The Belial Ring (The Belial Series 3) (33 page)

Right now, she would be happy if she never saw the damn thing again.

There was a knock at her door.
Jen peeked her head in. “Hey.”

Laney swallowed
, but her voice still sounded raspy. “Hey.”

“
I’d ask how you’re doing, but I’m guessing that’s a pretty stupid question right now.”

Laney tried to smile but failed.
“Yeah.”

“
Well, I thought you should know that Henry’s meeting with that agent from the SIA this morning at nine.”

Laney struggled
think through the molasses in her mind. “What? Clark? Why?”

Jen sat on the edge of Laney
’s bed. “We didn’t tell you before. You had enough going on. Clark’s the one who sent the Egyptian SIA to help you. Which meant he knew about the attack somehow. Henry wants to know how.”

Laney couldn
’t believe her own stupidity. Why hadn’t she wondered how the SIA had shown up just in time?

T
he bullet hole in Jake’s forehead flashed through her mind. But this time it was anger that boiled up, not grief. “Clark
knew?
He knew we were going to be attacked?”

Jen nodded.
“That’s what it looks like.”

Laney threw off the covers and yanked the ring off the side table.
That bastard.

CHAPTER 72

L
aney took the stairs to Henry’s office two at a time. It was 9:03. They were late.

Jen kept pace with her.
“Laney, you need to calm down. I know you’re angry, but it’s not going to help you get any answers.”

Laney whirled on her and Jen backed up a step.
“He
knew
. Jake would be alive if he’d told us. Rocky would be alive. But he didn’t. He’s holding back and people are getting killed.”

Laney continued up the stairs, Jen following her.
Part of her brain knew Jen was right, but she couldn’t hold back her anger. It was like a never-ending tide. Reaching the landing in front of Henry’s office, she barely spared a glance at the woman who sat on the couch outside Henry’s door.

Laney stopped at
the double doors and took a deep breath. Rocky’s and Jake’s faces flashed through her mind. She pushed the doors open.

Clark sat in one of the leather chairs in front of Henry
’s desk. Henry shot to his feet as soon as Laney appeared. He came around the desk toward her, his eyes wide. “Laney? Are you all right?”

Laney held up her hand to stop Henry from reaching her.
She walked around him and positioned herself directly in front of Clark.

Clark stood.
“Dr. McPhearson, I am so sorry for the loss of Mr. Rogan and Ms. Martinez.”

Laney narrowed her eyes.
“Are you?”

“
Of course. I only wished we’d been able to get—”

Laney threw a right cross at his face.

Clark dodged it with superhuman speed, leaping five feet away.

Laney went still. “You’re a Fallen.”

CHAPTER 73

L
aney’s heartbeat raced as she studied Agent Clark by the windows. All this time, he’d never told them what he was. He’d leapt out of the way of Laney’s punch with superhuman speed. If he were a nephilim, Jen and Henry would have felt a connection to him. Which meant there was only one possibility: he was a Fallen.

In a blur, Jen and Henry were on either side of him, just out of his reach.

Clark looked over at Jen. “Interesting. We’d heard you didn’t reveal your abilities.”

“
Only when someone I care about is threatened,” Jen replied, her eyes cold.

Clark nodded, putting up his hands and looking at Laney.
“I’m not a threat. I told you before that the SIA has Fallen working for them. I just failed to mention that I was one of them.”

“
I think it’s time you placed all your cards on the table, Clark,” Henry growled.

Clark nodded, his hands up.
“Agreed. Can we all sit?”

Henry looked to Laney.
“Your call.”

Laney gave an abrupt nod, still reeling from learning
of Clark’s true nature. The surprise had taken the edge off her anger, but it was still there, boiling just beneath the surface.

Laney
walked over to the couch, slipped the ring from her pocket, and placed it on her finger. At the ambush, when she put the ring on, she thought she’d been able to control that Fallen, at least a little. Although she really had no idea how she’d done that. Still, better safe than sorry.

Apparently, Jen and Henry had the same idea.
They each pulled over a chair, positioning them so they were in front of Laney and slightly to the side. Enough space for Laney to see, but also close enough that they could guard her if necessary.

Clark didn
’t quite manage to hide his smile at the precautions. He turned his own chair around so it was facing them. “Okay. So where should we start?”

“
How about with how a Fallen ends up working for the SIA?” Henry asked.

Clark nodded.
“All right. I discovered my abilities when I was eleven. I was beyond amazed. My parents both knew I had them. They were worried about what would happen if someone found out, so they taught me to always be on guard. But one day—someone found out. I’m still not sure who or how.”

“
What happened?” Laney asked.

“
I came home from college and there was a man sitting in my kitchen. My parents were still at work. He told me there were more people out there like me. And he showed me what he could do. He said he had a place where I could go, where I’d feel accepted for who I was. What he didn’t realize was that I already had that place. My parents had always made me feel loved and accepted. I told him that. He smiled and left.” Clark paused. “Two days later, my parents were dead. The man showed up again two weeks after their funeral, and asked if I still had a place where I felt accepted.”

The brutality of the act stunned Laney.
Sympathy tried to overwhelm her rage. She kept it in check. “What did you do?”

Clark shrugged.
“I tried to kill him. Of course, I failed. I didn’t know much about my abilities, and I certainly didn’t know how to kill someone else like me. Then the man disappeared. I spent the next few years looking into people like me, trying to find a way to kill that man, if I ever saw him again. SIA learned about my research and looked me up. The rest, as they say, is history.”

In spite of herself, Laney felt compassion for him.
But she hardened herself against it. Even if he’d had a rough time of it, that didn’t mean he hadn’t used the Egypt situation to his advantage. After all, she did have the ring.

“
What about Egypt?” Henry asked.

Clark sighed.
“What I’m about to tell you can’t go beyond this room. Lives are at stake if any of this information leaks.”

Laney nodded,
and noticed Henry and Jen do the same.

Clark paused.
“SIA has a mole inside Samyaza’s group.”

CHAPTER 74

L
aney stared at Clark, her anger returning full force. “You have a mole? Didn’t you kind of bury the lead in this little conversation?”

Henry
’s response was equally heated. “Why the hell didn’t you tell us sooner? We could have found Samyaza and ended this already.”

Clark shook his head.
“The mole has a very specific mission. And we weren’t ready to take the fight to Samyaza. Not until Laney had the ring and knew how to use it. But our mole warned us about the attack, although he couldn’t safely reach us until the last minute. I scrambled the SIA as soon as I heard.”

Laney watched Clark
’s face through the whole re-telling. Her anger began to ebb. She realized she believed him.

But
she wasn’t sure if that was because Clark was telling the truth or because he was a good actor. She had a feeling it was the former and sighed. “I’m sorry for taking a swing at you.”

Clark smiled, inclining his head.
“Not the first time somebody has, and probably won’t be the last.”

“
So, tell us more about this mole,” Henry said, his arms across his chest. Apparently he wasn’t as convinced of Clark’s sincerity.

Clark stood.
“Actually, I brought someone with me to do that. She’s waiting outside.”

Laney flashed on the woman they
’d seen outside Henry’s office.

Clark disappeared through Henry
’s doors and was back in a few seconds. Beside him was a small woman, shorter even than Laney’s five foot four. With pale brown hair and light brown eyes, she gave off an air of fragility.

The woman glanced around the room nervously.

Laney realized she
’d probably overheard the yelling earlier. Poor woman, she probably thought she was walking into a viper’s den.

Laney stood, as did Jen and Henry.

Clark led the woman over to them.
“Amanda Datson, this is Dr. Jennifer Witt, Dr. Laney McPhearson, and Henry Chandler.”

As
Amanda shook hands with each of them, Laney realized that her earlier impression of fragility had been off the mark; Laney could sense the strength in her.

And Amanda didn
’t even blink at Henry’s height. Interesting.

Clark ushered Amanda to a chair next to him and they all re-took their seats.
“Amanda here is an analyst with the SIA. She’s been with us for about three years.” He turned to her. “Amanda, I have agreed to share with these people the identity of the mole.”

Amanda
’s eyes grew big. She shook her head. “No. You promised.”

Clark gently took her hand.
“Amanda, they can be trusted. I wouldn’t do anything to put him at risk. Please. Tell them your story.”

Amanda looked at him for a long moment before turning her attention to Laney, Jen
, and Henry. “All right. Although, I’m not sure how to begin.”

“
How about starting with how you know the mole?” Jen asked.

Amanda gave a small smile.
“Well, that’s easy. I’ve known him all my life. He’s my brother.”

CHAPTER 75

A
manda told her story without embellishment, without hesitation, but Laney could feel the woman’s pain. It wasn’t an easy story to tell.

Amanda sat on the chair next to Clark
, her voice calm but her hands clasped tightly in her lap. “Maddox and I grew up like most kids, with a normal mom and dad—or so we thought. Then one day, Dad never came home.” 

She took a breath and Laney could feel the sadness, even years later.  Her love for her father was obvious.

“I was eight. Maddox was ten.” She looked away for a moment before continuing. “Maddox became my protector after that. I mean, he was always a good brother, taking care of me. But after Dad disappeared, we had to move to a not-so-great neighborhood. More than once we got hassled. But Maddox, he held everyone at bay. By the time he was twelve, he had a reputation, and most people left us alone.

“
Every once in a while, though, some older kid would get it in his head that he could take Maddox. Maddox was big for his age.” She gave Henry a small smile. “Not quite as big as you, but he’s taller than most. I think he’s about six-six or so now. Anyway, the big kids would come and the big kids would fall.”

“
So he became a hard case,” Jen said.

Amanda shook her head.
“Only to the outside world. To me, he was the brother who I watched cartoons with, made forts with. And who taught me how to fight. But I was never as good as him.  Maddox has skills that I didn’t have. He’s gifted. He’s like our dad.”

Laney looked at Amanda but didn't see any fear or jealousy in her.  She loved her brother, that was clear. 

“Was your dad a Fallen?” Jen asked.

Amanda nodded.
“I didn’t realize it while he was with us. But my dad . . . he was fast, really fast. One time, we took a family vacation to Mount Rushmore. Maddox and Mom were asleep, but my dad saw I was awake. He asked if I wanted to go on an adventure.”