Abigail had spent her entire life bracing for the moment when she'd see Sundown Brady again. Over the years, when she wasn't training to kill him, she'd played every imaginable scenario through her mind. Them meeting by accident. Her breaking into his house in the middle of the day to murder him in his sleep. A smoky, crowded bar where she walked up to him and then stabbed him in the heart and watched him fall to her feet as he died in utter agony. Even an abandoned movie theater where she trapped him inside and burned it to the ground. All to the tune of him begging her for mercy.
Yet none of those imaginings had prepared her for this.
For one thing, he was a lot larger than she remembered. Not just tall, which he was, but wide and extremely well muscled in a way very few men were. It was the kind of build that said he could snap her in two if he got close enough. His dark hair fell just past his ears and was a bit shaggy, as if he'd missed a haircut appointment. Two days' growth of whiskers shadowed a face that was so perfectly formed, he didn't look real. His eyes were black, and the intelligence there said nothing, absolutely nothing, escaped his notice.
Even with her new powers, she swallowed at the thought of fighting him. He wouldn't go down easy.
He'd probably take her with him.
But all she had to think of was her parents and the merciless way they'd died by his hands, and the fiery rage in her ignited to a level that wouldn't be intimidated or denied. It demanded his blood.
Sundown Brady was going to die tonight, and she was the harbinger who'd deliver it.
Jess froze as he saw the woman close up. Her black hair was pulled back from her exotic features into a tight ponytail. Dressed in a pair of jeans and a dark purple shirt, she was armed from head to toe. But that wasn't what stopped him dead in his tracks.
For one instant, he could swear he was looking into Bart's face.
Time seemed to freeze as he took it all in. Her deep blue eyes that were shaped like a cat's. The dimple in her chin. The way she looked at him as if she could kill him.
It was like he was lying on the ground wounded again, looking up at Bart right before he pulled the trigger one last time.
"You bastard!" she snarled in a voice that was hauntingly familiar. One that brought back excruciating memories.
Before he could recover, she lunged at him.
Jess jumped back and twisted, sending her into the wall. He looked at the two Daimons, who were staying out of the fight for some reason. But he didn't have time to contemplate that as she came back at him, slashing at his body with a black KA-BAR.
He blocked her slash with his forearm across hers, then grabbed her hand. Dang, she was strong. Supernatural strong. Not to mention, she kept kicking at him. She fought like a well-trained wildcat.
"Let go of me!" she snarled, head-butting him.
That rattled his senses, but he refused to let go of her. She was too quick and too close for that. If he released her, she'd get a shot in someplace that was going to hurt.
She looked past his shoulder to where the other two were sidelined. "Get him!"
Great. He slung her toward the Daimons. She collided with them, but it didn't slow them down.
His phone buzzed again, warning him he was running out of time. I'm going to be a crispy critter if I don't do something quick. While he could probably hole up here, he didn't want to chance it. Police and workers did occasionally venture down into the drains. All he needed was for one of them to find him loaded up with weapons.
Or worse, a flash flood could swoop down on him. Lionel had warned him on his first night here about seeking daytime shelter in the drains. Every year, there were a number of homeless who died from the flooding. While he couldn't drown, he could be swept into daylight, which would really suck for him.
He had to get out of here. Fast.
The really bad thing was he couldn't kill her. Dark-Hunters weren't supposed to kill humans, even when they were attacked by them. Stupid rule, granted. But it was one Acheron would have their ass over if they violated it.
And then there was the terrible suspicion he had about her identity. He wasn't sure if he wanted to be right or wrong. "Abigail?"
Anger darkened her blue eyes. "You do remember me."
How could he forget? "I thought you were dead."
She shrieked in rage before she attacked him with a fury that seemed to come from somewhere deep inside her. It was the same force that he'd had when he went for Bart.
Now that he knew who she was, there was no way he could hurt her. He choked on conflicting emotions. Relief, sorrow, and the deep need not to let her end his life. "I take it you're the one who's been killing Dark-Hunters?"
She lifted her chin proudly as she swung at him. "With relish. But you're the one I really want."
Why? All he'd ever done was protect her and her family.
He caught her arm and yanked her closer. "Ah, sugar, for that, all you had to do was get naked."
She curled her lip before she attacked even more viciously.
He staggered under a couple of well-placed blows. She was very well trained.
But then, so was he.
Jess twisted the knife from her hand and managed to finally catch her in a sleeper hold. She was harder to grip than a hungry greased pig. Luckily, he was used to pinning such ornery things. But if he'd been human, she'd have freed herself and been back on him.
He turned to the Daimons. "One step closer, and I snap her neck."
They exchanged a doubting frown.
"I mean it," he said as they looked like they were about to pounce. He increased the pressure on her carotid and jugular. Within seconds, she was out. Still, he waited a few seconds more, in case she was faking. At this point, he wouldn't put anything past her.
Once he was sure she was unconscious, he slid her to a dry spot on the floor. "All right, punks. Bring it."
The moment he took a step forward, they ran deeper into the tunnel.
Well, at least they weren't the infected Daimons who could convert him.
Jess started to go after them, but rethought it. It was too close to dawn, and right now he had the prize of all time.
The woman who'd been hunting them.
A woman he'd once known ...
"I can't believe you survived." But how? He had so many questions, they made him dizzy.
Best thing to do would be to interrogate her and find out what was going on and why she had such a hard-on for them. Hoping he didn't live to regret this decision, he picked her up and carried her back to the street. Now that she wasn't trying to kick his jewels into his throat, he realized just how tiny she was. Very well muscled, but short.
Like Matilda.
He squelched that comparison quick. She was nothing like his mild-mannered, soft-spoken bride-to-be. No one was. It was why he'd fallen in love with her and why all these decades later, he still ached from the loss of her friendship.
The woman in his arms was like everyone else he'd ever met. Treacherous. Lethal. Only out for herself. Whatever he did, he couldn't let himself forget that. She wanted him dead, and if he didn't stop her, she'd kill him and then move on to the rest of his colleagues.
No good deed goes unpunished....
He'd protected her and her mother, and how did she pay him back? By trying to kill him.
How utterly typical.
Jess made it out as the sky was just starting to lighten. I better hurry and be quick about it.... It was getting a little too close at this point.
He hadn't gone far from the drain when he saw a police car driving by on the street.
Crap.
What were the odds that they'd not see him and keep going? Probably about as good as them believing he was carrying his wife back to their room after a heavy night of drinking.
Yeah ...
He hadn't been that lucky in a long time. "I hope lockup doesn't have a window," he muttered under his breath.
The patrol car pulled up to the curb and stopped. "Hey, you there! Come over here."
Yeah, it was nice to know his bad luck was the only stable thing in his life.
Jess tightened his grip on Abigail as he debated his options. None of them were good, especially since he was packing an arsenal under his coat. One they were sure to object to if they discovered it.
Making sure to act nonchalant, he moseyed over to the car. "Yes, sir?"
The officer glanced down at Abigail. "Is there a problem?"
Uh, yeah. You people are bugging the shit out of me when I need to be rocketing home. Jess forced himself not to betray his annoyance. "Little too much to drink. I was taking her back to the casino where we're staying."
The man narrowed his gaze suspiciously. "You need a doctor?"
No, he needed a break. "Nah, Officer. Thank you very much for the offer, though. She'll be all right. Well, the hangover will be pretty ferocious, I'm sure, but after a few hours, she'll be good as new."
"I don't know, George," the other officer said from the passenger seat. "I think we should call it in, just in case. Last thing we need is for him to be kidnapping her or something and we let him go. Think of the PR nightmare that'd be if he turns out to be a serial rapist or killer."
Jess had to bite back a curse at the paranoid asshole. Yeah, he was kidnapping her, but still ...
She was the serial killer, not him.
"Hey, Jess."
He turned his head to see another police officer approaching from the sidewalk. At least this one he knew. "Kevin, how you doing?"
Kevin stepped between Jess and the car. "Is there a problem here?" he asked the other officers.
Was that drilled into them at the academy, or what?
"No," the officer in the car said quickly. "We saw him carrying the woman and just wanted to make sure nothing was wrong."
Thank God neither he nor Abigail had been bloodied or bruised during their fight and their clothes weren't torn. That would have been even harder to explain. As it was, her clothes were no more rumpled than if she had simply passed out from drink.
"Ah," Kevin said, dragging the word out. He indicated Jess with a jerk of his chin. "Don't worry. Jimmy and I'll take it from here."
Jimmy, Kevin's partner, came up behind Jess to wave at the officers in the car.
Both of them appeared relieved that they could pass this along to someone else. "All right. Thanks for sparing us the paperwork. See you guys later." The car pulled off.
Turning around, Kevin arched his brow at Jess and the woman he was holding. "Should I even ask?"
Jess shifted Abigail's weight. "Not if you want to keep your job, and I don't mean the one that doesn't afford you your million-dollar house." His phone started buzzing again with another warning about sunrise. Not that he needed it. The sky was turning a scary shade of light.
Kevin glanced up as if he were reading Jess's mind. "You're cutting it a little close to dawn, aren't you?"
"Closer than I meant to."
Jimmy gestured to their car, which was parked a few feet away. "C'mon, we can get you back in time."
"Thanks." Jess finally breathed easily. This would also keep him from having to wrangle her onto his bike and hold her there, especially since she'd be coming to any time now. He had to admit, having Squires who were cops came in handy. That was one thing Sin had set up well in this city. In Reno, they'd been light handed with a Squire network. But this place was hooked up to the extreme.
Jimmy held the door open for them. Jess got into the backseat and rested his package by his side and tried not to notice how amazingly pretty she was. It seriously messed with his head to see mixed in her features the person he'd once loved most and the only one he'd ever truly hated.
Life ain't fair.
And it was never simple.
Kevin and Jimmy got in and turned the siren on. They called in their break and sped him toward his house at warp speed.
"I appreciate y'all doing this."
"No problem," Kevin said with a grin. "It's nice to run through the streets when we're not really on a call. Makes me feel like Speed Racer."
Jess frowned as they passed the interstate ramp. "Wouldn't the freeway be faster?"
Jimmy laughed. "For you, civ. We don't have to stop for lights."
That made sense. It normally took Jess a little over twenty minutes to get from downtown to his eleven-acre compound on Tomiyasu Lane (depending on where he was when he started), but he did shoot out farther by taking the interstate. If they didn't stop for lights, they should be able to make it to his place in about the same time, maybe less.
With some luck, he might actually avoid combusting into flames in the backseat. That would be hard for the Squires to explain to their watch commander. Though it might be entertaining to see them try if he weren't the stain.
Kevin glanced at Jess in the rearview mirror. "So you want to tell us about the woman now?"
"Not really."
Jimmy scratched at the back of his neck. "Are we going to have to file a missing persons report on her later?"
"I doubt it. She's running with a group of Daimons. They're usually not the kind to call you guys." And he knew for a fact that she had no family.
Unless she'd married.
His breath caught as he realized he didn't know anything about her now. Hell, she could be married to a Daimon or Apollite. The very thought made him ill. But humans did occasionally fall in with them for one reason or another.
She could be someone's mother....
Surely she wouldn't have been on the street hunting Dark-Hunters if she had dependents.
Would she?
Jimmy turned around in the seat with wide eyes to stare through the partition at him. "Is she the one the Oracles have been talking about? The human killing you guys off?"
I should have kept my mouth shut. Now all the social network sites used and run by the Squires would be lighting up like a Christmas tree. "I think so, but I'd appreciate it if you'd keep this between us until I have a chance to ask her some questions."
"Absolutely." Jimmy slapped Kevin on his arm. "Told you it was real. Hah! You owe me twenty bucks."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Kevin groused.
They didn't say anything else as they sped down South Las Vegas Boulevard. Jess felt that familiar tingle at the back of his neck. The sun was dawning. The sky turning brighter with every heartbeat. And they were still a couple of miles from his home. Worse? He had to knock her out again as she started coming to.
Jess rubbed his thumb and index finger together-a nervous twitch he'd developed as a gunfighter. It was the same feeling he had right now. One mistake. One delay.
He was history.
Only this time, he wasn't relying on his instincts and skills to survive. He was relying on theirs....
The first rays were cresting just as they pulled up to the black wrought iron gates that protected his driveway. Jess slinked down in the seat as he used his iPhone app to open them. He also signaled for the garage doors.
Come on ... let's go....
His skin was already burning something fierce. It wouldn't be long before he'd be dead.
Kevin shot them through the gates before they'd finished opening and across his long driveway. Too long, he realized as Kevin hauled ass down it and they still weren't under cover. Why the hell had he bought a house with a two-mile driveway? Okay, slight exaggeration, but damn. It seemed like forever before they were inside the garage.
Jess breathed a long sigh of relief, and he leaned back in his seat. "That's about as close to bacon as I want to come for a while."
Without commenting on that, Jimmy came around to open his door and let him out. "You need any help with her?"
He shook his head. "Nah, I got it. Thanks, though."
Jess had just pulled her from the car and was heading to the back door when Kevin blocked his path. The Squire pulled out a pair of cuffs. "You need these?"
That actually made him laugh. "Think I can handle a little filly without them." Then again, given the whipping she'd put on him earlier, he might want to rethink that.
Pride goeth before a fall....
Kevin returned them to the pouch on his belt. "All right. We'll see you later."
Jess inclined his head to them before he carried her into the house.
He hesitated inside the door. Now what to do with her? He hadn't thought this far ahead, and while he should have done it in the car, he'd been a little preoccupied with thoughts bursting into flames.
His best bet would be to take her into the basement with him. There was plenty of room down there to keep her locked up and away from anyone who might think about releasing her before he wanted her set loose.
Or worse, her hurting Andy while she was trying to escape.
That definitely wouldn't do.
All right. Back to the original plan. He'd hold her downstairs in his domain.
He carried her to the hidden elevator and into what Andy called his six-thousand-square-foot dungeon. It hadn't been all that easy to find a house in Vegas with a basement, especially one this size as well as a home that also had a stable for his horses. When Andy first told him about this place, Jess had thought he was joking.
Andy wasn't. The house was actually sixty-five thousand square feet. Seventy-two thousand under the roofline.
It was amazing what a man would do for his horses.
Hell, he'd lived in smaller towns. But all things said and done, the house was perfect for him, since it allowed him to stay downstairs undisturbed. Down here, he wasn't locked in by the daylight. He could live an almost normal subterranean life.
The house had a total of eighteen bedroom suites, with three of them being in the basement. He took her to the one closest to his room and laid her down on the bed. He started to walk away, but something about her held him by her side. She looked so fragile like this. However, the painful throbbing in his jaw where she'd slugged him said she was anything but.
What had made a little thing like her hunt them so viciously?
The Daimons must have lied to her. They did that a lot. Countless humans had been used as their tools over the centuries. The Daimons promised them eternal life, and in the end, they murdered the humans when they were done with them.
But her anger had run deeper than that. She'd fought like she had a personal grudge.
He sighed as he thought about the last time he'd seen her parents. That had been one screwed-up night. To this day, he could still see the blood splatters that had covered the room. The blood that had covered him ...
There had been no sign of Abby in the house, and he'd definitely looked for her. He'd always hoped she was at a friend's.
The most disturbing thought was that she'd been there. That she'd seen them die. That thought made him sick to his stomach. No child should witness the horrors of that night. Just like he wished Artemis had spared him the sight of what happened after he'd been killed.
Some memories weren't worth keeping.
And when the police had been unable to locate her, they'd all assumed her dead.
Yet here she was ...
Grown up and kicking ass.
Frowning, he ran his hand down the side of her cheek. She had the softest skin he'd ever felt. Smooth. Inviting. Warm. He'd always loved the way a woman's flesh felt under his fingers. There was nothing more succulent.
Her features were exotic and intriguing. So different from Laura's, and at the same time, he could see enough of Laura there that it tugged at his heart. Laura had been both a haven and a hell for him. Around her, he'd felt connected to the past, and that connection had stung as deep as it'd comforted. He'd tried to let her go, but he couldn't sever the tie.
Now he wished he had.
Maybe then Abigail would have had a normal life. A woman her age ought to be out with her friends, having fun and enjoying her youth. Not coming after Dark-Hunters. Definitely not killing them.
A smile tugged at the edges of his lips at her ponytail. He didn't know why, but that reminded him of her as a kid. She'd had a lot of spunk even then. And it was weird to be so attracted to her now, having been there when she was born. He tried not to think about that whenever he was with a woman. On a level he didn't want to acknowledge, it bothered him. He was old enough to be their great-great-great granddaddy.
But he wasn't altruistic enough to be celibate either. There was only so much a man could do. Especially since they didn't know how old he was. To them, he was another mid-twenty-year-old guy they met in a bar and took home.
However, Abigail knew.
And she hated him for it.
He turned her face toward him. Her eyes opened just a slit, and when he saw them ...
He pulled back.
What the hell? His heart pounding, he gently lifted one lid. Sure enough, her eyes were red with yellow threads running through them.
She wasn't human after all.
At least not fully.
Oh yeah, this was bad. Real bad. Was she the enemy from the west that Ren had been talking about? Prophecy and Oracle warnings never made much sense to him. Trying to unravel them was enough to give even the stoutest mind a nine-day migraine.
And he was too tired right now to think it through. He needed some sleep before he dealt with this. Or at least a break ...
He covered her with a blanket, then made sure that she had no way out of this room until he was ready for her leave.
At the door, he lowered the lights so that she'd be able to see the room when she came to, but not so bright that they'd disturb her.
He glanced back at her, and his breath caught in his throat. With this light and with her head tilted, she looked so much like her mother that it temporarily stunned him and took him back in time.
He saw Matilda lying on the bank of the stream where she'd taken him for a picnic not long after their engagement. The sun had been so warm that she'd fallen asleep while he read one of her favorite dime novels out loud to her. Her serene beauty had enchanted him and he'd spent hours watching her, praying for that afternoon not to end.
I love you, William.
He could still hear her voice. See her beautiful smile.Clearing his throat of the sudden lump, he shook his head to clear it, too.
Abigail wasn't Matilda.
But as she lay there without the hatred shooting out of her eyes at him, she was every bit as beautiful, and it stirred emotions inside him that he'd sworn he buried.
Not wanting to think about that, he went to his room and pulled off his coat and weapons. While he undressed for bed, his thoughts sped around his head as he tried to figure out what had happened to her.
Where she'd been all this time.
I should have checked her for an ID. Yeah, no duh. That would have given him her address and let him know if she was still a Yager or if she'd married.
Feeling like a complete dolt, he went back to see if he could locate one.
He pushed open the door and froze.
The bed was completely empty, and she was nowhere in sight.