The Lost Soul Trilogy (Primani Book 5) (65 page)

“Shit.”

“Yep.”

I patted the bed and he angrily dismissed the invite in favor of pacing and swearing in a variety of languages. I think I caught Latin and possibly Gaelic in the stream of words coming out of his mouth. Was that French? Finally, I gave up and burst out laughing. He paused in mid-pace and gawked at me like I’d lost my mind.

“What’s funny? I don’t see anything funny about the possibility of zombies in Detroit!”

That reminded of the movie “Shawn of the Dead” and I dissolved into fresh giggles. It was perfect! Sean would be here to fight zombies…his accent wasn’t quite British, but it was close…

“You’ve lost your mind, haven’t you?” Killian frowned over me like the warrior angel he was. The glower was wasted on me and I pulled him down to the bed and kissed him until he gave up scowling and his eyes burned with something other than fury.

“Now, isn’t that better?” I asked with my lips pressed against his throat. Nuzzling his neck, I moved to his ear and purred, “Don’t look now, but your blade is happy to see me.”

Startled, he stared at the subtly glowing golden blade. Turning away from me, he fingered the stone with eyes lowered in concentration. Fascinated, I watched as the tiny red stone burned hotly in the haft. His seductive mouth moved in silence as he murmured the words to see what the blade would show him. I couldn’t help myself; I wanted badly to kiss his full lower lip right where it curled naturally into a smile. Instead, I showed great restraint and contented myself with remembering how it felt against my own. Damn zombies were ruining my love life!

He hopped up with clear eyes and said, “Got it! Let’s go.”

“Wait! Where are we going?”

“Manhattan. Come on, get moving. If we leave now, we can be there in a day. Sean can check out the zombie rumors here. I’ve got a line on
Sgaine Dutre
. That’s more important.” He was pacing again with an eagerness that was just a little insulting.

Mentally, I was wiped. I was
not
in the mood to drive 15 hours to Manhattan tonight. Knowing he was reasonable, usually, I suggested, “You’re right, of course. But would it hurt for us to finish our job here first? At the very least, I need a night’s sleep. I’m not Primani…I need real sleep.” Shameless, I batted my eyes at him and yawned hugely.

Stopping only to roll his eyes at my theatrics, he reluctantly agreed, “You have a good point. You’re still human and need rest. I forget that sometimes.” He trailed a finger down my cheek leaving a trail of heat behind. I closed my eyes at the pleasure of it and he kissed me softly. “Maybe you should get some sleep?”

I wound my arms around him and teased, “I can’t sleep now. Look, my runes are glowing!”

“What am I going to do with you?”

“How about you make the rest of me glow and then let me kill a bunch of demons tomorrow? It’ll be the perfect vacation.”

The next morning, I stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a fluffy white towel and nearly dropped it in surprise. Flushing with embarrassment, I hissed, “What are you doing in here?” The towel felt entirely too small and I clutched it tighter.

Sean’s eyes traveled lazily over me and rested coldly on my flushed face. “Nice to see you, too.” He waved a hand over my practically-naked appearance. “Were you expecting someone else?”

Letting my annoyance show, I said shortly, “
Killian
left me alone so I could get dressed privately. Again, why are you here?” I tapped my foot.

He was standing between me and my clothes and he knew it. The self-satisfied smirk on his face made me want to punch him.

In one fluid motion, he was standing an inch away from me, so close his jeans brushed my bare thighs. Looking down into my face, he sneered at my surprise.

“What? No proper welcome?”

“Back off, Sean!”

He didn’t move but arrogantly looked into my eyes for answers. I threw up shutters and closed him out. He had no rights to my head anymore.

“Intimidation is beneath you. It’s sad that you’d stoop this low.”

Growling low in his throat, he spun away from me and put some space between us. “Get dressed so we can leave,” he ordered rudely. His eyes roved over the beds and noticed that only one bed had been slept in. He glared at me and added, “Already? You make me sick.”

“Get out of the way so I can get my clothes, you prick!” I was sick of him.

Grabbing me by the arm, he snarled, “You better watch your filthy mouth!”

Yanking my arm back, I hissed, “I’m not an angel! I’ll say what I want! Now get out!”

He stalked out of the room and slammed the door. Trembling with anger and something less tangible, I sat down and took several deep breaths. His anger was tearing me up inside. I got it. He was furious with me. It seemed a little long to hold a grudge though. We'd broken up months ago.

This was his choice, for crying out loud.

He left
me
!

What was he still mad at me about? I’m the one who should be furious. And the little voice in my head reminded me that deep down, I
was
still furious with him.

A few minutes later I was dressed and dreading spending any time with Sean. Where was Killian anyway? I stuffed my things into my backpack and a note fell off the table. It was from Killian.

Mica, I have to do some recon ahead of our surveillance. I’ll get in touch with you later. Sean will be there to go with you. I’m counting on you to stay focused. You can yell at me later! Careful and smart, got it?

K.

I held the note to my chest and breathed a little easier. He’d left a note. That was so much better than just leaving with no words at all. I wasn't afraid to admit I had serious abandonment issues at the moment.

“Are you ready to leave yet?” Sean’s sarcastic question came from the doorway. He’d let himself in, again.

“Let’s get something straight. You don’t have the right to just rematerialize wherever I’m at. You lost those privileges when you left me. Don’t do it again or I might not be so friendly.”

With that warning, I swept past him to the elevators. He kept up easily and scowled at me the entire way to the lobby. I forced myself to get the complimentary breakfast because I needed the fuel. My gut was squirming from the tension so I settled for toast and fruit. Sean sat next to me tapping impatiently on the table top. His eyes scanned the room and returned to glare at me while I sipped coffee.

Halfway through my toast, a woman dressed for business walked into the room. She was very pretty with her shining blond hair falling to the middle of her back. Dressed in a short black skirt and sky blue silk blouse, she was the poster child for sexy American businesswomen everywhere. Her almond-shaped brown eyes lingered on Sean as she passed our table. His eyes followed her with amused interest. She hesitated and smiled over her shoulder at him. He followed her into the serving area while I finished my breakfast. The low rumble of his laughter floated above the decorative half-wall.

What did I care?  I had Killian to curl up with. The image of that brought some healthy color to my cheeks and a sappy grin I had to smother. I glanced at my watch. It was time to go so I walked out. He could catch up. Once in the parking lot, I fished out the truck keys and Sean snatched them out of my hand and commandeered the driver’s seat. Fuming mutely, I climbed into the passenger seat and slammed the door.

“Where to?” Sean demanded.

I gave him a dirty look and turned on the GPS. The nice British woman had all the directions he’d need. I wasn’t speaking to him any more than absolutely necessary. Folding my arms over my chest, I struggled to do several things at once. First, I had to get my emotions under control and hide my stress from him. He was stressing me out and my heart was pounding loudly in my chest. Probably he could hear it, if not actually feel the vibrations. He didn’t deserve the satisfaction of knowing he affected me. Second, I had to get focused on this op. My thoughts were scattered and I didn’t remember what I was supposed to be doing…Killian’s counting on me…focus, focus…

Taking slow, deep breaths, I reeled in my ricocheting thoughts. The mission was to stake out an office that was supposedly a front for Dagin’s operations. He supposedly experimented here and created some kind of zombie. Rumor had it the lab was still active. We needed to find proof of demon activity and kill off any zombies we might find. Killing demons was authorized too. Thank you, Alex!

The neighborhood we entered was run-down and scary. Most buildings didn’t have windows; they were smashed out. Any windows that were still intact were covered by bars. Nearly everything was spray painted with graffiti. Garbage littered the sidewalks and weeds overflowed in the tiny green spaces. Like sentries, men lounged against stoops and street signs. All eyes followed us as Sean navigated the streets. If I wasn’t armed to the teeth and accompanied by my very own Primani, I wouldn’t be caught dead in this place. Ignoring said Primani, I checked my weapons again. The silencer remained on the Sig and I tightened it. My backup was loaded and in its holster. Both of my knives were strapped on and the pepper spray hung from my belt. My boots were laced up tight and my hair was braided into a knot on the back of my head. I wore faded jeans and a band t-shirt that had ‘Encore!’ printed across my boobs. It was hot and sticky already and I fanned myself idly with the
Cosmo
I’d stuffed under the seat.

This day was going to suck.

Without even glancing at me, Sean grunted, “This it?”

He had slowed down near a three-story concrete and glass office building that had seen better days a century ago. Its concrete was chipping off in chunks and stained with rust and mold. The building lumbered above the row houses that drooped sadly against the asphalt streets. They were low squat buildings with covered front porches. Some were duplexes and some were still single-family homes. All had a decayed look about them that screamed for demolition. Two of the address numbers on the office building were broken off, but it seemed to be the right address. Driving past and then turning around, he parked along the street near a grey house whose covered porch was partially collapsed onto the tiny yard. The chain link fence tilted drunkenly along the front sidewalk. The summer rains had been plentiful and weeds grew two feet high. Yellow pollen floated in the stagnant humid air. Sean sneezed and rubbed his nose with the back of his hand.

Settling in to wait, I got comfortable and peered interestedly at the building. An hour or so later, I spotted two men getting out of a car parked at the curb. Carefully pulling out my camera, I snapped the stills and waited. They were humans…short hair, glasses, satchels…scientists? Not sure, I made a note and took a small sip of water. If they were scientists, it reasoned that the lab was still active. I sent a text to Killian’s phone.

Sean watched my every move. “You’ve done this before?”

“Yep.”

Two more hours went by with no movement at all. Stakeouts suck. My butt ached and I shifted in the seat. I needed to pee but would never admit it. Instead, I sunk a bit lower and stretched as much as I could. My eye caught a hint of motion and I used my peripheral vision to watch a demon exit boldly from a Cadillac Escalade that pulled up across from us. He stared right at us and said something to his partner. Both took a step in our direction and Sean reacted automatically to protect our cover. Playing the obnoxious boyfriend, he yanked me across the console and kissed me hard enough to grind my teeth against my lips. I struggled to pull away but his hands were like steel bands and he laughed against my mouth.

He stopped laughing when I bit him.

“You bastard!” I hissed. My vision went white around the edges and he eyed me warily.

The demon studied us for another minute and took a step our direction. His hand disappeared inside his jacket. Uh-oh.

“Sorry…” I murmured to Sean right before I slapped him hard enough to rock his head back, screaming for our audience, “I hate you! Don’t touch me!”

The demon paused and elbowed his partner. They just loved pain and chaos…Sean wasn’t playing the game now and his eyes went flat. The white handprint filled in with brilliant red and shined like a beacon on his face.

Wrenching my wrist, he snarled loudly at me, “You ever do that again, I’ll break your fucking hand.”

I morphed into Ghetto Girl, screaming obscenities at him. Letting loose with some colorful descriptions of his manhood, I piled on the drama until our demon shrugged and turned away. After making sure he went inside, Sean jammed the truck into gear and squealed off down the street.

“You bitch! You fucking hit me!”

“Don’t call me a bitch! I was protecting our cover! And you split my lip.” I ran my tongue around the inside of my mouth and felt a bleeding cut on the inside of my upper lip. The taste of blood made me wrinkle my nose. “I’m bleeding! You’re such a dick!”

My phone buzzed. It was Killian. “Hey.”

“You sound like hell. Where are you?”

“We’re taking a break. Did you find what you needed?”

“Yes and no. Tell Sean to bring you back to the hotel.”

“Killian’s back. Take me to the hotel.”