As she rounded the corner, she saw a flash of … something. She sucked in a breath and ran, hard, sliding around the corner.
The demon crashed into her and slammed her against the wall, knocking the breath from her. She lost the gun, watching it slide down the hall and just out of her reach.
Shit.
But she still had her rifle. Unfortunately she couldn’t pull it over her shoulder because the demon had her pinned to the wall.
Fury thawed her frozen body out, gave her some strength. And James was weakened by the cold that affected the demon more than her, allowing her to give it a good, hard thrust and make some space between them. When she did, she lifted her foot and planted a boot in its midsection, shoving it away.
James landed on the floor and she went for her rifle.
Stunned or winded, she didn’t know which, the demon lay there, unmoving, staring at her.
She aimed, her finger on the trigger.
The demon scrambled to get up, then froze as she got it in her sights.
“You’re dead,” she said, her finger hovering on the trigger.
But as soon as she started to pull, the demon’s face disappeared. She was transported back to that awful night in Italy, when they’d stood in front of Lou and were forced to fire on him, kill him.
She blinked, trying to obliterate the vision from her mind. She lifted her head for a second, clearing the sight, then refocused, but all she could see was Lou, fighting the demon inside him, begging them to destroy him.
She wasn’t going to let this happen. She wasn’t weak. She’d recovered from Lou’s death. It was in the past.
Michael pulled up behind her. “Pull the damn trigger, Mandy”
She blinked and leveled the laser, but the demon leaped and came at her, knocking both her and Michael to the ground. Too late to fire, she swung the butt at the demon’s head, knocking it off balance. Her rifle went flying.
Shit. She scrambled for her gun, grabbed it with her fingertips, and turned around, aiming for the demon as it grabbed her feet. She aimed, and there it was again.
Lou’s face. Not the demon’s.
What the hell was wrong with her?
“No,” she whispered, pulling back from the sight.
It was Lou. Not the demon. She held her hand out in front of her, trying to banish the visual. “No, I can’t.”
“Mandy!”
She heard Michael’s voice, but it was as if it came from a tunnel, far away. All she could see was Lou in front of her, coming toward her, his hands outstretched, reaching for her.
God, she missed him. Tears filled her eyes. She leaned up toward him. “Lou.”
Her world tipped when Michael shoved her out of the way. Shocked back into reality, her vision cleared just in time to see the demon leap over her and lunge at Michael.
Oh, God, what had she done? She’d utterly lost it. It hadn’t been Lou reaching for her, it had been the demon. And now Michael was being attacked by the demon, who’d landed on top of him. She tried to get up, but her legs felt like rubber, unable to support her. All she could do was stare in horror as the demon wrapped its fingers around Michael’s throat.
Mandy held her breath, feeling what Michael felt as the demon squeezed.
But Michael wedged his gun between his body and the demon’s and fired, slamming the demon off him.
James looked down at its chest and then back up at them, smiling.
“You can’t stop me with bullets.”
But then its smile died, its eyes widening as the liquid nitrogen began to work. The demon started to jerk wildly, falling to the ground like it was having some kind of neurological attack, then stilled completely. After waiting a minute, Michael leaned over the demon, still holding the pistol trained on its chest.
Michael punched his comm. “Security and tech, we’re on second level and demon is contained. Get up here.”
Within a minute a security team and three technicians showed up. The security team inspected the demon first, then pronounced it dead so tech could remove it.
“Restrain it and keep watch. I want to see if it comes to.”
They nodded and removed the demon. Michael holstered his pistol and went to Mandy bending down to help her up.
She pulled away from him and pushed herself to a standing position, hating the weakness that still made her legs feel wobbly. “I’m fine.”
Michael took a step back and nodded. “Let’s go to debriefing.”
Mandy followed Michael silently, not understanding what had happened.
For someone so grounded in the here and now, what had gone down had been really fucked up. She’d always been able to do her job.
So what the hell had happened to her?
Michael led her into the office and waited while she stepped in, then closed the door behind him. Mandy laid her weapons on the table, took a seat and stared down at the floor.
She knew what was coming. This wasn’t going to be fun.
Michael pulled a chair across from her.
“Want to tell me what happened in there?”
No. “I froze.”
“So I noticed. Literally or figuratively?”
“Both, I guess.” She leaned forward and laid her head in her hands. “I don’t know what the hell happened to me. I was ready to kill that thing. I really was.”
“Maybe this is too much for you too soon.”
She snapped her gaze to his. “No, it isn’t.”
“You couldn’t pull the trigger, Mandy You had the demon in your sights, your finger on the trigger, and you couldn’t get it done. That demon could have killed you.”
Or it could have killed Michael. And that would have been her fault. Just like Lou was her fault. Perfect. Another death of one of the Realm’s Keepers on her head.
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” Michael said.
She shrugged, leaned back. “I’m not thinking anything.”
“Bullshit. You either come clean with me or I’m pulling you off active duty.”
Her eyes widened. “Are you serious? I had one second of hesitation and now you think I can’t do my job?”
“It wasn’t one second. Something happened up there. Something that wasn’t normal for you. You could have died. I could have died. We need to talk about it.”
She hated that he presumed to know all about her. He knew nothing about what was “normal” for her. “We don’t need to talk about anything.”
He cocked his head in disbelief, then pushed the chair back. “We’re done here.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means until you’re ready to talk to me, or to someone else, about what really happened up there, you’re no longer a hunter.”
She shot out of the chair. “What? You can’t do that.”
“Yeah, I can.” He started to walk away but she grabbed his arm and forced him to turn to her.
“Who made you judge and jury over me? Who put you in charge?”
His gaze never wavered as he said, “Lou did. The Realm did. You report to me now, Mandy Lou is gone.”
“I know that. Don’t you think I know that?” All too well, unfortunately. She couldn’t begin to explain to Michael what had happened. Not when she didn’t understand it herself. And no way would she reveal anything that could be considered a weakness. Especially not to her Keeper. He’d ground her for sure. Permanently. “Look, there was just something not right about the situation. It just didn’t feel right.”
Michael shook his head. “That’s not it and you know it. And if you can’t be straight with me, then this isn’t going to work. I said you’re off duty and I meant it.”
Fury filled her. She fisted her hands at her sides, but knew striking out at Michael would seal her fate. He looked down at her hands as if he knew what she felt. She saw only compassion in his eyes.
Goddammit. She didn’t want his compassion. She didn’t want anything from him, especially not the caring she saw reflected in his gorgeous
baby blues.
He turned and left the room.
This time, Mandy didn’t try to stop him.
She had nothing left to say. Nothing at all.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Dalton was drinking coffee when Georgie came around ‘the side of the cabin and into the backyard. He smiled at her.
“What are you doing down here?” he asked.
“I came to check on you.”
He’d pulled on jeans this morning, careful not to wake Isabelle. Without his shirt on, Georgie could see his stomach.
“I can’t even tell where you were injured, Dalton. Pretty impressive.”
“Yeah, well, I heal quick,” he said, lowering his voice.
“You haven’t told her, have you?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
He glanced at the back door, turned to Georgie. “I’ve told her all I can.”
Georgie crossed her arms. “If you haven’t told her everything, then it’s not enough. How can you hope to succeed in what you plan to do if she doesn’t know the entire story? Until she knows all, I won’t be able to help her, and neither will you.”
He was hoping it wouldn’t come to that. “Georgie, no one knows except your family.”
“Knowledge is power. Isabelle will need all the power she can wield in order to make it through this trial by fire you have in mind for her.”
“Shit.” He dragged his hand through his hair.
“You don’t trust her?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know. I do trust her. I think.”
Georgie let out a soft laugh. “Well, that’s definite.”
“Yeah, well, I guess I’m not a hundred percent sure. And you can imagine what this kind of information could do in the wrong hands.”
“But she trusts you with her secret.”
“She had no choice.”
“Neither do you. Not if you want this to succeed.”
“I know what I need to do. I’m just not ready.”
“What’s holding you back?”
“I need to be able to trust Isabelle to tell her everything. But I’m not sure the demon side of her won’t somehow use it against me.”
“Trust is a two-way street, Dalton. I hate to be trite, but it’s the truth.”
He nodded. “I realize that.”
“She’s put her life in your hands. You might have to do the same with her.”
“I still haven’t figured out what kind of hold the Sons of Darkness really have over Isabelle, how much control they wield over her. She shot me yesterday.”
“Do you think that was her intent?”
“No. But still, the Sons of Darkness have a hold on her.”
“You don’t think she’s fully in charge of herself.”
“No.”
Georgie sighed. “Then you’re not ready.”
So not what he wanted to hear. “I wish I believed one hundred percent in Isabelle, enough to tell her who I am—enough to trust her fully. But I don’t trust the Sons of Darkness. They could be using her. And if they’re using her, they could use me. I can’t let that happen. We’ll both suffer.”
It was at that moment he caught sight of Isabelle, leaning against the back screen door. Close enough to have heard them. But how much had she heard?
She pushed open the door and came toward them, stopping in front of him. He didn’t need her to say a word to know she’d heard everything. The hurt and anger on her face said enough.
“Things are so much clearer now.”
“Isabelle, before you start—”
“Oh, no,” she said, holding out her hand. “You’ve had your say and I heard it all. Now you let me talk.”
He nodded, knowing he deserved whatever she had to say.
“I always felt you were holding back with me, but I just couldn’t figure out why. Now I know. All those times you told me you believed in me, you trusted me. All bullshit.”
“Isabelle—”
“Not that I can blame you,” she continued, ignoring him. “I don’t trust myself, so how can I expect you to have faith in me? I’m not angry at you, Dalton. Just … disappointed, I guess. I thought we were past hiding secrets about how we felt. I’ve been pretty straight with you and I thought you had been with me. I was wrong.”
She laughed. “I’m always wrong about men.”
She turned and walked back in the house.
Well, fuck. Dalton turned to Georgie.
“Don’t look at me, cher. You dug this grave. Now crawl out yourself.”
After Georgie walked away, Dalton felt more alone than ever. Goddammit, every time he thought he was making the right decision, it turned out to be the wrong one. By not telling her what he was, he was trying to protect her. Was that wrong? Had he failed her by keeping secrets?
He was going to have to fix this, which meant doing something he really didn’t want to do. He went inside the house.
He saw her silhouette on the sofa, her legs pulled up to her chest, her chin resting on her knees.
He went to her, deciding it was probably best to sit in the chair across from the sofa.
Now that he faced her, he didn’t know where to start.
“Is this going to be another chat where you feed me a line of bullshit until you think I’m placated, then I fall into your arms and we have sex?”
He smiled at that. “Well, that’d be nice, but I don’t think it’s going to happen.”
“You’re right. It’s not. You’re wasting your time here, Dalton. I’m through with trusting you.”
He let out a long breath, knowing that the only way to get through to her was just to get to the truth.
“I brought you here for several reasons. One, because it’s safe here. I know this place. I can defend it. No one can get to you. Second, it’s a magical place where we can all work together to help you. You, Georgie, and me. In order for Georgie to help you, I have to take part.”
She lifted her head. “In what way?”
“It’s kind of complicated, and I’ll get to that in a bit. What I’m trying to tell you is that my involvement requires full trust.”
“I don’t understand. I mean I get that you don’t trust me. I really do. Like I said outside, I wouldn’t, either. But what part could you possibly have in eliminating, or lessening, this demon side of me?”
“Georgie will merge the two of us together.”
“What?”
“The darkness in you with the light in me. Our goal is to have my light battle with your darkness, and hopefully my light will vanquish the hold the demons have on you so that the human part of you becomes stronger, the demon side of you weaker. Or at least something you can manage.”
Isabelle untangled her legs and sat straight. “Um, okay, but what the hell are you talking about? Dalton, I believe that you’re a good man. Honestly, I do. But you’re just that—a man. Or at least I used to think that. Now, I’m not so sure. So maybe you need to clarify what you could do to help someone like me who has demon blood?”
Revelation time. He didn’t know why he’d waited so long to tell her. The truth was going to have to come out eventually. And he did trust Isabelle. The human side of her would never betray him. Not consciously, anyway. He had to believe that part of her was stronger. It had been so far.
“Isabelle, I’m not human.”
She frowned. “You’re not?”
“No, I’m not. I look like a human, I’ve lived like a human for hundreds of years. But I’m not human.”
“Then what are you?”
“I’m an angel.”
Isabelle was dumbstruck. Her mouth hung open, yet no words came out.
She laughed. “No, you’re not.”
He didn’t laugh back. “Yes, I am.”
Was he serious? Did he expect her to believe it? “Dalton. An angel? Really? Come on. Angels don’t exist.”
“Demons do. Why is it so easy to believe in their existence, but not in the existence of angels?”
br /> “Because I am a demon.”
“And I’m an angel.”
She stared at him, waiting for him to … to what? Transform or something? That wasn’t going to happen. She had to accept what he said. Why would he lie about something like this?
Angel? Dalton was an angel? What did that even mean?
She swallowed. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“It’s not like I’d bullshit about something like that,” he said, his lips quirking in a wry smile.
“I can’t imagine you would. But, an angel?” Then it hit her. “The light. The white light around you. The way you healed.”
“Yes.”
She frowned. “This is what you refused to tell me?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, my God.” It was true. Chills broke out on her skin. She stood and moved away from him, suddenly feeling as if she shouldn’t even be in the same room with him.
He frowned. “Isabelle.”
“Do you know what this means?”
He shook his head. “No. What does it mean?”
“We’re diametrical opposites. I’m a demon. You’re an angel.” She wrapped her arms around herself. Talk about a major screwup. Could she pick ’em or what?
“Yes. That’s true.”
Her gaze shot to his. “How can you be so blasé about this? You and me … for God’s sake, Dalton. I made love to an angel. Is that even allowed?”
He laughed. “Typically, no. But … this is kind of complicated.”
Complicated? Understatement. “I’m listening.”
“Okay. I’m a fallen angel.”
Eyes wide, she said, “I’m having this rush of memories. Statues I’ve seen and folklore I’ve heard about fallen angels.”
“It’s not like that.”
“Then I think you have a lot to tell me.”
“I guess I do.”
Dalton could almost have been amused by the enraptured look on Isabelle’s face, if the subject matter wasn’t so serious. He just wasn’t sure where to begin. And maybe this is what had caused his hesitation in coming clean with her before. It wasn’t like he was proud of what he’d done.
“Dalton, trust me, please. I know it may seem like I can’t control the part of me that’s demon. But I’d rather hurt myself than hurt you. Especially knowing what you are now.”