Out of the Dark (Forbidden Love) (28 page)

     “Angel said he was supposed to meet Rhiannon here to get Brea back.  But Brea isn’t here.  It’s a trap for Angel.”

     “Is my killer here?”

     “No,” Keelie answered.  “I don’t smell him.  I do, however, smell quite a few others.  They mean to kill Angel, and probably Brea as well.”

    
“How many?” Ricco asked.

     “At least twenty, but from this distance I can’t be sure,” Keelie replied.

     “So, my men want to know what the plan is,” Samuel said.

     “We are to stay here, just out of sight, until Angel gets here.  He’s gone after Brea
.  When she is safe, they will join us.  We are not to do anything unless it becomes necessary.”

     “What about my killer?”

     “He’s with Brea.  Angel will take care of him personally,” Ricco said.

     “So what am I supposed to tell my supervisor?  Am I supposed to bring him a bucket of ashes and expect him to believe that it really is our perp?” Samuel snapped.

     Ricco laughed.  “They don’t turn to ashes,” he explained.  “Angel will bring you a beheaded corpse.  And don’t forget, Rhiannon is behind all this.  She’s here.”

     “I want her alive.
”

     “Do you really think that’s possible?  There is no way she will come alive.  When the fighting starts, tell your men to protect their necks and aim for the heart.  Shoot first and ask questions later.  I don’t want any more innocent blood spilled,” Ricco said, running his hand through his hair.

     “This is one of the best squad’s in the city,” Samuel assured Ricco.  “I have the utmost faith in my men and their abilities.”

     “Hey, look,” Keelie interrupted.  “Something’s happening.  They are filing out of the theatre.  They must know that Angel is with Brea.”

     “Time to go,” Rebel grinned, baring his fangs.

     Detective Corbin lifted his radio to his mouth.  “Look alive, men.  We’re going in.  Be aware
of  our allies.  Orders are:  protect your necks and aim for the heart.  Shoot to kill.  No unfriendly lives.”

     “Ten four,” someone on the other end replied.
  The police moved in closer, surrounding the building.  Someone shouted, and gunfire filled the air.

******

     Angel stopped in his tracks.  A chill raced down his spine and he knew they knew.  “They know we’re here,” he muttered, moving again.  With the element of surprise lost, Angel knew that they had to move quickly.  They had made it to the main level of the jail house and split up to search for Brea.  Angel gave a mental shout to warn Antonio and Gage. 

     “How can you guys communicate that way without that jerk hearing you?” Phoenix asked.

     “Gage is a powerful psychic.  He has trained us for years to develop a private link.  And since Brea is my mate, our connection is always safe,” Angel answered as they rounded a corner.

     “Hello!” Phoenix bellowed.  There were three vampires blocking the hall.

     “We knew you would come,” one of them hissed.

     “Where is Brea?” Angel demanded.  One of the vampires snarled.  Another smiled smugly. 
The third spoke.  “You will not find her,” he growled.  “Your journey stops here.”

     Angel growled and leaped forward.  He landed hard on the third vampire.  He took a blow to
his jaw as the pair went down to the floor.  Angel could feel the blind rage in his veins.  Somewhere behind him, Angel knew that Phoenix and Sebastian had engaged with the other two.  But this one was Angel’s.  With all the speed and precision he had gained in his three hundred years, Angel grasped the blade in his belt and thrust it forward.  It sank into the vampire’s chest, piercing his heart.

     The vampire screamed in agony.  But he wasn’t dying fast enough for Angel’s liking.  He curled his lips back and lunged for the vampire’s neck.  With one jerk of his head, Angel ripped the man’s throat out.

     Spitting hard, trying to rid himself of the vampire’s vile taste, Angel twisted vamp number three’s head until it snapped and the tissues gave way.  With cold hatred, Angel tossed the severed head aside.

     Without missing a beat, Angel stood and turned to help his friends.  But it was unnecessary.  Sebastian had dispatched his foe efficiently and effectively.  Phoenix had his wrapped in his huge arms and was covered in flames.  The vampire was screeching and desperately trying to get away, but Phoenix proved stronger. 
He was burning the man alive.  When the screams died, he jerked his arms and the vampire’s head rolled from it’s lifeless body.

     Angel had to admire this man’s strength.  His method was odd, but effective just the same.  In fact, he thought maybe Phoenix enjoyed torturing the enemy.  Vampires were, in fact, extremely flammable.  Angel shuddered involuntarily.  He vowed to himself to always remain on this man’s good side.

     “Well,” Sebastian said, breaking Angel’s train of thought, “Let’s go.”

     The three moved forward.  Angel called out to Gage, and discovered that they had encountered some trouble of their own.  But they were handling it well, so Angel tried to contact Brea.  He heard her scream both with his ears and his mind.  Without explaining to the others, Angel raced in the direction from which the scream came.  He slammed into a locked door.  It was constructed of iron bars and the hinges were rusted.  Angel saw what he had been looking for.

     Chase was standing in the cell with Brea.  Her body was limp in his arms, and when he sensed Angel there, he dropped her.  Angel’s blood chilled.  Brea was limp and bleeding from her neck and shoulders.   Angel gathered his strength, prepared himself for the pain, and shoved his body into the bars.  The rusted metal gave under his inhuman strength and snapped.  He felt a sharp pain in his side and Angel knew he had broken a rib or two.  But he paid it no mind.  Angel tossed the gate as if it were nothing more than a feather. 

     His first thought was for Brea.  She was lying on the floor, weak and dying.  Angel felt
his own strength dwindle as she grew weaker by the second.  He took one step toward her when Chase put himself in the path.

     “Get out of the way,” Angel snarled.

     “I have waited for this moment for a long time now, Angel Knight.  I will have my revenge.  And when I kill you, I will be Clan Leader.”

     “Don’t worry about Brea,” Sebastian called.  “We’ve got her.  Deal with him.”

     Angel nodded.  He knew there would be no way he could help Brea until this man was dead.  “Do you challenge me then?” Angel growled.

     “I do,” Chase replied.

     “I will enjoy watching you die,” Angel said, going for his throat.  But Chase was fast.  He leapt out of the way and Angel landed on the floor.  Chase jumped on top of Angel’s back and bared his fangs.  Angel jerked underneath him and managed to twist his body.  He threw his hands up just in time to stop Chase from connecting his teeth to Angel’s throat.

     “Not so fast,” Angel warned.  “It won’t be that easy.”

     Chase growled and Angel shoved  him off.  The two were on their feet again in less than a second.   “Your woman is very pretty.  She tastes quite good too,” Chase said with a sadistic grin.  “You should have heard her screaming my name when I took her.  She begged me not to stop, she begged me for more.”

     Angel knew that Chase had not raped Brea.  He knew the man was trying to bait him.  It worked.   Angel screamed in fury and lunged for him again.  This time, he hit his mark.
  His fists landed on Chase’s chest, forcing him to stumble into the wall.  But the weaker Brea got, the more Angel felt the strain on his own strength.  Between that and the pain already present in his ribs, Angel was not strong enough to hold Chase to the wall.

     He easily twisted and flipped their positions on the wall.  Chase did not have any problem holding Angel there, and he knew it.  Angel knew this was it.  He spared a glance to his right where Brea was with Sebastian and Phoenix.  The firebird was cradling her in his arms and his
wings were consumed by flames.  “What are you doing?” Angel snapped.  For just a second, he forgot about Chase.  “Trust me,” Phoenix replied, just as Chase bit down into Angel’s neck.  The strain was too much.  Coupled with the blood loss he was now suffering, there was nothing Angel could do.  He would die.  But he took heart in knowing that Brea would live.  Angel faced his death head on and without fear.

     Just when the world was slipping away, Angel felt her.  Brea was getting stronger.  Her strength flowed into Angel and he began to feel stronger as well. 
Stronger still.  Angel decided he was not ready to die, not when he could feel Brea feeding him her strength.  With everything he had, Angel thrust his hand forward and into Chase’s chest.  He broke through the vampire’s skin and ribs, through the tissues and vessels.  Chase jerked his head back from Angel’s neck and stared at him with shock and horror.  When Angel jerked his hand back, Chase’s still beating heart was in his hand.  Chase looked at his removed heart incredulously, then collapsed to the ground.

      Angel fell to his knees.  A pair of arms surrounded him and he knew instantly that it was Brea.  Her fresh clean scent filled his senses and brought him back to her.  He stood on unsteady feet and looked at her like it was the first time.  “Are you ok,
Mon Amour
?” he said, planting kisses on her face and neck.  “I was so scared, I thought I lost you,” he said.

     “I’m
not going down that easily,” she said, smiling.

     “You have no wounds,” Angel noticed.

     “That Phoenix guy is really something else.”
     Angel looked to Phoenix and found him grinning.  “It’s what I do,” he said.  Angel smiled back.  But his reunion was short lived, because Angel had lost too much blood.  “You need to feed,” Phoenix told him.  “You drink, I will fix the wounds on you.”

     Brea flipped her hair to the side, exposing her neck.  Angel was too weak to argue.  He felt a large hand on his neck, but paid it no attention.  He held Brea close and sank his fangs into her neck.   Although he could not see it, he was aware of Sebastian cutting off the head of the now heartless vampire on the floor.  Angel’s neck got hot,
then the rest of his body, but it did not burn.  His strength came back quickly, and he closed the pin hole sized wound on Brea’s neck.

     Phoenix was smiling.  Not the arrogant smile that Angel had seen before, but a genuine smile.  “I’m a healer.  You and Brea are good as new.  Now, about that theatre…”

THIRTY FOUR

     The scene at the theatre was gruesome.  There were bodies everywhere.  Angel had no way of knowing how many were wounded, how many were killed, or how many were people he called friends.  The theatre was on fire and there was a news helicopter circling overhead.  It looked like a war zone.  Angel picked Brea up into his arms and raced to meet his friends.

     The first man Angel came to was sitting on the back of an ambulance holding a bandage on his head.  He
was wearing a police uniform and seemed lucid enough, so Angel talked to him.  “Where is Detective Corbin?”

     “Last time I saw him, he was over there,” the man replied, pointing to his left.  Angel nodded his thanks and jogged off in that direction.  Detective Corbin was helping to stanch a bleeding wound on Ricco’s abdomen.  A tawny wolf was meticulously cleaning the blood from his face and neck.  Angel increased his pace, dragging Brea along with him.

     “Keelie!” Brea shouted, going to her wolf friend.  “Are you alright?” Brea was inspecting her friends fur for signs of damage.  When she found none, the wolf gave a grunt and continued to work over Ricco.

     “What happened?” Angel demanded.

     “They all started pouring out the doors like rats on a sinking ship,” Ricco rasped.  “We assumed that they knew we were on to them and they were trying to escape.  Samuel gave the command, and this is the result.”

     “Did you find Rhiannon?” Angel asked.

     “She got away,” Rebel said, appearing at Angel’s side.  “We have two friendlies tracking her now,” Rebel answered.

    
“Casualties?”

     “As far as I can tell,” Samuel answered, “we only lost four men.  Got several wounded, but they will survive.  But we got fifteen vampire corpses to deal with.  What do we do with them?”

     “Burn them,” Rebel replied.

     “That’s gonna smell real nice,” Samuel grunted as he tied off the bandage on Ricco’s stomach.  “He needs a hospital.  He’ll live.”

     “I can take care of the wounded,” Phoenix offered.  Angel had been so wrapped up in his conversation that he’d forgotten about his new friend.

     “Get to it,” Angel said.  “And Phoenix,”

     “Yeah?”

     “I am forever grateful to you, I owe you our lives,” Angel said.

     “No sweat, really.  I needed some excitement,” he laughed as he strode away to do what it is that he does.  Angel watched him go, truly thankful for his interference.

     “Sir,” Rebel said to Angel.  “It will be dawn in a few minutes.  We should go.”

     “Go,” Samuel said.  “I’ll take care of this.  I will come to you later.”