Providence

Chapter Eighteen Shax

The next morning I awoke in the same state I had the five days before: tangled in sheets, muscles aching, eyes tired, stomach hungry, and everything else in an utter state of bliss.

Jared tightened his arms around me as I stretched. “Why don’t you go back to sleep?” he said, kissing my neck.

I slid my bare leg over his hip. “Why would I want to waste time sleeping when you’re awake?”

He grinned as he ran his hand up my thigh. “Because you’re human, and you need more than two hours of sleep a night. Not that I’m complaining, I just need to quit being so selfish and make sure you get to sleep earlier than six A.M.”

“Don’t you dare,” I yawned.

“You’re hungry. I’ll make breakfast,” he said, pushing himself off the bed.

After a long shower, I dressed and trotted down the stairs. I grabbed the newspaper and sat at the table with my coffee, freezing mid-sip as I saw the headline.

Local Banker Found Dead, Mutilated

“Jared?”

“Yeah, sweetheart?” he replied, distracted by the pan of eggs in front of him.

“Have you seen this morning’s paper?”

“Not yet, what’s up?” He turned when he felt my fear as I read over the article.

I swallowed nervously before meeting Jared’s eyes. “James Stevens from the bank…the man that let us into the vault…he was found dead yesterday.”

I handed the paper to him and watched his eyes scan over the words.

“What does it mean, Jared?”

Jared’s irises were clear and his features smooth. “He must have been one of the humans Samuel was referring to. I would have to see the body to be sure if it was Grahm or….”

I nodded, realizing where he was getting at.

“Oh, no,” Jared said.

“What?”

Jared handed the paper back to me, pointing to what he’d read.

Local Jeweler Robbed, Assaulted

Police Say String of Crimes Coincidence

“Vincent!” I said, looking up at Jared. “Do you think he’s okay?”

Jared’s eyes darkened a shade. “It just says assaulted, so I’m assuming he’s alive,” he said, sitting in the chair beside me.

I fidgeted. “What do we do?”

Jared shook his head, sliding his fingers in between mine. “You and I will get the book, and then I’m going to return it to Shax.”

“You mean we’re going to return it to Shax,” I said, squeezing his fingers between mine.

Jared shook his head. “I’m sorry, Nina, it’s too dangerous.”

“Jared….” The fear choked off my objections.

Pulling me into his lap, Jared shrugged his arms around me. “Nina, I’m going to take care of this. Claire will stay here with you. I promise you’ll be safe.”

I pressed my cheek against his and closed my eyes. “What about you? Isn’t that like walking behind enemy lines?”

“I have something he wants. As long as you’re here, safe, I’ll be fine. Trust me?” he said, holding me at arm’s length to search my eyes.

“I do. Just…be careful.”

“Oh, I’ll be careful. I’ve got plans for you.” He pressed his forehead against mine. “Your eggs are getting cold. I’m going to call Claire…get this over with.”

Claire walked through the door less than an hour later, her casual expression matching Jared’s. She also seemed significantly more relaxed around me, even smacking me on the backside when she walked by.

“We’re going to have fun, Nina. I brought movies.”

My face slowly morphed to disgust. “Movies? You think I’m going to be able to watch a movie while Jared is in a room full of demons?”

Claire rolled her eyes and a smirk sharpened her features. “Don’t you know what Jared is capable of? I’m not worried. You shouldn’t be, either.”

Jared’s mouth turned up a bit, shoving a handgun in the back of his jeans. “You’re overdoing it, Claire.”

Claire shot an expression of chagrin at her brother, and they traded glances.

“She doesn’t want me to freak out and leave again,” I said. I looked at the floor and then back at her. “You’re stuck with me, Claire.”

She pulled one side of her mouth into an appreciative smile. “Good. Because I’d just track you down and bring your butt back here.”

Jared walked toward me and kissed my forehead first, and then my lips. “You ready?”

My fingers involuntarily gripped his jacket. “What if they’re waiting for us at the bank?”

“Then I’ll protect you. Claire is coming with us…if anyone should be afraid it’s Grahm and his men.”

My body felt rigid from the moment we stepped out of the door into the alley. Jared kept my hand in his until we pulled up to the front entrance of the bank. Claire on one side of me, Jared on the other, we walked inside and across the lobby. An older gentleman in a dark suit and tie approached us.

“Can I help you?”

“Yes, we will be retrieving our effects from the vault downstairs,” Jared said.

“Er…c-can I have your name, sir?” he stuttered, anxiously tapping the ends of his fingers against each other.

“Jared Ryel. Is there a problem?”

“No…no sir, there’s no problem. I’d be glad to help you.”

Jared’s eyes swept the room, and I noticed Claire was on alert, as well. They kept close, both of them in contact with my arms as we walked. Just before the elevator opened to the sub-floor, I noticed a break in Claire’s breathing. It was completely silent for a fraction of a second until the doors slid open to a large, empty room.

Claire quietly exhaled and Jared gripped my arm, cautiously pulling me forward. We went through the tedious procedure to gain access to the vault while Claire nonchalantly glanced around the perimeter. Her ice blue eyes would miss nothing.

“You put the paper in the safe, Jared,” I whispered. “We don’t know the combination.”

“I know it,” he said, shoving the key into the lock.

I looked over at Claire, whose eyes focused on the closing vault. Once it closed, she looked up and slowly scanned the ceiling.

“What is it, Claire?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” she murmured. “Something.”

Jared kept the book under his arm on the return trip to the loft. He escorted me to the end of the alley and then leaned down to kiss me goodbye. Before our lips touched, he looked up as if he sensed something around us.

“I should go. It’s already attracting them.”

I clenched his jacket. “I don’t want you to go alone.”

“Claire needs to stay here with you. I can’t leave you unprotected.”

“What about Bex? Can’t he stay here with me?” I asked, searching his face as my mind raced to find an alternative.

“Bex is with Lillian,” he said. I immediately understood his indicative reply; he was covering all the bases.

“Jared.…” I said, tightening my grip.

He pulled me to him. “If we wait much longer, they’ll come to us, and we don’t want that. This is our only option.”

I leaned back and closed my eyes, shaking my head. “There has to be another way. There has to be—,”

Jared cupped my jaw and his thumb brushed my cheek. “As long as your heart is beating, so is mine.”

I tried to forge a brave expression on my face. “I love you.”

Jared’s eyes grew soft and the corners of his mouth moved upward. “I love you. I’ll see you soon.”

Claire gently rested her warm hands on my shoulders as we watched him pull from the curb and then disappear around a corner down the street.

I felt my insides wrench. “Tell me he’s going to be all right.”

Claire turned me to face her and grinned. “I wasn’t overdoing it, earlier. He will come back. And if they piss him off, he’ll come back with a few demon notches in his belt. Jared doesn’t know how to fail.”

We walked upstairs and I sat on the couch, trying to relax so Jared wouldn’t be distracted by my fear.

Claire sat beside me, fidgeting.

“You want to watch a movie?” she asked.

I slowly turned my head toward her in disbelief.

“You want to watch TV?” she asked, leaning over to grab the remote from the coffee table.

“No,” I snapped.

Claire blew her bangs from her face and sat quietly beside me for awhile. After a long, awkward silence, she took in a deep breath of air.

“I was a daddy’s girl,” she mused. “When we used to go on vacations, tagging along with your family, of course, I’d get so jealous when my dad would compliment you or even mention your name. When he would be away, with Jack, I would get so angry that you were spending time with him instead of me. My mom would try to explain, but…to a little girl that would rather be with her dad than at an amusement park, I refused to even try to understand.”

Claire’s eyes darkened. “When Jack died…I hated him,” she swallowed. “When my father started feeling weak just an hour later…I hated you. My Dad was an Archangel. I never thought I would lose him. He was lying there, fading away, and all I could think about was that I had all of this strength, this speed, the intelligence…I was built to be a savior and I couldn’t save my own father.

“As hard as it was for me, Jared took it harder. When Dad took his last breath, I thought Jared was going to die with him,” she closed her eyes and a tear fell down her cheek.

“I was angry with him at first. I felt betrayed that he went to you. But now I see that he didn’t have a choice. You were the only hope he had left…you were the only one that could make sense of his purpose for existing, and he needed you. He needed to know that our lives were worth something. I can see that now. And I’m glad you have each other.”

I didn’t realize my mouth was open until she looked at me with wet eyes and chuckled.

She scooted closer. “I shouldn’t have hated you. My father loved you like family and it was just as important to him to keep you safe as it was any of us. It didn’t mean he loved me any less, I know that now. I’m sorry for the way I’ve treated you.”

I wanted to hug her, but thought better of it. To my surprise she clasped my hand between hers.

I shook my head. “I owe you for so much — for the time away from your father, for my life…for Jared. You don’t owe me anything.”

A warm smile spread across Claire’s face and she squeezed my hand. “So we’ll start over.”

I started to speak but her eyes widened, and in the same second she stood with her back to me. I peeked around her to see the door slowly open, and for one fleeting moment I expected Jared to walk in.

But it wasn’t Jared.

A man in a charcoal-grey suit and tie strolled in through the door, looking around as if he were appraising the loft. When he smiled at me, Claire’s hands balled into fists at her sides, and her knuckles turned white under the pressure of her grip.

He was extraordinarily handsome, teeth gleaming white, black hair perfectly trimmed and slicked back. At first glance he seemed benign, but I recoiled when his black eyes bored into mine.

“How nice to see you, Claire,” he spoke, a low hissing sound underlying his voice.

Claire reached down and gripped my shirt in her fist, slowly pulling me up behind her. “You just missed Jared, Shax.” Claire said.

My blood ran cold. A Duke of Hell was standing just feet from me in my home. I gripped Claire’s arm and she reached around to pull me against her back, slowly side-stepping until we were standing exactly between the kitchen and the front door. Shax watched us shift with his shark’s eyes, as if he were alert to our every breath.

“Jared is looking for me?” he said, dropping his chin to look straight at Claire. “How interesting.”

The iron stairs clanged with heavy footsteps, and five men encroached upon the doorway. Shax took a few casual steps forward as the men positioned themselves in a half-circle behind him. I dug my fingers into Claire’s arm when I saw a familiar pair of eyes. It was Grahm.

“Nina,” he nodded with a smug smile.

“You take one step near her and you’re a dead man,” Claire seethed.

A wicked smirk twisted Shax’s mouth. “Now, now, Claire. That’s no way for a young lady doing His work to behave.”

“What do you want, Shax?” Claire snapped.

The demon looked down, and then his eyes shot up to target me from under his thick, black eyebrows. “I think we all know what I want, Claire. Nina’s father took something from me,” he tilted his head and stretched his long neck, “it’s quite an embarrassment for a thief to be stolen from — especially the greatest thief that’s ever lived.”

Claire laughed without humor. “You’ve never lived, Shax. And it’s nice to see that you’ve developed some humility.”

“I want the ring, Claire,” he hissed.

“You don’t need the ring. Jared has your stupid book.”

Shax’s beady eyes narrowed. “Where is he?”

Claire shrugged, slowly pushed me back as she took a half-step forward. “He took it to you. I’m sure he’s in your building as we speak.”

“And why would he do that?”

“He didn’t want a filthy demon for a house guest,” Claire growled.

Shax eyed me with curiosity. “Or was he trying to avoid us coming near his Taleh? I understand he’s fallen in love with her. How precious.”

“You can leave, now,” Claire said, more of a demand than an offer.

Shax’s crooked mouth pulled up into a half-smile. “Thank you, Claire. We were just on our way out. But we’ll be taking Nina with us. Jack owes me that.”

“And I owe Jared one,” Grahm said with a smirk.

“I’ll rip out your throat before I’ll let you touch her!” Claire snarled. The guttural sound that came from her throat when she spoke was frightening.

Grahm signaled his men, and they walked cautiously past Shax. Claire gestured behind her for me to stand back as she crouched slightly, set to defend me. One of the men lunged at her, and so quickly that I missed some of her movements, she incapacitated him without effort. The second man tried to swing at her, but she jerked to the side just as two other men rushed from the side. I took a few more steps back as I watched her head butt one of the men, blood spattering in the air, and then strike another in the throat with her fist. The man made a horrific gurgling noise before falling to the ground.

Just as Claire turned to face Shax, Grahm pulled out a gun and held it to Claire’s forehead. She froze.

“I was just going to take Nina, but I think it would better settle the score if he came home to see your pretty face blown away and a sweet little note to let him know we’re violating his girlfriend in a hundred different ways before we kill her.”

I felt my legs disappear, and I reached back to steady myself against the table as Grahm gave me a lewd once-over with his eyes.

Claire smirked. “You’ll fit right in where Jared’s going to send you, Grahm.”

Grahm cocked his weapon, and I felt a solitary tear seep from my eye and trickle down my cheek. Time passed in slow motion as I looked at Grahm’s arrogant expression and then back to Claire. The scene was surreal: Full grown men sprawled on the floor in pools of their own blood, and tiny Claire, a fair-haired teenaged-girl moments away from execution. I held my breath as I watched her slowly close her eyes and wait for the bullet to leave its chamber.

In the same second that Grahm’s finger pressed against the trigger, Claire’s body blurred. The bullet from his gun whirred past me and into the tile above the stove, and Claire rammed her elbow in Grahm’s face, sending blood exploding from his nose. The blow sent him flying through the air, landing at Shax’s feet. Grahm sat up on his knees, teeth gnashing in pain. The blood pooled in his palms and dripped through his fingers onto the floor.

“Enough!” Shax commanded.

Claire immediately backed up against me. She turned her head slightly, still keeping her eyes on Shax. “I’m going to hold him off, Nina…you’re going to have to run. Jared will find you,” she whispered.

“You think you can hold me, Claire? You’re nearly human.”

Claire smiled. “Maybe so, Shax, but my angel side can still kick your ass.”

Shax wasn’t amused. He crouched in preparation to attack, and a strange snarl emanated from his chest. Inside his throat, a screech and an animalistic growl intertwined. It was the most terrifying sound my ears had ever experienced. The demon’s black irises bled into the whites of his eyes, and I braced for impact.

As if I had blinked and missed a second of time, a dark massive figure stood between us and Shax. Claire’s body relaxed and she maneuvered us around him, bringing Shax back into view.

Jared stood in the doorway, glowering at Shax with a lethal expression. Sensing my fear and relief, his attention broke to me and instantly he was at my side, pulling me from Claire’s grip to the safety of his arms.

Shax was cautious in the Archangel’s presence. “The book is mine, Samuel!” His sinister eyes were wild and shifted between each of us like a cornered animal.

Samuel tossed the book at the demon’s feet, just beside Grahm. “Take your blasphemous book and leave from here. In the name of the Most High, I will end your existence if you come near this family again, foul beast!” Samuel bellowed, his voice shaking the walls.

Shax recoiled from the command of the Cimmerian and backed slowly out the door, hissing at his injured minions to follow.

Grahm smiled at me with blood-stained teeth. “I’m going to see you again soon, baby doll.”

Jared lunged at him, but Samuel held his hand to Jared’s chest. “Let them go,” he ordered.

Jared watched Grahm, reluctantly allowing him to retreat with his wounded partners. Claire stood at the entryway and made sure they were gone before she closed the door.

“Has anyone told you that you have excellent timing?” Claire asked, smiling at her brother.

“Once or twice,” Jared said.

Claire ran towards Samuel at full speed, leaping up to wrap her arms around him, her legs dangling two feet from the ground. I jumped at the sudden movement, but as soon as Samuel hugged her and a wide smile flashed across his face, I sighed in relief.

“I think you missed your calling, little girl. You were meant to be Cimmerian,” he chuckled.

Claire giggled and squeezed his neck. “I’m half human so it evens up the odds, Sam. If I were Cimmerian, you’d be out of a job.”

Samuel bellowed a laugh and shook his head. “And you accuse Shax of lacking humility!”

Jared turned to me. “Are you all right?”

I didn’t want to lie, so I remained silent.

Jared pulled me into his chest and kissed my hair. “It’s over.”

“Not according to Grahm,” Claire said after Samuel set her on her feet.

“It’s over,” Jared said in a firm voice.

Claire wiped the blood from the floor and straightened the furniture. She skipped about, the confrontation and victory making her a tad giddy. I watched her as she hummed an indistinct tune while she cleaned.

An hour later, Claire said her goodbyes to drive to Ryan’s hometown as the sky outside faded to deep blue. The loft was as before, the furniture in place, the broken glass hidden in the trash, the blood mopped up and the red stained rags thrown away.

“Are you hungry?” Jared asked, poking his finger through the bullet hole above the stove. I shook my head and Jared turned to face me. “No?”

I shook my head again.

“Nina,” he chided. “You’ve barely said a word since I’ve been back. Are you sure you’re okay?”

I closed my eyes. “I’m fine.”

“It’s normal to be afraid. Talk to me.”

“Just…don’t leave me again. Okay? Claire was prepared to defend me with her life, but I was so scared, Jared. I was so afraid they were going to kill me and you would die.”

He walked across the room and held my cheeks gently in his hands, raising my eyes to his. “You were afraid to die only because I would?”

I smiled, but my face crumpled around it. “I’m so weak, Jared. I’m just a stupid, weak, human, and that makes you so vulnerable. It’s not fair.”

Jared chuckled in amazement and shook his head. “Nina…,” he breathed out a small laugh, rendered speechless. He leaned down and kissed my lips, his mouth conveying what he couldn’t say.