Lucca (19 page)

His fingers brushed her hair behind one ear.
The sweep of his dark lashes against his cheek lifted and he looked
at her. Worry darkened the color of his eyes, confusing her. She
stepped out of his embrace, immediately regretting it when all the
warmth left her.

“We need to talk,” he told her.

The way he said it was like he wanted to
tell her they couldn’t see each other anymore. Heck, they weren’t
really seeing each other now. He was hot and cold, taking her under
with his kisses then pushing her away. What was wrong with him? Or
was it her? She crossed her arms over her chest, feeling ill at
ease. “So talk. What is it you wanted to ask me?”

He hesitated for a moment, but then shook
his head. “No, we cannot talk here. Can we meet later?” He closed
his eyes and swallowed; his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down as he
did so. Then he looked at her again, determination evident within
the depths of his eyes. “It’s important. It’s regarding the
murders, but there’s too many ears here.”

“The murders?” She thought he wanted to talk
about them. What was she thinking? What was she doing? She was here
on a job, a murder case and she was in the laundry room sneaking
kisses. Her gaze swept over Lucca. God, he looked like he was about
to confess to the crimes. She swallowed back a lump threatening to
close off her larynx. He must have recognized the fear in her eyes
and he hurried to explain.

“I didn’t kill them if your thoughts were
going there.”

She brushed a stray hair away from her face.
“Of course not.” His lips twitched into a sad smile. He knew she
lied. Guilt washed over her and she reached for him. Her fingers
laced through his, giving his hand a quick squeeze. “Of course
not,” she said with more conviction and meant it. A whisper of
unease slithered over her, making the fine hairs on her arm stand
at attention. Whatever he knew about the murders, it had him
worried. “We have rehearsal tonight. We can talk afterwards,” she
told him.

His other hand went to the talisman she wore
around her neck. “Tonight then.” He nodded then stiffened. His
nostrils flared and his gaze riveted toward the kitchen.

She followed Lucca’s gaze.

“Zaiden,” Lucca murmured the name like a
curse.

If Lucca could see him, Zaiden had skipped
his shadow sleuthing for the day.

She moved away from Lucca and headed over.
Her gaze caught sight of the badge around Zaiden’s neck. He had the
right credentials on, making it look like he was one of the
forensic team. Zaiden noticed her approach, his icy blue eyes
narrowing in on her.

“Why does it not surprise me you’re here?”
she asked, frowning.

Zaiden lifted one dark brow. “Purcible
Andrews was one of our own.”

“Seems like you have a possible serial
killer on your hands.”

He didn’t appear perturbed. “We’ll handle
it.”

"Really? Because you’re doing a bang up job
as it is. This may be preternatural business, but once the media
gets a hold that there was a second murder, they’ll be screaming
for results. How’s it going to look when we never arrest
anyone?”

Zaiden’s eyes blazed brighter making her
take a step back. “Don’t worry. We will take care of it. You deal
with your messes and I’ll deal with what I’m good at.”

She wondered just what that entailed, but
she had a hunch she wouldn’t get much more out of him. She turned
to see where Lucca had gone, but a quick scan of the room told her
he left. He probably didn’t want to go head to head with Mr. Tall
Dark and Brooding. On this she couldn’t blame him.

Zaiden stepped closer. “Who are you looking
for?”

“No one.” She half laughed in protest. Her
hand landed on his chest. “Do you know the meaning of personal
space? Back up.”

Zaiden’s low growl seemed to rumble from his
chest. “Lucca.” His hand gripped her arm in a steel-like grip.

“Let go,” she hissed.

“Why was Lucca here?”

“He’s working on the case?” Her chin lifted
in defiance. “Why are you interested in a civilian anyway?”

Zaiden’s chuckle made her flinch. “Civilian?
Is that what he told you?”

She yanked her hand free, but she had no
doubt her freedom was granted only because Zaiden allowed it. “He
didn’t have to tell me. I would know if he was a preternatural
being.”

His dark brow rose. “Really?” That one word
seemed to speak volumes, but Juliet wasn’t sure what the Watcher
was trying to imply.

“You obviously are itching to tell me
something so why don’t you just spill it and get it over with?”

He tilted his head to the side as he stared
at her with those unsettling eyes of his. In this regard he
reminded her of Raziel. “Have you slept with him?” He didn’t just
ask, he demanded.

“Excuse me; I don’t believe that is any of
your concern.” She huffed out the response, sounding guilty to her
own ears and she had nothing to feel guilty about. They hadn’t
slept together. Fantasizing about it, didn’t count. “We’re
friends.”

He laughed, but his eyes narrowed in on her.
“Friends,” he repeated with a harrumph. “If you’re so chummy with
Lucca, ask him how he knows about the Watchers. All relationships
should start with honesty, don’t you think?”

Chapter Twenty-Five

“I’m glad you could set up the book signing
with us.” Trinity McTavish brushed a dark lock behind her ear.
Skulls, dangling tooth and a silver-etched wing adorned her
earlobes in a gothic array of antique silver. Gideon liked the wing
the best and had to smile at her choice of jewelry.

“I’m glad to do it,” he told her. He never
did a book signing before, told his publicist no, over and over
again. He hated to be in the limelight, but when Trinity turned
those baby blue eyes on him, he couldn’t resist. There was
something about her that kept him coming back to find out what drew
him to her. “A glutton for punishment,” he murmured. Every visit
sent his heart thumping like a beating drum and his libido went up
a notch, but he knew he couldn’t sleep with her.

Her gaze met his, her eyes dilating, the
black iris taking over. Yeah, she wanted to know him in the
biblical sense, too.

The elders may say the Watchers could search
for their soul mates, but Gideon had yet to understand what
attributes designated a soul mate. Yes, his very essence wanted
Trinity in a very bad, bad, bad way. Her scent of sweet almond and
the lemony floral scent of bergamot made his head spin, but he
liked Trinity too much to take a tumble with her and risk he’d been
wrong about the whole soul mate thing. If he took it too far and
the whole relationship thing didn’t work out, it could get real
messy. He’s seen bad breakups and didn’t want to go there. Besides,
he was damaged goods, a freak with his one wing an ugly mass of
flesh and bone. Not exactly appealing when he wanted to impress the
woman.

He shoved his hands in the pockets of his
leather jacket and looked around the shop, if only to keep his mind
occupied on other things than how he would like to kiss Trinity
just to find out if she tasted as good as she smelled.

Trinity had turned the comic book store into
a place where a fan could come in and browse for their favorite
comic book, graphic novel, or Animee series with ease. For the book
signing, she set up a table in the back. His publicist supplied the
large poster, showing off his
hot off the press
graphic
novel:
Fallen Angels
. The hero was a one winged Angel. They
always say write what you know about. In this case, he drew it,
too.

He felt the power shift in the air and his
gaze landed on Eli entering the comic book store. Gideon’s back
stiffened, wondering why the Watcher would seek him out here. This
wouldn’t be a chance meeting since they weren’t best buds or
anything.

His gaze wavered to Trinity who was still
helping a customer. Eli appeared in his human form dressed in blue
jeans and a long sleeved shirt.

As Eli reached the table, Gideon held up his
book. “Didn’t know you were into graphic novels. You only had to
say the word and I would have given you a copy. You didn’t have to
come all the way down here for the book signing.” They both knew
Eli had no interest in a book, but Gideon wasn’t in the mood to
play nice. This was his big night and he was nervous as hell.

Eli took the book from him if only to appear
to be interested. Good, he would play along for the moment.
Watchers were all about appearances. They’d make great undercover
agents. They were the masters of covert. “I’ll make this quick,”
Eli said, keeping his voice to a low murmur. “Do you know where I
can find Lucca?”

“No. He doesn’t check in with me.” Matter of
fact, the last time he had a one on one with Lucca, he all but told
him to get lost.

“Could he be with the human female?” Eli
asked. A hopeful glint lit his gaze.

Gideon couldn’t help but be surprised by the
question. “Like I said, he doesn’t check in with me.” Lucca just
met Juliet a few nights ago, if one could call it a meeting. How
they ended up striking up a friendship still mystified Gideon. “Why
do you care anyway? Isn’t his confinement here meant for him to
interact with humans? As far as I can tell, he’s following
orders.”

Eli nodded but his troubled expression spoke
louder than words.

“What do you think Lucca is doing with the
woman anyway?” Gideon snapped his fingers with a quick flick of his
forefinger and thumb. “Maybe Lucca is using her for his own devious
plan of revenge.” Gideon had meant it as a jibe, but saying the
words aloud made him flinch. He hadn’t thought of the possibility,
but Lucca proved to be complicated on so many levels, he lost
count.

A few nights ago, Lucca flirted with death.
Gideon wasn’t blind to Lucca’s pain. The Watcher had wanted out as
if death proved preferable over embracing his human side. Then
Lucca met Juliet. Hell, her scent called to him, saved him as far
as Gideon could tell. The Lucca he knew did his best to keep his
distance from humans as if their humanity were a disease he could
catch. Yet he let Juliet in. Gideon leveled his gaze on Eli.
“Answer me this: Why did you allow Lucca to live if you believed
he’d fail?”

Eli seemed to consider the question,
weighing the answer before he spoke. “I fought with Lucca at
Culloden, did you know that?”

“What does that have to do with
anything?”

Eli ignored the question and continued, “The
battle was a slaughter. The Duke of Cumberland gave the order.
There was to be no quarter given to the Jacobites. Men who were
injured and couldn’t escape, were hacked into pieces where they
lay.” Eli leveled his gaze at Gideon. “Lucca is adamant that he
despises humans, but on that bloody day, he went back over and over
again trying to drag the fallen to safety. He behaved like…”

“A human,” Gideon filled in the blank.

“Yes. Lucca doesn’t hate humans. He fears
his human side. There’s a difference.” Eli held up his hands. “I
know, I know. Lucca being afraid of anything is an oxymoron, but to
him having human feelings means he’s weak.” He rubbed the back of
his neck and sighed. “I thought maybe if I spoke to him. Maybe I
could help him.” He looked at Gideon. “I don’t want him to
fail.”

Nephilim weren’t known to lend a hand to
each other. They weren’t the friend-making types, but Eli had
changed since he mated. He embraced the human side they’d been
taught to keep dormant. But Eli had Lucca banished and his pretense
to help him was something he’d have to digest.

“Just line up outside,” Trinity’s voice
distracted Gideon and he turned to look at her as she instructed
the gangly youth where to go. “The book signing will begin in about
twenty minutes.”

The boy couldn’t be more than sixteen or
seventeen, much too young for Trinity but the way the male stared
at her with his beady eyes made Gideon want to poke his eyes right
out of his head. He took a step forward and froze when he heard
Eli’s low chuckle. He looked at him, his eyes narrowing to
slits.

Eli shook his head. “If you’re interested in
the female, I would temper your jealousy. The emotion will not
endear her to you.”

“I’m not jealous.” He forced his hands to
relax, wiggling his fingers out of the fists he held. Maybe
pummeling the teen wasn’t such a hot idea. He lifted a shoulder in
a nervous shrug. “What if I am? Interested in Trinity that is?”

Eli lifted his brows. “We are free to mingle
with the humans. I say don’t be shy if you want her.”

“You mean we are free to find our soul
mates,” he corrected him.

“How are you to know if she’s the one if you
do not talk to her?”

Gideon looked at Trinity again. The teen
lucked out this time. He grabbed his purchase and headed out the
door. Trinity, sensing she became the center of attention, looked
his way. Her lips slid into an easy smile, revealing straight white
teeth. He couldn’t help but return the gesture, grinning like a
fool and hoping his fangs hadn’t lengthened too much, making him
appear as if he was leering at her.

“She likes you, too,” Eli whispered near his
ear like a pesky fly.

He was reluctant to turn away from Trinity,
but he didn’t want Eli around if he did strike up a conversation
with her. “Are you here to play matchmaker, too?” He raised his
brows in challenge. “I have a book signing tonight.” He tapped his
book for emphasis.

Eli lost his smirk, turning serious again.
“I only came to you out of respect for your friendship with Lucca.
I need to find him.”

He harrumphed and crossed his arms across
his chest.

“Don’t believe me, but I owe you one,
Gideon.” They both knew Eli spoke of his missing wing, a sacrifice
Gideon made when he sided with Eli in his quest to prove he found
his soul mate.

Gideon let his arms slide to his side
surprised at the sincerity in Eli’s words. “I didn’t know we were
keeping score.”