Sevyn: Adult Paranormal Romance (BWWM Romance) (Supernatural Thriller) (The Smoke & Fire Series Book 4)

by Michele Wesley

  At those words, Neal was struck with a level of shock he rarely experienced. Drago was talking of killing Dana, ripping into her veins; yet she was smiling at him.

  What in the hell is wrong with her?

  As he struggled to make sense of Drago's words, Neal figured it best to prepare to start shooting, since Dana refused to take the man's threats seriously.

  Drago made a hand gesture to his men before continuing his speech.

  “I can’t believe you were stupid enough to meet with a bunch of killers—alone. You do know who I am, don’t you? I can’t be touched. I’m Mister Untouchable to the authorities; and now that I know that you know my secret, I have no choice but to kill you.”

  Dana's laughter put a deeper crease in Neal’s forehead.

  “I’m not afraid of you, Drago. You are the one that should be afraid. You should have practiced carrying a gun. Without one, you leave yourself vulnerable to people like me.”

  With his eyes more adjusted to the dim lighting, Neal clearly watched Drago’s eyes go wide and turn a blazing shade of red.

  “You are one crazy bitch.”

  Just as Drago positioned his lips to speak again, a gun went pop, pop, pop, pop in rapid succession.

  Chapter 13

  The Scariest People

  Neal's heart stopped. He feared that Dana had been shot, until he viewed her with a gun to Drago's head. Since she wasn’t harmed, his head snapped around, searching, to figure out what happened. He sat behind a sniper rifle, yet he didn’t have time to react or to shoot. It didn't take him long to find that Dana had been the one shooting.

  Apparently, when she went to her trunk, the case wasn't the only thing she took from it. Drago's entire crew had been laid out, all lifeless; they probably had no clue that their lives were in jeopardy. Drago stood in front of Dana, his eyes continuing to glow red. Neal was rooted in place, unaware of what to do at this point.

  Someone fired off another shot. It wasn't Dana this time, and the sound traveled from a greater distance. It must have come from the hidden man Drago had spoken of.

  Dana made a move that baffled Neal's mind and left him questioning not only who she was but what she was. He'd never seen a human move that fast.

  She took Drago’s back so quickly, Neal didn't have a chance to see her do it. She used him as her shield. Her arm pressed firmly against his throat as her weapon’s muzzle kissed his temple.

  Neal discovered one of the reasons she favored wearing heels. Right now, they made her closer to Drago’s height, which gave her better maneuverability and aim advantage on the sniper. The toe-curling growl pouring from Drago's throat was otherworldly.

  Dana yelled, into the night, “If you are smart, you'll reveal yourself. If you know who I am, I’m sure you know that I will not hesitate to chop this bastard's head off and burn it.”

  Neal was now certain of one thing. Dana was capable of handling herself. She was a dangerous woman; and fast, so incredibly fast it was mind-blowing. He sat behind a weapon with a scope and he hadn’t spotted anyone, but she somehow seemed to know where Drago’s last man was hidden.

  Seconds later, the man came out shooting. Dana used Drago as her shield. Automatic weapons fire sent slug after slug into Drago’s body. Neal witnessed the impact of each slug sending Drago's body harshly against Dana's. They stumbled back with each deadly impact as Drago screamed for the man to hold his fire.

  Neal had the shadowy figure in his sights. With Dana's life in jeopardy, he didn't hesitate to send a round into the sniper's head, splitting it like a watermelon dropped from a rooftop.

  Dana spun with a howling Drago in her grasp. She attempted to figure out who dropped the sniper.

  As Dana yelled for him to reveal himself, Neal's mind drifted for a moment. He was certain he saw Drago take at least five slugs.

  Why hasn't he dropped yet?

  Dana and Drago faced his direction.

  “If you don’t want to die, I suggest you show yourself.”

  Neal shouted, “Dana, don’t shoot. It’s me, Neal!”

  Dana must have recognized his voice because a bit of tension eased from her stance.

  Neal took the scope away from his eye and climbed from his perch. Stepping from the darkness, his eyes immediately landed on the infamous Drago. The man was literally chocked full of holes, but there he stood with only a few drops of blood dirtying his clothes.

  Upon taking in Dana, Neal noticed that she wore a short-styled wig that sat lopsided atop her head from her struggle with Drago.

  Neal needed her to explain this situation before his brain exploded. He and Dana stared at each other for a long while, long enough for Drago to come up with a plan.

  Drago delivered a blow to Dana’s hand, sending her gun clinking to the ground. He bucked, like a wild horse, and moved so fast, Neal's eyes could hardly keep up with him. Whatever speed-enhancing ability he had, Dana possessed it as well.

  Neal caught enough to know that Dana took a blow to the face before she regained control. It didn’t take her but a few seconds to get the fast-moving man under control.

  Neal jumped, both at the action and from the sound. Dana twisted the man’s neck with such speed, strength, and precision that Neal found himself both impressed and frightened.

  Drago’s limp body dropped to the ground, like a sack of rotten potatoes. Neal’s eyes swept Dana for answers as she stepped across the body to retrieve her weapon. She stepped back a few feet, aimed and shot, sending two slugs into Drago’s chest and two into his head. This was definitely overkill.

  Now, Neal finally understood the statement Dana had expressed some time ago, “The scariest people never reveal to you how scary they are. They show you right before they take your life.” The realization smacked him in the face; she had been talking about herself.

  As she marched towards the open hatchback of her car, Neal apologized.

  “I’m sorry. If I hadn't interrupted, he never would have been able to hit you.”

  After seeing her shoot five men without remorse, Neal stood in place as Dana dug through her trunk. His intended words faltered, as she marched away from the trunk with a machete.

  What is she going to do with that big-ass knife?

  Neal stood in place, eyes unblinking, mouth hanging wide open.

  If the knife was any indication, she wasn’t done with Drago.

  She returned to Drago's lifeless body. Standing over him, she raised the knife high above her head, preparing to hack him into pieces.

  As if a moment of clarity hit her, she glanced up, and said, “Neal, I'll explain this to you later, but I have to take his head. This bastard isn't dead.”

  The first chop went halfway through Drago’s neck, sending squirts of blood a couple feet into the air. The chop opened his neck enough to reveal fragments of bone and chunks of unidentifiable parts. Not much blood had seeped from his bullet wounds, but it now gushed onto the dirty pavement from his neck.

  The second chop connected with the remaining flesh holding Drago's head to his body before the knife hit the pavement beneath. A spark flickered from the force of the blow.

  Neal was reluctant to move or let out the breath he was holding. As much as he hated to admit it, he was afraid. Drago had been shot at least nine times and Dana had snapped his neck.

  How could he not have been dead?

  Oh, my God. The poor woman has gone mad.

  Neal didn’t know what to do, so he stood there while Dana hack the man’s head clean off his body. He prayed she had an explanation for killing five men and now believed she needed to hack one of them into parts. He'd even gotten himself involved, killing one of the men for her.

  Drago had been a target on Top’s Secret radar for nearly five years. Neal stood in place, observing Dana, standing there with the man's head in her hand. She'd gotten a hold of Drago's shoulder-length tresses, so the head dangled from her fingers like a chandelier.

  When she took a step towards him, Neal took a step back.
He staggered back a bit more when Dana lifted the decapitated head and stared into its eyes.

  “I finally got you, you bastard.”

  Neal wondered what her intentions were for the head as she walked past him and headed towards the rear of her car. He remained rooted in place, but it didn't stop his eyes from taking in the rest of her actions. She sat the head someplace and beckoned for him.

  “Neal, will you help me with this please?” She was asking him to help with the body in the chest.

  There is a logical explanation, Neal attempted to convince himself.

  Neal did as he was asked because, at this point, he didn’t know if his own life was in jeopardy.

  They maneuvered the body in the chest enough to make room for the head. Dana picked up the head, stuffed it inside, and slammed the chest shut. Neal helped Dana slide the chest further into the compact space of her trunk.

  “I’m not crazy, Neal. If that's what you're thinking.”

  You look crazy to me.

  He didn’t voice his thoughts. Two months of answers couldn't have explained what he'd witnessed and participated in.

  “You killed five people and hacked off a head. Why?”

  She placed her hand on the hatchback of the car.

  “I’ll explain it all once we get out of here. All I ask is that you keep an open mind.”

  She slammed the hatch shut, walked around, and climbed into the driver’s seat.

  Neal believed his mind couldn’t be any more open. He'd seen all sorts of unimaginable scenes in his line of work; but this was, by far, at the top of his list of weird and deadly. This situation defined a whole new level of insane.

  As Neal climbed into the front seat of the compact car, he ensured both his weapons were easily accessible.

  What is she going to do with that head?

  Neal had never bore witness to a beheading, and Dana's had been brutal. The sight of her lightning-fast movement also fought to stay at the surface of his mind.

  Chapter 14

  The Dead Don't Die

  Since Dana informed him that she would explain later, Neal refrained from asking questions right away. The amount of confusion he harbored made him change his mind rather quickly. He needed some answers before he burst.

  “How were you and Drago able to move so fast? Do you have an undocumented ability of some sort? Is it something you take that makes you move fast? There is no way anyone knows what you can do or they would lock you in a lab and study or clone you.”

  Dana stared straight ahead.

  “I operate under the codename Sevyn. When I wear the wig, I’m Sevyn, or it means I have gone under.”

  With those words, she jerked the wig off and sat it on the seat next to her.

  She thankfully continued.

  “I was given that name by another woman like me. I didn’t tell her anything, but I think we sensed it in each other, sensed that there was something extra within us, the same way I sense something in you, Neal.”

  Neal’s back stiffened at those words. He breathed a sigh of relief when Dana continued to talk.

  “She and I, we don’t have the same ability, but she has a special gift nonetheless. When we were on assignment together, she pointed out that I moved seven times faster than the average person. She started calling me Sevyn. I liked the name, so I kept it.

  “Most agents know her as Smoke. If you ever meet her, you’ll understand why. I think she is hiding a serious ability. Anyway, I’m honestly not sure how I’m able to move so fast. It all started after my mother was murdered. It was as if the horrific incident sparked something in me.”

  Neal calmed his nerves as best he could. Dana couldn’t talk fast enough to tell him all he wanted to know.

  He asked, “You’ve told no one of your special gift? You keep that part of yourself hidden away until you need to use it? Do people usually die when Sevyn comes out?”

  Neal nearly missed it, but Dana inclined her head.

  “Before I answer you, I have to ask. Are you not freaked out about this? You’re handling this with more ease than I would have expected.”

  Neal shrugged.

  “This job sometimes doesn’t leave me much room to be freaked out. Mentally, and physically, I have always been able to handle more than my share of chaos. But this time, I have to admit, I’m totally freaked out.”

  Silence filled the cab of the small car. The tight, suffocating space was alive with tension, mostly Neal’s. Dana seemed at peace, like chopping off heads and killing groups of people was something she did often.

  The dash lights illuminated her face with an unnatural glow. Neal stared at her, for a paused moment, as he gathered his thoughts.

  “You do realize you took out Luther Drago? The government has been after him for years and you have his head in your trunk.”

  Dana didn’t say anything for a long while before she asked, “How do you know his name? How do you know who the government wants? You’re not just some protection officer are you? You also killed someone without a second thought back there. And dare I ask, how were you able to follow me?”

  Neal was determined to find answers, and Dana was taking her time about giving them.

  “You first. What is this all about? I need some answers, Dana.”

  If Dana was connecting the clues as they were starting to line up in his head, Neal was thinking they might end up at the same conclusion. He had literally—by naming Drago—divulged to her that he was a government agent.

  She took in a deep breath.

  “I have been doing this, officially, for the government for three years now. I kill for the government, cleaning their kill list in exchange for killing Drago’s kind. But, you’re not off the hook either. It didn’t take me long to realize that you weren’t the average, every day bodyguard. How do you know who Luther Drago is?”

  He stared at her, his penetrating glare pushing through the darkness. He didn’t want to put his cards out there first, so he deflected.

  “You’re a spy for the government? Is that why you work so hard to keep secrets from your family? Is that why you couldn’t tell me anything?”

  “Yes. And I need you to keep my secret. You’re one of only a few who knows the kind of work a diplomat’s supposedly innocent daughter does. Technically, I don’t exist in this world. If something ever happens to me, I’m well aware they’ll make it look like an accident. Now, it’s your turn.”

  Neal wasn’t sure how to tell her that they were likely a part of the same team. She probably wasn’t going to believe him. He decided to try anyway.

  “What if I told you we work for the same team?”

  He sensed her assessing him through the dark. He was tempted to tell her to put her eyes back on the road, but she turned back in time to relieve his stress.

  Her voice was hollow, like she was talking and thinking at the same time.

  “I wouldn’t believe you. It would be too much of a coincidence, and it may mean my father knows about me, which puts his life in serious danger.”

  Neal reassured her.

  “Don’t worry, your father has no idea who I truly work for, nor do I think he knows your secrets. He knows you have them, but he doesn’t yet know what they are. The agency I work for is smart and strategic in their planning. If they believe an agent needed help or needed to be spied on, they would find a way to put us together.”

  “If we work for the same type of agency, what sector do you work for?”

  Neal cleared his throat and took a deep breath.

  “I work for Top. Top doesn't have sectors, they create them.”

  The sound of screeching tires reached his ears after his seat belt snapped against his chest. His head flew off the headrest as he quickly lurched forward. He reached out and gripped the dashboard and door panel.

  “I take it; you nearly snapped my neck because we truly do work for the same team?”

  She shook her head, rapidly.

  “There’s no way. As far as I k
now, there are only fifty Top agents in the entire country, at any given time. The job is so dangerous, you damn near have to qualify as crazy before they take you on.”

  Dana leaned towards him in the seat. She had her eyes level with his.

  “Prove it. Tell me some things only a Top agent would know.”

  Neal smiled.

  “Well, only a Top agent would be doing some of the shit I just witnessed. I still don’t understand the head thing, although Top only gets involved in cases that straddle the line between normal and abnormal. I have seen many things I can’t explain, but tonight went to a whole new level for me.”

  He tilted his head in thought.

  “You haven’t done it yet, but you will call a cleanup crew to clear the bridge. And before day breaks, the scene will be so clean that no one will know that you—or anyone—was there.”

  Neal snapped his finger, remembering something else.

  “The body you have in the chest will be picked up by one of Top's body snatchers. Like the bridge, all you have to do is provide them with a set of grid coordinates. Since he was on Top's kill list, they will build their own crime scene to make his death look like whatever they want it to.

  “Like I said before, if Top wants us together for whatever reason, they will make it happen. I didn't get this assignment, out of the blue, for nothing.”

  Dana was unusually quiet, probably trying to process the fact that they worked in the same underworld. Top was about as far under as one could get. Dana retrieved her phone, hit one button and started talking.

  “Clear Sevyn, 47-6262 North, 122.3359 West. Put the headless one on ice for a few days.”

  After she hung up the phone, Neal sensed Dana glancing his way. He wondered why she wanted Drago’s dead body on ice.

  “You’re likely hiding an ability also,” Dana reiterated, sounding sure of her words. “If I’m to tell you all my secrets, you need to come clean. I sensed something different in you the moment we met.”