Eve of Destruction (44 page)

Alec stepped inside and shut the door. “What means more? When someone wants you because they can’t help it? Because of hormones or some chemical reaction in the brain? Or when they want you because they choose to want you? Because they make the conscious decision to want you?”

She groaned. “You’re too fucking complicated.”

“We’ll start slow,” he suggested, stepping closer and moving in for the kill.

“Like what?” she asked, suspicious.

His smile made her toes curl. “A ride on my bike along the coast. That slow enough for you?”

Eve’s gaze narrowed. Far from innocent, a ride on his Harley would put him in her arms and between her legs. The gleam in his eyes told her he was thinking the same thing.

“Only if I’m doing the driving,” she said.

He hesitated, well aware that she was talking about more than the bike.

“Otherwise, no deal,” she pressed.

“Fine. Deal.”

Her tummy fluttered. Where had she heard that before?

For a second she wondered how this would work. Even now, she could feel both men in her head bristling at each other with their backs up. Then she gave a mental shrug. They all knew what was going on. They were all adults. Mostly. And she was a one-man woman. They would both be at arm’s distance for a while.

The moment she thought it, she felt how well
that
went over.

Smiling, she headed down the hallway to change.

For some it will be clear that Fort McCroskey is based on the former Fort Ord, an Army base on Monterey Bay, California. I fictionalized it to free me creatively. The Defense Language Institute and Naval Postgraduate School, however, are very real. DLI not only trains some of the best and brightest military personnel in the world, it also holds some of the most vivid memories of my life. My father-in-law attended to learn Vietnamese for the Marines. Years later, I attended to learn Russian for the Army. And years after that, my sister attended to learn Arabic for the Air Force. How times change.

Many languages are taught at DLI, all in the continuing mission to keep the United States military the most formidable in the world.

God bless our troops.

T
HE
S
EVEN
A
RCHANGELS

1 These are the names of the angels who watch.

2 Uriel, one of the holy angels, who presides over clamor and terror.

3 Raphael, one of the holy angels, who presides over the spirits of men.

4 Raguel, one of the holy angels, who takes vengeance on the world of the luminaries.

5 Michael, one of the holy angels, to wit, he that is set over the best part of mankind and over chaos.

6 Sarakiel, one of the holy angels, who is set over the spirits, who sin in the spirit.

7 Gabriel, one of the holy angels, who is over Paradise and the serpents and the Cherubim.

8 Remiel, one of the holy angels, whom God set over those who rise.

—The Book of Enoch, 20:1–8

T
HE
C
HRISTIAN
H
IERARCHY OF
A
NGEL

First Sphere
—Angels who function as guardians of God’s throne

Seraphim


Cherubim


Ophanim/Thrones/Wheels
(Erelim)

Second Sphere
—Angels who function as governors

Dominions/Leaders
(Hashmallim)


Virtues


Powers/Authorities

Third Sphere
—Angels who function as messengers and soldiers

Principalities/Rules


Archangels


Angels
(Malakhim)

A
BBREVIATED
P
LAYLIST
(in no particular order)

“Blitzkrieg”—Metallica

“Symphony of Destruction”—Megadeth

“Like a Dog Chasing Cars”—Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard

“Voodoo”—Godsmack

“Ghost Riders in the Sky”—Spiderbait

More extras at
www.sjday.net

Don’t Miss
Eve of Darkness,
Available Now.

Cursed by God, hunted by demons, desired by Cain and Abel . . . All in a day’s work.

For Evangeline Hollis, a long-ago fling with a bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks just became a disaster of biblical proportions. One night with a leather-clad man of mystery has led to a divine punishment: the Mark of Cain.

Thrust into a world where sinners are drafted to kill demons, Eve knows her learning curve must be short. A longtime agnostic, she begrudgingly maneuvers through a celestial bureaucracy where she is a valuable but ill-treated pawn. She’s also become the latest point of contention in the oldest case of sibling rivalry in history. . . .

But she’ll worry about all that later. Right now she’s more concerned with learning to kill while staying alive. And saving the soul she’d never quite believed she had.

And Look for
Eve of Chaos
,
on Sale June 30, 2009.

How do you tell Satan that you ran over his hellhound?

Evangeline Hollis has no idea and she doesn’t want to find out. Living with the Mark of Cain—and the two sexy brothers who come with it—is trouble enough. She doesn’t need to borrow more. Too bad Satan is too pissed to oblige her.

Incensed at the loss of his pet, Satan has put a bounty on Eve’s head, and Hell’s denizens are converging en masse. The proliferation of Infernals is complicating Eve’s hunts and creating chaos in her once orderly life. They’ve also brought her to the attention of an overzealous reverend who is certain she’s Jezebel reincarnate.

How can a Mark drafted by God strike a bargain with the Devil? Eve’s about to find out. . . .