21 Shades of Night, page 409
“Give me a second,” I say as I pull out and roll off of her.
I pluck my phone from my pocket and Dex’s name flashes on the screen. He’s my head of security, so I have to answer. “This better be important.”
“Angels are attacking!”
Beside me, Violet sits up, her eyes narrowed and accusing. Why is she mad at me? Her people are attacking my club. If anyone has a reason to pout it’s me. I exhale. I guess it’s safe to say that this is over. I run a hand through my damp hair.
“Keep one alive and kill the rest. I’ll be there soon.”
I slide my phone back into my pocket and my dick back into my pants all while ignoring the shade Violet is throwing in my direction. Undoubtedly, she heard the conversation, so there’s no need for me to inform her. I glance at her and she pulls her knees to her chest, hiding her body from me. Such a shame…
“What are you going to do?” She asks, her voice riddled with guilt.
I look away as I leave the bed. I can’t look at her, not when I know what I say next is going to break her heart. “What I have to.”
I manage to do up my second button before she snags my forearm. “You can’t kill them,” she pleads. “they’re there as backup for me. They don’t know I’m not there.”
“I’m sorry—”
“Lucas, please, they’re just doing their job.”
I snatch my arm from her grip and her breath hitches in her throat. “We’re enemies, V. I’m just doing my job.”
“Enemies…”
“You’re right… We are enemies.” She swallows hard as deep frown lines carve their way through her doll-like features. “Somehow, I’ve forgotten that.”
“Don’t be dramatic.” I bite out, clenching my jaw in regret as soon as it shoots out.
Gritting her teeth, Violet reaches for her blanket and pulls it up her legs, shielding her beautiful body from me.
I finish buttoning my shirt, zipping my pants, and getting my shit together all under her angry stare. When I’m done, I pause in awkward silence. What now? I’m supposed to go back to the club and forget any of this happened? Damn. This is it. This is the last moment I’m going to spend with Violet. I guess I should make it count.
“Look, I’m…I should…I didn’t…” I flick my tongue over my lower lip as I scramble to find the right words.
Violet wears a brave face now, angling her eyebrows in a way that makes her look pissed off as she squeezes her plump lips into an angry pout.
“If I could go back and redo our history, I’d do everything in my power to be more professional while training you. I’d try harder not to fall for you.” Her glare softens. “I was always uncertain about my future and despite that, I still dragged you into my life. It was never my intention to… involving you in this was…” I clear my throat. “You don’t deserve this, V.”
Violet’s fierce blue eyes and compact room disappear and not a second later, I’m encompassed by the familiar surroundings of my own chambers. I roll my shoulders and crack my neck. Something feels…different. It seems the one place I’ve sought solace suddenly feels, I don’t know, empty?
I peer over my shoulder at my vacant bed. Eva must have recovered and left. I bet she’s pissed at me.
I adjust the cuff of my shirt and teleport to my club downstairs. This better be quick. I’m in no mood to deal with this shit tonight. I cringe as music blares, but there are patrons here to enjoy it. I step forward, once, and peer down my nose at the three angels kneeling in shattered glass and spilled alcohol. They look the same, their faces bloodied and swollen.
“Only three of them?” I ask, glancing at Dex who waits behind them, looking smug. I ignore the five other members of my security team standing behind him.
Nodding, he swipes at his forehead and places his hands on his narrow hips. I watch his face as his pride is sucked out his ass. He nods and I lift my hand, signaling for the music to be cut off. It only takes a few seconds for the room to be swallowed by silence, the only sounds are the ones of a busy city in the distance. I peer around the room, expecting to see the bodies of a handful of angels, but there aren’t any.
“We were breached by how many angels?”
“Three—four including the redhead you took to your room.”
Rage builds in my stomach like fizz behind a cork. I was interrupted and pulled away from Violet for three fucking angels? Three?!
“You called me to deal with—” I clench my teeth and pinch the bridge of my nose between my thumb and index finger. “Three?”
“Yes, sir. I thought—”
“Tell me,” I interrupt. “How many angels have you taken down at once?”
“Seven, sir.”
“Seven? Impressive.” Glass crunches under my feet as I step forward. “Just to clarify, how many angels kneel before you?”
“Three, sir.”
“Three.” I run my hands over my face. This isn’t happening. Dex is usually the most competent demon I have. Believe it or not, it’s quite hard to find a demon that knows how to follow orders or has some semblance of common sense. “Do you know what that means?” Dex shakes his head. “Do the fucking math!”
“It means I should have killed them myself,”
“Yes, you should have.” I glance down at the angels who have their hands tied behind their backs. Not one of them make eye contact with me—which is pretty fucking rude considering they’re in my house. “I should slaughter you where you stand.”
Reaching down, I check the stars they have pinned to the chest pocket of their uniforms.
Two.
Two.
One.
I laugh. The headquarters sent three inexperienced angels to a building filled with demons, and for what? For me? I crouch in front of the first angel. His blond hair is dishelved, his uniform ripped, and judging by the gash in his chest, he’s lucky to be alive. The kid is young, eighteen, maybe. I almost feel bad. Almost.
“Humor me,” I chuckle, hooking my finger underneath his chin, forcing him to look at me. “Why’d they send you?”
He flicks his green stare from the ground and puckers his lips. With a jolt, he spits and I close my eyes as his warm saliva and sticky blood hits my face. Fucking animal. I wipe my face on my sleeve. Tonight is not a good night to play with me. Growling, I grab the angel by the collar of his uniform and yank him to his feet. He’s defenseless as I spin him around and press his back against my chest. I pull on his oily, blond hair and yank his head back, exposing his throat. “Make them watch!” I snap, squeezing the kid’s hair in my fist.
Handing me a blade, Dex and Ryan, another member of my security team, forces the angels’ to look in my direction. Without hesitation, I run the knife across the angel’s neck. Gargling, his blood pours out and soaks into my clothing as he twitches in my grasp. Freeing the blade, I let him go and he falls into a crumpled heap at my feet. I wipe the blade against my chest and kick him away. “Next.”
Dex yanks the second angel to his feet and shoves him forward. Catching him, I press his back against my torso and position the blade against his throat. To be honest, it doesn’t matter if any of these intruders talk. Either way, my night is going to end the same.
Drunk and alone.
“You,” I say, flicking my head to the third angel. “Why are you here?”
His long, red hair sticks to the blood on his face and his green eyes glistens with fear. He doesn’t say anything, so I try a different approach. “If you tell me the purpose of destroying my club and scaring away my customers, I’ll let you live.”
He swallows. “We’re here for Violet. We’re backup.”
My lips pull up at the corners. “You’re backup?”
I chuckle. I wish I could be there when she finds out they sent the weakest angels to her defense. It’s a good thing she wasn’t in any real trouble ‘cause she’d be dead. “Well, isn’t that a waste of not-so-good talent. Violet isn’t here. She’s at home snug in her bed.”
“And why should we believe you?” The man in my grip demands, struggling against me.
Grinning, I lower my head mouth to his ear. “Because I tucked her in.”
My men laugh and, strangely, I want to kill them for it. I cut the angel’s throat and let him go. He crashes to the floor and I step over the two dead bodies at my feet before crouching in front of the redhead. He flinches away from me, fear leaking from his brown eyes. He’s only a one star angel—and a poorly trained one at that. Whoever trained him is an idiot. He shouldn’t be on Earth. He should be fetching coffee and chasing down signatures on the Never Dark realm.
“You’re free to go.” Red slumps into himself and I snatch his jaw in my hand, forcing him to maintain eye contact. “Tell your boss if he sends angels to my club again, I’ll burn HQ to the ground. Understand?”
He nods.
I let him go. “Get out of my face.”
Dex bends low and cuts the angel’s ties. Without hesitation, dives out of a shattered window and he flees from the club. I stand up. “This place is a God damn mess. Clean it. I want it ready tomorrow night.”
I teleport back to my room before they answer me. I don’t want to look at them. I kick my shoes off and cross the room, sparing a glance toward my bar. My stomach churns. Something must be wrong with me. I don’t even want a drink.
Exhaling, I rip my short open, scattering buttons around the room. My clothes smell like her…I smell like her. I need to wash it off before I drive myself crazy.
I shower for an hour at least. At first, I decide not to wash her from my body. Then I decide I probably should. I’m clearheaded when I get out of the shower…or at least I am until I re-enter my bedroom and catch wind of her scent in the air. She’s everywhere. On my bed. In my pillows. I used to think sleeping surrounded by brimstone and sulfur was bad, but that’s nothing compared to her sweet smell.
Refusing to sleep on my bed, I make myself comfortable in my desk chair, me feet propped on my desk. When I close my eyes, all I see is Violet…
Her red hair…
Her slim waist and wide hips…
I miss her already.
Chapter 10
Parting
*
Violet
The next morning
“I STILL CAN’T believe it,” Cole mutters, sipping at his hot morning coffee.
Speaking of which, I can really go for a coffee right about now, too. Dragging myself to headquarters at six a.m. was torture and do you think Cole offered me a coffee when I showed up with my uniform not adequately zipped and my hair barely brushed? No. He didn’t. Admittedly, I’m normally a morning person, but last night… Last night I didn’t get much sleep which isn’t surprising after the encounter Lucas and I had. Not only did I miss him terribly, but the guilt of sending fellow angels to their inevitable death bothered me. I should’ve never taken Cole up on his back-up deal, but in my defense he sent three barely trained angels to an over packed hive. That fuck up is on him.
All I can do is pray he doesn’t ask me to recap what happened…to be honest, it’s a bit of a blur. I showed up, we rode the elevator, I entered his room and then he took me home. It doesn’t make much sense, but that’s all I’ve got. Not to mention that I had all the means necessary to kill Lucas… and I didn’t. Instead, I tried to fuck him. If my superiors find out I tried to bed a demon, they’ll banish me from the Never Dark realm.
A fallen angel.
“I sent three angels down there. Two of them are dead,” he groans, slamming his hands down on the desk. Coffee spills over the rim of his red mug and drips down the side. “The third one came back so shaken up we’ve had to send him back to the realm for therapy.”
“The other two, are you sure they’re dead?” I ask, carefully.
He pins me with a dark glare. “I found two God damn heads mounted on stakes right outside our fucking door. Of course I’m sure!”
The door clicks shut behind me and I don’t bother to turn and see who it is. The answer is in the ghastly, overly sweet smell that bombards my senses, making my eyes water. What’d she do, swim in a pool of her perfume?
“Don’t let me interrupt,” Janet whispers as she saddles up beside me. I glance at her and her new bright red hair-do. Smiling at me, she pulls it around her shoulders and fluffs it behind her ear. I’m not going to lie, it irks me. I clear my throat, desperate to get the bitter taste off the back of my tongue.
“Can you tell me the logic behind your decision to send three angels to Death’s nightclub?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Logic? There was no logic.” Cole narrows his eyes at me. “I was distracted when I signed their names off. I didn’t think to check their rank.”
“And now they’re dead.”
“I’ve owned up to my mistake, Ashton.” He grumbles, leaning his elbows on his desk. “It’s time for you to own up to yours.”
I feign shock. “Mine?”
“Death is still alive and that means you fucked up somewhere.”
Damn. “It’s in the report I gave you,” I tell him, not wanting to disclose what I wrote in front of Janet or waste any more time.
I can’t explain it, but I’m filled with anxiety this morning. It’s wreaking havoc on my body, on my mind. I don’t want to be on Earth—not for a second longer than I have to be.
“Well, I’m not in a reading mood today,” Cole lifts my folder off of his desk and tucks it under his arm. “So, what happened?”
“Uh…well…” I gulp and my hands start to sweat as my throat dries. I swipe at my forehead, trying hard not to focus on Cole or Janet as they wait in anticipation. “Luc—Death—was one step ahead of me.” I clear my throat. “He always has been and always will be. I need to spend time tackling issues I can handle, not chasing after ex-lovers in hopes of freeing them from their demonic chains. Besides, they have angels more capable than me, maybe they’ll stand a better chance at taking him down.”
“But it’s so romantic,” Janet coos, twirling her red hair around her index finger. “Angel versus demon, lover against lover—and the guy is a total babe—for a demon, that is.” I frown at her and she touches a hand to her chest. “Sorry…I pulled his file yesterday for Mr. Nark. I might’ve had a tiny peek at its contents.”
Huh. I watch her with a blank expression on my face. What exactly goes through that chemically abused skull of hers? When did it become acceptable to look through files you don’t have the clearance for? And why, WHY, is she wearing sunflower-yellow lipstick and gold shimmering eye shadow? When is something so drastic acceptable in any workplace? Oh, God. I’ve turned sour. I sound just like Lucas did when we first started working together.
“You can’t do that.” I tell her, angling my body in her direction. “You can’t go through—”
“It’s fine. She was with me,” Cole brushes off my frustration, but he doesn’t understand the principle of the problem. “What’s the next step?”
“There is no next step for me. I want to leave Earth—effective immediately—and go back to the Never Dark for a new assignment. “I don’t think I can do what needs to be done. I have to clear my head and the only way I can do that is in a Death free environment.”
“And you need me to sign a clearance waiver in order for you to leave?” Cole asks, sitting back in his chair as he swipes his index finger along his lower lip.
“Yes.” He raises an eyebrow at me. Ugh. “Sir.”
Smirking, he brushes his palms down the front of his black shirt and shifts in his chair, placing the folder on the table. “What will you do for me?”
I cringe. It’s not usually a sentence that turns my stomach, but it’s Cole Nark we’re talking about, that sentence can mean anything.
“I may not be human, but sexual harassment laws still apply in this workplace,”
Rolling his eyes, he scoffs at me. “Relax, that’s not what I meant.”
“Then for the sake of keeping my breakfast down, please elaborate.”
Cole scowl at me, his eyes almost disappearing under the fat around his eyes. “Will you put in a good word for me? When you get there?”
An incredulous smile spreads across my face. “You want to be an angel?” Try as I might, I can’t stop the giggle that falls from my lips.
Subtly, he sucks his stomach in. “What’s so funny?”
Reaching up, I tighten my loose ponytail and purse my lips against an outburst of laughter that threatens to come out. “Nothing.” I don’t sound convincing. “I just had no idea you wanted to fight demons.”
I try to imagine him and his plump physique doing half the shit that we do and I almost fall to the floor in a fit of laughter. Picturing him in a tight catsuit is the only thing gross enough to stop me from doing so.
“Nobody else seems to be bloody doing anything,” he booms, sucking the humor from my body. “I figured if I become an angel, I could actually get something done.”
“If only it was a simple as that,” I tell him. He manages this place so surely he knows of our protocols. They’re extensive. Most main missions are intricately thought out and planned by a council and those who are second in charge.
“Isn’t it?” Janet butts in.
“Absolutely not.” I keep my attention on Cole. All I need is his permission to leave and I’m good to go. “With all due respect, sir, being an angel isn’t as simple as dying, becoming an angel, and then kicking ass. There is a long process you need to go through and months—sometimes years—of training before you even get the chance to set foot on Earth.”
“I know the process,”
He slaps his hands against his desk, startling Janet. Grumbling to himself, he pushes his chair out from under his desk and vacates it. Janet and I watch in silence as he approaches his filing cabinet and yanks the first drawer open.
“What’s up with him?” I whisper to her while Cole closes the top drawer and tries desperately to open the second.
“His brother was killed last night, a werewolf by the looks of it.”
I frown. “A werewolf?”
“Yes Ashton, a fucking werewolf,” He gets the second drawer open. “While you’re prancing around in a nightclub, chasing after demonic ex-boyfriends, people are getting slaughtered by the demons you’ve neglected to kill.”
