“Don’t get yourself killed. I want to see you again”
Eve gave him a mock salute.
“Good luck”, Fred said.
“Thanks. We’re going to need it.”
CHAPTER 20
It was a little past seven in the morning when Eve left her bedroom and moved down the hallway to the living room. She checked on Montevista, usually the first one awake while on watch, but presently the last one still sleeping. Sydney sat at the kitchen island in a pale blue bathrobe and red slippers reading the newspaper report of the Lamborghini wreck.
“Coffee?” Eve asked, as she opened the freezer to grab the beans.
“Sure.” The Mark smiled. “I love how normal you are.”
Eve snorted. “This is normal? Shoot me now.”
Sydney abandoned the newspaper. “When I was first marked, I didn’t know how to take it. It seemed like such a huge responsibility to be a warrior for God. And everything was so different. I used to love coffee. I drank it all day. But I gave it up, thinking there was no point anymore since I couldn’t feel the buzz from the caffeine. Because I changed so many things about my life, I felt like a stranger in my own skin for a long time.”
Knowing that feeling all too well, Eve nodded.
“Look on the bright side, that dedication makes you a much better Mark than I am. I want to be you when I grow up.”
Sydney slid off the stool and moved to the cupboard. She grabbed three mugs. “I’m hoping to be more like you.”
“Bad with a sword and accident prone?”
“Shut up. Killing things is just part of the job, not all of it. I actually think your agnosticism gives you an advantage. You don’t take anything at face value, so you see things the rest of us don’t. Since I met you, I’ve been trying to reconnect with the things that used to define me. I bought bookshelves last weekend and an outrageously expensive coffee station the week before that. Sounds like nothing, I know—”
“No, I get it. You’re building a future instead of living day to day. And you’re letting yourself have fun with your life. Good for you.”
“Thanks.” Sydney set the mugs on the counter. “I’m much happier now that you’ve rubbed off on me.”
Eve bumped shoulders with her. “Here’s to hoping some of your kick-ass qualities rub off on me.”
There was a beat of silence as Eve poured the beans into the grinder, then Sydney whispered, “I guess the new me is more attractive, too. I’ve been working with Diego a long time and he’s never paid any attention to me as a woman. In fact, he once said I wasn’t his type.”
“I’d say that’s changed.”
“You noticed it, too?” Sydney’s eyes had a sparkle that warmed Eve’s heart. She liked both Marks, and wanted them to be happy.
“Totally. He’s got it bad.” Eve decided it was as good a time as any to broach a sensitive topic. “Hey, do me a favor. Keep an especially close eye on him. I think he’s too proud to admit that he’s not up to full speed yet.”
“Already on it.”
“Of course you would be. You rock.”
Pressing on the lid of the grinder, Eve turned the beans into fresh grounds. When she let go and the racket died down, Montevista was clearly heard stirring on the couch.
“Time to get up, sleepyhead,” Sydney called out, moving toward the living room. “We have to clear the residents out of the building.”
Eve turned the coffeepot on and washed her hands. Part of the plan she’d passed on to Montevista included informing all the condo residents of a suspected (and fictitious) gas leak. The Marks who’d been running guard duty around the perimeter were gearing up to pose as local utility inspectors and firemen. In order to keep the complaints down, Ishamel had arranged for Gadara Enterprises to foot the bill for a local hotel stay and two-hour gondola rides. The last thing any of them wanted was to catch some mortals in the crosshairs. Better to be safe than sorry.
Moving to her office, Eve sent an e-mail to her secretary, telling Candace that she wouldn’t be coming in today. She would wait another hour, then call the detectives and let them know. With her schedule set, she leaned back in her chair and stared up at the ceiling.
What would Gadara be like when he returned? He’d been gone so long.. . And Riesgo. How would he be? Her heart ached for the both of them and what they must have endured.
“So . .
Eve lifted her head and discovered Reed in the doorway. “Hi.”
“I’m still trying to decide how I should feel about sleeping alone last night.”
“We don’t live together.”
He entered and took a seat on the futon. His shirt was a deep red, perfectly pressed and left open at the throat. Paired with black slacks and his dark hair, it was edgy in a way that made her toes curl.
“So Cain calms down a bit.” he said tightly, “and you throw me over, is that it?”
“No. That’s not it.”
“Am I your dirty little secret now, babe?” His dark eyes were hard and cold. “Are you going to pretend that we didn’t happen?”
“I’m going to pretend that you’re not insulting me now. I’m going to convince myself that it’s because you like me so much that you’re being an a**hole.”
“Are you going to tell Cain about us?”
“I already did. Well, I tried to,” she amended. “He didn’t want to hear it, but he knows.”
Reed’s entire mien changed, softening to the point that it made her breath catch. He was as vulnerable in that moment as he’d been with her in bed. It was somehow more intimate with them both fully clothed and a room’s length away from each other.
“Is it over between you?” he asked.
“Honestly?” She rubbed her palms over the arms of her chair. “I don’t think it’ll ever be over. I’m in love with him. I’ve been in love with him forever.”
Nodding slowly, Reed’s gaze remained on her but it was distant. Unfocused.
“Thing is,” she continued, “I’m pretty sure that I’m halfway in love with you, too.”
He stiffened, now tensely alert. “Go on.”
“I have no idea how that’s even possible, but there it is. I know you’re not good for me. You’re needy and self-centered—”
“Eve. .
“—but I crave you like chocolate.”
“And what do you think Cain is?” he snapped. “Healthy for you? Gimme a f**king break.”
“He’s heaithier but I have a sweet tooth. That doesn’t mean you’re my guilty pleasure, so don’t take it that way.”
“You don’t know what you’re doing.”
“I know I can’t have both of you. And I can’t choose between you. I guess that leaves me with having neither of you.”
“Fuck that,” he retorted without heat. “I’ve got you right where I want you now.”
“Is that so?” Eve tried to hold back a smile, but felt her lips twitching anyway.
“Oh, yeah.” Standing, Reed came toward her. He leaned over her and pressed his lips to her forehead. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
He retreated enough to meet her gaze. “For everything, really. Most especially for not castrating me for offering to send you to Hell. You say you don’t trust me, but you couldn’t prove more clearly that you do.”
“What’s your plan anyway? Get everyone here tomorrow, then what? The way I understand it, you’d have to go into the trade assuming they let Riesgo and Gadara escape. You know better than to trust a demon.”
Reed’s mouth curved in a slow, smug smile. “Ah, but they don’t know better than to trust me. That’s the beauty of it. Asmodeus is worth a lot to Sammael. He’s one of only seven kings in Hell. Once Asmodeus makes sure you and Cain are here on the premises, he won’t be able to resist trying to nab you. He can only see things from his perspective, and to him it must be a potent temptation to get rid of Cain. It won’t even enter his head to think I’ll double-cross him and take him prisoner instead.”
“And if things go to shit, then what?”
“Cain would be with you to protect you. For all his fuck-ups, I’m sure that when push comes to shove, he’s got your back. And I’m confident that Sammael won’t kill him.
“That is not what you were thinking when you offered him.”
Reed winked. “Prove it.”
“Well, if Sarakiel has her way, you’ll be there to protect me, too.”
He straightened abruptly. “Sara?”
Eve explained about the tape of Sarakiel’s meeting with Asmodeus. “My guess is, Asmodeus is gambling that he can take all three of us at once. With Sara’s help, why not?”
“One day, you’re telling me you think she loves me. The next, you say she wants me burning in Hell.”
“It’s because she loves you that she wants you to burn in Hell.”
Snorting, he said, “That’s female logic if I ever heard it.”
“What can I say? We’re twisted.”
“Don’t lump yourself in with Sara.” He licked the tip of her nose. “I’m going to deal with her today. Right now, actually.”
“Then I need you to round up Asmodeus.”
His gaze narrowed. “Tomorrow. I need time to get things together.”
“I’ve already got things together. Ishamel helped. You know how thorough he is.”
“Do you have any idea of what kind of manpower we’re going to need to nab Asmodeus?”
“We’re not going to nab him. We just want him here.”
Reed sank to a crouch in front of her, leveling their gazes. “Spit it out. All of it.”
“You’re right, Asmodeus is valuable to Satan, but not for the reason you think. Satan knows your plan. He tried to act nonchalant about it. but I read between the lines. He’s pissed, and he’s going to take Asmodeus down.”
“Good. Let him.”
“Sure,” Eve agreed. She opened her mind to him, allowing him to see her conversations with the Devil. “But not now. You’ve been bargaining with Asmodeus but really, the deal is between me and Satan.”
“Babe. . .“ He made an exasperated sound and dropped his head into her lap. “You’re a walking disaster,” he mumbled.
“Listen.” She lifted his head with her hands. “He promised me something, then reneged.”
“And that’s a surprise to you? Come on, Eve—”
“He wouldn’t renege with me, Reed,” she insisted. “For whatever reason, he wants me to trust him. He’s going to fulfill his end of our agreement.”
“That’s not what he said to you!”
“What he said was that I’ll have to let the moves you and Sara made play out.”
“What he said,” he retorted, “was that he can’t release what he doesn’t possess. A melodramatic way to say he got what he wanted, and you’re on your own.”
“Or it’s a roundabout way of saying someone stole from him.” Eve shot him a wry glance. “Do you really think he’s just going to let that go?”
“He doesn’t need you to put Asmodeus in line.”
“Right. He just needs to fulfill his end of the bargain. He gave me two choices—help you or Sara with your plans, or leave the whole thing in the hands of God. But—” she wagged a finger at him “—he knows I’m not a believer. He made a big deal out of my agnosticism being one of the reasons he likes me. He appreciates my cynicism.”
“He’s always trying to lure Marks to the dark side. He doesn’t like you. He doesn’t give a shit about you, other than the fact that f**king with you f**ks with a lot of other people, too.”
She pressed on. “I think his question was incomplete. I think what he was really saying is, ‘Will you leave it in the hands of God. . . or me.’ That was the basis of our previous conversations. He says God isn’t going to give me what I need, but he will. This is his chance to prove it. I think he’s going to take it, if only because he wants to knock Asmodeus down a notch in a major way.”
He gripped her hands painfully tight. “You know.. . Marks spend their entire careers hoping they never meet Sammael. But not you. No, you lack the self-preservation gene.”
She could feel his fear for her in the connection between them. She was freaked out, too, but things were getting out of hand—Gadara, the priest, Cain, the Nix, and Satan running around as he pleased. It was time to set the world to rights.
Eve squeezed his fingers. “Hank told me Satan’s using an emissary to be able to meet with me face-to- face. We need to know who it is. I have a theory, and this is the way to prove it.”
“What theory?”
“It’s too dangerous to share until I know for sure.”
Reed’s jaw tensed. “It’s Cain, isn’t it?”
“Just trust me, okay. You get Asmodeus to show up, and we’ll see if the emissary passes the news onto Satan so that he can show up.”
“You’re not going to rest until I’m insane, right?” Tilting his head, Reed pressed his lips to hers. The kiss started out short and sweet, but swiftly heated. When he straightened, she made a small sound of protest.
“You owe me,” he said. “Dinner. Hot dress. No underwear. High heels.”
“You’re a pig.”
“Can’t help it. I think I’m in love. Why else would I agree to this shit?”
He shifted away before she could reply. She sat there for a moment, considering. Another tall, dark figure filled the doorway to her office.
Alec came in with a mug of hot coffee and set it on her desk. From the café au lait appearance, she knew he’d fixed it perfectly. From the look on his face, she knew he’d heard Reed’s declaration.