“She must be on her-”
“Don’t prove her right,” I barked, moving past my friend.
Jack trailed behind me as I made my way downstairs. When he went to put on a coat, I stopped him. “I meant it, Jack, I’m doing this alone.”
He paused, his gaze tracing my face. “Okay, fine. But, there’s one thing you’re too arrogant to realise. You may not give a shit about the leaders, but most of London’s residents do. So, you go out there on your own, every fucking underworld person is going to be looking for you. That’s a ton of people not to get killed by. Good luck with that, my friend.”
8
Ever the Gentleman
THE MOTORBIKE’S ENGINE vibrated against my thighs as I steered it towards Martin’s gallery. I had hidden my baby in a small part of the factory below my home. Not even Jack knew I owned the powerful beast. It was painted completely black to keep it as indistinguishable as possible.
The Yamaha YZF-R3 rumbled up to the side of the pavement. People stared when I revved the engine to get someone’s attention from inside the gallery. Martin would have CCTV. Security was tight on the man’s property.
“What do you want?” shouted a voice from beside me.
Ah, exactly who I was looking for. Taking my helmet off, I handed it to Hannah. Her pretty eyes widened as comprehension dawned.
“You.”
Her throat bobbed as she swallowed, the skin there pale and smooth. Maybe I would take advantage of the situation, just to get information, of course. Just like Jack would. Nothing wrong with two people getting what they wanted.
Hannah looked down at her outfit. Her white skinny jeans led down to tiny feet clad in black stilettos. She would look perfect on the bike with those thighs wrapped around my arse. Now, that was an image I could go with.
“Get on,” I barked as the security guard inside the building made his way to the front door.
The pretty woman shoved the too big helmet over her head before almost lunging onto the back of the bike, her long leg swinging wildly. I was going to enjoy this ride.
“Where are you taking me?” she shouted.
Before I could reply, I turned the throttle and sped away just as the security guard made a run for us. She squeaked as a car horn blared. I had to swerve to miss it. London traffic was a fucking nightmare.
My luck had come in. Coincidence was my favourite thing sometimes. I had seen it a lot in my time and it never got boring. What were the chances that Hannah would be outside the gallery when I rode up? Slim. But, there she had been, her long lithe figure, sexy as hell.
“Thunder Hunter, where are you taking me?” she shouted near my ear.
The wind rushed into my face as I took us around the streets of London. I wouldn’t be able to get out onto the motorway without a helmet. In fact, I needed to get off the road as soon as possible. The last thing I needed was…
“Shit.”
A siren sounded behind me. Fucking police. The corrupt bastards would do anything to give me a ticket, although, I was breaking the law, big time.
The female on the back of the bike squealed again when I pulled the throttle hard. I had to lose them. I had no time for the antics of getting arrested or fined. I had a Fallen One to find.
My thought must have invoked the evil spirit, because my chest squeezed tight, heat engulfing me. He was in a ten-mile radius. Of course he was.
The police trailed behind as I spun the bike onto a side road, almost running down a man carrying fresh fruit. I waved an apology as he swore at me, his arms waving in the air as he dropped his food. The road went onto a quieter street which lined a park. Cutting the engine as I swiped the bike right, straight into the entrance, I drove it straight into a bushy area. Hannah ducked, her hands still clinging around my waist as I tucked us out of sight.
She tugged the helmet off as soon as we came to a stop. Jumping from the bike, she chucked the helmet and stormed out of the bush. Putting the brake on and making sure it was well hidden, I left the Yamaha.
As I thrust my way out between the leaves, I paused, watching Hannah’s long slim legs stride away before she stopped. Putting her hands on her hips, she spun back and regarded me before rushing over. Her hands tugged on the collar of my leather jacket, bringing my head to hers. My lips were almost sucked into her mouth as she kissed me with such passion, I almost fell over.
The heat left my chest as she shoved me back through the leaves. The bitch was on heat, and I was happy to be her dog. But, the Fallen One had gone out of range. Fuck.
“You’re an arsehole, but fuck me, you’re sexy.” Her breath rasped in her chest as she wound her hand down my back and squeezed my arse cheek. Oh, now she was playing. I would give in to her. It would do me good to release more tension.
Spinning her, I bent her forward so her hands were on the bike seat. Running my hands up her back, I pulled her short hair. Her gasp made me grin as I bent over her, my lips finding the smooth skin on her neck. I paused when my tongue ran over a puckered bit of skin that shouldn’t have been there. Opening my eyes when she moaned, I froze. Hannah had the same Hagalaz scar on her neck as the dead people in Chloe’s home. Loki’s descendants had died from their wounds…hadn’t they?
Shoving away from her, I ran a hand over my head. My hair was coming loose. Ripping the band out, I glared at her when she turned to look at me. Her lust-heated gaze bore into me before straightening. The energy had changed. I was no longer going to fuck her. I was stupid for even considering it, she was the enemy. Not that it had ever stopped me before, but shit had just got very fucking real.
“That scar…where did you get it?”
Pacing away from her, I turned, but only long enough to spit on the floor. Her perfume lined my tongue and it wasn’t one I liked.
“All members of Hagalaz have one. It’s a show of…strength.” Hannah smoothed her hair, the short crop refusing to obey. I had roughed it up too much.
“How so?”
The pacing started, I couldn’t help it. Tension had risen and abated pretty quickly, without any release. My body wasn’t as strong when it didn’t get what it wanted.
“Every member is tested. You see, Odin only wants the most powerful people in his army.”
Nope. Snapping, I moved to her. Three steps was all it took to be by her side. Grabbing her shoulders, I bent her backwards over the bike. She tried to scream, but I pressed my fingers into her skin so hard she yelped and clamped her mouth shut.
“You watched me kill a female, don’t think I won’t do it again. There was a time, many hundreds of years ago, when I refused to kill a woman, but not anymore. Not since they all seem to be much more fucking conniving than any man. So, Hannah,” I spat. “Tell me more about this army that my great grandfather is building so I can destroy it.”
The bitch had the audacity to open her mouth and laugh. The sound rumbled her chest as she relaxed against the seat of the bike, where only moments before, I was about to fuck her. I had been about to prove Chloe right, once again. Why did that actually bother me? It never had before.
“Okay, I’ll tell you,” she said when I pushed her backwards even harder.
The strain in her neck and back must have been painful. The top of her head was almost touching the other side of the bike. Even her obviously fit body wouldn’t be flexible enough for it to be pain free.
“Go on, then,” I replied, almost laughing.
She must have expected me to let her get up. She was wrong. My patience was gone with anyone to do with Hagalaz. Especially since those lovely photos of their rune had shown up.
“When applicants want to become a part of our mission, they go through a test of strength. The last one is to get marked with magic in the shape of the Hagalaz rune. If they survive, they join us. If they die, they don’t.” Hannah swallowed, the sound loud in her throat.
Ah, the sick bastards really were taking this whole Odin farce to the extreme. Did anyone know that the whole thing was just a game to Marti
n? He obviously needed to be locked up, like his mother. Yet, people believed him. Why?
“I need to speak to your father again. Why has he kidnapped the leaders of the underworld?”
Hannah groaned, squirming against the bike. Her position was hurting her, but I didn’t care. She had no right to comfort, not when people were dying for a ridiculous false belief.
“Wait, before you answer that,” I interrupted as a thought came to me. “What about Loki’s descendants? Were they a part of your cult? Or, did you try the test on them?”
Shaking her head, Hannah winced. “Will you fucking let me up? I’ll tell you everything!”
Releasing her, I stayed close by, ready to attack if she dared to try and escape me. There was no threat really, she was just a pawn in Martin’s game. A human who had no idea what the world of the Norse Gods really represented.
Rubbing her gorgeous neck, Hannah regarded me with a look that would have withered lesser men. However, I wasn’t one of them. I didn’t give a fuck. And, when the women in my life got used to that, they would be happier. Which in turn, would make life easier for me.
“Loki’s descendants had to be killed. They were a threat…to all of us, not just you. The scar was a calling card, just like we wanted. It worked out perfectly, didn’t it? Led you directly to us. You see, my father is in two minds about killing you. I know he said that we all have to die…and we do, eventually. That’s the thing, you presumed we meant to kill everyone right now, but we have some things to do first.”
Watching her lips as she spoke, I absorbed her words at the same time as listening to the birds in the hedge around us. Their chirping reminded me of a time long ago when my first girlfriend, at the age of fifteen, had lured me into the bushes for a sneaky kiss. I had relished the excitement of first time emotions. Oh, how those were deep and buried now.
“And, we need you to help us do it.”
I snapped back to the present, glaring at Hannah because she had brought me back from a place I had forgotten. They wanted me to help them? They had to be bloody well kidding?
Cracking my knuckles, I traced my gaze over her face. “And, what exactly is it that you need to do before we all supposedly die?”
The small smile told me much more than her words ever would. The answers I needed were about to come tumbling out of her mouth. Maybe I had underestimated her power as the leader’s daughter of a new, and apparently thriving, cult.
“Trygger, we’re going to destroy the underworld. Odin wants the world restored to a better balance so humans can be free of such darkness. And, we’re starting with London.”
Well, fuck me, I had just had her confession. Shaking my head, I indicated that she should get back on the bike. My time with her had come to an end. She had given me the information I needed. I had no more use for her, not for now, anyway.
It was time to sort this shit out. The Hagalaz cult had to be brought to justice. Before the leaders of the underworld were killed. And, before the dark and light balance was completely wiped out.
*
“I did the gentlemanly thing and dropped her back to the gallery,” I told Jack as he lounged in his chair at the club.
I had sought out Jack the moment Hannah was off my bike. I had to focus my mind on the Fallen One, yet, the Hagalaz cult were seriously messing with my plans.
“The whole thing sounds like you were a squeaky clean fucking gentleman, mate,” he replied, sucking on the neck of a bottle of whiskey.
Shrugging, I glanced over at the sex swing in the corner, memories coming back to me. Since I had left Hannah, I had a certain itch that needed to be scratched. However, Chloe’s remark had made me pause as I walked through the club earlier, eyeing the women.
“Has Chloe got to you, too?” I muttered.
Jack tilted his head to the side. His sunglasses tipped but stayed on. They were bright red tonight, highlighting the wisp of dyed blond hair that was glued to spike up from his forehead. He was back to his man-girl ways, his jeans tight, his tops…bizarre. The metrosexual look suited him, but I cringed at some of the getups he wore.
“Nah.” Jack sighed, unconvincingly.
“Anyway, I told her to arrange a meeting with Martin tomorrow. It’s time to incinerate this cult, starting from the core.”
Leaning back in my chair, I kicked my thick leather boots onto Jack’s desk. He jumped up, knocking them off with his manicured fingers, cringing when they caught the dirt on my heel.
“Please! This desk used to belong to Winston Churchill.” Waving away my frown, he walked over to a painting on the wall. “Listen, I spoke to my father about Martin’s shares. He knew nothing of them, either. In fact, he’s pretty pissed that his partner allowed a stranger to get involved with the club in the first place.”
I listened intently as I closed my eyes, just to rest them for a moment. Jack’s anxiousness was apparent in the way he traced the curves of the naked figures in the painting. He still wasn’t comfortable in his own club after his attempted abduction. Even though he had some of the most powerful magic protecting it.
“There was something he said that interested me.” He slapped me on the head as he walked behind my chair.
Sitting up, I glared at him for interrupting my little rest. Sometimes all I needed was a moment’s peace to centre myself. Hannah had been lucky that I hadn’t ended her there and then. But, I knew I would alienate Martin if I was to kill her too early. I had to get them both at the same time.
“Do you remember Matt?”
“The informant whose wife adored Frankie?” My brain clicked back to a couple of months before when Jack told me all about his friend.
We had used his information to keep a tab on Frankie, the Dark Crawler Chloe had killed. His wife had murdered him when she found out that he had been going behind her back to tell us about the underworld.
“His wife is my father’s business partner. Can you believe that I didn’t fucking know that? I mean, it ain’t like I’ve never been in a room with the bunch of arseholes that my father associates with, but it never clicked.” Jack wandered to the door, opened it and checked outside.
“My friend, I’m here…don’t be on edge.”
He laughed, his hand stroking the silver handle as he pushed the door closed. If ridding the world of the Hagalaz cult was what it would take to get the old Jack back, I would happily do it. First, however, I needed more intelligence on their meetings and members. And, the only person who was amazing at that was…Chloe.
“Of course, the great Thunder Hunter.”
I frowned at his sarcastic tone. My phone distracted me as its muffled ring vibrated in my pocket. Digging it out, I paused when I saw the unfamiliar number.
“Hello?” I answered.
“I’m not sure I appreciate you whisking my daughter off like that, Trygger. She informs me you want to meet again. I hope you’ll bring the journal along with you.” It was my new arch enemy. Great. “I’m having a party tomorrow night. I’ll text you the address. Please, feel free to bring your friends along. I promise none of you will be harmed.” Martin’s tone was sharp, yet, his breath was short.
Was he anxious or excited?
“Will you come?” he asked when I didn’t reply.
Coughing loudly down the phone, I stifled a grin when Jack put his fingers in the shape of a gun to his head and pretended to shoot. He could obviously hear Martin on the other end.
“Yes, we’ll be there. Is it fancy dress? Shall I dress up as a Viking?”
Martin laughed, the sound relaxing his tone. The man was a strange creature, one that I was happy to put down. He certainly needed it.
“Funny you should say that, it’s a Viking & Norse mythology theme. Fancy dress is required. Details will be with you shortly.”
As the phone beeped in my ear, I stared at Jack. “We’re going to a party tomorrow night.”
He shook his head quickly, dislodging the sunglasses again. “I can’t, I’ve got to be here.”
/> “It’s fancy dress.”
His eyebrows rose as he tipped his head forward, his sunglasses bouncing down onto his nose. “Well then, my lovely, I shall be there. How can I pass up a fancy dress party with a crazy cult? Plus, my friend needs me, don’t you?”
Pushing myself up from the leather chair, I nabbed the bottle of whiskey and downed a mouthful. “No, not really. However, you could use your powers of persuasion on some of the cult members to extract information. Especially about the lovely woman who has apparently got on the good side of your father…or is it underneath?”
“Fuck you,” Jack threw at me as I walked backwards towards the door. “I’m sure that woman has something to do with Martin.”
“Then get researching, dickhead, it’s what you do best. Let me know what you find.” Reaching the door, I paused when I heard talking outside in the corridor. “Someone’s coming.”
Casually opening the door, I froze when Chloe rounded into the office. “Oh…hello.”
Rusty trotted in beside her, his eyes surveying the room for danger before coming over to say hello. He nudged me in the knee, expecting me to pay him attention immediately. Leaning down, I stroked his head as Chloe stood shuffling her feet by the door.
“Did you come to see Jack?” I asked Chloe as I straightened.
She glanced between us, biting on her bottom lip. The tight jeans and light pink flowy top made her unusually smooth hair look respectable. The rips over her knees showed smooth tanned skin. Her whole persona had changed over the last month. Who had she become?
“I…well…I didn’t know…”
“It’s fine,” I said, going through the door. “I was just leaving anyway. See you tomorrow, Jack,” I called as I left.
“Wait, Trygger.” Chloe came into the corridor. “Can I get a ride back with you?”
My teeth physically bit down on my tongue before I could blurt out my preferred answer. Only an hour ago, I had almost done dirty things with Hannah on my bike. Having Chloe sit behind me didn’t seem quite appropriate.
Lightning Seeker: Viking Soul Book 2 (Viking Soul Series) Page 8