The last statement tells me everything. He’s here alone. He’s that sure of his ability to wreck me and my assignment. But what else does he know? Does he know about Trelvator? And if he gets through me, will he try to collect Charlie’s soul? Even worse, would he kill her?
Kincaid pulls his leg back and kicks Charlie hard in the ribs. “I said scream!”
Kincaid probably has plans to hide now that she’s cried out, to wait and see if I close in. But that’s not going to happen because I’m already here. I consider capping his ass now, but he’s too close to Charlie. Too close. Rage floods my body—
And I run.
I run hard and fast, moving like I never have before. I’m an animal racing toward him—all legs and lungs and muscle. Hearing Charlie scream in pain messes with my head, flips a switch that removes all rational thought. As I close in on Kincaid, it feels like I’m not even inside my own body, like I’m controlling my movements with a joystick in a video game.
Kincaid turns to see me, but I leap before he can react. My body pummels into his, and we land hard on the ground. The gun flies from my hand, but it doesn’t matter. I’ve got this. I pull my fist back and smash it into his nose. He hollers and fumbles for his own gun. I grab his shoulders and shove him back down, landing another shot to his kidney.
Somehow he gets out from underneath me and jumps to his feet. We circle each other like beasts, like demons. Kincaid fakes like he’s going to charge to my right, then turns and slams into my left. We fall to the ground again, and again I pound my fists into his face. And his stomach. And his shoulder. And because I suddenly remember how he kicked Charlie like a dog, I rear back and send a blow crashing into his ribs. He groans but doesn’t stop fighting.
Kincaid’s hands fly up, and he wraps them around my throat. It’s a good move, because I have no choice but to stop hitting him and start defending myself instead. I grab onto his wrists and yank as hard as I can, but he’s determined to choke the life out of me. My lungs burn, and I feel like if I don’t get air immediately, I’m going to black out. I can’t fathom how this has happened. How even though I’m on top, he’s somehow winning this fight. My vision blurs, and I steal a glance at Charlie. She’s yelling something, but I can’t make out what it is, because all I’m thinking is, I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe!
I yank myself onto my feet, trying to tear Kincaid’s hands from my throat. But he mirrors my movements like a freaking anaconda. I finally stand upright just to have my knees start to buckle beneath me. I just have to get his hands off my throat, I think. Get them off!
And then, even though my thoughts are starting to slide together in a tangled mess, I realize something. I have a choice. Being choked makes me think that the only thing I can do is play defense. It’s a false assumption.
I let go of his wrists, and throw everything I have—every available knee, elbow, and fist—into his groin. He curls in on himself and groans. Yanking him onto his side, I grab the gun from his pants and point it toward his chest.
Kincaid tries to speak, but his words are too soft, and I can’t hear him. What I can hear is Charlie screaming my name. I realize she’s been yelling this entire time, and I never heard it. Keeping Kincaid’s gun aimed on him, I run toward Charlie. As I start to untie her, I hear Kincaid mumble something over and over.
The second Charlie is free, she dives into my arms. “You’re okay,” I tell her. “It’s going to be okay. I’ve got you. I’m not ever going to let anything bad happen to you again.” Charlie doesn’t say anything back. She just presses into me, and I wrap myself around her. “You’re hurt?” I ask.
She shakes her head against me, and I rub my free hand over her hair. Then I look back at Kincaid. I’ve got to figure out what I’m going to do with him. Break off his cuff? Put a bullet in him so we have time to flee? I know I can’t leave him here to follow us, but I don’t want to make a rash decision. I’ve got to calculate my every move with what time I have left, give Valery the best chance to get Charlie hidden.
Kincaid crawls like a beetle across the ground, watching us. He repeats himself but grows louder.
“You got something to say?” I bark, standing and pulling Charlie up with me. “Go ahead,” I yell, fueled by adrenaline. “You’re done now. One way or another, you’re dead. So go ahead. Want to say something? Say it!”
He smiles at me, his teeth laced with blood. “I said.” He licks his lips and fills his lungs like he’s going to scream. “He’s here! He’s over here!”
My head snaps up, searching for who he’s calling. When he calls again, I raise my gun in his direction. “Stop it. Stop yelling.” I contemplate pulling the trigger, but now I’m afraid I might need the six rounds this gun holds. Searching the ground, I find my Glock and grab that, too. Twelve rounds. Now I may have one to spare for this jerk.
“Dante, look,” Charlie yells.
Kincaid turns and glances behind him. When he faces me again, he’s pulling himself off the ground. “Did you think it was only me?” He laughs, then coughs. My finger twitches over the trigger. “You did, right? Man, how stupid do you think I am? I was just the bait, baby.”
I step in front of Charlie when I see the final three collectors—Patrick, Zack, and Anthony—coming up behind us. Zack and Patrick are hanging back, but Anthony is pointing a gun at Max and Valery. My two comrades are walking in front of Anthony’s enormous frame like two inmates. As Max comes closer, I notice a gash across his cheek, probably received from fighting to keep them from taking Valery.
My blood runs cold as I reach my hand behind me and feel for Charlie. This isn’t good.
Kincaid nods toward Anthony but speaks to me. “You can take those guns off me now,” he says. “Unless you want us to blow holes in your friends.”
“I’ll kill him,” I tell Anthony, stabbing the gun in my right hand in Kincaid’s direction. But I already know what he’ll say.
Anthony shrugs as if he’s read my mind. “Then do it.”
Kincaid bows. “I’m the sacrificial lamb if need be,” he says, standing upright again. “But it’s cool. You won’t kill me. We’re immortal, dickhead. But the second you pull that trigger, Anthony will pull his.” He wipes blood from beneath his nose. “Drop the guns and kick them over here, or we’ll kill the girls.”
I know they must be bluffing. They can’t know Valery is a liberator, not with so many other cuffs in the vicinity, and they wouldn’t chance killing a human. And I’m not certain they’ll hurt Charlie, either. At least not without collecting her soul first. Still, I can’t take the risk. So I do what he asks. I’ll get another chance to get everyone out of here, I tell myself.
“Great, we’re all here,” I say as Kincaid picks up one gun and puts it in his waistband, then grabs the other and aims it in my direction. “So what’s the plan?” I continue. “You’ve been following me for days. So what the hell do you want?”
“I wasn’t following you,” Kincaid spits. “Why would I ever follow you?”
I narrow my eyes at him. “But I sensed you.” I glance across the four of them. “Or one of you, at least.”
“I already told you, pretty boy. It wasn’t me.” He glances at the other three collectors. “Was it you guys?”
The three jackasses shake their heads and sneer like villains in a cowboy movie.
Kincaid turns back to me. “You know, come to think of it, I might know someone who was following you.”
The collectors laugh and move back as if something big is coming. I narrow my eyes, gazing deep into the forest over their shoulders—and gasp when I see who steps out of the shadows.
A man walks toward us, head held high and shoulders squared. His dark hair is buzzed short to his scalp, and his clothes are crisp and clean. Every movement he makes, every tilt of his head, screams military.
“You!” I race toward the man, but Kincaid leaps in front of me and pistol-whips me across the face. Blinding pain shoots through my body as Charlie cries out. My vision blurs, b
ut when I glance up from the ground, he’s still there.
My mother’s boyfriend.
Chapter Fifty-one
Hush
The bastard stops walking and stands a few feet away. He digs into his pocket and pulls out a coin, flips it into the air, and catches it. Then he holds it between his pointer and thumb.
“You like my coin?” he asks. His voice is deep, and each word he speaks is clipped, as if his biggest fear is slurring.
I drag myself up, gritting my teeth against the pain, and look closer at the coin he’s holding. I clench my fists when I see it’s my penny, the one my father gave me. The one I left in my mother’s house.
“How about these?” He turns his foot to the side, and I spot my red Chucks on his gnarly feet. “They’re a little big, but I made them work.” He spins around in a slow circle, holding his arms out wide. “I was going for a grand entrance. What do you think? You think I nailed it?” He places a hand on his chest. “My name is Rector, and I am here to finish your assignment.”
“You motherfucker,” I growl.
“No,” he says, holding up a finger. “Not yet, but I’ll go back for your mama later.” He smiles and lets his head fall to the side. “Just think, I could be your daddy one day.”
I charge at him, but Max grabs me and holds me back. He has trouble keeping me grounded until Charlie and Valery grab onto me, too. I brush them off and stand still. As evenly as I can, I say, “Listen to me closely, Rector. I am going to kill you. I am going to end your life.”
He flips my father’s coin again and says coolly, “Doubt it. I have so much to do, I just do not have time to die.” He stuffs my coin into his pocket. “Did you know I only died a few weeks ago?” He eyes me, searching for the answer in my face. “No, of course you did not know that. So many demons downstairs fighting to be a collector.”
I feel my eyes widen, and my breath catches. “You can’t be.”
“Oh, but I can.” Rector lifts his pant leg and exposes a gold cuff. “The seventh cuff.”
“Liar,” I snarl. “There are only six cuffs.”
He shakes his head. “I’m afraid you have been misled. Six are reserved for collectors. But the last one, the seventh, is reserved for Boss Man himself.”
My heart stops beating. A seventh cuff? It wasn’t possible. I would have known. Boss Man would have told me. I was his right hand man. He never hid things from me.
“You can understand why I feel blessed to be here,” Rector taunts. “Boss Man must be so very confident in my abilities to relinquish his ability to walk the earth. I will admit, it took some convincing. You actually helped me out, taking as long as you did to get the girl to sign the contract. Boss Man was feeling antsy, and I promised him—no, I assured him—that I could make you complete this assignment.”
My head spins as he spews words. I can’t comprehend that Boss Man kept the seventh cuff a secret from me. And that he had no problems telling this dickhead about it. It dawns on me that I was never Boss Man’s number one, that he was always waiting for someone else to fill the spot. What’s more, I can’t believe I didn’t sense this prick in Chicago when he was with my mother, but I guess I was too preoccupied being creeped out that Mom was dating.
Rector taps his chest. “And look here, he gave me a shot. I showed him early on that I could get close to those important to you. Like your sweet mother.” He moves his hands to mimic a woman’s curves, and I bite down to keep from screaming. “After that, he offered me a deal: bring in the assignment myself, and the promotion is mine.”
“Yeah,” Kincaid chimes in. “And Rector’s promised us more time above ground.”
The other three collectors nod and mumble under their breath, showing their support for their potential new Soul Director.
“You know, I watched you before this,” Rector says. “You were always so cocky. Such an arrogant prick. I just could not wait to take it all away from you. And,” he says, scratching his jaw, “I think I have done a fairly good job.” Rector moves toward us. “I had a good time screwing with you and Max. But let’s get this over with, shall we?”
Something snaps inside of me, and I lunge. But before I can get to Rector, Kincaid barrels toward Charlie and sticks that blasted gun under her chin. She chokes on a scream, and the sound breaks me. I want to believe he won’t hurt her, but I freeze, anyway. Then I throw my hands up to show them I’m not moving any closer. I find Charlie’s eyes as Kincaid drags her toward Rector. “Charlie, listen to me,” I say. “I love you. I love you so much. I’m not going to let them hurt you. Do you hear me?”
Tears slip down Charlie’s cheeks, but she keeps her jaw clenched, like she’s trying hard not to show fear.
I feel a sudden jab in my back and know it’s a gun. Next to me, I spot Max on the ground. He must have charged when I did and got taken down. Valery is kneeling over him, her eyes glued to the gun under Charlie’s chin.
“Please don’t hurt her,” Valery begs.
Kincaid points the gun at Valery. “Who the hell is this chick?”
“My fiancée,” Max interjects, trying to cover what she really is.
Kincaid scrunches up his nose. “You’re going to marry a mortal? That’s disgusting.” He puts the gun back on Charlie, and the collector behind me, who I’ve now realized is Anthony, slides his gun up near my head.
“Thank you, Kincaid. You’ve been quite helpful.” Rector takes Kincaid’s outstretched gun and nods for him to step away. Then Rector pulls Charlie against him and presses his lips together. He glances at me as Charlie squeezes her eyes shut. “She does look good, doesn’t she?” Rector thrusts his hips at her, and the collectors laugh.
“Stay away from her,” I growl, heat flooding my veins.
Rector leans over and whispers in Charlie’s ear. “Open your eyes, girl. Look at Dante. Look at this boy you love.”
She opens her eyes, and seeing the gun pressed against my head, her face fills with fear.
Rector motions toward Kincaid, who steps forward and hands him a roll of papers I can only imagine is the soul contract. He flips Charlie’s soul light on and grins when he sees how little is left uncovered.
He presses his nose against her cheek. “Come, child, just ask for one more thing.” He pauses, thinking. “How about that limp of yours? Don’t you want it gone?”
Tears continue to rush down Charlie’s cheeks, but there’s still fortitude in her eyes.
“Don’t do it, Charlie,” I say. “Look at me. Charlie! Look at me!”
She meets my gaze.
Rector nods toward Anthony, the collector holding the gun to my head, and he presses it harder against my temple. A clicking sound rings near my ear as he cocks the gun.
“No,” Charlie says calmly. “You will not hurt him.”
Anthony puts his finger on the trigger and pretends to squeeze, and in that moment I see Charlie’s confidence waver.
“Charlie, it won’t hurt me,” I lie. “I’m immortal. They can’t kill me.”
“He is right,” Rector says. “We cannot kill him with a bullet. But that gun will put him out for several days, and in that time, we will drag his body downstairs and lock him in eternal torture. Do you want that for him?”
Charlie’s chest rises and falls so quickly I’m afraid her heart will give out.
“I said, do you want that!” Rector yells into her face.
Her body shakes uncontrollably in response to his words, and I have to shut my eyes against the sight. If I grab the gun at my temple and put a bullet in my own head, would it end this? No. They’d just press her with something else until she crumbled. The only thing I can do is beg her not to give them what they’re asking for and pray they don’t hurt her.
Charlie opens her mouth.
“Don’t, baby,” I plead. “Remember where you got your injury from. Remember your parents.”
Charlie’s face pulls together in pain, like she’s remembering the loss. And I realize suddenly it was the wrong thing to
say. Her eyes snap open, and she lets her head fall back.
“I can’t lose you,” she whispers.
“No,” I say, but I know it’s too late.
Charlie closes her eyes and says gently, “I wish to be beautiful.”
As soon as the words leave her mouth, a seal releases from my chest, crosses the distance between us, and attaches to her light. Then, as quietly as a sigh, a bright light breaks open around Charlie. It hovers there like a warm cocoon.
And as I cry out, Charlie’s immaculate soul slowly floats toward me and slides gracefully into my body.
Chapter Fifty-two
Let There Be Light
Rector opens his mouth in a great circle of black and laughs deeply. He yanks Charlie against him, licks the tender flesh on her neck, and throws her to the ground.
“Good girl,” he says, locking his eyes on me. “The contract is fulfilled. Your soul has been collected by Mr. Walker here, and now I just have to bring him in.”
My hands flatten over my chest. I can’t believe I have her soul, that I was still able to collect it without my cuff. It doesn’t seem right.
Rector motions for Anthony to lower the gun from my head and back away, and he does. “This should be easy enough. I am fairly certain that between the five of us, we could bring you downstairs without harm. But tracking you these last few days has been highly annoying, and I feel like blowing off steam.” Rector raises the gun in my direction and takes aim.
“No!” Charlie jumps up and throws herself in front of him. A loud crack thunders around me, and my mind screams. I see my girl crumble, and everything around me tilts. For a second, even Rector seems terrified at what just happened. But then Charlie rolls to the side, holding her arm, and I see that the bullet only grazed her.
Rector crows with laughter. “Oh, shit,” he says. “I thought I killed her. That certainly wasn’t on my to-do list, so I’m pretty effing happy she’s still breathing. Boss Man probably wouldn’t have been very pleased about that.”