The Lost Soul Trilogy (Primani Book 5) (89 page)

That was one of the reasons I was so bent out of shape. Since Killian was the only one of us who had the power to cross in and out of alternate planes on purpose, they were going to go after Aisling, but I had to stay behind with Rivin. While they searched for this alternate plane, Rivin and I were supposed to work on the leads from the lab in Switzerland. Rivin had been working on this while we were dealing with Sean and now he wanted help. Killian felt I could help him better than another Primani since I had suddenly become brilliant (not buying it!), but I didn’t want to stay with Rivin. Rivin was a jerk and I didn’t trust him. I wanted to be with Killian and Sean. But that wasn’t my assignment. Ugh! Sometimes Killian was a pain in the butt.

“Hey,” he interrupted my silent tantrum, “I want this to be finished as much as you do. I want to start a life with you; a stable life with you and me and a couple of pretty babies running around. We can’t do that until we get rid of Jordan and help Sean get settled.”

“Say that again.”

Instead of repeating himself, he placed his palm against my heart and kissed me long and deep under the trees. My heart thumped against his palm and he pulled back and met my gaze. “I want forever with you.”

“You’re going to make me cry,” I sniffed and wiped at the corner of my eye. “I love you so much.”

A man jogged by and whistled his appreciation and the spell was broken. Killian held out a hand to me and pulled me to my feet.

“Now can we have make up sex?”

“WELL? WHAT DID HE SAY?” I asked Killian.

“He’s got the car and will take it to the London safe house for me. It’ll be secure there.” He still didn’t look happy, but there wasn’t anything else he could do about it.

Killian was trying to tie up his own loose ends while Sean laced up his. He’d been trying to reach Rivin for two days and was nearly ready to strangle him when he’d finally called us. The McLaren was Killian’s baby and he was freaking out over leaving it alone in Austria. Rivin found it safe and sound in an impound lot. After paying the fine, he was on his way to London. The car would be fine. Our stuff was still in the trunk so I was relieved. I had plans for the rest of my new lingerie.

Killian was on the phone again. This time he was going over more plans with Alex. Sighing with boredom, I pulled out my own phone and stared at the dial pad. I should call my father. For one thing, they would be worried sick about me. I hadn’t talked to them in months. I’d meant to call…but something always came up and I got distracted. For another thing, I missed Domino and wanted to know she was okay. She was going to be unhappy with me; we needed to go and get her.

Killian hung up and said, “We’ve got Alex’s approval for our plans. Now we wait for Sean.” He studied my face and said, “How would you like to bring Domino to London with us?”

“Could we? Don’t we have to quarantine her?”

Shaking his head, he winked and said, “Not if she travels with me. I’ll take her to the safe house and then pick you up.”

“Would it be safe for her? I thought we were going to fly?”

He shrugged. “We can fly if you want to, but it’s a long flight and she’d have to stay in the cargo hold. It’s not great for dogs. Why don’t we just go and you can pick up some new clothes when you get settled. I don’t care either way.”

I curled up on the arm of the couch and dropped a quick kiss on his mouth just as he was about to say something else. He grinned at me and pulled me down to his lap for a longer kiss. The incessant buzzing of his cell phone separated us long enough for me to remember we were supposed to be going out for the night. He scowled as he read the text message but flashed me a quick smile before replying.

“So do you still want to go out tonight? This might be our last night alone for a while.” He was leaving it up to me.

The sun was nearly gone and the sky was purple in the twilight. Hundreds of lights winked on in the buildings around us. The brash sound of car horns drifted up from the street 18 stories below us. I was standing in the open French doors and enjoying the feel of the chilly air flowing over my bared arms. Killian came and stood with his arms around me. Our last night together…turning into his chest, I stood on my tiptoes and pulled his face down so I could see his eyes.

“I don’t want to share you with anyone tonight. Can we order dinner and stay in? It feels…important somehow.” I frowned over the last words.

Where did they come from? I hadn’t realized I was thinking that until the words came out.

He lifted an eyebrow and said, “We can do whatever you want, babe. I’m easy.”

An hour later, the doorbell sounded and Killian got up to answer the door. I followed him with my eyes. Killian had dressed in nice clothes again and I bit down a dopey grin while he watched the hotel worker lay out the food. Killian tipped the boy and shut the door. I broke into a huge smile when he caught me staring at his butt.

“Were you scoping me out just now?”

I tossed my hair and said, “Of course not. I’m used to you. You don’t impress me anymore.”

One second he was in the dining room and the next he’d scooped me into his arms and thrown me down on the bed. My head spun with the sudden movement and I broke into helpless giggles at his indignant expression.

He very seriously intoned, “Are you impressed now?”

Shaking my head and giggling, I said, “Not yet!”

“What? That didn’t impress you? You’re a hard wench to please.” He dipped his head to my neck and proceeded to leave a trail of heat down to my freshly-painted toes. By the time he started up the other side, I was beyond giggling and into begging. When I started praying, he broke down and laughed.

“Just don’t pray to Raphael. He likes you enough to show up in person.”

I pictured the shock on Raphael’s face if he saw us now…flushing bright red, I broke into giggles again. Killian leaned across me and caught my mouth with his and I stopped giggling immediately. I closed my eyes and gave up any conscious thought.

A sudden sensation of falling startled me and I opened my eyes to find a younger Killian leaning over me. His blue eyes blinked in surprise. He searched my face as if finding his prayers unexpectedly answered and lowered his mouth to kiss me again. It was him, but it wasn’t him. His mouth felt the same on mine, but tasted different. Bemused, I ran my fingers through his longer hair and felt its silkiness slide through my fingers. Running my hands over his bare shoulders, I realized he was leaner and he wasn’t wearing my pendant.

“Welcome home, Mica. I’ve missed you,” he murmured into my ear just before my vision went white and I closed my eyes against the brilliance.

When I opened my eyes again, Killian lifted his head from my shoulder and smiled wearily. “Are you impressed now?” Sweat ran down the side of his face, his heart pounded furiously against mine. The pendant lay pressed between us.

Scooting up, I put my hands on his face and turned him back and forth so I could see every detail. It was him; my Killian. Even as I had that thought, his features swam just slightly out of focus.

“Did you take me back in time?”

Confused, he leaned up on an elbow and said, “What? No. I don’t have the power to do that! You saw something. What did you see?”

“You…but not you. A younger you…”

“What was I doing?”

Unable to help myself, I laughed before I answered, “Making love to me.”

With that, he sat straight up and exclaimed, “Just now?”

“Yeah, or 3,000 years ago…I don’t know which. It’s like the dreams I’ve been having.”

“You’ve been dreaming about me?” He took my hand and said, “You should’ve told me, babe.”

“You’re scaring me now. Is this bad? What’s wrong?”

Unexpectedly, he laughed and said, “You know what? No, it’s not bad. I don’t know why I didn’t expect this to happen. Your sight is stronger than anyone I’ve ever known.” He broke into more laughter and I started to worry he’d come unhinged.

Still chuckling, he gave me a censorious look and said, “I’m not crazy. It’s funny. Don’t worry about it though. You’re probably just seeing me from the past because you’re so connected to me. Our minds are so closely linked now that it’s possible you’ve stumbled onto some old memories of mine. It seems logical that you’d have some access to the rest of me.”

“That’s just weird and not a little creepy. Come back here and distract me. The clock is ticking. Time is running out.”

He gave me an odd look but didn’t comment. Instead, he turned me onto my stomach and distracted me until I passed out.

Yawning hugely, I stuck my nose into my coffee and flipped on the morning news. Blah, blah, blah…only half-listening, I blew on the cup and managed a sip before the world came crashing down. Oh, no, no, no! Turning up the volume, I yelled for Killian and sank to the couch.

A grainy image of Sean took up the right half of the TV screen while a driver’s license photo of a blond woman named Christine Miller filled the left side. The newsman’s voice droned but I was too stunned to hear him. The ticker running along the bottom of the screen said the man was wanted in connection with the murder of Christine Miller.

Killian turned up the volume and the newsman’s voice bounced off the living room walls.

“Twenty-eight year old Christine Miller was found dead outside of her Brooklyn apartment building this morning. Her body was found inside a burned out Honda Accord registered to Ms. Miller. An official autopsy is scheduled. In the meantime, witnesses and traffic cameras place this unidentified male at the scene. Police are searching door to door. He is considered armed and dangerous.” He continued after that but Killian turned the volume off and stared at the screen in shock.

“No, this can’t be happening. Not now! Sean wouldn’t do that! There’s no way he’d just go out and kill some random woman.” My voice rose with every word until I was shouting.

“Christine Miller…Miller?” Killian stared and muttered to himself while I jumped up and ranted some more.

Finally he turned to me and said, “It wasn’t random. He was hunting her.”

“What!!??”

He rubbed his eyes and grimaced at me. “Christine Miller was on his list. Sean and Dec always kept a list. It had people on it that had gotten away with doing atrocious things, usually involving kids. Those two had a soft spot for little kids. When someone got away with killing a kid, they put the name on the list. When no one was paying attention, they’d track them down and eliminate them. They felt it kept their karma balanced.” He shrugged and said, “She was one of his loose ends.”

I sat and put my head in my hands to stop the spinning. A list? How did I not know about this? This was a huge secret to keep.

Killian said gruffly, “There’s a lot you still don’t know about all of us.” He added, “We’ve done mostly good, but we’re not perfect.”

“I can’t deal with this! What’s going to happen now?”

Killian was saved from answering by the sudden shift in air pressure that preceded a teleporting guest. Before I could blink, Raphael stood in the foyer with blazing, furious eyes.

“Killian! A word, please,” he ordered as he stalked to the dining room.

Killian turned to me and said, “Sorry, babe, you’re not invited. Would you wait for me in the bedroom to give him some privacy?”

Grinding my teeth in frustration, I headed for the bedroom. If I was invited, Raphael would’ve included me. It was Primani business and I wasn’t Primani. I didn’t like it, but I’d never seen his eyes like that. The hair was still standing up on my arms. I strained to hear but they kept their voices down. No shouting. Not a surprise.

Twenty minutes later, Killian tapped on the door and let himself inside. I was frozen at the window, staring out at the city skyline. I’d been wondering what we could do for Sean. Surely he could just teleport out of here. He wasn’t in jail. I didn’t know where he was, but he could disappear and never get caught. His cover was blown, but he could live anywhere. He could probably change his face if he wanted to. It didn’t seem like too big of a deal now that I was thinking about it. If the woman was a killer, she deserved to die, right?

He cleared his throat awkwardly and waited for me to turn around. His eyes were red from strain and I knew something was very wrong. He lifted a hand and let it drop back to his side. He cleared his throat again but couldn’t seem to get the words out. He looked away and blinked.

Pushing past him, I ran to the dining room calling to Raphael.

He froze when he heard my voice and slowly turned around. His eyes weren’t furious now; they were bleak and tired. He swallowed and seemed to steel himself for me. Killian came into the room and tried to take my arm. I jerked away from him and ran to Raphael.

“What’s happened? Where’s Sean?”

Raphael looked at Killian and then back at me.

Killian croaked, “Mica, sit down.”

“He’s dead, isn’t he? He was caught and punished!” Hysterical now, I clung to Raphael’s shirt and cried, “No, not now, he can’t be dead, not now. We just saved him!”

Raphael cupped my cheek and my hysteria gave way to a fuzzy sense of peace. Raphael picked me up himself and brought me to the couch. He sat down next to me and Killian sat on the other side.

Patiently, he held my hand and smoothed his fingers over the rune. It hummed oddly as he sent his
saol
into me. He said, “Don’t worry, child. I’m only easing your panic so you can listen to my words. I cannot stay long. There is much to do yet. Killian will stay with you so you won’t be here alone.”

When he judged me to be stable again, he wrapped his big hands around mine and faced me. “Sean isn’t dead, nor will he be killed. He has, however, already been judged by Michael, and will begin his punishment at midnight tonight.”

Swiveling towards Killian, I was shocked to see tears in his eyes. He was wretched, and that freaked me out more than anything else could have.

“What is the punishment?”

His voice was a whisper when he answered me. “The Stone Garden. One hundred years in the Stone Garden.”

Killian’s breath caught and he got up and left the room. Raphael stared at his hands and blinked.

“I don’t understand what that means. What does that mean?”

He looked into my eyes and said, “He will stand as stone for 100 years. He will use this time to reflect on his arrogance, his pride, and his crimes. When he has finished his sentence, he will be invited back to Heaven. It may sound harsh since you don’t know of our ways. But the sentence is more lenient than most. He is fortunate to not have been stripped of his Primani status and made fully human. If that were to happen, he would be arrested and spend the rest of his life in a human prison. Michael was…most displeased. Sean was one of his favorites.”