Angel Hunter- Redemption Book 2

by LaVerne Thompson

  “I’d say we got lucky,” he said. He intended to get even luckier. There was a bench in there he planned on making use of. He placed the gun on the counter next to the candle she’d carried in there.

  They both undressed but she was faster because he kept pausing to look at her. The glow from the muted light in the room highlighted her beautiful caramel skin. And Jesus, the woman was all slender curves but toned. She looked more like one of the hunters than someone who was a computer nerd, who spent most of her time seated in front of a computer. But he knew she also worked out. He’d seen her fight with the sword. He’d also seen the weights down in the library and swords on the wall. They weren’t merely for decoration.

  She opened the door but no steam rushed out of the enclosed shower into the rest of the bathroom. He braced himself for the water to be cold. Eva stepped in. Devlin was right behind her. Shutting the door, he turned to her as the lukewarm water hit her skin. “Don’t worry. I’ll heat you up.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Scott could sense the sun up and while the thick clouds of ash caused by the fires helped to block out the sun’s effects, it wasn’t enough. He’d tried venturing out but any patch of sunlight was dangerous for his existence. He wouldn’t be able to go get the bitch until tonight. He could wait. He glanced down at Michael’s mangled body and face. Because of the liquid he’d coated the blade with, his wounds seemed slower to heal. The dark sheets beneath the body or what was left of it glistened with liquid. Blood. He’d practically drained him. And still he told him nothing.

  The emotions he’d consumed last night even from Chris were fading, so he could no longer feel pleasure from Michael’s pain since he’d passed out hours ago. He couldn’t feed off it, plus it was muted anyway. Soulless couldn’t feed off each other, at least not usually because they had no emotion so there was no point. But the liquid he’d placed in the male’s blood gave him a slight buzz because it enhanced Michael’s pain and Scott absorbed it. It wasn’t much but a buzz was a buzz.

  No matter, later he’d have the woman to give him sustenance. Michael had an interest in the Chronicler; perhaps Michael would talk if she were threatened. It was a thought worth pursuing. He wiped the blade on the bed but that didn’t help since the bed was soaked. So he bent down and picked up the shirt he’d taken off Michael earlier and wiped the blade on it until it was nice and shiny again. Not a speck of blood visible. He licked it to make sure.

  Looking down at Michael, he could see the man’s eyes were now wide open, staring at him. There was no emotion there. Scott thought he might start with those eyes later tonight. After, of course, he killed the Chronicler, Michael had to watch that. Her death would be the last thing Michael would see with his eyes. Or perhaps, it would terrify her even more to see Michael being tortured. He would decide later.

  “Sleep well,” he told Michael and left to go to his own room. He stepped over Chris’s carcass. He would think of an idea where he’d dispose of the body once he woke again. He walked down the hall and realized the three other rooms in his hallway were empty. The other soulless didn’t make it back. Since it was daylight if they weren’t back by now, it probably meant they never would be. Hunters may have gotten them, they were weak. He’d taken out two hunters on his way back to the house earlier in the evening. He felt nothing at the thought of the demise of the other males. He’d been a loner for as long as he could remember his existence, so being alone again meant nothing.

  He pushed his door open and didn’t bother to close it. No sunlight would filter into his room. Like all the rooms in the house, the windows were boarded with steel shutters on the inside. They took no chances.

  He stripped, rubbed his hands across his chest when he noticed the blood splashes. He wiped them off and his face too, for good measure. He tossed the clothes aside and lay down on the bed. Shutting his eyes, he waited for the sun to wane and the moon to rise.

  “Turn around,” Devlin told Eva. She did and he grabbed the bottle of shampoo on the built-in shelf. He poured some into his hand and began to lather her hair. “Hmmm feels so soft and smells really good.”

  Eva chuckled. “Anything smells better than smoke.”

  “True.” He bent down and kissed the top of her shoulder but continued to work on lathering up her long locks. He worked the shampoo all the way through until the scent of the honeysuckle and a hint of ginger filled the enclosed space. He washed the shampoo out of her hair and then grabbed her bottle of conditioner. He worked that into her hair, then rinsed it out before turning her around. “Better?”

  “Yes but would have been heaven if the water would have been hot instead of barely warm.”

  “At least we have water, so I’m not going to complain.”

  “Good point. Your turn.”

  He handed her the shampoo and did as she asked.

  “You’re too tall. Sit on the bench. It would be easier for me to wash this mop.”

  He grinned and did that too. Twisting his body, so she could reach him. The minute her fingers touched his scalp, he tilted his head back a bit. “Hmmm, that feels good.” And it did. His entire body relaxed into her caress as he hadn’t relaxed in years, and he wasn’t surprised it was because of Eva. She’d been important to him for a long time, before they’d actually even met in person. They’d been online friends for so long, maybe even something more. The minute she’d shut down their friendship, he’d known he’d lost something more than just an online friend. He’d lost someone important to him, someone who he was coming to realize might have been everything to him. He had another chance with her. She mattered. He wouldn’t blow it.

  She was unexpectedly different in so many ways. Even though she didn’t like what he did, at least she knew. He’d never have to lie to her. Lying was never good for a relationship. It’s why he’d never been interested in one long term. He’d been tempted in the past but the minute he had to ask himself if the woman he was with would be one who could handle the hunter part of who he was, that answer had always been no. It wasn’t exactly yes with Eva, but at least they could try.

  Devlin wanted to try. With her.

  Standing up, he rinsed out his hair as she washed herself off. Then she used the washcloth to run it all over his body. His dick was hard already, had been since he’d stepped into the shower. It turned into fucking titanium now but unlike the metal, he was flesh and blood and he ached.

  Devlin stopped her hand that had been rubbing his chest. “Evangeline. I want you. This is real for me. I don’t want you to hold my being a hunter over me. Not if it prevents us from having a relationship.” He placed his other hand around her neck. “Not when it stops us from being close like this. Not when it stops me from making love to you.” He pressed his lips against her, to shut his words up. Because the words he almost said to her were, not if it stops me from loving you. Oh fuck, he was in love with the woman. He devoured her mouth as the water cascaded around them.

  Pulling away from her, he backed up and sat down on the bench, widening his legs. He positioned her over his thighs. She put her hands on his shoulder to balance herself, then she moved one hand to hold onto his cock and eased down onto him. She placed her hand back on his shoulder.

  They both groaned as he filled her.

  He grabbed onto her hips, his legs tensed as he flexed his ass and surged upward into her. Filling her with his flesh as the warmth of her haven surrounded him, squeezing him, prompting him to fuck her even more. So he did. He helped her move up and down on him, their rhythm increasing. The sound of the water beating against the tile floor a background symphony to the slapping of their wet skin against each other. He released one hand from her waist to thread them through her hair, bringing her closer to him.

  Their lips locked and she took control of the kiss, her tongue wrapped around his and began stroking him as he stroked her pussy. His movements became faster, her downward thrust onto his thighs harder. His entire frame trembled as his cum found its way through his shaft and i
nto her waiting haven. She ground onto his pelvis, her inner muscles flexing as she came with him. The excess liquids flowing down their legs to mix with the water floating into the drain.

  Breathing hard, he looked into her glassy eyes as though seeing her for the first time. He framed her face with both hands and kissed her again. He loved her. He could deny it no more, now he just had to get her to love him back and then he’d tell her. But he’d loved her the first time he’d seen her face on his computer screen. She was it.

  They finished their shower and toweled off. She couldn’t hide another yawn. They were both tired and needed to sleep. There’d be plenty still to do later tonight.

  After he finished drying her off, he wrapped her in a towel, picked her up and took her to the bedroom. He removed the towel and pulled back the duvet tucking her under it.

  He turned off the candle then climbed in as she scooted back until she rested against him, he wrapped her in his arms and snuggled against her. He kissed her hair, burying his face in it for a moment, holding onto her tight. His heart beat against his chest; he didn’t want to hide how he felt about her anymore. In the darkened room, he placed his lips against her ear. “I love you,” he whispered. He waited a beat but got no response from her. Then the soft sounds of her indrawn breaths filled the room. He smiled. Figures. The first time he ever told a woman he loved her and she was too tired to hear it.

  As tired as he was, he had a lot on his mind and wasn’t quite ready for sleep to claim him. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she’d been targeted and earlier showed it wasn’t just Michael who wanted her. He was convinced while Michael might be one of the soulless like Thalya, clearly someone else had been in her house. Someone who Devlin was pretty sure didn’t know about the library under the house and wasn’t like Michael. That meant that someone who meant harm wanted Eva. She wasn’t safe here. If she wouldn’t leave, that meant he needed to damn well hunt down the sonofabitch who was after her.

  He’d start by trying to find Michael, see if he knew who might be after her. And he owed the man for bringing the scroll to Eva. Maybe Michael would be willing to share any ideas about where the other soulless were. It was going to be hard though, because Devlin had the hunters searching for Michael’s place ever since he first suspected what he was with no luck, they couldn’t even locate that traitor Chris. He should ask Michael about the man too, if they ever found him.

  With the condition of Southern California right now, it had gone from difficult to damn near impossible. It was going to be another long ass night later. Sleep finally claimed him.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Eva sighed before she opened her eyes, the room was darker now; the sun must have set. How long had they slept? The arm over her hip already felt familiar, she’d know his feel anywhere anytime. Funny how she was so comfortable with him so fast. Perhaps it was time she admitted that Devlin was her one. Fate had dictated the first of the Chroniclers would be destined to find love and the one strong enough who would be the father of her daughters. He and only he would father the next generation. Which meant she loved him. Maybe she would have embraced her feelings for him sooner if her natural prejudice against the way the hunters treated all soulless hadn’t blinded her so much.

  She never missed her mother or sisters more than now. Eva could have used the advice of her mother and older sisters, even her younger ones. But they were all long gone. And the only one left was far away. Too far to help her.

  Carefully twisting, she stared in the direction of where his beautiful face should be. It was dark as deep space in the room. But she could call up his looks from memory.

  He wasn’t classically or unbelievably beautiful like Michael and the other soulless, his features were strong not soft. That square jaw line didn’t break. His looks were rugged, masculine. You looked at him and knew he was no pampered male, but a handsome man. One women would naturally gravitate toward. As she did. Had from the beginning, even before she’d first seen what he looked like over a year ago. She’d first been attracted to his quick mind in the gamer chat room. His hacking skills were almost as good as hers. His friendship had come to mean a lot to her. They’d flirted online like crazy, and she’d been ready to take that next step but then she’d found out his secret.

  The shock of it more than anything pissed her off. He was a hunter. She’d had a secret of her own that made it all problematic. She was a Chronicler. Her family kept the records of what the soulless and hunters did here on earth. They didn’t judge, they didn’t interfere, they only recorded.

  The thing was what they recorded could shift the fight for either side. So they remained neutral. Until recently. Even though they were still neutral, they now aligned themselves with some soulless as well as hunters. After a hunter, Samuel, proved to be Thalya’s, a soulless redemption…it changed everything. A hunter and soulless aligned was unprecedented. So the Chroniclers had to change in their approach and view of the war between these two groups, yet Eva still couldn’t forgive Devlin. She’d judged him. Now, she had to admit, in truth there was nothing to forgive. They’d both been wrong. Being a hunter wasn’t something she should have ever condemned him for.

  Eva was in love with him, had been falling in love with him during their online chats. But how to tell him? How to tell him about what being the first Chronicler really means? She shut her eyes again, and placed her arm over her face in a pathetic attempt to hold back her reality. It didn’t work. One step at a time. First, she needed to talk to him about an alliance, like her aunt Wilhelmina had set up with Samuel and Thalya back in New York. Even though Los Angeles was a shithole now, they still needed to be out here and they had to find Michael. To thank him for returning the Chronicle to her but also to find out if he knew where the others were. After that was settled and they had some time to breathe, then she would tell Devlin she loved him. She knew she was stalling and sooner or later, she’d have to tell him, but she was going for later. Not the love part but the rest of it. What it really meant. She needed to make damn sure he loved her first.

  “Mmm…are you watching me sleep?”

  His deep husky voice had her looking in his direction again. She felt his arms tighten around her. “I can’t see a damn thing. While I can see a bit in the dark, it’s pitch black in here.”

  “You can’t? That’s too bad.” His hand touched her face. “I can. A little gift from my soulless grandfather.”

  “Cheat,” she said and smacked where she thought his bicep was.

  He chuckled. “I can tell the sun’s down. We need to get something to eat then head back out.”

  “I know. But we need to find Michael tonight. He’s got to be a priority.”

  He pressed his lips to hers, but before she could hold him there and deepen the kiss, he was gone.

  “Shhh.”

  She didn’t say anything just squinted into the dark in the area where she thought his face was. Then she opened up her own senses. They weren’t as strong as a soulless, not even one like Devlin who had a trace of their powers, but her senses were enhanced. Her people were human but trained and blessed ones. They had abilities too. Some might deem them witches, but their powers, what they had, were blessings from God.

  Eva couldn’t pick up on anything specifically, but the hairs at the nape of her neck were standing on end. And she trusted Devlin. She felt him maneuver his hand under the pillow for the gun he’d put there earlier. She rolled away from him and got up with her arms outstretched until she found the edge of her dresser. Slowly, and silently by feel alone, she removed the loaded 9mm she kept there.

  Devlin came up beside her, pressed his lips to her ear. The feel seemed oddly familiar like he’d done this before. Then he whispered, “Window.”

  Her head whipped over in the direction of the window, but she couldn’t see anything. No street lights were on out there, so she could see nothing. But if Devlin thought someone was out there, then someone was.

  “On the floor,” he whispered
again.

  He took her hand and tugged her toward what she thought was his side of the bed. She felt the edge of the mattress. She took that to mean he wanted her on the floor on the side away from the window. She felt him move away but she followed, like hell if he thought she was going to cower on the floor. He needed to learn she bowed to no man or soulless.

  Instead of lying on the floor at the other side of the bed, she came around to the end of the bed and hunkered down, so she wouldn’t be seen. She tried to focus on where she thought the window would be. She had no idea where Devlin lay in wait and didn’t want to say anything in case she gave away his presence to anyone who might be lurking outside. She still couldn’t hear anything, but her instincts were screaming ‘danger.’ They’d never let her down.

  Then she heard it. If she hadn’t been so attuned to the silence in the room and the window, she might have missed it. But she heard a slight discordant sound. One she couldn’t dismiss.

  She sensed movement more than saw it. Then she heard the hissing sound of a blade, then a gunshot. The cracked window shattered and she saw the darkness move into the outline of a black shape on the other side of the window. But that became blocked from her view when another shape stepped in the way and she saw the flash of the bullet as it left the cartridge. The shot echoed throughout the room.

  Scrambling over to her side of the bed, she fumbled for the candle and turned it on illuminating Devlin’s grim features. A naked Devlin looked like a statue of David, if he were sculpted holding a gun in one hand and a blade in the other. The window was shattered.

  “Shit, the son of a bitch got away!” Devlin exclaimed.

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Stay where you are, there’s glass everywhere here.”

  “Did you see who it was?”

  “Yeah, I saw his face he looked kinda familiar but sometimes they all do. But it wasn’t Michael. And as much as you don’t want to believe it, you cannot stay here. Some shit is going on. Michael isn’t the only soulless who wants you and it seems that this one isn’t going to stop coming after you. At least Michael didn’t try to harm you. I don’t believe this one intends to keep to that program.” Devlin moved back over to his side of the bed and she heard him pulling on his clothes. “Pack a bag.”