Master Unchained (Stealth Guardians Book 2) (14 page)

“Demons,” she murmured to herself. She lifted her eyes back to Hamish. “But they looked human… just like you.”

Hamish nodded, easing up his grip on her wrists. “That’s what makes them so dangerous.”

She had to agree with him. “The green blood. Is that how you knew?”

He shook his head. “I recognized them by their green eyes. It’s the only outward sign.”

“And you. You said you’re a guardian. What does that mean?”

He turned his head toward the alley they’d come from. “Somebody’s coming.”

“More demons?”

“Somebody must have heard you scream. We’ve gotta get out of here. Now.”

“The only place I’m going to is the police. There’s a station just—”

He pulled her against his chest, so her next words were muffled against his shirt. Then he brought his mouth to her ear and whispered, “Not a sound. I’m cloaking us.”

She wanted to protest and ask what he meant by that. She lifted her head to speak, but he’d obviously anticipated her move and pressed his lips to hers. Stunned, she froze.

She needed to fight him, because she was scared out of her wits and didn’t trust him farther than she could throw him, yet she felt her body respond to him as if she wasn’t its master any longer. As if her body knew something her brain didn’t.

19

The only reason he was kissing Tessa was so she wouldn’t scream again.

Liar!

Fine, so he was kissing her because he was still riding high on adrenaline after killing those two demons.

Not true either.

Okay, realizing how close Tessa had been to being captured and killed by the demons had scared the shit out of him.

You’re getting warmer.

Damn it! So what if he was kissing her because he wanted to? He didn’t have to justify his actions. He’d saved her life two times in as many days. Didn’t he deserve a bloody reward for that? So what if that reward wasn’t a simple
thank you
from his charge? Who would even know? Just he and Tessa. Who wasn’t exactly putting up much of a fight. Sure, at first, she’d remained stiff and had hit him with her fists a few times. But now she was responding to his kiss, going all soft on him. Her head tilted to one side, granting him free access to her mouth. With her lips parted she accepted his invasion and welcomed him.

It was just a short moment they both deserved after the ambush by the demons. Nobody would ever have to find out that he’d broken his vow never to get involved with a human woman again. Besides, he wasn’t getting involved with her. It would only be a kiss, nothing more.

“Looks like you found her.”

At the sound of Enya’s voice, Hamish released Tessa as if he’d burned himself. And maybe he had.

“Shit, Enya! What are you doing here?”

“When the call came in that you and your, uh, client, got attacked, I figured you might need backup.”

She looked at Tessa, who nervously adjusted her clothes. Had he pulled her blouse from her skirt, or had that happened during the struggle with the demons?

“But it looks like you’ve got everything under control.”

Hamish sighed and shoved a hand through his hair. Under control? He wouldn’t exactly call it that.

“Tessa, meet Enya, my colleague.”

Tessa nodded. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Enya replied.

Tessa fidgeted. “So, are you a… a guardian, too?”

Enya whipped her head in Hamish’s direction, bracing her hands on her hips. “What the fuck, Hamish?”

“She knows.” He glanced at Tessa. “It’s okay, Tessa.” Then he addressed Enya again, “Tessa saw me fight the demons. I had to use my… my preternatural skills to survive. I had no choice. The bastards are getting too good.”

“Well that’s just peachy.”

“It is what it is.” He shrugged. “Now give me an update. Who’s doing the cleanup?”

“Aiden and Pearce are on it. They should be almost done.” She pointed to his shirt and pants, which were stained with demon blood. “You should get cleaned up, too.”

He nodded. “As soon as I can.” He pointed to the stains. “Fucking demon blood can’t be cloaked. That’s why—”

“Cloaked,” Tessa interrupted. “You said that before. What does that mean?”

Enya frowned and tipped her chin up at him. “You just told me she knows.”

“I was just about to explain things when you interrupted.”

“Didn’t look much like explaining to me, but then I could be wrong.”

Hamish grabbed her bicep and pulled her a few feet away. “Damn it, Enya,” he said in a lowered voice. “Do you have to make Tessa uncomfortable?”

She smirked. “I have the feeling it’s not she who’s uncomfortable, but you.”

Enya had a point, but he wasn’t going to admit that. “Drop it! What you saw means nothing, okay? Nothing at all.”

She shrugged. “Whatever you say.” Then she tossed a pointed look at her bicep. “And now I’d appreciate it if you’d let go of me. I don’t like being manhandled.”

Hamish released her. “As long as we understand each other. This goes nowhere. You got that?”

“Don’t worry, I don’t gossip.”

He nodded. He believed her. Enya was a straight shooter. At least his compound mates wouldn’t have to find out that he’d been playing tonsil tennis with a charge.

“Good. You’ve got transportation?”

“Yeah.”

“Can you drop me and Tessa off at my car?”

“Sure.”

Hamish turned back to Tessa and caught her gaze on him. There was something different about her now. She appeared solemn. Maybe the reality of what had happened was only just now sinking in.

The vibrating sound of a cell phone suddenly echoed in the dark yard.

“Mine,” Enya announced and pulled it from her pocket. “Yeah, Logan, what’s up?” She listened for a few seconds. “Oh shit! Yeah, got it. Sure. I’ll tell him.” She disconnected the call and put the phone back.

On alert, Hamish looked at her. “What?”

But Enya looked past him at Tessa, taking a few steps closer. “Logan picked up a 9-1-1 call coming from your parents’ house.”

Tessa slammed her hand over her mouth. “No! Oh God no! Is it my father? His heart?” Panic widened her pupils.

“We don’t know. We don’t have a recording of it. We just know somebody at your house called 9-1-1, and dispatch sent an ambulance. It’s already back en route to the hospital,” Enya replied, her voice soothing. “We’ll get you to the hospital right away.” She tossed him a look. “Right, Hamish?”

He nodded. “Do we know which one?”

“St. Agnes.”

Hamish took Tessa’s arm. “Let’s go. We can talk about everything else later.”

He followed Enya with Tessa by his side.

“He looked so well tonight,” Tessa lamented. “Damn it, why did they have to throw that party? It was too much stress for him. He needs to take it easy. But he won’t listen. He just won’t listen.”

Hamish squeezed her arm in reassurance. “We don’t even know if it’s your father’s heart. Please don’t imagine the worst.”

Eyes full of tears looked up at him. “What else would it be?”

“It might not even be him. Maybe one of the guests got sick. Or drank too much and hurt themselves.”

He hoped that was the case, because Tessa already had enough to deal with. Finding out that her father had suffered another heart attack would make her crack under the pressure. His first priority now was to keep her strong.

“We’ll know in half an hour.”

20

Tessa stared out the window as if in a trance, while Enya drove them to the abandoned Mercedes. There was too much to process, and she didn’t know where to start. To say that she was confused was an understatement.

Demons. Hamish disappearing into the wall. Green blood. Beheaded monsters. Then there was her frantic escape, and Hamish catching her, kissing her, and then proclaiming to Enya that it had meant nothing. Yes, she’d heard it, and it had felt like a stab in the back.

And now this, the worst of all: her father in the hospital. Her night couldn’t possibly get any worse. She had a million questions and not a single answer, only a few things she’d pieced together from what she’d seen and heard. And right now her mind was too clouded with worry over her father’s health to even recall those things.

“Do you need backup?” Enya suddenly said to Hamish who sat in the passenger seat.

“I’m good. I want you to report the demon attack to the council. Then give Manus a push. I need to know what he found on the duct.”

“Sure.” She stopped the car next to the Mercedes.

Hamish got out and helped Tessa out of the car. Just as Enya drove off, Tessa realized something.

“Oh no! Get her back! Your car doesn’t work. We need hers to get to the hospital.” She waved in the direction of Enya’s disappearing taillights, but Enya didn’t stop and turned right at the end of the block, disappearing from her view.

She suddenly felt Hamish’s hand on her shoulder and spun around.

“The car works. I had it disabled remotely earlier, so I could catch up with you.”

At his admission, her chin dropped. “You did what?”

Hamish shifted his weight to the other foot. “I had to make sure you didn’t get away. I didn’t know whether there were more demons following you. I needed to get to you first.”

When he opened the passenger door for her, she got in without protest. Numb, stunned. Whatever one might call it. Hamish entered on the other side and pressed against a spot on the dashboard. A panel slid back and revealed a small number pad. He punched several numbers into it, then closed it and pressed the start button. The engine hummed to life.

Tessa leaned back in the seat and tried to calm herself. Maybe figuring out what had happened tonight would take her mind off her worry about her father, because that hurt more than anything else in her life. He was her rock. She couldn’t lose him.

“We’ll be there in twenty minutes,” Hamish said with a sideways glance.

She nodded. “You didn’t answer my questions earlier.”

“No, I didn’t, you’re right.”

“I need answers now.” And when she got them, she would calmly evaluate them from every side, look at everything logically, and decide what to believe—and accept what she must.

“Why don’t we talk after the hospital?”

“Why don’t we talk now?” she shot back and pinned him with a glare. “Or do you need time to come up with a story first?”

“There is no story. Just the truth.”

“Then let me have it. Straight.” She folded her hands in her lap to make the shaking stop. “Explain to me what I saw tonight.”

Hamish directed his gaze back to the road, and for a moment she wondered if he was going to ignore her, but then he started talking. “The two dead men whose blood is all over my clothes were demons. More specifically, Demons of Fear. Their sole mission in life is to incite violence and fear in the world. They feed off it and it makes them stronger. And one day, when they’ve reached critical mass, they’ll rise up and attempt to rule over mankind.”

“How?”

“You don’t want to know.”

“I do.”

“Once knowledge is obtained, it can never be returned. Are you sure you want to know all this?”

She nodded. The more she knew, the better. “I fear the things I don’t know more than the things I know.”

“Fair enough.” He cleared his throat. “They’ll manipulate humankind, drain their minds of all independent thought, and turn them into slaves. There will be no free will, no choice, no happiness. Humans will only exist to serve their demon masters.”

Tessa shivered involuntarily. Images of apocalyptic movies on foreign planets came to mind, where humans toiled in mines deep underground. The prospect of it made her gasp for air.

“I’m sorry,” Hamish said. “But they’re as evil as they come.”

“And where do you and your colleagues come in? Who are you?”

“We were human once. Just like the demons. But we evolved. Nature gave us certain skills so we could fight the demons.”

“Like how you merged with the wall?” She shook her head, still unable to believe what she’d seen.

“I didn’t actually merge with it; I passed through it. We’re able to disassemble our molecules to pass through solid objects. It gives us access to any place we need. Nobody can lock us out.”

“That’s how you managed to defeat the demon. He had you pinned against the wall.”

“Yes. I had no other way of escaping.”

“But what if he’d just followed you through the wall?”

“He couldn’t. Demons don’t have that skill.”

She tucked that fact away for future use. “And earlier, when you were fighting him, you disappeared and then reappeared again at a different spot. What is that? Teleportation?”

To her surprise, he chuckled. “I guess it must look like that. But it’s not. I cloaked myself.”

“Cloaked? You keep saying that.” Would he finally explain what that meant?

“I made myself invisible. And while invisible I changed position to confuse the demon and get the upper hand in the fight.”

She furrowed her forehead. “That doesn’t make sense. If you can make yourself invisible, then why wouldn’t you just fight invisibly all the time?”

“I would, but cloaking takes a lot of energy, and I needed the energy to fight. Demons are incredibly strong. I had to use all my strength to overpower him. I couldn’t waste energy on cloaking myself.”

“But he got you nevertheless.”

Hamish sighed. “Because I used some of my energy to cloak
you
from them.”

Had she heard correctly? “What?”

He looked at her then. “When the two demons attacked, I cloaked you with my mind, so they wouldn’t see you, so you’d have a chance at escape.”

Her heart beat up into her throat now. “But that demon caught me anyway.” Even now she could still feel his hands on her.

“Making you invisible doesn’t make you disappear. The demons could still hear you.”

She slapped her hand over her mouth. “Oh my God. I screamed. He got me because I screamed.”

“I had no time to tell you how to act. It’s not your fault.”

No, it wasn’t her fault, but it wasn’t Hamish’s either. “You tried to protect me, knowing that it would weaken you?”

His shoulders stiffened. “I’m in charge of your safety.”