J Ward - Crave

“No,” she answered roughly, not sure which question she was answering.

With sheer, brute strength, Isaac picked the man up and gave him a shove and there was no argument, not even a comment. Her attacker scrambled away like he was damned well aware he’d narrowly missed the beat-down of his life.

And then Isaac picked up her things. One by one, he gathered what had been in her purse, wiping off the mud on his own sweatshirt, lining everything up on the hood of her car.

Falling back against the driver’s-side door, she was captivated by how very careful he was, his bloody hands gentle.

Daniel appeared right beside him, seemingly struck by how he treated what was hers. Let him take you home, Grier. You’re in no condition to drive.

“He hasn’t asked me,” she mumbled.

“Asked you what?” Isaac said, glancing over.

When she waved the words away, he went and got her bag, putting everything into it before holding the thing out to her. “I’d like to drive you home. If you’ll let me.”

Bingo, her brother said.

She opened her mouth to shut up Daniel, but just didn’t have the energy to follow through with it.

“Ms. Childe?” With her client’s Southern accent, that came out as one word, MzChiiiiilde.

God, what to do. And of course, Hell, no, was the healthiest response-in spite of Daniel’s opinion.

Trust me, Daniel said.

Isaac’s voice dropped. “Just let me get you home safe. Please.”

For some unknowable reason, her instincts were telling her to trust this stranger with a bad past and a criminal present who was on the run. Or was it just a case of her savior complex overriding better judgment?

Or… was it the look on a ghost’s face? Like Daniel was seeing something she couldn’t in this collision between her and a dangerous stranger with a soft Southern drawl.

“I don’t need a driver. That I can do myself.” She took her bag from him. “But I do need you to stick around and face your charges.”

Isaac scanned the area. “How about we talk at your house.”

“I carry Mace, you know.”

“I’m glad.”

“And a stun gun.” For all the good it had done her just now.

Good Lord, she couldn’t believe she was even thinking about going home with Isaac. The meth head had been a twitchy amateur… and her client sure as hell seemed like a professional.

His pale gray eyes bored into hers. “I’m not going to hurt you. I swear it.”

With a curse, she wrenched open the car door. “I’m driving.”

The question was, Where the hell was she going? And with whom?

Jim watched the Audi drive off, its milky exhaust rising up behind both cold tailpipes. He was utterly unconcerned about where the pair went-he’d slipped transmitters into both Isaac’s sweatshirt and the bag with the money.

“You could have just let me do a locator spell,” Eddie muttered.

“I’m used to working with the GPS shit from my old job.” And who could have guessed he’d ever suffer from technology nostalgia?

Speaking of intel-it was time for some clarity in that department: Although he could see how and why Isaac might be up next on the list of seven souls, a little face-to-face time with his English dandy of a boss was the only way to be certain.

Lot of pressure off him if it turned out saving Isaac’s ass had a larger purpose.

He swiveled his head toward Eddie. “Tell me how to get over to the Four Lads. Do I have to die again?”

If he did, he had a Beretta on him and he already knew what kicking the bucket from a gunshot was like. Snore.

“Don’t bother.” Adrian cracked his knuckles. “They’re not going to tell you anything. They can’t.”

What the fuck? “I thought I worked for them.”

“You work for both sides, and they’ve given you all the help they can.”

Jim looked back and forth between the two angels: Each of them had the tight expression of a guy with a shoestring noosing up his balls.

“Help?” he said. “Where’s my goddamned help?”

“They gave you us, asshole,” Adrian snapped. “And that’s all they can do-I’ve already gone over and asked them who’s supposed to be next. I figured it would help you, you ungrateful bastard.”

Jim popped his brows at the Mr. Thoughtful routine. First time through the park with Adrian, the guy had silver-plated Jim to the enemy-to the point where he’d ended up fucking Devina in the parking lot of a club. In his truck. Without knowing she was a demon.

“Times have changed since then,” Ad said gruffly. “You know they have.”

In a flash, Jim remembered what the guy had looked like just a day or so ago after Devina had finished using and abusing him in a variety of ways. He’d given himself over to her so that Jim had had half a chance at winning the first round.

“Yeah, they have.” Jim offered his knuckles in guy-speak for, Sorry I insinuated you’re dog shit.

As Ad gave them a pound, Eddie said, “We’re technically against the rules.”

Jim shrugged. “If it’ll help me win, I’ll take it. Rules are relative.”

Which was why he’d been chosen, wasn’t it. He was hardly a frickin’ Boy Scout-

Jim’s head snapped around at a metal-on-metal squeaking sound. The portable octagon had been dismantled and was being shoved through the door by four guys who then carried it over to a U-Haul van. Next trip in and out they were carrying the eight concrete corner weights and poles and then no one was left but him and Eddie and Adrian.

Which was a metaphor for the sitch he was in, wasn’t it.

Fine. This was how the game was played? Cool. He was used to relying on himself and his instincts in the field… and everything was pulling him toward Isaac.

The question was: where was Devina? Assuming she was after Isaac, she’d be searching for a way into him so her parasitic nature could take him over and she could ultimately own him forever in Hell after she killed him.

Jim refocused on his angels. “If Devina is possessing someone, is there a way to tell? Any markers? Reference points?”

At least then he could get a bead on her.

“Sometimes,” Eddie said. “But she can wipe away her fingerprints, so to speak-and now that she knows me and Ad are with you, she’ll be extra careful. However, there are some clean souls she’ll never touch, and those glow.”

“Glow? You mean like…” Shit, that blond attorney who’d taken Isaac home with her had had a light all around her body-which was why when Jim had seen her, he’d stared at her as he had. “Like a halo?”

“Exactly like that.”

Well, at least there was one thing working in their favor. He’d assumed he’d just been seeing things. Turned out he was-and thank God for it.

Jim took out his GPS receiver and called up Isaac’s two little blinking dots. Sooner or later, if Devina was fucking with the guy, she was going to make an appearance in one form or another-and they were going to be there when she did.

“Are there such things as protective spells?” he asked. “Anything I can put around Isaac to keep him safe from her?”

“We can work something out,” Eddie said with an evil little smile. “ ’Bout time to start teaching you that stuff.”

You got that right, Jim thought.

Closing his eyes, he unfurled his wings, their great weight settling on his spine and shoulders as they became visible. “They’re heading into town. Let’s go-”

“Hold up,” Eddie said, his wings appearing. “We need to go by the hotel and get some supplies. Assuming you don’t want us going inside the house?”

“As long as Devina doesn’t show, I’ll stay on the out.”

“This won’t take all that long.”

“It’d better not.”