IT WAS SNOWING. Of course, it was snowing! I crouched behind the cab of the abandoned eighteen-wheeler and pulled my collar flat against my neck. The snow was melting in cold little rivers down my back. I would have worn a scarf, but I didn’t want to make it too easy for someone to kill me. They’d need to bring their own weapons for that. I had a new reason to stick around a few more years. My face got all warm and happy just thinking about Sean. He’d made a commitment to me in front of everyone. I couldn’t be any happier right now. It wasn’t a proposal, but it was close.
“I’ll strangle you myself if you don’t stop daydreaming.”
I would’ve screamed if a big hand wasn’t clamped over my mouth. I relaxed when I saw it was Killian. He was scowling at me as usual. It doesn’t even faze me anymore.
“Will you please stop sneaking up on me and reading my mind? One of these days, you’re going to hear more than you want and you’ll regret it!”
“Doubtful.” He smiled wolfishly.
He was dressed in all black like the rest of us, but he looked more supernatural than the others. He was a predator, pure and simple. Maybe hunter was really a better word. His face was covered in dark paint, and his eyes burned intensely blue. Yes, predator was definitely the right word. He’d come over to warn me there were trucks coming so I should change my position.
He faded into the dark. I heard the low rumble of a diesel engine and turned my attention to my job as lookout. I whispered into the mic, “We have company. There are thirteen men riding in the back of four pickup trucks, plus four drivers.”
Sean responded, “Weapons?”
I peeked around my hiding place. “Looks like automatic weapons . . . maybe AKs? And . . . Wait a minute.” I did a double take. “I don’t know what that is, but it looks wicked.”
“Calmly describe it for us. Take your time but hurry up.”
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, it’s really long like a rocket launcher. It’s got a smaller barrel and some kind of weird sight on it. It’s shiny looking . . . some kind of metal. Weird. Some of the men are guarding it, and the others are heading into the door. Oh, and there are some barrels in the back of one of the trucks. They’re unloading them.”
“Good. Stay out of sight and stay alert.”
I looked at my watch. According to the plan, Killian and Sean would go into the warehouse from the east side. Dec would go inside from the north. They had already disabled the security lights and cameras. They were going to sneak inside to see what was going on. If they could capture a hostage, they’d do that and teleport out with him.
A quiet voice came through my earpiece. “I’m in.” Dec was inside. Sean called in a minute later.
I scanned the area around my end of the property. Everything was quiet. No headlights on the road, no strange sounds. Nothing moved in the shadows. The wind shifted suddenly. Ewww! A strong smell hit me in the face. It was horrible. I gagged and tried to hold my breath.
“James?” I whispered.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“Do you smell that weird smell? The wind’s blowing it towards me now.”
He paused, and said, “Yeah, some kind of chemical. Don’t inhale.”
Was he serious? The wind shifted again, and I started to cough, my eyes burning and watering.
“You okay?” James coughed in my ear.
Definitely not okay. My eyes and nose were running like a hose, and I was struggling to breathe. I didn’t want to distract the guys inside so I turned off the mic. A few minutes later, James made his way over to check on me. He was struggling not to cough as he pulled me down in the snow behind the trailer.
“Listen. It’s some kind of chemical.” He stopped to hack up a lung before continuing. “Close your eyes and slow down your breathing. Take shallow, slow breaths.”
He dug up a handful of clean snow from deep under the pile and scrubbed my face with it. He let it melt into my eyes and flushed them until they stopped burning. Then he did his own. By this time, we were still coughing but not as hard. I had a feeling this was going to hurt later.
The sound of gunshots surprised us, just as we were catching our breaths. James shoved me onto my face and crouched with his gun ready to fire. The sounds came from inside the warehouse. Oh crap! Shooting wasn’t in the plan for tonight! Drawing my Sig, I scooted around to watch the door. There were more gunshots, and then a lot of yelling.
“James! Get on the door and grab anyone who runs out. Dec, get out of there!” Killian was barking orders into my earpiece. Where was Sean?
More yelling and gunshots.
Finally, I heard Sean demand, “What the hell is that?”
Killian yelled, “Out NOW!”
A loud roar came from the far end of the warehouse, and men began running out of the front door. James vanished and reappeared next to the door. He snatched the next two men who ran out and vanished. I blinked. Wow, so that’s what it looks like. Before I could get up and move, a small flash of movement near the building caught my eye. What was that? I pressed myself into the shadows and used my night sight to scan the area.
Oh yay. We have company. As men came running out of the burning warehouse, another observer hid in the shadows, watching the chaos. Who was this guy? Cop? The fire got louder and small explosions were going off inside the building. The acrid smoke from burning chemicals was drifting across the parking lot. I put my sleeve against my nose and tried not to breathe. Frantic now, I chewed on my lip. Where were they? Come on. Come on!
I switched on my mic and shouted for Sean, Killian, and Dec. No one responded. Shit. James was gone too. Double shit. Then I saw a dark figure on the roof and almost cried with relief. He was crouched over to jump off the roof when the entire roof exploded in an immense fireball. Whoosh! The night sky lit up like a nuclear explosion. The force of the blast slammed me backwards into the dumpster. The last thing I saw was the tractor trailer flying towards me before I crumbled to the snow.
Loud yelling jarred me awake. “Raphael? Damn it, hurry up!”
Sean. Thank God. He was safe.
I opened my eyes a tiny slit and breathed with relief. We were in the penthouse again. I closed my eyes against the harsh lights. Sean was racing to strip off my boots and jacket.
While he worked, he said, “You’re gonna be okay. It’s all right. You just rest. Raphael will be here, and he’ll make you feel better.”
Who was he trying to convince? Me or himself?
My chest was burning. My side hurt when I took a breath. Probably I broke another rib. Crap. I hadn’t heard other voices. Where was Dec and Killian? Sean looked horrible. He was covered in soot, and his skin was lobster red. His eyebrows were singed. Even the whites of his eyes were red. He had a gash on the side of his head that was bleeding steadily down his cheek. The explosion . . .
“I’m fine. It’s just a broken rib . . . Go take a shower. You’re a mess,” I ordered with a weak smile.
“Are you fucking crazy? I’m not leaving you.” He bent down and kissed my forehead. The smell of the fire was overwhelming. I wrinkled my nose which started a new coughing fit. Sean was alarmed when I coughed up red mucus. I guess I looked worse than he did.
Alex and Jordan finally came home and were appalled by our appearance. Jordan took charge and efficiently helped Sean undress me and sit me in the shower. It was like having two nurses—one clean and one filthy. After I was chemical-free and covered by a blanket, Alex insisted that Sean take a shower to wash off any chemicals. Sean sprinted to the shower and was back in two minutes flat. He was squeaky clean except for the fresh blood that was running down his face again. Jordan sighed and handed Sean a towel.
Where was Dec? Where was Killian? Tonight went horribly wrong. Maybe they were blown up? Were they dead inside the warehouse?
“Don’t cry, baby.” He dabbed at my eyes with a tissue. “I hate not being able to help you!”
I was coughing again but managed to croak, “Dec? Killian?”
He wo
uldn’t answer me.
A few minutes later, Raphael finally showed. He came with Killian. There was no sign of Dec. Killian was still hyper-alert, and the waves of heat coming off of his body were noticeable from across the room. He was coiled tightly as he reported to Alex. Alex calmly listened to the details, and then gave out some new orders. He sent Killian after James. He needed help interrogating the two men he snatched. Depending on their origin, Killian was to use his judgment to dispose of them. Yikes! What did that mean, exactly? His eyes gleamed with way too much eagerness. Those men were toast.
“Killian, wait!” I rasped as he was getting ready to leave again.
Surprisingly, he actually came over and sat down on the side of the bed. His eyes softened as he picked up my hand. I tried to smile but broke into another fit of coughing that left me wheezing. He squeezed my fingers and hollered for Raphael.
“Where’s Dec? Tell me.”
He looked angry again, but he kept his voice soft when he answered. “I don’t know. He’s gone.”
“What do you mean gone? How does a Primani disappear? Can’t you sense him or something?”
He jerked his head in frustration. “I can’t sense him. I saw him in the warehouse right before the whole place went up, but I haven’t seen him since.”
My face crumpled, and he searched around for help. This was way out of his comfort zone; Killian wasn’t a sensitive guy on the best of days. He killed things—he didn’t give comfort—that wasn’t in his job description. Sean displaced him from my side. He was much better at comfort. I guess he’s had more practice.
It was lunchtime when I woke up the next time. I was lying on my bed with Sean. He was asleep and looked healthy again. I was so out of it last night that I didn’t remember Raphael healing me or going to bed. I took an experimental breath and didn’t cough. My eyes weren’t burning anymore either. I’ll have to learn to heal myself if I’m going to keep hanging around these guys. What will happen to me if Raphael isn’t around?
Sean rolled over and clutched me like a favorite toy. He sighed sleepily and nuzzled my shoulder with his scruffy chin. I relaxed into sleep until a light tap on the door woke me. I started to get up, but Sean tightened his arms around me. “What is it?”
“Shh, just wait. Look,” he whispered.
Pulsing gently, a faint golden haze surrounded our entwined bodies. “Did you do that?”
He smiled against my back. “Not on purpose. I woke up, and it was there. I guess you get your halo after all.” He inhaled deeply, and the illumination faded until it disappeared altogether.
The aroma of freshly-baked croissants teased my nose as we entered the kitchen. Jordan looked immensely pleased with himself as he ushered me to a chair. He’d put out a big spread today. There were several baskets of bagels and muffins scattered on the table. There were bowls of scrambled eggs, bacon, and fresh fruit too. Pretty glass pitchers sparkled with juice and a bottle of champagne was chilling in a silver bucket. The table was set with sparkling crystal glasses and polished silverware. There was even a beautiful vase overflowing with cream and purple tulips. They were beautiful, and I immediately buried my nose in them. When I turned around, I had an audience. Alex, Jordan, and Sean stood near the bar with identical satisfied grins on their faces.
“What’s going on?” I smiled back automatically.
“It’s not every day a girl turns nineteen, now is it, darlin’?” Sean played up his brogue.
“This is for me? It’s all so beautiful! Thank you, Jordan. I know you went to a lot of trouble, but how can we celebrate without Dec?” My voice cracked when I said his name.
Sean’s smile fairly split his face. A definitely unharmed Dec strolled into the room. With a happy, girly cry, I flew into his arms. He swung me around until I was too dizzy to cry. Setting me down, he hugged me until the spinning stopped.
Flashing all dimples, he presented me with a small box. “For you, sweetheart.”
I opened it to find an exquisite porcelain replica of Domino. She was beautiful. It was the perfect gift. I basked in the love shining on the faces surrounding me and smiled like a big dope. No—they were the perfect gifts.
Chapter 25: You Can’t Go Home Again