Chapter 5
A loud sound woke Aurora. She sat upright forgetting where she was for a moment. The sound abruptly silenced and she slid from the blankets to investigate. She crawled across the rooftop to the huge sanctuary sign and stood up behind the red lettering.
Peeking around the edge of one of the letters, she saw two men parking a pair of two wheeled machines close to the doors. She’d seen humans riding these contraptions around the city and they traveled very fast. It made her question how they kept from killing themselves on them. Humans were fragile creatures and it was usually the brave ones that figured that out first.
She tilted her head to the side curious when she heard male laughter and watched as they reached up to remove the odd looking helmets.
Michael and Warren took off their helmets and grabbed their private bottles of heat from the saddlebags before walking toward the building.
“I won that one,” Michael said.
“You did not,” Warren shot back. “I had you by at least two inches.”
Michael chuckled, “In your dreams.”
Aurora swung around and flattened herself against the back of the sign before sliding to the hard rooftop. Her heart was beating a hard and fast tempo in her chest to the point that it was almost painful. Thank god he was still alive… it looked like the fight with Samuel hadn't fazed him at all. But, what was he doing here? Had he somehow found her?
Her mind flashed back to the man the woman had called Kane… his eyes had been the same strange color as her lovers’. Was this the home and family of the man from the subway?
Her first instinct told her to run and she almost took that step but curiosity made her stay where she was. She didn’t think she’d ever see him again in a place this size with so many souls in it. Yet she’d ironically found him in the one place Samuel couldn’t reach her… it was almost funny.
Michael opened the front door and walked in with Warren directly behind him. Warren stopped to take in the interior and nodded his approval.
“So, is this were you’ve been for the last couple days?” Warren asked.
“No,” Michael shook his head, “long story short… I made love to a stranger in the subways, was attacked by a jealous demon, and then murdered by my father.” He winked at the horrified look on Warren’s face. “But enough about me, I brought you here so we could talk about Trevor without risking the chance that he’s actually listening.”
Kane had come out of his room when he heard the unmistakable sound of a pair of motorcycles outside. He entered the bar area just in time to hear Michael confess part of what happened the other night.
“You made love to a stranger in the subway?” Kane asked stepping up behind them, making Warren flinch. When Michael looked over his shoulder at him, Kane shrugged, “What? I could feel you coming seeing as how my blood is inside you right now… plus you know I could never resist the hum of a motorcycle.”
“How did your blood get inside Michael?” Tabatha asked making the boys turn toward her.
“Found him dead yesterday love… had to do something to help him heal,” Kane said bluntly.
“What?” Tabatha and Warren said in unison.
Kane sighed seeing the anger start to rise in Tabatha’s eyes and figured he might as well give it a shot at defending himself, “I told you I was with Michael for a little while.”
“And you conveniently left out the fact that he was dead,” Tabatha insisted as she crossed her arms over her chest.
“Nah nah na na nahhhhhh,” Michael teased Kane as he walked on toward the bar that was still set up in the huge room.
“I knew he wouldn’t stay that way,” Kane tried again then admitted just for the hell of it, “even if I did do a few things out of boredom.” He saw Tabatha’s eyes darken more and quickly decided a change of subject was in order. “So Warren, how’s that brother of yours?”
“In need of a bottle of mega-aspirin,” Warren said then caught up with Michael at the bar in the middle of the room. “Why didn’t you call me?”
“My cell phone committed suicide… and I followed it,” Michael hadn't had this much fun confusing Warren in a long time.
“I wanna hear more about this mystery girl that made you obviously forget all of your inhibitions,” Kane said and slid onto one of the stools beside Michael.
Tabatha walked behind the bar and grabbed one of the bottles of Heat from the case Envy had talked Kat out of. She set it on the bar then noticed the boys already had one… each. She cocked an eyebrow then shrugged sliding the third bottle toward Kane wanting him to match.
“A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell,” Michael hedged then thanked Tabatha as she sat shot glasses beside the three bottles.
“I told you that you smelled like a girl. Damn, I can’t believe I didn’t realize why,” Kane pouted then leaned forward and took a sniff. “You still smell like a girl.”
“Back off weirdo,” Michael laughed swatting at him. He was glad he’d brought Warren here instead of his house. “What I smell like is none of your business.”
Kane kept his face calm as he drew back from Michael's neck trying to hide the fact that every muscle in his body had just tightened. He decided to act on the discretionary side this time instead of making a scene. He could still smell the female’s scent even though he could also tell Michael had showered twice since yesterday.
What caught his attention was that Michael smelled of the same girl he’d almost throttled for kicking him down the steps only a couple hours ago… the same one that was now sleeping on the roof. Leave it to his brother to shag the only female Fallen in the entire world.
There was one thing that Kane definitely knew about Michael… he did not have sex indiscriminately. Michael was the kind of man that liked to woo his woman, shower her with affection, before finally making love to her. He wasn’t the wham-bam-thank you-ma’am type… and never in a place so public like a subway.
Kane was truly curious about the woman that had captured Michael’s attention enough to make him forget his true nature.
“This mystery girl… does she have a name?” Kane asked while wiggling his eyebrows. “She must be kinky if she’ll do you in the subway.”
Warren gave Tabatha a bewildered look and slid the shot glass back toward her. “May I have a big boy cup? I think I’m gonna need it.”
Tabatha brought up a huge tumbler from under the bar and handed it over to Warren with a smirk. “If they keep this up, I might join you.”
“You guys are making enough damn noise to wake the dead,” Damon complained as he and Alicia emerged from their bedroom for the first time in… he’d lost count.
“Speaking of dead,” Warren tried to get Michael back on the subject he was most interested in. “You conveniently forgot to mention just who in the hell killed you yesterday… was it Kane?” He was proud of himself for keeping his voice cool and smooth when inside he was snapping at the bit.
Tabatha jerked her head toward Kane, daring him to give the wrong answer.
Kane held his hands up as if she’d just pointed a gun at him, “I didn’t kill him. Come on Michael… back me up here.”
Michael smirked, “Actually… I never saw my murderer. One moment I was fighting someone and the next I was dead.”
“I’ve got an alibi this time,” Damon said as he hopped up on the bar and pulled Alicia back to the barstool between his legs… facing him. He grinned devilishly when she glanced up at him as if he’d just given her an idea. He frowned when she swiveled the stool sideways so she could see everyone else.
“I can vouch for his alibi,” she shrugged then pouted at Tabatha. “Please tell me you have another bottle of Heat. My brothers never let me drink any.”
“With good reason,” Warren added with a smirk. “It affects girls a little differently than guys.”
“You can stop trying to protect me now,” Alicia said accusingly and before anyone could stop her, she nabbed Kane’s bottle and tipped it up.
“Ohm love, you might want to go easy on that,” Kane said but didn’t move to take his bottle back.
Alicia lowered the bottle and smiled, “See, I’m a big girl now.” She noted all three men glance up at Damon and followed their gaze finding the most devilish smile on his face.
“What?” she asked curiously.
“Like you said, you’re a big girl now… drink up,” Damon cheered her on then leaned back and got Kane a new bottle out of the case. “So Kane… why did you kill Michael?” he asked, changing the topic before someone was mean enough to tell Alicia why she shouldn’t be taking another drink like she was doing.
Kane shook his head and opened his new bottle. Smiling, he clinked it against Alicia’s in a toast before tilting it up and taking a long drink himself.
“If I’m gonna be in trouble for something I didn’t do, then at least let me get drunk first.” Kane looked at Tabatha and relaxed seeing her soft smile.
“So if Kane didn’t kill you… then who did?” Tabatha asked Michael. “It had to have been someone powerful to get one over on you… right?”
“Syn,” Michael finally answered letting Kane off the hook.
Everyone in the room froze except Kane who decided to take another long drink from his bottle so he could tilt his head back and stare up at the ceiling. He silently wondered if the female Fallen was still up there and breathed a mental sigh of relief when he heard her faint heartbeat.
“What did you do to piss Daddy Dearest off?” Damon asked curiously. “I’m sorry, but if you’re looking for revenge then count me out. I wouldn’t want to mess with him on a good day.”
He turned his attention back to Alicia who had suddenly placed her hand dangerously high on his thigh and was sliding quick glances toward his crotch. He hated to be the one to tell her that if she kept doing that… it was only going to get bigger.
“Besides, I’m libel to be busy for the next couple days.” Damon slid off the bar deciding it would be safer to stand beside her for now.
“I’m sure Syn had a good reason,” Michael shrugged it off knowing he’d been out of control. “No revenge needed and I’m fine.”
“On to other topics then,” Kane hedged. “This girl you… tangled with in the subway. Since you seem to have forgotten her name, do you at least remember what she looked like?”
Michael closed his eyes and inhaled slowly as her image appeared in his mind’s eye. In the vision, she was still standing on the other side of the subway tracks staring back at him with that heated gaze.
Kane took another quick drink of his bottle, getting a full uncensored view of the beautiful Fallen from Michael's unprotected mind. He glanced toward Tabatha who was watching him closely then glanced up at the ceiling and back at her hoping she would get the message.
Tabatha frowned understanding he was trying to tell her something about their secret visitor but couldn’t comprehend what.
“She was beautiful… like an angel with pale blonde hair and perfect skin,” Michael breathed then shoved the image away from him. “But it appears that a prick of a demon is hounding her and she disappeared right before he showed up looking for a fight.” Michael felt his anger spike as his thoughts darkened. “Apparently, he thinks he has a claim on the girl but I’m not convinced she shares his theory.”
‘He slept with the girl on the roof?’ Tabatha, finally putting it together, nearly screamed in her mind making Kane almost knock over his bottle of Heat.
Kane caught the bottle before it toppled and turned back toward Michael. “You mean the same demon you said you pushed in front of a subway train?” he asked.
“A lot of good it did me,” Michael's eyes twitched as he narrowed them on his bottle. “The demon practically waved at me as he zoomed by. But his is one face I will never forget.”
Damon took the bottle out of Alicia’s hands and set it on the bar when she slid off the stool to get even closer to him. He glanced over at Michael as he nuzzled Alicia’s hair, “If you need a tag team to kill the bastard, then you’ve got one, but… you might want to wait until Alicia lets me back out of the bedroom.”
To say Damon was actually concerned for Michael was an understatement. He’d never seen his brother like this except when they were taking turns killing each other, and even then it was more restrained than what he was sensing now. A single woman had turned the level headed Michael into a very dangerous man… even if Michael didn’t realize it yet.
“I second the tag team thing,” Warren said while refilling his big boy glass.
None of this sounded very good in his opinion… a demon powerful enough to survive a fight with Michael or the fact that Syn killed him for some unknown reason was reason to worry. Maybe if he waited on everyone to go away, Michael would be more out to give him a better idea of what the hell was going on.
Tabatha wanted to drag Kane away just like Alicia was dragging Damon away, but for a completely different reason. She wanted to talk to him about the Fallen. Kane also needed to tell Michael about the woman on the roof and she was waiting for him to say something. They’d agreed not to tell Kriss and Dean, but they had also agreed that the female didn’t need to be alone. What she needed was someone like Michael.
“Speaking of beautiful girls,” Kane said having heard Tabatha's silent urging. “We found one on the roof earlier tonight.”
Michael jerked his head up to stare at Kane in surprise. “Who can make it through these wards without an invite? I thought Syn’s barriers were fool proof.”
Kane nodded, “Yeah, they usually are. But after kicking my ass all the way down the stairs, the pretty little thing conned Tabatha into letting her stay up there.” Kane shrugged wanting to laugh at the fact that he was telling the truth. “I wasn’t about to get my ass handed to me by two girls so I let her stay.”
Michael was in the middle of taking a shot of Heat when he about choked on it. “You’re joking… right?”
“Nope,” Tabatha smiled. “He knows when he’s out numbered. He even took her pillows and blankets up there.”
She blew Kane a kiss approving of the little game he’d started. By not telling Michael who the girl really was… they could just stand back and act surprised when it turned out to be the one that had gotten away from him.
“I’m intrigued,” Michael smirked. “A girl that can kick you down a flight of stairs... wait,” his smirk faltered and he cautiously glanced between Kane and Tabatha. “You’re letting a demon stay on the roof?”
“She’s not a demon,” Tabatha said firmly.
This time it was Warren who spoke up. “You let a human kick you down the stairs? That’s a new one.”
“I didn’t let anyone do anything,” Kane wiped his hand over his face deciding to stop Tabatha from telling everyone what the girl truly was. “I forgot to take her damn DNA while I was up there. Who cares what she is… she convinced Tabatha to let her crash on the roof so I let them have their way to avoid losing any playtime.”
“She was tired and cold,” Tabatha pointed out. “She only wanted to hide from the demons for a little while because they’ve apparently been hounding her. We turned off the monitors on the roof but we still have a few minutes of video if you want to see her.”
Tabatha came out from behind the bar and headed toward the security office hoping they would simply follow her. She smiled when they did.
“You recorded her kicking Kane’s butt?” Michael laughed. “I really need to borrow your DVD burner for a few minutes.” That statement sent Warren into a fit of laughter.
“Now she’s just bragging,” Kane said with a pout and ran ahead so he could beat Tabatha to the room.
He immediately flipped the monitor back on, thinking if he showed her to Michael right away then Michael wouldn’t stick around for the instant play back. If Michael saw how quickly the girl had gotten the best of him, Kane would never hear the end of the teasing. There was only one person allowed to tease him… and she wore high heels.
“Oh look… she’s not at the door anymore.” Tabatha said. “No problem, we’ll just have to play the recording,”
Tabatha leaned across Kane and touched the small block that was showing the roof to maximize the picture then tapped the rewind button. She jumped when Kane swatted her on the bottom and glared playfully at him. Just for that, she’d ‘forget’ to press the stop button at the wrong moment and show Michael Kane’s graceful tumble down the stairs.
Kane read her thoughts and quickly reached over to click the rewind button twice so it would jump back further. The video feed stopped on the area where he’d first noticed her laying on the roof sleeping. This time he felt his gut clench as he watched her dream. “She doesn’t look like much but you don’t want to sneak up behind her… trust me I know.”
Michael froze and the name the demon had given him for her slipped past his lips, “Aurora.”
“You know her?” Warren asked. “Who is she?”
“I don’t have a clue,” Michael breathed then seemed to shake himself from his daze and flipped the monitor back to present time. The area in front of the door was still empty but he could see the rumpled covers where she’d been sleeping. “Kane, do me a favor and tell Warren the truth about Trevor… I’m going to go see if she’s still up there.”
“The truth about Trevor?” Warren looked at Kane but the vampire’s attention was on Michael as he calmly walked out the door.
Kane turned back to the monitor waiting on Michael to open the door. If he was a betting man, he’d bet Michael got a hell of a lot warmer reception than he did.
“What do I need to know about Trevor?” Warren asked, immediately wondering if Devon and Envy were in any danger from him.
Kane sighed, “I put that compulsion spell on Trevor and Devon for a good reason. If they were to ever fight for real… Devon wouldn’t stand a chance in hell.”
“A bear shifter isn’t that much stronger,” Warren said remembering having to carry Trevor after his fight with the vampires. “He’s never acted any stronger than a normal shifter.”
“There’s no such thing as a bear shifter,” Kane said just as the door to the roof opened. He saw Michael look around then up at the camera. His eyes widened and he nearly growled when Michael reached up and crushed the web cam.
“I can’t believe he just did that.” Kane complained.
