Fallen Giant

by Monica Owens

  “You can’t do that,” she told him.

  “Give me one reason why not.”

  “You’re insane.”

  “No, I’m not.”

  He spun around, moving quick and gracefully. Trish found herself leaning over the board room table, Levi’s body pressed against her back. A large hand cupped her chin and Levi moved his mouth to her ear.

  “You don’t believe me, that’s fine. But you’ll listen. I’m a fallen angel. My name is Leviathan. I fell for doing some real bad shit, but the worst shit I did was when I was cast into hell. I decided that I didn’t want to do any of that anymore—”

  Trish licked her lips. “Levi…”

  “So I escaped. Came back to earth and I’ve tried to help humanity for the last thousand years. Turns out there’s no helping you all when you don’t want to be helped.”

  Trish’s heart slammed in her chest. Far from scaring her, now her blood raced in her veins at the feel of him. He held her so tightly that his erection pressed into her ass and she wiggled against him.

  “Levi.”

  “Still don’t believe me?”

  “You don’t—”

  “What other parlor trick can I do for you? Unlock that door, have Colton bring in that hell hound? Or lead you to the fucker who’s killing this town? Literally killing this town?”

  Her breath came out choppy as she felt him against her. She licked her lips and rubbed her ass on him. “Levi.”

  “Maybe whip my cock out and make you ride it?”

  He spun her around and slid both hands up into her hair, holding her head steady.

  She stared into his eyes. He let her. He let her see the truth there. The leap of flames that simmered underneath the surface. She felt the power in his hands, in his body, the intensity of the tight control he had over his emotions.

  “You’re a fallen angel?” she asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Come back to earth?”

  “Yeah.”

  She huffed out a breath and bit her lip. Her eyes traveled down, over his straight, perfect nose, to his full lips surrounded by that full beard.

  “Why?”

  He bared his teeth at her or at the question, she didn’t know. But he clamped his mouth on hers, molded her lips to his. He might very well be crazy. She might very well be crazy. Somehow he got his hooks into her and she wasn’t willing to let him go.

  His nimble fingers walked down her neck, her collarbone. They slipped under the fabric of her jacket and moved it off her shoulders. Chilled, she shivered in just her bra and camisole, but then he skimmed his hands over her arms, warming her flesh.

  Trish thrust her fingers into his hair, held him to her while he unfastened her pants. She kicked off her shoes as he shimmied her dress pants down. His hands were in her panties, raking them down her legs. All within a matter of seconds.

  Levi lifted her to rest her ass on the table. “You ask me why?” he murmured, nipping at her lips.

  Wait, what? Oh, why. Yes, why had he come back? She didn’t answer because she wasn’t able to, not while she tried to unbutton his jeans.

  “I came back for people like you,” he whispered. “People that understand the bigger picture.”

  Trish slid his hot hard cock out. Soft velvety steel. She wanted to stare at it, to learn every vein and line. But then he shoved two fingers inside of her and she forgot to focus on the heavy cock in her hand. Forgot really to even hold it.

  He pulled her legs up and around his waist. “I came for you, Trish.”

  He slid deep inside and her head fell back. “Levi…”

  “I came back for the people that want to help others,” he whispered against her temple. “Because you don’t understand what’s out there. Not without me.”

  She couldn’t think. Not with his cock buried in her and the pleasure spiraling through her. “I don’t need you,” she responded automatically, her nails digging into his skin.

  He slammed into her. Harder and harder. The pace frustratingly fast but still too slow. “You need me.”

  “No, I don’t.”

  He nipped her collarbone. “You’re strong, but together, we’re unstoppable.”

  Trish clamped down around him, her body working into a frenzy of need. Satisfaction stayed just out of reach, but drew tantalizing near. She didn’t care what he had to say. She wanted him to move just right, touch that spot inside of her that would make her scream.

  A knock on the door. “Ms Redding?”

  Trish sucked in a breath and her eyes snapped open. “Oh, God.”

  “Fuck them,” Levi grunted.

  “I have to—”

  “So do I.”

  “Detective?”

  Then he did it, moved his hips, flexed and buried deep. Trish’s mouth opened in bliss and her eyes glazed over. Levi pounded into her, the table shaking, the pens and papers falling to the floor.

  “Don’t stop,” she muttered.

  “Not planning on it.”

  The doorknob rattled and Trish shook. She tucked her legs around Levi and used them for leverage. He grunted when she thrust at him and he swore when she squeezed him. He lifted and stumbled back a few steps to fall into her vacated chair. Then he rearranged her legs and wrapped his massive hands around her waist.

  “Let’s go, Trish.”

  “Yeah.”

  Trish wasn’t a big girl, but she wasn’t little either, so being manhandled during sex was never something that happened. Levi manhandled. His hands cradled her waist, yet lifted and lowered her like a rag doll. Trish’s knees went weak.

  “Detective? I’m going to go get a key!”

  “How much time we got?” Levi asked through clenched teeth.

  “A minute or two.”

  One of his hands slid around between her legs, a finger brushed her clit once, twice. Surprised, Trish went off like a firecracker, her pussy grabbing Levi and spasmed around him. He grunted and rubbed, then threw his head back against the wall, his throat working against his groans.

  Trish slumped against him, feeling his cock still pumping inside her. She looked up at him, his head thrown back, his Adam’s apple working in his throat.

  “You scared me,” she whispered.

  He lowered his head and looked at her. “I didn’t mean to.”

  She leaned closer and kissed him softly. “You feel good inside of me.”

  “You feel good around me.”

  She kissed him again. “Where’d you get the dog?”

  He grinned against her lips. “Time to work, Detective.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Olivier busted into the mayor’s outer office, past the surprised secretary, and blew through the inner office door. Mayor Elliott sat in his plush chair, binoculars in his hands, looking out the window. At the sound of the door smashing open, the mayor fumbled the binoculars and nearly dropped them. He swung around just as Olivier slammed the door behind him.

  “What are you doing?” Mayor Elliott shrieked.

  “What are you doing with those?” Olivier demanded, gesturing to the binoculars.

  Olivier had put a face on today. He couldn’t remember if it was the one he’d been graced with originally, it had been so long since that one had been melted off. The one he wore today was one he never normally used in this town. Dark hair, dark eyes, olive skin. The mayor preferred his cronies to be blonde haired and blue eyed.

  Screw that.

  The mayor gestured to the sheriff’s office. “Something’s happening over there—”

  “Yeah. Your sheriff is dead.”

  The mayor blinked. “C-come again?”

  “He’s dead. Hit by a truck. Might’ve been burned a little.”

  Mayor Elliott’s mouth worked like a fish. “Wh-wha—”

  “Thought you’d say that. Hey, Elliott.” Olivier moved closer to the desk, his anger quivering within him. “Who sent that sheriff out there to clean up a body?”

  “What? You can’t mean—”
<
br />   Olivier crashed his fist into the middle of the mayor’s desk. The wood splintered and cracked and the mayor jumped. “Did you tell him to go clean up a body?”

  “No, no, I wouldn’t—”

  “Liar!” Olivier interrupted. He spun away as he dragged his hands through his hair. “I told you to let them be found!”

  “We were going to frame Levi,” the mayor said softly.

  Olivier tried to be calm and cool. He tried. But this idiot running this shit town was going to be the death of him. He closed his eyes and counted to ten. Then twenty. When that didn’t work, he gave up. He faced the mayor.

  “I got an offer today.”

  Mayor Elliott’s eyes lit up. “An offer?”

  “Yeah. So the sooner all these losers are gone, the better.”

  “With the boys gone, I don’t know how we’ll keep on schedule—”

  “Fuck those boys,” Olivier growled. “Your fucking plan to poison those jackasses in those apartments was stupid. Just burn the damn things down.”

  “Those boys were family,” the mayor insisted.

  Olivier set his jaw. The only mistake Olivier had made in this whole transaction was letting the mayor do anything on his own. That and letting the fuck talk him into taking their time. Allowing those two cousins to manufacture whatever shit those people in the apartments were hooked on was the stupidest idea. But the mayor had gobbled up a lot of land prior to Olivier coming back here. Olivier thought he’d throw him a bone. Biggest mistake ever.

  “I have an offer, Elliott. And if you can get more of this town’s shitfest out of here, we’ll sell. You’re down a sheriff. Who’s next in line?”

  The mayor’s eyes narrowed. “Probably that detective. But she quit. Two weeks’ notice.”

  “Run her out of town.”

  “How will we get rid of everyone?” the mayor asked, his fat fingers stroking the crack in his desk.

  “Leave it to me,” Olivier insisted. He turned on his heel and out the door. The secretary jumped back when he came out. He glared at her and hissed, which made her fall back into her chair.

  Fucking humans.

  *****

  “Detective! We’re coming in!”

  Levi wandered back over to the door while Trish made herself presentable. She had just shrugged into her jacket when Levi snapped his fingers and the door fell open. The two deputies lurched into the room, one falling and the other tripping over the fallen one, which meant both deputies were on the floor flailing. Levi rolled his eyes.

  Really, if he, Colton, Henry, and Trish could just get in his truck and get the fuck out of here, that would be great.

  “Detective!” one of the deputies called out. He staggered to his feet, losing his balance and jamming his shoulder into the wall. “Are you all right?”

  Levi raised a brow at him and glanced over at Trish. “You all right?”

  Trish, her hair mildly disheveled, her eyes bright, and her makeup smeared, nodded once. “Yes, I’m fine.”

  God, this woman. She was so prim and proper. So black and white with her rules and her laws. None of that had ever appealed to Levi before. But Trish came at him with her rules and her laws and her confidence. He’d never found a woman sexier. She wasn’t afraid of doing the right thing and she sure as hell wasn’t afraid of the things he told her. Well, that wasn’t true. She was terrified. But the confidence she had in herself and in him was inspiring.

  Someone having confidence in him was a rare treat.

  “Detective, the door slammed shut—”

  “We thought this guy was doing something inappropriate—”

  “—We couldn’t get in—”

  “—He isn’t supposed to be here—”

  “Okay, enough,” Trish interjected, raising a hand, palm out. “He had important information about the case.”

  All the way on the other side of the board room, Levi still smelled her. Still wanted to pound into her. Maybe later. They’d leave the kid with Henry and fuck each other’s brains out.

  One of the deputies sniffed and Levi turned back to him, narrowing his eyes.

  But the man pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his nose. “Allergic to dogs,” he explained apologetically.

  “Then we’ll go,” Levi told him. “Trish?”

  Before she could say anything, Jeannie’s shrill shriek rent the air. Even Levi hurried out into the office and he didn’t give a shit about any of these people. If Colton had put a frog in Jeannie’s desk drawer, he swore he’d read that kid the riot act.

  But Colton was kneeling on the floor next to Henry, right where Levi had left him. Jeannie had collapsed in her chair, tears streaming down her face. She made little moaning sounds. The deputies and Trish pushed past him while he went to Colton.

  “What happened?”

  The kid shrugged his shoulders. “Dunno. The phone rang and—”

  By now, Trish had yanked the phone from Jeannie’s trembling hands. She spoke slowly and softly to the person on the other end.

  “Yes, yes. We’ll be right there.”

  Across the office, Trish met Levi’s eyes and what he saw there made him angry. She was scared. More scared than when he’d told her he was a fallen angel. More scared when she’d found that fucking kidney.

  Unconsciously, Levi puffed out his chest and flexed his muscles. Someone wanted to scare his woman? No. Fucking. Way.

  Trish reached across Jeannie and hung up the phone. “Jeannie?”

  But the woman was inconsolable.

  “What happened, Ms. Redding?” one of the deputies asked.

  Here Trish glanced at Levi, then at Colton. But Levi wasn’t leaving her. He leaned down and put his hands over Colton’s ears. “That’s all you get,” he growled.

  “That was Kelly,” Trish explained softly. “She was in an accident last night.”

  “The kid’s mom?” the other deputy asked.

  Trish nodded. “She thinks that the guy she was hitching a ride with hit th-the sheriff.”

  Levi almost dropped his hands from Colton’s ears. “Are you shitting me?”

  Trish looked over, tears in her eyes. “No.”

  Levi sprang into motion. Now he did drop his hands from Colton’s ears. “Kid, take Henry and get in the truck.”

  “Levi—”

  “No arguing, Colton. Do it.”

  He didn’t watch to see if Colton listened, but the click of the dog’s nails on the tile confirmed Colton and Henry were on their way out. He moved across the office toward Trish and the detectives.

  “Trish, we’ll go check it out. One of you,” he pointed to the deputies. “Take Jeannie home. Then both of you start to clear this town of people. Understand me?”

  The deputies stared at him in shock. “What do you mean?” one asked.

  “Just what I said. This town needs to be evacuated.”

  “Levi, we can’t do that,” Trish began gently. “We’ll need the mayor to go along with the plan—”

  “Fuck the mayor,” Levi interrupted, rounding on Trish. “That fucker is up to something and it’s up to us to get these people out of town.”

  He stared at Trish, trying to make her understand. He wanted her to know that he had her best interests at heart. This town was whacked, she had to see that. All he wanted was to get the good people out of this town before the bad burned them all down.

  “Trish,” he said softly.

  He saw the thoughts tumble across her face. God, that face. So sweet and lovely. If he could spare her all of this, he would.

  “You’ve got to believe me.”

  They had a silent battle of wills across that office. He could see every argument that she wanted to make, but she said nothing. Until finally, she nodded once, almost to herself. Then she leaned over Jeannie, still crying hysterically.

  “Jeannie, Pearson is going to take you home, okay?”

  “But-but the sheriff…”

  “I know. I know. I’m going to go out there and check it ou
t. My friend Levi is going to come with me. You go on now.” She helped Jeannie to her feet and the deputy was right there to take Jeannie’s arm.

  “Ms. Redding,” Pearson began.

  “Get her home, Deputy,” Trish told him strongly. “Then go door to door and get people evacuated. You start on Jeannie’s side of town and you start on the other,” Trish nodded to the other deputy.

  “What should we say?”

  Trish thought a moment. “Chemical spill. Tell them to take what they can carry and enough for a few days.”

  “You believe this guy?” Pearson asked.

  Trish stared stonily at the deputy. “I trust this man with my life. You can’t tell me that something isn’t going on in this town. He and I are going to go face a murderer, you just need to tell people to evacuate for a few days. I’ll gladly trade with you.”

  Levi saw the deputy wither in the face of Trish’s irritation and anger. Pearson’s shoulders slumped. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Evacuation goes for the two of you as well,” Trish continued. She pushed them both toward the door, past Levi, and toward the double doors. “Go. Call me if you need me.”

  “You won’t need backup?” Pearson asked.

  “No,” Trish said swiftly. “I’ll be fine.”

  She shoved the three people out the door, Jeannie still softly sobbing, the two deputies arguing. Trish was no nonsense, calm, and confident. When the three Magnolia residents were gone, she shut the door behind them and snicked the lock. She watched as they got in their respective cars and even waved at Colton. Then she turned back to Levi.

  Her heels clicked along the floor as she made her way to him. They stood staring at each other for long moments.

  Finally, Trish sighed. “I don’t know if I believe you.”

  “I know.”

  “But I trust you.”

  His chest swelled with the thought. “I know. And I won’t let you down.”

  She reached out and ran a finger down his bicep and Levi felt a shiver start in his muscle, then work its way down his body.

  “Can we pick up a bag from my house?”

  “Yeah, we can.”