An instant later the bullet hit my shields and exploded in a shower of lightning. None of the arcs of electricity ever touched me, and that seemed to confuse my attacker. Before she could react and fire again, I drew both of my Walthers and fired at the invisible woman bathed in a violet glow.
The ripper rounds passed harmlessly through her only to implode into tiny dents in the bricks behind her. It was like she wasn’t really there at all. A ghost.
Crap! So ghosts are real after all.
As I started to squeeze the triggers she moved. Faster than anything I had ever seen before, she closed the distance between us. I never got the chance to fire again before her fist was drawn back, and then punched into my chest.
I could feel her hand inside me like I felt the osmotic injectors earlier. The ghost moved her hand through my body until it found my heart. Unbelievable pain shot through my entire chest as the ghost’s hand seemed to solidify and start to squeeze my heart.
I cried out in pain as the shock of having my heart stopped so unnaturally made my limbs go limp. The ghost was forcing me to have a heart attack. My guns clattered to the concrete as my vision returned to normal with the collapse of my shield-bubble. Without my shields to see with, there was nothing there. I could feel it – the hand in my chest – but I couldn’t see a thing.
“Big Sister!?”
Cassie was rushing back into the loading area, guns ready, searching for my unseen attacker. When she couldn’t see anything, her eyes stopped to focus on me. I tried to speak. To tell her what was happening. To warn her. But, the pressure on my heart had stopped me from even being able to breathe.
I was looking at her when I saw her eyes go wide. She aimed her guns in my direction and let loose a volley of fire right at me.
Or so I thought.
The light blue tracer lines grazed by me close enough to feel the shockwave of the bullets passing by, and right through the woman that suddenly appeared out of thin air. She was an elegant Asian beauty that held a look of money as she stood there in her sleeveless silk Cheongsam dress with her long black hair perfectly twisted up and held in place with metal chopsticks, and her hand buried deep inside my chest. Her gentle features were unaffected by the deadly rain of explosive ammo flowing harmlessly through her.
“Release her! As acting director of this regions Archives, I order you to let her go now!” Emmy stormed into the alley like a supervisor on a mission to fire the troublemaker, and went right up to the woman with her hand inside my chest without a moment’s hesitation in her step. “Do it!”
The woman’s hand slid out of my body and left me gasping for air as my heart was finally allowed to beat regularly again.
“Powerful she is, but a god she is not. . . . We are watching,” the Asian beauty spoke softly with her thick accent as she faded back into a shimmer again, then disappeared.
It took me a few minutes of gasping before I could finally speak again.
“What the fuck was that?!? Emmy?! Who was that and . . . and . . . wha–?”
They both helped me back to my feet.
“Her name is Meiying. She’s GCP. . . .”
I glared at her while I tried to contain my rage.
“Kieran . . . Meiying . . . she’s, well . . . Meiying is an Executioner Class Officer.”
Cassie froze, and the world stopped moving as those words reached my ears. Executioner Class, the single entity between the Hunter Class and the Council themselves. Psionics so powerful, that NO ONE can kill them. Psionics so strong that there are only three of them in the entire world. The Psionics that the Council sends to remove the Hunter Class Officers that go rogue. The assassins of assassins.
“This isn’t a good thing is it?” I had to ask.
“You’re still breathing. . . . Honestly, that’s a good sign. You made their watch list, that’s all this means. It’s a warning. When they decide to kill you . . . you won’t ever see them coming, and nothing will stop them.”
She said “when” . . . not “if”. . . . Aaawww fuck!!
Chapter 23
It was after midnight before we got home after ice-cream. The sugar-high was the only thing keeping Cassie on her feet. I was feeling better than I had most of the day, all things considered, but that feeling disappeared once we entered the apartment.
“Vicki is waiting for you in her room,” Mary said instead of her usual cheerful greeting. She looked pale, almost green, like she was going to be sick at any moment.
Everyone stopped to stare at me.
I didn’t want to deal with this until later. Shit.
Without a word I walked past everyone towards Vicki’s room.
“Be nice,” Emmy called out behind me.
I took a deep breath before knocking on her door. Several seconds passed before the door opened. Darcy stood in the doorway with a solemn look on her face.
“No violence?” she asked me in a pleading tone.
“Agreed.”
Darcy stepped out of the way and let me into the room. The clicking of the door betrayed her stealthy vampire exit. Vicki sat at the head of her bed hugging a pillow.
“May I?” I asked pointing to the corner of the bed furthest from her.
She closed her teary eyes and nodded.
I sat down with my back to her at first. Then I gave in and spun around to face her and sat cross-legged Indian stile.
“Hell of a month,” I said absently.
“Yeah,” she whispered back as if afraid to even make a sound at all.
“I’ve been thinking. About everything. Maybe it’s for the best if you move on, maybe not. I like having you around. You and Ren are my best friends. I don’t want to lose either of you. So. . . .” I took a deep breath, held it, let it out, then used all my will to say what needed to be said. “Do what makes you happy. We’re here if you want us. As far as I’m concerned this will always be your room. If you want . . . have Anika move in here with you. Or whatever.”
Vicki’s eyes almost burst out of her head when I suggested having the other woman move in.
“Why are you like this all the sudden?” she asked suspiciously.
I looked her straight in the eyes. “I love you Vicki. I want you to be happy. With or without me. But I don’t want you to run around behind my back. You asked me for honesty before. You said that you would be happy to share me as long as I was honest with you about it. I can only ask for the same.”
“I’m sorry. It just sort’a happened. We were friends at work before I met you, but I only found out recently how she felt about me. I wanted to try it. You know, to see if it was real or not. Then we just got carried away.”
“You love her?”
She blushed guiltily. “Yes. But I still love you too.”
An unnerving silence stretched out between us until I couldn’t stand it anymore.
“So what does Anika do at the Hospital?”
Vicki gave me a puzzled look. “Why?”
“Because I want to know about the people my friends are dating. When we get done here Emmy and Mary get to answer some questions about their dates too.”
“Your sister is dating a robot. You know that right?”
I laughed a little. “Yeah, but I did have a three-way with Tanaka and his sex robot, so I can’t hold it against her really. Besides, I’ve been wondering what Julie has under her uniform for a while now,” I joked.
“Promise not to laugh?”
“At what?”
“Ambulance mechanic. Anika is an ambulance mechanic.”
“Why would I laugh at that. It sounds like an okay job really.”
“I never should have lied to you.”
“No. But it’s done. Will you stay?”
“I would like to.”
“Good. Why don’t you invite Anika over sometime so we can start over. It would be nice to meet her in a better situation. With everyone more . . . dressed.”
A shuffling noise drew my attention to the door. I stretched out with my shi
eld-hand and yanked the door open. An avalanche of roommates fell into the room from where they’d been eavesdropping.
“Anyone want some tea?” Mary asked sheepishly from the bottom of the pile.
* * *
The storm broke into a blizzard before morning. I stood, staring out my bedroom window at the snow, when Darcy stirred awake again in her cot next to my bed.
“Have you slept?” she asked while looking at the clock.
“No. I tried, but it never happened. Morpheus and Hypnos must be busy somewhere else.”
“The Greek gods of dreams and sleep? Do you always get philosophical when you’re upset like this?”
“Next time it happens I’ll let you know.”
Darcy climbed out of her cot, and walked with a seductive roll of her hips up next to me wearing nothing but borrowed panties and a camisole. I wasn’t sure if it was her dress or my failing love life that made the reflection of her in the window look that much sexier than usual. She hugged me from behind and rested her chin on my shoulder like we were old lovers. It was shocking and comfortable at the same time.
We stood there watching the snow for several minutes. Then she gave me a chaste kiss on my neck right below my jaw. The light peck of her lips did more for me in that one spot than hours of regular kissing ever could.
“I’m going back to bed for another hour or so before Mary calls you for breakfast.”
Darcy pulled away from me. I reached down and grabbed her wrist before it slid away. She looked at our hands for a second before I pulled her back to me. I looked deep into her molten eyes, then down at her glossy soft lips. The urge became too great. I just had to kiss her.
I put my free hand behind her neck and started to lean in for the kiss. My lips bumped against her finger before I met hers. She was shaking her head at me.
“No.”
Embarrassment flared to life through my entire body.
“I’m sorry I never thought about you not wanting to be with another woman. I should have asked first. I just assumed . . . sorry.”
“I said no because I don’t want us to kiss right now. I didn’t mean to lead you on a few minutes ago. I’m just a touchy person anymore. Look, you need friends, not rebound lovers. Give it time, then ask me if I want to be with another woman. You never know what I’ll say. But honestly I prefer my guys in male bodies.”
Dumped and rejected in the same night. . . . I hate relationships.
* * *
Breakfast was a little strange. Two androids, a vampire bodyguard, my pseudo-sisters, my shifter ex-girlfriend and to top it all off, her new girlfriend. Lord knows what Tanaka thought when he and Ren showed up.
“I think we need a bigger table,” Mary giggled as she shuffled things around to make a place for everyone.
Ren stood in the living room looking between me and Vicki like she couldn’t decide which of her best friends she was supposed to go to in that situation. Honestly I had no idea myself. Thankfully Tanaka saved us the trouble.
“Kieran? A moment. It’s about work.”
Yeah right!
I followed him into my bedroom. He took a glance at the cot next to the bed then went and claimed the computer chair for himself.
“I thought a gentleman always let the lady sit first?”
He pointed at the cot. “So sit.”
“Your manners are lacking. Spit it out.”
He stopped nervously chewing on his thumbnail and watched me sit down on the cot. I pulled my knees to my chest and waited for him to begin.
“I have no idea where to begin,” he finally admitted.
“Well first off, I’m fine. Or, at least I will be once we get back to work. Got anything to offer?”
“Sorry, no. You already killed all the bad guys we had on hand,” he joked.
“Everyone except Jacob. Dammit! We need to find Yuric so he can get us inside that embassy.”
“Arkon has been searching for him. But, so far no luck. We’re trying to come up with another way into the embassy without starting a war, but no luck there either.”
“I’ve been thinking. The GCP doesn’t want a war with the vampires so we can’t assault them directly using GCP authority, but what if we went in without it?”
“Huh?”
“Hear me out. What if I go in solo. I have my shields back. I could bust in, find Jacob and the others, slaughter them all, and bust out again all on my own. If anyone asks the GCP had no involvement in the attack because I’m not going to tell them I’m doing it. They can’t be held responsible, so there should be no war. What do you think?”
“I think that the second you enter that embassy without a proper invitation you will be declared a Rogue Psionic. We would all be given orders to hunt you down and kill you.”
“Yeah, but it would get the job done.”
Tanaka slid out of the chair and knelt before me. He placed his hands on my shoulders and made sure he had my attention.
“The risk is too great. Besides, we need you here. I’m sorry you got hurt again, but don’t let it destroy your life. We all love you, and we need you more than you know.”
“Of course. I’m paying the rent,” I tried to joke.
“Dammit Kieran! Don’t even joke on this. Your life is too important to throw away on a plan of revenge that won’t work anyway.”
“You don’t know it won’t work.”
“It won’t work because I’m not going to give you the chance. I’m gonna keep you under surveillance 24/7.”
“I always wanted a stalker.”
His jaw clenched so tight I thought he was going to bust a tooth.
“Joke all you want. I’m not going to let you kill yourself,” he finally growled at me.
I let go of my knees and pulled myself into his lap. He smelled like Old Spice aftershave.
“Help me Tanaka. Save me from myself,” I begged as I buried my face in his shoulder and started to cry.
It all finally caught up to me. The immortals, clones, cyborgs, zombies, arachnataurs, watching my loved ones die and come back to life, it was all too much. Tanaka spun me around and cradled me like a child and let me have my breakdown.
I was having my cry when the bedroom door opened. Tanaka reached up and held my head against him so I couldn’t see who it was.
“We’re fine. We’ll get breakfast later.”
Whoever opened the door closed it again without a word. Suddenly I realized that I didn’t care who saw me like that. I just melted into Tanaka and cried out my frustrations.
* * *
I woke from a thankfully dreamless sleep. Without moving yet, I opened my eyes just a slit to see Darcy sitting on her cot playing solitaire.
“You’re awake now. I can tell. Your heartbeat and breathing just changed.” She turned her head to me and smiled. “Vampires can hear the most interesting things.”
“Showing off?”
She turned back to her game. “Perhaps. You cried yourself to sleep in Tanaka’s arms. Then he put you to bed to sleep it off.”
For some reason the thought of being alone with Tanaka when I was in a vulnerable state caused me to panic. I sat up and tore the sheets off only to find myself still wearing the same shorts and cami I’d had on earlier.
“He kept his hands to himself. In case you’re wondering.”
“Am I that transparent?”
“Right now, yes.”
“What time is it?”
“About two. You’ve been asleep all day. When you passed out Emmy gave you a sedative to keep you asleep for a while. You needed the rest. Did you dream?”
“No. Thankfully not at all. So, who’s winning?” I asked pointing to her card game.
“Not me. I’ve been playing this stupid game every day since I was turned, and I’ve never been able to finish one yet.”
I watched her play. It was surprisingly relaxing to simply observe her. After a few cards she reached up and brushed her long bangs out of her face again. Her forehead had a fadi
ng scar on it. The only physical reminder she had about the fights over the past few days.
The bandages pulled against my skin when I twisted around and let my legs hang over the edge of the bed. I pulled the cami out and looked down at my patched up chest. If my skin wasn’t covered by scars, it was covered by bandages that were in need of changing before they bled through again. My fingers absentmindedly traced out some of the scars.
“Sorry about messing you up the other day.”
Darcy had stopped playing and was watching me. I let go of the top and it fell back into place. Even with the bandages partially covered, Darcy never took her eyes from them.
“Kraddick possessed you somehow. He made you do it. I don’t blame you. How’s your hand?”
She held up her left hand. The metallic fingernails were intact, but filed flat instead of shaped into daggers.
“Another two or three feedings and they’ll be back to normal. They’re so sharp because of the way I was turned. Or, at least that’s what Marsala had told me. Kraddick was telling the truth by the way. I murdered my family,” she admitted with an absolute certainty.
We hadn’t talked about it at all yet. Honestly I had enough problems in my life that I had no interest in hearing about it until then.
“You miss your mother?”
“Sometimes. Like holidays and stuff. What about your family?”
“Died when I was little. I was raised by a foster family that treated me like shit. Emmy and Cassie are the only real family I’ve had.”
“Everyone is worried about you. Tanaka is afraid that you’re becoming suicidal, and not in a good way.”
“I’ll survive.”
We sat there in silence just looking at each other. I glanced over my shoulder at the bedroom door.
“She’s not that bad really. I kinda like her,” Darcy said drawing my attention back to her.
“Who?”
“Anika. She was actually pretty shaken up about coming between you and Vicki. After you passed out, we all had a sit down. She’s been in love with Vicki for months. I never understood how a woman could fall in love with another woman. I’m not against it if it makes them happy. I just don’t fully understand it myself.”
Immortal Death (Kieran Grey Psionic Hunter Book 3) Page 22