Unchained (Nephilim Rising 1)

“I had to chase one through seven districts. That should account for two more at least.” She knew she was whining, but oh well.

He pushed her in front of some street thug. Something in the way she smiled at the teenager warned him not to have a problem with it. “The night is still young. Maybe you can catch up to me, but probably not,” Luke taunted.

“Douche,” she muttered.

“Tool,” he tossed back. “All right, check you later.”

“Hey, hold on a second,” she called out. “I found Micah in Nathaniel’s office. I think he was snooping.”

Luke frowned. “Why would he be doing that?”

She gave him a duh look. “Someone is betraying us.”

“So you think it’s him?” Luke’s frown deepened. “Shit, Lily. I don’t know. Micah is good a guy.”

“Whoever is betraying us is a damn good actor, right? If not, they would have slipped up.”

He stepped back as a young woman walked between them. She was a tall, pretty brunette. In her tight jeans and colorful blouse, she was a head turner. Luke did a double take. “Damn.”

The girl turned, flashing a smile at him. Of course she would. Lily rolled her eyes. Most women would pay good money to get that kind of attention from him. With his chiseled features and broad body, he turned a few heads himself.

“Um, pay attention to the important thing at hand,” she reminded him drily.

Luke tore his gaze from the brunette. “What?”

She sighed. “Someone is betraying us, blah blah blah.”

“I’ll mention it to Nate and see what he thinks.” Luke glanced behind him. “Good catch, by the way. I’m kind of proud of you.” He lightly chucked her on the chin with one meaty fist. “I gotta go. Be careful.”

“Peace out, home skillet.”

He rolled his eyes at her and disappeared down an alley. She headed toward the Washington Nationals stadium. She was sure to run into some deadheads, minions, or general bad folk on the way.

By the end of the night she’d gotten three more. Luke got four and the girl. He felt like sharing that, and in great detail. He was such a douche. As she headed back to the Sanctuary, her cell rang. She fished the thing out. It was Danyal. Sighing, she answered, “Yep?”

“I got that info for you.”

“Oh great.” She perked up. “Lay it on me.”

“Whatever suspicion you had, you’re on to something,” Danyal told her. “I don’t see how the coroner missed this. She had several cuts on her fingers and hands. There was also bilateral bruising around the wrists that occurred before death.”

“Self-defense wounds,” she stated as she dropped from the roof of the General Accounting building onto its lower ledge.

“Either the coroner was an idiot or he was paid off,” he said. “I don’t think Michael’s mom killed herself. I’ve never seen a suicide with that many hesitation marks, especially ones on the fingers.”

Unease formed little balls of ice in her belly. “So she didn’t kill herself?”

“Hold on.” He radioed in a command. “Sorry. No. My professional instincts tell me no.”

“Damn.” That was really weird.

“What made you check into this?”

“I saw some pictures of his mom,” she admitted. “You know how all our moms were, right?”

There was a silence. Then he answered, “Coldhearted and soulless.”

“Exactly,” she responded. “Except in every single picture of his mom, she was smiling. I mean, really smiling. I don’t know. It just struck me as odd.”

“I really don’t know what this could mean. If Michael’s mom was murdered, then were the Fallen behind it?”

Lily wished she could ask Danyal about Michael not showing up in the Book, but she wasn’t supposed to know that. “And why would they kill his mom?” she finished for him.

“You should bring this to Nate. You never know. It could be a coincidence, or it could mean something.”

Lily nodded and then frowned at herself. Not like he can see you nod, idiot. “Yeah, I will.” She pushed on the lobby doors. “Thanks, Danyal. Be safe out there.”

“Same to you,” he responded.

Once inside, she went in search of Nathaniel but wasn’t able to find him. She headed back to her room, digging out the file on Michael again. Scanning through it a second time, she still didn’t find anything that stood out to her.

Sitting down on the bed, she tried to piece together the connection between Michael’s mother’s death and the fact that his name never showed in the Book. Luke would probably tell her there was no connection at all, but she couldn’t shake the feeling there was, and she was missing it somehow.

Chapter Seventeen

Nathaniel stared down at the Contract on his desk. “Interesting,” he murmured.

Is that all he would say to finding out Micah was snooping around his office? Disappointed, Lily’s shoulders slumped. “I figured you’d be more intrigued with the news.”

He arched a brow at her. “Intrigued is not a word I would use, Lily. Disappointed and angry are better-suited words. I have known Micah for decades. To suspect someone like him is not something I can take lightly.”

She tucked a leg under her. “It has to be someone in the circle,” she pointed out. “Those are the only ones who know where the Book is.”

Nathaniel tapped his fingers. “I will talk with him. See what information I can get. I’ll admit I hope your suspicions are incorrect.”

“If they are, then it only means it’s someone else you trust. No matter what happens, it isn’t going to be pretty.” She bit her lip, rubbing her palms over her knees. “Is that Michael’s Contract?”

“Yes. Have you mentioned it to him yet?”

She laughed. “No. I figured I’d leave that to you.”

Nathaniel leaned back, placing his hands behind his head. “I’ve sent Luke to retrieve him. I think it would be good if you could hang out here for just a few more minutes.”

She didn’t like the sound of that. “Why?”

His lips curved into a smile. “Lily, you grew up knowing about the Contract. You accepted it. Hell, you worked toward it. It’s not the same with Michael. It’s going to come as a shock.”

“Oh yeah, good point,” she murmured absently. She hadn’t really paid much thought to the idea of the Contract being offered to Michael. Now that she did, she kind of wished she had somehow escaped this meeting. She couldn’t imagine him not freaking out once he heard the terms. “It’s pretty heavy stuff. Are you really going to offer it to him now?”

“No, but I think he should have a good idea of what it is.”

She wanted to laugh, but Michael arrived with Luke trailing behind him. Nathaniel motioned for Michael to sit. Luke could have pulled up a chair, but he chose to hover behind her.

She inspected Michael. He was dressed in the customary sweats and shirt. Poor guy looked like he could use some sleep. But although a little ragged around the edges, he was still something to look at. Especially with his hair grown out a bit. He wasn’t tatted up, and his masculine beauty seemed much more refined than the wilder look the other male Nephilim favored.

Lost in her own thoughts, she realized she had missed a good part of the conversation—and all of them were staring at her.

“What?” she asked.

Luke leaned over the back of her chair, grinning. “Nate asked if you had any input on the rookie’s training.”

“Oh! Um,” she fumbled as she turned to Nathaniel. “He’s doing really well, picking up the jujitsu and grappling training faster than I thought he would. He does need to improve on his knife fighting, but that’s expected. Also, his blocking could improve.” She stopped, sparing Michael a smile. “He has the determination and stamina of a Nephilim. He will make a good fighter.”

Michael looked like he’d fall out of his chair.

“Good,” Nate answered. “Luke?”

“He still needs improvement,” he said bluntly.

She tipped her head back. “You spend what—an hour or so a day with him? How can you even answer that?”

Luke cocked a brow. “Nate asked for my opinion.”

Ignoring him, she looked at Michael. His brows had knitted together. “So, how do you think you are doing?” she asked.

“I’m doing damn good. Take into consideration that a week or so ago I would’ve thought you all were on crack,” he retorted. “Not to mention my training consists of me getting my ass handed to me on a regular basis, and I am still standing.”

Nathaniel had remained quiet up until that point. “That may be, but in reality, out on the streets your ass won’t be handed to you if you fail. You will die.”

A red flush traveled over Michael’s features, and his lips thinned. “I know I can improve.” He leaned forward, meeting Nathaniel’s gaze with his own level one. “Lily is right. I need better blocking. I need to not end up on my back every five seconds, but I can get this done. I can do this.”

At the moment, Lily was sort of proud of him. Like a mother who just saw her child do something right.

“I don’t believe you can do this,” Nathaniel said. “I believe you can master this.”

Michael once again looked startled. “Thank you.”

He continued. “I know you are curious about the Contract and what it entails. I think at this point in your training, it’s a good idea to discuss what it is.”

“What? Are you for real?” Luke exploded. The chair Lily sat in rocked forward.

She pushed his arm off the back of her chair. “Jesus,” she muttered crossly. “Not necessary.”

Luke stood straight, crossing his thick arms. “Nate, he’s only been training for little over a week. He didn’t even know he was Nephilim until recently. There’s a lot for him to learn, to experience before he can accept the Contract. He’s nowhere near ready for such a commitment and responsibility!”

Nathaniel regarded him calmly. “Is there anything else you wish to add?”

“Oh, give me a few seconds, and I’m sure I can come up with a dozen or more reasons why he shouldn’t be offered the Contract.”

Michael shot to his feet. “Is this a conversation you’d rather have without me here? I have this feeling it doesn’t matter if I’m here or not.”

“I happen to agree,” Luke responded, forever the smart-ass.

Michael whirled on him. “Man, what the fuck is your problem?”

Lily sighed wearily. This wasn’t going as planned. “Michael, sit down. Luke, shut up.” It was a sad day for Nephilim around the world when she played mediator. “If you guys want to pull out your dicks and see whose is bigger, can you go ahead and do it so we can move on?”

The men looked at her like she had sprouted two heads, but Michael did sit down at least. Luke seemed like he was going to do as she asked, which she seriously hoped he didn’t. That was something she didn’t want to see. Ever. “Luke?”