The Lost Soul Trilogy (Primani Book 5) (94 page)

“Hey Gabriel,” I murmured gazing up into his face. “That’s not your real name, is it? He turned you, didn’t he? Gabriel.”

I didn’t expect an answer, but the tears that ran from his eyes made me feel insignificant. He was too tall for me to reach but I patted the stone robes and said with tears in my own eyes, “I’m so sorry for you…I wish I could make it better.”

Turning away, I spotted Domino. Of course she’d found Sean and perched in front of him, guarding him, protecting him. Her back was ramrod straight, ears perked and alert. She thumped her tail when I approached them. I had to stand back in order to see into his eyes. Some days he looked at me. Some days he closed them as if asleep. Today, he looked at me and then closed his eyes. Biting my lip, I sat on the base of the statue and leaned against him. No tears today though. I was empty. Instead, I leaned against him and closed my eyes. Using my own powers to stay warm, I was cozy in the chilly air.

I brought his face to my mind and mentally traced it so I would never forget it. I pictured him a thousand different ways…but his expression just as he kissed me was the one that I stared at the most. His expression was always peaceful and warm when he kissed me…He was at his most human…and vulnerable. I didn’t want to kiss him again, but I really wanted to see his face looking that happy. It wiped out the many times I’d seen him furious or in agony, or desperately sad.

“Do you know Rivin? I want to kill him almost every day. He’s waiting for me now. He’s like a damn watchdog. Killian seems to think I need protecting. I don’t know why. I haven’t seen a demon since we got here. I friggin’ hate England.”

Silence.

“I’ll take that as a no. And I’ll add that you don’t think I need protecting. And you don’t think Rivin is a suitable bodyguard. I’ll pass that on to Killian the next time I see him. Whenever that might be. Jordan’s making him crazy.”

Something made me look up to see his eyes were open. They weren’t exactly happy, but they weren’t closed any longer.

“There you are--”

“Mica! It’s time to go,” Rivin’s loud voice boomed around me as he marched over and took Domino’s leash. He glanced at Sean and started to reach out to him. Hissing in frustration, he dropped his hand and steered me away.

“Hey! Stop manhandling me, you idiot! I’m not done yet!”

Without breaking his stride, he snapped, “Yes, you are. You’re making him mental. Give him some time for Christ’s sake.”

Digging in my heels, I said, “What are you talking about? How do you know? You can’t possibly know what he’s thinking!”

With a grim smile, he said, “Oh, yes I can. He’s thinking about how he wants to stop hurting you. He’s thinking about how much his fingers are bleeding. He’s thinking about how Aisling is lost while he’s trapped here. At no point is he thinking about how much he wants you to visit!”

Whipping around to break loose, I ran back to Sean. His eyes stayed closed. “Is it true? Sean, is it really true? I’m hurting you? You don’t want me to be here?”

Silence.

Of course there’d be no answer.

His eyes stayed closed; that was answer enough.

Straightening my shoulders, I said, “Fine. I guess Rivin’s right. I’ll leave you alone then. But Sean, this is your choice, not mine. I love you; I don’t want to hurt you.”

Tears ran from his eyes and he blinked at me. “Good-bye,” I whispered.

“Hey, darlin’, can I get you another Guinness?”

Startled from my memory, I dabbed at the tear hanging on my lashes. He cleared his throat and I blinked and looked up. Blond curls, blue eyes, dimpled cheeks…I blinked again and the dimples vanished. He was just another handsome face…nothing special.

“Sure. Bring me a Guinness and a shot of Jim Beam.”

He frowned slightly and said, “Are you sure about that, love? You don’t want to make yourself sick, now do you?”

“I’m not a child. Just bring me the drinks.” My mood was rapidly heading south.

“Are you gettin’ all soft for me, love? I’ll be ready to go when you are.” Rivin tapped his fingers on my wrist sending tiny sparks of electricity dancing through my arm.

Yanking my wrist back, I hissed, “Are you drunk? Stop touching me!”

The bartender chose that moment to set a stack of coasters in front of me. His eyes zeroed in on Rivin’s hand lying over my wrist. One blond eyebrow lifted in question.

I lowered my voice and warned Rivin, “If you want to keep your hand attached to your wrist, keep it off of me. Are we clear on that?”

His eyes blazed with anger and his mouth twisted into a mocking sneer. “I was just having a bit of a joke here. But don’t worry love, you’re the last bitch I’d put my hands on.” He raked me with his eyes, tossed me the keys and snapped, “I won’t be home tonight. Do try to stay alive.”

He sauntered off to a booth full of women who welcomed him with plenty of cleavage and laughter. As I stared with disapproval, he lifted a shot in a toast and swallowed it. The delicate cross glinted as he turned his face to the woman closest to him. He kissed her without any regard for the crowd. When she responded with interest, he clutched her head in his hands and leaned her over backwards in the booth.

“You’re better off without him, sweetheart.” The bartender was back.

I slammed my own shot and sipped the Guinness. I shuddered at the thought of Rivin’s tongue down
my
throat. Blah! Ewww! Gross!

I shuddered again, the booze sloshing in protest. “God, I’d never be with him. He’s…uncouth.”

“Uncouth? Well, okay, I guess that’s a good description. Do you want to talk about it?”

His eyes were green and warm as he sent out gentle vibes. His emotions were serene, calm. Automatically I glanced at his hands. His hands were beautifully shaped with elegant long fingers; a light sprinkling of fine golden hairs just noticeable at the wrist. A narrow tan line surrounded one wrist.

A tan line?

“I have to go.” I threw money on the bar and rushed outside.

I’m losing it. That is not Declan! Every blond bartender in the U.K. cannot be Declan. I don’t care how much his hands look the same. Millions of men have hands. It doesn’t mean anything. Dec is gone! Desperate to get home before I lost it in front of the pub, I dug through my purse for the car keys. When I looked up, I was confused. How did I get back here? It was very dark except for the light from the snow. Shit! I turned to backtrack and stopped dead. Two men stood in the entrance to the narrow service area. The smell of cigarette smoke drifted with the snow. One of them took a long drag and tossed the cigarette to the ground.

“Are you lost, sweetheart?” the taller of the two asked in a deceptively friendly tone. He moved forward all innocent like. As soon as he left the shadows, he pulled a green stocking cap over his face. His teeth reflected the dim light as he smirked at me.

“What’s in your bag, love? Hand it over and we’ll let you go.”

He wants to mug me? Seriously?

The other wore a red jacket and turned his back on me. He faced the entrance and lit up a cigarette.

Are you freakin’ kidding me? I am so not in the mood for this.

“You might want to get away from me. I’m not in a good mood right now,” I warned.

My heart sank a little when I realized I had no gun or knife on me. Rivin dragged me out so fast I forgot to grab a weapon. All I had were my hands.

And my powers.

He lunged so fast I just had time to throw up my hands to shove him backwards. I wasn’t quick enough though. His momentum sent me flying into the wall. The sound of my head smacking the brick rang like church bells in my ears. My attacker was breathing hard through his nose as he held me against the wall. I twisted my head and shoved my palm into his nose. The crunch was loud enough to make me smile but only for a split second.

Before I could move out of the way, he went berserk. Throwing me down like a rag doll, he picked me up and bounced me against the wall until my head was full of stars. My hands didn’t obey my brain. I kept trying to use my powers, but I couldn’t focus my thoughts inside my rattled head. A small part of my brain was screaming that this wasn’t a human. Couldn’t be a normal human; he was too strong, too overwhelming.

He left me sprawled on top of an electrical box as he pulled an athame out of his jacket. It gleamed like black glass.

Obsidian.

Oh, holy God!

He grinned through the hole in the mask, his teeth red with blood now. Fumbling with the buttons of my coat, he yanked the leather apart to get to my chest. The smell of burning earth surrounded me; blood dripped from the mask. As his horror-movie face swam in and out of focus, my muscles tensed to bolt even as dizziness tried to drag me under. Fleeing seemed smarter than fighting but I was having trouble moving. My heart was pounding a thousand beats a minute and my brain was short-circuited.

Breathing hard, he grabbed my kicking legs and growled, “Stop fighting me. I’ll be gentle.” He shoved my coat away and yanked up my sweater, laughing at his little joke.

The sound of his laughter sent me over the edge and I screamed for Dec in complete mindless panic. The sentry appeared out of the darkness and slapped his hand over my mouth. I bit it but he only hissed and pushed down harder. Ski Mask used the athame to cut my bra and shoved it away from my heart. The protective rune throbbed in warning as he raised the blade.

And then he flew through the air in a blaze of white light.

Blinking in the sudden brightness, I struggled to sit upright. What happened?

My heart lurched in my chest. The rune sizzled.

There was something there; a supernatural something. It moved too fast to see its features, but it wasn’t human; the brilliant glow could only mean Primani. But who? Rivin?

After throwing my attacker into the wall, it snapped his neck. The stink of rot hit me like smelling salts. The lookout tried to run, but he was grabbed and lifted by his throat clear off his feet. In a split second, his head lolled to the side, eyes staring at his butt. Black smoke curled from his eye sockets. Both bodies vanished.

In the blink of an eye, Dec lifted me into his arms and laid me in the seat of the McLaren.

I must’ve really, really, really hit my head back there.

I blinked in and out of awareness on the short ride to the house. Except for the massive headache and nausea, this was a lovely dream.

Dec was back. It was an answer to my prayers…

The feel of soft lips on my forehead made me smile. The lips followed the curve of my temple and down my jaw. Gentle fingers traced my face and the familiar heat of healing surrounded the back of my head. The dizziness and pain gradually faded, leaving me woozy and mellow. The lips were back, pressing against my temple with a sigh.

“Why are you always broken when I find you?”

“Dec?” I murmured half asleep. His hand stroked mine and I curled my fingers around his and sighed, “I’m broken without you…”

With a soft sound, he pulled me close and clung to me. “Oh, Mica, I love you, little sister.” His voice broke and my eyes flew open.

His face was pressed against my shoulder so the first thing I saw was the sun-kissed blond hair. His arms were real; they held me in an iron grip as if he could absorb me through his skin. He lifted his face and looked into mine. His eyes shone with love and tears as he smiled at me. His crooked, dimpled, heartbreaking smile was real. In my wildest dreams, I never thought I’d see it again.

“Oh, God, Dec! You’re real?” Clutching him to me, I burst into tears and laughter.

“Who the hell is this?” Rivin grouched from my bedroom doorway.

Before I could answer, Dec shot off the bed and threw Rivin down the stairs. The plaster took a beating as his head pinballed off the walls. Dec met him at the bottom of the stairs and lifted him up by his shirt. Too shocked at the sight of a living and breathing Dec, Rivin stood paralyzed with his mouth hanging open. Taking total advantage, Dec lunged at Rivin and pinned him to the floor. Domino and I stood at the top of the steps watching the action. Her tail wagged low to the floor as if she wasn’t sure what to think. Her liquid brown eyes met mine.

Does the Happy One have the small sack toy?

The happy one? It fit. Though, at the moment, ‘happy’ wasn’t even in the ballpark. Furious, berserk, nuts, lost-his-mind, vicious…those were MUCH more accurate as he beat the crap out of Rivin.

I patted her head. “I’m sure he’ll find you one, Princess.”

My mouth fell open as Dec punched him in the face three times before I got my wits about me enough to yell at them.

“Stop! That’s enough!”

Dec paused, fist raised and bloody, and snarled at Rivin, “You piece of shit! You were supposed to protect her!”

“I was protecting her!”

Dec punched him again. “Bullshit! She was almost skewered by a couple of Anza demons while you were shagging some slut in the parking lot!”

Rivin and I both said, “What!?”

Dec glanced over at me apologetically, “Sorry, love. I wanted you to sleep first. You were pretty hurt last night. Do you remember?”