Hell is a Harem - Book Three: Lick of Fire Series

by Faulks, Kim

  I stumbled past the rows of newspaper to see the headlines…

  Lucifer’s Daughter on the Hunt

  There was an image of Henry Mughausser, a profile taken from the bastard’s website, smug fucking smile and all…and another as he stood surrounded by some of the elite…

  Jerry Leander, founder of Claws for Hire, and high-profile investment banker, Henry Mughausser leaving the Ritz Carlton, Philadelphia.

  Jerry…I stared at the grainy black and white image.

  I didn’t need a journal to know it was him.

  “Hey man, you going to pay for that?” The kid called behind the newspaper stand. I reached out, snagged the top paper, and headed for the counter.

  “Oh, look, sorry ma’am,” the attendant glanced at me and rang up the items.

  “It’s all good,” I stared at the counter and slid a fifty and two twenties toward him. “This, the gas, and keep the change.”

  I grabbed the items and forced myself to stride from the service station before I glanced over my shoulder. The kid stared at the register, counting the money, caught up with the six bucks he pocketed. That’s exactly what I wanted…enough of a distraction to get me into the truck and out of sight.

  I piled the paper and the drinks on the seat as I pushed up with my good leg and spilled into the pickup.

  Claws for Hire…I didn’t have to think too hard to figure out his game. There were plenty of humans like him, ones that used supes for blood sport or protection…or both. I yanked out my phone and punched in his name.

  The website was first, a gaudy looking thing with bloody fangs and muscled men wearing tank tops and guns. I cringed and shook my head.

  I started the truck, pulled out into the traffic, and then slipped onto the on-ramp to the freeway.

  My pulse skipped, another of the Nine was in sight. Henry swore he was a nobody, swore they gave him no information about Titus. Maybe he was just a nobody.

  I sent out a tendril of power, searching for any sign of the night hag. The scratch down my chest was still there, healing, but still there. Maybe Henry wasn’t worth her coming after me.

  But someone was.

  Someone with a little more power.

  I turned my head and glanced at the image on the newspaper.

  I’d find them…every last one of them.

  Cars whipped past, heading into the city, sedans, trucks…a semi-trailer or two…a black Explorer caught my eye, dark-tinted windows, a shadow behind the wheel…there was something familiar…my gaze slipped to the license plate CAPTURE.

  My stomach clenched in warning, heart thundered, driving the icy crystals of fear through my veins. I knew that four-wheel drive and the sonofabitch behind it.

  I glanced into the rear-view mirror as the four-wheel drive sped past and pushed the accelerator a little harder. It wasn’t a coincidence Capture was here. In our line of work, there was no such thing.

  I pushed the old pickup a little harder and the rusted beast surged ahead. All of a sudden, mortal cops were the least of my worries.

  The Circle would send their best to take me down. They’d come hard and fast, some I’d never see coming, and some I’d smell a mile away.

  Jerry Leander was in my sights. Claws for Hire was a good three hours away. My thigh cramped and howled. I gripped the massive steering wheel and held on. Three hours of sitting. Three hours of driving.

  I swallowed and pushed the truck harder, watching the speedometer needle dance on the white line. Phone poles died away as I headed west and then south. Killman Bay was a quieter place, trapped between a town and a city. It was big enough for the high flyers like Jerry Leander to set up their headquarters.

  I knew of him…had heard of his men around the town. Mercenaries for hire, of the paranormal kind. And if there was anyone who knew about Titus, then it was him. The man with the money now gone, the man with the muscle in my sights.

  I drove until my hands quivered against the wheel and the pain climbed higher, spearing into my groin, then pulled off the freeway and found a small diner beside a convenience store.

  The place was busy, with lots of cars filled with screaming children and exhausted parents. I pulled the old truck into a parking space and killed the engine. Drugs, food, and rest. I glanced down at my thigh. Blood had seeped through the bandage to stain the front of my jeans once more.

  I was losing too much blood, pushing too hard. Rest, my body screamed. “Not yet,” I murmured. “Not until I get what I need.”

  I gripped the handle of the door and shoved. Hunger cramped and churned as the thing swung open and I climbed out.

  I went into the store, finding travel packets of pain killers. It wasn’t anywhere near enough. I lifted my head to the older woman behind the counter. “You got anything stronger than this?”

  She leaned to the side, found where I pointed, and shook her head. I grabbed them all, spilling the packets onto the counter, and turned around to the refrigerator section.

  She never looked at me as she rang up the pills and drinks. “Eighteen-fifty.”

  I handed her the money, then grabbed the pills and emptied the packets into my mouth as I headed for the diner. The path came around the front of the building and then up to the stairs. Darkness drew my gaze to the towering bank of trees behind the building.

  Something moved in the shadows, something stepped closer. Something that gripped me with fear.

  The night hag.

  I tried to swallow, tried to move, but I was frozen…

  And for a second the sun seemed to dip from the sky.

  You can’t run…she whispered inside my head.

  My knee buckled, and I crashed to the ground. I punched out a fist and hit the concrete path. My drinks hit the ground and then rolled. A whimper slipped from my lips as I stared at them, unable to lift my head...

  “Hey, lady, you okay?” a man called out behind me.

  Without a blow, she gripped me with fear.

  Hands at my back made me flinch. A little girl knelt on the ground in front of me. Pink tufts on a pretty white skirt. Run…I tried to scream the words.

  “She’s got a sore on her leg, Daddy,” she lifted her head and called.

  “Well, what do we do when someone’s hurt, Cassie?” he asked.

  Tiny fingers found my hand. I stared at the perfection and then lifted my gaze. The shadows were empty, the trees stood on their own.

  The night hag was gone, as though she’d never been there at all.

  I dropped my gaze, finding perfect blue eyes. “Thank you. You are such a good help.”

  She was a pretty little girl, with chubby cheeks and a wide smile. Four or five years old, it was hard to tell.

  “Mom says I’m a good helper,” she gushed, then gripped my arm and heaved.

  I shoved against the concrete and pushed up with my good leg.

  “Here, let me help you,” her father said as he stepped in close, glancing at the wound on my thigh and then at my cap.

  Strands of hair had slipped out to slap against my face. I reached up and shoved them back underneath as he bent to pick up the drinks. “You okay?”

  I glanced at the woods and nodded. “Just pushing a little hard, but thank you. You have a beautiful little girl.”

  Take her and leave this place, I wanted to warn. But the sun was back in the sky, like it’d never dulled at all.

  The man smiled, ruffled her hair, and nodded. “Thank you, takes after her mom, I think.”

  He motioned toward the diner. “You’re welcome to join us if you’d like?”

  “Thank you, but I’m going to grab something to go, gotta keep driving.”

  He gave a slow nod and then turned. He saw my hair, saw the blood on my jeans. Any moment he could call the police.

  Instead, he held out his hand to his daughter and they turned for the front door. I could hear her chatter all the way as they stepped through the door and it swung shut.

  The moment tore me in two. I wasn’t this m
urderer…I wasn’t this killer. The drive to protect and love burned through my veins. Just like it did for my father. I stumbled toward the diner, gripped the railing, and climbed the stairs.

  Love came in all shapes…as big as a heart…and as sharp as glass.

  Love can take a bullet.

  But love can deliver one, as well.

  I’d found someone I’d do both for…four of them, actually.

  And as I stepped into the diner, I hoped that one they could find some way to forgive me.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Redemption

  My phone kept ringing. Buzz…buzz…the constant sound grated on my nerves. Not now. Not fucking now. I gripped the wheel and punched the accelerator, watching the speedometer climb.

  Streets blurred as I wound through Harbor. Cold, stony fear had melted inside me…and panic was punching through. I needed to get to her…needed to find her before…before they did.

  Her life was forfeit…there wasn’t a soul on earth that could change that. But none of that mattered, not now, probably not ever. I’d leave everything behind if she gave me a chance.

  We could hide, here or in the Unseelie realm. I’d spend a goddamn eternity fighting to protect her, spill my blood just to keep her safe.

  The irony of that wasn’t lost on me. It felt like only yesterday she was running away from me, her mouth filled with words of hate.

  The phone vibrated and buzzed once more. I reached over, and as I snatched the damn thing from the seat, movement out the window caught my eye.

  A black Mustang cut across the lane toward me. Tires skidded, white smoke billowing in their wake. I gripped the wheel, glanced at the message…

  I know where you’re going…pull over.

  My heart hammered as I gripped the wheel and looked at the caller…Hall.

  Fucking Horton…goddamn sonofabitch. “You couldn’t give me a goddamn hour, could you?”

  I slid my hand down the side of the seat and pull out the Sig Sauer. Hall’s black Mustang was headed toward me, eating the distance.

  Too much attention. I’ll have the entire fucking city behind me. I clenched my jaw as the shifter pulled alongside me. Dark eyes glared at me. He waved two fingers toward the shoulder of the road.

  I strangled the wheel. Goddamnit! I’d worked with Hall for over eight years. Eight fucking years. I’d been to his house. I knew his wife…his kids.

  Friend, he called me.

  I downshifted the gears and hit the turning signal.

  But not anymore. Horton had left me no choice. Dust and rocks kicked up as I braked hard and pulled to a stop on the shoulder. The sun caught the Mustang, the gleam all I could see. I gripped the pistol, reached for the door, and climbed out.

  It’d be quick, painless, one silver bullet to the head. He’d never know…never know anything at all.

  Cars flew past me, blowing strands of my hair with the wind, but I never saw them. I never saw anything at all but the Mustang.

  The driver’s door of the Mustang opened and Hall climbed out. He moved like a soldier, ramrod-stiff spine and long strides. I searched his black leather pants and sleeved shirt for weapons.

  “Why don’t you answer your goddamn phone now?” He growled and lowered his gaze to my hand.

  I could see it all now. His hand would slip behind his back and then return with a pistol. It’d be too late…always too late. The Sig would kick in my hand, his life over before he moved.

  “It’s like that, is it?” he murmured. “You’d kill me for her?”

  “Yes.” The answer was so easy, just like falling in love.

  “Lucky I’m not here to fucking hunt then, isn’t it?” He turned over his hand and stepped closer. “You need us…Lorn needs us. We’re in…all of us.”

  A car slowed behind me and the crunch of tires on the graveled shoulder of the road followed. Car doors slammed as a trail bike cut across the road in front of us and skidded to a stop alongside Hall’s car.

  I glanced over my shoulder at the four hunters who’d climbed out of the car. Prescott, Hank, Gabriella, and Sloth headed toward us.

  “You think we were gonna just let you leave?” Hall growled. “She’s our friend, too. I’m paying for my daughter’s schooling with the money I make now. Sloth just paid for his home. Gabriella can afford to look for a decent car, instead of the piece of crap she’s driven for the last fifteen years, and none of this would’ve happened if it wasn’t for Lorn.”

  I’d forgotten all the things she’d done for them…all the missed opportunities they now had a chance to recover from, and it wasn’t just about the money. It was about her. Lorn sacrificed for them, she cared for them…she cared for all of us.

  “You’re going to protect her, so we’re here to protect you. You say the word and we’ll take down anyone they send your way.”

  I flinched. “Horton, does he know about this?”

  There was the hint of a smile as he shook his head. “You think we’re gonna worry about what that asshole says?”

  I gave a smile. “It never stopped you before.”

  “Exactly,” he growled.

  Riley took off her helmet and climbed from the motorbike. She strode toward us, sleek moves like a damn predator. “Capture’s going after her,” she muttered. “His entire line is talking about it.”

  “Fucking vampires,” Hall muttered and then cut Riley a look. “Except you, Riles.”

  “Fucking vampires indeed.” She lifted her middle finger toward Hall and then found my gaze. “You want us to go after him?”

  I shook my head. Six hunters on one was a bad move. My mind raced. “No, I’ll find her before he does. I need you to hold off the rest, threaten, take down…do what you need to. I know it looks bad, but there’s bigger things at play here. Stuff I can’t mention out loud yet.”

  “Dude, we just lost the greatest hunter that ever lived,” Hall shook his head and then lifted his gaze to mine. “Alma was more than the founding member, she was The Circle. We want revenge just as much as Lorn does.”

  And suddenly that choking sense of fear lifted. “Then do what you can, however you can.”

  Every one of them nodded before Hall turned away. “Let’s lock and load!”

  Dark clouds gathered, sweeping in with a gust of bitter wind. Car doors slammed and engines started, they were gone in an instant, kicking up the dust in their wake.

  I lifted my head to the darkening sky. Gray and black and blue like someone had beaten this world bloody. The gust of wind turned violent, like a summer’s squall had set in…

  Only it didn’t feel like Mother Nature…it was filled with anger and pain. The hairs on my arms stood on end, whispering something’s wrong here…something’s very wrong…

  I went to the truck and climbed back into as the warmth of the sun faded, and the dark, threatening scent of rage closed around me. I leaned forward and started the engine as an unseen fist squeezed my heart.

  There was a crack of thunder as a savage bolt of lightning ripped across the sky…and out of the blinding neon light something fell from the sky.

  Dirty white feathers and hate, the Archangel Gabriel hit the earth like a bomb, shaking the ground, trembling the sky. I gripped the wheel as the truck shuddered and shook, and slowly the angel rose to his feet in front of the truck.

  Only he was different, no longer the man I knew…

  His once-bright, crystal-clear blue eyes were now dark and hostile, mirroring the bruised clouds above. Torment and pain echoed deep.

  He moved stiffly, as though the weight of this was barbed and cruel as he took a step toward the driver’s side of the truck.

  I shook my head…I didn’t have time for this…I didn’t have time for him. Not now…not when Lorn needed me more.

  “I made a mistake,” his ragged words were gravelly and raw. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to save her.”

  Jesus…I glanced at the highway and the ass end of Hall’s Mustang as it slipped into th
e traffic and out of view, and then back to this bleeding-hearted sonofabitch.

  I leaned forward, turned the key, and killed the engine as a peal of thunder rattled the sky. He never moved as I yanked the door handle and stepped out once more.

  You left her…the words surfaced somewhere in the back of my mind. There was a gunshot of anger, resentment…jealousy… “She won’t care about that.”

  “I do. I care…she can’t see me…not like this.”

  His wings trembled as they spanned upwards. Dirty white feathers clumped together as he stretched them out wide. Joints and flesh were covered with angry red scars where there were once perfect, soft white plumes.

  The guy was a mess…on the inside and the out.

  He took a slow step toward me. “I feel her, you know. I feel her calling me, desperate for me…for all of us, and it fucking tears me apart.”

  “Get your shit together. Angel the fuck up, and do what you’re supposed to do. You think she gives a fuck about what you look like?” I tried to swallow the words, but they spilled free. “You think she gives a shit about anything other than staying alive right now, and that isn’t for her own benefit. I know her too fucking well for that. She’s got a purpose now, and if you’ve never seen a woman possessed, then you’d better steel that weak-ass spine of yours up, because it won’t be pretty…whatever we walk into won’t be pretty at all. But it’ll be her, wounds, weapons, and all…it’ll be her.”

  He had everything…everything I wanted and he was letting it slip away.

  “Or don’t. Whatever you do is up to you. But I know one thing…” I glanced at the darkening sky as the clouds swirled around us. “She’s out there…she’s out there all alone. You’re hurting because you’re alone. You left her, hell we all left her in one way or another, except for the cop. She deserves better…she deserves far better.”

  The storm seemed to shift in his eyes, growing colder, hungrier, as though what I saw in the sky was only a fraction of the rage he held inside.