Angel Bait (Angel Assassins #1) (17 page)

“Need you,” Jarrid said, gripping her tight.

His hips snapped in a steady rhythm as he claimed his woman. Ionie cried out, a mixture of begging and praise. He heard her and she fueled his passion. Desire was everything.

She is everything
. He ground into her, determined to share all the pleasure she gave him. Ionie’s orgasm shattered, its tremors crashing against him, blowing him apart. He yelled his release into the mattress to keep from destroying the bedroom windows.

This second release was more powerful than before and his Grace flared out before he could stop it. Ionie screamed, this time in pain, as white light flooded the bedroom. Jarrid threw a buffering wall to protect her from his power, but he was still inside her. His soul used the connection to drill past his defenses and into the woman who’d stolen his heart.

• • •

Something inside Ionie collided and she cried out. Where one force felt like ice, the other thing within her was fire. The brilliant lights slammed against each other, a tornado of blinding luminescence. She cowered from the ethereal vision, hoping to stave off the worst of the agony. She couldn’t. There was nowhere to hide.

“Ionie!”

She heard Jarrid call out, then his strong hands gripped her shoulders tight. Ionie shook her head side to side. Her mouth opened to speak, but she could only scream. The lights flickered like deadly beacons. They were so close she felt cold and heat at the same time.

“Open your eyes, damn it!”

She did. Jarrid’s gasp came from above her. She raised her hands in blind terror and clutched his muscled arms. She latched on for her life.

“Can’t see!” she said. “The lights. Oh, God, help me!”

“Lights? Ionie, what do you see?”

She didn’t want to look. “Fire and ice. Help me, Jarrid. Please!”

His arms enveloped her. “My Grace is the ice. Go closer to the ice.”

Like hell I will!
The two powers collided and another pain wave slammed into her.

“Damn it! I can’t reach you unless you move closer to my power,” Jarrid said, fear poisoning his words. “Touch the ice. Now!”

Tears slid down her face. Whatever was happening, she didn’t know how to stop it. He called the cold light his grace. Was that angel power? Could he make the pain stop? She may not know much about nephilim, but she knew she trusted Jarrid.

With fear a thick knot in her stomach, Ionie imagined her arm stretching towards the swirling lights. She thrust her hand into the whirlwind.

Touch the ice. Grab the cold
. It was a litany in her mind. She wiggled her fingers into the supernatural void. A claw of frost grabbed her hand. She yelped. The frost closed over her and spread up her arms. Soon, her entire body felt blanketed by a sheet of ice.

There was a pulse, and then she passed out.

• • •

Cain and Kasdeja leaned against opposite walls in Tanis’ study. The room’s only sound came from their measured breaths. Nestaron took his customary seat in the far corner. The location, he’d said, afforded him an unobstructed view to whatever drama unfolded when The Eternal Order gathered. Tanis glanced at Nestaron and wondered if he’d ever imagined a day like this one.

He turned his attention to the man who was like a son to him. Jarrid sat on a leather chair, his silver eyes dulled by guilt and disbelief. He’d been this way since the team had rushed to his room and found him clutching Ionie’s naked body.

“She has Grace,” Jarrid had whispered, rocking her in his arms. Tanis had covered her with a sheet, although the team had seen her body shimmering with sweat. It didn’t take much to guess what had transpired.

He shook his head, hating what came next. As leader, it fell to him to uncover the details. He clenched his jaw. He’d never disliked his role more.

Two days had passed, and Ionie remained unconscious. They needed answers. He straightened his back, ignoring the pain in his wings. The only person capable of explaining any of this shit was Jarrid.

“How was she injured?” he asked.

Jarrid stared out a window. He hadn’t uttered a word after Ionie was settled into his bed. Kas had tried to reach into her mind, but gave up. He found nothing there to read.

Tanis folded his arms. “Start talking, or I’ll have to give Ionie to the Directorate.”

“Touch her, and I’ll finish the job on your wings,” Jarrid replied.

Cain hissed. Nesty whistled.

“I think he’s in love with her.” Kas rubbed his temples. “How the fuck did that happen? I thought she had better sense.”

Tanis ignored them, lost in his memories. The last time Jarrid threatened him was the day a younger version learned why his mother would die.

“These children didn’t choose to walk in two worlds,” she said. “How can you harm innocents who should be treasured and loved?”

“Those bastards are worthless to Heaven,” Kaonos answered. Aean nodded his agreement.

“Then what use is Heaven?” She raised her chin. “Why should I fear death when angels fear children?”

Aean raised his sword to strike the woman down. Tanis was faster. He shot his sword arm out, deflecting the killing blow.

“Leave. Now,” he said. His soldiers gaped at him. “Disobey my order at your peril.”

“The Directorate will hear of this,” Kaonos said, but the soldiers extended their enormous wings and launched themselves into the sky.

Tanis watched them go with unease. He’d made two enemies this day.

“Heavenly master,” the woman said, “please spare the lives of these poor children. Imagine how useful they could be to you.”

He craned his head, intrigued. “Continue.”

“They understand both races. Wouldn’t they make it easier to gain allies among my people? All we know now is fear if we disobey your laws. Train them. My heart knows they will serve you true.”

Her words struck him like an arrow. Could he save these children? The Directorate would be difficult to convince. He rubbed his chin. He wanted to try.

“I’ll trade your son’s life for yours,” he said, sadness lacing the words. “I’m sorry, but I cannot disobey all of my orders.”

Her wide smile surprised him. “God bless you.”

“No!” The boy turned his wild eyes on Tanis. “Why can’t you let her go? She could run away and hide. Please!”

Tanis stared back. “There is nowhere she can run, child. With me, she will gain a painless end.”

“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!” Jarrid’s small fists pummeled his armor.

“Sshh, Jarrid,” the mother said, grabbing him. “I broke Heaven’s law when I loved your father. I did so willingly, and for eight years, I’ve lived in paradise because I had you.”

“Mother.” Jarrid’s body shook with his grief. “Why hasn’t father come for us? He won’t allow you to die. He can’t.”

Tanis caught the woman’s gaze. She knew Jarrid’s father wouldn’t return. He was already dead. The sun glinted off the long blade of his sword, and she stood to face him.

“I’m sorry you have to suffer my death,” she said. “You are not like the others. You feel.”

Tanis pulled himself from his memories and looked at Jarrid. The man appeared lost. He walked over and swung his fist. The punch struck the assassin against his left jaw. Jarrid turned his head, a thin trail of blood trickling from his lip.

“Now I have your attention. I want answers.” Tanis flexed his hand. “How do you know Ionie has Grace?”

Jarrid wiped his bloodied lip. “I felt it when she reached for mine. It was older than me, and it burned.”

His wings spasmed against his back. Only angel Grace was connected to the element of fire. By virtue of their mixed genes, nephilim Grace was weaker, colder.

“She can’t be an angel,” Cain said, his voice a whisper. “She’s human. Kas ran the background check after we found her.”

“I know what I felt,” Jarrid said. “She’s tainted.”

Nestaron rose from his chair. “Descendent?”

Tanis turned the idea in his head. Somewhere in the reporter’s ancestry her people joined with an angel. The offspring would be nephilim unless … Unease twisted his gut.

Unless the offspring had children who kept breeding with humans
. The line would thin, weakening the Grace until it lay dormant behind a human soul.

Ionie was a female nephilim — hundreds of years removed.

“You say the taint inside her was fire,” Tanis said.

Jarrid nodded, wary. He didn’t want to believe what he’d felt fighting inside Ionie’s body, but his Grace couldn’t lie. He’d sensed an energy greater than his own, and his power had struck out. Whether it intended to protect her or kill her, he didn’t know.
Shit
. He had felt his power slam into her defenseless body. He had watched in horror as her eyes flashed silver.

“If the thing inside her is a remnant of its maker — ” he said, “ — it belongs to an angel.” Then his brain made the final connection.
Son of a bitch.
His head shot up. “The Renegade.”

“Holy cluster fuck,” Tanis said.

Jarrid’s breath clogged his throat.

He’s tracking Ionie because she’s his descendent!
His whole world screeched to a halt. The rest of the team cursed as they made the connection, too. Their bait had become as priceless as an ancient artifact.

“Will she recover?” Kas asked. The tense silence made Jarrid want to blow holes in the wall with his Desert Eagles. Nothing like this had happened in the long history of The Order. They were flying blind.

“Leshii.” Every bewildered eye focused on Nestaron. “Those shifters are Pagan gods.”

“Tree huggers,” Jarrid said. “How does that help?”

“Their power is derived from the elements,” Tanis said, wearing a path in the rug. “In ancient times, Leshii commanded air, fire, earth, and water, to help their followers.”

“Ionie was hit with ice — or frozen water — and fire,” Kas said, chiming in. “Can they fix damage caused by the elements?”

“No clue,” Tanis said. “They used their power to heal crops, which was the only reason Heaven didn’t order angels to smite them. Had the Leshii tried to control men, the planet would be minus one race.”

Jarrid jumped up from his chair. If there was a chance to save Ionie, he’d take it. Tanis stepped between him and the door. “Your diplomatic skills are not in top form right now. I’m sending Cain to bring back a shape shifter. You stay with your woman.”

My woman
. Jarrid caught the glimmer in his mentor’s eyes and his chest tightened at the raw sympathy. He turned and read similar expressions on his brother’s faces. They accepted the impossible that he, an assassin of The Eternal Order, was in love with a human woman.

Each man stepped forward, laying their hands on his shoulder in solidarity. Ionie was his woman. The Order would never abandon her.

• • •

Saul watched Beleth soar high above Detroit’s skyscrapers, gliding with ease around telecommunication towers and under neon signs, until he arrived at the prearranged meeting site. Strong wind buffered the Renegade as he landed atop the Greektown Casino Hotel. Saul peered over the edge to spy on the oblivious gamblers and eager tourists clamoring on the street below. Beleth spat at the rabble.

“Lost your affection for the mongrels, I see,” Kaonos said.

Saul turned to face the third member of their meeting. He glanced at Beleth, whose gaze lingered on the multiple races below.
Probably imagining a world without them.
He kept the thought to himself.

“A momentary weakness a lifetime ago,” the Renegade said over his shoulder. “I dallied, then came to my senses.”

“Yes, you have. Which is the one reason you’re still alive,” Kaonos said.

It was clear to Saul the two angels had history. He faced the mouthy messenger. “We don’t have all night.”

The messenger stepped forward, his white flight feathers suspended above the tarred roof. As a loyal servant of the Directorate, Kaonos’ appearance always made him anxious. Would the others notice his frequent absences and follow him? Saul didn’t trust the guy, but Beleth assured him the angel was smart enough to keep his actions unnoticed.

“I checked on The Order as requested,” Kaonos said. “The woman is in their keeping.”

Beleth fisted his hands.
Well, shit
. Saul didn’t need the complication, not when they were close to attaining their final goals. With the woman out of reach, everything was a breath away from unraveling.

“My human links must be erased before I can regain my place as a general in Heaven,” Beleth said. “Centuries of hiding from final judgment will end and I’ll leave this shit hole.”

Good riddance
. Saul needed Beleth’s army to back him when he moved against the other vampire bosses. He didn’t need the man breathing down his neck. “Does the Order know of her connection to you?”

“No, they’ve not uncovered the link,” Kaonos said. “You bloodsuckers were careless. The Order knows you want her.”

Beleth leveled a glare of death at him. Saul bore it even though his knees threatened to buckle. His blundering search put The Order on their trail. His stomach churned. He imagined the many painful ways the Renegade could make him suffer for the mistake. The muffled laugh from the other angel surprised him.

Beleth’s eyes flashed. “Have I fallen so far you find this amusing, Kaonos?”

The messenger paled, then bowed his head. “I’m displeased to see you among lesser beings, my General. Heaven is weaker without you guiding its forces.”

What a pussy
. The groveling did the trick though. Beleth accepted the man’s submission, perhaps reminded of the multitudes of angels who would again follow him without question.

“Mankind was never meant to rule Earth,” the Renegade said, staring up at the sky. “That fallacy was perpetrated only after the First angelic War.”

“What are your orders?” Kaonos asked.

Saul contemplated his next move. The assassins hunted him. His inept lackeys would begin causing chaos in the streets tonight. Would it be enough to force The Order to abandon the woman to protect the city?