Seven devils, p.2
Seven Devils, page 2
I tugged my fingers through my hair in frustration, suddenly aware that I was out of breath and that Florence was staring at me like she was surprised.
How could she still not know? Did she hate me so much she couldn’t see the obvious?
She looked away. “I’m sorry. I’m…I’m not very trusting.”
“You and Wils are a matched fucking pair.”
She smiled. “Is fuck your favorite word?”
And fuck, she got me smiling, too. “When I’m upset? Yeah, it fucking is.” And she got me more upset than anyone.
Her smile faded and her eyes dimmed. “I saw cities burn. Whole families come down sick. It was,” she shuddered, “I feel it. I’m there. I can’t escape it.”
I froze for a moment. Did she just let me in? Fuck yeah she did. I went straight back to the bed, sitting close to her this time. “I’m so sorry.”
“I’m afraid I’ll never sleep again. When I close my eyes…it’s not sleep. It’s going somewhere else. I’m so tired, Seamus.”
And this was just the beginning. If she was tired now, she’d be exhausted by the time Vic and Wils tracked down Samantha. “I can help you rest. If you’ll let me try.”
For a moment I thought she’d deny me. I watched her debate the pros and cons as she hesitated. But then she sucked in a ragged little breath. “I’d like that.”
“Done deal.” I moved to the headboard, propping the pillows up so I was comfortable. Clothes on, on top of the comforter. Then I pulled the blanket aside. “Get in, Florence.”
Her eyes jumped to mine, surprised but also…pleased?
“No one calls me Florence. Not even my mother.”
“That’s a damn shame because it’s beautiful.” Just like you. Fuck, I was so screwed.
Then a thought occurred to me. Maybe I couldn’t settle on a nickname for her because she was only a nickname to everyone else. She needed her real name from me if I ever wanted the real her to forgive me and let me in.
A warm feeling filled my chest as she crawled under the covers and snuggled in beside me. She trusted me, even if she couldn’t admit it to herself. She fought me every step of the way, but here she was, pressing against me, letting me protect her from the world.
I didn’t understand why she needed to fight me when I wasn’t the enemy, but I didn’t need to know that. All I needed was what I just got—a glimmer of hope that underneath it all, there was something there worth fighting for.
CHAPTER 2
Seamus
The Underground
Three Years Later
“I hate this fucking place.” From my spot in the shadows I had a front row seat to the darker parts of the world. Deals were made, drugs were passed, bodies were sold. And I was here to make sure no one went too far.
What was too far?
Fuck if I knew anymore. I had to stop taking these shifts. I’d rather be anywhere else. I’d much rather be in my cabin on a quiet mountain, far from humans. Instead I was stuck here because Kirk, my mentor, thought it was a good idea to do very dumb things.
Humans had no business in the Underground.
It had been forbidden for the last two hundred years. The exchanges were all shut down. But since the Convergence that brought another reality into ours, things were murky. Humans knew we existed. Most shied away from us, a few were curious, but a select few wanted to play with fire.
Humans, in general, liked to stick their heads in the sand, though. If we just stayed away from them for a while they’d let us go back to being fiction. Stories they told at night or in movies. Not real.
But fucking Kirk had to go and invite some here. Their fixation on us made my stomach churn. They weren’t here to learn or build a relationship. They were here to take. To consume. To ruin. That’s what humans did.
As soon as they left I was done. And Kirk could shove another shift up his ass. He could groom some other lost kid to be his next shadow dealer. I wasn’t a lost kid anymore. My time here was up.
It had been for a long time.
I swept my gaze over the human delegation one more time then froze. Just past them a familiar head of dark brown hair ducked into a bar. What the fuck? The swish and bounce of those locks was all too familiar.
But she didn’t belong here. Human or samhain, Florence Figueroa shouldn’t be anywhere near the Underground. I stormed out of the shadows, shocking the hell out of the humans and a few samhain, and crossed the dirt street. The bar was a typical Underground dive. It smelled of beer and blood. It was dark—perfect for hiding secrets. I scanned the tables but came up empty. So I pushed into the hallway that led to smaller rooms. Private rooms.
Florence sure as hell better not be in one of them.
The first room was empty. So was the second. The third had a small blood party. They barely even noticed me. The fourth room held only one person.
Florence.
She spun, ready for something. Not me. Her gorgeous dark eyes flared like they always did. “What are you doing here, Seamus? Get out! I’m meeting someone.”
“Like hell you are.” It was always like this with us. No matter how hard I tried to steer us down a different path, we always exploded.
Her hands balled into fists at her sides. “You are not my bodyguard anymore. I go where I want, when I want.”
“Not here you don’t.” I leaned closer so she couldn’t miss how pissed I was. “This is my territory, remember, princess?” The fucking nickname slipped out.
And like it always did, it skyrocketed her temper to the stratosphere. Not exactly useful, even if it was satisfying.
When she spoke, her voice was calm and even. Terrifying. “I can take care of myself just fine. Get out.”
“Who are you meeting?” Why couldn’t I unglue my feet? If it were anyone else, I’d let them stew with their terrible ideas. I’d let them suffer the consequences. But not Florence.
She threw her shoulders back. “I’m not telling you a damn thing. It’s none of your business.”
“Everything in the Underground is my business, angel face.” Damnit. Another nickname. I had to stop, or she was going to use those long, red fingernails to rip me to shreds.
“You are such an egotistical asshat.”
“I’m damn good at what I do.” Which was why I was here at all. Kirk might think a few humans wouldn’t cause trouble, but I knew they would. And one bad day in the Underground could unravel the whole damn thing.
And maybe that wasn’t such a bad idea. Not that I had time to ponder that when the love of my damn life was standing in one of the most dangerous places on Earth, more mad at me than aware of her surroundings.
Fucking hell.
I stabbed my fingers through my hair. It was too long. Again. I kept forgetting to cut it, then tugged on my beard. “Why can’t you do this somewhere else?”
Her eyes flicked over my shoulder. “It’s time for you to leave, Seamus.”
I pulled myself back up to my full height and turned around. Not what I was expecting. “Rever?” The Gatlin Guardsman glared at me from the doorway. He’d made a home for himself in the Underground after the Convergence, so I wasn’t surprised to see him, just surprised that he was meeting Florence.
Why was he meeting Florence?
“This is a private meeting,” he said, attempting to dismiss me.
Which was weird. We both operated in the Underground. We respected each other. He knew damn well I wouldn’t be dismissed. “What’s going on?” Revenge and Florence were both members of the House of Gatlin, but they’d never been close. As far as I knew they barely knew each other. Rever lived at Midnight Manor and worked in the Underground, while Florence lived at the House of Gatlin…keeping as far away from me as possible.
“It’s none of your business,” Florence hissed. “Get out.”
I wanted to make her tell me. No, I wanted to make her leave. But Florence was more stubborn than anyone I’d ever met, which meant she wasn’t going anywhere. If it were anyone but Revenge I’d grab her and make her leave, consequences be damned. Hell, I was already living the consequences. How much worse could it get if I manhandled her to safety?
Honestly, it would actually probably get worse. Plus, that’s how I got my ass handed to me in the first place. I wouldn’t exactly win any brownie points by forcing her to leave. Besides, she was almost as safe with Rever as she was with me.
Almost.
I could give them five minutes if it bought me some grace. I glared at him as I passed. “I’ll wait outside. If one hair on her head is out of place—”
Rever put up a hand. “I’ve given this speech a few times. She’s safe with me.”
My stomach churned as I forced myself to move into the hallway. Two years. Two years ago I should have ended this. Forced her to stop hating me. If I had, maybe she wouldn’t be here right now. Maybe I’d know why she was meeting Rever.
I’d know if she still had nightmares.
Rever closed the door as I leaned against the hallway wall. My gaze locked with Fig’s through the shrinking slit. For a split second she was mine again. Soft, needy, curious, wary. It was the wary that doomed us. I wanted to conquer it, she wouldn’t let me.
The door clicked shut, breaking our connection. Why was Florence here? And how fast could I get her out? I’d let her have her meeting, but once it was over, whether she liked it or not, I was taking her home.
CHAPTER 3
Fig
The Shadow
Three years ago…
“I think we should, uh, start over.” Seamus of the House of Wren—I still couldn’t believe I was thinking those words with a straight face—stabbed his fingers through his longish hair, then tugged on his beard. He was so uncomfortable it was adorable.
And sexy.
Then he thrust out his giant paw of a hand like we were meeting for the first time. “I’m Seamus.”
I slid my much smaller hand into his, playing along. Rough against smooth. “Fig.”
A look flashed behind his eyes. What it was, I couldn’t name. We’d had maybe two actual interactions before this and I found him more confounding by the minute. The things I’d learned about him in those brief encounters were like an avalanche of information. Tons of data, no time to interpret it all. Seamus and his cousin Vic were both capable fighters, scary enough to be terrifying should all that aggression ever be pointed my way. But they were also incredibly kind and generous. Seamus, however, was also loud, gruff, and more than a little broody. Which set me off like a firecracker both because it aggravated the hell out of me and because it seemed, oddly, to turn me on.
We ended up fighting both times. Thus, the whole starting over scenario. Which, to be honest, I didn’t mind. I was more than a little ashamed I lost my temper so fast.
“Nice to meet you,” he murmured, all growly and sweet at the same time.
It was incredibly confusing. My insides didn’t know whether to riot or settle. “I look forward to getting to know you better.”
Seamus was tall. Tall, tall. Like six foot ten or something. I wasn’t good with heights above six feet. All I knew was I had to look up when I looked at him. He had a sandy color to his long hair and his enormous beard was even darker. It was well groomed, though. Impressive really. And piercing brown eyes. The shade varied with his surroundings. Sometimes they were more of a honey brown. Other times so dark they seemed to veer towards black, making his pupils disappear.
But one thing they were always—always—was piercing. He watched me like a hawk, always seeing, always aware of me. Which made me very aware of him.
And I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Part of me got a thrill out of the attention. But the rest of me knew that men were only good for a little fun. Nothing more.
“I’m sorry all of this happened to you. It was a hell of a way to have your life change.” He kept stealing glances at me, but mostly kept his attention on the floor.
Had the last year been a rollercoaster? An unimaginable rollercoaster? Yeah. Sure had. I went from being a young college grad, hard at work on her first real job, making friends, and living with my best friend in the whole world, to learning I was actually one-quarter samhain. A vampire. And my best friend was actually my cousin. And she was also part samhain. Then something they called the Convergence took place. Our reality merged with another. Demons and monsters overran the world all while Wils and I got shoved into the mountain prison we were currently standing in for safekeeping. Months alone here with Wils, contemplating that everything we thought we knew was a load of horse crap.
The world really was full of all the things that go bump in the night. Vampires, werewolves, bear shifters, magic, witches, and now, thanks to the Convergence, demons and monsters, too.
We were supposed to be safe here in the Shadow—that’s what Wils and I dubbed our mountain prison—but some of those creepy monsters figured out where we were and attacked, taking out the side of the mountain in the process. Seamus, Vic, and Kirk came to our rescue, but it was Wils who saved my life.
My best friend dove out of a wall and fell a couple of stories on top of a monster to keep me safe. And now she was in some sort of a coma. Kirk wasn’t doing so hot either.
“As long as Wils recovers, I can handle anything.” Human, samhain, vampire, psychic. I could fight it or hate it, but it didn’t change the facts. We were part of the samhain world now. No going back.
“I know you can,” Seamus said quietly. It was strange to hear something so soft and kind from such a large man. Wils nicknamed him Tall Beard the first time she saw him. And she called Vic Mr. Clean Shaven. I was pretty sure she was attracted to Mr. Clean Shaven. When she recovered she was welcome to him. I always preferred a more rugged guy.
Like the one in front of me. I also liked how he teased me. How he always seemed up for…well, anything. And it was nice to have someone to talk to so I didn’t lose my mind worrying about Wils.
“Kirk will pull through.” I honestly didn’t know if that was true or not, but Seamus looked like he needed to hear it, so I said it, because I had a strong urge to soothe him.
Which was weird, but then again, everything was weird these days.
And maybe—fingers crossed!—samhain men were different than human men. Just because my mom and I managed to always find the worst of the worst didn’t mean that track record would continue in this new life.
“I should check on him.” Seamus nodded over my shoulder in the direction of Kirk’s room.
The Shadow was the weirdest place I’d ever been. Part cavern, part home, all dark and cold. It was built inside the mountain behind Shadow Lodge, Wils’ family mansion, as some sort of secret hideaway for our samhain grandfather. The whole thing was nuts. Secret passages and hallways. The whole weird haunted house nine yards. When the monsters attacked, they blasted out the mountainside, so we were living in the section that Wils and I occupied for most of the Convergence. Quirky rooms at odd angles, hallways that weren’t straight, or level. My room was just beyond Kirk’s, and Wils’ was just beyond mine.
“I’ll walk with you.” There was something comforting about being around Seamus. He was giant, or course. I was pretty sure he wouldn’t let anything past him, not that I expected another demon to jump out of nowhere, but there was something else about him. A vibration. It calmed me.
So I walked with him, wondering what it was about him that got me so riled up. The first time we actually interacted he’d been wounded and was not a fan of the medical attention I gave him. Not that I blamed him. Having a magic potion squirted into your eyes and making them burn couldn’t be pleasant, whether you were a normal human or a god-like samhain. Our closeness had made my skin tingle and my heart beat faster, but when he started swearing up a storm and making up nicknames for me, that heated blood of mine had combusted. In anger.
But the second time we were close was when Wils got hurt. All that bluster evaporated and he took extra care with me, made sure I was with Wils, protected me.
I felt just as hot and bothered, but with none of the urge to strangle him.
And now here we were “starting over” and all I wanted was to stay near him so this calming vibration would continue.
I watched as he hovered over the bed, checking that Kirk was breathing and healing. Kirk was my grandfather, but I’d only just met him. He meant a lot more to Seamus. He was the father figure in Seamus’s life. What happened to his biological father, I didn’t know. Not yet. I didn’t normally crave that kind of information, but with Seamus I found myself wondering all kinds of things, wanting to ask questions, needing to know why I was drawn to him when men never did me any good.
I forced myself to break free, crossing my room and the bathroom, into the claustrophobic bedroom Wils loved so much. The ceiling was low and I felt the urge to duck even though I didn’t need to.
Wils was right where I left her. Asleep on her back, covers pulled up to her chin, breathing steadily. We were mirror images. Same dark hair and eyes. Similar builds. The only difference was that I was a little taller and had a few more curves. We always thought it was a funny coincidence that we looked so much alike. The last year had taught me there were no such things as coincidences. Everything happened for a reason.
Whether I liked it or not.
“No change,” Vic rasped. He had a rough voice that only seemed to get rougher by the day. His connection to Wils was unmistakable and he rarely left her room. He sat in a chair, feet up, reading a book.
“I feel useless.” I sat on the corner of the bed. Should I touch her? Talk to her? Cuddle her? What was the right thing to do?
“You’re not useless.”
“She shouldn’t have attacked that beast.” If she hadn’t gone over the edge she might be fine right now. Sitting up and talking to me.
Vic cocked his head, setting the book aside. “If she didn’t, you might be the one in the bed. Or, more likely, in the ground.”
