Kiss at Your Own Risk (16 page)

She let her head fall back against Blaine’s arm. “Wow.” She was smiling now, and her face looked so at peace. “I’ve never saved anyone’s life before. I like that.”

Jarvis crouched beside them. “I used my sword, so Nigel should be able to heal her.” Jarvis’s sword was a flexible weapon, and it could cause pain, severe damage, or instant death, depending on what Jarvis intended.

Trinity’s body seized and convulsed in his arms, and she let out a yelp of pain. Blaine swore and tightened his grip on her. “What the hell are you doing, Nigel?”

Nigel sat back. “All set. She’s healing now. She’ll be fine.”

Blaine peered down at Trinity. Her eyes were closed and her body was still. “Hey. You okay?”

She didn’t respond, and something tightened in his gut. “What—”

“Give her a sec. Chill out.”

Jarvis wiped the blood off the end of his sword. “I was impressed. She knew what we were doing, and she was up for it. Never seen a chick sacrifice herself to save someone.”

Blaine raised his brows. “You sure she knew what was up?” Hard to believe she took a sword to the chest on purpose.

Nigel and Jarvis exchanged glances. “Well, maybe not the whole extent, but she was game,” Jarvis said.

Blaine felt something roil inside him at the thought of Jarvis plunging his sword into Trinity’s heart. “I need her,” he growled.

“And you’ll get her.” Nigel shoved his hair back out of his face. “So, fill us in. You found Trinity Harpswell. She a black widow?”

Blaine moved her so her head was cradled on his biceps. “She claims she is. I haven’t seen it in action.”

“So, what’s the plan?” Jarvis stood and surveyed their surroundings. Taking first watch.

“Keep an eye out for a short guy who smells like bananas.” Blaine pulled Trinity more tightly into his arms and turned up his body temperature, trying to warm her up. “You guys figure out how to get back into the Den?”

Nigel shook his head. “The portals aren’t listed in her files, and we can’t sense them when we’re actually in the field.” He nodded at Trinity. “You think she could pick them up? She’s the Chosen. She might have the touch.”

Shit. He’d forgotten that she was the Chosen. Had it been Trinity he’d felt attacking him, not Angelica? Her aura was the same as the witch’s? She had that kind of evil in her? He loosened his grip on her. “Yeah, she probably could.”

Nigel stood up. “So, let’s take her to the Common. Go in, get Angelica, and then—”

“No way.” Trinity sat up suddenly, and her eyes were bright. Alive. Blaine had never quite gotten used to that moment when Nigel’s healing finally kicked in. Still freaked out newcomers to the Den. “We’re not taking out this witch next. My quarry first.”

Nigel and Jarvis exchanged glances. “What’s she talking about, Trio?” Jarvis asked.

Blaine gritted his teeth and explained the deal. When he finished, his two buddies were both staring at him in shock. “Just make her do it,” Jarvis said. “We don’t have time for this shit.”

“Make me?” Trinity pulled out of Blaine’s arms and stumbled to her knees. Blaine caught her as she started to sway. “It doesn’t work like that. You can’t make the black widow come to life. I’m the only one who controls her…” She frowned. “Well, maybe control is a little optimistic, but the fact is that you can’t make me kill anyone. Blaine knows that. We take care of my situation first, and then yours.”

Jarvis swore. “We don’t have time—”

“The portal won’t open for another forty-eight hours, even for Trinity.” Who carried Angelica’s DNA in her blood. Blaine eyed her as she rubbed her wound. He could still feel that pain in his chest that had made him think Angelica had come after him…
and it had been Trinity
. She might seem sweet, she might have saved him, but she’d triggered every defensive response that the witch could elicit. Deep inside, Trinity Harpswell was witch, and he had to remember that. No trusting. Not again. “We take care of this monster, so there’s no argument when that window opens.”

Jarvis scowled. “I don’t like it. How do we know she’ll come through?”

Trinity raised her chin. “I’ll help you.” But she wouldn’t look any of them in the eye.

Hold on. Was she thinking of bailing on him?

Of course she was. She bled Angelica’s blood. Trinity Harpswell was the enemy, end of story. Shit. He’d been a damn fool to trust her.

Screw that. No chance was he letting her derail his plans to save Christian. He was taking control. Now. He stood up and jerked her to her feet. “Follow us,” he said to his team. “We’re going on a monster hunt.”

He was going to find that shapeshifter and take him hostage until that witch was dead. There would be no serving up of the Chameleon’s heart until Angelica’s soul was properly dispatched. Trinity was about to learn what it was like to take on a real warrior. There would be no reneging allowed.

He didn’t wait for an answer from anyone. He just shoved Trinity on the bike, started the engine, and peeled out. Trinity grabbed for his waist, and then hunkered down against his back.

Yeah, Trinity Harpswell thought she had some kick-ass plan for getting out of her end of the deal?

She was going to find out exactly how wrong she was.

As Blaine cruised down the road, Trinity realized she was not really feeling the love for life right now.

It wasn’t so much the fact she’d nearly been killed by a sword to the heart. (Hello? Anyone want to try that twice?)

It wasn’t so much the fact she’d almost gotten a guy murdered. (Been there, done that, still sucked.)

It wasn’t even the fact that Augustus was stalking her. (So not happy that anything pink was going to make her run away screaming from now on.)

Okay, yeah, so those things were all wigging her out. But the big ugly was the fact that she was minutes away from intentionally using her powers to get someone killed.

Yeah, it was to save her dad.

Yeah, she’d killed before.

But this was different.

This was going to be on purpose.

Blaine eased the bike to a stop at the edge of the road and killed the engine. They were outside a small, black building with a blood red sign declaring it to be the Primrose. Blaine looked over his shoulder at her, and she could see the darkness of his expression.

Oh, fantastic. Like all she needed right now was a cranky assailant. “I already apologized for almost getting you killed. I really am sorry.”

He said nothing. He just took her hand and hauled her off the bike.

“Hey—”

He didn’t turn around, he just strode into the bar, dragging her after him. Jarvis and Nigel were behind him, and all three warriors were looking badass and mean.

If she wasn’t being manhandled like some rag doll, she’d almost be digging the idea of walking into a bar with three hot guys. It wasn’t like she’d had a lot of chances to do that, after all.

They stepped into the dim light, and she was surprised to see it was packed, even though it was still early in the evening. “See what you can find,” Blaine instructed Jarvis and Nigel. “It has no common form, but it must have a black aura. See if you can pick it up.”

“I’ll check outside.” Jarvis headed for the back door.

“I’ll take the upstairs.” Nigel loped toward a staircase with a sign that pointed toward pool tables, and vaulted up the steps.

“We’ll check down here.” Blaine didn’t look at her. He just took her hand and hauled her across the room to the bar. He sat her down on a stool and took the one facing her.

Trinity yanked her hand out of his. “What’s your deal?”

“You.” Blaine sandwiched her knees between his. “You aren’t planning on killing Angelica, are you? You’re going to save your dad and then bail.”

Trinity felt her cheeks heat up. Nice day, when a guy can read your face. “It’s not like that. I have issues with taking lives and I don’t even know her. How can I justify killing her if—”

“I don’t know why you have this loyalty to her after what she did to you. I don’t get women, sometimes, I really don’t.”

“What?” Trinity shot a sharp look at him. “What are you talking about? What she did to me? What is up with all you guys thinking I’m like her? And while we’re at it, why did my blood make you think she was attacking you? That was never made clear to me.”

Something flickered across Blaine’s face. “That’s why you don’t want to kill her. Because she created you and gave you your powers.”

Trinity stared at him, something deep welling open inside her, like a fissure in her recently repaired heart. “You know who did this to me?”

He frowned. “Yeah, Angelica. She kidnapped you when you were a baby.”

She stared at him, shocked at the casual way he’d just dumped the information she’d been searching for her whole life. “Are you certain? How do you know this?”

“You’re in her computer. That’s how I found you.”

“Oh, God.” Trinity clutched her chest against the sudden tightness. A lifetime of unknowing, and suddenly she had answers.

Blaine caught her arm, and she realized she’d been tilting off the chair. “You didn’t know?”

“No, no. I didn’t have any idea. None of us did. I just disappeared and then reappeared.” She pressed her hands to her head against the frantic whirl spinning around in her mind. She felt like something had just been unlocked, a past, secrets, information, but it was moving so quickly she couldn’t decipher what it was. “I—”

Blaine looked uncertain. “So, that’s not why you don’t want to fulfill your end of the deal?”

“No!” Trinity pulled her hands away from her face. “I just have a problem with killing!”

He blinked. “That’s it?”

“That’s it.” She tried to catch her breath, to focus. To pull herself together. “You thought it was because I had a fondness for her?” She started to laugh, a high-pitched hysterical sound. “Do you really think I’d want to save her? That’s too funny.”

Blaine frowned. “Trin—”

“Why did she curse me? Did she realize what she was doing? Or was it a mistake?” She hugged herself, trying to understand, trying to get a grasp on what he’d just told her.

“Because she’s a psychotic she-bitch from hell.”

Trinity blinked. “No one is just evil. There’s always a reason.” It made her sick to think of being victimized on a whim. She’d always held out hope that maybe it had been for the greater good, that there was a reason she’d endured so much. “I mean—”

Blaine shoved his sleeve and held out his arm. A large ragged scar ran down his arm. “This is what she did to me when I was four years old, when she took me from my family for experiments. I resisted. She didn’t like it.”

Trinity stared at the injury, shocked at the sight of it. On a four-year-old? “But—”

“That’s what she does.” He leaned forward. “She steals children. She tortures them. The tough ones survive. The not-so-tough die. Only a few, like you, get to go home.”

Trinity felt her throat tighten. “I—”

“And now she has the man I consider to be my brother, and she’s torturing the hell out of him unless I turn myself and the team back in. Every day I delay, he suffers. I promised him I’d get him out, and I won’t let him stay behind.” His eyes flashed, and she felt his intensity. Saw his loyalty.

She reached out and took his arm, and touched his scar. Her finger tingled and she pulled back.

“Black magic,” Blaine said. “That’s what she uses on us.” He leaned forward and caught her arm. “Some people need to die, Trinity. Or they keep on hurting others. The witch is one of those, and you’re the only one who can stop her. You going to let people keep dying, or you going to step up and use your powers for good, for once in your life?”

Use her powers for good? The idea floored her. She’d never even considered that her powers could be anything but evil. She’d spent a lifetime trying to save others, hoping it would clear her soul. But what if she actually used her powers to save lives?

She looked down at the scar on Blaine’s arm, the damage done to a child…

And she could stop it from ever happening again. No other girls would be kidnapped and cursed like she had. No other boys would be tortured. And she was the only one who could save them.

Something began to beat in her chest, something that felt right. Something that settled her. It made sense. To end the hell by using her own powers. It was what she was meant to do. “Okay.”

He squeezed her knee and nodded. “That’s my girl. I’ll help you. You won’t be alone.”

She took a breath. “Promise?”

He touched her face. “Promise. I—” He swore and spun around, searching the place.

“What?” Smoke was rising from his chest, and she could see fire simmering on the backs of his hands. “What’s wrong?”

“The witch. She’s here.”

***

Blaine leapt up, Nigel came charging down the stairs, and Jarvis bolted in through the back door. All of them were armed. Blaine shook his head, and the other two stopped where they were. They began searching the crowd.

“Where is she?” Trinity was beside him. “What does she look like?”

“Blond hair, tall, stacked.” His veins were burning. His skin was prickling. The black magic he was sensing had that feminine slant he associated with Angelica, and he could smell the lemongrass that always filled the room when she was present.

The air was dark, heavy with the sweat of patrons. Men. Women. Sex. Stale beer. Lights dim. Floor was sticky. The lemon was cloying to his skin, and he knew he was going to smell like a girl when he left.

But as long as he had Angelica’s heart in his hands, he was down with that.

A blond head moved into the shadows, but Nigel was already there. Grabbed the girl, then shook his head at Blaine.

False alarm.

Where the hell was she? Angelica didn’t hide. She put herself out there. If she was in stealth mode, it meant she was there to make sure it was done right. What was she after? Not him. She thought he had him by the balls.

“I smell lemon,” Trinity said.

Trinity.
She was there for Trinity.

Blaine caught her arm and hauled her against him. “Stay close.” Of course Angelica would want Trinity. She was the Chosen, and she was ripe for harvesting. “She might be after you.”

“Me?” Trinity stiffened. “Why?”

“Because you carry the curse.”

“Oh…” Trinity looked around. “Well, I’d really like to have a little chat with her about my curse. I have a few bones to pick with her.”

“Don’t we all.” Blaine began to move through the crowd, trying to get a sense of where the perfume was strongest. But it was all over. Like it was moving around, faster than he could see—

A thick patch assaulted him, and he instinctively grabbed the tall blonde on his right—

She turned, and he realized his eyes had been playing tricks on him. It wasn’t a woman at all. It was a tall man, dark hair, wearing a suit with a diamond in his ear. The man was all class and dignity, didn’t fit the joint. Blaine’s hand burned from touching him. “Who are you?”

“We need to talk,” the man said. “Outside. Now.”

“Yeah, we do.” Blaine jerked his head toward his friends, and they all fell in behind as he followed the man toward the back door. He could see the black aura emanating from him. Tainted like the devil himself. But he smelled like lemon. Like Angelica. This man had some connection to her, and Blaine was going to find out what it was.

He set his hand on Trinity’s shoulder, moving her behind him, as he shoved open the back door and stepped out into the alley.

The man turned and faced them. His stance was arrogant, and his gaze flicked over all three of the warriors, as if they were nothing more than peons.

But then his attention settled on Trinity, and he smiled. “Nice to meet you, my dear. Angelica is very proud of you.”

Trinity tensed. “Who are you?”

“I am her greatest accomplishment. Let me introduce myself.” The man bowed with perfect grace, but Blaine set his hand in his pocket to retrieve a blue ball.

Something was off, and he knew it.

Just couldn’t figure it out.

The man raised his head and his eyes had gone coal black. “I’m the hell you wish you’d never met.” He opened his mouth, and it was nothing but a bottomless pit of blackness. And then he launched himself at Trinity.

***

Well, wasn’t that the coolest thing ever? Trinity had a brief moment to admire the fire shield Blaine had just tossed in front of her, when the devil-man crashed into it and emitted a horrific scream of agony.

Oh, wow. That sounded like it hurt—

He burst through the wall of flames and launched a set-o-claws at her face—

Blaine knocked her out of its demonic path just before her pearly whites would have become charcoal ugly dinner. Okay, so a little close—

“Why didn’t you move?” Blaine yanked her to her feet.

“I got distracted by its pain. I felt bad—”

Her assailant leapt to its feet and spun around… but it was no longer a man. It was a petite brunette with kick-ass breasts, big brown eyes, and a scared little face. “Please don’t hurt me,” she cried. “Please.”

Blaine swore under his breath, and Jarvis halted, his sword inches from the woman’s heart. “What the hell—”

The girly-man plunged a spiked fist right through Jarvis’s stomach.

“Hey, he worked hard for those abs.” Nigel unleashed a set of blades at the well-stacked-assailant, and the creature didn’t even flinch when they slammed right into its head. Just picked them out and whipped them right back at Nigel.

Nigel caught them easily and hurled them back, faster this time, while Blaine grabbed Jarvis and hauled him out of the way. “You okay, buddy?”

“Flesh wound.” Jarvis pressed a hand to the gaping donut hole in his stomach. “Give me a sec to shake it off.”

Trinity watched Nigel spar with the Queen of Kings. A shapeshifting assassin couldn’t be a coincidence. “You think that’s the monster I’m supposed to kill?”

“Odds are high.” Blaine sounded a little tense. “But I’m guessing that we just found Angelica’s smut dumpster as well. Always wondered how she kept her aura so peachy clean.”

“The gods must be smiling on us tonight. Can’t think of anything I’d rather destroy more than her trash can.” Nigel and the demon-thing were playing catch with Nigel’s blades, but Trinity saw that the bad guy was getting stronger, and its skin was getting darker.

She backed up against the wall and tried to focus on the humpback death trap and get some prism action going. Not totally feeling bad about killing it right now.

Jarvis rolled to his knees. “May I request the opportunity to change my stance on taking time to kill Trinity’s monster? I’m really liking the idea of Angelica getting hit with all the smut before we kill her. Nice way to go out, don’t you think?”

“Agreed.” Blaine looked over at Trinity. “You get a read on this?”

“Trying—”

The giant freak whirled suddenly and threw Nigel’s blades right at her. She yelped and dove toward the Dumpster (yeah, like she had a chance of moving faster than demon-sped daggers. Say bye-bye, Trinity—). Blaine leapt in front of her and the blades hit his chest with a rapid thumpety-thump-thump that would have sounded a lot better as a snare drum.

Again with her protector getting himself killed? “Blaine!”

The blades jerked out of his skin and flew back into Nigel’s hands, and Blaine set himself on fire and the holes in his chest sealed up instantly.