Part 15<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cYou think he bought it?\u201d<\/p>\n
A cool smile curved her lips. \u201cNo doubt about it,\u201d Eve said confidently. \u201cHook, line, and sinker.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jace wasn\u2019t convinced. Tightening his arms around her, he shifted slightly, the sheets rustling in the quiet night. \u201cI don\u2019t know, baby, there was something in his eyes that\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe bought it,\u201d she interrupted tersely. \u201cBesides, if he didn\u2019t, he doesn\u2019t have a choice. He\u2019ll do what we want.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frowning in the darkness, Jace sighed. \u201cHe\u2019s smart, Eve. Smart and powerful. He could kill us both without too much trouble, you know that.\u201d<\/p>\n
A hard push on his bare chest told him of her irritation as she flipped over onto her stomach. Thrusting her face into his, she bared her teeth in anger like a snarling panther.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd whose fault is that, huh?\u201d she accused him. \u201cYou were supposed to stay distant from him, Jace. You weren\u2019t supposed to adopt the brat. You were supposed to keep him emotionally vulnerable while making him physically unbeatable. Then he wouldn\u2019t have the nerve to attack us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eve shoved away from him and sat up with disgust. \u201cYou knew the plan. You were supposed to make him hate the very sight of you, but feel bound to you. But no, you had to go and play Big Daddy and fuck everything up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scooting up into a sitting position against the headboard, Jace cupped her face in his hands. He was surprised when she didn\u2019t jerk away from him in disgust. In an instant, tears formed in Eve\u2019s eyes. The calculating mind behind them only whirred faster, one step ahead of her lover and using every feminine wile in her arsenal to keep him under her thumb.<\/p>\n
\u201cI trusted you. I needed him to be a machine. I needed him to look at your face and feel pain and confusion. I can\u2019t run the risk that he\u2019ll go all soft when he sees Angel again.\u201d A small sniffle escaped her as one tear overflowed and ran down her cheek, wetting the fingers that held her face. \u201cI thought you loved me, Jace,\u201d her voice broke, his name a mere whisper.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do love you, baby, I do,\u201d he quickly reassured her. \u201cBut he needed somebody. He was so broken after his parents died. I wouldn\u2019t have been able to gain his trust if I\u2019d been the mean bastard you wanted me to be. I needed to be the father he\u2019d just lost.\u201d<\/p>\n
She only looked at him despondently and pulled away, turning her back to him and drawing her legs up to her chest. Burying her face in her knees, she let sobs wrack her body. Her face averted, Eve let a smile spread across them when she could almost hear his resolve cracking behind her. The triumph swept over her small frame as his big hands spread across her back, rubbing her shoulders in an attempt to comfort her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry I disappointed you, baby,\u201d Jace whispered. \u201cBut I know Connor will come through for us. I\u2019m just worried that something will go wrong and that\u2014that I\u2019ll lose you. I can\u2019t lose you!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t lose Lindsay either, but Angel killed him anyway!\u201d<\/p>\n
A pregnant, painful silence hung in the room after her outburst. It wasn\u2019t difficult for her to ignore the grimace of pain on Jace\u2019s face as Lindsay\u2019s hallowed name once again invaded the privacy of their bedroom.<\/p>\n
Hardened eyes met his again. \u201cI guess you\u2019ll just have to make sure that Connor can\u2019t win against you, Jace.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stiffened immediately. \u201cBut the mystical enhancements you\u2019ve given me aren\u2019t working anymore, Eve, not like they used to. We\u2019ll have to find some other way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Defiantly, she raised her chin and set her lips in a grim line. \u201cYou know what you have to do, Jace. The permanent treatment this time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut baby\u2014\u201d he pleaded, raising a hand to her in supplication.<\/p>\n
A resolute shake of her head was his only answer. \u201cYou\u2019ll do it, Jace. If you love me, you\u2019ll do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sighing, Jace slumped and buried his face in his hands. An eternity of seconds reigned as he resigned himself to his fate. Clear brown eyes finally raised to meet cold ones.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course I will.\u201d<\/p>\n
Part 16<\/b><\/p>\n
Angel and Cordelia lay together, wrapped up like two halves of the same exquisite sculpture. Cordelia\u2019s breathing had finally returned to normal, and they both knew there was so much more to discuss. Neither of them wanted to break apart just yet, though.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should probably get up,\u201d Cordelia said, but immediately snuggled further into Angel\u2019s embrace.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, we should,\u201d he whispered against her head, kissing her hair.<\/p>\n
It was silent for a few more minutes. Angel finally sighed, then briefly kissed her forehead before releasing her. He pulled away from her, standing up beside the bed.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay, I guess we can go out and get you something to eat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Immediately, she began to salivate. She bolted out of bed, then swayed on her feet as her eyes closed in near rapture at the thought of eating. His eyes darkened again as he caught sight of her bliss-filled face, the sheet down low around her hips. \u201cOh, God. Food! I\u2019ve been dying for some really good Chinese food, Angel. Let\u2019s go to Golden Panda, okay? Like right freakin\u2019 now!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGolden Panda it is,\u201d he said, smiling at her indulgently. He made a move toward the door, but stopped when she laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHey, nudie boy. Prob\u2019ly better rethink the dinner outfit, there.\u201d She gestured to his naked state.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, yeah,\u201d he said, frowning, as if perturbed that he had to be bothered with such trivialities. His eyes lit up as he looked at her. \u201cWanna pick out my clothes for me?\u201d<\/p>\n
She grinned. \u201cDefinitely.\u201d<\/p>\n
A half hour later found them in Cordy\u2019s favorite Chinese food restaurant, their Emperor\u2019s Feast ordered, beverages in front of them. Again, Cordy admired the outfit she\u2019d picked out for him: a soft, grey button-up that clung to him like a second skin, defining every delicious muscle in his upper half, and a pair of jeans that were worn in all the right places. She\u2019d bought them for him at a consignment shop the year Connor was born, but she\u2019d never ever seen him wear them. He\u2019d frowned when she\u2019d held up the outfit at his apartment and wiggled her eyebrows at him suggestively. It was obvious he didn\u2019t like the departure from his usual dark slacks.<\/p>\n
\u201cJeans?\u201d he\u2019d said, scrunching his nose up. \u201cBut they\u2019re so. . .stiff.\u201d<\/p>\n
She\u2019d raised her eyebrows at him and regarded him with a look that only Cordelia could make both condescending and loving at the same time.<\/p>\n
\u201cGeez, somebody saw the birth of Levi\u2019s and copped a bad attitude. Have you felt<\/i> these, Angel?\u201d she\u2019d asked, then shoved them into his hands. \u201cHere. Touch them. They\u2019re soft. Incredibly soft. And worn in all the right places. They\u2019re the most comfortable pair of jeans on the planet.\u201d That and they were sure to make his ass look fabulous.<\/p>\n
She hadn\u2019t been wrong. She\u2019d sighed, practically drooling, as he\u2019d pulled the jeans on and fastened them up, her eyes immediately drawn to the worn button fly, her mind traveling to the, um, impressive parts she\u2019d seen underneath. Seen and felt. Oh, god. . . but not a good place to go at a restaurant.<\/p>\n
One word came to mind as she saw him in those clothes: Damn! Her vampire was dead sexy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you thinking about?\u201d Angel\u2019s question startled her out of her thoughts and she blushed.<\/p>\n
Her hand was cradled in his on the table top, and he smiled at her reaction, rubbing his thumb gently against her palm.<\/p>\n
His eyes darkened slightly. \u201cMe too, baby,\u201d he said deeply. \u201cI haven\u2019t begun to show you how much I missed you.\u201d<\/p>\n
His words sent a rush of chills up her spine. Delicious shivers that made her anticipation grow. She mentally straightened her spine, sticking to her guns. \u201cBut we have more important things to talk about right now, Angel,\u201d she said, a stern look on her face as she willed him to behave.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething more important than that?\u201d he asked incredulously. His mind was already back in his apartment, in his bed, in her mouth and between her thighs.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d she said. \u201cSo hang on to those fantasies, stud. We can continue our forever an hour or so later, okay?\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded reluctantly, then turned serious again. \u201cSo what is it that\u2019s brought you back to me?\u201d he asked, the worry in his face creeping in to bring lines between his eyebrows.<\/p>\n
She frowned, regarding him in silence as she tried to figure out where to begin. Just then her food came, and she had enough time to think about what she\u2019d say.<\/p>\n
\u201cConnor\u2019s in trouble,\u201d she finally revealed softly.<\/p>\n
If he\u2019d been human, his breath would\u2019ve stopped for a moment. \u201cBut I get reports on him,\u201d he argued. \u201cHe\u2019s fine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cReports from who?\u201d she asked around a mouthful of Peking Chicken.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, the investigation division, I think. I don\u2019t know. I guess I thought. . .\u201d<\/p>\n
She frowned at him. \u201cI told you that place was bad news, Angel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know,\u201d he said, sighing. \u201cWe\u2019ve been so busy lately, and I just knew that Connor was safe. He\u2019s not?\u201d he asked anxiously.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, he\u2019s all right for now, but he\u2019s heading down a really bad road.\u201d Putting her chopsticks down, she explained to him everything the Powers had shared with her.<\/p>\n
His face darkened in anger against the person who would dare turn his son against him. \u201cConnor has already been through so much,\u201d he said through clenched teeth. \u201cI don\u2019t want to drag him through it again, Cordy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know you don\u2019t. But you don\u2019t have a choice. He\u2019s already been set on this path. If we don\u2019t get him back, if we don\u2019t restore his memory and tell him the truth, he\u2019ll try to kill you. And according to my sources, killing you will bring all of his memories back in a rush. I don\u2019t think he\u2019ll be able to handle it if it happens that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have no clue who\u2019s behind this?\u201d he seemed exasperated at the lack of information. \u201cThey have to know something. Anything!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing,\u201d she said. \u201cDavid, my guardian, wouldn\u2019t hold anything back from me. He told me everything he knew. We\u2019ll have to figure out who it is on our own.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel stared at her unseeingly, his mind swirling with anger and worry over his son\u2019s situation. \u201cWhoever it is, they\u2019ll be sorry they messed with my son.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDamn straight,\u201d she affirmed, then went back to her dinner. \u201cGod, this is good.\u201d Her eyes closed in bliss. \u201cI missed food.\u201d<\/p>\n
Part 17<\/b><\/p>\n
Connor bolted upright in bed, shaking, his body soaked in sweat. Furious, he threw back his blankets and strode to the window, flinging it open and letting the night breeze cool his heated flesh. He\u2019d had another dream.<\/p>\n
This one was a re-run, but it was no less powerful than it had been before. This time, the familiarity of the plot had given him the ability to notice more details. Feel more of the gut-wrenching emotion that seemed to accompany each dream. But that familiarity had just served to wrench his battered soul further in two conflicting directions.<\/p>\n
They were so damn disturbing.<\/p>\n
As much as they bothered him, he was more convinced than ever that he should keep them to himself. He liked Jace, but lately, he\u2019d started to get the wiggy feeling that he couldn\u2019t really trust him. That feeling was compounded when his creepy girlfriend showed up.<\/p>\n
Just how did Eve fit into all this?<\/p>\n
Okay, so she claimed they were secret agents that hunted scary monsters. Yeah, whatever. Connor still wasn\u2019t sure how much of that to believe. It didn\u2019t seem crazy to him that the monsters existed. Somehow, he\u2019d already known that. What did seem totally wacko was that Eve could be on the good guys\u2019 side. He just didn\u2019t trust her. Something inside him recoiled in her presence, an inner sense he\u2019d always had that had never steered him wrong.<\/p>\n
The one thing that worried him was that he\u2019d trusted Jace so quickly. Now when Connor was having second thoughts about him, he wondered about what had drawn him to the older man in the first place. He had just been so needy at the time. So lonely for a father. He\u2019d ached so much for his parents, and Jace had just been there. Jace had been a presence that had lent strength and stability to a young man who so desperately needed something solid in his sorrow-drenched life. Jace had pulled him out of the darkness and had given him something to live for again.<\/p>\n
So why did he suddenly have the eerie feeling that Jace would ruin his life?<\/p>\n