Page 12 of Unshakable

Henri understood herreluctance as he got in his car and drove away from Toula’s remote homestead. Damn Michael for treating her so terribly. The fact that he’d treated her no differently from the way he treated any other woman said enough about him without going overboard.

Henri yearned to remove the bad taste in Toula’s mouth because of Michael and his utter selfishness. He gripped the steering wheel with determination and muttered, “We aren’t all like him.”

Henri didn’t know this, of course. He knew he wasn’t like Michael, and that’s why they’d parted ways. He didn’t know any other Grigori to compare. Henri wanted to be conservative with his knowledge, hide in plain sight softly enough to disappear if the need arose.

But from time to time, he wondered how many Grigori dotted the earth. Who were they? What did they do?

He itched to contact Michael and gift him with the pain he’d given this woman. As Toula did not wish them to speak, he wouldn’t do so without her permission. He also didn’t want to alert Michael to anything having to do with the children.

Although if the children weren’t his, Michael would have absolutely no interest in them.

More to the point, Henri had no one like himself to ask questions of, deliberate with, or brainstorm solutions to this unique situation. Only Toula, who felt safe enough tonight to kiss him, a giant step for her.

Henri smiled as he pulled into the motel parking lot. He hadn’t been kissed in a long time, either, not with any meaning. Imagining Toula when she’d known Michael as a young, wild spirit took him back in time when he, too, had been more carefree.

Would they have made a match then?

No matter. They seemed a good match now.

He spotted the car first, a late model Chevy convertible, ruby red, top down, white walled tires, and fins. Old rides always caught his eye.

Then he glimpsed the license plate.

DMON4EVA

The hair on the back of his neck prickled, and he drove a slow circle around the old one-story motel. Inside the office, his old, familiar, Fallen friend spoke to the attendant on duty.

Henri’s pulse spiked.

Not much rattled him, not after this many years on earth. By and large, if he noticed anything not of this world, which he often did, he ignored and moved on, their direction usually more pointless than his own.

That’s not the feeling he got from this Fallen Angel. This one held purpose and direction, and Henri didn’t like either of those things given the situation.

Did he just happen to check into the same hotel during his search for Toula? Or was he here, at the motel, looking for Henri? Did the reason matter? Or the overt ridiculousness of such a powerful being renting a room?

In the blink of an eye, Henri decided to control the situation.

He would make sure this joker found him, not Toula, and definitely not the girls. Without so much as a plan, he parked and ducked into his room, where he pulled out his phone and dialed Toula’s number.

She answered immediately with a hushed voice, “Hello?”

“It’s Henri,” he said. “He’s here, in town. I’ve just seen him at my motel. I don’t think he’s seen me yet.”

A long pause ensued, punctuated by her rapid breaths. “Just a matter of time until he finds me. Until he finds the girls. And Beatrix is coming in tomorrow. This is the last thing I need.”

A plan developed in the back of Henri’s mind. Risky, yet necessary to give Toula time to either move herself and the girls or find a way to defend them.

“Don’t worry about him. I’ll divert his attention as long as I can. Is there anywhere you can go, outside your area?”

Another long silence passed while she thought. “Yes, only we can’t stay forever. We have to come home eventually.”

A different problem for a different day. “Take the girls away, then, and if I know my Fallen Angels, this one will follow me into New Orleans tomorrow.”

“All right.” Her voice quivered. “Please don’t do anything stupid. He’s shrewd, he’ll try to get you alone. You can’t kill him, you know.”

“I know my limitations,” he comforted her. “I’ll call you after the weekend is over. Be careful.”

“You, too.” She hung up and the line went dead. He frowned and hung up as well, brow tight with worry. He and Toula needed to have some very serious conversations soon.

How did she know this being couldn’t be killed?

He wanted to help her, help them, stay alive. If they lived through the weekend, there would be more questions.

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