Sentinel Lost (Mind Sweeper Series Book 5) (21 page)

Shit!
I ran down the hall, ignoring Dalton’s shouts, and slammed out of the side door before the locks clicked. I kicked off the canvas shoes I was wearing and bolted for the center, the wet, cold grass freezing my feet. But the cold didn’t stop there. It shot up my spine. What the hell was going on, and were Misha and Jason okay?

I careened around the edge of the building and skidded to a stop in the grass when I saw Jason standing out front, guarding the door.

“What’s going on?” I yelled over the alarm.

“A portal opened in the realm demon’s cell, and he got away,” he hollered back.

“Shit, his brother must have tracked him here. Why are the alarms still on?”

“Misha’s sensors are detecting energy spikes.”

The air between us wobbled like gelatin, and my stomach bottomed out.
Not again.
Jason pulled his gun and fired at the demon twins as they emerged from the portal, hitting one in the arm. The demon screamed and scurried backward. The other demon reached for me, but invisible hands grabbed me first and carried me on a wave of speed, away from the portal and across the grass. Jason fired two more shots as the portal closed around the last demon.

My stomach lurched as we came to a halt. “I could kiss you, Jea…” Except I didn’t finish my sentence because Jean Luc ran past me with Misha following close behind.

A feminine chuckle sounded behind me. “You might not want to kiss me, Kyle, it would overly excite the menfolk.”

“Talia?” I squeaked. “Oh, jeeezzz. I thought—”

“Not surprising. Jean Luc does have a tendency to save the day a lot.”

“Thank you.”

She set me down, and while we walked back over to the building, the alarms finally stopped.

Jean Luc took a step toward us, his pupils flickering red. “Are you both okay?”

Talia rested her hand on his arm. “We’re fine.”

“How did the other twin find his brother?” I asked. “Some freakish demon twin connection?”

Misha scowled. “That would take a lot of power. The better question is why would they risk appearing again after they’d already escaped?”

“Because they tried to grab Kyle,” Jason said.

All four of them stared at me for a moment, while I tried not to squirm. “What?”

“Do you have any idea why they were after you?” Jean Luc asked.

“No. But when Dalton and I were in the demon realm, one of the twins tried to grab me there, too.”

“Why didn’t you say anything about this earlier?” Misha asked.

“For two reasons. One, I didn’t want Griffin to freak out. And two, I didn’t know if they were grabbing me because they wanted to use my power, or if they could maybe sense something else in me.”

Talia’s eyes widened. “The Key.”

“Right. How do we know what the realm demons might sense that we can’t? Since I was relating the story to a room full of people, some of whom don’t know about the Key, I didn’t think it was wise to mention it then.”

Misha nodded. “Jason, Jean Luc, and I will check the perimeter as soon as Doc gets here. I called her a few minutes ago.”

“I’m fine.”

“She’s coming over to check on one of the clan guards who was banged up a bit when the demons escaped.

“She’s locked in,” I argued.

“Once the alarms stopped, the buildings came off lockdown,” Misha explained.

I smacked my thigh with my palm. “Damn. I should have stayed and questioned him earlier.”

Jean Luc pinned me with his stare. “Which means you would have been in the room when they escaped the first time. No one would have been there to stop them from taking you. My heart is old,
ma petite
, and you have been testing it quite frequently lately.”

I chuckled. “Your heart could stop beating, and you would still be here to grouse at me.”

“And you are lucky for it.”

“I’m not sure we would have gotten much from the realm demon anyway,” Jason added. “Especially since he was biding his time until his brother could find him.”

“What else did you get from Eli?” I asked.

Misha answered. “Some names of minor players and the process he follows to set up most of the portal jumps. That should help the demon council shut down the trafficking here in Cleveland, at least.”

“When do we go talk to Sylvia Reynolds?”

Jean Luc frowned. “I think we should regroup as a team tomorrow and plan our next steps. We do not need to charge over there tonight.”

I sighed. “There will be no charging from me. I’m more than done today.”

I jumped slightly when I noticed Doc next to me with her medical bag in hand. She was one stealthy demon.

“I’m glad to hear it, Kyle. I was going to suggest you call it a night but was afraid you would fight me on it.”

“Dalton’s not with you?”

“He tried to come, but he almost took a header when he stood up. I ordered some food for him and promised someone would be over to report in ASAP.” She grinned at me. “He was especially irritated when you took off.”

Pissed was more like it. “You guys can fill in
Mon Capitan
. I don’t think I should try to deal with him right now. I’m going home.”

“What if the demons come after you again?” Jean Luc asked.

I shook my head. “I should be safe for now, Jean Luc. They don’t know where I live, and Jason winged the one. They’ll need to lie low for a while.”

He opened his mouth to protest, but I held up my hand. “Please don’t. I can’t live like I did last summer, afraid of my own shadow. I’m taking Stanley with me and calling it a night.”

Chapter 26

I dragged myself up the stairs to my apartment, fumbling with my keys. Bath, ice cream, bed. Bath, ice cream, bed. My mantra for the evening—well, technically the middle of the night. But my bed was calling ever so loudly, which made me rethink things. I could eat my ice cream while I was in my bath. That would shorten the timeframe between wakey-time and REM.

Two steps into my apartment and a voice called through my door.

“
Knock, knock
.”

My plan had just been blown to hell.

I laid my forehead against the doorjamb. “What do you want?”

“Aren’t you going to open the door and see who it is?”

“I know it’s you, Marie. I recognize your voice, and everyone else actually knocks.”

A disgusted huff sounded. “I can’t knock, Kyle. I’m a ghost, remember?”

“I remember. You’re the one who keeps hanging around on earth. Isn’t there some resort cloud you could be chilling out on instead?”

Marie floated through the door and brushed my shoulder, sending cold shivers along my skin. She turned, placed her hands on her hips and glared at me. “Where have you been? I couldn’t sense you earlier.”

“Dalton and I were in the demon realm.”

Marie gaped. “What? Where’s Joe now?”

“Your grandson is fine. Got a little sick in the realm, but he’s bouncing back. Doc is watching over him.”

“How in the world did you let yourself get sucked into a demon realm?”

“The case we’re working involves demons traveling from the realm illegally. We set up a sting, and it went south.”

“South is Miami Beach, Kyle. You ended up in a
demon realm
.”

“We’re getting closer to figuring out what’s going on. Once we do, Dalton will return to Chicago.”

“Is that what you want?” Marie asked.

The words stuck in my throat like a piece of hard candy, choking me. “I want him to be happy, and from the way he’s been acting, he’s not happy.”

She frowned at me. “Maybe he’s not happy because he’s away from you.”

“Don’t, Marie. We’re not doing this again. He doesn’t remember me. He doesn’t like me, and I can’t risk that he might remember his torture. He barely made it through the last time. I’m sorry, but you have to leave now. I have to get some sleep.”

“Kyle—”

“Later, okay?” I must have had a pathetic look on my face, because she faded away, leaving behind the smell of roses.

I blew out a breath and headed for the bathroom when someone knocked. I stomped back to the door, jerked it open, and hissed. “Cut it out!”

Except it wasn’t Marie standing in the door. And if I’d thought about it for a second, I would have remembered that Marie,
duh
, couldn’t knock.

Griffin stared back at me, eyebrow raised.

“Sorry, I thought you were someone else.” I stepped back and let him in.

His stared at me hard. He didn’t speak, but his eyes pierced me, as if he was attempting to reach inside my brain to discern the truth. My throat tightened as the silence stretched on. He ran his fingers through his hair.

“Forgive me for showing up without calling. I needed to be sure you’re all right.”

“I’m okay.”

Griffin walked further into my living room, running his hand over a stack of books. It was my mystery stack. He picked up the top book and flipped it open.

He was scaring me. He was avoiding eye contact, and he’d avoided touching me. Not Griffin’s style. My stomach twisted.

“Tell me what’s wrong, Griffin.”

He glanced up at me, and for a moment, I wished he had kept avoiding me. His eyes flashed amber, sharp sparks of fire that seemed to burn me. I was not going to like this conversation at all. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

Waiting for his words was slow torture.

“You’re breaking it off with me,” I blurted. I couldn’t stop myself. Maybe if I threw the words out there in the ozone, ripped off the Band-Aid so to speak, it wouldn’t hurt so much. Or maybe he would tell me how ridiculous I was being.

But he didn’t. Instead, he dropped the book and came closer to me. My instinct was to step back, to turn away from him. But I wouldn’t do that. I couldn’t do that to him or to me.

“The first time I saw you sitting in the tree house with Trina, I wanted you. I knew you were dangerous for me. But back then you were with Joe, so I didn’t pursue you. Then you were alone, and my alarms were going off telling me to stay away, but I couldn’t.” He stopped for a moment as if to gather his thoughts.

“The biggest risk in starting a relationship with you wasn’t because you’re human. It’s because you were still in love with someone else. Someone who was no longer available to you. If he had died, you could have eventually moved on and let him go. But this? This terrible limbo state you live in was—is—torture.

“Your passion is what attracted me to you in the first place, Kyle. It takes a lot for someone to gain your trust. And to gain your love? That is the ultimate prize. I took the risk, and I’m happy I had my time with you. But I can’t be your consolation prize.”

I opened my mouth to argue, and he held up his hands.

“I know you don’t think that way. But I can sense your emotions when you’re around him. They are volatile and soul-driven. I can’t compete with that.”

“Do I get to talk now?”

He nodded.

“I won’t lie to you. I love Dalton. There is a part of me that will always love Dalton. And I haven’t been able to fully let him go.” I swallowed. “When I lost him, in typical Kyle fashion I ran away. From everyone and everything who meant anything to me. I ran, because it was easier than facing the truth. Easier than letting anyone else help me. I decided I’d rather be by myself than allow anyone else to hurt me. But then you came along. Let me tell you what you did for me.”

I stared hard into his green eyes, trying not to let the tears fall, but it was a lost cause. “You made me a stronger person. You called me to the table and wouldn’t take any of my I-am-an-island bullshit. And you were right. I couldn’t have done it without you.

“It was time to grow up and move on, and I was doing that with you.” My voice wobbled, so I took a shaky breath. “But he came back. Before I had finished repairing my heart. Instead, he ripped the wound back open again. And the pathetic thing is, he doesn’t even know I love him. That he wields such power over me.

“He’s going to leave again, and I am going to have to say goodbye again. But as much as it will hurt me, I can survive it. You helped me see that I can survive it. And I love you for it.”

“But you’re not
in
love with me like you are with him.”

A sob lodged in my throat, and I had to clear it before I could continue. “No.” I grabbed his hand. “But I have
never
thought of you as a consolation prize, and if I ever gave you that impression, I beg you to forgive me. And you know me well enough to know I don’t beg.”

He swiped his thumbs along my cheeks, brushing away my tears. Then he leaned and ran his lips lightly over my eyelids the way he had the first time we kissed. The way he’d greeted me every time since then. It seemed an appropriate way to say goodbye. An aloha kiss.

“You have never made me feel anything but special, Kyle.”

His last words echoed in my head long after he left.

Chapter 27

Talia and Doc barged into my apartment while I lay like a lump on the couch. They were on their way down the hall before I spoke to get their attention.