right now, but he says hello.”

  A low moan of pain came down the line. For a moment, her mind went blank, and then she pushed the panic down. “Who are you? What do you want?”

  “Come and see. We just want to talk. We’re waiting for you. Don’t take too long.” Justin moaned again, followed by a muffled scream of agony, and the call ended abruptly. Bella stared at the phone in her hand. Fear held her immobile, her mind refusing to function.

  An image of Torr filled her mind. Should she call him? She desperately wanted to, but what did she really know about him? And was it a coincidence that this had happened now, just as she got involved with Torr and Stormlord Securities.

  Oh, God, Justin.

  She replaced the receiver and turned to go, but then looked back at the bartender. “Did you see my friend?” she asked. “He was in here a few minutes ago, tall and thin with blond hair.”

  “Yeah. He left with a couple of guys about ten minutes ago.”

  Bella thanked him automatically, left the bar, and started walking. She’d always relied on herself, why should now be any different? Maybe they did just want to talk.

  She’d be okay. It wasn’t as if she was some weak silly person, who didn’t know the streets. She’d survived for two years out there on her own. She knew how things worked.

  Besides, what choice did she have? They had Justin. Justin was her friend. How many times had he watched her back?

  She’d kill them if they hurt him.

  Night had fallen completely by the time she got there. Under the bridge, all was darkness, but she caught a movement at the far side. She squinted into the shadows. Two
figures were crouching over a third, who lay on the ground. Bella stared, mouth open, hands fisted at her sides. She took a step closer, then another, and one hand flew to her mouth.

  She swallowed and took a slow step back.

  Every cell in her body screamed at her to run. But that was Justin on the ground. She knew it with a certainty. She had to save him, whatever it took.

  Overhead, an approaching train slowed as it neared the station, the headlights piercing the darkness beneath the bridge. One of the crouching figures glanced up, and she stared straight into glowing crimson eyes.

  She forced her gaze down. Justin lay on his back, spread eagled. His face turned toward her, mouth open in a silent scream of horror, his wide eyes blank, lifeless. Beyond help. His shirt was open and his chest a mass of bloody flesh. Nausea roiled in her stomach, and she swallowed down the bitter tasting bile, forcing herself to look at Justin’s attacker.

  The face staring back at her wasn’t human. She had no clue what it was, but human didn’t come into it. Evil peered at her out of slanted crimson eyes, blood dripping from its open mouth. It licked its lips then went back to feeding.

  Bella whirled on her heels, ready to run, when the second attacker suddenly moved. Flying through the air, he landed lightly in front of her, blocking off her escape. She backed away, but came up against the stone wall of the railway arch. Claw-like hands reached out, clutched her shoulders, forcing her to look into its face.

  The eyes whirled, red and black. Bella tried to focus, to calm her breathing, think of some way out, but she was being dragged under. Crimson lightning flashed across the sky.

  At the last moment, she opened her mouth and screamed as the darkness swallowed her.

  Chapter 6

  “Calm the fuck down,” Cade growled for the fiftieth time.

  Torr didn’t want to calm down. Why the hell hadn’t he tied her up, or locked her in, or just not moved more than two inches away from her ever again?

  When he found her, he was going to cuff her to him.

  “We’ve got a fix on her cell phone, Torr. We’ll get there. She probably just wanted to meet this guy, see a friendly face.”