Fallen: Celeste (10 page)

When the last spurt of his cum had been milked from his cock, he
rolled off her. Turning to her side, she grinned at
him. "You certainly have a
great recipe for relaxing, Montgomery."

Laughing, he tried to catch his breath. "I have a few other
ideas we can try once my heartbeat returns to normal."

CHAPTER TEN

Celeste and Adam stood staring down at the dead girl. She felt the
frustration building in Adam. Through centuries of hunting, she had learned the
value of patience. It hurt to watch innocent mortals die, but she knew there
had been no way to save this one.

"We knew there was a hockey game last night. Why didn't we
keep watch for him?" Adam growled.

"We were doing other things. Also, there was no way we would
have been able to watch all the exits and places he could grab her; plus Tomas
has never killed this close together." Celeste turned away from the empty
eyes of the girl.

"Why is he escalating now?" Adam followed her.

"I'm getting closer to him. Before, I had no real way of finding
him. I knew he was in Detroit, but I couldn't connect with him. So far, I've
been in contact twice and he's getting nervous."

"Nervous? Why would he be nervous about you?"

Celeste knew it wasn't an insult to her. Adam truly didn't know
why Tomas would be afraid of her.

"Celeste is the most powerful of the Enforcers." William
appeared beside them.

Adam jumped. Celeste frowned. "You can't just appear,
William. This place is crawling with policemen."

William waved his hand. "They all think I arrived with you.
Their minds are easily manipulated."

"You can't do that." Celeste's voice was harsh.
"You're an Enforcer, William. You aren't supposed to take advantage."

William was unconcerned. "Oh, is that one of the unspoken but
deeply understood rules of the Enforcer Creed, Celeste? No one explained them
to me. We have powers they have never heard of, so why can't we use them?"
William shrugged. "Anyway, it's quicker to do this than follow you around
on foot all day. You know how lazy I am, darling."

Celeste shook her head at him. She closed her eyes and shut out
all the noise. She linked with William. Touching Adam, she found the lust
simmering underneath. She grabbed that and began to search outward across the
city to find Tomas.

Ah, my dear. You found my latest offering
. Tomas' touch felt
oily to Celeste's mind.

Another so soon, Tomas? Are you getting worried about us finding
you?

I have no doubt you will find me in the end, Celeste. The question
you must ask yourself is how many will die before you do?

If you know I'll find you, why kill them?

I told you before, my dear. I kill because I can. These mortals
are nothing to us. They are weak creatures, prone to overwhelming emotions.
They will never reach our level of perfection. Why do you care for them so
much? You didn't when we followed Lucifer down. Did you lose your nerve?
He taunted her.

It takes more nerve to admit to being wrong. He cares for them.
There must be a reason for it.

You have once again fallen under their spell, Celeste. What do
these mortal men have that makes you pant after them like a bitch in heat?

Celeste knew Tomas would never understand why she enjoyed spending
time with mortals. There were times when she didn't understand either.

Time's up, love.
Tomas' touch disappeared.

"Damn!" Celeste muttered.

"Lose him?" William had felt the drain on his power when
Celeste connected with him.

She nodded. "I'm a little closer to finding him, but he shut
me out before I could lock onto him."

"Did he tell you why he's killing these women?" Adam
asked.

William raised his eyebrows at him. "The kind of business
you're in and you have to ask why Tomas kills."

"Everyone has their own reasons for ending someone's
life."

"The only reason Tomas has is because he can. He kills them,
so he can feel powerful. These women are nothing to him. Just animals he can
slaughter for his own enjoyment." Celeste walked over to one of the police
officers. She told them to start searching the southern part of the city.

"I have to head to my office for a while, Celeste. I've been
spending too much time on this case. Jakar is getting anxious about some other
business," Adam said as she joined them again.

"Ok, I have to go to mine as well. Have to do some work on
paying cases. There are people who depend on their paychecks." She drew
Adam to her.

They wrapped their arms around each other. Feasting on each
other's lips and tongues, they didn't pay attention to William's knowing grin.
They were both breathing hard when they pulled themselves apart. Adam said
good-bye to William and left.

"Did you leave his tonsils, Celeste?" William teased.

Punching him in the arm, Celeste headed for her car.

* * * *

Adam growled. How had things gotten out of hand so quickly? Jakar
was right. He needed to take a firmer hand on the gang. He walked down the
sidewalk. It wasn't the best part of Detroit, but Adam wasn't worried about
getting accosted. No one, not even the druggies, were stupid enough to try anything
with him.

He had dealt with the idiot trying to hone in on some of his
business deals in the east end. The man had really believed the Russians would
deal with him instead of Adam. The Russians knew who would get them the best
deal and they weren't going to turn their backs on him. Especially since Adam
saved the boss' stupid son from a bunch of gang-bangers earlier that year. He
was lost in thought when he heard a whisper from the alley next to him.

"Hey, man. You're Montgomery, right?" A harsh voice came
from the dark shadows in the alley between the buildings.

"Yes," Adam said slowly.

The tall, painfully thin man stepping away from the wall didn't
seem much of a threat. He had the nervous twitch of a strung-out junkie.
"I might have some news about the killer everyone's looking for." The
man was unwashed with long matted hair and dirt crusted clothes. His hands
shook, but it was his eyes that caught Adam's attention.

A bright gleaming gray, they stared hard at Adam. They were clear
of the haze frequent drug users had. Adam had a feeling he had met this man
before.

"Why come to me? Go to the cops and tell them." Adam
started to turn away.

"Come on, man. You know cops. They'll drag me in and make me
sit around while they check out the tip." He held out a hand. "I
don't have that kind of time. Besides, you're working with the Young
woman."

"How do you know her?"

The man shrugged. "The street folks know her. She's looking
in the wrong place. Tell her Mike said to check out the area around River
Rouge. The folks are starting to avoid it."

Adam handed Mike a hundred. "Maybe you should think about
getting clean."

Mike tucked the money in the pocket of his threadbare jeans.
"There will always be people like me, Montgomery. They will always need a
champion. Make sure you tell the Enforcer."

Before Adam had
assimilated what Mike said, the homeless man was gone.

* * * *

Adam strolled into Celeste's office. She glanced up to see the
frown gracing his face.

"What's wrong?" Celeste set aside the paper she had been
studying.

"Do you know a street person named Mike?"

She shrugged. "I know a lot of street people. Not all of them
give me their names. What did he look like?"

Adam closed his eyes and brought up the image of Mike. "He
was extremely tall and rather mangy looking. He had the most extraordinary
eyes."

"Eyes?" Celeste couldn't hide her interest.

"Yeah, they were the most startling shade of gray." He
glared at her. "So do you know him?"

Celeste stood up and moved to the window. She stared out over
Woodward Avenue. Finally she said, "I might know who he is. What did he
tell you?"

"You're looking in the wrong place. Things are going down in
River Rouge. He said people are beginning to avoid it." Adam moved up
behind her. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her tight against him.
"Who was he, Celeste?"

She sighed. "An old friend."

"How do you know him?"

"Those who live on the streets are closer to Heaven and Hell
than you are. They know who I am from the moment we meet. Mike has been on the
streets the longest. We've known each other for a long time. Don't go looking
for him, Adam. You'll never find him."

"I feel like I've met him before."

"He's that kind of person, I guess." She turned and
pressed her breasts against him. "Don't worry about him. Do you have
someone willing to do a little looking around down in River Rouge?"

"I'll call Jakar and have him send someone. What about
William?"

"While William says he's here to help me, he works at his own
pace. I can't order him to go anywhere."

"A lot of help he is," Adam mumbled.

"When the time comes, he will be a great deal of help,
Adam." She kissed him on the chin. "I know something we could be
doing that's a lot more fun than wondering where William is."

"Do you now? And
what would that be?" Adam smiled down at her. She pulled his head down and
whispered in his ear. He laughed and pulled her out of the office.

* * * *

"Celeste," Adam gasped as she looked up from where she
had milked his cock dry.

Licking her lips, she smiled at him. "I think I'm getting
addicted to your taste, Montgomery." She lay down beside him, curling into
his side.

"I know I'm addicted to you. I just can't do anything about
this craving right at the moment. You've worn me out." Adam laughed.

"We really need to work on your stamina." She sighed as
Adam ran his fingers through her hair.

As the silence deepened, Celeste thought Adam must have fallen
asleep. She moved closer to him, settling her head on his chest and an arm
around his waist. His arms tightened around her. A soft kiss brushed her hair.

"I do love you, Celeste," he whispered through the
darkness.

She tensed.

"I know you don't want to hear it. Or you think that it's
just the fact that you're an angel and I would love you anyway." He took a
deep breath. "It's not that. I don't make friends easily. I certainly
don't fall in love. But from the first moment I saw you, I knew you were going
to make a difference in my life. Of course, I told myself we were just going to
have great sex. I was right about that. No one would get out of bed if they had
the kind of sex we have." He wondered what Celeste was thinking. He knew
he shouldn't have said anything, but he couldn't keep it inside anymore.

He could tell his admission startled and frightened her. For the
first time in his life, Adam was thinking about someone else. He wanted to make
her happy. He had a feeling his whole life was about to change and only she
would be able to make the change for the better or the worse. She started to
speak.

"Don't talk. I guess I don't want to hear what I'm pretty
sure you're going to tell me. Just let me bask in the glow of love for a while
before you destroy all my dreams."

She pushed herself up to lean over him. Touching her lips to his
in a soft butterfly kiss, she smiled. "I won't say what you seem to think
I should. When the time is right, Adam, I will let you know exactly how I
feel."

He felt her hand slide down his body and cup his balls. So she
hadn't said that she loved him out loud, but he was willing to believe that her
actions were telling him how she really felt.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

William stood in the middle of a rundown house in River Rouge.
Murderers, druggies and gangs controlled this side of Detroit. He knew that
even Adam's Demons stayed out of the area if they could. He saw Celeste's nose
wrinkle against the smells pervading the room. The garbage piled in the corners
couldn't cover the stains marring the floor.

William knelt down by one, but didn't touch it. There was a flash
of anger across his face. He had never understood the senseless killing humans
and other fallen seemed to enjoy. Maybe that's why he chose to be an Enforcer.
Of course, it could have been that it takes a lot of energy to be bad. William
knew he was lazy and far more interested in his own comforts than those of the
mortals around him, but seeing the blood staining the floor and being able to
feel the pain and fear hanging in the room was filling him with rage.

A gentle touch on his shoulder made him look up. Celeste stood
over him. Her eyes were filled with tears. They were both reacting to the
sadness hanging in the air.

"This place will be haunted from now on," William
stated. Standing, he moved towards the window. "We have to find him,
Celeste."