Catalyst: Book 2 in The Dark Paradise Chronicles Page 15

  “What are you doing?” She wasn’t sure why she was nervous. She definitely trusted him, but this…she wasn’t sure what this meant.

  “You need to get warm,” he repeated as he took off his own shirt, and oh God, there was a blond happy trail leading from his bellybutton to…well, there. “You need to get out of your sopping wet clothes. We can’t have the seer sick when the war could start at any moment.” She knew she needed to look at his face when he spoke to her, but her eyes were fixed on his fingers undoing the strings to his sweatpants and—okay, he was sliding the pants down his hips and she couldn’t pull her eyes away. She couldn’t stop; she didn’t want to stop.

  Forest green boxer briefs clung to—

  And then her eyes snapped to his, and he was smirking like he knew, because he knew; he had to know and her face was on fire. She didn’t know why she didn’t feel warmer.

  “Take off your pants, darl.”

  “How is taking off my clothes going to get me warm?” she asked as she tentatively slid her hands down the sides of her pants, waiting to take them off. She was glad she’d put on a pair of boy shorts before changing into her pajamas. Her heart echoed in her ears; it was like she was standing at the edge of a cliff, and in the next moment, she’d be falling.

  “As you can see, I’m removing my clothes as well,” he said, keeping his eyes on Reese as he stepped out of his pants. “We’re going to lie together and hold each other. The physical contact will produce body heat, and with this body heat, both you and I will maintain some degree of warmth.”

  Reese hesitated, but she started to remove her pants. “Is this some excuse to try and see me naked?” she asked. Her voice quivered more than she would have liked, but somehow, she still managed to keep her eyes on Ollo’s.

  “Definitely,” he said. He headed over to their makeshift bed and slid under the covers. He pushed his brow up expectantly, then looked at her spot on the bed. “Luckily, I get to kill two birds with one stone.”

  She smiled, but it was half-hearted. Her nerves were getting the better of her as she walked over to him. His eyes were fixed on her, roving over every inch of her body, and he didn’t bother to hide his fascination with her. A tiny pulse throbbed against her lower stomach, and suddenly she wasn’t nervous anymore. Without breaking eye contact, she slid in next to him. He reached around her and pushed her against him so their skin connected and her breasts pushed up against his scarred torso. She could swear she heard a sizzle at the contact, and then she realized she wasn’t that cold anymore, not with his hand pressed flat on the small of her back, and their fronts pressed against each other.

  “To answer your question,” Ollo began in a much softer tone, “your dreams are still dreams. They reflect your subconscious trying to solve a problem, trying to get your mind accustomed to something that has happened, or your intuition taking cues you’re not consciously aware of and making a prediction based on those cues. So technically, yes, you could be dreaming about the future, but that doesn’t mean you are. Just because you’re the seer doesn’t mean your dreams are visions, but you could dream about one of the visions you’ve already had.” He furrowed his brow so his forehead wrinkled in a rather adorable way. “Am I making any sense?”

  Reese couldn’t help but smile. “Yes,” she murmured. She was already starting to feel warm.

  “So you had a bad dream?” he said. “Is that why you were shooting targets at night in the rain?”

  She shrugged one shoulder. “I couldn’t sleep,” she told him in a soft voice. “I had to do…something. This war’s supposed to start soon, right?”

  He nodded once. “Especially with Burr’s Vigilante Registration Act.” At Reese’s perplexed look, he elaborated. “He called a press conference during the party last night. Apparently he, with the help of an anonymous donor, founded the act in order to get Black Wing’s identity. If he doesn’t register, the police can arrest him on sight.”

  “Lucas Burr is—”

  “Satan, yes.”

  “And Black Wing is—”

  “An angel.”

  “So if Satan had the identity of the angel assigned to guard Onyx…?”

  “He would know how to hurt him.” Ollo paused for a moment, thinking. “Angels, like demons, aren’t perfect, darl. Everyone has a weakness. If an Excom like Noir has one in Keirah Shepherd, then I can guarantee you Black Wing has one as well. Excommunicated demons, as crazy as it is to believe, have weaknesses. I may not be a seer, but my bet is that one of these weaknesses will serve as a catalyst and start this war. And I’m almost positive it will happen sooner than we believe.”

  Andie

  “Miss Shepherd,” Pierce said in his perpetual murmur, offering her a smile that did not quite reach his eyes. Andie forced her lips to turn up and narrowed her eyes at him as they shook hands. His hand was smooth and cool, not rough and sturdy like Jack’s. He didn’t seem like he had any clue she had overheard a pretty damning phone conversation, but it also seemed as though he didn’t take her very seriously in the first place. After all, he made it a point to remind her that people—himself included —believed that she only got this internship because of her prior history with Jack Phillip.

  Prior history.

  What did that even mean?

  He had been her boss. Then he became her friend. Somehow, he became this person she grew to trust more than she trusted…well, anyone.

  And it scared the shit out of her.

  They had kissed, but that was it. They never got the chance to test the waters of their relationship. They never got to be anything except two people who loved each other, without the ability to express that love.

  Because of Andie’s choice to walk away.

  That was their prior history.

  Now, they were friends again, who still loved each other from afar, except…. Except now that she lived with him again—for her own protection, she reminded herself—they were closer. Tonight, even, they had plans to get him another suit and discuss potential surprise party scenarios for Miranda’s upcoming birthday. She still wasn’t sure if this was a good idea. Still wasn’t sure if she was leading him on, if it was leading herself on. She didn’t like thinking about it because she didn’t like how muddled the situation was. She didn’t like to admit that she would rather have this heartbreaking, complicated relationship with him than not have one at all.

  You’re pathetic, Shepherd.

  “Yes, hi,” Andie said, smiling bigger than she had to. “Mr. Pierce, right?” She waited for him to correct her and insist that she call him by his first name, but instead, he continued to stare at her, waiting. For what, she didn’t know. “It’s nice to meet you. Again.”

  “I’m glad you don’t emulate your former boss’s behavior and show up to your job two hours late,” Pierce drawled.

  “Just because I worked for the guy doesn’t mean we’re the same,” Andie said with more attitude than she meant. She didn’t like the assumption that Jack’s bad habits had rubbed off on her, among other things.

  “Miss Shepherd, before we proceed with the tour of Eagle Corp. and the introduction of you to your direct supervisor, there is something I feel I am compelled to reiterate,” he said. His hands were behind his back, squaring his shoulders and making him look taller than he really was. “I am not an emotional man. I see emotions as useless, a weakness. When Eagle Corp. hired you, it was a decision based on an emotion.”

  “I assure you, Mr. Pierce,” Andie said, unsure if she was interrupting. It didn’t particularly matter one way or the other anyway. “I’m qualified for the job. My résumé—”

  “Is impressive, yes,” Pierce said. “However, you don’t have the routine experience our usual interns possess.” Before she could point out that she technically interned for Phillip Enterprises during her fall semester of high school, he put his hand up, anticipating her rebuttal. “Your time at Phillip Enterprises actually does more harm than good, Miss Shepherd. He has conditioned you a certain way
; certain practices are conducted differently, and protocols is handled in different ways as well. Not only that, but it’s rather suspicious you transferred internships from one major corporation to another instead of following through with the whole year. What compelled you to quit?”

  Andie could feel her face turning red. Whether it was from embarrassment or anger, she couldn’t be sure. It was probably a mixture of both.

  “I’d rather not say,” she said through gritted teeth. Her voice was shaking. She had to clamp her hands together to make sure they didn’t shake as well.

  “Lover’s spat,” he said with such conviction in his voice that Andie wanted to slap him. He even had the audacity to shrug.

  “Listen—”

  “No, you listen,” he interrupted her for the second time. His eyes suddenly flashed ice and Andie felt her entire body go cold, but the fire in her anger didn’t burn out. “I am a very proud man, Miss Shepherd. And I am very proud of my career at Eagle Corp. I worked my way from the very bottom to the position I have today. I do not want Jack Phillip’s latest floozy to ruin my professional reputation. Do you understand me?”

  “I do.” Her voice was still tight, though she wanted nothing more than to point out that she was surprised his professional reputation was still intact if he treated all of his interns the way he treated her. “Sir, not that it makes any difference, but I can assure you that I won’t let you down.”

  “Quite frankly, I don’t care what you do,” he said in his dismissive tone that Andie now officially hated more than even nails on a chalkboard. “Your actions will dictate your capacity to do your job. If you give me any reason to terminate your position here, I will do it in a heartbeat, believe me. The fact of the matter is, Tucker Wilson hired you for a reason. Maybe it’s because you have inside knowledge on Phillip Enterprises. Maybe it’s because of the whole mantra ‘keep your friends close and your enemies closer.’ What that reason is, I don’t know. I don’t know a lot about why Mr. Wilson does a lot of what he does. He is a recluse, after all.”

  “Why?” Andie’s eyes glanced around the office and saw that her assumption was wrong; not all offices had windows. Pierce’s was filled with plaques, degrees, awards and accolades, and bookshelves. How weird.

  “Why what?” He raised a brow at the question, like he didn’t quite understand why she asked it in the first place.

  “Why is Tucker Wilson a recluse?” she repeated, genuinely curious.

  He clicked the back of his teeth with his tongue, clearly impatient. “I guess I can tell you more about our founder during the tour, though you should know better considering you did research on Eagle Corp., correct?” Andie met his eye—no, of course she didn’t do research on this place, because the only company she wanted to work for was Phillip Enterprises and the only reason she applied was because Beverly was going to put a good word in for her—but he still retorted, “That’s what I thought.” Pierce headed for his office door without inviting Andie to follow. He paused in the door way. “Well? Are you coming or not?”

  Andie refrained from rolling her eyes, but followed him out the door nonetheless.

  “Tucker Wilson founded Eagle Corp. in 2001, when he was thirty years old. He chose the American Bald Eagle because eagles represent loyalty, patriotism, and freedom. They also retain the top spot in his opinion of the aves food chain. Untouchable. Yes, they’re an endangered species, but their rarity makes them strong and their strength gives them beauty.”

  Andie held back a yawn as the elevator descended to the first floor. Was the eagle symbolism lesson really necessary? She was an English Honors student, after all, and her résumé reflected that.

  “The company focused on web-based technology,” Pierce continued, not bothering to look at her. Andie took the time to study him from behind and found that for as broad-shouldered and strong as Pierce was, his ass was a bit on the small side now that she had a better look at it. Fit, yes, but still small. “Especially domain names and webpage hosting. It became the most trusted name in the field, and all of this from a company that started in a one-bedroom apartment in the Zone. Soon, he expanded to software, email, and computer manufacturing, and his company grew to be the billion-dollar industry it is today.”

  The elevator pinged, and he interrupted his story so he could explain where certain things were in the lobby and the proper protocol that needed to be followed whilst in it, as though Andie had never been in a lobby before and had been raised by a pack of wolves.

  Pierce continued to speak as he led her back to the elevator. This time, his long fingers pressed the button for the thirteenth floor. “In 2008, Mr. Wilson stopped coming to work,” he said, keeping his eyes fixed on the steel doors ahead of him. “He still led the majority of the work, including the hiring, the processing, the software manipulation, et cetera.”

  He just said the word et cetera in conversation. Andie bit her lip to keep from smiling even though he couldn’t see her.

  “But from then on, he dropped off the face of the planet. No one has seen or heard from him. He pays all his bills, he has everything, including groceries, delivered to him, but no one’s seen him. Rumor has it, he’s paid some girl to do things for him that require leaving the house, but that hasn’t been proven. All we know is that I’m acting CEO in his place; however, he still takes care of all business details. He still makes his money. He is the only reason you are here.”

  “Why me?” Andie asked before she could stop herself. It still didn’t make sense to her.

  “I’ve been asking that question since I heard of your hiring,” he muttered as the doors slid open once more.

  Asshole.

  The thirteenth floor looked much more like an office Andie was familiar with than the fifty-second floor where Pierce’s office was located. He would know something about being a recluse, wouldn’t he? Instead of bleak nothingness, this floor was bustling with activity: people on the phones, flipping and stapling and shredding papers, printing documents, making copies, and gossiping. There were actual windows with a view of Onyx Park, which reminded Andie of the night she and Jack danced in the rain, the night when she had allowed herself to fall a little bit in love with him. She would love this office for the view, even with Pierce being such a dick. How could she not, when that night was one of the best nights of her life?

  Knocking made her blink, and from there, her pale green eyes took in her surroundings. Pierce led her to an office door with the name A. Groundling scrawled in the same formal lettering as Pierce’s.

  Suddenly, Andie’s body went cold as her eyes took in the name again.

  Groundling….

  Groundling….

  There was no way…. He hadn’t gone to college. He was only twenty-one now. It couldn’t be—

  “Now, your direct supervisor will inform you of his expectations for you and your daily tasks.”

  Pierce informed her just as the door opened to reveal the man in question.

  Her heart stopped. Her face paled.

  It was him. It was him.

  The same gold eyes, the same close-cropped brown hair with the crescent scar on his head. The same stocky stature. The same goatee. The same slimy, crooked grin.

  It was him. It was Aaron. She thought she had finally managed to rid herself of him. She thought she was finally free.

  “Well, Andie,” he said in that same Zone-infused urban drawl. “Good seeing you again. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

  Apparently, she had been wrong.

  Keirah

  When he pulled up in front of a mall twenty minutes later, Keirah was still unsure of what Noir expected of her. He reached into his wallet and pulled out a hundred dollars in small bills and handed it to his woman.

  “I want you to get a, hum…costume,” he told her. “Your job-ah, besides protecting me, is to distract those who want me and my men to leave banks in shackles. Sexy, princess. I need you to wear something sexy.” He reached over and pet her head, but his eyes bu
rned into hers, letting her know that he was serious. “Get what you need. I’ll be, hum…here to get you in two hours.” He immediately saw a worried look on her face and he let his hand drop so it cupped her unmarked cheek. “You won’t be recognized.”

  Keirah swallowed, clutching the money in her hand before slipping out of the car. Luckily, her hair was quite good at blocking the profile of her face, so she didn’t get many stares due to the ‘J’ that rested on her left of her cheeks. However, a few people noticed, but it didn’t appear as though they were too worried about it, only because she was a relatively innocent-looking girl, and people rarely suspected her of being up to anything nefarious.

  They didn’t think it was real.

  It was interesting to learn how certain people saw the outside world.

  Luckily for her, there was a year-round Halloween costume shop located in the mall. It took nearly an hour to find one that she particularly liked, and she had to thank God that it also came in her size.

  As she stared at herself in the mirror of the changing room, a tiny, shy smile touched her lips as a blush scattered across her cheeks. She had never really worn anything quite as revealing as she was now. She’d never felt the need to. But something inside of her wanted to make Noir desire her even more than he already did, and she felt that this dress pulled that off perfectly.

  The costume was in the same vein as Noir’s, in that it went with his whole 1930's mafia/bank robbing outfit he was known for. Not quite equal to Noir, but at least somewhere near his level, and this outfit encompassed that in Keirah’s mind. It was a short, halter-style dress that hugged every curve her body could offer. It was black, with white pinstripes running up and down the material, and two gold buttons just underneath her breasts. Around her neck was a white collar with a burgundy satin tie, and on her head was a fedora similar to Noir’s, save for hers had a matching burgundy ribbon wrapped around its body. On her left leg, there was a black garter with a gold money symbol. Finally, her wrists were encircled by white wrist cuffs.