The Darkest Touch dh-3 Read online

  “Who are you?” She clutched her bag closer, prepared to tear off in the opposite direction.

  “I’ve been sent by your sister. Angelique has been looking for you. Hurry, we need to get out of here.”

  Relief flooded her. She’d never been happier to hear her sister’s name. “Angie sent you?”

  “Yes. I saw you get off the yacht. I’ve been searching everywhere for you. Your sister is frantic.” He looked down one end of the street, then the other, then back at her, motioning with his hand. “Let’s go. Hurry. Before he catches up.”

  He knew her sister’s name, and that Dalton was chasing her. Should she trust him? What if it was a setup?

  She paused, uncertain and yet desperate. Dalton would find her any minute.

  “Please, Isabelle. Your sister is waiting.”

  “Where?”

  “Izzy, come on!”

  Angelique! She heard her sister’s voice around the corner. It was Angie’s voice, wasn’t it?

  Isabelle didn’t feel that connection, that warmth she usually felt when she was near her sister. Yet she so wanted it to be her. “Angelique is here?”

  He nodded. “Yes. Now hurry.”

  Where else did she have to go? She was desperate. And for once in her life, she really needed Angelique.

  She pushed off the wall and moved toward him. He slid around the corner and disappeared into the alley.

  Isabelle started to follow, but as soon as she got to the corner of the building someone grabbed her arm. She gasped and looked up to find Dalton’s face glaring down at her.

  No! “Let me go! My sister is here.”

  Dalton shook his head. “No, she’s not.”

  “I heard her.”

  “You heard what they wanted you to hear, Isabelle. It’s a trick.”

  She didn’t believe him. More lies. She shook her head, tried to jerk her wrist out of his grasp, but he held tight.

  “Put these on. Now.”

  He handed her a pair of sunglasses. What the hell?

  She tried to pull away, but his iron grip on her arm meant she wasn’t going anywhere. She wanted to drop to the ground and cry. She’d been so close to escape.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” he whispered, “but you’re wrong. That thing you think was about to rescue you is a demon, and it wasn’t your sister’s voice. Now put these on. They’re eye protection.”

  A demon? “He’s human. What are you talking about?”

  “It’s not human, Isabelle. Let me prove it to you.”

  If he’d take her around the corner, she could maybe break free again and get to her sister. It was at least a chance. Sighing in defeat, she slid on the sunglasses. They wrapped tightly around her eyes, darkening everything around her. “I can barely see.”

  “Good. Now follow me.”

  Like she had a choice? If she tried to run now he’d just grab her again. He pulled her in front of him and she had nowhere to go.

  Shielded by Isabelle and the building, Dalton drew his bag off his shoulder and pulled something out, assembling two long metal pieces together with swift, precise movements.

  Oh, dear God, it was a gun. Not a regular gun, either, but something she’d never seen before, dark and scarylooking. He zippered up his bag, threw it over his shoulder, and grabbed her hand, keeping the weapon alongside his body so no one would see it.

  “Stay close to me.” He dragged her around the corner and into the dark alley.

  It was even blacker in here than on the shadowed street, not helped by the sunglasses she wore. Why did he make her wear these?

  The man was probably long gone by now, figuring she must have changed her mind about going with him.

  No, wait. There he was, at the end of the alley. And Angelique was nowhere in sight. There was no exit down this alley, either. Was Dalton right? Had the man lied?

  “Get behind me,” Dalton instructed.

  She did, then realized there were two men in the alley. The one who’d approached her earlier had sunglasses on, but the other didn’t. His eyes were such a pale blue they glowed. Okay, that was weird.

  “Demon hunter,” the one said, his voice a low growl.

  Dalton raised his weapon, said nothing and fired.

  Isabelle smothered a gasp as a blue light emitted from the gun. The man on the left began to melt where he stood, but the other seemed to disappear with lightning quickness.

  She had no more than blinked and the other man had moved in front of Dalton, jerking the weapon out of his hand. Dalton shoved Isabelle out of the way and she landed on her butt on the ground.

  This couldn’t be happening. The two men struggled, fighting in hand-to-hand-combat style. But the other man was changing. His fingernails were elongating into claws and his face had turned into a gruesome shape. As he raised his top lip, she could see fangs.

  Recoiling in horror, she pushed off the ground with her heels, trying to get away.

  It was a demon. Good God, Dalton hadn’t been lying to her. Could he kill it? Where was his gun? She tore her gaze away from the two of them to scan the alley. His gun was only a few feet from her.

  Dalton was strong. But was the demon stronger?

  What if the demon killed Dalton? She couldn’t allow that to happen. She had to do something. Scrambling onto her hands and knees, she hurried over to the gun and picked it up, hoping like hell she wouldn’t somehow manage to shoot herself in the process. She launched herself onto her feet and positioned the gun. It was similar to any other type of gun. It had a trigger. If she just aimed and fired. .

  No, too close. She might hit Dalton. Oh, God, what was she going to do?

  Just then, Dalton and the demon pivoted, and Dalton caught sight of her. He nodded, pushing the demon toward her position.

  What was he doing?

  Oh, she understood now. She backed against the wall, ready for his signal.

  Dalton was amazingly strong, his muscles bulging with effort as he held tight to the demon, keeping hold of its wrists to prevent the demon from embedding its claws in Dalton’s skin. He grimaced, then took a deep breath, pushing at the demon. It released, then Dalton slammed it against the opposite wall.

  “Now!” he yelled.

  Isabelle tossed the gun at him. Dalton pivoted and fired, and the demon began to melt into a hideous, gelatinous mass.

  Dalton bent forward, panting heavily. Isabelle moved to his side. “Are you all right?”

  “Yeah. He didn’t claw or bite me. They secrete lethal, paralyzing toxins, so I was lucky.”

  She shuddered, her stomach doing flip-flops as she fought back nausea.

  He straightened and looked at her. “You did good. Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome. It was self-preservation. I didn’t want you to die and I’d be left alone with that thing.”

  He grinned. “Whatever the reason, you saved my life and I appreciate it.”

  Her legs were shaking as she continued to stare at the blob on the ground. “So that was really a demon.”

  “Yes.”

  She had no choice but to believe him now. But what did that make her? Not one of those things.

  He stood and came over to her, resting his palm against her cheek. She searched his face, waiting for him to turn the weapon on her.

  “I know what you’re thinking. You’re not like that. Come on, let’s get out of here before more of them show up.”

  “How did they find me?”

  “I don’t know. But I need to get you someplace safe.”

  This time, she wasn’t going to argue with him. Dalton retrieved their bags and grabbed his phone, made a quick call, and they headed out of the alley. Fortunately, there were very few passersby and she and Dalton and the demons had been deep in the dark alley, so no one had seen what happened in there. How would they explain it anyway?

  Within moments a black SUV with darkened windows arrived and Dalton opened the back door for her. She slid in, feeling safer already.

  �
��These are our people,” he said, nodding to the driver as he climbed in after her and closed the door.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Up north of town a bit. To a secure location. Your sister is already there.”

  “Angelique?” She’d heard her sister’s voice in that alley. The demon had faked it? What would have happened to her if she’d gone with that thing? Isabelle shivered, pinpricks of goose bumps breaking out over her flesh.

  She was both elated and nervous about seeing Angie. She looked over at Dalton, who had her bag in his hand. The bag holding her mother’s diary.

  Angie would see it. She would find out what was in there. She would know what Isabelle was.

  Recalling what she’d just seen in the alley, the knots in Isabelle’s stomach tightened.

  That’s not what she was. It couldn’t be.

  She turned her head away from Dalton and looked out the window, hating the tears that pooled almost as much as she hated her mother right now.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Your sister and Dalton are on their way here.”

  Angelique’s heart tumbled at Michael’s statement. She looked at the group of people sitting around the kitchen table with her. Ryder, Mandy, Trace, all staring at her.

  She focused on Michael instead. “Really? When will they be here?”

  “Any time now.”

  “Thank you.”

  Her body trembled and she clasped her hands together under the table to still the shaking.

  “Are you okay?” Ryder asked.

  “Yes. I’m just anxious to see Isabelle, to find out what’s going on, and to see my mother’s journal.” The one she’d known nothing about.

  Ryder smoothed his hand down her hair, cupping the back of her neck to massage the tension. She couldn’t help but notice the curious stares from Mandy and Trace, but she didn’t care. She enjoyed his touch.

  Since their arrival several hours ago, they had explored the castle. The stone walls inside had been retained, and Angelique could still feel the ancient history there. Other than that, everything inside had been modernized, from the floors to the kitchens to every single room. She had no idea what was going on within this castle, but it certainly wasn’t historic. Computer gadgetry was everywhere, in every room, at least the ones she’d been to so far, since there were places she hadn’t yet been taken. She’d been shown to a lovely bedroom that retained a quaint, medieval quality with tapestry wall hangings and a feather mattress, but had a modern bathroom with a large shower and spacious whirlpool tub. It was the strangest mix of old and new she’d ever encountered. She liked it, actually.

  They had just reconnected with everyone in the kitchen when Michael announced the imminent arrival of her sister, so she hadn’t yet had a chance to ask questions about the castle. She supposed that would have to wait, because she heard the front door and voices, instantly recognizing her sister’s voice. She stood and hurried down the hall to the entryway.

  As soon as Izzy spotted her, Angelique opened her arms and Isabelle ran into them. She hugged her sister, letting the tears fall.

  No matter their differences or what had happened between them, they would always be family.

  They were surrounded by people watching them, but Angelique didn’t care. She pulled back, kissed both of Isabelle’s cheeks. “I missed you. I’ve been so worried about you. Where have you been?”

  Izzy’s face was streaked with tears, too. “Busy, and here and there. Getting into trouble, of course.”

  Angelique let out a laugh. “Of course. Come, let’s have something to drink.” She slid an arm around Isabelle’s waist, pausing only to introduce her sister to everyone before leading her into the kitchen.

  “Wine?” Angelique asked.

  Isabelle nodded. “I need it. I’m still shaking over what happened.”

  Ryder’s gaze shot to Dalton’s. “What?”

  “Demon attack in an alley in the Catania business district. Isabelle and I. . got separated and one tried to lure her. I got to her before she followed it into the alley.”

  Angelique turned to her sister. Isabelle shrugged. “I didn’t know. It looked human. It had sunglasses on. It said it was sent by you, that you had been looking for me. I even heard your voice calling me.”

  Angelique hugged her sister again. Too close. Too damn close. “Damn Sons of Darkness.” She turned to Michael. “How do they know where we are all the time?”

  Michael poured a glass of Chianti and leaned against the kitchen counter. “My guess is that you and your sister are connected to them, allowing them to track your whereabouts.”

  “I wondered about that. I touched the black diamond in the caves in Australia. I had contact with them and with that object-I remember feeling strange when I was connected to it. I figured it somehow bonded me to them.”

  “Perhaps,” Michael said, his expression benign.

  “But that doesn’t explain Isabelle. She’s never been exposed to demons. How would they have any knowledge of her whereabouts?”

  “It doesn’t have anything to do with what happened to you in Australia, Angie.”

  Angelique turned to her sister. “What do you mean?”

  Isabelle slid into the chair and wrapped her fingers around the stem of the wineglass, lifting it to her lips and taking a long swallow. “We’re connected to the demons because we’re like them.”

  “What? How can we be like them?”

  “We have demon blood.”

  Angelique’s heart stuttered. “No. You’re wrong.”

  “I’m not wrong.” Isabelle tilted her head back toward Dalton, who handed her bag to her. She pulled out an old book with a red cover and slid the book across the table toward Angelique.

  “Mother’s diary. Read it. Out loud. Everyone might as well know.”

  Angelique stared at the book, almost afraid to touch it. When she looked up at Izzy again, there were tears in her sister’s eyes.

  “Know what, Isabelle?”

  “We’re demons, Angie. Our mother had sex with a demon. Our father was a demon. In fact, he was killed by people just like the ones in this room.”

  The room went cold and goose bumps popped up on her flesh. Angelique shook her head. “That’s not true.” None of it could be true. Could it?

  But what about the incident in the cottage with Ryder, when he was attacked by the demon? The transformation she’d undergone hadn’t been normal-hadn’t been human. She’d rationalized it as some kind of power she’d acquired after coming into contact with the black diamond. Maybe that was just wishful thinking on her part, a way to explain away the unexplainable, when in her heart and the logical part of her mind, she’d already known the answer.

  “I’m a demon?”

  Isabelle laughed. “Not according to how you’ve lived your life, or anything that Mother said in her diary. Go ahead, read it. Or let me point out the highlights, since much of it is mundane.”

  Angelique pushed the journal toward Isabelle. She didn’t want to know, couldn’t accept what she’d heard.

  “Fine. If you don’t want to read it, I will.”

  Isabelle opened the book and flipped the pages. “I’ll just cover the salient points. You know, the ones that talk about the demon.”

  She began reading, translating into English as she read, and despite her horror, Angelique was transfixed. Her mother wrote of the night Angie and Isabelle had been conceived, about what happened to the man-the creature-who had fathered them. Angelique had seen demons melted down, and Ryder explained what happened when the Sons of Darkness were killed. They disappeared in a pile of ash.

  The man who had lain with her mother had, in fact, been a demon, not a human.

  Their mother had lied. All these years, to find out everything Mother had told them about their father had been a lie.

  Stunned, unable to speak, she could only stare at her sister as she went on to read more, especially about herself, their mother’s concern for Isabelle’s behavior
and her request for Angelique to watch over Izzy.

  Isabelle read it with no emotion, but Angelique knew how much it must have hurt to read their mother’s words. When she closed the book, Angelique reached across the table and took her sister’s hand.