Eve of Destruction (19 page)

Miracles were known to happen in his line of work.

The wind died down and the clouds separated. In the wake of the abrupt storm, silence reigned. The air was heavy with uncustomary humidity. It was oppressive, reflective of the confusion, horror, and sorrow that permeated their immediate vicinity.

“There are three of us working this training session,” the gwyllion said. “Griselda, Bernard, and me.”

“And you are?”

“I’m Aeronwen.”

“That’s . . . lovely,” Eve said grudgingly.

Reed grinned. “It’s derived from the name of the Celtic goddess of carnage and slaughter.”

“Why do these things keep surprising me?”

“I like it.” Aeronwen beamed.

“Of course. Griselda is the faery?”

“No, Bernard is the faery. Did you like the godmother glamour? He’s so fun like that.”

“A laugh a minute. What’s Griselda?”

Raguel appeared at the edge of the roof, levitating over the lip and landing beside Eve. He pointed to the shacklike protrusion that shielded the stairs from the elements. Eve’s sharp inhalation told Reed that she saw the dragon peering around the corner.

“Great,” she muttered. “My favorite type of demon.”

“Hello, Raguel,” Reed greeted.

“Did she herald you?” the archangel asked.

“No.”

“Then why are you here?”

Reed arched a brow in an expression that asked,
Do you really want to talk about that here and now?

Raguel nodded. “You frightened the others with your abduction of Ms. Hollis.”

A shrug was Reed’s reply. The other Marks were Raguel’s concern.

The archangel’s gaze passed over the two Infernals, then settled on Eve. Deep grooves framed his lips and eyes. He could hide them, if he wished, but he chose not to. “What are you doing, Ms. Hollis?”

Eve felt her mouth curve, although she found nothing at all humorous about the mess that was her life.

“Freaking out. Losing my mind. Take your pick.” Outwardly she probably looked composed, maybe even serene. But the knuckles of her gun hand were beginning to hurt from the force of her grip and the set of her shoulders was causing a crick in her neck. She was still screaming, even if no one could hear it.

“You should be with the others.”

“No, I should be in Orange County. Designing the
interior of someone’s dream house. Looking out my windows and considering hitting the beach. Reminding myself to get my car washed and speed-dialing Mrs. Basso to see if she needs anything from the store.” Her foot tapped rhythmically into the gravel. “But I can’t do that, because she’s dead. And the poodle is dead. And now Molenaar is dead. I’m sick of people dying around me, Gadara.”

“Let me deal with this.”

“What are you going to do? Make us pack up our toys and go home?” She made a sweeping gesture with both arms, causing the two Infernals to duck below the arc of the gun. “This is a perfect training exercise. We have something to hunt down and slaughter. You couldn’t have planned it better if you tried.”

Gadara stared hard at her. It took everything Eve had to hold his golden gaze. He was a handsome and elegant man, but when enhanced by the full force of his divine gifts, he was blindingly beautiful. His dark skin like silk, his features finely wrought by a deft and loving hand. “This is far beyond your limited training, Ms. Hollis.”

“So we learn as we go.”

“It is against protocol. You know that.”

“I also know that it’s ‘perfectly acceptable to continue a deviation once it has been set in motion.’ ” She shrugged out of her sweater jacket, switching her gun from hand to hand until the garment fell away from her overheated body. “Isn’t that what you said when you assigned me to hunt tengu and travel to Upland before I was trained?”

“If proceeding is the only reasonable course,” he added. “Remaining here is far from reasonable.”

“I agree with him, Eve,” Reed said, his voice smooth and dark. Comforting, even when contradicting her.

Eve tried not to look at him, knowing it would just make her even hotter, but she lost the battle. He stood with his hands thrust into the pockets of his tailored black slacks, his pale yellow dress shirt sans tie and open at the throat. The wind ruffled his dark hair, draping the locks across his brow. Like his brother, he watched her with a predator’s stare, hungry and determined.

He held her gaze. If he’d touched her, it couldn’t have felt more real. In some ways, the brothers were very much alike. In others, they couldn’t be more different. One warmed her with a slow, steady burn. The other ignited a scorching fire.

With Alec the world stilled, external concerns faded away. She enjoyed him as she would a fine wine, with delicate sips and limitless time. With Reed her response was like a runaway train, increasing in velocity until she was breathless and reckless.

Eve looked away, rolling her shoulders to ease the knotting there.

“We are vacating the base,” Gadara said.

“What if that was the goal of the attack?”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, but it’s a possibility.”

“A far-reaching one,” Reed interjected. “And regardless, it’s too dangerous for you to be here.”

Gadara continued to watch her intensely. “I have already ordered an investigative team up here. They are far more qualified and are therefore at less risk.”

Eve knew she couldn’t argue with that. She also knew that doing nothing at all wasn’t an option. “Will you let us participate in the investigation from the safety of the tower? Studying evidence or whatever else can be done?”

A hint of a smile touched the archangel’s mouth, but she was too upset about Molenaar to chafe over playing into Gadara’s hands. So what if she was determined to participate? That didn’t mean she was married to the idea of being a Mark.

“I am certain something can be arranged,” Gadara said magnanimously.

Reed gestured for Eve to head toward the stairs. “I’ll take the class back to the house.”

Gadara nodded. “You can record your report and transfer it to my desk.”

“I’ll be sticking around awhile.”

“That will not be necessary.”

“You haven’t heard my report.”

Eve frowned. “You’re worried about something else?”

He caught her elbow as she came closer and started to escort her off the roof. “I’ll tell you later.”

There was no way to avoid inhaling the unique scent of his skin. It was musky, exotic, seductive. It flowed through her senses, creating tingles where she didn’t need them and aches where she didn’t want them. The heat of his touch burned through her shirt to
her flesh. Sweat dotted her upper lip. Her body remembered the feel of his. Craved to feel it again.

Reed glanced at her. She kept her own line of vision firmly on the ground. He opened the rooftop door and she was about to step inside when something long, gray, and quick darted past her booted foot.

Eve yelped. The rat stilled halfway down the stairs. It turned its head, staring at her with teeny beaded eyes.

Are you screaming ’cuz of me?
it asked.

A mental shudder rolled through her. The sight of the rodent’s long, ribbed tail was revolting. She swallowed back her disgust and asked, “Did you see anything when you were up there?”

Rearing up on its rear legs, the rat made a noise suspiciously like a laugh.
I scared ya. Gotta love newbies.

She aimed her gun. Reed chuckled and lounged into the stairwell railing.

Take it easy, doll,
the rat said hastily.
Where’s your sense of humor?

“What’s your name?”

A loud screeching was his reply.

Eve cut him off with a wave of her hand. “Okay, let’s call you Templeton.”

What kind of name is that?

“A rat’s name.”

“Charlotte’s Web,”
Reed murmured.

Startled that he would know such trivia, Eve looked at him with a widening smile. “I’m impressed.”

Who is Charlotte?
Templeton barked.

“Never mind,” Eve dismissed. “Did you see anything on the roof?”

Nope. Nada.

“You’re lying.”

Prove it.

“Come on,” she cajoled, firmly squelching the voice in her mind that shouted,
You’re talking to a
rat
!
“You had to see something.”

It’s not true.

“What’s not true?” She glanced at Reed, who shrugged and grinned boyishly, the combination briefly distracting her. She cursed her raging libido, which seemed to be fueled by her low-grade fever.

What they say about rats.
Templeton’s whiskers twitched in a manner that seemed . . . affronted.
It’s pigs who squeal, the miserable bastards. They’ll do anything for food.

“I like pigs. They’re useful. They make bacon and ham. What have you got to offer?”

Entertainment?

She waved the gun carelessly. “I have to be honest, it’s not looking so good for you right now, Templeton. You’re giving me the willies, not information.”

You’d shoot an innocent rat? Man, that’s low.

“Gimme something, then.”

Did you see the lip around the roof? It’s at least three feet high. I couldn’t see shit.

Eve considered that. “What did you hear?”

Struggling. Gurgling. Hammering.

She swallowed hard. “That’s not helpful.”

Templeton dropped back down on all fours.
Told ya. Can I go now?

Her gaze shot to Reed. He raised both brows and
straightened. The air around him stirred, causing his scent to waft to her. She changed her line of questioning. “Did you
smell
anything?”

Nope. Nada.

“I don’t believe you.”

Templeton looked at Reed.
Tough crowd, Abel. You sure she’s worth the effort?

Reed looked at Eve, his dark eyes soft. “She’s worth it.”

Eve forcibly ignored the physical response she had to his tone and words. “You’re a rat, Templeton—”

You’re brilliant.

“—which means you have a great sense of smell. You can tell me what kind of Infernal did . . .
that.
”

Templeton shook his head.
I didn’t smell anything but Mark.

Her head tilted to the side. “I could maybe see that if there was blood everywhere, but there isn’t any.”

Right, doll. So you tell me . . . No blood to stink up the air and a killer exerting himself strenuously, but all I could smell was Mark. How is that possible?

“What are you—” Reed’s hand came to rest at the small of her back. She swallowed hard. “Are you saying there wasn’t an Infernal down there when Molenaar was killed?”

Seems that way.

The chill in her gut spread. “Then who did it?”

Templeton’s whiskers twitched.
That’s the question, isn’t it?

* * *

“Who was the last person tae see Molenaar?” Ken asked, his gaze raking over the other Marks.

They were waiting in the men’s side of the duplex for Gadara to return from Anytown and the tension was thick as fog. Eve stood on the open threshold between the dining and living rooms. Reed leaned a shoulder into the wall beside her, a causal pose she knew was only a facade. She was unusually antsy, with a simmering need to
move.
The itch to leap into offensive action crawled over her skin like a thousand tiny ants.

The smell of mold and decay in the house was more pronounced now, almost oppressively so. The weak rays of sunlight shining through the windows showcased every flaw the moonlight had concealed: the stained and warped hardwood floors, the crumbling walls, the scuffed baseboards. The air was choked with the proliferation of dust that swirled around them like tendrils of smoke. Eve found herself becoming more agitated by the moment.

Inside her mind, Reed murmured words she couldn’t understand in a soothing tone. Their connection was too weak to convey more than impressions, but she got the gist. He wanted her to take it down a notch. She was hot and irritable, and she wanted to cry but her eyes were dry as bone.

“Well?” Ken demanded, looking oddly fierce in his ski cap, like a bank-robbing felon. “The last time I saw him was when we entered Anytown. I went tae the left. I saw Hollis, Edwards, and Richens go intae the office building. Who went tae the right with Molenaar?”

Claire raised her hand. She stood with feet wide and arm wrapped around her waist in a defensive posture that belied the aggressive tilt of her chin. “I did, in the beginning. We separated when I entered a video rental store. He continued without me.”