Elixxir (The Brethren Series) (5 page)

***

Nathanael rode up to the entrance of the apartment complex and cut the engine. He parked in a shady area about forty or so spots down and across from her garden apartment. Taking off his helmet, he turned to find Callie removing hers and shaking out her flaming red hair.
Boy, is she a stunner. It’s a shame I want to throttle her most of the time
. He dismounted the bike.

“Remember. Do as I say. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“Got it, Captain.” She got off the bike, as well, and saluted him.

“Don’t call me that. Ever. I left the military a lifetime ago.” He looked her dead in the eyes and stared her down. “I’m a bounty hunter now. That’s all.”

She didn’t cower or back down, but met his piercing gaze with equal intensity. “Yes, sir,” she hissed. “My mistake, sir.” She challenged him in a test of wills and wouldn’t budge. Well, neither would he. He inched closer until he stood a hair’s breadth away from her face.

“Are we really gonna stand here and have a contest to see who’s got the bigger balls? Because you’ve already lost. Save your bratty aggression for when you really need it. All right?” He backed off, put his hands on her shoulders, and turned her toward her apartment. “Now stay close and follow me.”

She said nothing, just sneered. He grabbed her hand as they crossed the parking lot, and it spoke volumes. Cold, clammy, and trembling. She really knew how to put up a good front. He chose to ignore the fear she hid. It wouldn’t do either of them any good to expose it right now.

Callie stepped onto the curb, and a massive explosion of sudden heat and fire thrust shards of glass, wood, and other debris into the air to rain down upon the two of them and any other innocent bystanders. The force of the blast threw them both to the ground a good ten feet from where they’d just been. Nathanael shook it off, while other people scurried about aimlessly, screaming, not knowing exactly what to do. He quickly sat up and scrambled over to Callie, a few feet away. She lay on her back, not moving, eyes closed. Pieces of building, like concrete confetti, lay all about her.

“Callie! Can you hear me?” He pressed two fingers to the side of her neck and checked her vitals. She had a strong pulse. He did a quick examination of her body. Tiny nicks and abrasions dotted her arms, legs, and face, but her head wasn’t bleeding, nor were there any big bumps. The cuts sprinkled his arms and face as well, but they would disappear shortly. “Damn it, wake up!” He brushed away tiny bits of building from her face to reveal a paleness starkly contrasted to her violent, red hair. Her plump, rose-stained lips had parted slightly as little puffs of breath escaped. Even with the mess all around them and the scrapes she received from the blast, he thought she still looked beautiful, like an exotic fairy.

She stirred and groaned, rubbing her head. “Oh…. Jesus.” He helped her up to a sitting position. “What happened?”

“There was an explosion. From there.” He pointed at the fiery, gaping hole that used to be her garden apartment. “Either this was a total coincidence, or the bad guys got what they were looking for and sent you a pretty strong message.”

“Oh, my God. My apartment,” she murmured, her eyes wide as she looked upon the devastation. All sorts of people from the complex crowded around to look at the blaze and help those who needed it. Some approached him to see if the two of them were okay. He assured them they were. One of them called the police and fire department. Callie’s face turned ashen. She grabbed hold of his arms as though she were clinging to the edge of a cliff.

“We need to get out of here. They could still be around, watching, but are you all right to stand up and walk on your own?”

“I think so, and if not, too damn bad. I don’t want to be here right now anyway, with everyone staring at us. So get us out of here.” She looked at him with pleading eyes that could move mountains, and probably had.

He held out a hand for her to grab and pulled her up gently. Some good Samaritans were headed their way. He deftly waved them off. “It’s okay. Help the others. We’re fine. We’re just gonna go and clean ourselves up. No real harm done. Thank you. Boy, I feel bad for whoever rented that apartment.” He nodded to various onlookers as they hurried away, down the parking lot to his bike. He scanned the area for anything suspicious, but there were no cars sitting idly with people inside, nor could he see anyone on the rooftops. Whoever had done this probably timed it to go off after they left.

He had to give the woman props. Obviously shaken beyond words, she still held it together, just enough not to raise any flags with the nosy neighbors. Fire engines and police vehicles screamed past as they reached his bike. No one would be the wiser about the two of them.

He sat on his motorcycle and waited for her to climb on. And waited some more. He turned to find her standing there, staring blankly at the bike.

“Let’s go.” She looked at him, nodded, and climbed on the back. Again, he waited. “Grab on to me, now.” Her arms didn’t embrace him. He reached back and grabbed them himself. They dropped.
What’s going on with her
? “Callie, what gives?”

“I…I can’t do it.” She shook her head, looking puzzled.

“Shit.” He got up from his seat. “All right, listen to me. Scoot forward and turn around so you’re facing the back of the bike.” She did as he told her. “Now I’m gonna sit back down, and I want you to straddle my lap. Then, rest yourself against my chest. Okay?”

He helped her maneuver herself onto him.
God help me, but her body fits like a freakin’ glove
!
Breathe, man. You don’t need a distraction like this right now. Just get her back to the hotel and figure out the next steps
. Her legs crossed around his hips, and she rested snugly against him. Her arms hung limply at his sides. He started the bike as more fire engines and police cars rushed by.

There was much to ponder on the ride back. What exactly was in that envelope? Did the people after her find it and take it before the blast, or had it been destroyed? Or, did it survive the blast, without being found? He hated being a pessimist, but more than likely, they’d gotten what they wanted. He’d have to go back later tonight and do a little recon on his own.

After a continuous checking of his side mirrors and taking many unexpected turns to shake off anyone who might be following, he finally pulled into their hotel’s parking lot, found a shady spot to park the bike, and turned off the Fatboy’s rumbling engine. Curiously, the vibrations of the beastly machine continued. He checked, and the engine was definitely off. And then he realized where the shaking originated from. Callie. Wracked with sobs, her whole body shook up and down.

“Hey, girl. It’s gonna be fine.” He instinctively rubbed her back. “I told you I’d help you. Right? And look, we survived a pretty big blast back there. That’s a good sign that things are gonna work out.”

She looked up at him with tears streaming down, untamed. Dripping mascara dramatized an already intense situation. She shook her head. Between sobs, she managed to speak her mind.

“It’s not…gonna work out. They got…the envelope. I know they did. Why else…torch the place?” She swiped at her tears. “No, they got it, and I’m next. They’ll come for me next.” She tried to ease herself off of his lap, but he stopped her.

He reached up and held her cheeks in his palms. “Now you listen to me. You are too much of a pain in the ass to give up before this show has played itself out.” One corner of her mouth lifted for a slight smirk. “And I can promise you, no one will get to you on my watch. No one. I know you’re scared right now. But can you put a little faith and trust in me to see this operation to a successful conclusion?”

She shrugged. He sighed and dropped his hands. “Let’s go to the room and finish this discussion, because, my dear, there is a lot more that we need to discuss.”

“Okay.” She wiped away the lingering tears and when she moved to get up, he let her.

They climbed the stairs in silence, one step at a time, but he noticed Callie wincing each time she lifted a foot to the next tread. Without fanfare, he picked her up and cradled her in his arms while taking the rest of the stairs two at a time, and didn’t set her down until they were inside the bedroom area of the suite. He immediately went to the bathroom and ran the hot water. Leaning against the door jamb, he pointed to the shower stall.

“Get in. It will do you a world of good. When you’re done, we’ll talk.”

“Thank you.” She looked down at her feet and wrung her hands.

“Don’t thank me yet.” He snickered. She looked up. “When I say talk, I mean, you’re gonna tell me everything you know. Full disclosure. It’s that or I hit the road, and you’re on your own.”

She frowned. “What happened to ‘I told you I’d help you’? Seeing it through to a successful conclusion?”

“I will see it through to a successful conclusion, on my terms. I won’t help any more, Red, without knowing exactly what we’re up against. Take as long as you need in there. I’m not going anywhere yet.”

He closed the French doors separating the living room from the bedroom, strode to the door, opened it, and leaned against the railing. It was hot as hell outside, but even hotter inside. Having felt nearly every curve of her body through their clothing on the way over, he couldn’t help but imagine how they’d react under his hands, in the shower.
Shit
.

He took out his cell phone, pushed number two on the speed dial and waited. “Hey, Joe! How you doin’? Can you meet me at the Sedona Suites on Main Street? I need to bend your ear on something. Five minutes. Great. And get ready to do some sparring. I got some wicked energy to work off.”

***

“Hey, man, how you been?” Joe extended his hand and Nathanael shook it heartily.

“Been better, but what else is new? How about you? How’s life been treating ya? I know you’re rehabilitating demons these days. Are they behaving?”

“Not really. They all wanna stay evil for some reason.” He shrugged and laughed.

“I told you you’d have a tough go of it. Not every demon has a conscience like you.”

“That’s right. I’m special.”

“You’re special, all right. Hey, thanks for coming. I wanted to run something by you. See what you thought.”

“Shoot. You know I’m good for a little intrigue. So where are we working out?”

“In here. Come on.” He opened the door to his hotel room. “Some shit’s going down with a woman I’m helping. It has to do with a mission I’m on. I need you to keep an eye out for any demonic energy above and beyond the ordinary around here. They seem to like you for some reason.” He laughed and threw a left jab, hitting his old friend squarely on the jaw.

“It must be my pretty face.” Joe answered with a right hook that connected with Nathanael’s cheek. “What’s going on?”

The two began sparring in earnest.

“She knows where it is, Joe.” Jab. “The Elixxir. And someone wants it bad enough to blow up her apartment. I gotta convince her to tell me where the damned thing is and get it back to the Beyond or there could be big time trouble.”

“No kidding?
The
Elixxir? How the hell did she acquire
that
flask of temptation?”

“She inherited it from her father. He’s dead and the people after it want her dead, too. The whole situation reeks of Evil.”

“I’ll keep an eye out for ya’, sure. Now, give me your best shot.”

“Remember, you asked for it.”

***

Hot water sluiced over the scraped and bruised curves of Callie’s shoulders, elbows, hips, and knees. It stung for a minute, and brought to her attention how very lucky she was to be alive. Closing her eyes, she lost herself in the soothing pounding against her back. She slid down the shower wall, her legs unable to hold her up any longer, and let the water continue to barrage her body with its therapeutic fingers.

Shit. I almost died back there. What a freakin’ mess. And now I gotta tell him everything or he’ll split. I can tell him about my parents, the murders, about changing my entire life to someone new. I can tell him they were murdered for…what
?
What do I tell him
?
He mustn’t know the truth. He’d either think me totally insane, or believe the story and want to steal the flask at the first opportunity. The damn thing is probably filled with plain old tap water, for Christ’s sake! No, Mom and Dad wouldn’t have been killed over tap water. That monster who’s out to get me knows there’s something to the lore
.

Shaking her head in disgust, she turned off the shower, inched her way up to standing, and toweled off. She opened the door to the bedroom and cursed, remembering her backpack was still on the sofa. The sun had begun to set on what had been a most disastrous day.
At least Nathanael has finally given me some privacy
. She proceeded through the doors to the living room of the suite to retrieve her clothes.

But no sooner had she thought herself alone than the door opened and the beast appeared. And he had someone with him. A tall, sinewy man. Both were dripping from head to toe in sweat. She tugged her towel tighter, a bit self-conscious of her battered body, and the simple fact that she didn’t go parading around in a towel every day for all eyes to see.

“Uh, excuse me, but I’m changing here.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry, miss! I’ll be seeing ya, Nate. I’ll look into that matter we spoke of and get back to you.” The mystery man shook his hand and left.

“Who the hell was that,
Nate
, and what on earth were you doing while I showered? It looks like you took one yourself, but in your own sweat!”

He swiped his forehead with his forearm. “That’s Joe, an old friend. I needed to ask him something and we got to sparring.”

“Let me get this straight. We just lived through an explosion that could have killed us both, and you decide to trade punches with an old friend? You’re insane, you know that? Certifiable. A bounty hunter who’s addicted to physical pain and thinks he’s invincible.” She stalked over to him and began looking his body over.