Bound by Revenge (Guardian Series) (2 page)

Vance shoved her lightly away from him.

“You pretending you’re innocent in this?” Sam snapped her head towards Vance and stared at him, trying to ignore the unnatural attraction she always felt when around him and keep in mind how evil the demons really were.

“I’m not pretending anything. Morgan flat out told you I wasn’t there. I didn’t know anything about this.” He brushed off the front of his shirt where Morgan had been leaning. “Have you ever seen me do anything like this? I’m damn good at my job.”

“You’re right. I’ve never seen you do this. But Morgan also just clued me in on the simple idea that I don’t always know what’s going on with you guys. And the fact that you were off fucking some girlie when Morgan was shattering every rule in the book doesn’t make me want to run up and kiss you for your loyalty to the job, mister.”

“Feisty, I like that.” Vance eased out of his chair and rested his hand on the metal bar along the foot of the bed and lightly stroked it as he walked around the end until he stood right in front of Sam.

“Now I’m getting uncomfortable.” Matt stepped in between Sam and Vance. “Are you hitting on my girl?” He poked Vance hard in the chest and stared him straight in the eyes.

Vance and Morgan burst into a riotous laughter that had no place at such a somber occasion.

“He’d never hit on her. He’s got me.” Morgan scampered over to Vance and slid between the two men.

“But there’s something about the challenge that’s hard to resist.” Vance whispered in Morgan’s ear loud enough for everyone to hear, resulting in Morgan’s elbow being buried in his solar plexus.

“Watch it, Vancey. You don’t wanna piss me off.” Morgan smirked as Vance doubled over.

“This is probably the weirdest conversation I’ve ever had.” Matt started. “There’s something else going on here, right? Because why else would you all be so concerned with each other?”

“It’s nothing to worry about honey.” Sam rubbed Matt’s chest with the palm of her hand. “I just need you to remember what your father asked of you and do the right thing here.”

Matt opened his mouth to respond but before he had the chance there was another knock on the door.

“He’s back already. I know what I’m gonna do.” Matt took the short walk to the door to let the doctor back in.

“What’s your decision?” Bradley asked as he approached the bed.

“Do it today. If he can survive off the machinery he’s meant to live, if he can’t then he’s meant to die.” Matt signed the paperwork that Bradley held up to him and then walked out the door.

The others jogged out after him, leaving Bradley in the room alone except for the barely alive multi-millionaire who happened to own one of the largest bio-medical facilities on the continent. The man who owned the patents to the kind of things that could either save lives or end them by the thousands. And it was Bradley’s job to finish him off and leave the boy, Matthew, to decide what to do with the business.

Sam caught up with Matt at the bottom of the stairs with Vance and Morgan practically flat-tiring her shoes.

“You’re not gonna stay and see?” Sam tried to grab Matt’s hand to pull him back upstairs.

“I don’t have to. He’s not there; he hasn’t been for quite a while.” Matt ripped his arm away from Sam and headed for the front door.

“So you’re just assuming he’s dead?” Sam stayed with him without any effort.

“Yep. I am. And I’m right. You’ll find out soon enough. My magic little box here will ring any second letting me know.” Matt held up his cell phone and waved it around in front of Sam’s nose.

And, not to disappoint, just as he was about to shove it into his back pocket the thing started vibrating.

He raised his eyebrows at Sam and pressed a button on the screen.

“Yello. Uh-huh. I understand. I’ve got everything in place. The lawyer will let you know what to do.”

“So I’m taking it you were right?” Sam pulled him into her arms to embrace him so he could let go if he wanted.

But he didn’t. He nipped at her neck as soon as he got close enough and she pushed him away.

“You’re not upset?” She asked, rubbing her neck.

“No. Are you kidding me? I thought I was rich before. Now I’m gonna have more money than I could ever spend.”

Morgan jumped up and down and ran into his arms.

“So you decided to sell?” Morgan squealed.

“Of course. I already signed the papers. We just need to let the lawyers do the rest. As soon as the estate is settled, I’m gonna be free of all this crap.”

He spun Morgan around in a little dance and released her to Vance before reaching out to Sam.

Sam jerked her body out of reach and stormed off, leaving Matt to celebrate his newfound treasure with the demons.

She took one last look back at the group, just in case Matt had even a little bit of guilt-ridden regret and changed his mind.

He wasn’t even looking in her direction. He was just flopping around in excitement with Morgan. Vance, on the other hand, stared at her intently and took no part in the completely inappropriate celebration.

Sam sighed and strolled away. It was always hard to lose a mission. It was especially hard to lose one this important. And Morgan’s underhanded tactics were impossible to forget. How was she ever supposed to beat the demons if they refused to follow the rules?

But, more to the point, there were going to be some terrible consequences to this loss. A lot of lives would be at stake and there was nothing she could do to stop it. And as long as Morgan was free to do whatever she wanted to get the job done, it would only get worse. More lives would be lost around every corner.

Bradley watched the whole scene from the window of Matt’s father’s room. He made the call before the man’s heart even stopped, just so he could watch it all pan out.

This group was the best out there right now. They were the strongest and the most skillful. The ideal scenario would bring the whole team in at once, and he was hoping that what he’d heard about Morgan wasn’t true. But right before his eyes, the events unfolded. And she was everything he’d heard and more. She had no place on his team. Never would.

So he’d have to bring in Vance and Sam without her. It wouldn’t be easy. It never was, breaking up a team. But when the time came, he didn’t have any other choice. He needed every hand he could. The fight was slowly careening out of control and he needed to have a solid plan.

Chapter One

The train station was empty except for a woman, half asleep behind her glass enclosed counter and an elderly man dragging a broom around in what had to be the least effective way of sweeping that Sam could imagine. The click of her high heeled shoes echoed through the large open room as she made her way outside to the dark city. The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon to welcome Sam to her new life.

There was a small cab stand just outside of the station’s front exit, making getting transport across town much easier than she had expected when she first stepped out into the seemingly abandoned neighborhood. Bright yellow taxis were lined up in front of the building and the smell of oil permeated the air as she walked closer to the road. The group of male drivers all but ran each other down trying to coax Sam to select them and their formidable coach.

Out of nothing more than convenience, she chose the first car in the line. The cabbie tried to draw Sam into conversation but her moody demeanor and curt responses shut him down quickly, leaving him to spend the rest of the short drive in silence, rejected.

“Just let me out here.” She ordered, pointing to a patch of trees right before where the main road ran perpendicular across their path.

Sam didn’t want to just pull into the driveway and barge in. She wanted to study the neighborhood to get the full picture before she approached Abby. This was the point of no return.

Sam walked slowly from the side street across the damp grass. The bitter taste of chlorophyll burned her tongue as she accidentally kicked free some of the freshly cut grass from its blanket over the ground.

Sam cautiously crossed over the patio and up the three wooden steps onto the deck, taking note of the creaking wood shifting under her feet. She felt oddly comforted that even the house seemed slightly uneasy with her arrival. With one final breath to prepare herself, she rapped her knuckles firmly on the sliding glass door.

The day Bradley called, Sam was just finishing up with her last charge and she was getting ready to slip out of town to find somewhere else to provide her services. She’d been doing this for almost five hundred years, now. In fact, her birthday was just around the corner. And in all that time, nothing really changed.

Sam was one of the thousands of angels bound to the earth, while her brethren maintained the sanctuary above. Her whole life was dedicated to maintaining the balance of good and evil by working alongside demons to influence humanity.

There was only one species on earth that could pull her from that role, the guardians.

She almost didn’t believe it when her cell phone rang and the deep, rich voice on the other end explained his agenda. She had always heard stories of the great guardians and their battles to save the world. To think she could become a part of it wasn’t something she’d imagined since the days of her childhood spent in sanctuary.

The stories had been like fairy tales for the young angels. She clearly remembered her favorite, the one she had begged to hear over and over when she was still too young and inexperienced to come to earth to interact with the humans. It was the tale of a young female guardian who infiltrated a group of rogue demon soldiers. She fell in love with one of their lieutenants and he fell head-over-heels, stumbling, madly in love with her.

He shared all of his secrets with the guardian, battle plans being the most significant betrayal to his kind. But simply through their love, they were able to save hundreds of lives.

The guardian calmed the leader and prevented him from attacking any humans through her gentle influence.

While living among the demons, she gathered information about anyone who was willing to betray their leader’s orders for peace and she used that knowledge to dispel threats and make an ambush on the humans or guardians impossible in order to leave both groups to live in peace.

The story was the best possible proof that there could be love and happiness in an immortal life and more than anything else, it demonstrated for Sam the true power of love.

The tale came with various morals, depending on the raconteur: to keep an open mind, to use any means to accomplish their goal, that nothing was off limits. Sam drew her own conclusions, though.

When the voice on the other end of the line revealed his identity, Sam’s body flushed with the emotions the old tale always brought up.

“I’m rebuilding the team and I want you to join us.” Bradley’s voice rumbled through the phone. “I’ve been searching for quite some time now, and we can’t really wait any longer. There’s a significant threat to the humans. How soon can you be here?” He waited for Sam to respond, even though they both knew no immortal would turn down the request.

“I’m on my way.” Sam hung up the phone and stood stunned for a solid hour before collecting her things to head to Ruthers.

She called him again when she got close to town and he provided her with a background story and this address.

“Everything else will fall into place as long as you do what I tell you.” He told her.

Without much of a wait, Sam stood face to face with her newest charge, just separated by the thin glass pane.

Well, Abby wasn’t exactly her charge. But that’s how Sam was determined to treat her until she knew that the woman could stand on her own without requiring the angel’s protection.