Out of the Dark (Forbidden Love)

by Danielle James

  His first thought was for Brea. She was lying on the floor, weak and dying. Angel felt his own strength dwindle as she grew weaker by the second. He took one step toward her when Chase put himself in the path.

  “Get out of the way,” Angel snarled.

  “I have waited for this moment for a long time now, Angel Knight. I will have my revenge. And when I kill you, I will be Clan Leader.”

  “Don’t worry about Brea,” Sebastian called. “We’ve got her. Deal with him.”

  Angel nodded. He knew there would be no way he could help Brea until this man was dead. “Do you challenge me then?” Angel growled.

  “I do,” Chase replied.

  “I will enjoy watching you die,” Angel said, going for his throat. But Chase was fast. He leapt out of the way and Angel landed on the floor. Chase jumped on top of Angel’s back and bared his fangs. Angel jerked underneath him and managed to twist his body. He threw his hands up just in time to stop Chase from connecting his teeth to Angel’s throat.

  “Not so fast,” Angel warned. “It won’t be that easy.”

  Chase growled and Angel shoved him off. The two were on their feet again in less than a second. “Your woman is very pretty. She tastes quite good too,” Chase said with a sadistic grin. “You should have heard her screaming my name when I took her. She begged me not to stop, she begged me for more.”

  Angel knew that Chase had not raped Brea. He knew the man was trying to bait him. It worked. Angel screamed in fury and lunged for him again. This time, he hit his mark. His fists landed on Chase’s chest, forcing him to stumble into the wall. But the weaker Brea got, the more Angel felt the strain on his own strength. Between that and the pain already present in his ribs, Angel was not strong enough to hold Chase to the wall.

  He easily twisted and flipped their positions on the wall. Chase did not have any problem holding Angel there, and he knew it. Angel knew this was it. He spared a glance to his right where Brea was with Sebastian and Phoenix. The firebird was cradling her in his arms and his wings were consumed by flames. “What are you doing?” Angel snapped. For just a second, he forgot about Chase. “Trust me,” Phoenix replied, just as Chase bit down into Angel’s neck. The strain was too much. Coupled with the blood loss he was now suffering, there was nothing Angel could do. He would die. But he took heart in knowing that Brea would live. Angel faced his death head on and without fear.

  Just when the world was slipping away, Angel felt her. Brea was getting stronger. Her strength flowed into Angel and he began to feel stronger as well. Stronger still. Angel decided he was not ready to die, not when he could feel Brea feeding him her strength. With everything he had, Angel thrust his hand forward and into Chase’s chest. He broke through the vampire’s skin and ribs, through the tissues and vessels. Chase jerked his head back from Angel’s neck and stared at him with shock and horror. When Angel jerked his hand back, Chase’s still beating heart was in his hand. Chase looked at his removed heart incredulously, then collapsed to the ground.

  Angel fell to his knees. A pair of arms surrounded him and he knew instantly that it was Brea. Her fresh clean scent filled his senses and brought him back to her. He stood on unsteady feet and looked at her like it was the first time. “Are you ok, Mon Amour?” he said, planting kisses on her face and neck. “I was so scared, I thought I lost you,” he said.

  “I’m not going down that easily,” she said, smiling.

  “You have no wounds,” Angel noticed.

  “That Phoenix guy is really something else.”

  Angel looked to Phoenix and found him grinning. “It’s what I do,” he said. Angel smiled back. But his reunion was short lived, because Angel had lost too much blood. “You need to feed,” Phoenix told him. “You drink, I will fix the wounds on you.”

  Brea flipped her hair to the side, exposing her neck. Angel was too weak to argue. He felt a large hand on his neck, but paid it no attention. He held Brea close and sank his fangs into her neck. Although he could not see it, he was aware of Sebastian cutting off the head of the now heartless vampire on the floor. Angel’s neck got hot, then the rest of his body, but it did not burn. His strength came back quickly, and he closed the pin hole sized wound on Brea’s neck.

  Phoenix was smiling. Not the arrogant smile that Angel had seen before, but a genuine smile. “I’m a healer. You and Brea are good as new. Now, about that theatre…”

  THIRTY FOUR

  The scene at the theatre was gruesome. There were bodies everywhere. Angel had no way of knowing how many were wounded, how many were killed, or how many were people he called friends. The theatre was on fire and there was a news helicopter circling overhead. It looked like a war zone. Angel picked Brea up into his arms and raced to meet his friends.

  The first man Angel came to was sitting on the back of an ambulance holding a bandage on his head. He was wearing a police uniform and seemed lucid enough, so Angel talked to him. “Where is Detective Corbin?”

  “Last time I saw him, he was over there,” the man replied, pointing to his left. Angel nodded his thanks and jogged off in that direction. Detective Corbin was helping to stanch a bleeding wound on Ricco’s abdomen. A tawny wolf was meticulously cleaning the blood from his face and neck. Angel increased his pace, dragging Brea along with him.

  “Keelie!” Brea shouted, going to her wolf friend. “Are you alright?” Brea was inspecting her friends fur for signs of damage. When she found none, the wolf gave a grunt and continued to work over Ricco.

  “What happened?” Angel demanded.

  “They all started pouring out the doors like rats on a sinking ship,” Ricco rasped. “We assumed that they knew we were on to them and they were trying to escape. Samuel gave the command, and this is the result.”

  “Did you find Rhiannon?” Angel asked.

  “She got away,” Rebel said, appearing at Angel’s side. “We have two friendlies tracking her now,” Rebel answered.

  “Casualties?”

  “As far as I can tell,” Samuel answered, “we only lost four men. Got several wounded, but they will survive. But we got fifteen vampire corpses to deal with. What do we do with them?”

  “Burn them,” Rebel replied.

  “That’s gonna smell real nice,” Samuel grunted as he tied off the bandage on Ricco’s stomach. “He needs a hospital. He’ll live.”

  “I can take care of the wounded,” Phoenix offered. Angel had been so wrapped up in his conversation that he’d forgotten about his new friend.

  “Get to it,” Angel said. “And Phoenix,”

  “Yeah?”

  “I am forever grateful to you, I owe you our lives,” Angel said.

  “No sweat, really. I needed some excitement,” he laughed as he strode away to do what it is that he does. Angel watched him go, truly thankful for his interference.

  “Sir,” Rebel said to Angel. “It will be dawn in a few minutes. We should go.”

  “Go,” Samuel said. “I’ll take care of this. I will come to you later.”

  Angel nodded and gathered his men. He thanked as many people as he could, but he knew there was no way he could get to everybody who had stood by him that day. It was a unique occurrence, humans and vampires working together. Angel had wondered if his anonymity would remain safe, but realized it no longer mattered. Angel felt like the richest man on Earth. He had his mate, his family, and his clan. And possibly a few others, he mused to himself. He not only had the loyalty of his own Clan, but the loyalty of the Los Angeles Police Department as well. Many people knew his face because of his music career, and now many more knew it because of Rhiannon and Chase. Angel took Brea home to his estate, knowing life would be different from then on.

  ******

  Angel woke the next afternoon to Brea snuggled beside him. When they had arrived home that morning, the two were far too exhausted to do anything other than fall asleep. As he laid there, staring at Brea’s sleeping form, the reality of just how close he came to losing her forever hit Angel like
a ton of bricks. He knew that if she had died, he would have followed. Even if he wouldn’t have died naturally without his mate, Angel would not willingly go on without her. He would have ended his own life. She was everything to him now, his lover, his friend, his soul mate. She had told him that she came to LA in hopes of finding what her parents had shared. True love. A man who adored her and cherished her as her father did her mother. He vowed to spend the rest of eternity showing her how precious she was to him. He was going to start right then.

  He kissed her cheeks and face until she stirred. When she opened her eyes, Angel kissed her lips. He told her everything in his heart with his kisses, and soon there was much more than kisses going on in his bed.

  They made love twice before getting out of bed and showering. Angel went to his office to begin the massive amount of work he had to do. There were people to call, people to thank, information and statements to gather, reports to write and file. Angel groaned out loud when he had finished the fifteenth email, and still had more to do.

  Brea let herself into his office, closing the door behind her. “Have you seen the TV today?” she asked. Angel shook his head.

  “Look at this,” she said, picking up the remote control and clicking on the television. Angel rarely watched TV, much less in his office, but Sebastian had insisted that it may be necessary some day.

  Brea flipped the channels until she found a news channel. A blonde reporter was standing in front of the theatre from the night before. It was nothing more than a burned out shell, still smoldering from the nights events.

  “Police details are sketchy at best,” the woman said, “but our sources tell us that this was a thwarted attempt on Vampire Clan Leader and Rock God Angel Knight’s life. The scene last night was one of war, as vampire and human police fought side by side to end the threat.” The screen changed to a chopper’s view of the fighting. “This is the first ever recorded alliance between humans and vampires, and police Detective Samuel Corbin tells us that he hopes it is the first of many.” The scene changed again to Samuel standing in front of the police station.

  “While I cannot confirm or deny any rumors right now, I can say that the vampires helped to eliminate the killer that has been preying on women in LA. He is dead, and we are certain we got our man. All of Los Angeles can sleep a little sounder tonight, knowing we are safe from his twisted games,” Samuel said into the camera. “I hope we can all learn to see past our prejudices and learn that people are simply people. Human, vampire, or werewolf. We are all members of this community.”

  The blonde reporter came back on the screen. “We are told that Angel Knight has survived and is doing well, although he could not be reached for comment. Angel Knight has been known among humans for his rock and roll status for five years now,” the report was stopped short when Brea clicked off the TV.

  “So much for privacy,” she muttered. Angel sat at his desk, horrified. Someone had given the media information about him. His secret was out, and there was nothing he could do about it.

  “Don’ t worry,” Brea soothed him. “Sebastian is working on beefing up the security around the house, and will be conducting interviews later this week for new guards. Keelie is going to join your crew, pending your approval, and a few of the vampires that helped last night have shown interest in joining as well. And, who knows, this might be a good thing.”

  “How is that?” Angel asked. How could any good come of this insanity?

  “Well, you know how there is most always a few people at the gates? Fans and such?”

  “Yeah,” Angel said, fearing the worst.

  “Now it’s a crowd. And it’s not people screaming for your head. They brought flowers and gifts and pictures. They are shouting how much they love you, not the other way around. If nothing else, your music will go through the roof!” She was beaming at him, and Angel couldn’t help but smile. Although it wasn’t important to him to be famous, Angel liked the idea of his music touching more people.

  “I did some research,” Brea said. She lifted a large reference book and opened it to a marked page. “Phoenix,” she read, “a fabulous bird of the Arabian desert, supposed to live five hundred years before dying by fire only to be reborn again by the flame. A symbol of immortality. Myth suggests that the phoenix has healing powers and is a known protector.”

  “He is unusual,” Angel replied. “What happened to him last night?”

  “I heard he went home to his wife. She wasn’t real pleased with him. Do you think we will see him again?”

  “I hope so,” Angel said.

  “You’ve been working too hard,” Brea told him, pushing him back in his chair and straddling his legs. “I think you need to relax.” Brea kissed his lips briefly, then moved to his neck. Angel tilted his head back and let Brea work her magic on his skin. She bit his skin and he groaned. He knew what she wanted. With a flick of his wrist, he made a small cut on his throat. Brea sealed her mouth over it. The same pleasure he had felt the first time shot through his body, and Brea began to rub herself on the hard lump in his pants. When the cut stopped bleeding, Brea worked her way downward. She had unbuttoned his shirt and was kissing his chest when someone knocked on the door.

  “Sir,” Sebastian said. “Detective Corbin is here to see you.”

  Angel sighed. “Send him in,” he called to the door. Then he turned Brea’s face up to his own and planted a chaste kiss on her lips. “We will finish this later,” he told her.

  Brea curled her lips into a mischievous grin. “Oh, we’ll finish it,” she said. Angel heard the knob turning and Brea sank down to her knees under his desk, stifling a giggle.

  Samuel entered Angel’s office to find him sitting at his desk in front of his computer. He made no move to stand up, so Samuel took the chair opposite the desk for himself. Angel looked worried, or at least concerned. His brows were scrunched together and his eyes were intense.

  “Well, rough night, huh?” Samuel asked with a smile.

  “Yes,” Angel rasped. Then, he coughed. Samuel was concerned.

  “Are you and your team well today?”

  “We are fine,” Angel said, squirming a little.

  “Good,” Samuel said. “I wanted to let you know that all of my men, save one, have been released from the hospital. But here’s the bad news. We’ve had no sign of Rhiannon. My men checked everywhere we could think of, from the cemetery to every hotel. They are still conducting house to house searches. But I know in my gut that she’s gone. I’m sorry.”

  Angel jerked in his chair. His hands were on the armrests, gripping them so hard that his knuckles were white. Samuel feared he might break it, he was holding on so tight. His face was flushed and he looked like he was trying to control his breathing.

  “Don’t worry, we won’t rest until we find her,” Samuel said.

  “You won’t find her,” Angel said in a low, barely controlled tone. “She will disappear until she gathers enough followers to try again. Don’t waste manpower searching for her.” His sentences were punctuated in strange places, as if he were having trouble speaking.

  Samuel was concerned by Angel’s strange behavior. He was shifting in his seat and breathing hard. He looked like he was in pain. Either that or he was vehemently resisting the call of nature. “Are you alright, Angel?”

  Angel nodded quickly, as if he didn’t trust his own voice. “I’m going to go then,” Samuel continued. “Tell Brea hello for me?” he said.

  “Ok,” Angel said.

  “Bye then,” Samuel said, turning for the door and opening it.

  “Goodbye, Detective,” Brea’s voice said from under the desk. Samuel jerked around and looked at Angel and raised a questioning brow. Angel had a pleading look in his eyes, but when he saw the expression on Samuel’s face, he smiled and shrugged his shoulders. It made sense then, if Brea was under the desk. Samuel felt the blood rush to his face when he realized what Angel’s problem was. Samuel laughed and let himself out, closing the door behind him.<
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  THIRY FIVE

  Three months later…

  “Are you sure?” Brea asked Keelie, pacing her room. She had not slept in that room for more than three months, but her clothes were still kept there, as were her personal books and trinkets. Brea rarely spent more than the amount of time it took to get dressed, but for the past week, she seemed to be in there a lot more often.

  “I’m positive, Brea. This is the fifth one this week. You can’t deny it anymore,” Keelie answered.

  “There’s still one more,” Brandon offered. “You could take it now, so you can honestly say you tried every single brand at the pharmacy.”

  Brea looked at Brandon like she wanted to kill him. She didn’t want to kill him, though. Rip his smart tongue from his mouth, maybe, but not kill him. He had been a good friend to her more than ever before, and Brea would have been lost without her friends during the months since she was abducted.

  “Give it to me,” Brea said, snatching the evil little box from his hands. Brea tromped off to the bathroom.

  “Talk about denial,” Brandon said with a smile.

  “She’s just scared. They haven’t heard from Rhiannon since that night. And no one has heard anything about her, either. It’s like she disappeared off the face of the Earth. Brea knows that woman will try again, it’s just a matter of when. Can you see how that would make her feel?”

  “Yeah,” Brandon said. “But she should be happy now. Everything else is going so well.”

  Keelie opened her mouth to reply, but a scream from the bathroom stopped her. Within seconds, Angel was pounding at the door.

  “Let me in,” he hollered. “What’s going on in there?”

  “Nothing,” Keelie called back, but she made no move to open the door. “Brea is fine. Really, now go away.”