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.
Chapter Nineteen
Saving Grace
Over the next weeks life had returned to normal. Jared and I spent our time painting and rearranging the furniture, and the space metamorphosed from Jared’s dark loft to our bright and cheerful home.
I wouldn’t have thought to change a thing, but Jared insisted I add a feminine touch. I hung up self-portraits we’d taken of ourselves, bought a new floral comforter, and even picked out new china. Jared regarded the transformation with wholehearted gratitude. There were times that I thought Jared wanted me make the changes so that he had tangible proof that I was in fact living there.
A month after I had officially moved in, Jared wanted to celebrate with an evening out. I put on a strapless black dress with red pumps and Jared made the effort of putting on a tie. We walked out to the curb and Jared straddled his Vulcan. I raised an eyebrow, pointedly looked down at my short skirt and then back at him.
Jared laughed out loud and dismounted. “Just kidding.”
He walked over to the Escalade and opened the door.
“So, where are we going?” I asked.
“Somewhere new. You’ll like it,” he said before closing my door.
We pulled up to a dark, brick building. He helped me to the curb and held open a glass door, kissing my cheek as I passed. A small Asian woman greeted us, and Jared grabbed my hand, leading me to a table bearing a beautiful arrangement of pink and white tulips. We were the only patrons in the small eatery and I smiled at Jared as he sat in front of me. The woman walked half-way across the room to a waiter’s station to fill our water glasses, and I leaned against the table.
