Secret Worlds (346 page)

“Paradise Cove,” Steve said just as the woods opened to a clearing with a charming oversized cottage like the ones you’d see the rich and famous slumming in.

The moonlight reflected on the snow and Steve slowed as the garage opened and he pulled inside, throwing the car into park and cutting the engine. He waited until the door closed behind us before he reached up and scratched a line through the symbol, rendering it useless. Steve stepped out of the car and opened the door for me.

“You’ve got just enough time to hit the bathroom and then we have to move,” he said, unlocking the house and waving me inside. The crew unloaded but no one else came inside with Steve and me.

I did my business and stepped back into the dark room.

“You and Damian will need these,” Steve said, handing me a down coat and once I pulled it on, he handed me the one for Damian and I stepped back into the garage.

Damian stepped close and I offered him the coat. He slipped it on and we waited for Steve. A couple of minutes later, he came out with a metal box along with four coats draped across the top. After handing the coats to Jennifer, Raven, Tom and CJ, Steve set the box down and pulled out his keys.

“Get the ammunition,” he said nodding toward the back of the truck where Damian had stashed the grocery bag of bullets. Damian stepped to the trunk while Steve unlocked the box and handed CJ and Tom two of the revolvers from within the case. When Damian returned, he handed each one of them a box of ammunition.

“Load up, boys,” Steve said and took a box himself, making sure his clip was full.

Damian did the same and I watched each of the platinum bullets fit neatly in the clip and then he pushed it in place, meeting my gaze.

“You ready for this?” he asked me and I nodded, running my hands over my belly.

He offered me a strained smile and leaned down, meeting my lips with his cool ones.

“If something happens to me, make sure they know I loved them as much as their mamma,” he whispered and pulled away.

“I hate it when you do that,” I snapped. “Nothing’s going to happen to you.” I straightened, sending a glare in his direction before turning to Steve. “You got another gun?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t,” Steve answered, showing me the empty case. “Besides, you’ve got an advantage the rest of us don’t.”

“The tiger?”

He nodded.

“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea,” I said, running my hand over my belly.

“It’s your best option if the shit hits the fan,” he said.

As much as I didn’t like that answer, I had to agree. I was a force in tiger form, especially after what I did to the hellhounds in the garage. I gave him a nod and stepped back next to Damian.

Steve checked the safety on the gun before stepping toward the door. He waited until everyone finished loading their clips, his gaze settling on each one of us as we lined up behind him.

“Game on,” Steve said and all the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. He opened the door and I clamped my teeth together, steeling myself for battle.

Steve took the front with the three women between us and Tom and CJ were at my back. The formation moved as one toward the woods. Each step left a crunching sound as we padded across the snow. Darkness surrounded us but the moon shone brightly enough to make out shadows on the white landscape. Steve led us quickly onto a narrow path in the woods. The close proximity of the trees made my imagination flare. This was the type pathway I used to like to trap my victims on. With such little room for maneuvering, the victim wouldn’t be able to put up much of a fight.

“Give me some credit,” Steve said and glanced over his shoulder.

“It’s the perfect place for an ambush,” I replied, glancing around at the deep wooded boundaries. Muscles in my back tightened in response to the warning bells in my stomach.

Steve picked up the pace and I glanced behind me, making sure Tom and CJ were still with us.

“We’re good,” CJ said, his voice soft, falling with the wind surrounding us.

When I turned forward, I could see the woods opening up and my paranoia dropped a notch. We made it to the glen without incident and Steve threw me a canister.

“Make yourself useful,” he said and I raised an eyebrow.

“Salt?”

“Yes, make a barrier at the wood line.”

“I’m not sure this is going to work,” I said, but stepped to the path we just crossed over and poured a thick line across the snow-covered ground, continuing to the frozen water line of the small inlet. I crossed and did the same around the remainder of the perimeter until I shook the last grains of salt out of the container at the opposite shoreline and turned to the group.

“Now what?” I asked.

Steve traded a glance with Jennifer and then started clearing a space with his feet. “Now we make a fire and wait,” Steve said. CJ and Tom started to help clear the snow off with their feet, revealing a deep green moss that seemed to cover the entire opening.

“You know, for such a brilliant investigator, you can be a complete idiot,” I said and Steve looked up at me. “Step aside.” I crossed to a spot just inside the salt line and pushed with my mind, clearing all the snow from the ground and the water, leaving a pile at the far edge of the icy cove.

Steve crossed his arms, glaring at me like I just did a major faux pas.

“What? You’ve got the power to do this, why the hell would you do it manually?” I said and moved my gaze to Naomi. Her eyes were wide with awe. I guess she really didn’t understand the powers this family harbored. I offered her a smile and a shrug.

“Because, it reminds me that I’m human, and not some all powerful god,” Steve answered, his tone as sharp as his gaze.

I huffed and took a step forward but something gripped the collar of my jacket, pulling my legs out from under me and I was yanked backwards into the woods. Naomi’s warning followed me into the darkness and I had a moment to flash to a bad horror movie I once saw. It snapped out of my head the moment I hit a tree, knocking the wind out of my chest. Dazed, I stared at a set of fangs dipping toward my neck.

I blocked the bite with my arm, but the beast’s teeth sank into my flesh. I roared at the sting, but it was nothing compared to the vampire’s scream. I hadn’t had the pleasure of seeing what the cure did to a vampire before, like Naomi had and the frothing blood bubbling from his throat was enough of a view. She hadn’t been kidding when she said the cure ate vampires from the inside out. Horrified, I backed away a few steps, then turned and bolted toward the clearing, silently announcing to CJ and Steve that I was okay before breaking through the wood barrier. The burn of the bite faded as my blood flowed, cleaning the puncture wounds, but I was left with a dull throbbing ache.

Naomi stood on all fours blocking the rest of the group, her growl sending a warning through the woods. I stopped a few steps inside the line and looked down at my arm. Blood dripped from my hand and Naomi’s expression changed. Even on a tiger, I saw the concern.

“I’m fine,” I said to her, although my heart still hammered from the adrenaline rush that fear afforded me. “I can’t say the same for the vampire.”

I looked up at the huddled group, Naomi in front and then the three men, guns drawn and pointing in three different directions. Jennifer and Raven stood behind them with the lake at their heels. Even Ty made an appearance, standing in the center of the ice, raining light on the dark alcove.

I crossed to Naomi and she licked my hand, cleaning off the dark drips before nuzzling her head against my leg.

“It’s probably a good idea that you stay in tiger form,” I said and crouched down. “I think you can protect yourself better like this.” Her tongue swathed my face and I gave her a hug before pulling back. I stripped the coat and inspected my punctured arm. The bastard’s teeth had gone into the meaty flesh of my forearm but at least he hadn’t torn a chunk out.

“Jesus,” Steve muttered and I looked up.

His gaze scanned the woods behind me and I turned, pulling the jacket back on and digging the revolver out of the pocket. At least a dozen vampires stepped into view, brought forward by the smell of my blood. While Naomi and I were immune to the virus, the others weren’t and a bite meant a highly unpleasant death.

They stopped, collectively smiling.

“The great Damian Andreas,” one of them growled and I focused on him. The face looked familiar, like someone I’d met in passing, but it didn’t matter when or where. I had to rid the earth of these monsters, otherwise they’d find a way to keep multiplying.

“I’ll give you to the count of three to leave, otherwise, you’ll be burning in hell before you can blink.” I raised the gun, pointing it at a spot on the bastard’s forehead. Naomi growled at my side and I heard the click of the safety on all the guns behind me.

Burn them. Torch their asses when I get to three, understand?
I sent the thought out to Steve and CJ and got a resounding
Got it
from both of them.

“One,” I said and paused when the vampires laughed.

“You’re going to shoot us?” the lead asshole said and chuckled. “You should know better.”

I smiled, looking over the gun. “Two, and yes, I know better,” I said and his cocky stance waned.

“Platinum?” he gasped and took a step back, fear transitioning his features from shadow back to the pale white of Lilith’s brood.

“And we’re all expert shots,” I said and didn’t wait for them to attack or retreat. Instead, I yelled, “Three!”

A wave of heat passed by me, joining with the power that leapt from my core, fanning out to encompass the mass of vampires. The stench of burnt flesh filled the air along with the dust of the decimated vampires.

A shift in the wind blew the dust into the woods and I turned, my heart lurching at the sight before me. Ty stood on the ice surrounded by a host of angels. I stared at the assembly and my gaze locked on one pair in particular.

Michael stood, revived in his youthful form but without wings. Beside him stood a similar wingless angel with a face I barely remembered, but one that made my arms drop to my side.

“μπαμπάς?” I asked in my native tongue. “Papa, is that really you?” My throat closed around a lump that formed. I hadn’t seen my father since I was little and the fact he stood ready to do battle at my side pulled at my heartstrings.

The emotions that flew through my body left me numb. All the wrongs I had done flushed me with shame, and all the heroic actions counteracted, and I dropped my gaze to the ground, not knowing how to react.

“Damian,” he whispered and just his voice triggered fond memories of fishing on the banks of the Mediterranean. “My son,” he added and I met his gaze.

Gabriel crossed the distance and pulled me into a hug. I didn’t return it right away, aware that we didn’t have time for family reunions, but the warmth of the arms encircling me brought the burn of tears to my eyes and I met Michael’s gaze. He gave me a tight nod.

“How,” I asked scanning the white-winged beings in our midst, two of which were supposed to be trapped behind the gates of heaven.

Two who had sacrificed their grace, for me.

Steve cleared his throat and I pulled away from my father.

“I promised you an army,” Steve said and waved his hand at the heavenly host, grinning like he knew a particularly intriguing secret.

Movement pulled my attention back to the woods and a chill lit up the area, pressing down on me. I moved away from my father, closer to Naomi. A solid line of demons stepped into view, stopping at the salt line I poured.

The next wave of assailants took up their posts, side by side with a legion of hellhounds. Naomi actually stepped back at the numbers and I felt her fear. It blended with my own and one look at Steve and his family revealed they were in the same place we were.

Terror gripped every one of us and we spread out on the shoreline far enough away from the woods to be safe, for the moment. Steve took the left side and I took the right. CJ stood dead center. Jennifer, Tom and Raven stood a step behind, relying on us to provide a solid wall of defense. I glanced down at Naomi and pointed for her to join them. She hissed at me, but obeyed my silent command to move back.

Angels flanked us, providing a solid line between the innocent’s behind us and the demon horde. My heart scrambled in my chest, pumping a beat that nearly seized my lungs and I traded a glance with CJ. He swallowed and curled his hands around his revolver, aiming it at the closest demon.

The air sparked with tension and when the demons blocking the path parted, I knew we were in for a nasty battle. Lucifer stepped inside the ring, swiping a clean path through the salt I had laid down and he wasn’t alone.

He dragged a beautiful blonde woman forward, tossing her at his feet in front of him. When she raised her bruised face, Steve cursed under his breath and the gun moved from the line of demons to Lucifer.

Lucifer just grinned at the assembly and his black wings fluttered as he cracked his fingers. His gazed moved over the crowd of angels. “What have we here?” he said, scanning the line until his gaze landed on Gabriel and Michael. He tilted his head in contemplation and then his gaze moved back to Steve.

“This lovely police officer was particularly useful,” he said, meeting Steve’s glare and waving his hand in the woman’s direction.

Her gaze bounced from the demons surrounding us to the angels in line, landing on the tiger behind me, then they jumped to Steve.

“What the fuck?” she whispered and Steve offered her a half laugh.

“I told you not to go to the house,” he said and I knew exactly who this was. The abrasive FBI agent Steve had spoken to on the phone. Sarah. Lucifer reached for the woman, grabbing a handful of her hair.

“Let go of me, asshole,” Sarah snapped, swatting at his hand. While her voice was defiant and full of moxie, her eyes held a soul-crushing fear that I knew all too well.

He pulled her to her feet, bringing her close to him. Her elbow connected with his stomach and he chuckled in her ear.