Sweet Temptation (26 page)

At some point Zania nods off, still bent over, and her head ends up on Kope's thigh.
Hahahaha
, the bloke is frozen as stone, trying not to be affected. I take advantage of the moment of peace and move to the empty row behind us. I lean my head against the window and soon fall asleep.

I'm woken sometime later from a vivid dream where I'm
obliterating Anna's innocence. It's quite a nice dream, but I'd rather not be having it in public. The sounds of Zania's crying and Kope's gentle admonishments usher me back to reality with an unwelcome jolt. The kind flight attendant has covered me in a blanket while I slept. I take the blue bundle and cram it over my misbehaving lap, thinking of things that are not soft and warm. Things that do not moan and arch and bend.

It doesn't help.

I press my fingers over my forehead as hard as I can. My knee bounces faster. I inhale a filling breath and pull out my mobile, opening the picture of me with Anna. I stare at it until the pilot tells the flight attendants to prepare for landing. Then, with a heavy heart, I delete the picture.

I can't wait to land. I want to see Anna embrace Zania—for her to fill that broken girl with the same positive energy she fills me with—energy that makes one believe they can fight both the demons inside themselves and the ones outside as well. Energy that makes one believe they can win.

“In the wreckage of a job well done I saw a place I'd never seen before, yeah,

And that moment I refused to close my eyes anymore.”

—“Worth Dying For” by Rise Against

F
rom the frying pan into the fire, isn't that how the saying goes? Almost immediately upon arriving in L.A. we got a call from Belial to leave the area. A group of Dukes were flying into LAX from Vegas with some women they met. Blake had the idea of heading for the marina and taking his boat out to his father's private island, where we'd be safe from the mainland.

Brilliant.

Blake told us to think of this as a “mini vacay,” and after all we'd just been through in Syria, I wanted that far too much. Us blokes took the Jet Skis out, leaving the girls to chat on the island's dock.

Thing is, it's dangerous to relax and not give yourself an out. We know that, and yet we'd come to the one place with nowhere to hide. Just our sodding luck. Thankfully the messenger of Lucifer, Azael, is secretly in league with Belial. The dark spirit found us and warned us that the Dukes were on their way to the island.

Now, here we are. Kopano, Zania, and Blake are submersed under the boat dock. I am sitting on the edge with Anna, about to jump in. Why? Because we have to hide someplace where Father cannot detect Anna's scent of innocence.

Underwater.

After all we've been through, you'd think I'd no longer get scared, but where Anna is concerned there is always room for fear. My protective instinct for her has only grown, and I can hardly keep a straight mind when she's in danger.

I watch Anna as she stares down at the moving waters beneath us. Strands of hair around her face are wet from running around to prepare. She looks resigned to what's coming. When she turns her face up to mine, her eyes widen to find me watching her so intensely.

I still haven't told her how I feel—not in words. I'm cursing myself now for being too afraid, knowing how much it would mean to her. The Dukes are in hearing range by now. I can't risk speaking, but I have to tell her. If we're caught today, if anything happens to us, I will hate myself for not saying it. So, I give her the only thing I have. Silent words.

I raise a hand and make the combination “I” “L” “U” in sign language—
I love you.
She stares at my hand until her eyes water. She holds up her hand and mirrors mine, pressing her
sign against mine, mouthing the words,
I love you, too.

I vow we will make it out of this.

She reaches out for me and I pull her against me, feeling her arms wrap around my back. I hold her close, wishing this night would be over soon. I don't know when the Dukes will arrive, or how long they will stay, but I know we're in for a long evening.

Blake reaches up and grabs our ankles, telling us it's time to get in. Anna and I both slide down, holding on to the planks, and she sucks in a loud breath of air as her body hits the water. The first bout of worry bombards me when I feel how the sea has chilled within the past hour since we were on Jet Skis. The water is always cold here, but Anna is so much smaller than me. She'll freeze if we're in too long, especially after the sun sets.

She gives me a firm nod that she'll be okay. I know she's a fighter. We quietly swim to the posts underneath the dock where Kope and Zania have grabbed hold. The damn things are slick with sea life, making them difficult to grip. The five of us look around at each other, ready to weather what's to come. I stare at Anna and she gives me one last brave nod.

Please, please, let this be over quickly. I hope the Dukes will get their fucking kicks and get the hell out of here. Surely they don't plan to stay all night?

I hunker down with the others and wait as the sea temperature drops. Zania seems worlds stronger after only a day under Anna's nurturing. She got her to shower and eat a bit. I'm glad, because Z'd never be able to survive this if she was in the same shape now as two days ago. Her quick Nephilim
healing probably helped, as well.

It doesn't take long for the Dukes to arrive. They've even brought Flynn, which surprises me. His father must have called him to Vegas soon after we parted in Europe.

Father, Melchom, Mammon, and Astaroth came to the island to work, bringing married and engaged women, who they plan to ruin, to soil with adultery, guilt, and regret.

Hours pass, and it's bloody cold. Nearly unbearable. I can't stand to see Anna's lips turning blue and her body trembling uncontrollably.

At some point during the Dukes' exploits, Anna begins to lose it. She's shivering like mad. She lets out a squeak of fear, and jumps as if something's rubbed up against her underwater. Then she nearly laughs, delirious. I rush from my post, stiff and numb, wrapping my arms around her frozen body. I press a hand over her lips to remind her to be quiet and she slowly nods. I keep one hand firmly around her waist and hold the pole with the other.

We cling underneath the dock for hours, pushed and pulled by the Pacific tides, waiting for the Dukes to finish their bloody business so I can get Anna to warmth, but the night only turns worse. I thought perhaps the Dukes had brought Flynn along to be their bodyguard and lackey—to drop the anchor and fetch them wine—but their reason was more sinister than that. Much more.

They know Flynn was in Syria, and that Zania was bought by two “mystery men.” They know there are traitors among them.

“What you don't know, son,” Duke Mammon whispers
with malice, “is that Duke Sonellion borrowed one of Duke Thamuz's sons to keep watch over the transaction of the girl while he was away.”

Kope and I share a shocked glance. Another Neph had been there in Syria with us. He'd seen Flynn get into the fight on that hill, seen his red hair when his head covering fell back. But it sounds as if he hadn't seen me or Kope.

“Tell me who you're working with!” Mammon shouts above us.

Don't tell them
, I silently beg.
Stay strong, mate.

Anna is shivering violently, and my worry has turned to panic. In the moonlight her lips are lavender, and I'm not sure how she's able to keep herself afloat. The only part of her that looks alive is her eyes as she watches the action on the dock through a chink in the wood.

“I will tell you nothing, old man,” Flynn says.

Bloody right on him. He's ready to die for this cause. His father, Mammon, holds a gun to his head, but Flynn is unflinching.

“Last chance,” Mammon says.

“I'll see you in hell,” Flynn responds, and he sounds almost liberated . . . free.

I touch my fingers to Anna's cold lips and hold her tight as a gunshot splits the air. Her body jolts in my arms. I press my cheek to the side of her head.

For the second time in my life, I witness a fellow Neph murdered by a Duke. Unlike the first time, I am not numb. I feel the brutality of Flynn's death, and it hurts. It's personal.

I watch helplessly as our worthy ally's soul is pulled away
to hell by demon spirits, and my rage threatens to make us known. I watch as Z's teeth chatter and Anna goes limp with grief in my arms. I watch as Blake has lost all remnants of humor, and even Kope's face is desolate. I hate that we must sit here in silence, vulnerable and defenseless.

How much more can we take of this? How many more of us must die before we can act?

I've never been more relieved than when the Dukes leave the island. Anna's frozen stiff as I hoist her onto the dock with my weakened arms. My sore muscles ache as I pull her into my lap and bring Zania closer to Anna. Kope and Blake quickly leave us for the other side of the island, with the hope of retrieving Blake's boat as fast as possible. Anna and Zania's shaking has become violent, and they can hardly open their eyes.

“Shit—I think you have hypothermia.” I rub Anna's arms, but she's soaked through. I know the wet clothes are supposed to come off, but I need to wait until she's in the boat. I surround her with my arms and she encircles Zania weakly. “It's okay,” I say. “You'll be all right now. The boat is nearly here.”

Hurry, hurry, hurry.

The boat finally docks and Kope jumps off. Together we rush the girls down into the cabin. My first instinct is to put them on the bed, but they're soaked. I set Anna in a chair, and Kope follows my lead.

“Can we get the heat on down here?” I call up to Blake. “We need to get them out of these wet clothes.”

“I'm trying to figure it out!” he yells back. “I might need
some help up here. Can one of you guys find the extra blankets?”

I squeeze Anna's hand. “I'll be right back, luv. We're going to get you warm.” With eyes closed and jaw rattling, she nods.

I take a running leap up the stairs and find Blake shivering at the panels. “The heat's not labeled. I've never had to use it.” We try different switches until we finally figure it out. Then we run about readying the boat so it doesn't drift away while we're thawing. When I go back down the stairs I can hear the heater cranking, and I'm so ready to get Anna dry and warm.

What I see stops me in my tracks. Kopano is taking off Anna's shorts. His hand is on her calf. Anger rumbles through me at this blatant act of intimacy.

I can barely get the words out. “Get. Your. Bloody hands. Off her.”

He freezes, caught. I am shaking all over now. It is
my
job to care for Anna.
My
job to touch her. Only me. All of my unvoiced fury over his betrayal comes back, full force, driven by the day's horrific events.

He always knew how I felt for her, and yet he still pursued. Even now he thinks he has the right to touch her.

Kopano moves away and stands to face me. The girls, like mannequins, open their eyes and stare blearily up at us.

“She is in the worst condition.” Kope points to Anna. “The wet clothing must be removed—”

“Not by you! I can't believe you'd take advantage of this situation.”

Deep down, I know the truth. I
know
he was not making any kind of advance, but the familiarity and openness he shares with Anna kills me. I want it gone once and for all. I can't handle her being close to any other man. Anna would point out my own insecurities, but whatever it is, I'm feeling irrational and I just can't stop. I need to be mad.

Kope's eyes slant at me, seething. “You go too far, brother!”

Seeing his wrath ignited thrills me. I move forward, and so does he. It would feel bloody good to throw a wobbler right now—to pummel each other until we're too tired and sore to be angry anymore. I owe Kope an arse-kicking, plain and simple, for kissing my girl when I couldn't be in the picture.

“You will never touch her again.”

Kope's badge is pulsing dangerously. I'm ready, fists clenched, blood and adrenaline rushing through me at a dizzying speed. We are face-to-face, anger growing, until we're suddenly shoved apart and Blake is looking back and forth between us. His intervention causes my hearing to clear a bit, enough that I hear him say, “Go. Take care of Anna.”

With sudden clarity I remember the reason for all this. Anna. Hypothermia. Shite! I am an epic idiot. I shoulder past the guys and rush to Anna's side. Zania helps shield her while I get her shirt off. Then I wrap the blanket around her and carry her to the bed. Her skin is like ice. I spread another blanket on top of her and she whimpers.

I wonder why no one else is moving into action, and when I turn, I see exactly why. My anger has been diffused and diverted, but Kopano is still standing there, battling his
wrath within. His eyes are closed and his hands are curled tight. His breaths are labored. A pang of guilt stabs me. I did this.

Like the others, I stay very still, thinking of a way to make this better. I feebly consider apologizing, but I'm not even certain Kope can hear through the beast right now. I meet eyes with Blake beside me, and he gives a small nod, showing we're on the same page—the two of us might need to take him down if he doesn't calm on his own.

“Brother Kopano,” comes a smooth, sultry voice. His stormy eyes open heavily. My head snaps to Zania in the chair across the room. She no longer looks frail as she sits slightly forward, chin up, gripping the edge, though she's trembling when she says, “Warm me?”

Kopano and Zania stare at each other, and for a moment I'm worried his beast will change from wrath to lust. His attention has narrowed singularly to Zania, and he seems to fight for control as he prowls across the small room to her. Kopano takes off his shirt to show his broad shoulders, and Z starts to take off her own. I shoot a look at Blake, but Kope manages to stay in control as he approaches her. He grabs a sheet to shield her as she removes her wet clothing. Then he carries her to the bed and he lies behind her, spooning against her back. He is still rigid. Still fighting for control.

He glares at me for good measure, and I hardly blame him. Then he snuggles Z and closes his eyes. The girls, side by side, give each other little smiles. Anna rolls over and fits her back against Zania's front, looking at me.