Elixxir (The Brethren Series) (6 page)

“Like what you see, Red?” He raised his eyebrows suggestively.

“Now that I’m getting a better look at ya, where did all your cuts and scrapes go?” She totally ignored his Neanderthal comment, refusing to acknowledge how very
much
she liked. Strong curiosity played at the forefront of her mind. “I know you had injuries, and I know you don’t heal that fast. Nobody does.”

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about. I think the blast has gotten to your head. I only had a couple of minor scrapes. Hey, I’m gonna take a shower if you’re all done in there.” He pushed past her without waiting for her to answer, and closed the door.

Chapter Five

Evening came while Nathanael showered, and Callie had grown antsy and hungry. Thank goodness for the Domino’s Pizza joint right next to the hotel.

“Man! What is that awesome smell?” He stood in the bathroom doorway with a towel barely wrapped around his waist, and she forgot how to breathe. Not a scrap of fat lay on the valleys and planes of his bronzed chest, abs, and arms. His thighs were as thick as tree trunks, and she couldn’t help but peruse the space in between, imagining just what lay behind Curtain Number One.

“Jesus! How about you save the strip routine for Vegas and go put some clothes on!”
Nice save, Callie-girl. Nice save
.

“What’s the problem? You had a towel wrapped around you, and I had no complaints.”

“My towel covered me, and you’re a cad.” She prayed the flush of heat throughout her body didn’t show on her face, and grabbed hold of the dresser she’d leaned against. “Would ya take your clothes and your big, bad self into the bedroom and get dressed, please?” He started to release the towel. She covered her face in her hands. “The bedroom!”

“Only teasing.” He chuckled and closed the French doors behind him.

What an egotistical ass he is, she thought. Just like Kemuel.
But it is a mighty fine ass at that
.

“Hey! Next time, use the other room if you want to wash up! It’s got a perfectly good shower in it.”

A few minutes later he came back out fully dressed in relaxed jeans and a tank top. “Safety and efficiency are crucial right now, so you’re never gonna be that far from me. I asked you before about that awesome smell. Pizza?”

“Yes, Domino’s is right next door. Don’t be angry. I was starving and figured you were, too.”

“Well, you should have waited for me. It’s not safe for you to be out in public on your own right now. Did you use cash or charge?”

“Cash. I know better than to charge anything right now. It can be traced and found.”

“I’m impressed you know anything about that.” He grabbed a slice from the box and ate it in two bites, and took two more pieces with him to the couch. He pointed to the box. “Dig in, and let’s talk.”

Shit. Here we go
. “Okay. What do you want to talk about?” He stopped chewing and gawked. “Oh, all right. You want me to spill.” She took a deep cleansing breath and joined him. “Well, the short of it is that a long time ago, about twenty years now, thieves invaded our home and my father and mother were killed. The long of it? Men came looking for something my father owned and he wouldn’t tell them where to find it. They got angry and killed them both in the foyer. I was upstairs at the time and hid in my secret hidey-hole I used for play. I couldn’t identify who murdered my parents because they wore masks, so my lawyer eventually put me in a witness protection program of his own design and placed me in a new family until they could find the killers. I’ve lived my life since then as another person.”

“I’m so sorry. So these killers have found you and are now after you for…?”

“For an item my father was going to have on display at his Curiosity Shop.”

“And this item is what? A shrunken head? A monkey claw?”

“You’re an ass.” She punched him solidly in the shoulder, got up, and padded over to the hotel room window. “My father had wonderful pieces in his shop and traveled around the world to find them.”

“Sorry, communication skills are not my best attribute when it comes to civilians. Out in the field, if you don’t make jokes about everything, nothing is a joke and you wind up killing yourself. Consider my ass kicked. Come sit back down, would ya?” He patted the seat next to him. “So you’ve been able to stay hidden for how long again?”

“It’s been about twenty years,” she said, and sat on a chair instead. He whistled and raised an eyebrow. “Until stupid me impulsively clicked the contact button on a web page. Before I knew it, bam, a live-chat window opened up with someone ready to talk with me! Then, my lawyer, Mr. Watkins, left me a message on my answering machine telling me I’d been found and to run. Nathanael, I think something horrible’s happened to him. He didn’t sound good at all. The rest, you know. I thought you were the killers come to get me when you knocked on the door.” She yawned and kneaded her shoulders.

“Where is this item now?”

“I don’t know. It’s hidden somewhere. I remember discussing it with Mr. Watkins, but you gotta know I was really messed up in the head. Most of that time is a blank to me now. He gave me an envelope with a note in it. He told me never to open it, to keep it in a locked box at all times. The paper has the location and directions on how to obtain the damn thing.” She yawned again. “Whew, excuse me.”

“No problem.” He pressed on. “Where is, or was, your father’s shop and what’s its name?”

“Can’t we finish this up in the morning? I’m exhausted and achy.”

He scrubbed his face with his hands. “Just tell me the name of the shop and where it’s located and we’ll stop for now.”

“Fine, you big brute!” She paused and took a breath to calm her frustration. “It’s called Murati’s Curiosity shop now, and it’s in Las Vegas. His shop, well, now my uncle’s shop, is off the Strip. Now I’m not answering another question tonight. I’m going to bed. If you’re not satisfied with my answers, you can leave, or stay. Your choice. If you’re staying, I’ll sleep under, you sleep over, and stay on your own side or I’ll knee you in the balls. Understood?”

“I think I’ll hang around a bit longer. We’ll finish up in the morning. You can have the whole bed. I’ll be up for a while working.”

“Suit yourself.” She stripped down the bed cover and began the ritual of wrapping herself up like a mummy with the sheets. She had done this bedtime ritual ever since “brother dear” first visited her, always with the hopes that he couldn’t get through all of the many wrappings protecting her body all the way up to her neck; most of the time it worked. He’d get so fed up he’d curse and leave her room. To this day, it still comforted her being bound in such a way. She’d never make it easy for anyone, ever.

All Nathanael could do was stare in awe.
She looks like a freakin’ mummy
!
Only someone who’s been through a personal hell would require that sense of security and control. And Lord knows, I’ve seen plenty of men do the very same thing as she. What else besides her parents’ murders is she hiding
?

He sat at the small table by the room’s window and took out his phone. It would be best to start with a bit of research, but then, she’d never said her real name. He could locate the store easily enough, but without her real name, he wouldn’t get much further, so tempting the fates and preparing for her razor-sharp retort, he asked. “Before you fall asleep there, what’s your real name?”

“My real name?” Her eyes remained closed. “I…I don’t think I can say it out loud. I whispered it just yesterday and nearly had a coronary.” Her eyes opened. “I’m scared.”

Nathanael approached the cocooned lump on the bed. He knelt to caress her hair. “Why don’t you whisper it to me, then? It’s only you and me here, no one else. No one is gonna come charging in as soon as you say it. Okay? A small whisper for me, that’s all.” He watched as fear gripped her tighter than the bed sheets, and then subsided slowly as she nodded and closed her eyes.

“Come closer. Give me your ear,” she croaked.

He leaned in so her lips nearly touched it.

“Ariana. Ariana Kupi.”

No louder than a ghost’s breath, she said her name, and he sensed years of pent-up anguish and terror. It pierced straight through to his soul, and he had no choice but to collect her in his arms and hold her. Hers trembled as she wrapped them around him.

“Shh. Shh. It’s okay.” He softly stroked her hair and murmured against her neck. How he knew what to do, he hadn’t a clue. He’d never consoled or comforted a woman before. But it seemed right, and she smelled so good, he continued. “It’s done. It’s finished. Only you and I know. Rest now. I’ll keep you safe.”

She nodded against his chest and he laid her back down. She blinked up at him with eyes fringed by moist lashes. “Okay,” she said, and sniffled, closing her eyes.

“Okay.” He smiled and got up to return to the table. He had a name. And now, the researching could begin. Earlier, he had surreptitiously tried to trace her intent, tracking her by sense. When he put her backpack on the sofa, he’d stuck a hand inside to touch pieces of her clothing. Fear, anger, and a need to hide were strong threads throughout. There was no thought imprint about the sought-after piece itself or its whereabouts.

He sent a text to Gabriel Seeker, a Brethren Protector and information guru. If anyone could expose tightly guarded information, he could. Nathanael knew she had the Elixxir, but fiercely protected its identity. Smart girl. If she knew its true capabilities, and he believed she did, telling just anyone about it would put her safety at risk. Her parents were a prime example. But he needed her to trust him and tell him everything about it herself.

Was it really a need? No, he could find that flask without ever saying its name, without her sharing one more bit about it at this point. It was a want. He desperately wanted her to open up to him, to trust him implicitly. A very tall order, to be sure, looking at it from her standpoint. She’d always remained closed off from others, and now he knew why. But it stung to know that she closed herself off from him as well. Guilty by association. Kemuel screwed up and left a wake to follow. Add to that, killers hot on her trail and other childhood experiences that probably left her with emotional scars, and you got a person who wouldn’t trust anyone.

He wanted to be that one person to break through all of that mess. Her situation had dredged up all sorts of memories of his own from his last black-ops’ mission, where all of his team members had died. Since that devastating blow, he’d stopped believing others would ever trust him to lead a successful mission. So he’d quit and turned to bounty hunting instead, where he could work alone. Helping her could be his chance at redemption, his opportunity to show her—and prove to himself—how reliable he could be.

Furthermore, if she believed in the Elixxir’s powers, then maybe he’d have a better shot at her believing in him and his true identity. He scratched his head.
Why
?
Why am I doing this
?
Why am I letting her get under my skin
?
She’s nothing but trouble with a capital T. But those violet eyes. Mesmerizing, with a capital M. Ah
!
She hates me, and I don’t need a woman in my life. It’s too dangerous. I should just do my damn job. Find the Elixxir, get it, and go. Oh, and get the jerks that are after her. That would be a supreme pleasure
. His body shook with the thrill of an impending hunt.

Rustling of sheets broke through his musings. She turned over in her sleep, muttered something unintelligible, and settled back down. As much as he didn’t want to leave her alone, he needed to do a little search-and-recovery over at the apartment complex.

He locked the hotel room up tight with the deadbolt and a chair wedged under the doorknob. He knew the adjoining room would come in handy, not just for protection, but as an easy way for him to get in and out without compromising security. Stepping out of the empty room and onto the second floor walkway, he saw not a soul in sight. Unfurling his wings, he flew off into the night, as silent as an unspoken thought.

***

Blackened bits of unidentifiable matter lay strewn about the parking lot in front of what used to be Callie’s first floor garden apartment. In its place remained a black hole encompassing not just hers, but a few others as well. Nathanael waited silently in the trees overhead for the last of the gawkers to go home. It didn’t take long. Well into the middle of the night, he floated down as close to the opening as possible and hid his wings away. The acrid stench of burnt, wet plastic and wood permeated his nostrils. As he looked around he could tell whoever did this used a combination of natural gas and spark to completely incinerate the place. The assholes didn’t seem to care who they took down with her!

He scoured through the muck, looking for the lock box she had mentioned earlier. There were no more wall divisions so he couldn’t tell where one room finished and another began. Crunching and sloshing through the charred remains of her life, he finally came upon a sizable metal box standing about two feet high and across. Bingo. He squatted to check it out. Thick black soot covered it, but beyond that, the thing remained intact….and opened.
Damn it
!
Nothing inside. Figures
. Whatever Gabriel uncovered in his search would be the only chance of finding the Elixxir now.

Something glinted at him out of the corner of his eye. He turned to his left and trudged over toward the back of the apartment. He bent over to find a two-inch silver key attached to a chain. Given the fact that other apartments had been burned, he couldn’t be sure if it belonged to her or not. Pocketing it, he made a mental note to ask her about it in the morning. With nothing left to see, he flew away as silently as he had come.

***

Nathanael alighted by their hotel window and his supernatural hearing picked up on a distressed woman’s voice. He immediately grabbed the Beretta from his boot. The voice sounded like Callie’s for sure. He hadn’t heard anyone else’s coming from the room, but being in his line of work, you never could tell.