Payable On Death: A Jax Rhodes Novel, Book One (The Jax Rhodes Series 1) (13 page)

"Jax, I know you feel something for me. We're around each other every day, all day. It was bound to happen. Please." Pain and disappointment marred his beautiful face. He didn't understand why I'd rejected him.

I cursed Tobias for telling me what would happen if we pursued this. Cursed the situation and Thomas's feelings. The weak and selfish side of me said allowing Thomas to love me would be easier, safer. Of course that was a lie. I didn’t love him the way he loved me. I’d already damned my soul. I wouldn’t so the same to Thomas.

"Can we please talk about this at home? People are starting to stare." I'd watched this sort of scene play out at least three times a week working as a bartender. To be one of the people involved in it was a completely foreign experience to me.

Thomas brushed my hair from my face, his hands coming to rest tenderly on my shoulders before pulling me into an embrace. My arms wrapped around him of their own accord. I wouldn't allow it to go further than this out of fear he’d misunderstand my feelings but it felt good to be in someone’s arms.

Until I caught sight of Dane coming through the front door.

I could see the betrayal in his eyes from across the room. My body went rigid in Thomas's arms. How could one look from Dane reduce me to feeling like an adulterous bitch when we weren't even together?

Thomas sensed something was wrong and released me. He turned, following my line of sight to the entrance. He missed the hurt and anguish on Dane's face. That look was solely for me, he'd share it with no other. All he saw was someone's back as they left the bar. Still, Thomas wasn’t a fool. He recognized the worn black leather duster. He knew who it was and how I used to feel, how I still felt for him.

"The Sin Eater? Because of him? You can't possibly still care for him."

He backed away when I said nothing. "Let's go home. You have your first assignment tomorrow."

Five minutes before, I wanted nothing more than to continue the conversation at home. Suddenly, home was the last place I wanted, my new home anyway. My old place in Fells Point looked pretty damn good right then.

I was an overwhelmed, stressed out, emotional mess entangled with two guys who weren't any good for me. I needed to get back to being the hard ass who didn't get attached to anything or anyone. I wanted to beat the hell out of something until it felt as terrible as I did.

An assignment sounded perfect.

Sitting on a
bench across the street from a boarded up Baptist church wasn't my idea of an assignment. I expected, and needed, to be storming a nest of demons, kicking ass and taking names. The powers that be had other plans. Which apparently consisted of watching the church for suspicious activity.

At least I was armed. Thomas had laid a spread of weapons on the kitchen table for me to choose from. He questioned my choice when I slipped the brass knuckles, blessed and engraved with crosses across the points that would make impact with the demon's face, in my pocket. It was unlikely I'd have a need or opportunity to use them but I liked the familiar weight in my pocket, that connection to my old life. Easily concealed and dangerous in a fight, I always had them on me when walking the streets of Baltimore.

He finally stopped questioning me when I picked up a small tactical gun equipped with laser, light, and blessed rounds. I also took a telescoping baton, a switch blade, and two additional mags. I wanted more but concealing what I'd already chosen would be difficult enough. No wonder Dane wore those long leather coats. He probably hid an arsenal in there. I made a note to look into wardrobe options. I'd never been a fashionista; nonetheless if I was going to be a hunter, I needed the right clothes.

Loaded for bear, I sat on the bench and waited for something, anything to happen. Nothing did. I sat there for hours waiting, watching. Twiddling my thumbs. Being told to move on two separate times by different policemen. I noticed an alley on the next block, a good vantage point with better coverage in the shadows. I moved my position and waited. For another hour.

I pulled out my cell phone, which Thomas expressly forbid me from using unless it was a dire emergency. Which it was. I was dying of boredom and needed an immediate evacuation. Nothing had happened since he dropped me off and it seemed clear to me nothing would.

And then I saw him. Lazarus. Flanked by two other demons on each side, he crossed the street with purpose. Headed right for the church. What was he doing? Demons couldn't go on holy ground. But I'd be damned—again—if they didn't. One of the underlings pulled back a piece of plywood, holding it open for Lazarus to climb through. The demon disappeared into the church. No fire, no explosion, no hissing, swirling vortex to suck the Devil's minions out of a house of God.

Kind of a letdown. I expected a show.

The third demon squeezed in between the wood and the window, following the other two inside. Assuming that was my cue to follow, I tried to keep to the shadows as I ran across the street. Just because I only saw three didn't mean there weren't others lurking nearby. I reached the basement window without sight or sound of anyone or anything else. My demon alarm went off, causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up.

With the limited amount of training I'd had, I wasn't overly confident in my skills as a hunter, although I'd gone up against lesser demons before and walked away. Lazarus was stronger, deadlier, and had almost killed me, only they weren't hanging out in a church just for the hell of it. I needed to know what they were up to and I couldn't tell from outside.

It was time to nut up or shut up.

I managed to pull the plywood away without making a sound and was about to slip inside when I felt a presence behind me. I grabbed the gun from the holster on my hip, spun and aimed in one fluid movement, exuding a confidence I didn't feel. I hadn't heard or seen anyone else. Someone or something got the drop on me. Lazarus and his two lackey demons were still inside, busy tearing the place apart looking for whatever they'd come for by the sound of it. I wanted to take them out, but the person or thing outside was the immediate threat.

"Step out of the shadows. Slowly."

I surprised myself with how cool and calm I felt. The little laser fastened to the top of my gun found its mark, locking me on center mass of the target. I could count on one hand how many times I'd fired a weapon. I hadn't even practiced with one since becoming a hunter. Still, the red dot on the chest of my would-be assailant didn't move. I knew what needed to be done. Kill the demons. I resolved myself to do it the moment I stepped out of the apartment.

"Either pull the trigger or put the gun away."

"Dane? What are you doing here?" I kept my gun pointed at him.

"I could ask you the same thing." With his left hand, Dane pushed the gun down, confident I wouldn't shoot him. He took a step closer. "They sent you out here? Alone?"

"I can take care of myself." My tone was sure and steady, willing him to argue. So of course he did.

"I thought for sure your guardian angel would be here to hold your hand your first time out."

"He's not my guardian angel."

"No? What is he to you then? Did you use your wicked ways to convince him to fall, Elioud?" Pain, tinged with anger, darkened his face and deepened his voice into an icy whisper.

"You should know. You've been spying on me. See anything you like, when you're peering in my windows like a peeping Tom?"

"I see the way he looks at you. I can only imagine the things he's said, poisoning you against me."

"Funny, we don't talk about you much. And no one has to poison me against you. You did that all on your own when you betrayed me."

"I didn't know. I told you that. Why is it you'll take everything he says at face value yet you refuse to give me even the slightest benefit of doubt? He knew who she was, who you were. A hell of a lot longer than I did, probably since you were born. Meanwhile he's sleeping under the same roof with you and I'm reduced to watching you from street corners."

He said under the same roof, but I knew he meant in the same bed. After the small glimpse of an embrace the other night, he'd convinced himself that I was sleeping with Thomas. I wanted to quell his fears almost as much as I wanted to exacerbate them. But it wasn't the time—there were still three demons tearing up the church.

"I'm not doing this with you right now, Dane." I whisper-shouted, waving my gun at the window I'd prepared to enter moments before. "We have other things to think about. Like the demons."

"I can't think about anything else. I can't get you out of my head. I've tried, believe me, I've tried. Especially after I told you the truth because I didn't deserve you, probably still don't, except...."

He didn't finish speaking, just closed the distance between us, backing me up against the stone wall and pressed his mouth to mine. I didn't want or mean to kiss him back but I opened my mouth, deepening the kiss, and started to wrap my arms around him. He pulled away before I did, brushing my hair back from my face and tenderly running a hand along my jaw. I turned my head, leaning into his touch even as I cursed myself for wasting so much time avoiding him. His betrayal was no worse than anything Thomas had done and yet I’d wasted so much energy on convincing myself of the opposite when it was fear of the unknown, the instant and unexplained connection I’d felt to Dane that had me so upset.

When his lips touched mine, I knew it was him, it would always be him. The Sin Eater in him was a balm to the sinner in me, his power coiling and caressing the darkest parts of my soul. Dane McDonough was the one.

Ain't life a bitch.

"I just wanted– I needed to do that before we went in there. If one of us got hurt, you know."

"You really are a stalker, aren't you? I should have gotten that restraining order after all." I gave him a little wink to lighten the mood before I turned, bending over to pull the plywood back again, not wanting to think about either of us getting hurt, though the odds were good.

"I couldn't help it. I needed to see you, make sure you were okay."

Truth be told, Dane wasn't wrong about Thomas. I managed to overlook the fact he'd known everything and more than Dane had. Yet I refused to forgive Dane. Because I cared for him. Before we were the Sin Eater and the Elioud, back when we appeared to be just a guy and a girl taking a chance. That was what had made the pain all the worse.

But he was there, just like he said the night I walked away from him. He was on my side, even when he shouldn't be. Even when I'd given him plenty of reasons not to be, by refusing to hear his side and then ignoring him every day afterward.

We were off to a rocky start. Still, I wanted to try.

If we made it past the demons.

And Thomas.

I'd still have to face him, tell him about Dane. I’d allowed the lines to blur during my time living with the angel. I cared for him—not the way Thomas wanted and nothing like the way I felt for Dane. The angel was a safe harbor where the Sin Eater was an all-consuming fire. Tobias's warning came back to me and I wondered if he didn't have something to do with Dane's appearance, a nudge in the right direction. I doubted he'd ever admit it if he had.

Satisfied he'd said his piece and convinced me he wasn't the enemy, Dane took over holding the plywood so I could slip through the opening and into the basement. I landed with a hushed thud, the rubber soles of my combat boots dampening the sound. The room was pitch black, the moonlight seeping in from barely penetrating the darkness the window as Dane lowered himself.

I switched on
the light attached to my gun, casting a small beam in front of us. I wasn't proficient in firearms but I'd seen enough cops, witnessed enough arrests, to know how they hold a weapon. With a firm grip and small sweeping motions, I moved the gun back and forth to ensure our path was clear as we followed the sounds coming from a room somewhere off to our right.

Candlelight flickered beyond a doorway, so I lowered my weapon and switched off the light. The church was a small, solid stone structure. From the looks of it, the area where the demons were concentrated was directly beneath the pulpit. There were more, at least half a dozen more, than the three I'd watched enter before and they were digging, looking for something they believed to be buried beneath the church.

But what? What could they possibly expect to find hidden in the dirt under the old stone floor? And how where they even on holy ground to begin with? I'd have to ask Thomas when I got home. If he was still speaking to me after he saw me with the Sin Eater. I had a feeling he knew what they were looking for and what they thought it would do if they found it. My angel hadn't sent me here for nothing. Whatever it was they were searching for, it was obviously my job to prevent them from finding it.

Dane looked to me, waiting for a cue to move in. He came to help, not take over, and was letting me lead. At least until I said or did something to tip him off that I wasn't entirely ready to be in charge. I didn't make plans, not really. I'd gotten about as far as ‘follow the demons through the window and take them out’. After that, the details were a little fuzzy.

A little more than three to one, not the best odds. There wasn't any backup so we didn't have much choice. I nodded to Dane, signaling him that we were moving in and to follow me. We'd barely taken a step toward the room when Lazarus called my name.

"Jax." The demon dragged out the single syllable in a singsong voice, taunting me like a schoolyard bully.

My breath hitched and my eyes widened as we lost the element of surprise.

"I know you're here, little one. I can smell you. The heady mix of innocence and malevolence that swirls inside you. So delicious." His words caressed me like a lover, warmth pooling inside my body.

Dane grabbed my arm, stopping me from moving closer to the doorway when I hadn't realized I'd stepped forward. His touch grounded me, lent me his strength, and the clarity to realize someone else was in the room.

Lazarus never had the power of persuasion, at least not over me. Of all the demons I'd come across, none of them could compel me. Only one being had ever had that effect on me. The Devil.

Small tremors wracked my body as I fought the urge to go to him, to give in and be with him. No one wanted me as much as he did, not in my entire life. He called to something inside me—the dark, wicked corners of my psyche passed down through two generations of Fallen. The Devil called my name again and his voice fell around me like whispers on silk. I whimpered, sweat dampening my brow and beading down my back as I willed my feet to stay in place. With one shuffle forward of my right foot, I felt my control start to slip.

Dane released me and for a moment I feared that was the true reason he was there. As bait, to lure me in. Those suspicions died away when I remembered I'd been watching the church already. I'd planned on going in before he even showed up. So why had he pulled away when I needed his help the most? I didn't have the strength to fight the lure of the Devil and formulate questions at the same time. Another sluggish step forward, like moving through tar as I struggled to stay in place.

An arm wrapped around my waist, Dane's fingers slipped beneath my shirt, splayed across my bare stomach as his body molded against mine. I gasped at the touch, pressing into him as want and need warred with the clarity that came when his skin touched mine.

"It's a little hard to concentrate with you making noises like that." Dane whispered in my ear before nipping my neck, earning him a small chuckle from me. His hand slipped down my arm, stealing the gun I only just then realized I still held in my hand.

And then all Hell broke loose.

Dane kept me pressed firmly against him as he turned counter clockwise. One after another, rounds exploded from the gun, the small flash with each trigger pull lighting up the darkness. Spots danced in my vision with each blink, but still I managed to get a good look at the horde of demons scurrying our way. I lost sight of the Devil, however, doubtful Dane destroyed him with a few blessed bullets. If it had been that easy, I wouldn't be a hunter and the world would be utopia. There wasn't time to figure out where he'd disappeared to as the demons closed in. There was only time to fight.

I slipped from the comfort and security of Dane's embrace, tossing him one of the extra mags as I reached for my blade. With the push of a button and a soft click, the switchblade extended, steel gleaming even in the darkness. Sharp and deadly, but definitely not enough. I wished it were a sword as I slashed and stabbed at the first demon within arm’s reach. I pulled the baton from my pocket, flicking my wrist hard to extend it in time to connect with the shins of another demon. Using the baton defensively, blocking blows and clawing talons, I managed a few more cuts on the demon in front of me with my knife.

Demons swarmed Dane as he emptied another mag into the ungodly crowd before being completely engulfed. He continued to fight, as did I, throwing punches, kicks, anything to take out one of the horde. They were lesser demons, easy to banish or kill when you were up against one or two, but this many? It didn't look good.

What initially appeared to be close to a dozen multiplied by ten. We were vastly outnumbered and losing fast. I needed to come up with something quick. Recalling the few short lessons I'd had from Tobias and the endless stack of books he'd given me to study, I dropped to my knees and scrawled the names of the angels who acted as my wards in angelic script using the blood dripping from a gash on my finger. Something about the blood made the act of writing their names feel dark, tainting the holy purpose of the words. Seeing as how I was fresh out of ink and a calligraphy quill, it would have to do.

Demons continued to scratch and claw at my flesh, yanking handfuls of hair until I feared I'd be bald. Another latched on to my back. I'd been in this scenario before. No way was I getting bitten again. I held myself up with one arm, my elbow trying to buckle under the additional weight of the demon digging its nails into my sides like razor sharp needles and slammed a bloodied palm down on the cold stone floor with the other.

I muttered the words, wavering until I saw the first signs of success. My confidence grew, each word louder than the first until I poured all my conviction into every syllable. Dane recognized the words and joined in, still trying to beat his way out of the mob attacking him. Our combined voices raised above the sounds of fighting and demon cries. At least a dozen of the lesser demons evaporated, banished back to the pits of Hell they'd crawled from. A major dent in our enemy's ranks, but we were still outnumbered.

"It was a trap, they were expecting you. And we walked right into it." Dane finally managed to work his way back to me through the thinned crowd.

"Not entirely. He was prepared, expected me to show up, but they came here looking for something." I gave Dane the last mag in exchange for the two daggers he pulled out of his inner coat pocket.

"Well, if I had to guess, I'd say whatever it was, they found it." He slammed the mag home as we backed up into the corner, cutting off the attacks from every direction except the front.

"Where'd you get these?" The daggers, perfectly balanced and razor sharp, looked an awful lot like my hunter tattoo.

"I had them made."

I'd ask him where and how he'd known later. There wasn't time to discuss swordsmiths or gush over the sentiment of the gesture when a gang of demons was pressing down on you. I slashed out, peeling through the skin of the creature closest. Black tar like blood bubbled out of the wound, dropping to the floor with an acidic hiss and burning a hole in my boot. This one needed to go down before he melted a hole clean through me. I stabbed it in the temple and twisted the dagger back and forth, drilling further into its brain. It finally dropped to the ground and I sent up another prayer, this time for Dane and me to walk out of the desecrated church alive.

Dane reached into his handy trench coat again, pulling out a glass vial. He pulled the cork stopper free with his teeth and shook the contents, which I assumed were holy water, onto the demons closest to him. Weakened by the water, our weapons became more effective. One bullet, two stabs, they dropped like flies. I hoped Dane had more than one vial in his coat pocket because we could surely use it. I almost cried out with joy when he spit out another piece of cork.

Holy water was added to my list of necessary supplies for demon hunting. I'd been ill-equipped to take on so many. Counting the lesser demons we'd banished, there were easily three times the number we'd planned for. In fact, I got the distinct impression, based on how under-armed I was, that Thomas hadn't expected anything to happen. I'd been on surveillance under the guise of a demon slaying mission.

We fought for what felt like hours, backs against the walls, killing one demon as another scrambled over top to take its place until the bullets ran out and a wall of dead encircled us. If it toppled in the wrong direction, we'd be buried beneath close to two dozen rapidly decomposing corpses, the stench of which made me gag. Dane kicked hard, causing the barrier of bodies to collapse, spilling out into the direction away from us. He climbed over the heap of mushy demon parts first, helping me over once he'd gotten solid footing.

Exhausted, I stopped to catch my breath and do a quick triage. A more thorough assessment and treatment of our wounds—and there were plenty—would have to wait until we got somewhere safe. Because, much to my disbelief, an abandoned church proved to be one-hundred percent not safe. Between the two of us, we had multiple lacerations, some which required stitching, too many contusions to count, and a possible broken nose.

We stumbled out of the church, battered and bruised, gulping fresh air, just thankful to be alive and poison-free.

"It's communion wine, but it'll do in a pinch." Dane handed me a small flask after taking a swig himself.

"So… what now?" I shivered as the sweet alcohol made its way down without out any of the delicious burn I enjoyed after a shot of Fireball and handed the flask back to him.

"You're the hunter. You tell me. This is way outside of my job description. I'm a loophole into Heaven. Sending demons back to Hell? That's your gig."

I caught the smile in his eyes as he took another pull of the wine. We made a good team, managing to fight our way out of that church when it didn't seem possible. We were in two totally different lines of work, but it didn’t matter. He wasn't going anywhere. He'd been following me all over Baltimore, he'd follow me down this path as well. The comfort that knowledge provided caught me off guard.

"I'm not really sure. I need to talk to Thomas or Tobias." I added my other mentor's name when jealousy briefly flashed in Dane's eyes. He remained convinced my angel, or as he thought of him, his competition, had been the driving wedge between us. "We need to know what they took from the church and why. First things first, though, we need some place to get stitched up. We’re not going to get very far looking like this"

"I know someone. Come on. We're going to have to hoof it, but it's not far to Rob's place." Dane led the way, which was fine with me since I didn't have any friends with medical degrees.