When Angels Cry_An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure Read online

  Red Eyes howled, and his arm twitched and thrashed. Barbs sprouted from it, some ripping into James’ clothing and flesh.

  The bounty hunter launched another series of punches into the wounded mutant’s body and head and the killer staggered back, the red of his eyes now blood and not his natural glow.

  James yanked out his K-Bar and jammed it into the mutant’s heart three or four times before adding a few new holes to his head.

  Gotta keep this shit balanced.

  The room started to darken, its shadows growing. Red Eyes collapsed to his knees and crawled back.

  “No, you don’t, asshole,” James growled. “I’m not fucking done with you.” He sheathed his knife and walked behind the twitching and thrashing mutant. He yanked him up and snapped his neck. “That’s for Dina’s dad.”

  The mutant didn’t slump, just kept thrashing. James tossed him to the ground and pinned Red Eyes with his knee.

  James raised his knife again. “Wish I’d packed a machete. It really makes this shit easier.” Five quick slashes later, only a few strands of muscle connected Red Eyes’ head to his body. “And this is for everyone else you killed, you piece of shit.”

  The bounty hunter grunted and jerked the head away from the body. The corpse slumped to the ground. James tossed the head next to it and stood.

  Heavy breaths followed as the numbness of adrenaline gave way to sharp pain. Deep wounds in his shoulder and thigh continued to seep blood, and in addition, a dozen minor lacerations covered his body.

  James opened the healing potion and downed it in one gulp. Thirty seconds later, he was a new man in need of a new outfit.

  Something scratched the ground behind him. His hand dropped to his .45, and he spun toward the noise.

  Detectives West and Lafayette held up their hands.

  “I told you to stay in the fucking truck.” James holstered his gun.

  The detectives slowly lowered his arms.

  Detective West grinned. “Don’t worry, didn’t even scratch the paint.” He looked around and shook his head. “We got here in time to overhear some of that asshole’s rant. Between that and the bodies, it’s more than enough to crack this place open with a search warrant.”

  “Good,” James growled. “The kids of Las Vegas should never have to deal with this kind of shit again.”

  24

  Trey, Charlyce, and James stood in the playroom at the CPS building, waiting for a staffer to bring in the girl. The door opened, and Dina rushed in with a smile. She hugged Charlyce and then James.

  “Guess I’m chopped liver,” Trey mumbled.

  The girl hugged him too, and all the adults laughed.

  Dina’s smile disappeared, and she stared at James with mournful eyes. “Red Eyes is gone?”

  James nodded. “I made sure he’ll never hurt anyone again.”

  The girl started crying. “I want my daddy. Where do I go now?”

  Charlyce smiled. “I would have loved to have taken you, but they don’t let people like me foster kids. It’ll be a while before the system trusts me.”

  James smiled down at the girl. “Don’t worry, I’ve already made some calls. I’ve got a better idea.”

  James didn’t think anything of a huge road trip, but he was surprised the girl didn’t have any problems as they drove straight back from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. It must have helped that the little angel slept most of the way.

  As he turned onto a side street leading to their destination, he chuckled.

  Charlyce looked at him from the passenger seat of his truck. She’d insisted on riding with Dina the whole way. Trey had been disappointed, but he’d had to drive his truck back anyway.

  “What’s so funny, Mr. Brownstone?”

  “This place isn’t any safer than Vegas. I’ve dealt with more strange criminals with powers here than anywhere, but it still feels good to be home. I feel safer here. More relaxed. Everything seems simpler, somehow. Guess that’s what ‘home’ means.”

  “Home,” Charlyce echoed. She sighed. “That’s still a hard idea to wrap my head around.”

  “Trey’s a good man. He’ll give you all the help you need.”

  “I only hope I’m worthy of that help.”

  “Don’t hope. Just be.” James pulled into the driveway of a modest but large two-story house with a new coat of brown paint. He was glad to see his money being well spent on helping the orphans.

  The front door opened, and Father McCartney stepped outside.

  James and Charlyce stepped out of the truck, and the woman picked up the sleeping Dina. The girl stirred in her arms and yawned.

  The little angel’s eyes fluttered. “Where are we?”

  “This is the place I told you about,” James explained. “It’s an orphanage. I visit it from time to time.”

  “You do?”

  He nodded. “Yeah. I grew up here myself, and it’s one of the reasons I’m the man I am today.”

  Father McCartney smiled at the comment.

  Dina rested her head against Charlyce’s shoulder. “Do you protect the kids in the orphanage?”

  James nodded. “Yeah, I do. Angels aren’t just nice messengers, after all. They are warriors too. Here, the angels protect the children.”

  Father McCartney cleared his throat. “Welcome, Dina. I’m glad to have you with us.”

  An older girl stepped outside and waved from the porch.

  The priest leaned forward to pat Dina on the head. “Would you like to see your new room?”

  “Yes, please.”

  Charlyce set the girl on the ground. “I’ll visit you next weekend, my little angel.”

  Dina gave the woman another tight hug before scampering off to the house.

  Father McCartney shook his head and turned to James. “The hand of God has guided this, James.”

  The bounty hunter shrugged. “Doesn’t it guide everything?”

  “No, I’m just saying that even with the stock money we only have so many resources, but the anonymous benefactor upped their payments recently. We wouldn’t have been able to take the girl otherwise. I think we’ll need to hire someone, or maybe reach out for more volunteers, though. Things are stretched, even with the help of the older kids.”

  Charlyce smiled at the priest. “I’ll volunteer.” She laughed. “Assuming you don’t have a problem with me being Methodist.”

  The priest chuckled. “No, I value any and all help.”

  The woman looked at the orphanage. “God gave me another chance, so I want to make the best of it. Plus, I owe that girl.”

  James watched in silence, pleased with himself and not wanting to ruin the moment with some blunt comment.

  See, Shay? I’m learning.

  Father McCartney looked confused. “Owe her? How could you owe Dina?”

  “I’m back in the world and with my family because of what she lost. The least I can do is be there for her.”

  “That’s all any of us can ever do,” James rumbled.

  Lieutenant Hall secured her helmet and lifted the railgun, then initiated the charge cycle and stepped out of the back of the van.

  Unlike last time, she wouldn’t wait until half the team was on the ground to fire the weapon. Using a weapon that was so unreliable wasn’t on her list of favorite things, but Tessa Vansant did top the current list of Maria’s least favorite things.

  “Everyone’s in position, Lieutenant,” Weber called over his radio. “I’m glad the country club agreed to this plan.”

  “Yeah, no innocent people will be getting hurt today.”

  The media was still publicly reporting that the Nadina event was on, but the country club and event organizers had reached out to all ticket holders to let them know it’d be rescheduled and not to discuss it. Miraculously no one had. They’d also been able to verify that Tessa Vansant wasn’t one of the ticket holders.

  So now it was just a simple matter of waiting for the level-five bounty to show up.

  This isn’t lik
e last time. This bitch goes down fast.

  “We got eyes on a car, Lieutenant,” Weber informed her.

  Maria set up the bipod for the railgun and laid the weapon on the ground. She aimed it and waited as a rusty old Chrysler sedan pulled into the parking lot filled with luxury vehicles.

  Not even trying to blend in, huh, Tessa?

  Several AET officers popped up from behind cars. Rocket drones rose from behind shrubs, their deadly payloads ready.

  Maria tapped a mic control on her wrist. “Tessa Vansant. This is LAPD AET. You are to immediately come out with your hands up and surrender. You’re under arrest for homicide and terrorism. Any sudden movements will be considered hostile actions, and you will be fired upon.” She switched back to radio transmit mode.

  Good. Now the formalities are over. We’ve got you, bitch.

  “She’s doing something, Lieutenant!”

  Maria upped the magnification of her suit goggles. Tessa was chanting and waving her wand.

  “Light her up!” the lieutenant barked. She squeezed the railgun’s trigger and the weapon hummed, then died. “Son of a bitch.” She hopped up and kicked it.

  A swarm of bullets and rockets slammed into Tessa’s car. Maria averted her gaze as the sedan blasted into the air, engulfed by a fireball.

  She blinked as she spotted a couple of news helicopters hovering in the sky.

  Shit. They were expecting Nadina, but they’re seeing all this.

  Maria grabbed her sidearm and sent, “Advance and confirm kill.”

  The AET team marched toward the burning wreck, their weapons at the ready.

  A fiery form pushed open the door, and the flames parted to reveal the witch. Tessa rolled out of the car, her face locked in rage. A glowing shield of emerald light surrounded her body, and three glyphs of light winked into existence above her.

  “Take cover and open fire!” Maria ordered.

  The harsh crack of rifles filled the air, and bullets poured into Tessa. Her shield flashed brightly with each hit.

  The three glyphs above her formed into the same demons they’d seen on drone feeds from the farmers’ market incident. According to records, Tessa claimed they were an ancient Sumerian demon called a Rabisu. Maria didn’t care what they were called, only that they were stopped.

  The Rabisu launched energy blasts toward the police. One man took a direct hit and flew through the air, screaming. His new deflector darkened but didn’t turn black. He rolled on the ground, moaning.

  Maria unloaded her pistol at Tessa, ignoring the Rabisu, but they didn’t ignore her. An energy blast smashed into the car next to her.

  The resulting explosion launched the lieutenant into a nearby windshield and pain zapped through her body. An anti-magic deflector could absorb magic, but it didn’t do much to protect her against regular blasts. Her armor had helped, but she would be feeling that hit for a few weeks.

  The lieutenant extricated herself from the windshield and dropped to the ground. She grabbed an incendiary grenade and arced it toward one of the Rabisu with a call of “incendiary out.”

  The beast roared as the flames scorched its scales.

  “You like that, you son of a bitch?”

  Another wave of rocket drones closed on the parking lot and released their payloads into the Rabisu. One collapsed to the ground, dissolving into a puddle of green ichor, and the bullets and stun blasts striking the second had it on its knees. It started dissolving a few seconds later.

  Maria sprinted toward the nearest AET van and leapt into it, an energy blast from the last Rabisu missing her by inches. Some poor jerk’s Audi took the hit instead and the vehicle melted into slag.

  The lieutenant grabbed a rifle. Since the fight had begun Tessa hadn’t done much but crouch behind a car, her annoying energy shield protecting her. Maria had worried about the witch raining down spells or summoning more beasts, but she must have already been at her limit.

  We can fucking win this.

  Maria slapped a magazine into the rifle and readied the weapon, then hopped back out of the van and fired a burst at the remaining Rabisu before darting between cars. Another vehicle exploded behind her, but she continued charging forward until she had Tessa in her sights. She aimed at the woman’s head and fired.

  The bullets bounced off the shield, and the woman glared at Maria. Sweat coated Tessa’s face and neck.

  “Having trouble, bitch?” Maria called. She dropped a hand to a sonic grenade. “Sonic out!”

  The grenade slammed into the shield. The windows of several nearby cars shattered, and even with her helmet on and the distance between them Maria’s ears rang.

  Tessa screamed and dropped her wand, and her shield vanished.

  Doesn’t stop sound, huh?

  Maria whipped up her rifle and put a three-round burst into the witch’s center of mass.

  She screamed and fell back, blood pooling beneath her. The remaining Rabisu dissolved instantly.

  The AET lieutenant rushed toward the witch.

  Tessa lay on the ground, coughing up blood.

  Maria sneered, but the witch couldn’t see it through her helmet. “You should have just surrendered, you psycho bitch.”

  “It’s fine,” Tessa whispered. “It turns out you’re alive, and I’m just a ghost.” She let out a strangled laugh before her head slumped to the side and her chest stopped moving.

  “Suspect terminated.” Maria turned to survey the area. A couple of men had their helmets off and were standing with the aid of others, but she didn’t see anyone lying on the ground with a hole in their chest.

  “Minor injuries for several people, Lieutenant.” Sergeant Weber stepped toward her. “Lost two deflectors. Two guys have bad burns, but that’s about it.”

  Maria pulled off her helmet and looked from burning wreck to burning wreck. Dozens of cars were now smoldering ruins. “Fuck. We won, but we let half this fucking parking lot go up. We’re as bad as Brownstone.” She slapped her helmet against her forehead. “We fucking suck.”

  25

  Trey’s foot kept twitching as he sat on his grandmother’s couch with his Aunt Charlyce. They’d been waiting for Nana to get back from the store, so he still didn’t know how things would go down. He’d texted his grandmother before leaving Las Vegas, but her response had been very blunt and to the point.

  She wanted to meet her estranged daughter, but she was making no promises past that, and she didn’t want to talk with her on the phone, but face-to-face.

  His grandmother wasn’t to be fucked with. The old woman had lived decades in a slowly dying neighborhood, surrounded by gangbangers and other criminals. She didn’t take shit from anyone, and that included her family.

  What the fuck do I do if this goes down the toilet? I want to have my family together, but I can’t piss off Nana.

  Trey ran a hand through his hair. Bile rose in his throat. He hadn’t been this nervous since a level-two bounty ambushed him in an alley and got off three shots before he knew what was happening.

  Charlyce was an aunt to him, but a daughter to his grandmother—a daughter who’d betrayed her trust and thrown her life away on drugs and alcohol. She’d admitted her mistakes, and Trey of all people wasn’t one to throw stones about past sins, but his grandmother had lived a clean life during which she was loyal to her family. She’d even maintained her relationship with him when he’d run with the gangs.

  She needed to accept that the past was the past like he had. It was rare that anyone got a second chance. It was even rarer that an entire family got a second chance, or three generations of one, for that matter.

  Please, Nana. We’ve lost so much. Just let our family come back together. Accept her for who she is now and don’t push her away for who she was.

  Lights pierced the darkness in the driveway, giving way to an Uber carrying the old woman. She stepped out of the car, her paper bag in hand, and made her way to the door with a frown on her wrinkled face.

  Trey hurried to o
pen the door and take the bag from her. As she handed the bag to him as she kept her gaze locked on her wayward daughter, studying her with the heavy weight of seven years’ disappointment in her eyes.

  Trey carried the bag to the kitchen but kept watching the two. A tense silence smothered the room as Trey’s aunt and Nana stared at each other, and his heart galloped.

  Shit. It’s not gonna happen.

  A single tear slid down the older woman’s face and all the suspicion and anger disappeared, replaced by bittersweet joy. Trey’s heart soared.

  His grandmother wiped the tear away. “Seven years, sweetie. I always hoped and prayed that you’d come back to me someday. I don’t blame you for anything. We’ve all made our mistakes. I could have been a better mother, but it doesn’t matter.” She held out her arms. “It doesn’t matter now because my prayers have been answered.”

  Aunt Charlyce ran into her mother’s arms and both women starting sobbing.

  Trey set the bag down and looked away, his own eyes watering. He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped them. A slob used their sleeve; a smooth and refined man used a handkerchief. That was what the websites said, anyway.

  “We’re a family again,” his grandmother managed to get out between sobs. “And I’m the luckiest woman alive. I didn’t think I’d live to see this day.”

  “We’re all lucky, Nana,” Trey offered. “Luckiest damned family on the planet.”

  It took a good fifteen minutes for everyone to calm down and put the groceries away before they all returned to sit in the living room.

  Trey’s grandmother dabbed her eyes, the tears of joy still threatening to return. “Where you planning on living, Charlyce?”

  “I…don’t know. Trey said I could stay with him.”

  Trey nodded. “Sure thing.”