by JL Weil
~*~*~*~
{Angel}
A weird thought suddenly hit me as I walked through my house. There was plenty for my mind to be circling about, but all I could think was, I’m freaking engaged. To Chase Winters. My eyes got huge and my feet tangled slightly, making me stumble. I caught myself on the wall, the stones in my ring catching the light dangling from the ceiling. Then, like a crazy person, I started to giggle.
My smile was ridiculously bright as I turned the corner into the kitchen. I grabbed a bottled water from the fridge and chugged, quenching my thirst. Sweat dampened my forehead and the sides of my flushed cheeks—another grueling practice with Chase. This time Emma and Travis had joined us. Emma amped up the stakes. No mercy.
The way she could move while fighting, it was hard not to be jealous. It was like a choreographed dance routine. No amount of training was going to make me as graceful as Emma—or Lexi for that matter. I was the supernatural black sheep.
I screwed the cap back on the bottle, and as I turned to head back outside, Mom strutted into the room. Chase and Travis were each following behind her with their arms full of grocery bags. “Angel, what have you been doing? Running a marathon?” she asked, dropping her purse and keys on the counter. “Are you sick?”
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t get sick anymore, remember?” It was part of the whole healing deal. Pretty handy, not ever having to worry about the flu and puking my guts out in the toilet bowl.
She pursed her lips. “Right. I’m still adjusting to my daughter being…special.”
I snickered at her choice of words. “What’s all this?” I asked.
She started to unload items from the bags—green peppers, onions, steak. “I thought I’d make us a celebratory dinner.”
Quickly, I linked my hands behind my back. She couldn’t possibly know about my engagement, could she? “Do I dare ask? What are we celebrating?”
Her lips spread into a grin. “I sold the house.”
I gripped the side of the fridge for support. Chase was suddenly beside me. “Um. What?” I shrieked. “How can that be? It’s only been on the market less than a week.” Okay, even though I knew someone had made an offer, I thought it was a joke.
Mom shrugged. “The buyers bought sight unseen.”
And that only reinforced my theory that whoever bought this house was cray-cray. “I can’t believe you actually got an offer on this dump.”
Travis plucked an apple from one of the bags and took a bite. The crunch echoed over the kitchen.
“Well, it was an offer I couldn’t refuse,” Mom said.
“What kind of idiot would do that? Buy a house without even looking at it?” Buy this house?
Chase cleared his throat, shifting on his feet.
Mom raised her brows.
And I realized I’d just stuck my foot in my mouth. “Oh sorry, I wasn’t implying you were an idiot when you bought this place.”
Unloading a bag of groceries, she started opening cabinets. “I know you weren’t. Anyway, I remember you saying something very similar the first time we pulled into the driveway.”
“Sounds like Angel,” Chase added.
I smashed my heel on his toes.
“I thought you liked living here?” Mom asked, looking over her shoulder as she stretched to put away a box of PopTarts.
“I do. It’s my dump. What I really liked about this house were my neighbors.” Did I just say that out loud?
Chase’s lips twitched.
{Chase}
She looked hotter than the California sun. Who would have thought having her almost roast me like a pig would be hot? Little flames danced at her fingertips, and it turned her sexy all the way up to ten. While she was feeling damn good about herself, I made my move before she singed all the hair off my body.
I felt the heat radiate as the ball of fire whizzed past me.
Angel smiled. “You almost got incinerated.”
Her aim was improving. “Almost isn’t going to destroy a demon.” I probably should’ve been grateful her aim wasn’t deadly accurate. Being burnt to toast wasn’t on my bucket list.
“Hurting you would hurt me. Did you ever think that maybe I’m missing on purpose?” she asked.
“No.”
Her eyes narrowed, and I thought she was going to hurl another one of her flaming missiles, but instead the white-gold fire cavorting on her fingertips brightened, growing in size. Her control was definitely improving.
“I think we’re done for the day,” I said, before she could change her mind and nail me.
Hard lines of concentration folded over her forehead. It took a few tries, but she finally managed to douse the flames. A faint smile crossed her lips. “You’re the boss. What do you want to do tonight? Watch a movie?”
Our days and nights had slowly fallen into a routine. Training during the day and as much normalcy as we could manage at night. “Rain check? The guys are coming over for another meeting of the minds.”
“Wonderful. Divisa gatherings are my favorite.” Sarcasm dripped in her tone.
I snickered, knowing she would rather be doing anything else than discussing strategy. These meetings seemed to be happening more frequently, and I normally wasn’t much of a tactic kind of guy. Kicking butt was the only tactical policy I employed.
She wiped the back of her hand along her forehead. “I’m going to hit the shower.”
“Good idea.”
“Are you implying that I stink, Winters?” she asked, a playful smile on her lips.
Drawing her close, I placed kisses all across her skin—nose, forehead, and cheeks. “Not to me. You always smell like Heaven and Hell.”
She gave me a kiss on the lips. “Nice save.”
My hands shot out, capturing her waist as I pulled her body against mine. “That was a pathetic kiss.” I wanted to kiss her again.
“Why don’t you show me what a real kiss is?” Her hands gripped the front of my sweaty T-shirt.
“My pleasure.” I bent my head and kissed her damp forehead. “I love you.”
Her eyes fluttered open. “You owe me a kiss.”
Chapter 26
{Angel}
“Anyone else think this is the stupidest plan ever to be concocted?” Emma asked. She was reclining on one of the chairs in the Winters’ family room, picking the gunk from under her fingernails with a pocketknife. I didn’t even want to know why it closely resembled blood.
And so the argument began on whether to draw out Alastair or wait for the SOB who ruined my life to take us by surprise. I was all for drawing him out. Our turf. Our terms. Why wouldn’t we want the advantage? There was only one giant obstacle in the way.
Chase.
He was like an iceberg, icy and immovable. “No. No way. Angel is not going to be bait. What if something goes wrong? What if he—?”
Like I said, one immovable force. I quickly interrupted before he went to a dark place. “I know the risks, Chase.” He was more than afraid; he was petrified Alastair might have something up his sleeve. I wasn’t sure what else the demon could possibly do to me.
Silver eyes hardened to steel. “Absolutely not. I will lock you up again if I have to.”
I scowled. “You stubborn ass.”
Unfazed, he lounged on the couch, throwing an arm alongside the back. “I’ve been called worse, sugar.”
Argh. He knew how much I disliked nicknames like honey, sweetie, or sugar. “Oh, I’m not done yet. I was just starting with the As. We still have the rest of the alphabet.”
“Angel,” he growled.
“You’re going to get us all killed,” I contended. “I, at least, have regard for other people’s lives.”
Chase shot me a glare. Tension was high. “I have regard for their lives. Yours is just more important.”
Protests died on my lips. I had nothing more to say to him, and I settled down on the couch for what was sure to be a bitch-fest.
Hayden cleared his throat. “There has to be a
nother way to provoke him.”
“I don’t care how, just as long as I get a crack at him,” Craig said.
No doubt Craig would feed me to the wolves if given the chance. There was no lost love between us. College hadn’t made him any less scary or unapproachable. That internal warning you get when you realize someone is following you in a dark alley was exactly the feeling Craig gave me.
I shuddered.
Chase eyes meet mine in a silent question. I nodded. Yes, I was fine.
“Get in line, brother,” Chase grumbled, clearly frustrated.
“Is there no way to summon him?” Colin asked.
Until he had spoken, I’d completely forgotten he was in the room. A flop of his sandy hair fell over his face, and his usual soft brown eyes were sharp. Colin was serious.
Too bad Chase wasn’t going to take him seriously.
“Why is he here?” Chase snapped. All eyes moved to Colin who shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
I bristled, but kept my mouth shut.
Lexi’s chin pinched. “He refuses to leave.” The two of them were sitting cozily on the loveseat, Lexi’s legs crossed on top of Colin’s. By the look of it, they had made up.
Chase arched a brow.
I grabbed his forearm before he could stand. “You’re not going to escort him out. If Lexi really didn’t want him here, do you think he would be here?” I whispered in his ear.
“I want to help,” Colin said, scooting forward in his chair.
I exhaled. Here we go. Colin had no clue what can of worms he’d just opened. He was earnest in his offer, but I knew Chase. He wasn’t about to put a human’s life in danger, especially someone he knew Lexi cared deeply for.
“Just how exactly do you plan to help?” Chase barked. “They don’t care who is calling. Hell doesn’t take collect calls.” His back muscles tensed.
Sometimes it was difficult to not be amused by Chase’s sarcasm.
“For once in your life, do you think you could not be a dick?” Lexi spat, jumping to Colin’s defense. “His intentions are good, which is more than I can say for you.”
He thrust his fingers through his hair, looking ready to pounce. “He’ll only be in the way.”
“Look, I’m not here to start anything or get in the way,” Colin replied.
The whole room erupted into unruly chatter, everyone talking over each other, throwing out a variety of ideas, all of which sucked. I sat silent with my hands on my bouncing knees. Nervous energy trickled through me. Something was wrong. More wrong than usual. I didn’t know what it was, but something was coming. I felt it crawl up my spine, the marks on my hip tingling erratically.
Chase’s name began to form on my lips.
Out of nowhere, Lexi shot across the room in a blur of speed and sparkle. She sat down on the coffee table, taking a firm hold of my hand. “What’s that on your finger?” she squealed.
The room had gone quiet. “Umm, a ring,” I replied, feeling color stain my cheeks.
“I can see that. Did you—? Are you guys—?” Lexi tongue-tied didn’t happen often.
“I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen you at a loss for words,” Chase said.
“Don’t ruin this moment,” she said, wiping under her eyes, which were brimming with emotion. “Oh. My. God. You’re engaged?”
I nodded. “That was pretty much my reaction.”
Voomphf. I found myself engulfed in a hug that almost knocked me on my ass.
“Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t either one of you tell me? How long?” And off she rattled, question after question.
“I was going to. After…” I kill Alastair, I finished in my head.
“I want to know everything. Every single detail.” She turned my hand from side to side, studying my rock. “It’s beautiful. I can’t believe you picked this without me,” she said, turning to Chase.
“Believe it or not, I do have taste.”
“I guess you would have to. You fell in love with my best friend.”
Congratulations came from all sides of the room. The guys did the guy thing—back pats, handshaking, and one shoulder hugs.
“We have so much to do, so much to plan,” Lexi proclaimed.
“Ugh. Stop. You’re giving me a migraine,” I grumbled.
Chase laughed, amused.
“I was thinking about eloping,” I muttered. “No fuss.”
“No flipping way,” Lexi protested. “You can’t take this away from me. If you don’t want to plan your wedding, then let me. I will do everything. All you have to do is show up on the day.”
I pressed two fingers to my temple. “Do we really need to talk about this now?”
“I’m with Angel. The mushy stuff is over. Can we get back to killing demons?” Emma asked.
Lexi held a finger in the air, hushing Emma. “When’s the wedding? Can I be your maid of honor? OMG. We have so much to do…Chapel, venue, food, invitations, guest list, dress…” She ticked off each item on her fingers, and when she ran out of fingers, she started over again.
I blacked out after dress.
“Reality check, princess. There won’t be a wedding if we don’t destroy Alastair,” Emma interrupted in her usually boorish self.
Lexi pouted, eyes a mixture of the sea and the sun. “You take the fun out of f-u-n.”
Things were getting pretty lively in the Winters’ home tonight, and when you were dealing with a group eighty-nine percent supernatural, stuff was bound to get broken. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be anything valuable or that couldn’t be replaced.
Much to Lexi’s disappointment, the conversation steered back to killing, Emma’s favorite topic. “We still haven’t found a way to destroy them,” Emma said. “Before we start baiting demons, we should probably figure out how to terminate them. For good.”
There were a lot of head nods. I tried to sound brave and confident as I shouted over the group. “It has to be me. I have to kill Alastair.”
As expected, I got a bunch of crazy looks, but at least the volume in the room had gone down a few notches. Hayden with his boy-next-door good looks eyed me thoughtfully. “Angel, no one here expects you to singlehandedly take on the big bad wolf alone.”
“No,” Chase said, his head down, staring at the floor. “She’s right. Angel is the only one who can defeat Alastair. Or any demon for that matter.”
“I’m confused,” Travis said. “Thirty minutes ago you completely shut down the idea of her drawing them out, and now you’re endorsing the idea of Angel killing Alastair. What gives, man?”
“It’s…”
“If you say complicated I’ll hit you,” Travis interjected.
“And then I will,” Craig added.
No one was going to hit anyone if I could help it. “I’m a slayer,” I blurted out.
Silence followed. And stretched.
“A slayer?” Emma broke the dead air. “There hasn’t been a slayer in centuries.”
Chase’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know?”
“Because I attended hunter boot camp, remember?”
“What do you know?” Chase asked, inching to the edge of the couch.
The entire room was waiting on pins and needles. Emma flipped closed her pocketknife. “Only what I’ve read, which was very little. Most hunters believe slayers are a myth. They’ve been extinct for so long, most everyone has forgotten about them.”
Suddenly, I felt like I was on display. “The why and how aren’t important. What is imperative is whether or not my flames will really destroy the soul of a demon.”
“So we don’t know if she can really obliterate them?” Craig sneered.
Jerk.
“There haven’t been any volunteers since I found out, which was only a few days ago.” Cynicism laced my voice.
“What else have you two been hiding?” Lexi pouted.
“How did you find out?” Hayden asked.
Chase, Travis, and I all squirmed in our seats.
�
��Kira?” Lexi squawked. “Why would you believe anything that comes out of her mouth?”
“What choice do we have?” Chase countered. “This is our only option, because everything else we’ve done thus far hasn’t worked.”
“This plan keeps getting screwier. I’m tried of being a sitting duck, and I’m ready for some action,” Emma said, flipping her knife open.
It seemed to be the consensus all around. Everyone was tired of being at Hell’s mercy.
You ask and you shall receive. Emma’s little call for action was answered.
Pop. Pop. Pop.
One by one the pins and screws holding the front door to the frame hit the hardwood floor. For several heartbeats, everyone in the room stood, staring at the door, immobilized by disbelief.
WTF.
With nothing securing the large wooden door, it crashed to the floor with a loud boom that shook the lower part of the house. Colin paled beside Lexi.
Hell had come knocking.
Chapter 27
{Angel}
“They’re coming,” I said, fumbling with my ring. The cool metal against my skin gave me strength and courage. It wasn’t the ring itself, but what it represented and the guy who had given it to me.
“No,” Chase said, his expression troubled. “They’re already here.”
It should have been no surprise, but I hadn’t expected things to kick off so quickly. I wasn’t ready. Not yet. I needed more time to practice, to hone my skills, but my time was up.
Emma and Travis hauled ass into the kitchen, throwing open drawers and cabinets, pulling out the secret stash of weapons. Travis tossed Hayden and Craig each a blade dipped in rubies. Lexi bent down, reaching into her boot for her own weapons.
In under a minute, everyone in the room—even Colin—was armed and loaded. Emma had her bow strapped onto her back and wicked-looking blades in each hand. Her red hair was tied into a ponytail. “How about we put this slayer theory to the test?”
Adrenaline started firing inside me, flowing through my veins. I nodded. “Why not?”
All plans previously made were pretty much thrown out the window. This wasn’t like any other demon fight, I told myself. This was bigger. The stakes were larger. My hands were shaking, fear soaked my skin, and my heart beat wildly in my chest. Yep. Just like my other encounters with demons.