| |
Irdu paused in Ronnie’s office doorway. Michael’s accusation hadn’t stopped grinding under his skin. Arrogant fucking asshole.
Ronnie was looking at her phone, a tiny smile on her face.
“Good news?” Irdu tried to keep his tone neutral.
She looked up, startled. She worked her jaw up and down. “Dinner invite from Michael.”
And she was happy about that? “Do you have ten minutes?”
“I have a meeting at eleven.”
“That would be a yes.” He closed the door behind him, but didn’t bother locking it. Apparently that didn’t matter here. “You know what Tia adores about you?” He was going down that path, because his list was too long.
“I have good taste in ice cream?”
The reply might be cute any other day. Right now, it felt like she was shrugging off a serious conversation. He was angry with Michael, but it dug deep that she wasn’t just still talking to the bastard, she was getting goofy smiles over him. “Unlike all the other originals, you’re here, slinging shit with the rest of us.”
“I... thanks?”
“And Michael’s not. The few months he was here, he didn’t do anything. He poked into my HR records. He was in the office a total of what, five times? He doesn’t know us. He doesn’t know how things function here. He’s arrogant and presumptuous and how the fuck are you flirting with him still after what he accused me of?”
“He’s sorry.”
“And I deserve to hear that from him.” Irdu snapped the words off. “I gave you Tia’s location. I would have been by her side if it was an option. Does he have any idea how much it would destroy me if either of you got taken out?” Frustration leaked into his words, and he swallowed it. He hated that he wasn’t a fighter.
Ronnie crossed the room to him, and paused less than a foot away. “You do deserve to hear it from him. I can tell you all day he’s sincere. He was trying to be logical. He doesn’t know you. I know you both. I want us all on the same page. I want you to be able to trust each other. You’re all I’ve got.”
“So, this is selfish on your part?” He wasn’t forgiving Michael so easily, but he was tired of arguing with Ronnie.
“Yes. But there’s more to it than that. No one else has our backs on this.”
He tugged her closer. “I give him a chance because you trust him. I’m only asking for the same consideration.”
“That’s fair. And if I didn’t think he was sincere about being sorry, I’d cut him out of my life. I promise you.” She rested her hands on his chest.
Irdu believed that. He kissed her lightly. “So, did you get laid?”
“It was just sex.”
“Bullshit.” He trailed his fingers along her neck and down her chest, stopping at the first button on her blouse. “It’s not just anything with him. Besides, if I have to share you on a long-term basis, as least it’s with someone honest and sexy.”
Ronnie smirked and pressed closer, molding her body to his. “Sexy, huh? You know when you say share... That’s got a lot of possibility.”
He undid the top button on her blouse, and then the next couple, drawing his fingers along her skin as he moved down. “It does.” He kissed along her collarbone. “But can you really imagine a guy like that fucking you while I’m in the room.” He worked one breast free from her bra, and flicked his tongue over the nipple. “Sliding inside you, filling you up, while I roam my hands all over your body?”
“I don’t know.” Her response was breathy. “I’m having a hard time with the visuals. You might have to help me out.”
He kneaded one breast while he sucked and nibbled the other. With the slightest mental flick, he sent similar sensations racing over her body. Her groan and the arch of her back said he’d hit several right spots.
“I don’t know if I’d rather watch or join in.” Irdu continued to lavish attention on her nipples while he dropped his other hand to inch her skirt up. “I bet the two of you are one hell of an aural light show. Especially when he’s pounding you hard.”
He traced his fingers along the outside of her panties, and thrust her hips into his touch.
“I’ve never been focused on the lights. But he’s not really anything hellish.” Her chuckle was strained.
“That’s a shame.” Irdu moved kissed up her chest to suck on her neck. “Everyone needs a bit of devil inside them.” He slid the crotch of her underwear aside and teased along her slit.
“That’s something I’d watch.”
Irdu fucking Michael? That was a tantalizing thought. “We probably have to work up to that. But I don’t think I could keep my hands to myself with you.” With another flick of magic, he could make her feel the sensation of being penetrated.
She gasped and dug her fingers into his back.
“I’d have to feel how much he was turning you on.” Irdu slipped up to her clit. “Stroke you while he was buried in you.” He traced circles around the button.
Her breath came in short gasps, and her hips thrust in time to his attention. His cock was so hard it hurt. He wanted to actually be fucking her, instead of using an ethereal dildo. But the expression on her face and the glow of pleasure were worth the attention he focused on her.
He crushed his mouth to hers and slid two fingers on either side of her clit. He increased his pressure and pace. Her whimpers were frantic, and she ground into his touch.
Desire spilled from her in waves, spiking and encasing him. He swallowed her cries when she came, and didn’t let up until she shuddered away from his touch.
“So,” Irdu said breathlessly against her lips. Why did she have to have a meeting now? “You get him to grovel for forgiveness, and we can make the fantasy real.”
She bit her bottom lip. “Just like that?”
“Absolutely.” He kissed her more lightly this time, then pulled her close. He held her, listening to her breathing return to normal.
Someone knocked. He didn’t think anyone in this place did that anymore. “I think your eleven o’clock is here,” he murmured against her hair. “I’ll leave you to it.”
He was reluctant to let go of her, but he forced himself to step back. He waited until she had her clothes straightened. It was tempting to help, but he’d probably take them off rather than put them back on.
She gave him one last playful look, then opened the door.
“Is now a bad time?” Samael asked, looking Irdu over as he stepped in the room.
“Now’s fine. You’re on my calendar.” Ronnie’s tone was professional, but she didn’t try to hide the pink dotting her cheeks.
Irdu didn’t like the needles that crawled over his skin when he brushed Samael’s shoulder. He didn’t care that Ronnie had a past with the guy, or was friends with him now. Something about the other demon radiated deception.
Then again, he was a demon. And an accountant for a company cooking their books. So maybe that was to be expected.
Irdu had a feeling there was more to it than that.
* * * *
MICHAEL STRETCHED OUT his legs and leaned back, resting his weight on his arms and wrists. “You’re a wonderful cook.”
Ronnie flushed. “Irdu taught me. He makes these crepes...” She ducked her head. “That I’m sure you don’t want to hear about.”
He didn’t know how to respond. He’d never heard her say anything unkind about the incubus, and it was impossible to miss how much Ronnie and Irdu cared for each other. Maybe Michael should get to know the guy. “I still own him an apology.”
She blushed. “Yeah. You do.”
Michael hadn’t been surprised when Ronnie asked if she could pick their dinner location, but he didn’t expect it to be a picnic on the roof. The condo complex didn’t have standard access up here, so he’d never thought to visit. From the large, cleared spot of concrete near the edge, he could tell she spent a lot of time up here. She always did love watching the stars.
She tucked her legs under her and fiddled with a pebble. “We’re spinning our wheels.” They were discussing how to keep something like the Vine incidents from happening again. “We know what we want but have no idea how to find it. Where are you getting your tips?”
“Some are luck. The rest came from Abaddon.”
Ronnie clenched her jaw. “You realize she was involved in Boston, right?”
“She didn’t cause the damage, but yes.” He wasn’t in the mood for an argument. The evening was going so well. “It doesn’t matter. She can’t give me any more.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
He couldn’t ignore the edge of suspicion in her question. “Can’t,” he said. “She doesn’t want to work with Gabriel any longer.”
Ronnie sat up straighter, hand on her stomach. Her aura flared, and the faint scent of burning pepper filled the night—a smell he associated with Metatron.
Michael should have known the name would have that effect on her. “Are you all right?”
“I’ll be fine. Bad memories and all that. It’s not as if I thought he was gone, and Irdu reminded me Gabe’s still got influence. I just... I wanted to pretend he might not have anything to do with this.”
“Would it be better if all these events were random and unrelated?”
“Of course not,” she snapped. “Sorry. What else did she tell you?”
He related the morning’s conversation as best he could, hating the pain that flashed across Ronnie’s face every time Gabriel’s name or motivations came up.
“I see.” The emotion vanished from her voice. “How long have you been talking to her?”
“To Abaddon? Most of her life.” He smiled, to lighten the mood and let Ronnie know he was joking. Her weak laugh implied she didn’t appreciate the humor. “For a few months,” he said. He left out the details about why Abaddon came to him in the first place. This didn’t seem like the time to drag up more demons from Ronnie’s past.
Ronnie shook her head. “So, we’re looking in the wrong place. We don’t need a pattern or algorithm; we need to know who’s loyal to Gabe.”
“Who’s going to tell us that?”
“We both know people.” The frustration in her tone grew. “I mean, I’ve been out of the loop for a while, but you haven’t. We can ask them?”
He grimaced. “Those of us who don’t work for Ubiquity tend to exist in silos.”
“Especially you. Fuck. Not that I blame you. I keep pissing people off left and right.”
“Aren’t you on good terms with Samael?”
She hesitated, casting her gaze to the ground. “Not exactly. Lucifer probably knows who’s loyal to Gabe, right? And he’s on our side.”
What started off as a lovely picnic under the stars was rapidly deteriorating into one awkward topic after another. Michael wanted the calm back. “Lucifer is on his own side.”
“He—”
“Gave you this chance. I realize that. And the two of you have a bond literally older than humanity.” Michael tried to keep his tone kind and sympathetic. “But remember how much he kept from you along the way. And how many lies do you tell for him?” The cryptic conversation from Saturday night rolled into his memory.
“Not as many as I used to.”
Had things really fallen this far among their ranks? “Whom do you trust?” he asked.
“You.” She managed a smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Irdu. Tia...”
“Who else?”
“That’s it. It’s a short, pathetic list.”
“It’s not pathetic.” It was longer than his list.
Ronnie furrowed her brow, as if diving into an intense thought, and the red and gold around her flickered and danced in the darkness. “What about Abaddon? If she was on the inside, she knows who else is.”
“If Gabriel doesn’t already realize she’s turned her back on him, he will soon.”
“We don’t know five people between us who we can trust.” Some of the sorrow vanished from her words, replaced with fire. “You killed twenty-seven of his, and that didn’t make a dent in his numbers. He can’t cut them off and replace them all overnight, just because he thinks someone close to him might sell him out. I guarantee he’s got a backup plan for someone betraying him—he lied for three-thousand years about why he tried to kill me—and it’s not to obliterate everyone who hasn’t and start from scratch.”
Michael couldn’t help a smile.
“What?” Ronnie asked.
“I like hearing your determination.” He stood and moved to sit next to her. When he intertwined their fingers on the rough concrete, she leaned into his shoulder. The contact felt right, especially accompanied by the brush of sugar and spice she radiated. “What if his contingency is moving everyone else into hiding?”
“They’re already there, as far as we’re concerned. And if his order is to lie low, it means fewer exploding buildings, right? Win-win. A list of who’s been with him in the past, regardless of if it’s complete, would be more than we have now. Irdu said”—she sighed and rubbed her face with her free hand—“most of us don’t hop from place to place on a regular basis. Agents prefer to settle down. Whether or not you’re not keeping up on your contact list, you’ve heard rumors about where some of them are.”
It was a shot in the dark, depending on what Abaddon gave him. And that was only if she agreed to. There were thousands of agents scattered around the world, depending on what their jobs were, each going about things in their own way. Ronnie was right, though. It was more than they had now. A direction to look in next. “I’ll get leads from Abaddon. Can you do the same with someone at work?”
Again, she hesitated. Her grip tightened around him, and her knee bounced. “Irdu is the only person I know who might consider helping me, and he’s not too happy with you.”
“He’s not doing it for me.”
“True. And he’ll see it the same way.” She rested more weight against Michael’s arm. “When did heaven and hell shift from helping the world to this complicated cup and ball scam?”
“You should be used to the deception. You trained in the intricacies of lying, right?”
Seconds ticked by, and she didn’t answer.
“I don’t say it to insult,” he said. “It’s a part of the training everyone from hell receives.”
“It is. It’s the same thing that makes me second-guess almost everyone.”
“I think we’re all reaching that point.” Michael hated it. He shouldn’t have to scrutinize a list of agents he knew, wondering which planned to turn on him and which simply didn’t care. When did this all become infighting and near-war?
“What happened to angels and demons?” Ronnie’s question echoed Michael’s thoughts.
“Nothing. Everything. Ever since ...” He couldn’t finish the thought, given how much Gabriel’s name seemed to bother her.
“Gabe tried to kill me. The first time. You can say it.”
He’d rather not. The words devoured him, though Gabriel hadn’t succeeded. “We’ll figure this out. I’ll talk to Abaddon.”
“Why do I feel like we’re woefully under-equipped to handle this?”
“Because out of the four originals, only half of us aren’t in it for ourselves.” He shifted on the ground to sit behind her.
“But that’s the problem, isn’t it?” She leaned back, resting her head against his chest. “This isn’t about the four of us. It’s about every agent. All celestial beings.”
“And the whole of humanity.”
“Yes. Them too.”
Michael wrapped his arms around hers and gave her a light squeeze. “We’ll figure it out. We have a next step now.”
“If we don’t manage to decide on a few more steps, and quickly, it won’t matter.”
“I know.” That was one thing he didn’t question.