“Now we continue to track the Armitage clan, but that’s no longer your concern. Micah is handling those details.” Gabriel put his hands on the table. “Seth and Dante, I want you on easy detail until Damien is once more up to speed. I’ll inform you of where you’ll be patrolling before you leave.” He turned to Piotr. “Piotr, you and Zeke need to train Eli on how to hunt. It seems his cell leader didn’t use him in that capacity.”
“Dá, sér,” Piotr replied, echoing Zeke’s English “Yes, sir.”
“Good. If any of the Armitages lived through the blast, Eli should sense them. Eli?”
Eli jumped, obviously unused to being addressed in a meeting. Man, his ex-cell leader had fucked him up big-time. “Yes, Gabriel?”
“I want you on the field with Damien learning how to shoot, and with Piotr on knife work. Unless you’d rather learn swordsmanship, in which case—”
“No. I’ll learn knife work.” Eli, his tone chastising, scowled around the room. “I trust Piotr. Unlike some of you.”
Piotr’s cheeks actually turned a bit pink. “Spasibo, moì† brat.”
Zeke, on the other hand, seemed surprised, but kept his mouth shut.
“I trust him,” Damien croaked, holding up his hand. “He’s my brother.”
“Me, too,” Seth replied.
“Then it’s settled,” Gabriel said, bringing the Piotr love fest to an abrupt end. “Gio, Sasha, and Rafe, I want you on patrol in the area where Rafe was found. We need to figure out how they’re hiding their aura from us.”
“Yes, sir,” Gio replied, speaking for his team.
“Micah and I will be looking into the Oracle problem as well as dealing with the rescued Nephilim.” Gabriel glanced at Eli. “Don’t worry. I won’t leave you and yours to suffer.”
Eli smiled. “Thank you, Gabriel. It’s a relief to finally be able to tell you what’s been happening. I’ll give you a list of the cell leaders who have been abusing their Oracles.”
“Get me as much information as you can. I’ll do the rest. Those cell leaders will be removed and retrained and someone else put in their place.” Gabriel’s tone was hard, unforgiving, the archangel promising one of his that the innocent would no longer bear their unwarranted burden. “Sam, Abby and Beth will continue to help coordinating missions like the last ones. They did an excellent job, and Damien was right to suggest we use them again.”
Beth, Abby, and Sam all looked proud of themselves. Seth and Dante looked concerned, but Damien didn’t care. The women wanted to help, and this was the best way he could think of to let them and still keep them safe. Sam had agreed, willing to do anything to keep the Nephilim safe from the ravages of the Shemyaza.
“Meeting adjourned.” Gabriel smiled, and Superman once more became Clark Kent.
“Yes!” Sasha began dancing in his chair. “Barbecue!”
Sam laughed softly, the sound almost hidden by the more raucous laughter of his brothers. Even Beth let out a good, loud laugh. Abby was grinning from ear to ear, gazing fondly at Sasha while Seth cooed to Rose.
They nearly trampled each other getting to the backyard and Gabriel’s patio.
Patio was putting it mildly. Multi-tiered, made of stone, lit not only on the steps but by posts, the “patio” boasted an outdoor living room, kitchen, dining room, and hot tub. Sometimes he was a little envious, but then he remembered he could come over any time he wished and just enjoy Gabriel’s home. The angel welcomed them whenever they came, good times and bad. It was just one of the reasons Gio laughingly referred to Gabriel as his godfather.
He still laughed despite the fact that his mother had told him it was all too true. Gabriel had been godfather to all of her children.
Damien collapsed onto the sofa and immediately began looking for the remote. Gabriel had an outdoor television and fireplace, making autumn evenings watching football almost a must-do. But in warmer weather, like now, he liked to simply relax with his friends while Sasha barbecued and the rest of them played on the lawn like children.
Unfortunately, Abby found the remote before he did. She put on some show about people making clothing. Some of it was the most hideous stuff he’d ever seen, bar Shem stench. “Is that a caterpillar between that model’s legs?”
Beth tilted her head. “I think it’s a furry maxi pad.”
“Ew.” Dante threw a pillow at her head. “Besides, it would have blood in the middle if it were.”
“Oh my God.” Sam sounded horrified. “You guys. He worked so hard on his vision.”
Everyone turned to stare at Sam.
She rolled her eyes. “Even if it does look like the love child between Always and a shag rug. And if you look closely, you’ll see the blood is at the top, meaning she didn’t place it properly.”
Now Sam was the one buried in pillows as Seth wrestled the remote from Abby. He changed the channel, putting on some Law & Order reruns they could all live with.
Sam dug out from underneath the mountain of pillows. “Ooh, Law & Order. Sam Waterson rocks. Did you know that New York declared both him and Jerry Orbach living landmarks for their work on this show?”
“Shh. Don’t talk too much.” She held up her hands and, much to his surprise, signed the words I love you.
He smiled and signed back, I love you, too.
“That’s the limit of my ASL, but I’m working on it for the next time you burn your vocal cords.” Sam sighed. “I think it’s something we should all learn. It would be good when you’re stalking Shem and can’t speak out loud, but you’d have to have line of sight for it to work.”
Damien nodded, smiling at Piotr as the man stepped toward them and took a seat on the ottoman that served as the outdoor coffee table.
“Ms. Brody.” He glanced at Damien. “I think it’s safe for you to return to work.”
She nodded, smiling happily. “I think so, too. I miss hunting down human bad guys.”
“You’ll be back to it soon enough, moya sestra.” Piotr stood, and for the first time he wondered why anyone would think his brother’s silver eyes were cold.
“Oh! Can you teach me how to knife fight?” She bounced in her seat like a toddler jonesing for candy. “I’ve done some of it in video games, and—”
Piotr laughed, actually laughed, the sound warm and full of amusement. “Nyet. Learn knife skills from Sasha. Otherwise, Damien might fillet me.”
Damien nodded. No way was Sam learning how to fight hand-to-hand, even if Damien was going to hit Piotr up himself. Maybe he could learn beside Eli?
Sam made a moue of disappointment. “Fine. Guess I’ll have to stick to my guns.”
Yes, she wou—
Wait.
Guns?
Plural?
“You are not Lara Croft,” Damien croaked, scowling at his lover.
“Not yet,” Sam whispered. “Donny! Here, boy!” She whistled for the Chihuahua, ignoring Damien’s evil eye.
“Sam.”
“Hmm?” She loved on the Chihuahua for a moment, then turned to Damien with big, innocent blue eyes. Donny’s head was tucked under her chin, giving him a double-dose of innocence.
“No Lara Croft, Sam.” He shuddered at the thought. Hell, if she did it, then Beth would want to do it, and it would just snowball from there.
“Belle Starr?”
Damien groaned at Sam’s hopeful look. “She was a bad guy. Bad. Guy. She was pretty much Wild West mafia.”
“Oh.” Sam sighed. “There goes that theme wedding.”
“Theme wedding?” Hell no. He started shaking his head rapidly.
She nodded, eager as a kid at Disney World. “Yup. I’ll give you a choice, Damien. Tomb Raider, World of Warcraft, or Shadowrun meets Deus Ex.”
Hell, at least all of them were video games, so he was either mildly familiar with them or could easily look them up. WoW was fantasy, Shadowrun and Deus Ex were futuristic cyberpunk, an
d Lara Croft was…Lara Croft, woman adventurer.
Still, having an argument while he could barely speak wasn’t easy, especially when she was leaning toward Tomb Raider and he was leaning toward the Shadowrun/Deus Ex mash-up. When his friends jumped in with opinions, and their own arguments ensued, Sam and Damien quietly stepped away. They slipped into the main house, the dogs following behind them. No matter what they decided, in the end, no vows or spoken words could tie them together more tightly than they already were.
“Lara Croft. Think about it. This butt in tight brown shorts,” Sam whispered in his ear. She wiggled that epic ass at him before taking off for the staircase.
Damien raced after her. Maybe the whole Tomb Raider theme could work after all.
About the Author
Dana Marie Bell wrote her first short story when she was thirteen years old. She’s now a USA Today bestselling author. Dana has lived primarily in the Northeast with a brief stint on the U.S. Virgin Island of St. Croix. She lives with her soul mate and husband Dusty, their two maniacal children, an evil ice-cream-stealing cat and a dog who thinks barking should be an Olympic event. She’s been heard to describe herself as “vertically challenged” and “a lapsed brunette.” Dana also suffers from ankylosing spondylitis (a progressive inflammatory arthritis that primarily affects the spine), and can be seen walking with a cane or tooling around in her mobility scooter. Her condition was the inspiration for Belle’s hip injury in Steel Beauty.
You can learn more about Dana at: www.danamariebell.com
Look for these titles by Dana Marie Bell
The Gray Court
Dare to Believe
Noble Blood
Artistic Vision
The Hob
Siren’s Song
Never More
Halle Pumas
The Wallflower
Sweet Dreams
Cat of a Different Color
Steel Beauty
Only In My Dreams
Halle Shifters
Bear Necessities
Cynful
Bear Naked
Figure of Speech
Indirect Lines
Heart’s Desire
Shadow of the Wolf
Hecate’s Own
The Wizard King
Warlock Unbound
*Maggie’s Grove
Blood of the Maple
Throne of Oak
Of Shadows and Ash
Song of Midnight Embers
The Nephilim
*All for You
*The Fire Within
Speak Thy Name
Poconos Pack
Finding Forgiveness
Mr. Red Riding Hoode
Sorry, Charlie
True Destiny
Very Much Alive
Eye of the Beholder
Howl for Me
Morgan’s Fate
Not Broken
Coming Soon:
Maggie’s Grove
Hour of the Wolf
Terra Noctem
Sound’s Familiar
True Destiny
Hide and Seek
*Published by Carina Press
For more on Dana Marie Bell and her books, please visit
http://www.danamariebell.com