Sweet Temptation (33 page)

“The only heaven I'll be sent to

Is when I'm alone with you.”

—“Take Me to Church” by Hozier

I
'm at a bar with my bandmates at midnight, nursing a Jack and Coke and dodging pitiful looks from the blokes who think I'm broken up over Father's death.

Honestly, I've been a bit of a disaster ever since the picture text from Anna. It sparked a single-mindedness in me, worse than ever before, and I cannot cope. No amount of Dead Daddy talk will make this raging problem of mine go away.

I keep thinking about our wedding night. We had less than twelve hours together, and yet it's given me three days' worth of nonstop memories. It feels as if I'm living in a fog of Anna.

Shite, I think I'm obsessed with my wife. I want to hide her away and keep her all to myself, always. That's psychotic
thinking, even by my low standards.

Oy, that damn picture.

My mobile buzzes in my pocket, sending my heart into race mode, as it always does these days. I dig it out and hold my breath when I see it's a text from Anna.

Book a flight to Va tmrw.

Right. I don't think Anna would send me a command like that jokingly. Not these days. Belial must've contacted her and said it's safe. So I grin, because if all is well with her, she will pay dearly, in equal measure, for the suffering she's inflicted with her sexiness.

With pleasure,
I type.
U ok? It's been insane here.

Here too,
she says.
Lots to tell.

Hm. I wonder what she's been up to. Hopefully no visits from unwanted Neph. My neck goes hot with irritation thinking about other Neph hunting her down.

She texts me with an address in Riner, Virginia, and I book my flight for the following morning. All joking aside, I hope she's all right.

And I hope she's naked.

The fog of Anna finally lifts when I open my eyes to find her on top of me in the passenger seat of a car in Virginia. I feel as if I've been hit with a sledgehammer of clarity as I realize what a single-minded dolt I'd been since I showed up this afternoon and found her lying at the poolside in a bikini.

Bum side up.

Yeah. I'm pretty sure I spent a good part of the day making everyone uncomfortable as I stalked Anna, trailing her
through Patti's house. And it's just my luck the whole lot would be here to witness my temporary madness—Kope, Zania, Jay, the twins, Blake, and worst of all, Patti. They all know we're married, but that doesn't make it any less inappropriate.

I'm just glad my head is semi-clear when her father shows that afternoon—in the body of the famous rapper who'd been hospitalized days ago, no less. Big Rotty. As far as Duke blunders go, this one is fucking brilliant. If I weren't still so afraid of the bastard, I would've laughed my arse off. Then, before he leaves, he puts his hands on my shoulders and says, “You take care of my girl, you hear me?”

It's still strange to hear him say things like this. To have his approval.

And now, here we are at two in the morning, snuggling in the twin bed of Anna's dorm room, as if this day hasn't been one strange event after the next. Despite the madness of our lives, anyone who saw us on campus tonight probably thought we were your average college couple.

Funny thing, appearances.

Anna's news was unsettling. I can't handle thinking about how my father was here, in this room, just a short while ago. In his new, young, American body, no less. Apparently the “new” Pharzuph is an even grander piece of work than the old one. Anna says he wreaked havoc on campus after cornering her. I can't believe he found a new host body so quickly, never bothering to inform me, but I
can
believe he didn't waste any time sniffing out Anna. I'm immensely relieved we decided to get married when we did.

Anna snaps me from my dark musings as she runs a hand
teasingly up and down my forearm, which is flung across her waist. She's acting as the small spoon, nuzzled tightly in the crook of my torso and thighs. “I want you to dream big with me,” she whispers.

Dreams . . . This is dangerous territory for me. I know I'm lucky to have this moment, and all the moments that led up to this one. To wish for a future? It feels like tempting fate. Nothing except this very second is guaranteed. But for Anna, dreams fuel her, give her hope. So I'll let her have her fun.

“Tell me
your
dreams for us, sweet Anna.”

She snuggles closer to my chest. “It starts with us defeating the Dukes. We survive and they're gone.” I peer around the dark room as she talks. “We can do whatever we want with our lives. I know you love music, so I figure you'll still work in the industry in some way. When I finish college, I want to be a social worker. I'd be able to gauge the danger kids are in better than a human would, since I can see their emotions. I'll be able to rescue children from bad situations.”

I immediately think of Marissa's nieces, and how Anna would have probably tried to save them by now, with no fear for her own well-being.

“I can picture that,” I whisper. I move the hair off Anna's shoulder and kiss her warm skin. If only more people had Anna's bravery. If only I had it.

“We could live wherever you wanted,” she goes on. “Patti would probably follow us. After a few years of working, we could think about adopting. I know Patti would just die to babysit while we work.”

Er . . . “Wow. Kids.”

“Yeah,” she says dreamily. “Like five or six.”

“
Five or six?
You're a nutter!” I have to laugh at the thought of little Kaidans-in-training. “One boy.
Maybe
two boys, but even that's pushing it.”

Shite, she's got me entertaining this ridiculous notion.

“We have to have girls, too!” Her voice is filled with happiness, but again the thought of Marissa's nieces flashes through my mind, and all the girls I've hurt. All the daughters and sisters and future mums I helped lead down paths they may or may not have been able to find their way back from.

“No girls,” I say.

She turns to look at me, and the small space is suddenly stifling. I sit up.

“What's wrong?” Anna asks.

I rub my eyes to clear their faces from my vision.

“I can't even . . . Just the thought of having to care for a girl, watching all the bloody gits sniff around her with their red auras . . . it would kill me and I would deserve it, because I was the worst offender of all.”

“Kai . . .” She touches my arm, and I feel like shit.

“No.” I can't play along anymore. “I'm sorry, luv, but kids are not my dream. Especially girls.”

“Okay.” Her voice is soft and gentle. “Let's try to get a little sleep.”

“I'm sorry,” I say, hating that I've ruined the moment.

But Anna only lies back down and leads me to do the same. She pulls my arm around her waist, nudging me to spoon her from behind again, and I press my nose into her hair.

Why must I always be such a prick? It was harmless
make-believe. I should've just let her have her fun and kept my mouth shut.

“Are you angry with me?” I whisper.

She rolls over to face me, touching my cheek. “No, Kai.” She tries to reassure me and kisses me before rolling back over. I pull her closer to my chest and listen to her breathing change as the minutes tick by, until it becomes slow and even.

I can't afford to dream like Anna does.
This
moment, and every moment I get to have with her, is my dream come true.

“You're my dream,” I whisper to my sleeping angel. “My only dream.”

“Exit light.

Enter night.”

—“Enter Sandman” by Metallica

T
he following morning we return to Patti's new home and say good-bye to all our Neph mates. It feels strange when they leave, and I realize that yesterday was the first time we've all been together and just let ourselves be semi-
normal
. We sat around a table and had a proper meal, like a real family. Marna and Ginger even had a row, of course, because what would a family holiday be without drama?

It was actually quite nice. Aside from the fighting bit.

I'm not ready to leave, but it's nearly time. The Dukes will all be returning to their stations now that their Switzerland gathering is over. I've got to take care of this estate business in Georgia and head back to L.A. I'm a bit peeved Father still
hasn't bothered to contact me, but I suppose he's never been the most considerate soul.

Anna shows me to the upstairs shower and I resist the strong urge to pull her in with me. Not sure Patti would appreciate that. So I reluctantly let her go, and climb under the warm stream alone.

I'm halfway through washing my hair when I get a prickly sensation on my neck. I stand very still as bubbles rinse down my face and neck, and I push my hearing down the hall, down the stairs, down to the family room where I believe Patti, Jay, and Anna are likely sitting.

What I find is commotion—bangs and grunts, a moan. What the hell?

I spin and shut off the water, then rip the curtain so hard the damn rod comes off the wall and I'm tangled in loads of plastic and ruffles. I finally get the curtain off and jump from the tub. Nobody is saying anything, but it sounds like a definite fight down there. I bypass my boxers and grab my shorts, yanking them onto my soaking wet legs and diving for the door, slipping a bit on the tiles.

“Don't come down!” Anna yells, but to hell with that.

I run down the hall and fly down the steps, bursting into the family room just as Anna is racing out the back door. A quick survey of the room shows Jay standing there shell-shocked, and Patti on the floor, ashen, but alive. I run to the door and see Anna staring around the garden and trees, hilt in her hand. Nothing else is in sight.

Patti moans and I rush to her side where she's leaning against the couch.

“Oh, my God, dude,” Jay is saying to himself.
“Oh, my God . . .”

“Are you all right?” I ask Patti.

She nods weakly. “I—I think so.” I look her over but see no signs of injury.

Anna comes back in and slides to Patti's side, gathering her into her arms. “Are you okay?”

“I don't know what happened,” Patti says. Her eyes are clearer now. “I felt so sick and scared . . . and . . .” She trembles.

“Who was here?” I ask, trying not to sound as freaked as I am.

“It was so weird,” Jay says. “You should have seen Anna! What is that thing?” He points to the hilt. “It was all lit up. She moved so fast. I've never seen anyone move like that!”

She actually
used
the hilt? I stare at Anna, who's pale, her lips in a stern line. Stray hairs are plastered to her sweating forehead. I take her face in my hands.

“What happened?”

“Three whisperers were on Jay. Two on Patti. One was trying to possess her.” Patti covers her mouth and gags. I can't bloody blame her. “I killed four of them, but . . . one got away.”

“One got away,” I whisper. Anna and I stare at each other as it sinks in.

One got away. One who saw her with the sword. One is all it takes. It feels as if my innards are on a carnival ride, because this is it. This is the catalyst—the beginning of the end. Anna has started it, and she'll lead us into it, and
oh, God.

I stand, grasping my hair roughly. I feel the same nervous energy course through me as when I had to watch Anna work
on New Year's Eve, and when she entered the summit in New York the next day. That same bloody powerless feeling. I lean against the wall, my head spinning.

“Shite. Shite, Anna . . .” I'm not ready for this. It's too soon.
I'm not ready!
A yell forces its way upward and out of my mouth, and I punch the wall with all my strength. My fist goes through drywall.

I have to protect her. I can't let anyone hurt her. I know she's strong, and though we don't look at things the same way, or think things through the same, she is smarter than me in many ways. I know all of that, but I am still crazed with the need to hide her from the world.

I turn and lean against the wall, pressing the heels of my hands into my eyes.

I'm not ready. . . .

“Kai.” Anna's voice is clear and calm.

I drop my hands. She has brushed the stray hairs from her face. I don't know how she can look so certain at this moment.

“I don't think they know you're here,” she says to me. “That's to our advantage.”

I nod, though it's hard to believe anyone's got the advantage here but the Dukes.

“You're not on the suspicion list,” she goes on. “So you can stay ‘in the know.' We'll go our separate ways and—”

“No,” I interject to stop her. She's mad if she thinks I'm letting her out of my sight. “I stay with you.”

If she refuses, I will follow her. I stare at her, daring her to argue. She sighs and looks aside, thinking.

“Okay. Let's get our stuff and get out of here.”

Bloody right. Together.

We say our good-byes to Jay and Patti. Anna hugs her mum tight, and then we run. I drive Anna's car and she lies low in the backseat.

When an unknown number shows up on my mobile, I know it's Father straightaway. I'd been curious to hear from him before, but now? Not so much.

“Hallo,” I answer.

“It's Pharzuph.” I knew he was young and American now, but hearing his new voice is still fucking weird.

“Yes, sir.”

“Are you in Atlanta?”

“Not yet.” I glance at Anna, who's bloody adorable in a baseball cap, and for half a second I'm distracted. And then young, twatty Pharzuph speaks again.

“Meet me at our former home tonight at nine p.m. I'm flying in, and we have some things to discuss.”

All I can think of is that I have Anna with me, and how fantastically horrible his timing is. “I'll see you at nine o'clock, sir,” I say, like a good boy.

“Don't be late.” He hangs up and my jaw locks with annoyance at his insolence. It's a good thing we've got a seven-hour drive ahead of us, because it's going to take at least that long to mentally prepare for this. I won't just be swallowing my pride; I'll be choking on it.

At eight thirty I'm back in my old room, and I feel no warm and fuzzy memories. In fact, I'm entirely creeped out to be back here, surrounded by the ghosts of my past.

I focus on the fact that Anna is parked up the street, and I've got knives in my pockets and boots—the blades have even been dipped in holy water. If demon legend is correct, holy water does more than repel demons—it's like a poison to them, like prayer in liquid form.

I push my hearing down to where I know Anna's parked, but I hear nothing. She is silent and unmoving. Good girl. Now I just hope she stays there. I hope she has no reason to come charging at the house, sword blazing.

Although, that would be a brilliant sight.

I pace the room. Perhaps I should go upstairs to wait, but this room feels like
my
territory. I'd prefer to meet here if he'll allow it. I flick on my old stereo system and smile as the high volume vibrates the floor under my feet.

Screaming lyrics. The whine of electric guitar chords. An unrelenting drum beat. Lovely.

A strand of my hearing remains on the front door, so I know when Father comes in. I'm on my third Nine Inch Nails song. My hands clench and stretch open. Clench and stretch. I stare at the door. When it swings wide, a tall blond bloke stands there with his face scrunched in disgust. We are matched in body thickness, but he might have an inch of height on me. He carries himself like a wanker.

Three grungy spirits fly next to him and over him, filling the room with half their wingspans spilling through the walls. I hope they don't venture around the premises during this visit.

“Shut this racket off!” he yells.

Yep. Wanker.

I flip the stereo off and he lets out an annoyed sigh.

“Good to see you, Father.” I nearly trip over the word
Father
. He's got the large red badge, but he can't be older than twenty or twenty-one. “Excellent choice on your new host body.”

“Yes, it was,” he says, running a hand through his thin, silky-looking hair. He'll probably be balding by thirty. “You sign the estate paperwork tomorrow?”

Is that what this is about? “Yes, sir. In the morning.”

He pulls a folded paper from his back pocket. “Here's my new account information. You'll receive your own funds from the life insurance and inheritance. Everything else needs to be transferred to me. If a penny is missing, I will know it.”

“I understand.” Git. He just wants to make sure he gets his money so he can start his new life ASAP. Could've just rung me, but I suppose he wanted to show off his pretty new body.

The spirits circle us, restless. Father ignores them.

“Good.” He sniffs the air and glances at the king-sized bed with its black and gray silk bedding. I'm going to sell all of it. I don't want anything that's been in this house. “Smells like old lust in here. You were always a good worker.”

I blink. Wow. A compliment. “Thank you, Father.”

Then I remember Anna is listening. I hope he won't go into any details.

“Things aren't always what they appear, are they?” he asks. The whisperers hiss in anticipation as his voice takes on a silky edge.

I feel my eyes narrow. What's he going on about? Is he talking about my working? Shite, has he had someone watching me in L.A. that I don't know about?

I force myself to ask nonchalantly, “In what way?”

“Something's not right.” He slowly walks the room, running a finger over my black dresser, which has gathered a light layer of dust since nobody's been here. He wipes the finger on his jeans and holds his hands behind his back, much like he used to in his old body, but it looks strange. His muscles are bulkier.

“I haven't been able to put my finger on it. . . .” As he talks, he looks at my framed posters of favorite bands, all autographed. He's acting as if what he's saying is no big deal, but it feels as if he's about to drop a bomb. Dread trickles down my spine. “Ever since that summit when the damned angels showed up, we've been watching the daughter of Belial.”

Do not react.

Lie through your teeth.

I snort a derisive laugh. “Her? No offense, Father, but I don't see why an unremarkable Neph like the daughter of Belial would warrant such attention. I've worked with her. She's excellent at her job, but on a personal level she's rather . . . boring.”

He turns to face me now, amused. “So you took no pleasure from your time with her?” Tricky bastard. Always with the games. His new grin is too wide. The whisperers turn their ugly, hazy heads to hear my response.

“Oh, I took my pleasure. I also got out of there as quickly as I could. She's got zero personality unless she's wasted.” The whisperers hiss and make raspy, choking sounds of laughter.

Father chuckles low. “I know being with her was a chore, but it was necessary. She's somehow been able to fly under the radar. Now we know for sure that she's a threat.”

“A threat?” I laugh, as if it's a ridiculous notion. He takes three quick steps toward me and points in my face, hair slanting across his forehead as he tilts his head almost comically. The spirits bob up and down in agitation.

“You think this is funny? You think I have time to joke around?”

I keep a straight face and force a respectful tone. “Of course not, but having spent a good bit of time with her, it seems preposterous. She cares about nothing except where she'll find her next drink.”

His eyes narrow and his voice lowers. “Then she's fooled you as well. That boring Neph who you think's so benign was caught being affectionate with her human mother-figure this morning.” He spits the words. “We sent five Legionnaires to get more information, and the girl took out four of the spirits! She's a mercenary of heaven.”

He snarls the last sentence with venom and his whisperers move about the room faster, upset, making scratchy noises like dry, noiseless screams.

I school my face into concerned shock. “Wha—? How is that possible?”

He stands straighter and runs a hand through his hair again, as if trying to decide if he'll trust me with the next bit. Thankfully, he does, but his eyes flash red as he talks. “She's somehow able to wield a Sword of Righteousness. Only angels of light have been able to do that.”