Crave the Darkness (15 page)

A presence brushed at my back, and I whipped around only to see a flash of light too fast to identify blaze past the building and around the corner. Another tap, this time at my shoulder, and I spun again. Alone.
What the
—

“Darian, look out!” Asher shouted from down the street just in time for me to notice the glint of metal from the corner of my eye. I ducked, and a short throwing knife zinged past me, burying itself in the building’s facade. “Get down!” Asher barreled toward me at full speed, shoving me out of the way just before another knife cut through the air. It glanced off his shoulder, slicing through the fabric of his shirt, and blood welled from a shallow cut.

“Where the hell have you been?” I growled, rounding on him. “I’ve been calling for you since—”

Out of nowhere, white-hot pain exploded in my head. I reeled back, slumping against the building while I maintained a death grip on my consciousness. Stars twinkled in my peripheral vision, and the street slanted at an angle. I felt the warm trickle of blood down my temple and the pull of tissue as my split skin began to close. The cars on the street blurred—and then disappeared altogether as my line of sight was filled with shining blond hair and angelic features.

“Trouble,” the angel said by way of a greeting, studying me like I was some sort of science experiment. “Nice to see you again.”

I shook my head—it hurt like a bitch—to clear the cottony haze that bogged down my brain. The son of a bitch had come out of nowhere and pegged me with what felt like an iron-clad fist. Palms resting behind me, I pushed off the building, propelling myself into the angel’s chest. It didn’t knock him down, but I threw him off balance enough to give me the space I needed to gain my bearings. I reached for my katana, the blade singing as it ripped free of the scabbard, and without flare or preamble, I swung it at the angel’s head.

“Whoa!” he almost laughed, lunging away from the blade in a movement too fast for my preternatural eyes to track. “You’re faster than I thought. It just gets better every time I see you.”

The look of exultation on his face was enough to inspire a chorus of hymns. His blue eyes were wide with excitement, his mouth upturned in an innocent yet seductive smile. I lunged forward, stabbing and cutting down, but the bastard was fast. Faster than anything I’d ever seen. It was like he could pop in and out of spacnd yet see in the blink of an eye, and my blade made purchase on nothing but air.

I caught another flash of color to the side of me, this one darker and slower than the angel but still too quick for me to focus. Asher grabbed the angel around the throat in a choke hold, but it didn’t do a damn bit of good. The angel dropped to his knees—slid right out of Asher’s grip—and managed a solid punch just under his ribs. Asher gasped, I heard the rib crack, and he doubled over.

“See you around, Trouble.” The angel graced me with another of his heavenly smiles before darting out into traffic and across the street.

“Asher, let me—”

Damn kid didn’t even let me finish. He ducked to my left, so fast he looked like a smear of dark color against the sidewalk, and took off at a full run toward the building across the street. He chased after the fleeing angel, down an alley, until the shadows swallowed him up as his heavy footfalls echoed into silence.

“Asher!” I called into my mic. Of course, he didn’t answer.

“Julian.” I tried to catch my breath, my lungs burning from excess adrenaline. “I think we’re clear. Take Louella and get Anya and Dimitri back to the house.”

“What about you?” Myles interrupted in my earpiece.

“I’ll ride back with you. I want to do a little investigating and check out the area. We have to wait for Asher, anyway.” Had Myles and Asher swapped brains? Asher had seemed like the one I could depend on while Myles was the hothead. Now I was beginning to think my first impression had been wrong.

“We’re clear of the building . . .” Julian cut in, giving me the play-by-play. “In the car and headed back. See you soon?”

“Yeah,” I said, staring into the dark alley. “Right behind you.”

I yanked the earpiece out of my ear once again and turned and kicked a garbage can. I wanted a piece of this guy; I did
not
want him scared off. Asher giving chase was the last thing I’d expected, and now I might not get another chance to take this guy down. And where the hell had he been, anyway? It was like he popped out of fucking nowhere.
God. Damn. It.

“I wish someone would tell me who the
h
ell
this guy is.” The words escaped my mouth before I could think better of it. Shit. Too late now, I guessed. I was usually so careful.
Shit!

“Your wish is my command.”

I turned, my gaze cast down at the sidewalk.
Damn
. I looked up, almost afraid to meet him eye to eye. The brightness of the day had nothing on the brilliance of his face. It was more than the sun, more than light. Seeing him sucked the air out of my lungs, nearly blinded me with emotion. Mostly pain.

“Hey, Tyler.”

Chapter 15

“A
re you all right? You’re not hurt, are you?”

I bit back the sob that rose up my throat, and choked it back down. I’d almost forgotten how much I loved the sound of conceatis

“You okay, Darian?”

With Ty’s dramatic entrance, I’d forgotten all about Myles. He’d gotten out of the car and stood on the side rail, staring out at me over the hood. “I’m good. See if you can find Asher, check out the entire block for anything unusual, and then we’ll head back to the house and fill Raif in.” Déjà vu much? Hadn’t we done this dance once already?

“I’m chasing my tail, Ty.” I watched Myles duck back in the SUV and pull across the street into the alley. Anything was better than looking into those gorgeous hazel eyes. The familiar ache settled into my chest. I fought the urge to rub it away.

“Darian.”

His voice cut me as sure as any sword stroke. So much tenderness. A guilty conscience, no doubt. “He’s playing with us. Cat and mouse. This isn’t about killing Anya. Not yet, anyway. He’s trying to drive her crazy, I think.” My voice sounded foreign in my ears. Tired. Small. Distracted. God, he smelled good. “He doesn’t want this to end right away. He’s going to drag it out, really enjoy himself.”

“Darian.”

I couldn’t acknowledge him. If I did, the tears would pour down my face in a torrent. “And the kicker—she
knows
him. She won’t tell me, either. Not a fucking word. She’s protecting something. Or someone. No one’s pressuring her to come clean, either. I mean, would it
kill
Xander to make her fess up? Or Raif?” My voice escalated; people passing by on the sidewalk were beginning to stare. “I mean, Jesus Christ! Isn’t anyone concerned about the fact that it’s going to be damn near impossible for me to track this son of a bitch?” The panic had begun to mount. The more I rambled on, the more I attempted to keep my mind off the fact that Tyler was close enough to touch. Knowing that sent me a little closer to the edge. A sudden need to flee spurred my legs to twitch. Adrenaline pulsed through my body, and I trembled. My stomach tensed, a tight knot that refused to uncoil. I took a deep breath, but it wasn’t enough. I might suffocate right here on the goddamned street.

“Darian!” Tyler gripped my shoulders, gave me one quick, gentle shake. “Come back to me.”

My brain slowed its spinning. Did he say what I thought he’d said?

“You’re a million miles away right now. I need you to focus.”

No. Apparently, he hadn’t. What I’d heard was,
Come back to me, I’m lost without you.
But what he’d really said was,
Snap out of it and get your damn head in the game!

“I’m sorry,” I said, looking at his face, but not really
seeing
him. The pain was just too much to take him in. “I didn’t mean to wish for anything. I was thinking out loud and it just sort of slipped out.”

“Jesus Christ.” Tyler sighed and ran his fingers through his copper-streaked hair. “It’s about damn time you wished for something useful.” He looked up and down the street and grabbed my hand, pulling me as he walked. “Come on, we need to talk.”

Tyler ducked into a coffee shop at the end of the block, and I paused at the door. I still had my sword slung across my back. “Don’t worry,” Tyler said, noticing my discomfort. “No one’s going to pay any attention to us.”

He was right. My skin tingled with power, the energy signature that I recognized as Ty’s. The temperature dropped a couple of degrees, and I knew it had to do with Jinn magic. Even as he pulled me through the entrance, the naturally curious turns of heads as someone walks through the door was absent from the people sitting around the coffee shop. It was like we weren’t even there. “Want anything?” Ty asked, heading for the counter.

Yeah, a bottle of bourbon
. “No. I’m good.”

I stood patiently, staring at Tyler’s back while he ordered a cappuccino. How could he be so casual about this? My insides were tied in knots, and I wanted to throw up. But he was as laid-back as ever, chatting with the girl at the counter while she spooned foam into his cup. His T-shirt rose up as he fished some money out of his pocket, giving me a brief glance of exposed skin. I wanted to reach out and touch, and I balled my hands into fists as if they’d act on their own and betray me. I let my gaze wander, tracing the defined muscles of his back, glad it was warming up enough today to go without a coat. It would have been a shame for him to be covered up, and his shirt was just tight enough to show off his physique.

He dropped his change into a tip jar by the register and headed toward the back of the shop to a booth tucked away in a corner. I thought for a moment about becoming one with the light and making a run for it, but I had a feeling that would make things even more awkward between us. Besides, I’d made a wish. Tyler was obligated to grant it.

I slid the katana off my back and shoved it into the booth, taking a seat opposite Ty. He stared into his cup as if the mysteries of the universe were written in the foam. I guess I wasn’t the only one dealing with discomfort issues.

“How long have you been living at Xander’s?” I wondered at his tone, sharpened by an edge of possessiveness.

“Not long. A month or so. How long have you been back?” I didn’t mean to sound so defensive, but I hated feeling weak, and right now I felt absolutely fragile.

“About the same.” He took the paper cup and rolled it between his palms. “Darian, I—”

“Don’t worry about it, Tyler.” I wasn’t about to let him apologize for leaving me. My heart was breaking all over again and it was all I could do to keep from falling apart. I thought of my trashed apartment, the disrepair I’d let my life fall into, and I willed my spine to straighten. I would
not
let my heartache break me. “I know what’s what. You’re happy. And I’m glad for that. I didn’t treat you the way you deserved to be treated. Like I told you before, I don’t know how to do love. Not the right way, anyway.”

The expression on his face was something I couldn’t identify. Regret? Confusion? Pain? Probably just guilt. Tyler was the most caring person I knew. I could imagine it tore him up to think of me being hurt. The last thing I wanted was for him to worry about me. I just had to convince him I was fine. Trouble was, I couldn’t even convince myself of that.

“If you’d only let me explain,” Tyler’s bemused expression made my stomach do a backflip. His eyes were guileless, searching, as if rch how to dohe could look right into my soul.

“There’s nothing to explain,” I said, sweeping my hand in front of me. Besides, Adira had already laid it out for me pretty plainly. “I get it. And I don’t want either one of us to be tortured with long, drawn-out commentary about what went wrong and why. We know already. No need to unearth it again.”

Ty brought the cup to his lips and stared out the window, focusing on some unknown point. I breathed in deep, took his scent into my lungs, and held it there for a moment before letting it go in a sigh. If only I could go back and change how I’d handled things with him. . . .

“I can’t interfere,” Tyler said, still not looking at me. “Not directly anyway. If you’re wishing for answers, you obviously haven’t looked in the envelope Marcus gave you.”

Holy shit. The envelope. I’d totally forgotten about it after my run-in with Adira at his apartment. It was stuffed in the pocket of my coat, which I hadn’t worn in weeks.

“This job.” I focused on my thumb and the bear carved into my silver ring. “Who’s the client?” Not my usual question. The identity of the mark was more times than not the important part. But not this time. Silence answered me and I looked up to find Tyler still staring out the window. “Who’s the client, Ty?”

He turned to face me, his eyes sad and full of regret. “Me.”

My brain fogged with confusion. What the hell was going on? “And the hit—it’s connected to Anya in some way?”

He nodded once. Slowly.

Lovely.
“I don’t like getting the runaround, Tyler.” I couldn’t believe the way shit was piling up. “Just spill it. What the fuck is this about?”

Tyler gave me a very pointed look. “I already told you. I can’t interfere. Not directly. I’m pressing my luck as it is. What you need is in that envelope.”

Why? I just didn’t get it. Tyler was my genie. If I needed something, it was his job to deliver it to me. Why was he beating around the bush? How was interference violating the rules? Unless—no.
Fuck my life.
“Does this have anything to do with Adira?”

He perked up at the mention of her name, though his expression didn’t betray his emotions. He kept his face perfectly blank. Only his eyes showed the slightest glimmer of interest. “How . . . ?”

“Doesn’t matter.” Of course, he wanted to know how I’d figured out the woman at his door had been his long-lost genie soul mate. But he didn’t need to know she’d come to see me. Needs versus wants wasn’t a one-way street. It didn’t matter. She’d told me what he couldn’t bring himself to say: that he’d moved on. “This is about her, am I right?”

He nodded again, and his expression became less guarded and more tired. I hadn’t noticed before. He looked more like the man I’d come home to seven months ago: a little thinner than he should have been, his hair messier than usual, dark circles under his eyes. But that didn’t mean I was interested in helping his new girlfriend out. What could Adira and Anya possibly have in common? Besides the fact that neither were on my favorite people list and their names both started with “A,” I couldn’t think of anything. So by taking care of Anya’s stalker and thereby securing the sseciteafety of her unborn child, I’d be doing Ty a solid and taking care of his honey’s problems, too. Fan-fucking-tastic.

I had no idea what to say to him. The ache in my chest had become almost unbearable, the emptiness threatening to swallow me whole. All I could think of was how we’d left things. I’d hurt him. He’d hurt me back. We’d left each other. Hadn’t either one of us been willing to fight to stay together? I instinctively reached for my chest—the impulse was too strong to ignore—and massaged my sternum. God, I wanted the ache to go away.

Tyler pushed his cup away and reached for my other hand. I flinched, pulling it back before he could touch me. Tears stung at my eyes, and I swallowed down the lump in my throat. If his skin made contact with mine, I’d lose it for sure. And I couldn’t let him see that weakness in me.

“Darian.” I looked at Tyler, lost in those gorgeous hazel eyes. He hadn’t said my name, but someone had. I ignored it, lost sight of everything but Ty. How could he just throw everything we’d had away?

“Darian.”

Ty’s brow furrowed, and he cocked his head as if he’d heard it too.

“Darian! Can you hear me or what?”

I came back to the present, the spell broken. I tore my gaze from Tyler’s, reached up, and shoved the earpiece deeper into my ear. “I’m here.”

“I’ve got Asher,” Myles said. “I’m circling back around the block to pick you up.”

“You’re going to leave?” Tyler asked as I slid out of the booth and slung my katana over my back. “Just like that?”

“Yeah.” I felt the lump rising back up my throat. “I am. Like I said, you don’t owe me any explanations, Ty. I hurt you. You moved on. End of story.”

The screech of tires outside signaled my ride was here. And not a moment too soon. My composure was torn to shreds and if I didn’t get the hell away from Tyler, I wouldn’t be able to stop the flow of tears.

“Darian,” Tyler called out, and I turned. God, he was beautiful. Another piece of my heart splintered off as I watched him shift in his seat and turn to face me. “Gods, you’re stubborn. Quit making assumptions and”—he paused, as if looking for the right words—“we need to have a
proper
conversation.” I looked around, expecting to have an audience, but the café’s patrons were still oblivious to our presence. Ty gave an exasperated sigh and raked his fingers through his hair. “Look, would you
please
just answer your phone the next time I call?”

He didn’t say “if.” He said “the next time.” A tiny ray of hope eased the pain in my chest, and my lips turned up slightly in a wan smile. “Yeah,” I said. “I will.”

I headed for
the door, and the bell above it chimed as I pushed it open and stepped out into the cooling, late afternoon air. I took a deep cleansing breath. And then another. I shook out my arms and dangled my fingers loose from my hands, letting all of the tension drain out. “Let’s go,” I said to Myles after the car pulled up and I settled into the passenger seat. I didn’t look at Asher. He sat in the back, quiet as a fucking church mouse. “You and I are going to have a nice, long talk, Ash. So don’t even try to sneak off on me.”

“Yes, ma"serYch mam.” He almost sounded amused.

He wouldn’t be for long.