Claimed by Her Demon (5 page)

That simple statement almost made Melinda feel all warm and gooey inside. A glance at Adrienne revealed that her friend was practically ready to swoon. Yup, this guy was definitely solid.

They finished their drinks, and Rafe nodded at them before sliding away into the crowd. Adrienne leaned close to Melinda’s ear. “Let’s hit the bathroom before we head back out onto the floor.”

She nodded and followed her friend through the club and to the women’s room. Inside, the thump of music was a bit more muted, meaning they could talk without shouting at each other.

“So,” Adrienne said as she touched up her makeup, “what do you think?”

“Of Rafe? Dude, home run. Congrats girlfriend. If I were a lesbian, I’d be totally jealous.”

“He seems to know a lot of people. I’m sure he can hook you up with one of his friends.”

Melinda waved the suggestion away. “I’m happy flying solo right now. Besides, if you do go home with him, I don’t want to be stuck with a stranger. This is your night. Enjoy it!”

Adrienne gave her a hug. “You’re the best Mel. I definitely owe you.”

They turned back to the mirror over the sink. Melinda reached into her handbag for some lip gloss, and her hand brushed a piece of paper. It didn’t feel like one of the dollar bills she had floating in there, so she pulled it out. “Wonder what this is,” she said, unfolding the cream-colored notepaper.

You’re not safe in Club Darque. It’s been charmed, and my brother and I can’t enter. –R

A knot of sick fear washed over Melinda. “Oh shit.” Then she had an even worse revelation: if Rafe wasn’t Ramael’s brother, then who was he?

“What’s wrong?”

“A, we have to get out of here.”

“This bathroom’s not that bad. I’m almost done.”

“No, I mean we have to leave the club. Right now.”

“Why? Rafe’s taking care of those guys. What’s on that note?”

“It’s going to take too long to explain. I’ll tell you when we’re safe. But you have to trust me.”

Adrienne snatched the note and looked at it. “Who is ‘R?’ And what does he mean that the club is ‘charmed?’”

“He’s a friend of mine. He’s been watching my back. I don’t know if that’s supposed to be code, but for whatever reason, he can’t keep an eye on us in here. Please, we have to go. Now.”

Adrienne looked bewildered. “Um, okay. But we’re not leaving without Rafe. He’s a nice guy, and I’m not ditching him.”

Double-shit.
“Okay, let’s go find him and get out of here.”

Melinda thought her nerves were going to combust as she and Adrienne stepped out of the women’s room and back into the club. They headed toward the bar. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Rafe sitting at her stool. Even better, the creepy guys who had been eyeing her were no longer in sight.

“Hey, sexy,” Adrienne said with a bright smile.

“Hey yourself. I was starting to get worried about you,” Rafe replied. “Listen, I talked to the bartender, and he and a bouncer suggested that your, um, friends might be better served elsewhere.”

“Oh good. Thank you. This is going to sound really weird, but Mel got a message from a friend. He says that she isn’t safe here. Do you think maybe we could step out for a few minutes until she can hook up with him, and then figure out what to do from there?”

Rafe looked puzzled for a moment, but shrugged one shoulder. “Sure thing. I doubt there are any more creepers here, but better safe than sorry.” He looked out across the packed dance floor. “It’s going to be a nightmare trying to push through that crowd, but there’s another exit down the bar. Follow me.”

Adrienne took hold of Melinda’s hand, and together they followed Rafe to the door and the safety it represented.

#

Rafe held the door, and the two girls stepped out into a dark alleyway. The smell of garbage was heavy in the air, and the sounds of traffic were muffled by the buildings around them. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, Mel could make out shapes moving n the alley. He throat closed up in panic. She turned, but the door had already thudded closed. Rafe stood in front of it with his arms across his chest.

He no longer looked like a clean-cut bastion of safety. Instead, his face curled up in a positively evil smirk. “It only opens from the inside. And that’s if they recognize the person knocking.”

“Rafe? What the hell?” Adrienne said.

“This really was a lot easier than we thought it would be. You really should find better friends, Adrienne. ‘Bitches who are snitches get stitches,’ remember?”

“You fucker,” Adrienne said. She spat on his chest.

Rafe didn’t even bother wiping it away. “I was going to ask the boys to go easy on you. Oh well. Your friend has some payback coming to her, in honor of our brothers who are still in the hospital. I’m sure there will be plenty left over for you too.”

“Are you insane?” Melinda said. “If it wasn’t for me, your friends would be dead. It’s not my fault they kidnapped me. And I had nothing to do with them wrecking their car. They’re lucky I got away so fast, or they would have died in that ditch.”

“Oh please. You could have just said you were out for a joyride or something. You didn’t have to report them to the cops. It was just a prank. Uppity bitches like you have no sense of humor.”

She looked around for some way to escape, but four large men stood behind her. Past them was a chain-link fence. There was no way out.

She backed up against the stone wall of the building next to Club Darque, pulling Adrienne with her. “Stay behind me,” she said. “I’ll try to keep them off of you.”

“Hey Rafe,” one of the men called out. “There’s two bums passed out by the fence. Maybe we should have these bitches suck their cocks while we pound their asses.”

A chorus of chuckles rose up from the group.

Melinda looked again to the fence. It might be possible to climb over. She glanced at Adrienne and made a quick decision. “Run for the fence!” she yelled, and then launched herself at Rafe.

She barreled into the center of his chest, knocking him back against the wall of the club. Shouts sounded in the alley, punctuated by Adrienne screeching. She saw her friend clawing at one of the other men, but them she was thrown roughly to the ground. Rafe loomed over her, murder in his eyes. He balled his fist, cocked it back….

And then a terrible roar ripped through the air.

Everybody stopped moving.

It finally clicked. There were two bums in the alley. Ramael had disguised himself as a bum. She looked up and saw a winged creature soaring through the air. As it dove at the group of attackers, two of them were jerked suddenly to the ground, clutching at their throats. It looked like they had snakes wrapped around their necks.

Rafe screamed, but it was cut off as Ramael slammed into him. Melinda heard the terrible sound of claws tearing through fabric and flesh. The demon lifted Rafe into the air, then literally ripped the bastard into pieces. Melinda stared in horror as chunks of the attacker’s body slapped onto the pavement.

Ramael didn’t waste any time. He latched onto one of the last two attackers and snapped his neck with a quick tug. The final thug tried to run for it, but Adrienne stuck her foot out and tripped him. There was a wet crunch as a tentacle slammed down on his skull.

And just like that, the fight was over.

Ramael held the girls’ purses. “We have to get you out of here. We cut a hole in the fence. You can get out that way.”

Melinda couldn’t find her voice, so she just nodded and pulled herself up on shaking knees.

Adrienne was already standing. “What the fuck just happened?”

A tall, lanky man with dark hair emerged from the shadows. “We couldn’t get into the club, but we had no problem getting back here,” he said. “When I saw these guys come out the door, I called my brother. By the time they saw us, we were disguised.”

Adrienne looked from the man to the winged demon. Her face finally registered shock as she realized what exactly she was seeing. “Oh. My. God.” She wobbled, and then fainted. Fortunately, the stranger caught her before she hit the ground.

“Can you carry her?” Ramael asked.

“Yes, brother.”

“Good.” He turned to Melinda. “We really need to go now.”

“Okay,” she said, barely above a squeak.

Ramael saw her distress and shock, and quickly scooped her up into his arms. He lifted into the air and flew over the chainlink fence at the back of the alley. His brother disregarded the ragged hole that had been cut at the bottom of it. Instead, tentacles slid out from beneath his duster and pulled him up and over it with ease. He never once had to shift Adrienne in his arms.

The headed down a dark street to a parked SUV. As Melinda watched, Ramael’s wings folded, and his face changed into that of a man with dark eyes and a goatee. He looked like a cleaner version of the homeless man to whom she’d given a few dollars.

“So that was you, at the train station.”

“It was. I slipped a note into your purse. I assume you didn’t get it.”

“I did, but it was too late.”

“I apologize. My brother and I should have intercepted you before you even left your campus. But if there was going to be a confrontation, this was a good enough spot for it.” He bundled her into the back seat, while his brother did the same for Adrienne. Then the two strange men climbed into the front. Ramael took the wheel.

As the sped off into the night, he said: “This is my brother Mare. He usually prefers the water.”

Mare turned and smiled at Melinda. He had similar eyes and hair to Ramael, but was clean-shaven. “How do you do?”

“Okay, I guess. No. Not okay. Not by a long shot. Not after that.” She fanned herself. “Jesus, you just killed, what, five guys?”

“A regrettable circumstance. But necessary,” Mare said.

“We were hoping they’d bring you closer to us,” Ramael explained. “When one of them said they’d force you to, um, pleasure the two bums, we thought it’d be a simple matter to overpower them. But you kind of jumped the gun.”

“I was hoping to distract them long enough for Adrienne to get away.”

“That wouldn’t have improved your lot any,” Ramael said.

“I wasn’t worried about that,” she replied.

Adrienne spoke up then. Her words were slurred, but still distinct. “I always said you were too nice, Mel.”

Melinda turned to her friend and pulled her into a hug. “Oh God. A, I’m so sorry. I don’t even know where to begin. I’m so sorry I got you into this whole mess.”

“Oof, you’re smothering me!”

She pulled back, giving her friend some air.

“That’s better. Seriously, you don’t have to worry about me. I’m okay now. But who the hell are these guys?”

“Well, they’re demons. But not the bad kind. I think.” She glanced up and saw Ramael smiling in the rearview mirror.

“We’re mostly decent chaps,” Mare said. “My brother has a bit of a temper, though, when someone he fancies is threatened. In this case, I can’t say I blame him.”

“Is this the friend you were telling me about?” Adrienne asked.

Melinda sighed. “Yup. Adrienne, meet Ramael. And this is his brother Mare.”

“Our knights in not-so-shining armor. So, what happens now? Won’t somebody call the cops when they find the bodies?”