chapter 14
“This has gotten out of hand. No more! I’m not allowing it!” Trinity was pacing Malachi’s office, waiting for him to return. She was sick of having someone follow her around all the time. She couldn’t even get up and go pee at a restaurant without someone waiting outside the bathroom door.
It had been two weeks and Seth had not surfaced; he was nowhere to be found, therefore she still had her shadow. Nicci didn’t even want to hang out with her, wanting her own privacy as well.
Then to top it all off, she had a doctor’s appointment today. Nothing major, just to get some sleeping pills. All in all, she was trying to keep it from Malachi; he wouldn’t like it. Sure, as it turned out, she sleeps fine when she’s with him, but she wanted to be able to sleep whenever she wanted to and not have to wait for him. Low and behold, she got in a fight with Gideon in the waiting room because he refused to leave her alone with her doctor. What the hell’s next? Is someone going to have to be in the room with her at her next gynecology appointment as well?
So she was done! Gideon, looking totally at ease as he lounged in a chair, ignored her while she swept back and forth. “I mean, how much longer do we have to play Big Brother here?”
“I’m just doing what I’m told to do.” Gideon said.
Trinity plopped down in a chair across from Gideon. “Yeah, right. You just love to torment me.”
For some reason or another, Gideon was the main person that usually watched her. Trinity believed it was because he always complained how much he hated it, and she noticed that Malachi loved to piss him off. Because they were around each other so much, Trinity was now immune to his different mood swings. She could even consider him almost a friend, but would poke someone’s eye out before admitting it out loud.
He didn’t even look up at her as he took out one of his daggers to clean underneath his nails. “That is a plus.”
Narrowing her eyes at him, she leaned forward to whisper. “You should be nice to me. I know where you spend most of your nights.” The threat was not so easily ignored, and his head snapped up in surprise. She couldn’t help but smile.
“How?”
Trinity shrugged. “Receipts in your car…”
Gideon smiled mischievously at her. “You’re cunning, maybe me and you should run away together?”
She was thrown off at the question and frowned. He had never said anything like this to her before, but she quickly understood when she knew Malachi had walked in just in time to hear what Gideon had said. What was it between these two? Trinity watched as Malachi’s shoulder’s stiffened. He then walked over to her, leaned down, and gave her a chaste kiss. “Quit encouraging him or I’m going to have to beat him within an inch of his life.”
“I’d like to see you try.” Gideon snapped back.
“Children, behave!” This is what she had to deal with whenever they were in a room together.
Trinity got out of her seat and quickly followed Malachi to his desk. “We need to talk.” She said with determination.
“Oh, here we go.” Gideon rolled his eyes.
“Shut your mouth, whoremonger!” Trinity turned and snapped at Gideon, but obviously her temper didn’t affect him because all he did was smirk.
She turned back to Malachi, who was staring at her and waiting patiently. Taking a deep breath, she continued quickly. “The escorts need to stop. I’m a grown woman and would like to be able to be by myself.”
Malachi was already shaking his head before she finished talking, and she knew this was not going to end in her favor. “We’re following up on a few different leads, just be patient.”
Trinity groaned. “Easy for you to say, you’re not the one constantly under scrutiny. Do we have a time estimate here?”
“It shouldn’t be too much longer.”
She rolled her eyes. “Then that’s a no.” She was tired of all the vague answers.
Gideon couldn’t resist the opening to pick at Malachi. “Maybe you can delegate to someone who could actually get the job done…” By his tone, he obviously thought that that person was him. “Then you can stick with the babysitting.”
“Is there any reason you need to be here right now?” Malachi snapped at Gideon, putting him in his place.
Trinity watched as Gideon’s face closed up. He said nothing as he got up and stormed out of the room, slamming the door in the process.
“You know, you should really try and be nicer to him. Maybe then he’d be nicer to you.”
Malachi gave her a look that could shatter glass. “I don’t need to hear about how great you think he is.” He snapped. “Plus, we’ve been this way with each other for years. It’s not something you’re going to fix.”
“If you have a problem with Gideon and me, maybe you shouldn’t have him watch me all the time. Or better yet…do as he said. You can take some time, and we can spend it together. God knows that hasn’t happened lately.” She was almost at the point of pleading. What could she say, she missed him!
Malachi looked at her like she had grown an extra head. “What are you talking about? We sleep together every night.”
“Exactly, sleep! Sure, you come home, we have sex, we go to sleep, and then I get to wake up to you leaving in the morning. What a fantastic relationship!” She was starting to get pissed off. Fine, she knew he was working hard for her, but he had changed in the process. She found herself spending more time with aloof Malachi and she desperately wanted laid-back Malachi to make an appearance.
“Let me get this straight. You would have me hand over the entire operation of making you safe?” When she didn’t deny it, he continued. “No way, not happening! It’s my job to protect you.”
“Don’t you see? You’re not the one doing it!” Trinity yelled and waved her arms around his office to indicate his team. “They are!”
She knew she had crossed the line. She also knew how much he was doing for her, but she wanted to watch movies, eat dinner, and joke around with him…not his team. She was about to retract her statement when he raised his voice at her.
“What the hell do you think I’m doing all day?” There was no denying he was pissed. “Along with the other jobs that kept me busy enough, now I have to find a stalker that you managed to acquire.”
Whoa! Wait a minute. When did this all become her fault? “I never asked you to. Next time I’ll try not to attract such a psychotic man.” Her voice was as cold as ice with her sarcastic statement.
“I didn’t mean it like that and you know it.” Malachi acted irritated as he started sorting papers on his desk.
Trinity didn’t want to continue this conversation. If she stayed much longer, he would probably see her cry, and she’d be damned if she let that happen. She was not weak! Was it too much to want him to love her the way she loved him? Now, she was afraid he thought of her as an innocent to save instead of the woman she was. Grabbing her purse from the chair she vacated, she headed for the door.
“Trinity! Don’t be like this. Just give me a little more time.”
But what will be left of us by the time you do? She wanted to ask the question but decided not to at the last minute. Opening the door, she turned and glared at him. “Fine! I’ll leave you to your work, but don’t be surprised someday if I actually do run away with Gideon.”
Slamming the door, she walked right past Gideon, only to hear a roar of anger and something smashing inside the office.
“I think you’re my new favorite person.” Gideon had caught up with her.
She shook her head at him. Now was not the time to pit her against Malachi. “I don’t want to hear it.”
Trinity didn’t slow down until she made it outside. Closing her eyes, she lifted her face to the sun, letting it warm her before she took a deep breath. She knew she had been too hard on him, especially with what she said last, but he had made her so angry. She was still angry, she thought, as the tears were preparing to fall. Wiping her eyes before anyone saw, she turned toward Gideon. “What do we do now?”
“Anything you want. I’m here no matter what.” He said as a matter of fact.
This just made her roll her eyes and become irritated all over again. “Yeah, because you have to.”
After examining her face longer than expected, he let out a deep sigh. “Let’s say that today I don’t have to. Today, I’ll be with you because I want to be.” They started walking towards his car and were walking next to each other. “But if you tell anybody about this, I’ll kill you in your sleep.” The added comment caused her to elbow him in the stomach, but she did let out a small chuckle.
When they were both seated in the car, he started the engine and stared out the windshield. “Where to?”
She shook her head at Gideon’s distant personality. What would it take to crack that hard shell, she thought?
Bringing herself back to the moment at hand, she concentrated on what she wanted to do. She needed to unwind, that was for sure. Nowhere too crowded, nowhere too noisy…she got it. “To the Art Museum, please.” Walking around to observe all the different pieces would definitely help in distracting her. Plus, it might be interesting with Gideon, someone as hard headed as she, to talk about the art with.
Early on, she had discovered that he was an art freak like her, but she wasn’t allowed to say anything. She had found flecks of paint on his clothes and charcoal under his nails. Who knows what all he’s done in his spare time? Anytime she tried to bring it up, he would brush her off or change the subject. Therefore, he wouldn’t say anything, but she knew he was secretly pleased with her decision.
As she rode to the museum, she stared out the window thinking about Malachi and everything happening lately. Truly there was only one person that she blamed…Seth. If he could have just stayed away, she would have been fine. No escorts, no curfews… Nicole was acting strange, and even the kids in her class were a little weirded out by the mysterious people sitting in the corner of the class. All except for Hugh anyway. This had him on high alert and he constantly checked on her during school hours. It was all so frustrating, and she wished everything could go back to normal.
Malachi heard the mug break but felt nothing as it shattered in his hand. Staring out the window, he witnessed the easy comradeship between Trinity and Gideon. Already angry from their fight, the sight put him over the top.
He hated every day that he left the two of them together. The appreciation and fondness seeped off of him in waves when Trinity was in the room, even though he tried to hide it. The only reason Malachi had him look after Trinity so much, was because he was the best warrior he knew, besides himself. If that wasn’t the case, Gideon would never be in her company, if he had anything to say about it. But the only way Malachi felt comfortable enough to concentrate on work, was him knowing that the best was watching over her.
Didn’t she understand that he wanted to be out there with her? He hated every damn day that he left her in the company of one of his team members. It took a week, with him being a dick to everybody, to finally have Terah point out that he was jealous.
He couldn’t trust anybody in finding this a*shole before he was able to. There was no one that would be as diligent, and he needed the guy found before he came after Trinity again. From the moment she confided in him, he knew that this is what he had to do.
It’s his job, his responsibility…it always has been. This is what being an exalted one is all about. When your biological father is an angel, there are certain expectations of you. One of those expectations is to put all others above himself; even if that means he doesn’t get to hole up with the woman he…
Shaking off that thought, he walked back over to his desk. Sitting down, he started shuffling through the papers on Seth Masters, but couldn’t fully concentrate. Doesn’t she know that this is not an overnight process? Granted, there have been a few roadblocks. This guy was harder to find than originally anticipated, but there was no doubt in Malachi’s mind that he could find him. It was only a matter of time; something Trinity was not willing to give him more of.
Malachi placed the papers aside, needing to get other things done. Having a man down all the time was a bit of a hindrance, but he had been able to swing it so far. Right now, Gemariah and Terah were taking care of a positive possession, while Tori was following a lead about a possible non-violent demon.
He didn’t like sending operatives on solo missions, but he had to on occasion. Fortunately, in this instance the demon was nonviolent and might not pose too much of a threat Nonviolent just means they don’t physically attack, but they do their part on corrupting mankind by posing as politicians, attorneys, and more. You never know though, a demon is a demon and none like to be banished.
Evil breeds evil. It’s that simple. Their job was to prevent this as much as possible.
He spent the next few hours studying up on leads and scheduling missions. Checking in with his team twice, he was reassured that everyone had been successful. Losing track of time, engrossed in his work, he was shocked when he looked up and it was well into the evening. Deciding to call it a night, he started to pack up.
Malachi had everything almost put away when his phone rang. Being in his line of work, it didn’t surprise him that someone would call him this late.
Hitting the button, he gave a curt answer. “Yep”
“Starkman. Wallace here.” Malachi immediately recognized the caller as an informant of his. Wallace was a middle aged man that had ears everywhere. He has used him in multiple cases. “You still looking for that Masters guy?”
This got Malachi’s full attention and he sat up straighter in his chair. “Most definitely; do you have something for me?”
“Might be something, might be nothing. There’s a guy down here that sometimes operates as an inside man for me. He swears he knows the guy from the picture you sent me, and he’s never steered me wrong before.” Malachi could tell that Wallace was trying to sound nonchalant, but there was an undercurrent of excitement. He must be pretty sure it’s the guy.
“Where did he see him?” Malachi asked cautiously, trying not to get his hopes up.
“My source said they had met a few times through mutual acquaintances at a place forty miles west of the city.”
Before Malachi could answer, Wallace continued. “Anyways, my guy swears that he can get this guy to that location again at a specific date; for a price, of course.”
“How soon?” Keeping his tone business-like was hard.
“I’d give him a little time to get everything in order, tomorrow night at the earliest.”
“I’ll give him till tomorrow night, no later. We’ll meet him at the agreed destination at six o’clock that evening.” Plans were already firing through his head; who would go, what he needed to bring. He wanted to wrap this conversation up and start coordinating. “Message me with the location and price. I’ll look at it and make sure it’s suitable.”
“Will do.” Wallace paused, then continued again nervously. “You have to know something. If this is the guy you are looking for, he runs with a rough crowd; well-known thieves and murderers. It won’t be easy getting him out of there.”
“You don’t worry about that. It won’t be a problem.” Malachi wanted him to put up a fight. That way, no one would blame him when he beat the shit out of the guy.
Hanging up the phone, he felt excited. There was so much to plan before tomorrow, but for now, he was going home to bed, and to Trinity. All the stress and long hours were finally catching up to him. He could feel the weight of it pressing down on him, but being able to sleep next to Trinity every night had made it bearable.
The drive went quickly and he was home in no time. Malachi knew he should inform the others about tomorrow, but he didn’t feel like having everyone inside his head at the moment.
A little apprehensive about what he would find when he went inside, he walked slowly. The last words between him and Trinity were not very inviting, and he wondered if she had cooled off from earlier.
The moment he entered the house, he realized something was not right. It was too quiet and dark…too empty. Reaching out with his mind, he confirmed his suspicion that there was not a single living soul in the house besides him. He couldn’t pick up the dead though.
He immediately went on alert. She was supposed to be here. What if someone made it through the protection and got to her? Trying not to panic, he started to maneuver through the house, praying he didn’t stumble across her body. He was trying to remember who was watching her, but couldn’t think strait. Therefore, he projected to the entire team.
Where is she!?!
There were a few confused remarks that he paid no attention to. Then he heard Tori come through.
She’s at her house. I’m with her, everything’s fine.
Malachi was livid.
Why the hell didn’t you inform me? … and what the hell is she doing there?
I thought you knew. She said she was staying at her house now. I just assumed you knew.
The answer came so fast that Malachi knew Tori was genuinely shocked at his ignorance to the situation.
You were wrong!
Malachi took a deep breath to calm himself. She was okay…but not for long.
I’m on my way to relieve you. You can inform your charge that I’m on my way.
Yes sir
The entire way to Trinity’s, he had to force himself to relax when he felt himself tensing. He pulled up to the duplex and was off his bike in no time.
Half way down the walkway, Tori came out of the house. Rushing up to him, she tried to cover her ass. “Dammit Mal, I’m sorry. I figured you…”
Not letting her finish, he held up his hand to silence her. “Tomorrow.”
He didn’t want to get into anything now, but there was enough menace in the single word, he was sure that she understood. As of right now, tomorrow was not going to be pleasant.
He only had one thing on his mind right now. This infuriating woman! How could she not tell him she would be here? She knew he would worry!
Without knocking, Malachi walked right in. Slamming the door, he made his presence known.
“I’d like to keep my front door attached, thank you very much.” Trinity was standing in the living room when he came in. Squaring her shoulders, she was preparing herself for the storm she knew was coming. Tori had warned her of it enough.
All day long, she had been thinking how to distance herself from him. The first part, she knew for sure, was to stay at her place once again.
It took all of her might to stick to her guns and come here tonight. Her place felt so foreign to her anymore, and she dreaded crawling into her big bed without Malachi. This had to be done, though. She could already see her heart getting broken. He was so consumed with finding Seth, and she knew that when it was all over, he wouldn’t be able to stop looking at her as a job.
“Would you mind telling me why you are here and not at the house?” Trinity could tell he was extremely angry by watching the tick in his jaw. It showed her how far she had actually come. Watching the tick in other men’s jaws used to make her tense and expect the worst; looking at Malachi, she saw a strong gorgeous male that made her heart rate speed up. With her hands on her hips, she held on, less she reach out for him.
Trying to appear at ease, she shrugged her shoulders. “It was time.”
“Really? What is that supposed to mean?” Stepping into the living room, he started to remove his coat as if he was planning to stay.
“Precisely what I said. It’s time. We’ve had a good run Malachi, but I just don’t see this…” she gestured back and forth indicating both of them, “going any further.” The words felt like acid on her tongue and she felt sick to her stomach. She was kidding herself to think that she already wasn’t emotionally attached to him. She was hoping that by doing this now, it wouldn’t hurt as much as later. It wasn’t working though.
“Fine.” If it was possible, he looked angrier than before.
To her amazement, he sat down on her couch and grabbed the remote to turn on the television. Flipping channels, he completely ignored her.
“What are you doing?”
“Trying to find something to watch. What does it look like?” He answered her, but still wouldn’t look in her direction.
“How about this…what are you still doing here?” Trinity was desperately trying to figure out what was going on here.
“I’m on protection duty tonight.” Finally he looked over at her and she saw the fire in his eyes. “Just like every other night.”
A mental flash of their nights together popped into her head, and she swallowed. It took a few seconds for what he said to sink in. “Wait a minute. Protection? I thought we just cleared it up that I didn’t need that anymore?”
“No, that’s still going on. Only I can stop that and I have no intention of doing it. You just cleared up the fact that I no longer have the right to f*ck you whenever I want.”
Trinity visibly flinched. That hurt. Was that all she was to him this entire time? The hurt quickly turned to anger, and she put herself in between him and the TV before pointing at the door. “Get out! I don’t want your “protection” anymore. I don’t want you trying to find Seth anymore and I don’t want you! Get out!!” She stomped her foot at the end of the rant to emphasize her point.
Malachi looked up at her as he would a child throwing a tantrum. “No”
“What do you mean, no? This is my life; you don’t have that say.”
Malachi leaned forward, placing an elbow on each knee. Looking her in the eye, he spoke directly to her. “Let’s get something strait here. No one tells me what to do, including you. I’m going to find the dickhead, and my people will be on your ass like glue. You’ve made it abundantly clear that you don’t want me for who I am, but that won’t stop me from finishing out my promise. It’s not just about you anymore, Princess!!” Sitting back in the chair, he directed his attention away from her again. “Now, if you don’t mind, it’s been a long day and I’m trying to relax.”
Trinity just stared at him for a few seconds, wondering what to do. Eventually she conceded and started towards the stairs. “Fine, whatever. Be gone in the morning.”
“Whatever you say, Princess.”
She growled in frustration and started stomping up the stairs. “What an arrogant man!”
“Oh, and while we’re on the topic, don’t ever pull what you did tonight again. I was naive enough to think something had happened to you.” Malachi yelled up from the living room.
Feeling worse than she did before he had shown up, she reached her bedroom and slammed the door behind her. She put on her favorite t-shirt of Malachi’s that she had become accustomed to sleeping in every night. While collecting her stuff, it was the one thing of his she couldn’t part with. Her movements were forceful and jerky as she crawled into bed. Punching her pillow with a little extra oomph, she tried, unsuccessfully, to get comfortable.
She had no idea how she was going to fall asleep tonight, with everything on her mind. How dare he tell her, no? She should call the police and have him escorted away. Smiling deviously at the thought, she pulled her pillow over to hug onto. She hadn’t fallen asleep by herself in weeks and it took most of the night, but eventually her eyes started to droop.
Soon, she found herself standing on a river bank, observing a group of men. Staring at all of them, she found it odd that amongst, what looked like workers, was a sharp dressed man. His face looked familiar, but she couldn’t remember ever seeing him before. What she did know, was that she could feel a deep hatred directed toward the man. None of it made any sense to her.
When she looked around to try and figure out where she was, she noticed a few people that looked familiar. It was all of Malachi’s team. Craning her neck all around, she tried to find Malachi, but had no luck.
She then moved to draw out her sword. Looking down at it, she noticed that it was the same one that was in every other dream of hers; smaller with one side of the tip curved in. It was odd, but she was starting to feel comfortable with it in her hand. It made her feel powerful and finally not scared.
The next part happened so fast that she had to hold on to keep her bearings. It was as if her world was set to fast forward. There was screaming and explosions. She felt tugged from one body to the next as she…healed people with her hands? She could hear rushing water, but mainly what she smelled was smoke.
After some time, Trinity jumped into the raging water in search of something. She eventually made it to a woman. Not being optimistic about this one, she had to try anyway. Pressing her lips to the woman’s, Trinity breathed out and gave this woman life again.
It was then that Trinity realized where she was. She was back at the bridge when it collapsed, but this time, she was in Malachi’s place.
Relaxing some, now that she knew how it ended, she decided to see where the dream would take her. She brought herself to the shore, heard Nicci screaming, and laid herself on the grass. What happened next had her reeling. She brushed the hair from her other self’s face and an intense wave of despair mixed with confusion gripped at her. The feelings were so great; they gave her trouble breathing, especially when anguish joined in. It finally hit her. She was feeling Malachi’s emotions from that day. How could he feel this strongly about her though, she thought.
She watched as he healed her as well, and then once again felt his emotions. Relief and protectiveness flowed through him when he knew she would be alright.
Trinity had no idea if what she was experiencing was real or just her mind playing tricks on her. She was more confused than ever now. There were so many things out of this dream that resembled her previous dreams. Was she reliving Malachi’s memories this whole time? No, that couldn’t be true; some dreams dated back hundreds of years. One thing she had learned in the last few months, was not to disregard her dreams, but it was exhausting trying to decipher them.
She wanted to wake up and tell Malachi everything she had been dreaming about, but now more than ever, she had to keep quiet. Would he consider it an invasion of his privacy? It didn’t matter anyway, she thought. She had put a stop to the closeness between them.
“Malachi…” The tightness came back to her chest at the thought of waking up without him. She felt empty.
Maybe it wasn’t too late. If her dream was accurate, he had some intense emotions toward her at one time. Maybe if she worked hard enough, she could make him feel that way again.
Trinity fought to wake up. Her mind was not ready to give control back to her, but she won out.
Slowly opening her eyes, she took a minute to get her bearings. She was in her bed, at her house, and she was really warm. There was someone up against her in her bed. Knowing that she went to bed on her own, she gasped and quickly pulled away from the body.
When she jumped up, she was surprised to see Malachi in her bed.
“What are you doing?” The words came out of her mouth before she realized what they sounded like. She watched as a hurt look fleetingly passed over his face, before witnessing him shut down completely.
“Nothing. You sounded like you were bothered by your dream and I came to your side. My mistake.” He started to get off the bed to leave, and before she could register what she was doing, she flew at him and knocked him back down.
“No!”
Malachi gave her look like she had lost her mind. She probably had, but she was not about to let him leave without her saying her piece.
“Please don’t go!” She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest so he couldn’t see the tears. “I’m sorry.” She knew she was close to begging, something she hadn’t done in years, but she didn’t care at this point.
“What’s going on, Angel?” He relaxed onto the bed and wrapped his arms around her. Trinity was relieved that he was calling her Angel again and not Princess. That was a good sign; along with him not pushing her away.
“Nothing. I just realized I overreacted.”
“Come on. I know you better than that.” He started to run his fingers through her hair, talking in a calming tone. “What changed your mind? Was it your dream; what was it about?”
Trinity just shook her head. He would hate her for sure if he knew, and then she would lose all chances with him.
The look on Malachi’s face showed that he was not happy with her silence.
“Why won’t you trust me? Maybe I can help.”
“I trust you. I just don’t want to rehash my dreams is all.” She watched as, disappointment crossed his face.
With gentle hands, he started to detangle her from him before setting her away. “I can’t do this anymore Trinity. Maybe you were right earlier when you said our time was up.”
“No! I was wrong.” She reached for him as he rose and stepped away from the bed. “Don’t do this, Malachi.”
“Then show me you trust me!”
She remained silent and he started walking towards the door. “Ugh, why do you have to know so badly?” She snapped.
“It’s a matter of being all in, Trinity. I’m all in, and need you to be as well.” He turned around at the door.
“All in? What’s that supposed to mean?” Trinity didn’t know how they got to this.
“I envy the guy that you figure that out for, and it’s something you want to do and aren’t forced into it.”
Those were his last words before he left the room. She knew he wouldn’t go far until someone else got there, but she felt as if he were miles away.
Falling back down on her bed, she cried into her pillow for the remainder of the night. She had really messed all this up. Stupid dreams!