Leaping forward, she sped through the window and dropped straight to the ground, where she solidified. Her demons were already heaving their target into the next building—a darkened warehouse with hundreds of pallets stacked to the ceiling, packing material scattered across the floor. It would do. A few minutes of cover with no fumes or bullets or cops or mobsters was all they needed to get this done. Finally.
Redness flushed Bruno’s flesh when they were inside, and he cursed and wrestled with the male demons. “I’ll have you all gutted. Slow and bloody. Better yet, I’ll do it myself, motherfuckers. I’ve done it before…my blade’s gonna mess up your pretty faces, and I’ll make you watch while I fuck your bitch.”
He kicked out and managed to catch Kobal in the knee. His leg buckled, and Bruno broke for a door that exited on a wall away from the cops. Raum went after him, and the human swung an elbow back to slam the dark-haired demon in the nose. Blood gushed down his face, and he staggered back.
“Shit,” Maron spat. She and Kobal both groaned. This was such a clusterfuck of a case.
The conduit between her and Kobal opened, and he fed his power through her. Fire whipped out of her, a wave of red and blue flames dancing through the air. He let her take the lead and direct its flow. Lightning strikes hit the ground, driving Bruno back toward them. Then he was inside the ring of fire, and Raum threw his power toward her as well. The vortex of light snapped into place, multicolored flames flashing with forks of brilliant, blinding lightning.
Darkness bled into the fiery funnel, and her ears buzzed from the amount of energy coursing through her body. She focused it, latching on to Bruno’s evil essence and wrenching it outward. It had never been so easy with someone so dark. It took seconds, mere heartbeats with their three combined powers. The vortex burst into a million shards of dancing, skipping light. She shuddered, blinking away the spots in her eyes. The putrid stench of his festering soul cleared from the air, and her belly unknotted for the first time in hours.
Bruno was dead.
Kobal bent forward and braced his hands on his knees. He angled a glance up at Maron and Raum. “Everyone okay?”
“Yeah,” Raum replied, wiping his bloodied nose. Maron just nodded as everything that had happened tonight slammed into her at once.
They had done it. Given her control, listened to her, obeyed her even when it went against their instincts. Something Shax would never, could never have done. She had doubted them, doubted they could follow her lead, and guilt washed through her. She had done to them what she feared they’d do to her—pushed them away, never trusting, never allowing them near. Just as Shax had done to her. She had been so unfair to them, too afraid of how good connecting to them felt—better than anything with Shax had ever felt—to believe that they would be any different that him. But as that realization hit her, she also had to ask herself what she was going to do about it. A century of terror closed her throat, her breath hitching hard against her ribs.
She swallowed hard. “Call it in, would you, Kobal? Let’s get out of here before the cops come sniffing around.”
“Of course.” He fished his cell phone out of his pocket.
Within moments, they were dragged into the nothingness between time and space. They appeared in Samael’s office, but he wasn’t there. She could feel him in the room beyond. The hellmouth. Sending Bruno to his final destination.
She staggered a little, the sizzle of all the energy still firing in hot pulses. Raum reached out and caught her, drawing her into his arms.
“Just relax for a moment.” His voice was rough with concern, not an ounce of patronization in his tone. “That’s a lot of power to funnel, especially with our bond so small. You did damn good.”
Warmth flooded her at his words, his actions, his tenderness. Shax had rarely touched her outside of sex, and she hadn’t realized until right now how much that simple act had denied her. She let herself lean against Raum’s broad chest, relaxing as his hand rose to bracket her neck and massage her tense muscles. Just for a moment, and then she stepped away.
Kobal came up behind her, rubbing her shoulders and slipping his hands up and down her arms. “You were amazing. I was worried we might fry your nerves, but we had to trust you.”
They had to trust her. When had Shax ever trusted her? Never. He’d always doubted her, and made her doubt herself. Their bond had made her depend on his opinion of her. She’d floundered under his lack of faith, making it a self-fulfilling prophecy.
They’d been together for years, and every assignment had made it worse for her, cutting any self-assurance she had out from under her. In one day, Kobal and Raum had shown more confidence in her than Shax had in years. Their actions tonight spoke far louder than words ever could.
Samael was right. They were right. They were the perfect for her.
Chapter Five
Samael stepped out of the room that held the hellmouth. There were explosive flares of light, roaring fire, all reflecting off of obsidian walls. Maron winced away from the noise and glare, turning her face aside until her boss shut the heavy black doors behind him. He looked a little pale, drawn, as though forcing Bruno down to hell had taken a lot out of him. Maybe it had, but Maron was still buzzing from the connection with her partners. It occurred to her that Samael had no one he connected deeply with, despite his efforts to shoehorn his agents into the bonds of Triads.
“Another successful assignment. Nicely done.” He glanced between the two men, then arched an eyebrow at Maron. “Well?”
What was she going to do about her partners, that was what he wanted to know. Accept them or reject them and insist on another female partner? Such a simple question, with such a complicated process to get to an answer. The idea of partnering with anyone besides Raum and Kobal, regardless of their gender, was repugnant. It made her stomach clench in sickened dread. What should she do then? There was only one thing she could live with.
She took in a breath, forcing herself to face the one fear she hadn’t mastered in her long existence. Love, and the way it made her weak. Vulnerable. But that was only if the person you loved didn’t love you back. That was only if you let yourself be owned by that love. Raum and Kobal wouldn’t hurt her. Of that, she had no doubt. The very thought of her being harmed had affected them deeply—she’d felt it through the thread of their bond tonight. And yet they’d trusted her to do her job in the face of danger. They’d trusted her. And she’d trusted them. That was what decided her in the end. She couldn’t let fear take this away from her. She’d regret it for the rest of her eternity.
She met Samael’s eyes and spoke clearly, so there were no more doubts. “I’ll keep them.”
Kobal staggered, his mouth falling open. “You will?”
“Are you sure?” Raum swallowed audibly, his brilliant green gaze locked on her face.
It floored her to realize how…nervous they had been, how much they’d expected her rejection, and how that rejection would have hurt them both. Somehow in all of this, she hadn’t understood how much this meant to them. How much she meant to them. Well, it was time to find out. She wanted to reach for them, but their boss watched, so she just offered a tiny nod. “Yes, I…Raum, I would…Kobal…”
Raum set a hand on her shoulder, squeezing in silent support. Kobal’s smile was mixture of joy and disbelief. “Let’s find some privacy.”
“Good idea,” Samael replied. “Find it outside my office. I have work to do.”
“Yes, sir,” they chorused.
They filed out of the room and nodded as they passed the pair of guards. They were the same ones that had been there when they left, and it was jolting to realize that not even a full guard rotation had gone by, just a handful of hours.