Faith Revisited (11 page)

“All right,” Faith replied, leaning into him. She rubbed her cheek against his forearm, sighing softly before she met his gaze, then smiled sadly. “I will get out of your hair in the morning. Let you have your bed back.”

Her comment sent a shot of panic traveling through Bale. His fingers unconsciously tightened in her hair. “Arak said you are still weak. You are not ready to leave.”

“I think I am better than your friend believes.” She gave a husky reply. “Anyway, you don't need me interfering in your life any more than I already have. And I have a life I need to return to.”

His focus narrowed on Faith's last statement, and he suddenly wondered who resided in her life. His emotions were seesawing all over the place. While he knew the best thing would be to let her go, he couldn't tolerate the thought of another male touching what was his. “Is there a mate waiting for you?”

Faith shook her head adamantly. “But I have family…friends who are probably wondering where I am. And I have responsibilities, people who depend on me.”

Bale's gaze continued to bore into hers, silently demanding an explanation as, even on his knees, he towered over her.

“I manage one of my father's clubs…Club Dominus. Since it is Sunday, we are closed tonight. But tomorrow I have to open. I have employees who count on me.”

Bale released a ragged breath, pulling Faith onto the floor and into his arms. He held her tightly, his frantic pulse calming as he realized that even if she left, he now knew how to find her again. She couldn't escape him unless he let her.

He kissed her temple, his lips trailing a soft line until they met hers. With infinite gentleness, he demanded entrance and growled in pleasure when she opened for him. His tongue glided in, capturing her taste as he slowly plundered her mouth.

Faith whimpered, her arms winding around his neck as she strained to get closer to him.

Bale complied, tightening his arms about her. Her breasts pressed against his rock-hard chest for a moment before he angled her to his side. He slipped a hand between them and gently squeezed a taut globe, the puckered nipple teasing his palm. Rolling that pebbled peak between his fingers, he captured her beseeching cry in his mouth.

A knock on the door had him dragging his lips away with a muffled curse. Breathing heavily, he kept Faith pressed against him as she buried her face in his neck. She was trembling slightly, her breath soft puffs along his skin.

“Bale.” Arak's voice rang through the door. “Meeting in ten. It's almost dusk out.”

“Down in just a minute,” Bale called huskily. Ignoring Arak's response, he fixed his attention back on Faith. “I've got to go, baby. Finish your soup, then get some rest.” Bale gently pushed her from his lap but didn't rise until she was once again seated on the edge of the bed.

44

Madelyn Ford

“Will you need to feed again tonight?” he asked, his gaze resting on the top of her head. Not resisting the need to touch her, he reached out and tunneled his hand through her hair.

Faith glanced up at him, her freckles hidden beneath an attractive rose color. Her flushed cheeks filled him with extreme satisfaction, and his cock demanded he ignore Arak, wanting to abate the sudden spike of arousal only Faith seemed to trigger.

“I don't know,” she whispered uncertainly.

Bale bent down to her again, meeting her gaze dead on. “I will return around midnight to check on you. If you need me before then, Arak knows how to contact me. Don't hesitate to ask him to do so. He will understand.” He paused as he studied her a moment. “Baby, do you understand?”

“Yes, Bale,” she said with a roll of her eyes, and Bale grinned.

He sneaked a quick kiss, then pulled away from her, even though his lips wanted to linger.

He glanced back as he reached for the door. “Get some rest,” he demanded. “I'll be back soon.”

* * * *

Stepping into the hall outside his room, Bale was forced to veer to the right so as not to collide with Arak and Kash. “What the hell?” he barked, staring at the two males incredulously.

“You didn't respond,” Kash drawled, an annoyingly wide grin on his lips. “Arak was just about to knock again.” He waved to Faith over Bale's shoulder.

“I said I'd be down in a minute,” Bale said as he spotted Faith returning the friendly gesture. He shut the door.

“I didn't hear you,” Arak commented, ignoring the glare that would send humans and most demons scurrying for cover. “I was just about to knock again when Kash joined me.”

“Will you be in the infirmary tonight with Zeke? I told Faith that if she needed anything to go to you.”

“Yeah. I was going to try waking him up. His wounds have healed, and while he'll still have to take it easy because the poison is not completely out of his system, he is out of the woods.” Arak fell in line beside Bale while Kash trailed behind the pair. As they entered the dining hall, he added, “And Remy's eager to speak to him.”

“What about Raym? What has he said about the ambush?”

“Raym is gone. Some clothes are missing, and all his weapons are gone,” Remy stated wearily.

Bale glanced around the room, his gaze resting on Remy as he staggered under the weight of Remy's words.

“So it was Raym,” he said quietly. He should be relieved. He now knew whom to look for over his shoulder. But he wasn't.

Remy just shrugged. He had the look of one relaxed, sitting reclined in the leather chair, but Bale knew him well enough to suspect the opposite. Remy took his command seriously, and this defection had to be hitting him hard. Neither Bale nor Remy had seriously considered Raym.

He was the least likely suspect, the only one of them who still had faith, who still believed in their ability to return to Heaven.

“Would Raym really conspire with the demons?” Levi asked from the other side of the room where he stood before the fireplace. “Have his own twin terminated?”

The Watchers: Faith Revisited

45

“No!” Penny cried out.

Glancing over his shoulder, Bale spotted Penny standing in the doorway. Her burnt-copper hair hung in disarray around her pale, tear-streaked face. She seemed to have had little, if any, sleep. Clearly distraught, her appearance pointed to Raym's guilt more than anything.

“Whatever you think, it wasn't Raym,” she whispered.

“Do you have anything to add, Penemuel? Did Raym say anything to you?” Remy asked quietly. Every occupant in the room seemed to hold his breath, waiting for her reply.

“No,” she admitted, shaking her head and moving farther into the room. “But he wouldn't have allowed any harm to befall Caym. If you'd only seen him in the chapel…”

“Then where is he? I've tried telepathy to reach him and so has Bale, but he's just not there.

He has severed the connection with us. Can you still sense him?” Remy demanded, rising slowly to his feet.

“No, he's cut me off too, but I knew he would.” Weariness dripped from her voice. “I knew this morning that Raym would try to avenge Caym's death.”

Snorting in disbelief, Bale rolled his eyes and turned away from Penny.

“Fuck you, Bale,” she hissed, and he whipped around to face her. “Just because you don't give a shit about anybody else doesn't mean the rest of us feel the same way.”

“And you have been jonesing to fuck Raym for years. That hardly makes you an impartial member of this discussion,” he snapped, folding his arms across his chest.

“Bastard,” she snarled. “You are one to talk, with your little tart upstairs.”

A growl inadvertently slipped from between his clenched teeth. He couldn't give a shit what Penny said about him, but he wouldn't allow anyone to speak of Faith in such a manner. He felt both Remy and Arak holding him back but only saw Penny through the red haze clouding his vision. When Levi stepped between them, he blinked in surprise.

“Besmirching Bale's female will win you no points with anyone, Penny,” Levi said quietly.

“And as much as it pains me to agree with Bale, Raym's disappearance hardly makes him look innocent.”

“I don't care what any of you think,” she said, raising her chin defiantly. “Raym wouldn't align himself with demons. And he sure as hell wouldn't have hurt Zeke or Caym.” She took two steps backward before turning and striding toward the door. “And I'll prove it,” she hissed over her shoulder.

Remy called her name, but she ignored him, stalking from the room. He glanced at Levi and motioned with his head in the direction Penny had fled. “Follow her,” he ordered.

Levi gave a brisk nod, then trailed after Penny, moving quickly to catch up to the female.

“I'll go with him.” At Remy's agreement, Kash followed Levi out the door.

“Well, that was helpful,” Remy said as he released Bale.

“Shit. I am sorry.” Bale ran his fingers through his hair in disgust. He had lost his temper when he shouldn't have, and he couldn't even defend his actions. It wasn't as if Penny had threatened Faith. Stepping away from Remy and Arak, he remembered Faith's words. She wanted to leave in the morning. While his body protested the thought, his mind recognized the need. He couldn't have the distraction, not when there was a war brewing, and with Raym, it seemed, at the helm.

46

Madelyn Ford

Remy shook his head with a weary sigh. “I would not have reacted any differently if she were mine,” he replied, sinking back into his chair.

“It will not happen again. Faith is leaving in the morning.”

“Are you certain?” Remy asked carefully.

Bale nodded. “It is for the best. Until we know what is going on, I can't guarantee her safety.”

“So no more denials?” Arak asked from behind Bale.

Bale poured himself two fingers of scotch, then winced as the amber liquid burned down the back of his throat. He couldn't continue lying to Remy or Arak, but he would not consider admitting this to any of the other males. Except maybe Zeke.

“No. I'm not going to deny that in another time, another place, I would have cherished this gift I've been given. A heart mate. But what kind of life do I have to offer? A never-ending battle against demons where she will always be a target because she is with me? She deserves better.”

“You know you would not be alone. We would all protect Faith as if she were our own.”

“I know you would. But that wouldn't make her any less my responsibility.” It wasn't that Bale didn't appreciate Remy's words, and he expected nothing less from his brothers. But it still wouldn't lessen the need he would feel to keep her safe. “What are we going to about Raym?” he asked, making it clear he was done discussing Faith. He had made his decision, and nothing would change his mind.

“Yes. We can't be certain it was Raym who was behind the attacks on Zeke and Bale,”

Arak added.

“No, we can't. That leaves Penny and Kash. I have requested a replacement for Caym. He should be here by the middle of the week.”

“Who?” Bale asked in surprise. It usually took weeks, if not months, for Samyaza, the leader of the Grigori, to supplant a fallen warrior.

“Jet. I told Sam I need someone I could trust implicitly. With Levi trailing Penny, and Jet, when he arrives, Kash, you and I will uncover whatever plot is afoot.”

“And where do I fit into these plans?” Arak inquired.

Remy focused his attention on their healer. “For now your job is to protect Zeke and the two females. If there is still a traitor under this roof, I do not want us caught unawares again.

Bale will not be able to do his job if Faith is not safe. And we need Zeke awake and talking.”

A sense of relief settled over Bale. He only needed to worry about Faith for one more evening, and then she would be safe. If he continued to deny his feelings for her, the traitor would not target her. And with Remy watching his back, he could concentrate on the task at hand—finding the traitor and terminating him or her.

* * * *

Faith set the empty bowl back on the tray and glanced around Bale's room, looking for something to occupy her until he returned. She already missed him, and she wasn't happy about it. She didn't understand this connection she felt with Bale, the compulsion to be with him. It was infuriating.

There wasn't much in the room, but her gaze finally settled on the stereo. Music could help make the time pass more quickly. Eagerly she began rummaging through Bale's CD collection—

The Watchers: Faith Revisited

47

Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Judas Priest, Rush. A frown marred Faith's face, and with a sigh, she placed the last CD—Pink Floyd—on top of the pile. Nothing she would willingly sit through. She figured she had already paid her dues in music hell. Her father was a Rocky Horror fanatic. His musical tastes were, frankly, horrifying.

After fiddling with the stereo knob, she settled for 107.7 The End. As Flogging Molly's

“Drunken Lullabies” began filtering through the speakers, Faith glanced around the room again, looking for something else to amuse herself with.

Bale had no personal items lying about. No pictures. Nothing to give her a clue about the male's life. With a frustrated sigh, she sat on the edge of the bed. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the wardrobe. Drawn to it, Faith approached the cabinet but hesitated just before opening its doors. Then, with the sharp edge of guilt bearing down on her, she peered inside.

Rising on her tiptoes, she noticed the top third of the cabinet was for storing his sword. It and several others would normally be mounted on the back wall. Currently there was only one, an unusual blade with spikes protruding near the black handle.

Pulling open the top four drawers uncovered a plethora of weapons: daggers, throwing stars, short axes—an arsenal of deadly artillery. Faith pulled out a ten-inch black dagger and held it loosely in her grip. It was very good quality, obviously a custom job. Bale apparently spared no expense when it came to his weapons. On that, he and Hope were in agreement.