“Is he? Can he be?”
“Has he not proven so?”
“He is God’s primary enforcer. He kills as often as he breathes. Can such a creature carry love in his soul?”
“His love for Evangeline Hollis proves that to be true.”
“Does he love her? Truly? Or does something more base and raw move him? Perhaps he has a hidden purpose. Or perhaps it is simply an incestuous fondness for her name. Eve. The Temptress. As fresh in my thoughts now as she was the day I met her.”
“I pray her memory festers in your mind like an open sore.”
Sammael’s fists clenched beneath the concealment of his wings. “Cain running a firm. Who could have conceived of him reaching such heights? It must chafe you terribly.”
“Do you have a point, Sammael?”
“I am just conversing, my brother. It has been so long since you and I were last together.”
Raguel flapped his mighty wings, using the resulting updraft to push his worn body to its feet. “I have nothing to say. Send me back to my hell.”
“Say please.”
There was a protracted silence, then a snarled, “Please.”
His brother’s hatred was a writhing, burning thing.
Beautiful.
Pleased with the progressing state of affairs, Sammael sent Raguel back with a snap of his fingers while simultaneously shifting to his receiving room. Azazel appeared a moment later, taking a knee and bowing. Aside from similar height and form, his lieutenant was as different from him as Heaven and Hell. White hair and pale irises showcased skin like ivory, while garments of ice blue and silver emphasized Azazel’s frosty demeanor. He could chill a room with his presence and was most useful in cooling Sammael’s fiery temper.
“My liege,” Azazel murmured.
“What was your impression of Raguel?”
The demon’s gaze lifted. “He is unbroken, but soulweary.”
“Good. Exactly the way I want him. Now, tell me you have news.”
‘The yuki-onna, Harumi-san, betrayed us to Evangeline Hollis. Cain has returned to the field. It will be more difficult to reach her now.”
Sammael smiled. “She has other vulnerabilities.”
“Her best friend is backpacking in Europe, and her sister lives in Kentucky.”
“Excellent.”
“Her parents are local.”
Sammael moved toward his throne. His lower limbs changed as he crossed the mosaic floor, turning from hindquarters to legs. His wings retracted, sinking into his spine as if they had never been. “Leave them.”
“My liege, I think—”
“No, you do not.” He adjusted his black velvet slacks before sinking into his seat and gesturing for Azazel to rise. “Take away her family, and you take away her reason to live.”
“Why would that be a bad thing?”
“Her family keeps her mortal, which makes her weak. Why do you think the seraphim choose the unencumbered to be Marks? A soul is most dangerous when it has nothing to lose. We want her motivated, not a grief-stricken vigilante. She might even become an ally.”
“An ally?”
“Why not?” He waved one hand carelessly. “She does not believe. It would seem likely that she wants to be free of the mark. Anyone who could assist her in that endeavor would be a friend.”
“You seek to extort and befriend her?”
“Or kill her. Whatever purpose suits me best. Discover everyone who means anything to her but whose loss won’t break her. Close coworkers. School friends. Neighbors.”
Azazel snorted. “Ulrich took care of the neighbor already. She would have been perfect. As close as family.”
“Ufrich? The Nix?” Sammael’s gaze lifted to the mural of Michelangelo’s Fall of Man on the domed ceiling. “Asmodeus oversteps his place again.”
“He is ambitious.”
“He is overzealous. He has already succeeded in killing her once by lending a dragon to Grimshaw.” He looked at his lieutenant. “Watch him closely. He and I may soon have things to discuss.”
A rare smile curved Azazel’s mouth. “Yes, my liege.”
Sammael leaned his head against the throne and closed his eyes. “And get someone to clean up the mess that berserker made in the great hall.”
CHAPTER 6
Eve steered her car into her assigned spot next to Alec’s and cut the engine. The subterranean parking lot of Gadara Tower was darker and cooler than the ground level. The temperature change was enough to silence the tengu in her trunk.
With her fingers wrapped around the steering wheel and her senses achingly aware of how pissed off Reed was, she stared at the single placard that displayed both “A. Cain” and “E. Hollis.” Such privileges alienated her from the other Marks.
Her car door opened. Alec’s large hand extended into her view. She pulled the keys out of the ignition and accepted his offer of help. She’d barely cleared the roofline when she found herself pinned to the rear door by six-plus feet of hard-bodied male.
“So I’ve been thinking. . .“ Eve began.
The tengu resumed bouncing around in her trunk. We need to tighten things up, he said, keep information strictly between me and you. Got it?
“Gotcha.”
Alec’s hands gripped her waist, his thumbs sliding across her hipbones, his sunglasses dangling from his fingers. “Did I hurt you?” he asked softly. “Earlier?”
Just the memory of his power surge at the tengu building made her shiver, but she shook her head. “I’m fine. You just took me by surprise.”
“I didn’t think about how it might hit you.”
“Do you hear me complaining? I think you saved us from getting jumped.”
His forehead dropped to hers. “You’re too good for me.”
“Alec. . .“ Her throat tightened.
“But that Dear John speech you were talking to Abel about? It won’t fly with me either, so save your breath.”
Eve shoved at his shoulder. “Eavesdropper.”
He backed away, laughing. “I’m ruthless.”
Alec reached down through the driver’s side door for the trunk release just as her cell phone began ringing from its spot in her cup holder. He tossed it to her. The caller ID said only Cal jfornia, so Eve answered with a brisk, “Hollis.”
“Ms. Hollis. Detective Jones of the Anaheim police Department.”
She winced at the familiar voice. It held a bit of a twang, as if he had originated in the South, then migrated.
The mantra of California natives entered her mind unbidden, Welcome to California. Now go home.
As Alec gestured for her to go to the truck, Eve squeezed his arm and spoke with clear enunciation for his benelit. “Hello, Detective.”
Alec paused.
“Did I catch you at a bad time?” Jones asked.
“I have a minute.”
“My partner and I stopped by your condo an hour or so ago.”
“I’m at work.”
“No, you’re not.”
She rounded the rear of the car. “I’m not?”
As the tengu began pounding on the trunk lid, he asked, “What’s that noise?”
“What noise? And why do you think I’m not at work?”
“Because we’re sitting in your office right now.” His voice rose in volume. “Can you hear me?”
Her gaze moved to Alec. He waited for her signal to open the trunk. “You’re here?”
“Where are you, Ms. Hollis?”
“In the garage of Gadara Tower.”
“We would like to speak with you, if you have a moment.”
“Of course. I’ll be up in ten.” She disconnected.
Alec rested his forearms on the edge of the open door. “I have someone taking coffee and donuts to your office.”
As convenient as the archangels’ mental switchboard system was, Eve wasn’t sure it was worth the headaches. Information flowed through Alec like a sieve, but not in the same manner as it did through Reed. Handlers were stopgaps designed to alleviate the firm leaders’ burdens. They had only twenty-one Marks to concern them; the archangels were responsible for thousands.
“They might find the donuts stereotypical and insulting,” she pointed out, shoving her phone into her pocket. She hunkered down in preparation of the trunk opening.
“Good. They should know better than to pick on my girl.” He hit the truck release.
The tengu burst free with a squeal. Eve caught him with a grunt, but the force of the little beast’s velocity knocked her on her ass.
“Pretty Mark!” he cried, snapping at her with his stone teeth.
She waited until Alec rounded the trunk. Then she threw the demon at him.
As usual, the vast lobby of Gadara Tower was congested with many business-minded Marks and mortals. The industrious whirring of the glass tube elevator motors and the steady hum of numerous conversations were now familiar and soothing to Eve. She felt safe here, cocooned from the world outside where demons ran amok.
Fifty floors above her, a massive skylight allowed natural illumination to flood the atrium. The gentle heat from the sun combined with the multitude of planters created a slight humidity. It emphasized the overwhelming scent of Marks to a near suffocating degree.
Beside her, Alec inhaled deeply, then exhaled in a sigh of pleasure. She felt echoes of the surge of power that hit him whenever he was in close proximity to multiple Marks. That charge was unique to him, the original and most badass Mark of them all. She wondered how he’d managed to remain autonomous for so long, considering how much strength he gained when around other Marks. There was a story there, but Alec wasn’t telling it.
As they weaved through the crowd, Marks paused to gape at the tengu. It was their first sighting of a masked Infernal. The ripple of unease that followed in her and Alec’s wake was tangible. Eve hoped the advent of the mask didn’t foster too much doubt. The last thing they needed was for frightened Marks to target mortals by accident.
