Domiel (20 page)

“Is that what you want?”

She raked her nails against the roof, wishing it were his face. “I’m the one waiting on the jury. Your call.”

That was the bottom line, the very stick that had been up her ass since the fight. She’d always called the shots in her life until he had come along, and suddenly she’d been forced to play nice with another. She’d never minded playing nice with him … but her friend’s life had been on the line, and he’d been on the other side of that line, aligning against her. She’d never thought she’d be fighting against him.

“It didn’t have to be that way,” he said, reading her mind.

There it was again: the fucking voice of reason. She stood, wind slicing through her hair with a frenzied force that matched her temper. Her eyes warmed when she turned to face him, because of tears or the power of her species, she couldn’t tell. Didn’t care. “You allowed Ambrose to lock my ass up. Where was my demon in shining armor then? I had to do things my way, and if you say I always do things my way, you’ll have an honest-to-God physical fight on your hands.”

“Are you going to help Kelsey fight this incubus?”

The change in topic didn’t surprise her. They’d always talked around shit. “Absolutely.”

“Ambrose doesn’t want you involved. He gave Roger orders.”

“I don’t give a shit what he ordered.” She truly didn’t. Ambrose had just made the worst call in the history of the Alliance. How he could sic assassins on one of their close friends? Sure, assassins went rogue and had to be brought down from time to time, but those a-holes had never been close to her, or to Ambrose. She might forgive him for putting a hit on Kelsey one day, but she’d never forget.

“Don’t ever use that power over me again.”

There it was. The ultimatum. Probably one of many. She moved to face him, still crouched, one arm hanging loosely over her thigh. “Or you’ll leave me?”

“I’ll probably kill you.”

The lights of the city highlighted his hard body. He wore a simple T-shirt and jeans. She held her breath, hoping he’d give her another chance. Understanding if he didn’t, she more than deserved it. She prided herself on remaining cool on the outside, even if she felt like she would die on the inside.

So she surprised both of them by letting the tears flow when he opened his arms to her. Relief left her legs weak, but she made it into his arms before he could change his mind.

* * * *

Another hotel room, another mission.

Kelsey had paced the hotel room until she wanted to claw at the walls. After Domiel dug out the bullet lodged in her shoulder, everyone had gathered to plot out the next move. After so many years of wanting to find this demonic bastard and end his life, she could hardly believe it would be as easy as the Alliance thought it would be.

Even if everything went according to plan—hell, when did
that
ever happen—her life had been changed forever. She’d worked so hard the past few months to get back on the streets, but now she wanted nothing more to do with assassination. A life fraught with danger no longer held any appeal for her. What did hold appeal scared the shit out of her. A future with Domiel wasn’t something she could think about right now. It wasn’t as though she thought she’d die in this mission, she just couldn’t fathom where they would go or what they would do. Nothing made sense anymore.

It was finally confirmed that this incubus was projecting his soul into the dream realm, not just accessing it through the subconscious. Projecting her own soul into the dream realm wouldn’t be that dangerous, since she’d have armed Alliance members watching over her physical body. Her mission had been laid out—sever his silver cord. The Alliance would kill his physical body and that would be the end.

It was almost too simple.

By separating his soul from his body, his soul would go straight to the Pit. The astral projection explained why he had so much power in the dream realm. She wouldn’t be able to see his silver cord—only a demon could recognize such a thing, which was why Domiel was heading into the dream realm with her.

“Alexia and Azazel are back.”

“Did they pinpoint his location?”

He nodded, his golden gaze never wavering from her face. “Ambrose contacted a few incubi, called in a few favors. He said once he’d started questioning the people of their race, they wanted Nybbas taken care of. He’s been a problem for a while, and they don’t want to be on the Alliance’s radar. They don’t want to be on anyone’s radar, since what they do is frowned on by most immortals.”

“Nybbas? They’re sure that’s his name and that this is the one?” The Alliance had always been thorough, but the mistake they’d made where she’d been concerned left her uneasy. Could they have the wrong incubus?

“The incubi confirmed it. A few even knew who you were and what this demon was doing to you. They’re giving the Alliance their full cooperation. Everyone is ready to leave once you give the word. We’ll be heading to New York.”

What would happen once this was all over? Would Domiel go back to the Alliance? “Everything is moving so fast.”

She’d been used to life moving at breakneck speed before her possession. Going through mission after mission, always keeping busy, had helped dull the memories she’d carried with her. Now she needed shit to slow down so she could think.

“Sometimes things just fall into place.” He walked to her and wrapped his arms around her. His scent, now familiar and welcome, calmed her nerves. Just being around him made her feel different. Like there was hope somewhere beyond all of this crap. He’d trusted her almost from the beginning, had helped her throughout.

She nestled her cheek against the solid wall of his chest and splayed her fingers over his back. An overwhelming sense of peace and contentment overcame her when he used his large palm to caress the back of her head. Her future with the Alliance was tenuous at best. Her future with this incredible man could lead to so much more.

Lexie’s energy filled the room. “You two lovebirds finished in here? We have final details to deal with.”

Kelsey smiled against Domiel’s leather jacket. The newbies always did overdress for the job. “Yeah, we’re ready.”

The time had finally come to take her life back.

Lexie slapped a folder down on the desk. “So Samael’s coming. He’s not taking no for an answer. I think he feels worse about what he did to you than Ambrose does. And just for the record, who stuck by your side?” Lexie nudged her and winked. “Yeah. This bitch.”

“And Domiel.” Kelsey glanced up at him, and he bent down to kiss her.

“Fucking spare me, will you? God, where have his lips
been
?” Lexie stuck her index finger in her mouth and made a gagging sound.

“Okay, what do you have?” Domiel asked.

“Other than sudden nausea, I have a layout of the apartment building this prick lives in. He’s nestled right at the top, in the penthouse. We’ll hit it from all sides, and Kelsey and you will…”

Kelsey wasn’t listening anymore. Samael stood in the doorway of the room. So many emotions danced along her nerves, she wasn’t sure what she felt when she looked at him, but she knew she couldn’t put this conversation off. “I’ll be right back.”

Lexie threw up her hands when Kelsey walked past, and Kelsey heard her say to Domiel, “You know I’ll be watching you now, Casanova. I’ll be watching.”

Samael backed up into the other room, which was empty. The last time she’d stood in a hotel room with him he’d been ready to lop her head off. “Hey.”

He drew in a breath and clasped his hands behind his back. “I’ve thought about what I was going to say to you for hours, but nothing comes close to I’m sorry. I should have trusted you.”

She wasn’t about to let him off the hook. “You’re right. You should have.”

“The evidence against you—”

“Was concrete. So I’ve heard. Sounds like we need an appeals department at the Alliance.”

He stood silent for a moment, so damned serious it made her heart hurt. Like Domiel, Samael had been lighthearted, too. Was that her effect on men?

“If there’s anything I can do to earn your trust and friendship back, name it.”

Men were strange. Samael had nearly lopped off her head, and he figured she was going to up and forgive him? “I’ll tell you what, Samael. When I find it in my heart to forgive you, you’ll be the first to know.”

She left him to go back into the room with Lexie and Domiel.

Lexie tapped her foot against the carpet. “So can I continue?”

With her heart in her throat, Kelsey did nothing but nod.

Chapter Fourteen

New York City—Twenty-four hours later

Kelsey couldn’t believe what she was seeing. More than one immortal group had come to eliminate the incubus, and all were monitoring the address the Alliance had on file.

Apparently the incubi themselves considered the demon a threat, and more than one of their ilk hung outside the swank apartment building. The four she could see were wearing jeans, standing beside the building talking quietly. No doubt they were discussing ways to go about bringing the demon down. They’d probably gotten pissed off that the Alliance was questioning them, one by one, and weren’t willing to let this incubus get away if the Alliance didn’t come through.

The Immortal Enforcers of New York City—another immortal policing sanction—were locked and loaded, waiting for orders from their head office to take out the threat. The IE employed vampires, but unlike the Alliance, refused to work with demons.

The Immortal Enforcers were in it to win it. Each male had a Bluetooth wrapped around his ear and wore a bulletproof vest. The Alliance was considered more like the FBI of the immortal community, and the IE more like local cops. The IE had never appreciated that, and they’d be out to prove themselves.

Sven, Roger, Samael, and Jade were on the sides of the building. Alexia was in the front, and Azazel was in the back. Lexie nudged her, giving them the go-ahead.

“The second I walk in that door he’ll feel my energy.”

Domiel nodded, standing quietly beside her as they both took in their surroundings. The streets remained damp after an evening storm had rolled through.

“You’ll have to materialize us inside before he decides to dematerialize and get the hell out of Dodge. He’ll run if he feels all of this immortal energy—if he hasn’t run already. He has to feel this.”

Again, Domiel said nothing, only nodded. She’d been with him long enough to know something was wrong. “What is it?”

He glanced down at her, his golden eyes tinged with red. His jaw was tense, as was his whole body. “I’m wondering if we should leave this up to one of the other immortal sanctions.”

“The hell,” Alexia muttered behind them. Kelsey ignored her. He couldn’t be serious. He knew how much this meant to her. “Listen, if you’re not ready for a mission like this, just say so.”

“It’s not that.”

“Then what is it?”

Again he turned and stared at the apartment building and fell silent.

* * * *

The cold hand of death had become so familiar to Domiel during his time of angelic service; he could smell the inevitability of it now. A death angel had been assigned to one of them, and it sure as hell wasn’t him. His soul would go straight to the Pit upon death. It could be any number of humans on the street, but he doubted it. He couldn’t see the harbinger of death, but he didn’t need a visual to know the certainty of his conclusion.

Like Samael had once done, Domiel felt the urgent need to beg for Kelsey’s life. How many pleas for help had he ignored in his line of service? It was damned ironic that he should attempt the same thing and hope the angel felt sorry for his predicament.

“Do you feel the demon’s energy in this high-rise?” he asked. He meant only to calm the nagging voice in his head that was asking him to beg for her life. Hell, he didn’t even know if she was who the angel was after. He’d do anything to save her, and damned if he hadn’t wanted to know what that felt like … to give your very soul for the person you loved.

He knew now—because you couldn’t imagine life without that person. He also knew the helplessness that went with begging an Angel of Souls for a life.

“Yeah.”

He couldn’t handle her death. For the first time he was relieved she’d chosen to leave the Alliance. He doubted he could deal with this on a daily basis. He wasn’t sure how Samael and Azazel did it. “I feel the presence of a death angel.”

She gave no outward sign that she understood, until she answered him. Her voice was low and laced with dread. “An Angel of Souls?”

“Yes.”

“Shit,” Alexia mumbled behind them. “Could be for anyone.”

Domiel turned around and stared at her. If anyone knew who the angel was here for, it was her.

She didn’t give him any indication of whose life was on the line. She only shook her head and averted her eyes.

* * * *

Kelsey squared her shoulders and looked back at the building across the street. Domiel shouldn’t have thrown that out there, but she was glad he had. They needed to know the seriousness of the situation. She glanced back at Lexie, a question in her gaze.

“I’m good,” Lexie said.

She sure as hell didn’t look like she was okay. She was hiding something. They’d all put their lives on the line numerous times before, so Kelsey let her be. Questioning her in front of a fellow assassin would be the same as calling her weak. It just wasn’t done.

“I didn’t know you could still feel the presence of an angel.”

“Samael felt my presence twice. The first time he felt my presence I’d arrived to take Jade’s soul, but her fate had somehow changed. She didn’t die that day. I even appeared to him and spoke to him. The second time was the day she was set to die.”

“This changes nothing. I need to do this.” Maybe her fate—or whoever was marked for death—would change during the course of this mission.

She turned her head sharply. “The IE is moving in. Dematerialize us into the building, Domiel. Now.”

He hesitated. She insisted. “Domiel, dematerialize us into that building or I’m going to go in alone.” Her whole body was rigid as she waited for him to make a decision.