CHAPTER 15

Reed was debating whether punching his brother as an archangel would have different consequences than knocking him out as a mal’akh when Eve rounded the duplex corner at a flat out run. His fist stayed clenched, but his biceps relaxed. The look on her face was enough to stay him. She could tear into Cain much more effectively than he could.

Hank was in the house with the rest of the ill-fated class, using their labor to set up his equipment before they left for the airport. Reed wished the occultist was present for this impromptu visit from Cain, just to see if his reaction to his brother’s new incarnation was unique or not. Montevista was the only Mark, aside from Eve, who was present, and he just looked relieved. He was a Mark after all, and they thought Cain was the best thing since sliced bread. The heavy artillery was here and all would be well.

“Alec!”

His brother turned and smiled at Eve’s enthusiastic greeting. “Hello, angel.”

Eve skidded to a halt a few feet away, her lovely face marred by an uncertain frown. He greeted her as one would a friend, not as a lover he had craved deeply over a decade’s separation.

“How are you?” she asked, watching him approach with concerned eyes.

“I’ll be better after you’ve been moved to safety.”

Cain didn’t sound like himself, his resonant words spoken at a slower tempo and slightly clipped. He also didn’t look like himself, his eyes rimmed with gold, his caramel-colored skin luminescent. In his jeans and tank, Cain took the position of archangel to another level. Reed knew that level was now beyond Eve’s reach.

“Are you okay?” she persisted. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine.” As he brushed stray strands of hair from her face, Cain’s smile was kind. “Are you packed?”

Reed leaned back against the front of the Suburban and crossed his arms, watching with avid interest. In the past, the two had been combustible together. Now, he’d call them lukewarm at best.

“Yes, I’m packed,” Eve answered, “but I’m not ready to leave.”

“Because of the crew across the street?”

She nodded.

“I’ve arranged for them to stay overnight on Alcatraz, but the offer is only open tonight. The last ferry leaves at ten to seven, so they’ll need to leave quickly if they want to go.”

“Wonderful,” she replied, but her tone was flat. The look in her eyes was confused, wary. Her fingers clenched and released against her thigh. “Have they been told already?”

“I was hoping you would take care of that.”

“Okay.” She backed away, then stopped. “The Alpha . . . ?”

“Not yet. After this.”

“Don’t leave until I get back. Please.”

Reed knew how much it cost her to say that—Eve was not the type of woman to cling to a man—but with the detachment his brother was displaying, it was a valid concern.

Montevista stood poised to follow her. Cain moved first, closing the small gap she had created between them. He gripped her by the biceps and stared down into her upturned face.

“The conference call is in less than an hour’s time, and I still have to deal with Charles.”

“What’s wrong?” she whispered. “I can’t feel you anymore.”

His lips pressed to her forehead. “Things have . . . changed, angel. When everything here is resolved, we’ll talk about it. There’s a lot I don’t know or understand. I’ll have to find answers before I can give them to you. I need some time to do that. Can you give me that?”

Eve gave a jerky nod.

Reed was fairly certain she had just been kicked to the curb. From the wounded look on Eve’s expressive face, she thought so, too.

Her shoulders went back and her chin lifted. “Be careful.”

“Don’t worry about me.” Cain released her and stepped back. “Take care of you.”

Recognizing a golden opportunity when he saw one, Reed straightened and said, “I’ll go with her.”

“I’ll go,” Montevista offered. “You’re needed here.”

“Quite the opposite actually.” Reed smiled. “My entire reason for being here is Eve.”

“Don’t you have something to tell me about your trip to Australia?” Cain asked with narrowed eyes. That was the only sign that he was affected at all by Eve’s departure and Reed’s offer of accompaniment.

Reed watched Eve reach the other side of the street, then glanced around to ensure privacy. “We think the Infernal grows with every attack,” he said in a low tone. “The one in Australia was considerably larger than the one Mariel first saw and the one that attacked Raguel was even larger than that.”

“You don’t think it could be more than one?”

“Maybe, but Les—the Australian handler—watched the creature increase in size after it destroyed his Mark.”

“All right. Thank you.” Cain looked away, dismissing Reed altogether.

Shock threw Reed for a loop for a half minute. He almost told Cain about the Infernal’s suspected ability to absorb its target’s thread of awareness and connection to the handler. But in the end, he wanted to join Eve more than he wanted to give his brother any advantage in the upcoming conference with the other archangels.

Heading across the street, Reed reached the front door of the Ghoul School duplex and knocked. One dog bark and a minute later, the door opened and revealed a pretty redhead in a pink and purple sundress.

“Hi.” She grinned, checking him out.

“Hi. I’m looking for Eve.”

“He’s with me,” Eve called out.

The redhead held out her hand. “I’m Michelle.”

“Michelle.” Reed lifted her hand to his lips. “Reed Abel.”

She stepped back and waved him in. He entered a dormlike space filled with an inflatable sofa, a few folding lawn chairs, lots of cardboard boxes, and a couple of air mattresses. The air was redolent of insecticide and nacho tortilla chips.

Reed offered an all-encompassing wave and took note of the various occupants in the living room—a brunette in glasses shared the couch with a goateed guy in corduroy slacks. Another guy in jeans and white T-shirt was snoring from his spot on a nearby bed. A brown Great Dane paced the perimeter of the room, while Michelle pulled up a lawn chair and offered it to him. He declined the hospitality with a shake of his head and a grateful smile.

Eve made the introductions, then continued with her interrupted conversation. “So there you have it. We’re really sorry about the inconvenience.”

“Hey,” Roger grinned, “We’re not going to get upset about a shot at Alcatraz at night. We’ve been signing up for the lottery there for two years now, but never get in. And even if we did, there’s no guarantee we’d be allowed to film there.”

“I’m not sure,” Linda said. “We were asked specifically to come out here to McCroskey. I hate to burn that bridge.”

“I’m certain the invitation will be reextended,” Reed reassured smoothly, celestial persuasion resonating through his tone. “Gadara simply wants to make some small restitution for imposing on you. He hadn’t expected that we’d be using the area in the evening, too.”

“That’s very nice of him,” Michelle said, her eyes dazed.

“What the heck can you all do at night, anyway?” Linda asked.

Reed’s brows rose. The brunette seemed unaffected.

“Lighting,” Eve improvised. “Exterior and interior.”

“Linda doesn’t like spontaneity,” Roger explained, “but I’m excited. Alcatraz at night isn’t an inconvenience.”

Linda frowned. “We’ll have to talk it over and let you know.”

Reed looked at Eve. Tough cookie, he thought.

Her mouth curved. I like her. Aloud she said, “Well, let me know what you decide. But don’t wait too long. It’s a two-hour drive from here, without rush-hour traffic.”

“I really want you to participate in an investigation.”

Reed was taken aback by the fervor with which Linda made her pronouncement. He had assumed Eve was pushing herself to go along with them. He hadn’t realized she was facing pressure from the “ghost hunters.”

“I’ll take a rain check.” Eve smiled. “I promise.”

A few minutes later, Reed was standing on the sidewalk next to Eve and they were both staring at the Mark duplex across the street. From the outside view, the place was still and quiet. Everyone was inside, all the vehicle doors were closed, all the equipment packed away.

“I’m going to Anytown,” she said. “Coming with me?”

He looked down at her, noting her stubborn chin and challenging gaze. “I can stop you.”

Her lips pursed. “Why?”

“Safety?”

“Right now, there are three of Gadara’s Infernals, two guards, and two investigators working in Anytown. If you come, I’ll have a guardian angel, too. A veritable army.”

Reed seized the opportunity. “You’ll owe me.”

Eve paused, then crossed her arms. “Owe you what?”

He looked at her hands with their slender fingers. Certain she’d had a camera in hand when she set off toward the Ghoul School house, he asked, “Where’s your camera?”

“I left it inside.”

“Want to go back and get it?”

“Want to stop changing the subject? What will I owe you? It can’t be sex.”

“Why not? Maybe that’s exactly what I’ll want.” Might as well lay it all out there. He didn’t want her saying later that she had no idea what she was getting into.

She snorted. “You didn’t want it from me a short while ago.”

“And you didn’t hesitate to get it on the phone with Cain,” he countered. “We both found substitutions for what we really wanted.”