Hunting Angel 2 (11 page)

The lying snake was going to pay.

As soon as I was able to pick my crushed heart off the concrete and piece it back together. Not only had Chase pummeled my heart, it was also the realization that
I
had cared.
I
had more than cared.
I
had started to fall in love with him. And that was as much a punch to the gut as seeing him go off with slutty Sierra was.

Suddenly, I couldn’t breathe.

Pressure squeezed in my chest and everything around me went silent. My feet felt super glued to the sidewalk. I couldn’t move. It wasn’t until a girl in a lower class accidently bumped into me that I stumbled back into the present. Running a shaky hand through my hair, I walked to my car like a mummy wrapped in anguish.

The ride back to my house seemed to take hours. I was numb. All I wanted to do was crawl into bed, pull down the blinds, and wallow in self-pity. But the longer he was gone, the stronger the pounding of anxiety knocked in my chest.

My bed was the only thing on my mind when I walked through the front door. I hit the silver comforter like a sobbing hot mess. The tears couldn’t be repressed any longer, and I needed to let go of all the hurt building inside me. It was like a flood of raw emotion.

Alone, I shut myself off from the world. I shut myself off from
him
. Ignored the phone calls. Dismissed the text messages. But as long as he was gone, my body wouldn’t give into the sleep I desperately wanted. Sleep – the one chance to flee from the ache.

I watched the clock above my door, as the little hand clicked and clicked in slow motion around in a circle. The room darkened with nightfall, while I lay curled into a ball, wishing this connection between us was severed. Then on a sharp intake of air, I opened my eyes and the anxiousness was gone. Every muscle in my body relaxed, losing the tension that seemed to have increased with each passing minute.

Shitbrick was home.

What I wanted to do was get up, stomp across his yard, karate chop the door, and give him the lashing of the decade. However my worn body had other plans, lashes fluttered close as I pulled the covers to my chin and promptly fell in a deep slumber.

Tomorrow would be another matter entirely.

~*~*~*~

I was up at the crack of dawn, something that was completely unheard of, but the little sleep I’d gotten had been sound. It might have been completely naïve of me, but I had almost hoped that when I awoke, this gut-retching hurt would be gone.

It wasn’t.

Bracing myself on the bathroom sink, I groaned in horror at the sight that stared back at me. I looked like I’d been ravished by a zombie. And these puffy, red, and swollen eyes weren’t going to miraculous vanish.

I cursed him a thousand different ways standing there in the middle of the bathroom mirror before I decided that
I
wasn’t going to let him see my pain. If it killed me, I was going to look fabulous. Nothing a shower, two frozen spoons, and some heavy makeup couldn’t fix.

Or so I prayed.

After a long, steaming hot shower, I plodded to my closet. Tearing open the doors, I started to rummage through my clothes like a woman on a mission. Then I realized my wardrobe sucked some serious ass. That was all it took for a wave of heartache to bombard me again. I slid down the wall and put my head on my knees. Wet hair fell over my shoulders.

I needed to be stronger than this. It wasn’t like we had a commitment to each other, but tell that to my bleeding heart. Why was what we had between us, so complex? I deserved better. I deserved respect and honesty. I picked myself off the floor with renewed determination.

I was one of the first to arrive at school, leaving before Chase had a chance to catch me. It would be impossible to not run into him, but snubbing was another matter entirely. And that was just what I had done. However, chem class was unavoidable and the few others we now had together thanks to his demon persuasion.

At the first whisper of his breath against my neck I nearly hit the class ceiling. “The silent treatment. Really Angel? I thought you were more creative than that.”

“Shocking. I always thought you were a douchebag. Now I know you are.” So much for biting my tongue.

“Angel Eyes it’s not what it seems.”

“Don’t. Call. Me. That.” I gritted my teeth.

“Meet me at my house, after school. I’ll prove it.” The end of his pencil outlined a pattern on the back of my shirt.

As if
. Even as the thought fluttered in my head, I couldn’t suppress the shudder that tore through me.
Damn him
. Leaning forward on my desk, I tried to stay out of his reach.

He chuckled under his breath.

I wanted to jam that pencil down his throat. He wouldn’t be chuckling then.

As soon as the bell rang, I was the first out of my seat and through the door. I was surprised I’d made it so far. By the end of the day, I was split in half. There was no denying that a huge part of me wanted to tell him to stick his explanation where the sun don’t shine. Another part of me, a slim part of me, wanted to hear him worm out of this without my hand connecting to his cheek.

When I pulled into my driveway, his car was already parked sleekly in his.
What the hell
? How had he beaten me home? Well, it was now or never. It turned out, my feet made the decision for me.

I marched across his yard, each stomp getting heavier and heavier until I reached the steps of his white porch. I put a hand on the banister. No way was I meeting him anywhere. I was going to tell him off, lose his number, and forget he was alive. That was the plan.

The plan was blown to shit.

The door opened before I had a chance to knock. I stood on the porch seething with pent up rage. Before I even registered what I was doing, my hand was sailing through the air straight for Chase’s perfect cheekbone. Unfortunately my hand never made the connection. And it burned my blood. It was the least he had deserved after the way he had made me feel.

His hand wrapped around my wrist, and his thumb rubbed over my pulsing vein. “You are a naughty girl.”

I let a strangled cry right before I launched myself at him. Nothing beat a woman scorned. My fist beat against his chest wildly with unrestrained vigor and was anything but effective to my utter frustration. I wanted to hurt him as much as he had hurt me. But it was like hitting a solid wall, and I only ended up bruising my hands in addition to my already bruised heart.

To say I went ballistic was an understatement.

His arms engulfed me, holding me until the fight was drained out of me. My breathing was coming in quick pants having exerted so much energy. I expected him to laugh at me or tease me, anything but the harsh regret I heard in his voice.

“Angel, it’s not what you think,” he whispered in my ear.

I went limp in his arms, my heart squeezing. “I’m not an idiot Chase.”

“I never said you were, but you are acting like a fool.” That was it. I clamped my teeth on his arm and bit down. His arm released me on a curse like hot coal. “Dammit Angel.” Firmly he spun me around to face him. “What can I say to you that will make you believe that there is nothing between Sierra and I? There never was and there never will be. Not now.” There was desperation in his tone that I never thought possible.

I narrowed my eyes. “Why? Because of this stupid mark?” I snorted. “Please, don’t let it stand in the way.”

He groaned, running a frustrated hand through his midnight hair. “Ugh, Angel you are such an impossible brat.”

“Me!” I shrieked. He had some nerve. His hand reached out to me again. “Touch me, and I will make mincemeat out of you,” I threatened through my clenched teeth. My jaw was starting to throb, along with my head.

Travis snickered from inside the house. I hadn’t even noticed him or that we had an audience. My rage had disbursed all my focus on Chase. Nothing new, he always consumed me in one way or another.

Chase scowled, his whiskey rimmed eyes never leaving mine. “Travis, don’t you have some brain cells to kill?”

I saw Travis lean over the back of the couch. “Are you kidding? And miss Angel tear you to shreds? This is way more entertaining.”

“Fine,” said Chase, a vein at his temple pulsing. “We’re leaving.”

“I am not going anywhere with you,” I announced prepared to hug one of the porch columns if necessary.

His eyes flashed as he engulfed the doorway. “You can walk out of here on your own, or I can help you. And trust me, I would enjoy it.”

“Why should I got anywhere with you, you two-timing low-life,” I snapped.

“So I can show you what I’ve been doing…and it hasn’t been Sierra.”

I rolled my eyes. “Fine,” I reluctantly agreed. He had piqued my interest. “Travis, if I don’t come back…avenge me.”

Dimples in full view, Travis laughed. “It would be my pleasure.”

Chapter 11

“Where are you taking me?” I asked, grudgingly hopping into his overpriced car. He was keeping a close eye on me, and I knew that if I made a break for it, he would stop me before I’d even had the chance to take one step. Why had I agreed to let him hijack me without giving me any information?

After last night, he was lucky I was even speaking to him.

“To get some answers,” he said short.

“Stop being so mysterious. It’s annoying.” His grip tightened on the wheel, and I secretly grinned inside. Good, let him get agitated.

“You aren’t going to give up are you?” he asked.

“Not a chance in hell. You got me in the car, the least you can do is tell me where we are going. You owe it to me.” I leaned against the door, putting as much space as the car allowed between us.

“You would see it that way.” He sighed. “It’s not what you think. Sierra has been helping me.”

“Oh, I’m sure she has,” I sneered, narrowing my gaze.

“You are utterly impossible,” he declared, shaking his head, the light from the window emphasized his chiseled cheekbones.

I pivoted in my seat. “Don’t you dare make this about me. I’m two-seconds away from jumping out of the car.”

“You won’t even reach the handle before I got to you,” he heaved heavily, clearly unhappy with the direction this convo was going. “Look, before this turns into a full out combat, just listen.” He looked over at me waiting to see what I would do or say next.

I did nothing.

Turning his eyes back to the miles of road stretched out before us, he took advantage of my silence. “Sierra’s parents are both half-demons.”

That was nothing new to me. Lexi had told me about her parents. I didn’t really see what they had to do with any of this. Were they pushing Chase and Sierra together? The thought filled me with red hot jealousy. I bit my tongue and let him continue.

“They know a lot of people within the Divisa community. We’ve all heard rumors about humans being bonded to half-demons, but that’s just it – rumors. I never really put much stock in any of that crap. Well, until you. Sierra however, totally bought into it mainly because of her parents. I asked her for help locating someone who might know more about our connection, about what might happen to you because of it.”

Wow. I sort of felt lame.

He wasn’t sneaking off and hooking up with that skank Sierra. But even so, I absolutely hated knowing that they had spent any time together just on principal, even if it was for a good cause.

When the initial shock wore off, I asked. “And you found someone?”

His lips twitched. “I found an extremely knowledgeable Divisa on the outskirts of town. He might be able to shed some light on this whole connection we got going. That’s what Sierra and I were doing, tracking him down. Her parents only had a name. When we found him, they made a call. He agreed to talk with us.”

“And Sierra was just helping you out of the kindness of her black heart? Bullshit. What does she get? What did you promise her in return?” It was common knowledge that there was no love lost between Sierra and I.

“Look, I know that she can be…”

“A bitch,” I supplied.

He grinned. A low beam of sunlight hit him through the window, highlighting streaks of midnight in his hair. “That’s putting it nicely. But she just wants to help.”

“You expect me to believe that load of crap?”

“I do. I’ve never lied to you Angel. I am not about to start now,” he declared.

I looked away, staring out the window as rows upon rows of dense trees rolled by. “Do you really think he will be able to help?” I finally asked.

“I hope so. He is our only lead so far.” He gave me a crocked grin. “Hold tight, this is going to be the ride of your life.”

I crossed my fingers as he drove us out of Spring Valley and onto the highway. There was something relaxing about the way he drove. I shouldn’t have felt that. Not. At. All. He didn’t exactly have the best track record with cars. You’d think that I would have been scared to death to get in another car with him, but that wasn’t the case. Somehow Chase always managed to make me feel safe and secure.

Even when I was pissed to the max at him.

I was totally going to blame that on this bond. Also, I couldn’t help but notice that just being near him made me feel at peace. “So what’s his name?” I asked, tucking my hands into the pockets of my teal hoodie.

Peering at me from under insanely thick lashes, he grinned. “Ives.”

“Ives,” I echoed, scrunching my nose. “What kind of name is Ives?”

Not long after that he turned off the main road and down what I wouldn’t have even deemed a road. It was more like a path, a ghostly path. When he pulled up to a house that looked more like an abandoned shack, I figured we were lost. Boards twisted chaotically, falling off and the wood was miss-matched and different colors. “Why didn’t you use the GPS?”

He gave me an odd look. “We’re here. What do I need the GPS for?

“You’re joking,” I snorted. “He lives here? A rat couldn’t live here.”

“Angel Eyes, sometimes you can be such a snob.”

I gave him the stink eye.
Me
? I’m not the one driving a car that obviously cost more than this guy’s house. Reluctantly following him out of the car, I waited on the rattling and rickety porch as Chase knocked on the door.