Avenger Read online

  “I also make them believe the quality of my drugs is the best considering the price I charge. They remain loyal to me, and with every transaction, I push another thought in their minds. They don’t really need this, they can quit anytime they want, a rehab will give them their lives back. After six or seven meetings, they stop seeking me. Even if I meet them on the street they change lanes to avoid me.” He laughed. “I become a representation of their shameful past.”

  “So, it-it does work?”

  “Judging by their improved complexion, confidence, and cleaner outfits, I would say, yeah.”

  She chewed on her lip. “Maybe you can help Carmen overcome her addiction with your approach.”

  For Pru he would do anything her little heart desired and Carmen mattered to her. “I will unless she played an active part in getting you tangled with these people.”

  “Not according to her conversation with Eloise. You saw how she was in the hospital.” She snapped her fingers. “I’ve been meaning to ask how you stopped using.”

  He leaned on the counter and crossed his arms. “I think the spirit within me purged my body’s needs while my new situation helped me see that selling drugs wasn’t worth it.”

  “Look,” she said, slouching. “I’m sorry for the way I questioned you. B-but why do it in the first place?” Her black, expressive eyes sought him. They were gentle, compassionate, and large enough to lose one’s self in.

  “Money is one reason, helping others kick the habit is another.”

  She cocked her head and said, “There’s another reason you’re not sharing.”

  He hesitated. She was very perceptive and he liked that about her, but she also cared for him. Revenge was not part of Pru’s convictions. Bracing himself against her reaction, he said, “This way I keep taps on the ones who do sell them. It might also help us find out who’s behind your accident.”

  Her eyes widened in unconcealed astonishment, keeping him in sight. “You think the car accident led to my coma, Ellen’s possession, and the attempt on my life?”

  Luke yawned again, his eyes watering from exhaustion. “I recognized one of the paramedics you described. You wouldn’t be in a coma if those paramedics didn’t start the ball rolling by injecting you with what would make the doctors think you have diabetes.”

  Instead of objecting to his way of thinking and denying the truth in his words, Pru looked at him, her open smile enough to drive drowsiness out of his system. Her red curls cascading on her shoulders and chest, her twinkling eyes tantalizing. “You’re very tired, Luke. No, there’s no escaping the truth. Go to bed now and I’ll see you tomorrow.” She paused. “You’re as wonderful as I thought you to be and then some.”

  Before he could even answer, she took a step back and disappeared through the window.

  Shaking his head at the surge of gayety in his spirit, Luke ignored the packets of sugar and plopped on the bed.

  In his head, Celestine said, Why did you make me doubt you?

  Luke plumped out the pillow under his head and said, Because you might think you got me whipped. It’s enough that my life is no more, I wanted to have some leverage, something to threaten you people with. Besides, how can I live with myself if you fall in love with me and out of love with the hunter before me?

  I am on your side, Luke. Always, Celestine said.

  Luke knew that, was somehow certain of it. Unfortunately, he’d allowed his insecurities to cloud his judgment of the good Celestine represented. He wanted to say so to his guide, but the pull of sleep was too strong to resist.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Luke blinked open his eyes. Moaning, he squeezed them shut again at the onslaught of late afternoon sunlight. It was an irritating feeling at the best of times, worse following a dream that turned nightmare. In his dream, he was walking down the street with Pru. Light breeze ruffled her curls gently, swaying those silky tresses on her shoulders and back. As he talked—he couldn’t hear what he said—she nodded every now and then, a smile touching her lips. Then he’d asked her a question and she didn’t answer, so he touched her shoulder. She turned to him, a look of bewilderment in her eyes as she pulled out the earpieces and paused her iPod. She frowned, asking, “I’m sorry, but do I know you?”

  Now, he rubbed his face and pushed out of his sweat-drenched bed, her question on his mind. Would she remember him when she woke from her coma?

  “We need to talk,” Celestine said.

  Luke eyed the orange orb in the sky. “We will, let me make a phone call first.”

  When he hung up with Herbert, Celestine asked, “Is all well at the hospital?”

  “Herbert’s shift is almost over but Pru’s family is with her.” From the orderly’s description, Carla had an army with her. Adoria, Carla’s sister, was there, along with her husband, their three months old daughter, and Andrew’s bodyguards. Andrew’s presence was especially important since he could pull strong strings to get Pru out of that place.

  Their presence also explained why Pru wasn’t in his room today. Luke headed to the bathroom to take a shower.

  “It is imperative that I report to the Laymour this day. The Pit Keeper is most intrigued by spirits and humans’ interest in Pru. Why do you think she is of importance to them?”

  Luke paused and turned slowly. “Pru has nothing to do with peddlers. She is revolted by them and the havoc they bring on innocent lives.”

  “I am not hinting that she is a willing participant in something disreputable, nevertheless, the matter is mystifying.”

  Luke ignored him and entered the bathroom, Celestine followed.

  “Why is it so important to report back so soon?”

  Celestine’s presence became more transparent, as though he were about to leave. “I must set a wrong right.”

  “What wrong is that?” Luke asked.

  The silence that followed meant his guide had already left the building.

  The coward.

  After a quick shower and a quicker breakfast comprising of oatmeal cookies, Luke donned his black outfit and left to pay Carmen a visit. It took him fifteen minutes on the subway to reach her one bedroom apartment. Pru had assured him that Carmen and her boyfriend returned home after seven in the evening. Still, to be on the safe side, Luke hung outside the building, his eyes on their balcony for any movement. It would be dark soon, lights would come on before that.

  At seeing and sensing no movement, he slipped from his refuge behind an oak tree and crossed the street to the building. He climbed the stairs to the second floor, the whole while resisting a feeling of misgiving that pressed on his chest. At the apartment, Luke paused in front of the door and leaned on it, listening. The door was snatched open and he almost tumbled in. A disheveled Carmen stood before him, hazel eyes wide open with unmistakable expectancy.

  “Took your time to deliver. Now, give it to me,” Carmen snapped, stretching a hand toward him. Her hand, as well as her voice, shook badly.

  Luke righted himself and glanced around. “Can’t do this out here. You know the rules.”

  She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear while her gaze shifted all over the hall. “Yes, yes. Of course. Come on in.”

  Desperation had made her muddled mind lose all senses of safety precautions. She hadn’t recognized him even though they’d hung out together in the same neighborhood.

  Yellow walls had tasteful arrangements of pre-framed photos that meshed with off-white curtains hanging on the balcony door and window while dark green sofa faced a reasonably sized flat screen TV. Carmen must’ve furnished the apartment during her days of sobriety.

  “Well! Hand it over.” She rubbed her arm, raising the sleeve of her loose and colorful kimono. No needle tracks. A sniffer then.

  Luke stalked to the window and glanced out. Beside the beat-up Volkswagen turning around the corner and the moving van before the compound across the street, nothing stirred. The banter of the movers drifted to him from the road.

  He regarded her. “
I have some questions for you first then I’ll hand over your fix.”

  The rubbing of the arm ceased just as distrust crept into her eyes. “The deal doesn’t include chitchat.”

  He moved closer. “What does it include then?”

  “Wh-what do you mean?” Carmen took a step back, tightening the robe’s knot.

  Luke made his gaze travel up and down her body. “I want to know what the deal was. Obviously, I shouldn’t expect cash, so what were you supposed to pay with? Or did you pay already?”

  At that, Carmen darted to the bedroom. Luke caught up with her before she slammed the door shut. Sobbing, Carmen withdrew further inside the room. “What do you want?”

  “I want to know why you betrayed your best friend.”

  Her eyes widened, she sniffed and wiped at her nose. “Pru.”

  Luke nodded.

  She wet her lips, her shifty gaze taking in the whole room. “I did nothing to her.”

  “You sold her out. I want to know why and to whom.”

  This nasty feeling I have will lessen if I tell him. What can he do anyway? And who will he tell? Luke pushed into her mind. His attempt would have bounced off a stonewall if she had used already, but since her system was relatively clean, he hoped he would get to her.

  “She always liked to help others,” Carmen whispered in shaky voice. Luke didn’t interrupt. Guilt was a sharp weapon that could cut to the bone if exploited right.

  Her narrowed gaze shot back to him. “No one told her to be a goody two-shoes. Always running around trying to clean the world, to save animals, to help anything that breathed.” She pulled on her hair. “Look where it got her. I couldn’t say no.”

  I should tell him what happened. It will ease the burden on my heart, Luke pushed again.

  “They won’t kill her, just silence her until they figured out how to use her. They promised.”

  Luke frowned. Use Pru for what? Before he could voice his question, the doorbell rang. Carmen’s attention went straight to the apartment door and she opened her mouth to scream. Wrapping one arm around her waist, Luke swiftly stepped behind her and covered her mouth with his hand. As she kicked and mumbled, he dragged her with him to the front door—one of her slippers fell off—and peeked through the peephole. Barney, greater than a mountain and deadlier than an Asian cobra, stood on the other side. The blood coursing in Luke’s veins froze, his heartbeats hammered through his chest, and time ground to a halt at that moment. If it weren’t for Carmen’s kicks, he wouldn’t have snapped out of it and eased his hand before suffocating her.

  Barney knocked again, he didn’t look agitated or suspicious yet. Then again, he hardly ever showed any emotion.

  Luke whispered in Carmen’s ear, “Give any hint of my presence here and I will blab to them everything you told me about Sully, drugs, and how he plans to use Pru.” When Carmen froze, he added, “Only the two of us know you told me nothing. Barney, though, doesn’t and he’s a man who takes no chances.”

  Slowly, he released her and went toward her bedroom. Just before he entered the room, he gestured to a stunned-Carmen to open the door. The moment she turned, Luke came back to the living room, fitted himself in a corner between the TV and window, and went invisible.

  Without looking through the peephole, Carmen opened the door and stepped back, allowing Barney to enter. Seeing him, Luke’s body broke in cold sweat and fury bubbled in his chest. This was the man who’d killed him.

  “Took you long enough,” Barney said and studied Carmen, paying special attention to the red marks around her mouth.

  Luckily, she raised her hand and rubbed her nose, leaving it as red as the area surrounding it. Shrewd Barney still took a cursory look through what he could see from the entryway. “You alone?”

  She nodded. “My boyfriend won’t be here for another hour. Did you bring it?”

  Barney nodded and flipped her discarded slipper with his foot. “We need your help with one more thing related to Ms. Hall.”

  She sniffed. “I’ve already done enough to Pru.”

  Barney shook his head. “Her family seems to have somehow found her. We want you to delay her release to them.” He reached inside his gray jacket.

  Carmen’s gaze zeroed on his hand. “H-how can I do that?”

  Still hand in pocket, Barney wandered toward the kitchen. His voice drifted back to Luke, “Don’t know. Do it and we’ll continue to take care of you.”

  He appeared again followed by her, she nodded, her sight fixed on his hand. The moment Barney headed toward the bedroom a semblance of awareness came over her face. “P-please give it to me.”

  “In due time,” he said and continued to the bedroom, this time alone. Carmen closed her eyes and waited in the living room.

  Barney returned and studied her. “Make sure you don’t overdose on it. I need you confident and smiling when you ease her family’s worries.”

  Carmen’s gaze shifted between Barney and the bedroom, relief bringing color to her cheeks. She licked her lips. “Yeah. I’ll dazzle them with my charm.”

  Barney nodded and reached with his hand into another pocket and pulled out a small package. “Remember, don’t piss off Sully or you will have to deal with me, and I’m not talking drug dealing.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  After the thrill of seeing her family, Pru had gone to Luke’s apartment to share the great news, only to find it empty. Since he favored the emergency entrance—always rushing in to give his entry a sense of urgency—she knew she would hit the mother lode if she kept an eye on that door.

  At present, arms crossed over her chest, Pru watched Luke hasten through the sliding doors, looking hassled enough that no one stopped him. His steps were confident, his swagger virile, and he was all hers. No matter what obstacles he imagined blocked their way to happiness, Pru was willing to smooth them out as long as he was by her side.

  A commotion erupted in the emergency room, the staff bustled about as medics rolled in an injured blond teen girl. Her moans were interrupted by yelps of pain whenever someone touched or jostled her. The girl was wearing a shredded—and smoldering in places—light blue unitard drenched in blood. Worse was the bloody bandage wrapped around her eyes. Even as Pru watched, the red spread on the dressing, blotting out the white. The girl’s complexion paled by the second.

  Luke halted by the exit door leading to the stairs and looked back, his focus on the injured girl. The moment he paled his appearance he disappeared.

  God, please don’t let it be dagger time. Not with the suffering the girl had been through already.

  The girl was writhing, her thin frame twisting in pain. The doctor on duty examined her, instructed the nurses to inject her with something, probably a painkiller, and then asked them to page an ophthalmologist. After that, they rolled her into a room and hooked her to several tubes. They left her alone to attend to a car accident victim who’d suffered a heart attack at the same time.

  A fleeting movement caught Pru’s eye. Luke was on the move, sticking to corners, going from one curtained room to another until he reached the girl’s bed. Pru followed him and drifted through the curtain into the room. He was cradling the girls head, his mouth by her ear. She nodded, her moans and yelps reduced to soft whimpers as the medicine worked its magic. At the very end, she said on a weak whisper, “Faye.”

  “Is she possessed?” Pru asked. Okay, so he had to do his duty, surly it could wait until the girl was stronger.

  For a long moment he continued whispering to the injured girl, whatever he said settled her until she sighed softly. Finally, Luke lifted his head, gestured for Pru to follow him, and stalked back to the stairwell. In there, Luke turned to her, smiling. “You were waiting for me.”

  She nodded. “That’s not important. What did you say to the girl?”

  He studied her then, his face expressionless.

  “I’m not doubting or suspecting you.” She paused. “Well, I did, but not in a bad way since now I know you’re no
t crazy. It’s just that she looked like she suffered enough and I was afraid she was possessed as well and you would…Anyway, you didn’t stab her and she seemed to relax in your hand. I’m curious, what did you say to her? And why?”

  “So many questions. Let me see if I can ease your mind.”

  He had a mischievous gleam in his eyes as he went to her, crowding her until she halfwent through the wall.

  “I don’t usually get hit by others’ emotions, except yours, but something about Faye slammed into me. Not only did she bleed, she oozed desperation and sadness. Her loss wasn’t only physical. I couldn’t leave her wallowing in desperation.” He leaned into Pru, purposefully allowing his torso to go through hers.

  Pru inhaled sharply. His sandalwood scent filled her nostrils and like every time, she took in the exalting warmth that came with touching him, except now it was entwined with loss, bereavement. She shuddered. “I didn’t know you could carry others’ emotions.”

  “I don’t. These are my feelings.” His eyes were fixed to her lips, she couldn’t help but wet them, nervous. “I couldn’t ignore all that pain, so I tried to put her on a positive path. I figured—” his black eyes flicked up to Pru’s “—she would welcome and grasp at upbeat suggestions. Desolation can do that.”

  Such a sweet and beautiful man. “Someone could’ve seen you.”

  “No one did.”

  “What did you say to her?”

  Luke leaned close to her ear, his melting chocolate of husky voice glided through her. “I promised that it wasn’t all lost, the doctors will fix her up and she will be out of here in no time. When she returns to her loved ones, she will see that things aren’t as bad as they seemed. They never are. The sooner she allows doctors and medicine to work their magic on her, the sooner she’ll return to the ones who care for her. This was just a short bad period in her life, one she would overcome and step out of with hardly any memories of it.” As he uttered the last sentence, his voice, all sexy and enticing, ended on a poignant note.

  One second he was with her, in her, and the next he pushed away from her and climbed the stairs as though he wasn’t romancing her disembodied ear moments ago.