Carl (Guardians In Love Book 4)

by Brianna West

  The demon horde, true to Aidan’s words, was certainly enough to pose a serious problem. But an angel on their own was impossible to defeat even with a group of highly trained Guardians.

  There was nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. The only chance we stood was discovering the reason behind why the Dark angel hadn’t attacked us yet, and then transmitting whatever information we could before our possible demise. Also, to hope like all hell that another angel came before the possibility of our deaths became an actuality.

  “Fuck,” Aidan cursed loudly, stopping as I stared above, unmoving. “Do you have some sort of death wish?”

  “We don’t stand a chance of getting away,” I said grimly. “Our only option is to find out what we can for the Guardians and hope your angel gets here in time.”

  “You’re something else,” Aidan huffed contemptuously. Coming to stand beside me, he withdrew the magically concealed hammer he carried, smirking devilishly. “Can’t say I’m not impressed, though. Fine, we go down together, yeah?”

  Lips lifted, I glanced at him shortly before returning my eyes to the angel. “An honor to fight beside you.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Let’s not be bloody girls about it and mush this up.”

  Strengthened with Aidan’s support, I refocused my efforts on the angel above. The angel’s phantom movements didn’t show with my foresight like I’d hoped, but that was to be expected. I didn’t imagine that my ability would work on an angel in the first place, let alone one so far from where I stood. Yet, he didn’t fly down. He could end us without so much as a lift of his finger. So, what was his aim if not our immediate defeat?

  Something beamed across the sky, a burst of white exploding above as another angel entered from behind us. It happened so quickly that even with my keen eyes, I barely caught the tail-end of the other angel’s arrival. The sound of the two angels colliding was deafening; the white light so bright that we were momentarily blinded by it. It was as if the sound itself shook the very earth beneath us, causing the swarm of demons to shift and fall into each other like damned dominos.

  Aidan sighed, his face finally coming into view as the light faded and exposed the devastation it had caused to the horde. Thankfully, it had taken out a good number of them. The angel from before and the one who had come to our rescue were gone. Their battle had probably taken to the high skies, and with their speed being on a completely different level from ours, it was no wonder we couldn’t see anything from where we stood. The sounds of it, however, were trembling through the air, the high-frequency booms echoing through the dense clouds.

  I peered around us at the snarling, grotesque bodies of demons with their claws and teeth sharpened, eager to tear through our flesh. After seeing enough of them over my substantial career as a Guardian, it no longer terrified me to see such a large group. I’d seen several portals worth of demons, and this swarm was nothing compared to those times. Barely an army. The throng of demons were suddenly closing in on us.

  Even though my head was throbbing so terribly it was hard not to wince from pain, I had a job to do. I didn’t intend to let Aidan do it for me.

  The sensation of transformation tickled over my flesh as the vortex of my magic swirled faster around me. Aidan delivered a blow with his hammer to the floor, the ground breaking apart and traveling swiftly out ahead of him, catching a large area of demons. The air trembled with our power as the two of us broke away and started towards our respective sides. Gold, red, and orange magic spindled around me, lashing out with long-reaching vines at the oncoming swarm.

  Withdrawing the blade concealed with magic on my back and my favorite gun holstered to my hip, I shot out a series of magic-encased bullets, then sliced through the demons who attempted to assault me. Several demons dropped with a bullet to the head, their bodies crumbling to ash and blood. Another vine of gold broke away from the vortex surrounding me, tearing through a line of demons. Sliced to pieces, demon after demon fell, practically as if they posed no challenge at all. And frankly, to me, they didn’t.

  Still, I didn’t let the ease at which I defeated them go to my head. I put all of my focus, all of my effort, into each attack aimed to kill the demons swarming close by. When a Guardian got comfortable, mistakes were made, and it could be the difference between life or death. Not only for themselves, but for their fellow Guardians.

  Besides, cocky didn’t look good on me. Which wasn’t something I could say about Aidan, whose smile had grown to outright glee as he pummeled through the demons who attempted to sink their claws and teeth into him. He quite literally looked like a kid at the candy store. His eyes were downright sparkling, and his every movement spoke of his confidence to overcome our daunting odds. In that brief moment of observation, I was captivated.

  The sky above us thundered and exploded with light again, my eyes quickly lifting to the sight of another angel joining the first who had come to our rescue. With my heightened sight, I could just make out the flapping of two sets of white, ethereal wings. The other set was blackened, as though dipped in ink from the topside down, to which it had bled through until it reached the bottom in webbed veins. The pale hair and light eyes were a typical angel characteristic, and they matched the other two it fought. The sight of the two facing off the one was breathtaking. Truly the sight of a lifetime.

  Aidan’s hammer plowed through a line of nearby demons, the ear-cringing sound of bones breaking and flesh tearing resonating inside of my ears. “Not very often you see that,” he said, eyes to the sky.

  Mouth lifted into a sarcastic smile, I nodded. “Pretty terrifying sight, ain’t it?”

  “A bleeding apocalyptic one.”

  Laughing, I stabbed through a demon’s face without looking at it, keeping my eyes to the sky. “Let’s hope not.”

  “I don’t know. We’d be completely snookered, but…” Aidan hummed as his hammer devastated another line of demons, “—might be fun.”

  “Your idea of fun is quite a ways off my idea of fun,” I teased, finally feeling like myself again as our banter continued.

  The shudder in the air and sounds of demons snarling and roaring almost masked the arrival of several Guardians, finding familiar faces among them as I swiftly panned the area. Conall’s glowing green eyes beside Laura’s blue ones connected with mine, their movements swiftly delivering death to the demons near them. More Guardians appeared beside them, quickly devastating the demons’ numbers with an array of unique techniques and powers.

  Light suddenly brightened the sky and washed everything in white, forcing me to close my eyes tightly to it. When it had faded, two angels were landing on the ground with their luminescent feathered wings drawing into their backs.

  Victor smiled, his eyes finding mine as the demons around us fell to a pile of ash and blood after another short burst of white. An angel’s power was truly incredible. As it should be. They were the most powerful creatures in existence. No matter how many times I’d been privy to it, I was still amazed by the sight of the once swarming demon horde collapsing to nothing but ashy liquid.

  The relief I felt seeing the pair of angels was unrivaled. Somehow, we’d come out of a Dark angel attack alive. Of course, I was still pondering what the Dark angel stood to gain from letting us live. It was almost as if being attacked by angels was its aim.

  The other angel beside Victor smiled kindly when I finally fixed my gaze on him. His short, perfectly styled blonde hair paired with a smart suit and expensive accessories said a number of things about him and his taste for finer things. Not that I was one to judge it, because I appreciated well-tailored clothing just as much as this angel seemed to.

  “You must be the infamous Carl.”

  He was as large, if not larger than Victor, whose stature was close to seven feet. The two together were enough to put the fear of God into any person. While their affectionate expressions were, by nature, soothing and welcoming, there was an intensely authoritative aura to them that demanded subservience.

  I
unconsciously straightened, smoothing down my chest in an absent tick I’d developed when I was uncomfortable. Then, realizing how I still fashioned almost no clothes at all, I internally cursed my goddamn luck. I glared sideways at Conall, who had come over to us shortly after the fighting had been finished, and then stepped forward with my hand outstretched politely.

  “And you must be Logan, the supervising angel of Conall’s team. A pleasure to finally meet you, sir,” I greeted respectfully.

  “Carl was injured,” Aidan interjected quickly just before the two of us could shake hands, the concern evident in his voice.

  Logan’s smile softened as he took my hand, squeezing his other hand around our joined two for a brief minute before releasing my hand entirely. Warmth had flooded into me, healing the steady throb in my head as well as any other injury I might’ve had.

  Angels had a natural healing ability, and I was grateful that Aidan had said something in my stead. Because I was much too proud to ask for help on the battlefield. I’d planned to address it at a later time.

  “Wow, I’d almost forgotten what a respectful Guardian looked like with this lot I’ve been cursed to oversee for all of my days.”

  The trio instantly soured with Logan’s words as Victor smiled brightly, his eyes dancing with amusement at the remark. “He is one of my most promising Guardians. I was rather torn on whether or not I should allow him to go, I must admit. Seems such a waste to give him to you.”

  Logan clicked his tongue, clear insult etched into his brow. “Are you insinuating something about my capabilities for fostering a Guardian’s potential, Victor?”

  “Is there something in which can be insinuated about them?” Victor countered, his smile never giving him away. However, knowing the angel as long as I’d known him, I gathered he was enjoying himself, immensely.

  The outright disgust in Logan’s expression was enough to make Aidan’s shoulders shake beside me, the were-bear Guardian’s face scrunching up as he fought to keep it together and not laugh out loud. I licked my lips and lifted my chin, refusing to acknowledge the twitch in my mouth as I kept from falling victim to the very same fate.

  “There is much to be said about this evening,” Victor went on, blatantly ignoring the snickering as Aidan and Conall finally broke down. “However, it has been quite an evening, so you all must rest first.” His eyes flowed from Laura to me. “And to…shower, perhaps?”

  Aidan had completely lost it, covering his mouth as Laura sighed and rolled her eyes. Conall was still snickering, but no one could even come close to how loud Aidan’s laughter was. I turned towards him, crossing my arms over my chest, which only served to make him laugh harder. Defeated, I bid Victor and Logan goodbye before using my power to teleport all the way back to where Conall lived.

  *

  Before I could excuse myself for a shower, having used magic to remove demon remains from my person and dressing at least in less revealing clothing, I was stopped on my way to the restroom. Turning, Aidan offered me a small look before taking hold of me around the wrist and dragging me back towards the front.

  “Where are we going?”

  Aidan shook his head, his pace quickening. “My flat.”

  Confused, I followed him out the door and to the Mercedes that had been returned to the home by way of magic. “We need to debrief,” I said slowly, getting into the car when he opened the door in spite of my argument.

  Aidan quickly got into his seat and drove out of the driveway to the main road. His hands gripped the wheel, white-knuckled, as he sped down the long road without another word. I watched him for a time, but his expression kept me from questioning him any further.

  The entire night had been a wash. As far as I knew, Niko hadn’t been at the club, and there would be no returning to it now that it was clear that we had been. So, despite our coming out of the evening alive, my spirits were rather low. The only thing I could possibly say was gained was discovering the presence of a Dark angel. It was my hope that Victor and Logan had gathered some sort of understanding for why he’d been there but, depending on how classified the information was, there was a good chance we may not hear any more on it.

  While Guardians were important to maintaining the balance and protecting the innocent, it was the angels who handled matters that dealt directly with high-demons, Dark angels, and Dark groups. Unless there was a matter to be dealt with, we weren’t given any more information than what was necessary to perform our jobs. Until now, it had never bothered me to leave it in their hands. However, if Niko was somehow involved with not only a high-demon of Harlan’s caliber, but a Dark angel as well, I was very interested to find out the reason.

  When we finally arrived at Aidan’s apartment, he led me over to the door, his face devoid of any emotion at all. He hadn’t spoken the entire drive, and I was growing more concerned with each passing second. He ushered me inside the door before I found myself pinned to it with Aidan’s hands holding my face, forcing my gaze to his.

  “Carl,” he said, his voice strained, “I need you to be honest with me, yeah?”

  Stricken by the dark expression and glowing eyes, I could only nod in response. Aidan visibly swallowed, his gaze falling from mine for a second before it was back and glowing brighter. His musk was strong in the air, the obvious upset clear in the way it smelt. My heart had already lost its rhythm, and I was finding it harder to catch my breath. Whatever he had to ask me, he was struggling to do it.

  “Ask,” I finally entreated when the silence had grown too long, voice barely above a whisper. “I’ll answer you as honest as I can, promise.”

  Aidan licked his lips, closing his eyes and clenching his jaw before his serious eyes were opening and staring right into mine with enough intensity to take my breath away. “Did he bite you?”

  Confused for a second, I stared blankly. “Who?”

  “That Irish tosser,” he growled.

  Pulse thrumming loudly in my ears and heart about to break through my chest wall, I tried to keep my voice as even as I could. “Conall?”

  “Yes.”

  “Bite me?”

  Aidan grunted, his eyes rolling and lips twitching. “You’re usually not this bloody slow, Carl.”

  Affronted, I glared at him. “I’m not usually held hostage to a door and questioned either.”

  Aidan finally smiled, his eyes twinkling. “Fair point.” Sighing deeply, his thumbs absently traced my cheekbones. “Would you just answer the bloody question, for fuck’s sake…”

  Mouth lifting into a smile, I finally got my breathing under control. I was thankful it was something I had a good answer for. Touching his hands on my face, I looked straight into his eyes and shook my head.

  “No, Aidan,” I said with confidence, “Conall didn’t bite me.”

  Exhaling dramatically, Aidan’s forehead landed on mine. “For fuck’s sake, what do you think you’re doing to me? I feel like I just lost years off my life, yeah?”

  “That’s no one’s fault but yours,” I retorted, laughing.

  “Cheeky tiger.”

  Every word he uttered bathed hot air onto my sensitive lips. I shuddered as he kept his forehead firmly against mine, hands still holding my face. My heart pounded loudly when he finally drew away, his eyes never leaving mine. His thumbs caressed my cheeks again, the emotion in his caramel depths startling me. In those short moments, I was having trouble saying anything clever, let alone moving at all.

  The tension between us was electric, and with enough heat, we’d surely catch fire. But surprisingly, I didn’t mind a little fire where Aidan was concerned.

  Welcomed it, ironically.

  Aidan’s gaze fell to my lips, the intention clear in his expression as he bent down. The air rushed out of me with the soft, barely-there touch of his mouth against mine. My hands absently squeezed his, causing him to draw away before his full lips pressed into mine once more, harder than the first time.

  It was a hot rush of mouths moving, tongues cha
sing, and teeth clashing as I desperately returned the kiss without the slightest idea what the hell I was doing. All I knew was that I wanted to kiss him. I wanted to consume his mouth and taste everything inside of it. I wanted to chase this magnetic attraction between us and ease the tension that was always just below the surface when I was with him.

  I couldn’t help myself. I wanted him. I wanted Aidan.

  Aidan cursed as the loud, abrupt echo of his phone going off startled us away from our passionate exchange. “Fuck,” he grumbled as he pulled away and dug the phone out of his back pocket. He looked at the screen and his expression immediately soured.

  “What?” he answered angrily.

  Conall’s bright voice reached my ears. ‘Where did you go? Where’s Carl?’

  “None of your bloody business, Old Man,” Aidan snarled, dragging fingers through his hair.

  Conall laughed lightly, chiding Aidan with a click of his tongue. ‘Logan will be here in the morning. Carl can stay here—’

  Aidan growled low in his throat, the sound cutting Conall’s sentence short. I watched, barely managing to keep myself upright because my legs had grown embarrassingly weak with Aidan’s kiss.

  ‘Right, well…” Conall sighed, ‘—I guess it’s best if he stays with you. Be here early.’

  Aidan hung up the call without saying another word, glaring at the glowing screen before sighing loudly. “I’ll show you where the shower is,” he said, no longer looking at me as he fidgeted with his phone before pocketing it.

  Unable to bring myself to ask why he’d kissed me, I nodded and followed him down the hallway.

  Chapter Seventeen

  As hot water sprayed over my head and washed down my body, I was finally given a minute to digest, with absolute mortification, what had happened only a short ten minutes ago. Setting aside the fact that I’d been the bewitched lady all the way through, I’d actually kissed and been kissed by Aidan without any damn idea why. Or what to do about it now that I was going to stay alone with him for an entire night.