Vengeance: The Niteclif Evolutions, Book 3

by Denise Tompkins

  “Either way, you kept her from danger. Thank you.”

  I started to say something about my being restricted to the British Isles, but Hellion squeezed me hard enough for me to protest. Okay, so that was our little secret—Hellion’s, mine and my cracked ribs.

  “What happened to everyone else?” I didn’t know how Hellion could have managed to evacuate everyone so quickly.

  “Bahlin’s in the basement cloaking Darius because I couldn’t move him without running the risk of daylight exposure. I’ve put Stearns and Mark at Ballinlough, and Mary’s at the manor in Ireland. The part-time staff doesn’t come in on even-numbered days.” Hellion scrubbed his hands over his face then pushed his hair away. “Agares has been cast out again.”

  I doubted anyone would see anything different, but I felt the small tremors in his back and arms as he admitted casting out the demon. “Won’t that piss him off?”

  “Agares? I’m sure he’s furious. He cursed me quite effectively and had Bahlin not been here to intervene, I likely would have suffered mightily.”

  “How did the dragon intervene in a partial shift?” Micah asked.

  “He didn’t. He shifted, filling up the foyer,” Hellion answered, pulling me closer and soothing the tremors that had migrated to me. “He shoved us all to the back of the entry and turned his back on the demon, wrapping us in his wings to give me time to get everyone away. Dragon scales are impervious to the majority of minor curses. I managed to send Agares back to Hell before he could conjure something worse.”

  I leaned back and looked at Hellion. “He’s okay?”

  “Bahlin’s fine.”

  The last of the tension went out of me so that I could just enjoy being held.

  “Do you not think there’s something you should discuss with Hellion?” Micah asked, his voice full of false innocence.

  “I should find a way to kill you myself,” I muttered, pulling away from Hellion and turning to face the Nephilim. Louder I said, “Don’t you think you should mind your own damned business?”

  Hellion stiffened.

  Micah tucked away the clear opportunity he thought he was building for himself.

  In truth, I’d have sought out a garden gnome to father my child before I’d have allowed his presumptive ass the opportunity. I sulked, drawing closer to Hellion as silence hung unimaginably heavy between the three of us.

  “Maddy?” Hellion asked. “Did something happen?”

  “No. It’s fine. What Micah’s referring to has nothing to do with anyone beyond you and me, so I won’t discuss it with him present.”

  “All right.” Hellion turned toward the bedroom door and stumbled, righting himself before he went down.

  “Hey, hey, hey. Why don’t you have a seat and tell me what lit your hems on fire?” I teased, pulling him toward the sofa.

  “I’ve got to retrieve everyone, tell Bahlin it’s clear, arrange workman for the front door again while Mark calls in the part-time staff to clean—” He yawned, the cords of his neck standing out as he shook with the effort.

  “And maybe you can let us handle a little bit of this too. While Micah’s navigational skills apparently suck, I’m sure he can find his way to your other two homes with a map and a little extra prayer,” I snarked, looking over at the Nephilim. He glared at me and I mouthed, Shut…your…damn…mouth.

  Turning back to Hellion, I said, “I’ll go get Bahlin and make sure he’s got what he needs to grab a shower. I’m going to take him some of your clothes too. When fallen angel boy gets back here with the crew, I’ll turn everything over to Mark and then join you up here for a nap. Sound good?”

  He was nearly dozing already and his answered, “Aye,” was soft. “Just a few minutes.”

  “Sure, baby. Just a few minutes.” I untied his shoes and lifted his feet up on the sofa as he lay down, tugging his sneakers off one at a time. “Micah, hand me that foot blanket on the bed.” I reached behind me but there was no sound, so I turned to hiss my request and found he’d gone. Sighing, I retrieved the blanket myself, covered Hellion and smiled when, as I stroked his head, he smiled back. I was sure he wasn’t aware of it, but it was the sweetest gesture.

  Thirty minutes max, I promised myself, and I’d be back up here.

  The foyer was a hellacious mess, no pun intended. The new door was a pile of splintered kindling, the leaded glass inserts shattered all over the floor and glittering like diamonds. Oh wait. Some of those were bits and pieces of the chandelier. Yeah, that was going to have to be replaced too. I needed to get a circle of chairs around the fall zone to keep people clear in case it came down. I heard voices coming from the kitchen and I froze for a moment, surprised to see Mary slide open the pocket door and stop cold at the site of the mess.

  “Bluidy hell!” she boomed out. “Who the fook is doin’ this?” She glared at me until I felt compelled by supernatural guilt to answer.

  “Uh, a demon?”

  “He’d better be a bluidy ‘demen’ or he’ll haf hell tae pay when Sir lays hans on ’im!”

  “Yeah. ‘Sir’s’ got to grab a few Z’s first, though. He’s conked out upstairs on the sofa in his…our…bedroom. Do you think you could manage something like pizza for dinner?” She looked at me with a cocked brow and I hurried on. “I want to have a carpet picnic with him in front of the fire tonight, and I thought that pizza would be fun. And maybe…beer?”

  Her eyes had softened when she realized I wasn’t just fishing after my stomach but looking to take care of Hellion. She’d do anything for that man. “How aboot I order from the local pub an’ have ’em deliver? They’ll bring ’round a feast and we can feed the workers an’ hoose guests too.”

  Impulsively I walked over and gave her a quick hug. “Thanks, Mary.”

  She was beaming when I pulled away and she patted my arm. “You, ye’re sae good fer ’im.”

  “I hope so.” Embarrassed, I cleared my throat. “I’ve got to go get Bahlin out of the basement and start getting this set to rights and… Um, Mary? How did you get home?”

  “Why, Micah broot me, love.”

  “Oh.”

  The voices of Stearns and Mark came through the kitchen next.

  “Maddy!” Mark called, rushing forward to hug me, and Stearns followed suit. Surprised, I hugged them back until Micah walked in and, grinning like the Cheshire Cat, made crude hip-pumping gestures while pointing at both men. I scrambled out of their arms and had to work to slow my breathing.

  “Thanks guys. Mark,” I said more business-like than was necessary, “I need you to contact the part-timers and start getting the extra staff on hand for the next three days to get this place cleaned up. You’ll need to stay ahead of the workmen’s mess as doors, windows, plaster—shit…is that stucco?—okay, and stucco is replaced. Find a chandelier company who can remove this light immediately. I don’t want anyone getting hurt if it falls.” In punctuation, a few crystals fell to the floor and shattered. “Hellion will pick out the replacement. Stearns, please start contacting all the contractors, electricians, millworks companies—”

  Mary screamed and the men were bowled over as Micah tackled me. We slid across the entry, the chandelier crashing to the ground with a shattering boom. Micah kept me underneath him as plaster chunks fell from the ceiling and electrical wires sparked. He pushed up ever so slowly and gazed at me, his eyes that warm cognac color I was beginning to associate with lust. He smiled down at me and said, “I saved you. It should earn me a boon.” He started to lower his lips to mine.

  “Back off, right now.” I could feel the evidence of his seemingly constant arousal pushing into my thigh.

  The fool kept coming.

  “I’m going to count to three and you better be off me, Micah. One.” He stuck his tongue in my mouth and I wrenched my chin away, only to find Bahlin standing there in a sheet, his eyes a dangerous color blue. I moved my hand to tell him to wait and he nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. “Two.” Micah nibbled and licked his way along
my jaw, and I shifted underneath him. He was all too anxious to let me get comfortable, the fool. His hand slipped to my breast just as I said, “Three. I warned you.”

  I drove my knee up as hard as I physically could and decimated his testicles, driving them up into his body. I hit him hard enough that I pushed his nearly seven foot tall frame forward at least a foot forward, his chin banging my nose. It immediately started to bleed, but I got what I wanted.

  He rolled off me, clutching himself, seconds before Bahlin got to us.

  “Your shirt, Bay,” I said, only to remember he wasn’t wearing one. He snapped his fingers and Mary tossed him the kitchen towel she always had on her person. Bahlin helped me stand and get my bearings before tilting my head back. Unfortunately, blood ran off my chin and I was pretty sure my white shirt was ruined.

  “Don’ ’ouch ’im, ’ahlin,” I said—honked?—around my swelling nose.

  “I won’t need to touch him,” he snarled and smoke wafted from his nose.

  Uh-oh.

  Avoiding Bahlin’s near nakedness, I rolled my eyes down and found Micah on his side, cupping his groin protectively and just getting his breath back. I spat a mouthful of blood. Looking over at Mark, I fought for calm. “I’ll clean that up, okay?”

  “No, you won’t,” he said in a low, menacing voice as he watched Micah.

  It was then that I realized everyone was focused on the Nephilim on the ground at my feet.

  “Maddy?” called the groggy voice from the stairs. “You okay, love?” Hellion rounded the corner then and his eyes widened in alarm and he took the stairs three at a time, sliding through the glass and splintered wood in his socked feet, and cursing as he rushed toward me. “You’re bleeding!” He grasped my chin and turned me toward him.

  “Eaby on da nobe, pleab,” I begged, keeping it tilted back and pinched tight.

  Hellion pulled the towel away, gently pressed a thumb to either side of my nose.

  Pain radiated through my sinus cavity like brain freeze to the ten thousandth power. Instinct made me jerk back, but Hellion’s fingers clasped my head hard enough to stop me. And as fast as the pain had spread, it was gone.

  “What happened to your—” He stopped mid-sentence as he looked down at Micah.

  The fallen angel rolled over and made it to his knees, all the while cupping his manly bits. He didn’t even lift his head to look at me. His face was the color of fresh cream.

  “What the fuck did he do to you?” Hellion asked in a deceptively calm voice, moving me behind him.

  “No, no, no.” If I told Hellion what had happened, he’d throw down with the Nephilim. The last thing we were prepared to deal with at the moment was lighting Micah up and inadvertently summoning another Dominae to the foyer. I tried to move around to face Hellion, but he kept shifting to stay between Micah and me. Exasperated, I grabbed his wrist and tugged him toward me. “I took care of it. You’ve got to trust me to handle these things, Hellion. If you don’t…well, you undermine my authority over myself.”

  “It’s not my intention to undermine your authority, Madeleine. I want to determine exactly what the hell he thought he’d accomplish in the first place.” His chest was heaving and a fine sweat had broken out at his temples and along his upper lip. He moved with exaggerated care as he stepped toward the Nephilim. Grasping his hair, he pulled his head back and we all saw Micah’s blazing eyes.

  “Now is definitely not the time, human,” Micah said and his voice held an odd resonance.

  “Oh that’s where we differ, mate. I think it’s a perfect time,” Hellion said, smiling.

  “NO! Don’t touch him, Hellion!” My scream echoed off the foyer’s smooth walls and marble floors.

  But the warning came too late. Hellion plowed his fist into Micah’s jaw and the other man’s head snapped back. Chest heaving and his nostrils flaring as he breathed, Hellion’s muscles seemed larger and the faint wind around him was an indication he was powering up. Of course, as tired as he was, this might be the most we got out of him.

  If it hadn’t been for Bahlin, whom I’d completely forgotten, it might have ended there. He stalked over to Micah, who was just getting up, and he popped him a couple of times in the stomach and solar plexus, forcing Micah to bend forward and place his hands on his knees as he fought to breathe. Micah started growing and he got to the point he was almost as tall as the ten-foot doorways. His clothes had shredded and he stood there in bare-naked glory.

  “I’ve warned you not to provoke me,” he said in a ringing voice that sounded as if it were coming through an out-of-synch microphone. He looked at me and said, “I told you what would happen, didn’t I? Do you believe me now?”

  My own rage built into a tangible thing. I ground my teeth so hard my jaw ached, but answer him I would. “What you told me was what would happen if I didn’t take you to my bed. And now you’re doing everything you can to make sure it happens, aren’t you? I don’t believe the chandelier fell on its own.”

  He stared at me and his shaft grew under my direct gaze. “I saved you from it either way, rendering it irrelevant.”

  “If this is your way of wooing me, it sucks. I don’t respond to death threats, false saves or rabid kisses, Micah!”

  “He what?” Hellion shouted at the same time Bahlin said, “You’re a dead man.”

  I spun around and put myself between them and Micah. “Stop!” I ordered in the firmest voice I could summon. “Just everybody stop.”

  Hellion and Bahlin were standing shoulder-to-shoulder, ready to take the guy down. I was oddly touched to see them working together in defense of my honor, but had I pointed it out, I’m sure one, or both, of them would have denied the solidarity.

  Turning back to Micah, I said, “Get your shit together. Shrink, put some clothes on and go straight to the basement. I’m sure Darius is awake with all the noise. It’s now less than an hour to sunset. We’ve done nothing to protect the house and we need a damn door,” I yelled. Stearns took off, undoubtedly to placate the crazy lady. “Stay in the basement until one of us comes for you. You’ll have to feed Darius either when he awakes or as soon as you get down there.”

  “I’ll not feed any son of Cain.” Micah was regal in his pronouncement.

  I looked at my watch, which was now covered in blood. “Then in about ninety minutes, one of Agares’s partners will be making his way through that nonexistent door to wraith your ass, Micah. And you know what? Hellion hasn’t rested enough to protect you, Bahlin’s not inclined, I’m on the fence and the staff?” I looked over my shoulder and they all shook their heads no. “See? You haven’t gone out of your way to make any friends since you arrived. Live with the consequences.”

  My chest heaved as a band of tension wound around it and tightened. When I recognized it as one of my old panic attack symptoms, I slowed my breathing, released my fists, let my jaw hang open and counted my breaths in and out. I made it to ten and then asked myself to be objective and determine if there was a true emergency. When my mind responded, Yeah. Which one would you like to address first? I knew I needed to get my shit together.

  Without moving, I said, “Hellion, Bahlin, to the master bedroom, please. Micah, to the basement as both a guest and an appetizer. I’ve instructed everyone else what to do. Mark, you’re in charge of ensuring it all happens. I don’t want to be disturbed for at least an hour. No knocking on the door, no paging, no intercom, nothing. We can be disturbed when I open the door, but not before then.” I turned to face him and noticed a great deal of tension resonating through the staff. “What?” I snapped.

  “Um, what if—” Mark tugged at his tie, “—what if there’s a problem?”

  “The only problem I don’t expect you to be able to manage is the demonic kind. Other than that, work it out. Run this household like I know you can, Mark. Just do it, okay?” I laid a hand on his cheek and he leaned his head into me and closed his eyes.

  “Okay, Maddy. I’ll do my best.”

  I snatched my
hand back and watched Mark go to work, barking out orders and whipping the handful of people in the foyer into a whirlwind of productivity. As young as he was, he never failed to impress me with his organizational skills.

  Micah looked at me and I waved my hands toward the basement door. “Go on.”

  His eyes sparked with rage, but he’d come back down to normal size. I wondered what would happen to him when he told Darius why he was there. For just a moment, I wished I could be there to see that.

  I turned and started up the stairs, my nose still trickling blood. Every step was burdened with reluctance. Each tread required more willpower to negotiate. The conversation waiting for me when I reached the third floor scared the living hell out of me.

  After a day like today, that was really saying something.

  Chapter Eight

  I went to the bathroom to wash my face before grabbing a clean T-shirt. By the time I made it back to the bedroom, both men were there. Bahlin had found a pair of pants but no shirt, and Hellion had ditched the socks he’d worn through the glass and splinters.

  The dragon was seated in the chair facing the bathroom so he saw me first. His gaze was benignly predatory, like a tiger observing visitors at a zoo. “Opportunistically predatory” might have been a better description. I wasn’t sure. My mind wanted a fence and safety pit between the animal and me whereas my body was ready to offer itself up for dessert now. As if he read my mind, his nostrils flared and he looked at me questioningly.

  I shrugged and moved around the sofa to sit next to Hellion. He pulled me close and I curled into his side for a moment before shifting to face him.

  “I need your undivided attention for this, and I need to not give in to the urge I have to bury my face in your shirt and refuse to come up for air.”

  He lifted his arm off my shoulders and laid it across the back of the sofa. He was attentive but not concerned. What I was about to say would change that, and I resented the situation in a bitter, vitriolic way.