A DANGEROUS BARGAIN (The Sentinel Demons) (11 page)

His face fell and his head dropped. “She was all I had, Kat. The only family I had left-my baby sister. I’d promised my mom I’d take care of her…but I couldn’t save her. I was supposed to be protecting her. She was just a kid. ” His voice was rough, vibrating with emotion.

Kat’s heart melted. He’d loved Sophie fiercely, and she understood his sense of loss. Not only had he lost his young sister, but his reason for existing. He felt the same way she had been feeling since her purpose in life had suddenly come to an end when Nora had gotten married. But she still
had
Nora and Stevie. Zach had lost everything when his sister had died and she had a feeling he had never fully recovered. He was a man who had everything…except love. “How old were you?”

“Seventeen,” he answered huskily.

My God.
He had still been a boy…or at least at the stage where he was caught between being a boy and a man. She hadn’t realized he’d been so young. Zach had told her that he was immortal and he obviously had stopped aging by the time he hit thirty or so. She had just assumed that he had been that same age when he had made his demon bargain. He had actually become a demon at the age of seventeen, making a brave decision at a very young age that would have terrified any older adult.

Kat leaned over and draped herself over his torso, slipping her arms around his back and laying her head against his chest. “You did the right thing, Zach.”

“It’s hard to accept that.”

“I know. But you know it’s the truth.”

His arms tightened around her, holding her like an anchor to keep him grounded while his emotions raged. “I suppose I do,” he rasped.

“Tell me about her, Zach. What was she like?”

And Zach did. Once he started talking, it was if he couldn’t stop. The dam had broken on memories that had been sealed with guilt and they came flooding out in a rush. Happy. Sad. Funny. Every memory he had flowed out of him, one right after the other.

Kat listened, asking an occasional question or throwing in a comment, but mostly she let him purge himself of anger and remorse by remembering his sister. Finally, when his body was more relaxed and he had stopped talking, Kat asked, “So Kristoff really saved your life?”

“He did,” Zach admitted. “We left the workhouse and were sent to work at the factory. I guess Sophie and I were lucky to be sent to the same place together, even though it killed me to watch her be worked the way she was there. I swore I’d get us out of there, find a way to support her better and get her a better life. At least we could sneak time together. When she got sick and got thrown into the pest house, I ran away. The place was no more than a barn filled with dying people who got little or no care. She was sick. Really sick. Her whole body was covered in pox and trying to keep her fever down was nearly impossible. But after a while, I thought she was getting better. I wanted to get her some clean things, blankets and the necessities, but I didn’t have any money. So I went into the village and tried to steal what I needed.”

Kat tightened her arms around him, running her hand up and down his back, her heart breaking for the impoverished young man he had been. She had been poor, but never like that, without food, a place to live, and the basic necessities. “I would have done the same if it was my nephew. I would have done whatever was needed to provide for him,” she told him, knowing it was the truth. “You were caught?”

“I was caught, and they were ready to take me away as a thief when Kristoff came out of nowhere, told them I was his brother, and paid the merchant double to keep his mouth shut.” Zach released a long, shaky breath before continuing. “I promised to go with him as soon as Sophie was better. I had pockets full of money from making the bargain with him, and assurances of much more later. I left Kristoff in the village and ran back to Sophie. All I could think about was getting back to her, getting her out of that hellhole and to some place clean and nice.” His voice broke, and his speech halted suddenly.

Tears flowed freely from Kat’s eyes. She closed them and shuddered, her whole body experiencing Zach’s pain. “She was gone.” It wasn’t a question. She already knew what had happened. But experiencing Zach’s emotions, feeling his anguish, made her ache for his loss as though it had just happened. He was too lost to block his sorrow and despair at the loss of his sister, but she didn’t care. She’d rather feel it, experience it with him. Being close to him was something she craved, and she’d willingly share his sadness with him. It almost felt like she took some of it away by bearing it alongside of him.

“She was gone, the linen taken away. There was just an empty space where she’d been lying when I left. A bunch of the dead had been buried in a mass grave. I never got to say goodbye,” Zach rasped, his voice tight.

Kat sat up and looked at his face. She ran her hand along his cheek lightly, the stubble on his jaw abrading her fingers.
This is the pain he carries. The guilt.
“You were nothing more than a child yourself, Zach. You did the best you could. It isn’t your fault. You were very brave.”

He reached up and entwined her fingers with his, pressing her hand to his face, his expression ravaged. “It was a long time ago, Kat. Don’t cry.”

It may have happened two centuries ago, but Kat had felt his torment. He’d never really dealt with the loss, so it was like it was happening all over again. “There’s no expiration date on grief,” she told him quietly. “I just wish I could do something to help.”

Smiling weakly, he pulled her back into his arms, hugging her body tightly against him. “You already have. You calm my soul.” He sighed heavily and his body relaxed. “I need you so much.”

Kat’s chest was aching as she sunk her hands into his hair and let herself relax against him, feeling strangely content, knowing with complete certainty that at this very moment in time, she was exactly where she wanted to be. This thing, this incredible connection to Zach was the most intimate and amazing experience she’d had in her entire life.

“How did you end up with Hunter and Drew?” she asked curiously. Zach had told her that the three men weren’t blood-related, but she wondered how they had come together.

“Unlucky, I guess,” Zach grumbled playfully.

Kat smiled, knowing he really didn’t feel that way about his adopted brothers. “You care about them.”

“They’re a pain in my ass,” he answered swiftly before continuing. “I stayed with Kristoff for about ten years until I started actually taking up my Sentinel duties. He said I needed time to grow up.”

She didn’t need to ask how that had gone over with Zach. She could hear the irritation in his voice. No doubt he had gotten impatient. “And you met your brothers during your growing up time?”

“No. I had all the money and things I wanted, but we didn’t actually start posing as wealthy brothers until they were recruited later by Kristoff. Drew came first, about thirty years after I started working as a recruiter. His parents were farmers during the potato famine in Ireland. Hunter arrived soon after. Eventually Kristoff hooked us up as brothers and business partners to explain our wealth. We all wished for the same bargain and it got harder and harder to explain having that much money without a business or a wealthy family. We’ve been together ever since.”

Kat nodded. “I wondered if Drew was Scottish or Irish. I noticed he still has a touch of an accent. I guess you lost your English accent because you came here so young. What about Hunter? Is he always so gruff?”

Zach snorted. “Gruff? He’s an asshole. Has been since he became a Sentinel. But he has good reason. He lost his whole family to the Evils. Drew and I try to contain him, but he’s out of control. Breaks every rule he possibly can, although he does it out of hatred of the Evils.”

Oh God. Poor Hunter. No wonder he looks so bitter.
“I wish we could help him,” she whispered softly.

Zach rolled, pinning her body beneath his, all his hard, hot flesh suddenly over her, surrounding her in heat. “Keep your distance from Hunter,” Zach warned, his face suddenly grim. “He isn’t always…safe.”

Kat wasn’t so sure about that, but she didn’t argue. Honestly, Hunter reminded her of a wounded animal, snarling back at the world because he was hurting. Twining her arms around his neck, she met his fierce glower with a fascinated stare. How had his mood turned so quickly from tender to volatile?

“Because I’m a demon, sweetheart,” he answered, eyeing her with hot intent. “And you’re my woman. My greatest instinct is to shelter you, protect you, and make you mine.”

Kat shivered in anticipation. He was all male dominance and hot demon, a combination that was irresistible. The lure of melting into his possessive embrace was too strong. No man had ever wanted to keep her from harm or had cared about her happiness.

“I do,” Zach rumbled, his lips swooping down to capture her mouth.

He laid siege, tempting her before she could chastise him for reading her thoughts again, but within moments, lost in his seductive embrace, she no longer cared.

Drew Winston paced his plush office at Winston Industries with a pensive expression, gripping the foam cup in his hand so tightly that it nearly burst. “Do you think he did it?” he asked Kristoff and Hunter, both of whom were currently lounging in his comfortable leather chairs near his desk. They had turned their seats toward the door and were presently watching him walk back and forth across the considerable length of his private office, stopping occasionally to take a slug of his cappuccino or to grab a decadent chocolate from his desk and pop it into his mouth. His personal assistant made sure Drew had an endless supply of both items, and several others that Drew indulged himself with throughout the day. If it were possible for demons to become overweight, Drew was fairly certain he would be. Fortunately, he was immortal, and he never had to worry about what he shoved into his mouth to satisfy his never-ending hunger. His body would always be in optimum fighting condition. There were many things Drew loved about being a Sentinel, and being capable of eating an endless amount of food that wasn’t good for him was at the top of the list.

“Which deed are we talking about?” Kristoff questioned with a small, mysterious smile.

“We want to know if Zach bound Kat to him.” Hunter turned slightly and tossed his empty soda can toward the trash, the container sailing neatly through the air and landing dead center. “Two points,” he grunted with satisfaction.

“He did. Tighter than he realizes,” Kristoff replied, a small smile lingering on his lips.

Drew didn’t ask how Kristoff knew this. The Sentinel king had powers that even he and his brothers hadn’t yet completely figured out. “She accepted him then?” Drew asked, hoping Zach would finally find peace.

“Oh…he hasn’t taken her as his
radiant.
She made a life bargain with him,” Kristoff commented casually before lifting his own cup of coffee to his mouth, taking a healthy gulp.

Drew’s eyebrows drew together, creating a furrow between his brows. “And will he be taking her as his
radiant
?”

Kristoff swallowed before he shrugged and then answered, “That I don’t know. No Sentinel has ever
not
accepted their radiant, but if anyone is stubborn enough to do it…it’s Zach.”

“I’d refuse,” Hunter grumbled, crossing his arms in front of him. “Better to not have a mate. Too much trouble.”

Drew didn’t answer. He was used to Hunter’s abrasive personality. And what Hunter was really saying was that it hurt too much to care about someone, to risk losing them. With Hunter’s past, it was understandable. He just wished his brother would stop divesting the Evils of their heads without provocation and breaking the rules. Drew hated seeing the price that Hunter paid for doing so, and unfortunately, it happened way too frequently.

“He needs her,” he told Kristoff fiercely, gripping his cup until the foam indented and was in danger of popping. Zach deserved his happiness and Kat was his only hope of finding it.

“That may be true, but it’s ultimately up to Zach to figure it out. We can’t interfere.”

Bullshit. There had to be a way to nudge Zach. Or knock him over the head with a sledgehammer.

“Leave it alone, Drew. Everything will work out as it’s meant to be,” Kristoff told him, his voice holding a thinly veiled warning.

“I thought you didn’t know whether or not Zach would take Kat as his
radiant
,” Drew retorted in an irritated voice as he stopped at his desk for another chocolate, pinning Kristoff with a questioning look as he popped it into his mouth.

“I don’t know exactly what will happen. But you can’t mess with his destiny,” Kristoff cautioned before changing the subject. “What of the Sentinels? Have you heard about any of them having similar dreams?”

Hunter merely shook his head. Drew answered grimly, “No. But it will take time to check with all of them in the area.”

They had Sentinels worldwide and although the population wasn’t enormous, it would take more than a day for word to travel to all of them.

“I’ve contacted all of the regional leaders. But they’ll need to track down and speak with our people of every designation,” Kristoff said impatiently. “How many have been taken so far?”

“Twenty that have been reported. All from various regions of the US. It’s hard to know where the little assholes will pop up next,” Drew replied, gritting his teeth as he said it. His duty was to protect human life, the instinct deep-seated, and he had failed to protect those who were taken. “There could be some missing who we don’t know about yet.”