Eve of Chaos (27 page)

Eve flipped
through Riesgo’s Bible while making a mental list of all the things she needed
to accomplish. She was on her couch, legs curled up, a glass of soda on the coffee
table in front of her. Gavin Rossdale’s gorgeous voice was singing “Love
Remains the Same,” and the History Channel was muted on the television in the
hopes that a biblical documentary might air.

Going through
the motions as if everything was normal was one of the ways she’d learned to
cope with chaos. It didn’t always work—sometimes screaming was better—but in
this case, she couldn’t risk freaking out and alerting Alec or Reed to her
problem. Losing Riesgo and Gadara was too great a price to pay for breaking her
deal with the Devil.

She needed
answers, but without being able to discuss her problem with anyone, how would
she get them? The archives in the Gadara system went back so far it would be
like looking for a needle in a
field
of hay. The only solution she could
come up with was to visit Hank, who could read her mind. If she managed to let
something slip...

If she had the
means, she would go to Hank now, but her car was still at the stadium, and
asking one of the exterior guards for a ride would arouse suspicions she wasn’t
sure she could deflect. She supposed she could call Hank through a landline and
ask for a house call.

Alec’s front
door opened.

Eve stiffened at
the familiar, unmistakable sound. For a moment, déjà vu was so strong it was
heartbreaking. She couldn’t help but think of her old neighbor, Mrs. Basso, and
how much simpler life had been just a few months ago. Eve missed the words of
wisdom and support her neighbor used to share with her, and she missed having
her best friend Janice— presently on sabbatical—around to commiserate and laugh
with.

When the knock
came at her door, Eve forcibly tamped down her apprehension. For Alec to come
to her the secular way had to mean something. Whether he wanted to talk about
Riesgo and the guards or what had happened between them personally, it would be
taxing for both of them. She breathed carefully, trying to attain a semblance
of composure.

“Evangeline?
Are you home?”

The soft,
feminine voice froze Eve midstride. Frowning, she became more cautious,
sidestepping to avoid being directly in front of the door. She considered
grabbing the gun she kept in a padded case in the console drawer—clearly God
was done giving her swords when she needed them—but she was concerned about
what she might do with it. Jealousy was eating at her, goaded by the volatility
of the Novium. What the hell was a woman doing at Alec’s place?

“Who is it?” Eve
called out.

“I’m safe, I
promise.”

Eve kept the
chain on, but unlocked the series of dead bolts. She pulled the door open and
peeked out the opening. The woman on her doorstep was so beautiful, she had to
blink a few times to process it.

“Hi,” her
visitor said with a friendly smile. “I’m Cain’s mother.”

Her mouth fell
open and her grip on the doorknob tightened.
Holy shit.

Lightning quick,
she freed the chain and yanked the original Eve inside. She glanced up and down
the hallway, then slammed the door shut and locked it. Spinning around, she
faced Alec’s mom with her back pressed to the door.

She swallowed
hard. “Hi.”

“You’re just as
beautiful as I imagined you would be” Alec’s mother said with a warm smile. She
approached Eve with arms wide and embraced her. “I’m so happy to meet you,
Evangeline.”

“It’s a
p-pleasure to meet you, too.. . Eve” she managed, while alarms were clanging in
her mind.

Satan wanted
this woman enough to give up Gadara for her. Why? And how had he known she
would soon be within reach?

“I would like it
if you’d call me Ima” Alec’s mother said, stepping back to study her.

They were of a
height and similarly colored, but the biblical Eve was more exotic, with
almond-shaped brown eyes and a luxuriously voluptuous figure.

She wore a
simple linen dress that looked to be handmade, and she appeared to be somewhere
in her midforties, which certainly could not be the case. She definitely didn’t
look old enough to be Alec and Reed’s mother.

“Ima,” Eve
repeated, her brain reeling over the fact that the mother of all humanity was
standing in her living room.

“What a lovely
place you have.” Ima walked deeper into the room, her head tilting back to take
in the vaulted ceilings. “Cain says you’re an interior designer.”

“Yes.” Eve
followed after her. “Would you like a drink? I have water and tea. Soda, too,
if you like that sort of thing.”

Eve didn’t know
whether the woman standing in her living room was a ghost or real. Did she eat
and drink? Sleep?

“What are you
having?” Ima asked, gesturing at the drinking glass sweating condensation onto
the coffee table.

“Diet Dr.
Pepper.”

“Diet?” Ima
smiled over her shoulder. “You don’t need to diet.”

“Yeah. The whole
mark thing…”

“Not because of
that. You’re gorgeous just the way you are.”

“Thank you.” Eve
passed her on the way to the kitchen. She hit the light switch on the wall and
grabbed a cup from the cupboard. The barely there weight of the necklace felt
like a yoke around her neck.

Alec’s mother
pulled out a bar stool and sat at the kitchen island. “I’m making you
uncomfortable.”

Pausing with the
cup in hand, Eve sighed and offered a rueful smile. “No, it’s not you. I’m just
surprised. I’m still getting used to meeting people I always thought were. . . mythological.”

“Didn’t Cain
tell you I’m real?” The grin that accompanied the question had a touch of
mischievousness that was endearing. “I saw that you’re reading the Bible. Is
there anything in particular that you’re researching?”

For a moment,
the rattling of the ice maker prevented speech. Then, Eve pulled a can of soda
out of the fridge and turned to face Ima. She was debating whether she should
talk about the whole Garden of Eden, apple, Satan incident so soon after
meeting the pivotal figure in the tale, but time was short. Who knew what
Father Riesgo and Gadara were going through right now? And how long could the
priest be a missing person before his life was irrevocably changed?

Eve set the
glass in front of Alec’s mom and popped open the can. “I was reading Genesis,
actually.”

“Don’t believe
everything you read.” Ima picked up the can and poured some soda into the
glass. She sat with spine straight and shoulders back, elegant and delicate.
Her hair was a deep chestnut curtain that fell to the seat cushion. There was a
fine cluster of silver strands at her right temple, almost too faint to be
noticed.

“Really?” Eve
set her elbow on the island and rested her chin in her hand. “What shouldn’t I
believe?”

“Well, you won’t
find it in that version you have there, but that ridiculous story about my
husband only liking the missionary position? Ridiculous. He’s a man. He’ll take
it any way he can get it and the less work he has to put into it, the more he
enjoys it. Lilith spread that tale because she’s bitter.”

Eve bit back a
smile. Then a knock came at the door and she straightened abruptly.

“Stay here’ she
said, rounding the back of Ima’s chair. “If something happens, run to one of
the rooms down the hall and lock the door.”

A grip on her
biceps stopped her.

“Unless you’re
expecting someone’ Ima said, “it’s probably Adam.”

Eve blinked.
Adam.
The knock came again, louder and more insistent.

“Isha?” a
masculine voice called.

“Isha?” Eve
repeated.

“Wife.” Ima slid
off the chair and moved toward the door. “He’ll be so excited to meet you.”

Eve’s brain took
a moment to catch up, then she rushed forward protectively. If something
happened to Reed and Alec’s mother on her watch...

When Adam
entered her home a moment later, Eve was dumbstruck. The resemblance to his
sons was disconcerting. He was gorgeous. There was a quiet dignity to his
bearing, distinguishing him in the way some men achieved with age.

As Eve stood
beside the doorway, staring, Adam perused her from head to toe. His face was
austere, giving nothing away. Eve squirmed inside, wondering what he thought of
her, whether it was good or bad.

She was
surprised when he hugged her, so much so that she stood rigidly for a moment
before she hugged him back.

“I can see why
Cain thinks she was worth waiting
for,”
Ima said, smiling as Adam
straightened and adjusted his rough-hewn vest with an awkward tug. Public
displays of affection seemed to be uncomfortable for him.

Eve jumped as
Reed appeared beside her with a plastic bag in his hand.

“Don’t shoot me,
but I brought takeout.” He spotted his parents, and his eyes widened. “I didn’t
know you were visiting!”

“Surprise!” his
mother said, dark eyes sparkling.

“Sorry about
dinner” he murmured to Eve. “It’s almost ten o’clock. I figured it was too late
to cook. You didn’t eat without me?”

Feeling the
heavy weight of his parents’ stares, she could only manage to shake her head.

“Good?’ He
pressed a kiss to her forehead, then smiled at his parents. “Luckily, I
couldn’t make up my mind and bought an excessive amount of food. We can all eat
together. Hope you’re in the mood for Italian.”

He moved toward
the kitchen. Eve followed with heavy footsteps.

She heard his
mother speak quietly behind her.

“Dear God. Not
again.”

Reed massaged
Eve’s shoulders as they stood in the common area hallway and watched his
parents disappear into Alec’s condo. “Relax. If this place is safe enough for
you, it’s equally safe for them.”

When she heard
Alec’s dead bolt slide into place,

Eve pulled out
of Reed’s grip and returned to her own home. She’d spent the last two hours
wondering if Alec was going to show up. She was both relieved and disappointed
that he hadn’t.

“They like you”
Reed said, closing her door and locking it.

Eve wasn’t so
sure about that. They’d had a decent time together once the food had been
served, but there was an underlying awkwardness that Reed seemed impervious to.

“How are
Montevista and Sydney?” she asked.

“They were
sleeping in the infirmary when I got to them, but the witch doctor said they’re
stable and in no danger.”

Frowning, Eve
settled onto the sofa.

He sat beside
her and tossed one arm over the back of the couch. There was something in his
face, a hint of strain.

She reached out
and set her hand over his knee. “Is everything all right?”

“No. Everything
is far from all right.” He laced his fingers with hers. “Obviously Azazel
knocked the guards out of commission before going after the priest. The
question is: why didn’t he come after you instead? He must want something from
you in return—guilt, recklessness, anger. . . something. But then why not take
your parents? Or your sister? The move was both really bold and too restrained.
Makes no sense.”

Her grip
tightened on his. “I would have lost it if he’d gone after my family.”

“Exactly. So
he’s playing with you. Why? Why not go all the way and hit you where it really
hurts?”

Because Satan
was clever. He wanted her pushed into a corner where she’d be desperate, but
not wild with it. He wanted her levelheaded so that she could do his dirty work.
Perhaps he even wanted to seem reasonable. She didn’t see how, but then she
didn’t understand how any of these people worked.

Eve shrugged in
reply. “Maybe the bounty isn’t for killing me, but for fucking with me? Putting
the screws to me because of the whole hellhound thing?”

“Is that what
the
yuki-onna
told you?”