Domiel (4 page)

He wrapped his fingers around her upper arm, about to turn her over, when forced exhaustion overcame him and he slumped down on top of her.

“Listen, rookie, we can do this the hard way or we can do it my way. It won’t be long before the cops arrive. I’m here to clear my name. You have about forty seconds to decide if we go to jail, or if you give me a few days to figure this out.”

Domiel tried moving, but his body wouldn’t obey. In all his years as an angel, he’d never experienced what true helplessness felt like. Somehow Kelsey used power to keep him immobile. Ambrose sure as hell hadn’t mentioned
this
particular power. Able to communicate by thoughts and through dreams—check. Powerful enough to put his ass out? That would have been good to know.

“I’ve put you in a semi-conscious state, rookie. You can’t move until I let go of the power holding us together. Make a decision and make it fast.”

Her audacity knew no bounds. Hadn’t he just witnessed her nearly run a human over? She clawed and bit during hand-to-hand combat training, and made no apologies about kicking men in the groin to gain the upper hand. Why did this surprise him? “
I’m here to take you back.”

“I’m not going back until I’ve accomplished what I set out to do.”

Sirens whined in the distance, as if they were far, far away, though he knew that wasn’t the case. He was awake, yet he wasn’t. Cognizant, yet unaware and unable to respond, other than communicating with her through thought. Her powers were impressive. “
We can’t involve the humans.”

“No shit, rookie. Agree to let me go and no humans will be able to locate us. I’ll release you.”

“No.”

“Just give me a few days. I have to find the demon who’s framing me.”

“No.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake. You can stay with me the whole time. We’ll be like fucking Siamese twins
.” The sound of sirens drew louder
. “You better hurry and choose. I don’t think airport security is on our tail.”

He had less than ten seconds to decide. The Alliance had one major rule on all missions: don’t get caught doing your job in front of humans. She’d backed him into a corner. “
I’m not leaving your side, and you have exactly twenty-four hours.”

“Forty-eight hours and we have a deal.”

The sound of tires skidding across asphalt accompanied the wail of sirens, prompting him to answer quickly. He didn’t have the time to argue with her. “
Deal.”

He regained consciousness just as blinking lights from a police car flooded the area. He yanked her to her feet and began to run. She stumbled behind, favoring her injured leg. Porch lights flickered on, and humans peeked out from behind curtains. They’d have descriptions to give the cops. Tall male in black leather, and petite blonde in dirty, pink workout clothes.

Suddenly his first mission seemed impossible. How could he bring her back to the Alliance if she continually forced his body into semi-consciousness? His lack of attention at the Alliance Headquarters wasn’t helping. If he’d asked questions and paid any sort of attention, he might have learned something about her powers before Ambrose had given him the
CliffsNotes
version. He could have come up with ways to counteract them if he’d had more than a few hours to think about it.

No time to think about it now. He roughly pulled her behind a bush, intending to flash them out of the neighborhood. He’d told the pilot of his jet not to get comfortable.

“Where are you materializing us to?” Her normally bouncy, blond ponytail was stiff with dried mud. Her big blue eyes watched him with caution. “Well?”

He didn’t answer her. He concentrated on the airplane, recalling the contours and the arrangement so he could flash them directly onto the plush beige seats.

“Damn you, you lied!”

“I’m not an angel anymore, Kels, if you haven’t noticed.” He should feel something from the way she looked at him, as if he’d just betrayed her trust. Standing before him was the only individual he’d desired to become acquainted with, and yet after shooting her and lying to her, he felt nothing. He’d been given a job, and that job remained his first priority. If she really was innocent, the Alliance would find her so.

“And I’m not about to be taken in.”

Again he lost the ability to command his own body, and he went down hard. He heard her fall to the ground as well.

“Damn it, Kelsey, the cops are coming.”

“Yeah, and I can do this all night long. Serves you right for shooting me, asshole.”

Chapter Three

The house they’d ducked into was vacant. A quick survey showed mail piled up just inside the door and an almost empty fridge, which made it obvious that the owners were out of town or on spring vacation.

Kelsey wandered in and out of various bedrooms clustered in the rear of the house. In the smallest room, tucked in a private corner, a crib and rocking chair sat eerily quiet. One wall depicted an elaborately painted Easter scene, with bunnies and balloons, baskets and bright green grass sprouting up from the floor.

Kelsey gently ran the pads of her fingers over the brightly colored bunny which had two protruding teeth, floppy ears, and a giant pink bow around its neck. A trunk of toys sat by the window, so full it wouldn’t shut, a few overstuffed extremities hanging out the sides. A tiny chair sat in front of a green chalkboard, the beginning of the alphabet written in a small child’s hand, the chalk on the floor, a forgotten piece of nothing in the grand scheme of things.

There was a large picture of the family hanging on the wall. Nice-looking male, slim female, and a chubby little girl with fat French braids hanging down her tiny shoulders. She held onto her mother while gazing at her father, cheeks pink, her pale blue dress fanning out around her.

Kelsey inhaled sharply and blinked back tears. She left the child’s room without a backward glance, though the room gave her added strength and determination. She’d find the asshole framing her, and she’d make him regret every fucking thing he’d done to her and her family. From the first moment he’d entered her life and destroyed it, to the last time he’d infiltrated her dreams less than a week ago. He’d pay for it all.

A little snooping and she located a calendar in the office with the family’s vacation dates on it, circled in red. They’d be back in three days. That gave her more than enough time to figure things out. Like how in the hell anyone could use physical force in the dream realm and have it stick in the real world. It just wasn’t possible. It was like Vegas. What happened in the dream realm, stayed in the dream realm. When you woke up from a dream, you didn’t have any of the injuries that occurred in the dream.

She left the office and found Domiel standing in the middle of the living room, looking as uncomfortable as she’d ever seen him. He, too, stared at the numerous family photos that lined the walls and covered most of the wooden furnishings.

To her the family photos represented something that didn’t exist—the perfect family. What the hell did the pictures do for him? The way he was gazing at them … one would think he was enthralled. Eh, she had enough to think about.

“You know, I’m surprised you shot me. Most rookies wouldn’t have the balls to go that far with a fellow Alliance member. Especially one they’d been secretly screwing in their dreams. Just sayin’.”

“I fired a warning shot. You healed quickly enough.”

She hadn’t healed as quickly as she’d have liked. Her body was too banged-up because of G.I. Jade, and she hadn’t fed from a vein in weeks. The skin where he’d shot her was throbbing like a bitch, and it itched like hell. Luckily the bullet had gone right through or she’d be really pissed and not just mildly irritated. “What do you know about my sentencing?”

He kept his gaze firmly locked on a collection of photos lined up perfectly across the mantle when he answered. “I don’t know that you’re sentenced. Ambrose said he wanted to speak with you, and then you disappeared.”

He looked criminal in his black leather as he stood in the middle of the Martha Stewart-decorated house. She touched the edge of his mind with her powers and couldn’t detect any deceit. She’d been in the Alliance long enough to know Ambrose had already begun a trial for her because he wanted to chat, so there had to be some sort of incriminating evidence involving her. She was tempted to mind-link with Lexie to see how far her sentencing had progressed, but not knowing where Lexie was, Kelsey was hesitant to bring her friend down. Lexie could be walking down a staircase or engaged in a fight.

Knowing Lexie, it’d be a fight. The thought nearly brought a smile to Kelsey’s face.

Standing in this house, evidence of a perfect family crowding around her, she’d never wanted to go home more, although she could never go home. The demon had destroyed that chapter of her life. Her arms snaked around her waist. “Are they holding Alexia?” She wasn’t sure if they’d pin Lexie with her sudden disappearance.

Domiel didn’t answer her. He shrugged out of his coat and tossed it on the back of the couch. His forearms bunched with his movements, his torso tight. She recalled his look of ecstasy when she’d interrupted his fantasy dream, the way he’d been holding her, and the crazy red hair. Did he think she was sexier as a redhead?

He might fantasize about her, but he hadn’t hesitated to shoot her. She rubbed the sting out of her leg, her fingers grazing over the sticky, semi-dried blood on her jogging pants. “Fine, don’t tell me. You’re just going to make it harder for me.”

He moved closer to her, his gaze lingering on her leg, concern evident in his features. “Is your leg still bothering you?”

“What the hell do you think? You
shot
me.” He confused the hell out of her. No way could he be genuinely concerned about the bullet wound. He was the one who’d pulled the trigger!

“Let me take a look.”

She narrowed her eyes in warning. “It’s on my inner thigh, and you’re so not going there. The bullet went clean through, so there’s nothing to do but wait for it to heal.”

She could tell he contemplated fighting her on the subject by the way his gaze traveled down her body. Something about the way his attention lingered in places made her feel as though she were already stripped bare. Even though her body was bruised and battered, the heat in his golden eyes was turning her on as though he’d flipped a fuck-me switch. If that was how he looked at her when he was sizing her up for injury, she couldn’t fathom the look she’d receive if he turned on his full charm.

Actually, she could. That look of pleasure …
oh, quit thinking about it.

“What made you run?”

His question doused all thoughts of twisted limbs and rumpled bed sheets. “Lexie told me to go to Paris and clear my name. The one crucial thing you’ll learn as an assassin is to develop trust with your fellow operatives. I trust her. I did as she instructed me to do.”

“No offense to your friend, but she’s completely crazy. She doesn’t think before she does things.”

True, that. But the adrenaline had kicked Kelsey into high gear. Within seconds her mission had been laid out for her—get to Paris and clear her name. Even though Lexie’s warning had thrown her, she trusted her friend. “They’re holding her, aren’t they?”

He still didn’t answer. If she mind-linked with Lexie, she’d be fair game for Domiel. He might take the opportunity to flash her to the airport. “Okay. I guess I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to speak to her on the phone.” While she tried to track the demon, she had to be kept abreast of what the Alliance was doing. It’d be easier to try and call her cell, but the Alliance wasn’t that sloppy. They’d have confiscated the cell from Lexie, so that option was out.

A frown on his face, he went to his jacket and patted the pockets, then he turned on her with a growl. “Where the hell is my cell?”

“I chucked it in the bushes when you took off the cuffs, rookie. What do you think I am—stupid? I also cut the phone lines when I was scoping out the house so you can’t call Ambrose and update him on my whereabouts. I heard through the grapevine that you haven’t exactly nailed down your demonic powers yet. Tough break, huh?”

That being said, she left him in the darkened living room. They hadn’t been able to turn on any lights, just in case the neighbors were watching the house while the owners were on vacation. No problem for either of them. Both had excellent night vision, and the sun was making a rapid ascension.

She found a female’s closet in the master bedroom. Pleated slacks weren’t her thing, but that’s about all the woman had. That and turtleneck sweaters. The sweaters were beautiful and thick, perfect for winter temperatures, but not much else. Wool would hinder her if she had to fight, but she didn’t have much of a choice. It was either the thick sweaters, or a big, bulky jacket. She grabbed a black turtleneck sweater and a pair of black slacks.

There had been a shower in the jet, but she hadn’t been able to make use of it. First rule in hijacking a jet: don’t take the gun from the pilot’s head.

“I’m taking a shower.” She waited for him in the hallway, a frown on her face. He looked larger-than-life standing in front of the window in the living room. His black T-shirt didn’t hide one bulge of muscle in his chest. Having once been angels, demons were perfection incarnate.
Everywhere
. The thought of him fantasizing about her—when he could have just about anyone with breasts—brought out her inner vixen.

The adrenalin spike she’d been running on since Alexia had set her on this merry-go-round was fading now. She rolled her shoulders, recognizing the heaviness that was settling in her limbs as the fatigue she’d put off since her brutal training yesterday caught up with her.

Damn it. She couldn’t afford to let her guard down. The first pastel rays of sunlight filtering in through the front window accentuated Domiel’s masculine features. He really was too good-looking, but good-looking didn’t mean shit when you had a mission to see to.