Domiel (7 page)

Where the hell had that thought come from? Her sexual encounters were much different from his fantasy about her. Lately sex was all about booze and bloodsucking. Maybe that was why she was becoming obsessed by the image of Domiel holding her so close in his dream. Tenderness was foreign to her.

She shot to her feet and brushed past him. She normally didn’t fantasize about anyone. But with him … she was beginning to even care what he thought about her. Not good. Too soon they would face off if her time ran out and she wasn’t ready to go back. Hell, she wasn’t even sure she could clear her name in the small amount of time he’d given her. When that time ended, she’d either run or be forced to kill him. Not exactly a good way to start off a relationship.

She shut the bathroom door and leaned against it, glad to have a moment to herself. She didn’t have time for this kind of thinking, but she couldn’t stop it. The thoughts made her realize that he’d never answered her previous question from the night before, and though she was glad for the reprieve from his presence, she found she wanted to know what he thought.

“Domiel?” she called out from the bathroom.

“Yeah?”

His voice was close, just on the other side of the door. She wanted to see his face when he answered, so she opened the door. “Do you think I’m guilty?”

He took a deep breath and leaned against the wall. “I think normally you’re quiet. Graceful. Beautiful and breathtaking. You’re loyal to your friends, and you do what’s asked of you. But more than anything, you do whatever it takes to get the job done. I’m thinking you get that from Alexia. Don’t forget that I saw you jump out of a speeding vehicle right after you hijacked a plane and hotwired a car, all to escape the Alliance. That doesn’t scream innocent to me.”

His words did what everything else she’d been through in the last few hours could not. Lexie told her that she was a target of the Alliance—an organization filled with the oldest and most lethally trained immortals in existence. And Kelsey had been an assassin in the Alliance long enough to comprehend one important fact.

No one escaped the Alliance.

Well, fuck that shit. The Alliance was being played. The incubus was setting her up, and apparently he was doing a damn good job of it. Now she had to figure out
how
he was doing it.

She took her clothes off and started the shower. Once in, she lay down in the tub as though she were having a bath, the cold porcelain chilling her.

She closed her eyes and did something she should have done from the very beginning. Though she believed the demon was the one framing her, there were a few individuals she could check out, enemies she’d made along the journey of life. The demonic terror that haunted her dreams was number one on her list, though she had to look at every angle and every enemy she had. A few vampires hadn’t appreciated her hand in delivering Alliance force when she’d assassinated their friends or family. She needed any clues she could get.

For Ambrose’s sake, she hoped he was sitting down.

* * * *

Kelsey had been silent for so long, Domiel had no idea of what she was doing. She could be connecting with Alexia, or committing the crimes she claimed she was innocent of, all under the guise of taking a shower. He’d given her forty-eight hours to clear her name, so he couldn’t exactly fault her for the way she used the time. But he couldn’t turn a blind eye, either.

He pounded on the bathroom door, knowing he was a putz for allowing this to happen.
Kelsey has a way about her once you get to know her…

After a few seconds the door flew open and she pushed past him in a towel. “What do you want, rookie?”

He followed her into the master bedroom. “What were you doing?”

She tossed the towel to the floor and kept her back to him. “I connected to Ambrose.”

Jesus, she had a nice ass. Her curves were deadly in themselves, never mind her skill. His dick hardened, and he fought his more carnal urges. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Is that all you did?”

“Don’t believe me? Like I give a shit.”

Oh, she gave a shit all right. His eyes popped open when something hit him in the chest. A hanger. Kelsey yanked a pair of black pants on, jamming her legs through. She did a little jump to get the material over her hips and buttoned them. She’d gone commando…

He shook his head and cleared his throat. “What did he say?” Couldn’t have been anything good. Not after the way Ambrose had acted back at Headquarters before Domiel had left, and especially not if he took into account her mood.

She turned to him and her breath caught, her mouth opened slightly, but she didn’t say anything. She was doing her damnedest to keep it together, keeping all the emotions he seemed void of bottled inside. “Kelsey…”

Her hands tightened around the black shirt in her hands. “He said demons in Paris are committing suicide while under a trance of some sort. One of them fought the power that held them, and my name came up.” She took a deep breath and met his stare. “Ambrose believes I’m using my power to kill innocents. He said if I failed to surrender within the hour, he was going to send in the heads of the Alliance.”

“Listen, get dressed and we’ll talk—”

“I’m a mark, Domiel. A
hit
. You’re not tasked with bringing me back any longer. You’re tasked with my
assassination
.”

His cell. Ambrose had likely tried to call him and this new twist in his mission sat in his voicemail box. Why else would he send in the heads of the Alliance? Domiel hadn’t come back with her and hadn’t contacted Headquarters.

Domiel couldn’t fathom assassinating Kelsey. Not after what she’d gone through.

Her head dropped and she stared at the floor, looking so lost it nearly broke his heart. He wanted to take her in his arms and comfort her, but knew better.

“There’s a … demon … who enters my dreams.”

He had a feeling this was the first time she’d been completely honest with him. All barriers had been blown aside by her finally accepting that the Alliance was deadly serious in their pursuit. “What is this demon’s name?”

“He never told me his name. Right after … I first met him when I was human. Hell, he’s the reason I’m a vampire. After I was turned he disappeared, and I searched for him for years but came up with nothing. Finally, after centuries, he came to me during my possession. I think he’s the one framing me.”

“Demon? It takes a vampire to create another.”

“The vampire fed from this demon before he turned me. He … that’s what happened. At least I think that’s what happened. No … I know that’s what happened.” Kelsey tilted her head back, a distant expression on her face. “It was the worst day of my mortal life. Of my immortal life. But I’m pretty sure it’s him.”

“Why do you think this is the individual framing you?”

“Because no one else makes sense,” she whispered.

“Get dressed. I’ll be out in the living room.” He knew she’d take some time to compose herself, and he needed that time. He left her in the bedroom and used his powers to fix the phone lines. His powers were erratic, but this was a simple enough task, and he didn’t have to actually materialize anything. Just a quick fix. It took him a few tries, but desperation tended to lend its hand to success.

He took the phone outside and called Ambrose.

The conversation lasted all of two minutes.

The weight of the situation had doubled since he’d gotten off the phone. Kelsey had been correct on all accounts, only it had been different coming from Ambrose. The male had stiffly informed Domiel that he was now to assassinate Kelsey, as if Ambrose had no emotional connection to her whatsoever. As if he hadn’t known her for centuries.

If Domiel failed to carry out his mission his future within the Alliance was forfeit. Then he’d be open season for Luc, but he didn’t give a damn. He had no intention of putting his safety before Kelsey’s right now. She needed him, even if she wouldn’t admit it.

Ambrose’s lack of emotion concerned him, and at the same time that concern made him feel alive. All the emotions he thought he didn’t have seemed to be ignited by this one woman and her circumstances. For the first time in millennia he felt as though something mattered.

For the last few months he’d relished his new-found freedom. In Heaven he’d served his duty as an Angel of Souls. Death was only a different level of existence, and he’d helped souls with the transformation without thought to emotion or pain.

Taking a job with the Alliance had been easy. They weeded out the bad so that the good of their species could thrive. The fact he was an emotionless bastard would work well with his new occupation. Holding true to form, when Ambrose had given Domiel a mission that should have been devastating for him to deliver, Domiel had done his duty and took off after her, thinking he might have to do the unthinkable.

Not anymore.

Memories should have made the sentencing difficult for Ambrose. A strong bond between two people built on friendship and memories. It was the one thing Domiel ached for, and now Ambrose proved the insignificance of it with his actions.

Ambrose had told him the Alliance had concrete evidence, and Kelsey had been tried in her absence. Sven, Roger, and Ambrose—who comprised the judge and jury—had been in a meeting for hours. Her sentence had been decided upon, and Domiel’s course of action had been laid out.

And that was that.

The pictures on the wall of the vacant house mocked him, and no doubt mocked Kelsey as well. He picked one up, his thumb brushing the wood of the frame. The normality of family photos brought to the surface what he’d really yearned for when he’d fallen. He’d expected to build connections with others. To feel a common link. Only no matter how close he got to people—and he’d gotten as close as one could get—he didn’t feel that emotion that bonded people together. He loved no one.

But he felt something for Kelsey.

She’d never really spoken to him much, nor sought him out to share a meal with, but it was with her friends that she really caught his attention. She had a light about her that drew him in. She was sweet when off duty and determined when on.

He was infatuated with her. Had been for some time.

His escapades involving the other sex had been limited to activities shared between the sheets. He’d be lying to himself if he said it hadn’t been intoxicating. Sex was, without a doubt, a highly addictive form of entertainment, and yet that was all it was to him. An emotionless, seductive way to pass the time. Hell, he couldn’t remember one woman from the next.

He knew if he carried out his mission as Ambrose had instructed, Kelsey wouldn’t cease to exist. Death was only a transition. But he wasn’t ready to say good-bye. He couldn’t use his own hands to kill her physical body.

And yet Ambrose hadn’t had a problem with giving the task to end her existence to another assassin. He was also too cowardly to see to it himself. He couldn’t look her in the eye and end her life, but Domiel, who’d stared the human equivalent of death in the face countless times, was fit for the job. Or so Ambrose thought.

“I was surprised when you merely walked away. You could have had the easiest assassination in history.”

Glancing at the clock on the wall, he realized he’d lost track of time. A little over an hour had passed while he’d been on the phone and lost in thought. Domiel put the picture back on the mantle and turned. She looked nothing like she had earlier. Her blond hair hung down her back, full and shiny. Her skin was fresh and pink, which accentuated the blue of her eyes. She reminded him of the Virtues in Heaven. Their beauty and composure. But it was the sadness etched on her features that almost made him turn away. Again, something about her seemed so damned familiar, but he couldn’t place it.

“I gave you forty-eight hours. I’ll keep my word.” She had dark circles under her eyes. “You okay?”

“Migraine,” she answered simply.

Strange. Vampires didn’t get migraines. Could that demon be causing her pain somehow? There was so much she wasn’t telling him.

“They really think it’s me killing these demons. I have to admit, I thought you were right about Alexia, and maybe she’d gone a little too far, but she hadn’t. They … Ambrose really does want me dead.”

“And what are you going to do about it?” If he coddled her now she’d let go of the inner strength that made her who she was, and she could easily become dependent on his. He didn’t want to see her give up. He wanted to see her strong again.

For the first time since she’d run, she looked defeated. “I was hoping you’d just do your job, and then I wouldn’t have to think about it.”

Her simple explanation stunned him. There was something about this woman that made him care, and he’d be damned if he let that go. “What’s the first rule in the Alliance?”

Her answer was swift and without thought. “Don’t get caught doing your job with humans around.”

Clearly he had to pay more attention during training sessions. “Okay, the second.”

“Fight for the good in our species.”

“And how is your situation any different? You’ve given up before you even tried.”

She took a step toward him, her head slightly cocked to the side. “You don’t believe I’m guilty?”

This was the third time she’d asked him that question. It was obvious his response mattered to her. He couldn’t turn his back on her as Ambrose had. If he did, he’d have to come to terms that he’d fallen for nothing more than a mirage. He still wasn’t sure if he trusted her, or if he only wanted so badly to trust her. He was tired of being an emotionless bastard, and he’d be damned if he’d follow orders from a hypocrite like Ambrose. Trust meant something. Friendship meant something. That’s why those family pictures made him want to fucking weep.

He would not be the one to take her hope away from her. “More than that, Kels. I’ll help you prove it.”

The fire was back in her eyes, and damned if that didn’t please him more than it should. He had a nagging suspicion that he was making a mistake. What if her past was still locked within her and the possession had pushed her over the edge? What if she
had
done the things Ambrose accused her of? He said he had concrete evidence to prove beyond a doubt it had been her killing those demons.