The Fallen (Angelic Redemption) (24 page)

Sophie frowned at Logan. The brothers seemed to
feel some level of irritation and resentment toward Lila and Anya, maybe even
Ivy. Though Sophie didn’t know Anya and Ivy, they were her packmates. It
angered her to have them criticized. Maybe Logan sensed this because he felt
the need to explain.

“Anya never liked the idea of mates. She thought
they were no more than distractions, so she kinda tortured Ethan. They were not
a good couple, but Lila and Roman worked because he understood Lila was a
firecracker. She reacted to every problem with so much aggression, he couldn’t
interfere or he’d get knocked out of the way.”

“I don’t know if Lila can stop herself from being
that way,” Sophie said a bit defensively while aiming her weapon. “It’s why
she’ll be back in battle soon.”

“Yeah, Roman mentioned something about that,” Logan said, glancing at Connor.

Noticing their dark gazes, Sophie set down the
gun. “What?”

“Our boy and your girl ain’t getting along.”

Sophie frowned, her nose crinkling as she
considered Logan’s statement.

“How? They seem the same to me.”

“Maybe they’re the same as they were a few days
ago, but they’re not the same as they were seven years ago.”

“People change.”

“We’re not people. Lila might be half dead, but
she’s the same hunter I met eight years ago.”

“So it’s Roman?”

Connor nodded, glancing at the house nervously.

“He’s stressed,” Sophie suggested. “Maybe once
things settle down, he’ll be the guy you knew?”

“Yeah, but things never settle down, not with
Lila around.” Logan frowned, seeming uncomfortable about continuing, but
unwilling to let the topic die. “God gave Lila missions at twice the rate of a
normal hunter. Even when Micah was calling the shots, Lila and you girls were
always off on secondary missions. It drove Micah and Roman crazy, but Lila eats
it up. She’s a perfect weapon, always sharp and deadly.”

“Besides after the Reaper, it’ll be something
else,” Connor added as he watched the house. “We already know we need to get
your old pack back together. God wouldn’t be recruiting them now, if He didn’t
have something in mind. No, things won’t ever settle down, so Roman’s changes
might be permanent.”

Sophie studied the boys then smiled. “You’re just
weirded out because it’s been so long since Roman’s been around. Maybe he’s
fine and you’re just seeing things that aren’t there? He seems totally into
Lila and she loves him. Maybe you two ought to stop worrying and just give the
guy a break?”

“Maybe,” Connor said with a shrug. “Maybe these
years on his own made him change?”

Smiling, Logan was clearly relieved Roman’s
changes might go away. “Yeah, he’ll get back into a groove and we’ll feel like
real jerks for complaining.”

Sophie watched the brothers convince themselves
Roman was the same hunter who once led them. They soon left her to work alone
while hoping to get in face time with Roman. Finding their puppy dog affection
for Roman sweet, Sophie expected to discover a lovefest upon returning to the
house. She was wrong.

Lila and Roman sat far from each other in the
large family room with the brothers and Gus nearby. At first glance, Sophie
assumed someone had died. Gus reassured her everything was fine, but he didn’t
give much of a smile to cement that lie though.

Sitting on the couch next to a grumpy Lila,
Sophie tried to figure out why everyone was so miserable. The only one with any
excuse was Lila whose pale skin and glassy eyes gave her a sickly appearance.

“Have you talked to Karen yet?” Sophie asked
Roman when no one spoke.

Watching Lila, Roman shook his head. “What do you
know about her, Gus?”

“She showed up here a week ago and said her pack
was taken out by some rogue hunter. I didn’t know it was this Reaper until
Sophie told me.”

“Where was her pack located when he attacked?”

“Texas.”

Lila glanced at Sophie then stood up. “Let’s go
talk to Karen.”

“Alone?” Roman said, frowning.

Lila glared at him. Maybe for too long because all
of the males lowered their gazes.

“Come on, Sophie.”

“Maybe you should take one of the brothers with
you?” Roman suggested. “Just in case.”

Ignoring him, Lila pulled Sophie down a hall
towards the room where Karen had hidden herself for the past week. After
passing a dozen doors in the huge house, Sophie tugged Lila to a stop.

“What’s happening? I swear no one ever tells me
anything.”

Lila sighed, shoving her hair away from her eyes.
“Roman’s in love with his dead wife. Unfortunately for him, I’m not dead. He’s just
having trouble coming to terms with that. Can we go now?”

“I know he loves you. I saw him when you died.”

“Oh, yeah, he can’t love me enough when I’m dead.
Once I’m alive, he needs his space.”

For a moment, Sophie thought Lila might cry. Instead
she yanked at her hair again, forever trying to keep the unruly mess out of her
increasingly moist eyes.

“Roman doesn’t have to love me. None of this is
about him. God gave us this mission and we’re getting info from Karen whether
she’s feeling helpful or not.”

“I tried to get her to talk, but she doesn’t
really say anything. She just talks around the answers. I know she’s lying.”

“What did you tell her about the Reaper?”

“Only that we’re going to kill him.”

“Nothing about the vision or what Sawyer said?”

“Nothing.”

Lila nodded then gave Sophie a little smile.

“If this Karen gives us any trouble, I’ll hold
her down and you can knock her around until she spills the beans. Sound like a
plan?”

“You know it, boss.”

“Boss?” Lila grumbled.

“Logan said I used to call you that.”

Considering this concept, Lila shrugged. “Boss
works for me.”

As Lila reached for the doorknob again, Sophie
stopped her.

“Are you ready to get rough? No offense, but you
look pretty chewed up and spit out.”

“Hey, I’m running at like fifty percent, but
that’s more than enough to do damage to a coward who leaves her pack to die.”

Sophie nodded, unwilling to argue with Lila who
clearly wanted to hit someone at that point. Knocking on Karen’s door, the
women only waited a few seconds before the coward answered with her eyes wide
and mouth shut tight.

“It’s time for you to tell us about the Reaper,”
Lila said.

“Okay,” Karen whispered. “What do you want to
know?”

“Start at the beginning,” Lila said, sitting in a
chair and crossing her arms tightly.

Karen stared out of the window and began to tell
her story.

“I had joined up with the pack in Arkansas and we were tracking a group of villains into Texas. It wasn’t clear what the
villains were up to, but there was a large group of them and that usually means
trouble. We had just set up shop in a small house in a pretty dingy part of Houston when the Reaper attacked. Our leader, Roy, wasn’t a newbie or slow to draw, but he
was no match for the Reaper. This rogue was like nothing I’ve ever seen. He
just tore through the house like a madman.”

“What were you doing while this guy killed your
pack?” Sophie asked when Lila said nothing.

“I tried to fight him off, but it was like the
bullets glided around him, never touching him. When it looked hopeless, Roy told me to make a run for it. He wanted me to warn other hunters about the Reaper.”

Lila remained silent, her gaze unfocused as if
her mind was elsewhere. When Lila didn’t speak up, Sophie moved closer to
Karen.

“What’s this Reaper like?”

“I told you, he’s unstoppable.”

“No, describe his appearance. That way, we’ll
know what to look for when we hunt him down.”

Staring outside, Karen shook her head. “You
can’t stop him. He’s working with the devil. He’s too powerful to be stopped
now.”

“Is he tall?”

“What?”

“You did see him, right? Was he tall? Was he
white, black, brown? Details, Karen, that’s all I’m asking for.”

“What does it matter? You won’t find him. If he
finds you, it’ll be too late.”

“This is ridiculous,” Sophie said, glancing at
Lila. “She’s lying. Villains probably attacked and she got scared and ran for
it. She’s using the Reaper to hide her cowardice.”

“I’m not lying,” Karen whined.

“You’re a gutless liar, that’s what you are. If
you ran to warn other hunters, then why didn’t you tell Gus about the Reaper
when you got here? Why wait until I brought up the Reaper first?”

“I was scared.”

“No, I think you know him. I actually think you’re
protecting him.”

“Why would I do that?”

Sophie glanced at a seemingly indifferent Lila
before turning back to Karen.

“Maybe he’s your mate? Maybe that’s the setup? You
get in good with a pack and let him in, so he can slaughter everyone.”

“I’m not rogue.”

Sophie moved closer to Karen who looked ready to
run.

“You’re either a coward or a rogue. I can’t see
how it’s not one of the two.”

“Look, it’s like I told you. Joaquin went crazy.
He tore through the hunters. We couldn’t stop him. I couldn’t stop him. I got
scared. Yeah, I ran, but I wanted to warn others. Then I realized if anyone
went looking for him, they’d end up dead too. I didn’t know what to do.”

“Hey, Karen,” Lila said suddenly, “at what point
did this lunatic who showed up unannounced at your safe house decide to share
his name with you?”

Karen ran her hands through her hair and fidgeted
a moment, again looking ready to run. Sophie almost hoped the coward made a
move for the door. Karen instead went the honest route.

“Okay, I knew him and that’s how I know he went
crazy. He lost his family and went nuts and he started killing hunters. He
tried to kill me back then, but I ran. I’ve kept running because I knew if he
found me, he’d kill me. I moved around a lot, trying to stay ahead of him, to
keep off his radar. He didn’t just want to kill me though. Joaquin wants to
destroy all hunters. He hates what we are, but mostly he hates God.”

“Tell us how you met him,” Sophie said.

Karen nodded, staring out of the window. “God
sent me to Mexico three years ago to help get Joaquin, his wife, and their
adopted kid back into the US. Joaquin had a demon gunning for him. As if demons
and villains weren’t bad enough, a drug cartel was chasing them too. I tried to
get them out of Mexico, but we had too many obstacles against us. Joaquin and
Heidi were new to hunting too.

“The villains ambushed us, killing Heidi and the
kid. Joaquin exploded with rage and came after me. Instead of blaming the demon
or the villains, he just wanted to punish God. He started hunting our kind. With
every kill, he’s gotten stronger. I really don’t think anyone can stop him
now.”

Lila glanced at Sophie. “God says we can.”

“You said he attacked last in Texas. Do you think
he followed you here?”

“No,” Karen said, shaking her head wildly. “I
know Roy fought him off for long enough to give me a head start. I was pretty
sure I got away clean, but now I’m totally sure. If Joaquin knew I was here, if
he knew we were all here in one place, he’d attack. He’d make his move and we’d
all be dead now.”

Lila smiled at Sophie who knew her leader had an
idea.

“This Reaper uses his ability to sense other
hunters to track and kill them, right? As I see it, if he’s somewhere in Texas and we show up, especially with Roman’s vibes, it’ll be only a matter of time before
the Reaper catches our scent.”

“That’s your plan?” Karen said in disbelief. “To
just sit around until he finds and kills you? Leave me out then.”

“Like you’d be much help anyway,” Lila muttered.

“No, wait,” Sophie said, grabbing Lila’s hand.
“Joaquin has it out for her. If he’s really good, he won’t mess up. If he wants
her bad enough, he’ll walk into a trap though. We should use her as bait.”

“No way am I going.”

Sophie eyed Karen, her temper boiling at the
hunter’s cowardice.

“You can come willingly or I can conk you on the
head and tie you up. Either way you’re coming, but why make it so adversarial
so soon?”

Lila grinned at Sophie. “You’re right. She
doesn’t have to be conscious to be bait for the Reaper.”

“No, wait,” Karen cried out when Sophie moved towards
her.

“Shut up, Karen,” Sophie yelled. “What other
choice do you have, but to help us finish this? You can keep running, but
eventually he’ll catch you. This way at least you have a chance to live.”

Turning towards the window, Karen considered her
options.