Elixxir (The Brethren Series) (15 page)

Clicking at the speed of light, she searched through files in the hopes of finding one with those nine golden numbers. Aha! A tax form!

A wobbly voice called in the distance. “I think I found you the perfect cat, miss.”

Scrambling to finish, Ariana’s fingers flew over the keyboard and hit enter. At the last moment, she remembered to return the screen to its original view and scurried back around the counter just as Grammie came into view. Breathing heavily, she willed herself to calm down.

“Wonderful, thank you!” She smiled broadly.

By the time the woman and the cat made it to the front of the store her normal breath had returned. But frenetic nerve-endings still fired prickly sensations across her skin. She had to get out of there before Murati made an appearance. She couldn’t stop glancing over at the office door, swearing that at any moment it would open and he would come walking out, see her, and kill her on the spot. The killing her on the spot part took her delusion a little too far, but her perspective was way off at this point.

“Now isn’t this a lovely piece?” Grammie set the mummy down on the counter.

“Yes, I’ll take it. How much?”

“That’ll be three hundred dollars.”

“Whoa! Too rich for my blood. But thank you for finding such a beautiful specimen. Oh, I’m late for an appointment! Gotta run. Have a good day.” She hurried out of the shop, straight into the waiting cab.

“Back to the hotel, please, quickly.”

“Sure thing.”

She looked out the back window as the cab pulled away. The door opened abruptly and a gray-haired man rushed out, looking first to his left, then to his right and settled on her cab nearing the end of the block. His gaze locked on to hers for the briefest of moments. A smug grin on his face said it all. She turned around frantically and ducked down low in her seat. Her heart pounded out a rhythm in time with a word repeating in her head—
stupid
—and she gasped for air. Uncle Eddie.

“You all right there, lady?”

“Fine. Just leave as fast as you can.” She clutched at her chest and held on to the door handle, trying to get hold of herself and sanity. Step one had been completed. Step two…. Did she even have a step two?
Call the Feds anonymously and report embezzlement on Uncle Eddie’s part. That’s step two
. She prayed the Brethren hadn’t returned yet from their expedition. But if they were sitting in her room right now, she’d have to have a good story lined up.

After paying the cab driver, she hustled over to the hotel spa. That would be a logical place to hang out while the angels played. Stress demanded she find an outlet. She stripped and put her things in a locker. Wrapped in a towel, she headed for the steam room. She’d stay there for a while and then head back to the room. Of course, Nathanael would be upset not to find her there, but what did he expect her to do? They’d exchanged cell phone numbers, so if he really needed to get ahold of her, he could call. Not that she’d be able to answer the phone, since it was in her locker. But these were the things that made it easy for her to lie about where she’d truly been.

***

Nathanael trudged out of the store, for the second time that day, with a huge scowl on his face and joined Gabriel in the limo. “Satan’s cloaked him, Gabe,” he said quietly. “Granny in there said he wasn’t in his office. Must’ve left and forgot to tell her. Stupid on my part not to think he wouldn’t be able to cloak. He could still be in there or not, and we wouldn’t know.”

“With Yofi shielded in there, too, we’ll get some answers. He’s good.”

“I hope so. I gotta get back to Ariana. I don’t want her left alone any longer than she needs to be. She’s still got a mark on her, and I’m not gonna let her die on my watch.”

“Think I’ll stay and take to the rooftops to keep watch. I’ll keep you updated.”

“Thanks, man.”

Gabriel shielded, and left Nathanael driving back with plenty to think about. His thoughts went immediately to the woman waiting for him in their room. He took out his cell phone and called her. It went straight to voicemail.

Chapter Thirteen

She’d first thought of it as just a viable alibi, but the steam room worked its magic on Ariana’s frayed nerves. As minutes ticked on by, the steamy tendrils eased their way into her tense muscles. For the first time in a long while, she let her walls lower and stopped thinking about everything except how wonderful the warm, moist air soothed her skin and soul. She must have dozed off for a few minutes because her eyelids fluttered open unexpectedly. Feeling like a sopping mess of a wet rag, she decided enough time had probably passed to head on upstairs.

More steam seemed to be pumping through the pipes than when she’d first entered the room, and it had become a bit uncomfortable. She bounced to her feet and fell right back down. Overcome by a wave of dizziness, she’d forgotten to take her time when getting up. She closed her eyes for a minute. When she stood up the next time, she took it nice and easy. As she pushed on the door, she nearly crashed her head into it. It didn’t open. She pushed again. It wouldn’t budge. She took a deep breath and shoved it with her shoulder.

Damn it
!
Now what should I do
?

She banged hard with her fists and shouted at the top of her lungs. After a few minutes and nobody coming, she did it again. The steam had gotten really thick, making it difficult to see even past her face, let alone trying to find the thermostat control. Panic replaced the calm. She pounded on the door until her knuckles were bright red and throbbing. She screamed until her voice gave out. Nobody answered, and the door hadn’t moved a millimeter.

The increased moisture caused labored and shallow breathing, as though she drank air. Limbs deadened from exhaustion and the room swirled around her. She imagined herself broccoli cooking in the largest steam-cooker known to man. She laughed deliriously, and then gave the door a shove with the last bit of energy she had left. Fear overwhelmed her as she slid down the glass insert and sank to the floor.

“Nathanael, help me….” She sobbed quietly as the world faded to black.

After dropping off the limo with valet parking, Nathanael raced into the hotel, anxious to see Ariana again. He could fool himself into thinking it was only to see that she was safe. But he was no fool. He missed her voice, her spunk, her body. It only made him walk that much faster to the elevator. The door opened, and he stepped inside. Anticipation raced through his veins, making his heart race. The same rapid pace as when he prepared for a bounty pickup or a battle. He hoped she’d be willing to oblige his pent-up energy as she had last night.

Absently, he looked around the empty elevator car and fantasized different scenarios that they could act out from lobby to penthouse. Suddenly, his senses exploded with intense fear, heat, and despair. He grabbed hold of the railing to keep steady. A vision of thick fog clouded his eyes and a voice called out to him for help.
Ariana
. She’s in danger! But where? Intense heat, steam…. Is she in the shower? No. He fought for more direction from his senses. He saw a door with the hotel insignia etched on the front. The steam room!

He immediately pushed the button to stop on the next floor. As the doors opened, he raced out, pulled off his T-shirt, and flung himself down the stairwell as his wings unfurled. Before entering the lobby, he put his shirt back on and ran to the spa. A woman sat behind the sign-in counter, her back facing him.

“Excuse me, where’s the steam room?” She didn’t turn around or answer him. “I said where is the steam room, ma’am?” He reached over and touched her shoulder. She slumped over, revealing a small welt on her neck, most likely from a syringe. He pressed a finger to check for a pulse. She had one, so he ventured on in search of Ariana.

A right turn and a left, and the room lay straight ahead. He ran over and saw a figure slouched against the door. Someone had wedged a bar so the door couldn’t open. He ripped the bar out and although he wanted to fling the door open, he slowly pulled it so as not to injure the person any further.

Ariana lay in a heaping mass, unconscious. He picked her up, and sat down on a bench to look her over. Pinkish-red skin felt hot to the touch. Pulse was erratic and breathing shallow. She needed to be cooled down fast, so he brought her into one of the shower stalls. The cold water rained upon the both of them. He hoped it would be all she needed. A few minutes passed and she stirred a little in his arms.

“Ariana? Red, can you hear me?” He swiped at the water cascading down the side of her face and cupped her cheek. “Come on, girl. Wake up for me.”

“So hot….” she murmured.

“I know, I know. I’m cooling you down right now. Just stay with me, okay?”

“Nate….”

“I’m here, Red. I’m here.” He kissed her forehead and nuzzled her hair.

“The door…I couldn’t open it.”

“I know, baby.”

“I called…to you.” She whimpered and his heart ached. “You came.”

He held her closer. “I’ll always come for you.” She shivered.

He raised an arm to turn off the cold water. After toweling her dry, he found complimentary robes hanging and wrapped one around her. Not wanting to get associated with any trouble surrounding the drugged receptionist, he opted for shielding the two of them until they were back in their room.

When he rested her on the bed, she seemed more alert. “How are you doing? Any better?”

“I feel like crap, but I’ll live. Thanks to you.” She smiled weakly.

“Thanks to me, you were left alone and nearly died.” He scoffed, took the notepad from the bedside table, and threw it against the wall. Sitting down beside her, he said, “Never again. I don’t go anywhere without you, and you don’t go anywhere without me. Not until Murati and his men are caught and dealt with.”

“You had a job to do, Nate. And it had to do with me. I couldn’t stand being cooped up in here any longer and went down to the steam room. I put myself in danger by staying in there too long and not having enough strength to open the freakin’ door.”

“You’re right. You were foolish for leaving the room. And I could kill ya for that. But you weren’t too weak. Someone deliberately drugged the receptionist, jammed the door shut so it couldn’t open, and turned the thermostat all the way up. How the hell did he find you here? That’s what I want to know.” Ariana shifted in bed and coughed. He raked his hand through his hair, completely frustrated. “Shit, maybe when we shook hands he read me the way I read him. Damn it. Gabriel needs to give us protections.”

“What the heck are you talking about?”

“Murati’s possessed, which leaves him open as a conduit for Satan.”

“Possessed by Satan? Seriously?” She looked dubious.

“Yes, I’m deadly serious. Just like those men at the bus station.” He rested a hand on her arm.

She fidgeted and settled on her side. “The only good thing about all of this is that he probably believes you’re dead at this point. We can exploit that. But that’s not for you to think about.” He got up. “For now, rest and recover.”

“Where are you going?” Her hand shot out and grabbed at his leg, but her panicked voice sat him back down immediately.

“I need to change out of my wet clothes and then I’ll sit in the chair so you can sleep,” he said softly. She shook her head and her frantic eyes rocked him to his core.

“No! I don’t want to sleep. I don’t want to rest or close my eyes. Show me I’m alive, Nate.”

She’d escaped death’s grip more times than she cared to count. There were only so many times a person could nearly die before they started getting a complex. She had no intention of leaving this earth any time soon, but these accumulated occurrences couldn’t be ignored.

“I’m afraid one of these days you’re gonna be too late to save me. Show me what I’ve got to fight to my dying breath for.”

Ariana opened her robe and exposed more than her vulnerability. Nathanael looked as though he would protest, but then his scrutiny traversed the length of her, and when his eyes rested once again upon hers, they told a different story.

He shucked his soggy T-shirt and his wings fluttered out. “Will this do?” Unbuttoning his fly, he’d gone commando and now stood at attention. She smiled, but before she could comment, his pants and boots were gone, socks flung to corners of the room. He stood with arms open wide, offering himself in all his splendid, angelic glory. She raised her hand and grabbed his.

“Come here, and I’ll tell you.”

He didn’t resist her tugging at him, but instead eased himself on top of her so their bodies touched lightly. Breathing hotly against her lips and caressing her cheeks with the backs of his hands, he whispered, “How about now?”

She wound her fingers through his mass of damp hair and closed the distance between them. His mouth, all soft and warm, opened to her demands, and he met her urgency with his own. He nipped at her bottom lip then soothed it with his tongue. She groaned with need. He pulled back slightly, raising a questioning brow.

“More,” she demanded.

“Oh, there’s much more I have in store for you.” With his fingers, he traced a path along the side of her breast to her waist. Goosebumps rose and tiny chills danced across her skin. “Ariana, you are the most alive person I know. This mess will all be over soon and you can be yourself, out loud and proud, without any more threats.”

“I want that so much.” She really did, but if he didn’t step things up, she knew she would explode. Taking matters into her own hands—taking him into her hands—she conveyed without words what she wanted.

Nathanael sucked air in through his gritted teeth and crushed his lips against hers for a soul-stealing kiss. She ground her hips against him, toying with the idea of making this time hard and fast. His hands teased their way up and down her body. And when he finally let go of her mouth, he blazed new trails, stopping to nuzzle each breast, massaging each with his tongue.

She’d been craving this kind of bliss, and explored her angel’s massive body with the same fervor. His smooth, slick skin barely contained muscles that quivered underneath from her touch. She equated him to a nuclear reactor headed for a meltdown, and she planned on being right there with him when he did.