The Dark-Hunters (753 page)

In a weird way, it was almost adorable.

Abigail wanted to reach out and soothe poor Andy, even though his reaction was way over the top. Maybe it was ridiculous, but she felt terrible about it.

Because of her past, she tended to bond to objects more than people, too. Objects could be stolen, but they didn’t leave voluntarily. They were always there when you needed them, and they didn’t say or do anything to hurt your feelings.

It killed her that she’d damaged something that obviously meant so much to him.

I’m becoming a massive walking disaster area.
She was the opposite of Midas. Instead of turning to gold, everything she touched turned to dust.

Even her best friend …

Her heart caught on that. She still couldn’t believe everything that had happened tonight. Her friends were her enemies, and she was depending on her enemy to help save her life. Nothing in the world made sense right now.

Honestly, she just needed a few minutes of peace before the next catastrophe. A moment to ground herself before another storm blew through and swept her over the edge of insanity. But that was a luxury none of them had.

Unwilling to think about what was coming for her next, she followed after Jess, who’d already vanished into the house.

By the time Abigail caught up to him in the kitchen, he was standing with Sasha and a blond man she’d never seen before. Not quite as well muscled as Jess, the newcomer was by no means small. He had short tousled blond hair and tiny braids that fell from one temple. Dressed in jeans and a gray T-shirt, he had arms covered with black Celtic tribal tattoos. There was something about him that screamed ultimate badass.

And he pierced her with a suspicious look the moment he sensed her presence. That look pinned her feet to the floor and kept her from taking another step.

At least until Jess turned around and offered her a kind smile. By the friendly expression on his face, she knew it was safe to approach the other man.

She hoped.

Jess motioned her forward. “Abigail, meet Talon. Talon, Abigail.”

Relaxing a bit from his tough-man stance, Talon inclined his head to her. “Hi.”

Well, at least he was friendlier toward her than Zarek had been. Not that that was saying much.
They’d probably be a lot friendlier if you hadn’t killed their brethren.

In all honesty, she was lucky he wasn’t attacking her, and she wouldn’t blame him if he did. There was no telling how long he’d known the ones she’d killed. How close they’d been.

I’m so sorry.

Life seriously needed an undo button. The coward in her wanted to turn around and run. But she’d never been craven a day in her life, and she wasn’t about to start now when they needed her to stand strong.

Clearing her throat, she forced herself to join them at the stainless-steel island. “Are you the one responsible for the rain?”

“Yeah.” Talon glanced at Jess and cracked a devilish grin that said there was an inside joke between them.

Jess made a face of supreme pain. “You’re not still busting on Storm, are you?”

“Ah, hell yeah, you know it.” Talon let out an evil laugh. “There are truly few things that give me more pleasure.”

“You are all kinds of wrong.” Jess shook his head before he explained it to her and Sasha. “Talon’s brother-in-law is a professional rainmaker. So every time poor Storm tries to make it rain, Talon stops it. At this point, he’s beginning to get a complex over it.”

Pride gleamed bright in Talon’s eyes. “I know it’s cruel, but I can’t help myself. Little bastard deserves it after all the grief he gives me over his sister. Not to mention I really like the little-girl sound he makes when he fails.”

Sasha snorted. “And you people think I’m twisted. Damn, that’s so cold.”

“Speaking of, Weatherman,” Jess said. “You can probably kill the rain now. I think the wasps are pretty much shocked and driven back.”

A loud clap of thunder shook the house. “Yeah, but it’s fun.”

“Might be, but you’re flooding out parts of the city.”

Talon grimaced. “Make me feel bad, why don’t you? Fine, it’s canned.”

Abigail was intrigued by his powers. It was one she hadn’t known a Dark-Hunter could have. “So can you summon tornadoes or earthquakes?”

“Earthquakes aren’t weather-related.” Talon winked at her, then sobered as if he caught himself being too friendly. “And no offense, I don’t feel comfortable discussing my powers with someone who might try and use them against me one day. So I’ll be keeping all details close.”

Pain stabbed her hard in the chest. “You’re right. I deserve that. I shouldn’t have asked.”

The expression on his face said that he felt as bad about his words as she did.

Jess put his arm around her shoulders. “Go easy on her, Celt. She was protecting her family. We’ve all done things we regret while trying to help the people we love. It doesn’t make her an enemy.”

“True. It just makes her human.” Talon held his hand out to her. “Truce?”

Offering him a shy smile, she took his hand in hers and shook it. “Truce.” The moment she touched his skin, she felt something strange on his palm. Scowling, she turned his hand over to see a nasty burn scar there. “That looks really painful.”

Talon actually smiled as if the memory warmed him. He pulled his hand away. “A very small price to pay for all I gained. Trust me. Had it been necessary, I’d have given the whole arm.” He passed a look from her to Jess that sent a shiver down her spine.

It was like he knew what they’d done.

A light smile played at the edges of his lips. “Speaking of, I need to be getting back home. Last thing I want to do is stress out Sunny. My luck, she’d show up here and in her condition, I’d have to kill someone if they upset her. Since I don’t want to kill myself…” He scanned the three of them. “Good luck. For the gods’ sakes, don’t fail.”

“Don’t intend to,” Jess assured him.

Talon vanished.

Abigail shifted nervously as Sasha arched a brow over the fact that Jess still had his arm around her. She’d shrug it off but didn’t want to do anything to make it stand out more. Besides, she liked it.

Ignoring Sasha’s curiosity, she spoke to Jess. “I take it Sunny is his wife and she’s pregnant?”

“Very.”

She nodded as she absorbed that. Along with a new fear for herself. “I didn’t think Dark-Hunters could have families or make someone pregnant.”

A light appeared in his eyes that said he might actually be reading her thoughts.

She gave him a stern glare.

Panic flared deep in his dark gaze before he stepped away from her as if wanting to put distance between her and his so-called tender parts. “Didn’t do it. I swear, and no, we can’t. Talon’s no longer one of us and hasn’t been for some time. Sunshine freed him.”

Really … there was another thing she’d never known was possible.

Before she could speak again, Ren’s deep, stern voice rang out. “You need to take it slowly.”

“I say, stop mothering me, Ren. I’m not an invalid, you know? Fall into one little trance while taking care of something, and now I have a hen on top of me. I swear if you don’t stop, I shall rename you.”

Abigail quickly hid her amusement as Choo Co La Tah came into the kitchen with Ren. The expression on Ren’s face could freeze fire.

Unlike her, Jess had no problem laughing at them both. “Anything I should know about?”

Choo Co La Tah stiffened indignantly. “Yes. Your friend here is a bit of a faffer, and I’ve had enough of it for one day, thank you very much.”

Ren sighed in irritation. When he spoke, it was to Jess, not Choo Co La Tah. “Talon brought him out of the trance. I’m thinking now, though, that we should have left him there.”

Abigail hated to interrupt, but … “Off topic—what’s a faffer?”

Ren’s face turned bright red.

Luckily, Choo Co La Tah smiled at her. “Someone who fusses, my dear.”

Ah. No wonder Ren was so furious. Not the manliest of descriptions, by any means.

“May I also ask why you speak with an English accent? It seems…” She couldn’t say
odd
without offending him, and that was the last thing she wanted to do. She actually liked the elder a lot, even if he wasn’t always the most likable of people. “Different.”

Ren put his hands on his hips. “He learned to speak English from the original British settlers and never quite adapted to the modern accent.”

Choo Co La Tah gave him a withering stare, as if he didn’t appreciate Ren’s explanation. “I like the way it sounds better. Besides, it throws everyone off balance when they hear it, and I like that even more. Always keep them guessing about you, my dear. Nothing ever makes them so crazy.”

She appreciated that thought.

“How are you feeling?” Jess asked Choo Co La Tah, changing the subject.

“Weary. And we’ve wasted enough time. We need to get going so that we can reach the high point before dawn, make our offering, and secure the jars.”

A tendril of fear went through her as she realized that the offering most likely would be her life.
I’m not ready for this.…

Jess saw the fear in Abigail’s eyes. Wanting only to soothe her, he took her hand in his and squeezed her fingers in a silent promise that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her. He meant that, too. So long as he had breath inside him, nothing would get to her.

Choo Co La Tah dropped his gaze to their hands, and something akin to approval crossed his face.

Weird.

But Jess didn’t have time to think about that. “Let’s head to the Bronco and get started. It’s a little over an hour to get there from here. We should have plenty of time before dawn, but with what all Coyote’s been throwing at us, who knows.”

Ren hesitated. “My powers are waning. I think I’ll fly in and meet you.”

He had a point, but … “You sure about that? Snake could open a can of whoop-ass on us, too, and we don’t know what his plagues are. Do we?”

“Flesh-eating virus,” Choo Co La Tah said. “And bloodfire.”

Sasha screwed his face up. “Bloodfire?”

“My personal fave.” Ren’s tone was thick with sarcasm. “It’s blood drops that fall from the sky and explode like wet dynamite.”

Jess nodded as Ren proved his point. “Not exactly something you want to have hit you when you’re out in the open.”

“True, but I’m stupid enough to chance it. I need to recharge if we have to fight, and I’m sure you do, too.”

Jess cursed the man’s stubbornness.

And his sacrifice.

“You be
really
careful,” he warned.

Ren gave him a cocky grin. “Always. You have to be careful when you fly, or you end up smeared on the side of a building.”

“You’re not funny.”

“I’m hilarious, crabass.” Ren’s gaze went to Abigail, and a shadow passed across his face. One that Jess sensed was extremely important. But as quickly as it came, Ren covered it. “Save our girl. Won’t do us any good to get there without her.”

“Don’t worry.” He wasn’t about to let her go. Not yet, anyway. “Peaceful journey,
penyo.
”

Ren saluted him, then went to the front door. He opened it before he turned into a crow and flew away.

Sasha let out a sound of disgust. “What? Was he raised in a barn? Didn’t he ever learn how to close a door?” He flung his hand at the door and slammed it shut without touching it. “Amateur shape-shifters … No manners whatsoever.”

Jess was puzzled by the lycanthrope’s distemper. “Do we need to get you a Midol before we go?”

“I’m not that easy to soothe, cowboy. My peeves are on a cellular level.”

Jess shook his head, then fell silent as he looked at Abigail and saw the tiniest spark of red in her eyes. The demon was trying to surface again. He wondered if she could feel it when it did that. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah, why?” Well, that answered his question. Obviously, she had no idea.

The red faded out.

His gut drew tight. That couldn’t be good, either. He’d be more concerned with it, but right now, they were on a tight schedule.

“Never mind.” Taking her hand, he led them out of the kitchen and down the barrel-vaulted hallway to the other side of the house.

Abigail was floored as they kept walking and walking. In the back of her mind, she’d noted that his house was huge, but it wasn’t until now that the full size of it hit her.

Dang …

He opened the door to another garage that housed a huge collection of cars and motorcycles. It had more in common with a warehouse than a garage, except for the fact that it was immaculate and ornate. The gold trim even appeared to be gilded. “Just how big is this house?”

Jess grinned sheepishly. “Andy’s doing, not mine. Don’t ask, ’cause it’s just obscene. And no, with the exception of the black Bronco, nothing in here belongs to me. Since Andy lives in the apartment over the garage, this is his domain.”

“And how big is Mr. Andy’s apartment?”

He actually blushed. “Sixty-two hundred square feet, and I’m pretty sure it’s why he picked out this house. Though he denies it.”

Holy snikes … Well, that explained the huge feel of the place. Her house was one quarter of the size of Andy’s apartment.

“And why’s your Bronco in here?”

Jess continued on through the huge place toward his truck. “He was hauling tack earlier, and he didn’t want to risk dinging or scraping one of his darlings. Since I don’t drive it all that much, he left it over here.”

She was strangely amused as she counted Andy’s impressive super-car collection. “If he has sixteen cars, why does he care about the Audi so?”

He opened the door for the Bronco and passed her a defiant grin that set fire to her blood. Oh, to have five minutes to nibble those lips. “That’s his newest, and honestly, I think the boy just wants something to moan about. Pay him no heed.”

Abigail climbed into the backseat, leaving Choo Co La Tah to sit up front with Jess while Sasha climbed in beside her.

Jess adjusted the seat and mirrors to accommodate his size. Before he started it, he pinned a meaningful glare at Sasha through the rearview mirror. “Everyone buckled in?”

Sasha snorted, then gaped as he realized Jess wasn’t joking about it. “Really? Is there anyone here one hundred percent human? No. I think dying from an unbuckled belt is the least of our concerns right now.”