She clutched his arm. He wore a leather jacket and jeans, looking as good as she had ever seen him. Damn. Keep your mind in the game. "Are you sure?"
"Of course. Can you stand?"
She sniffed again. "I think so." Hell, the way she was feeling she was sure she could fly.
Asmodeus swept a hand toward the body of the Nephilim and it disappeared. He put a hand on her
elbow and another on her waist as he helped her up. She stood a little stooped, as if she hurt everywhere.
She placed a hand on her back. "I think I pulled a muscle."
Asmodeus tried controlling the rapid beating of his heart as he wiped dirt off Brianna's clothes, ignoring Raum, who had been gesturing to him while Brianna had been sitting on the ground. Naberius scanned the surrounding woods, but Asmodeus could sense no other Nephilim in the area.
He ran his hands up and down Brianna's arms, trying to keep her warm. She looked up at him, her eyes large and round. Protectiveness welled inside of him, and he was thankful they had been there in time to save her. "Let's get you to Naberius's. You will stay there the night."
Tears welled in her eyes. "Thank you."
They walked back to the car slowly, allowing Brianna to regain her footing. When he had spied her car in the parking lot fear had consumed him. If they had arrived even seconds later she would have been dead. She was lucky the Nephilim hadn't bitten her. A human became paralyzed from the poison in the Nephilim's saliva, which made it easier for the Nephilim to feed.
He helped her into the backseat of Naberius's car. Naberius tapped him on the shoulder as he said to Brianna, "Wait here."
Asmodeus shut the car door and turned to Naberius. Raum came up, and Asmodeus could tell there was a confrontation coming by the cold glint in his eyes.
Naberius kept his voice lowered. "Something's off about this. She would have been dead in seconds, or at the very least paralyzed."
Raum spoke before Asmodeus had the chance. "Can't you feel the power that surrounds Brianna? I did not feel that earlier today."
He did feel something wasn't right, but Brianna was too shaken up and he didn't feel they should interrogate her here and now. "Her fear has heightened her powers. Just as we show more power when we are emotionally charged."
"Bullshit. Why was she here? I find it highly strange she was here at this time of the night to jog. She can't see five feet ahead of her," Naberius argued.
"What motive could she possible have in coming near us again? There is none," Asmodeus said.
"She is hiding something." Naberius stepped toward him, lowering his voice again. "She was too eager to come back to my house with us. Too trusting. She should, on all accounts, never want to go back there."
Asmodeus glanced at Brianna, who sat in the car with her head in her hands. The sight affected him in ways it shouldn't. "She was never harmed by us."
"She was held against her will," Raum snapped.
He turned his attention to Raum. "She was attacked by a Nephilim, and she realizes the only people who can keep her safe from such a creature are ourselves."
"She lies." Naberius turned away from them, his agitation on the subject apparent.
The scene was unfortunate, as it always would be when involving a Neph. He felt a connection with Brianna, more than likely because she had pulled him from his torment. He did not like seeing her like this, and he wanted to fix it. "Raum, will you drive her car back to the house?"
Naberius turned on him with a growl. "So you will leave it at that? You will do nothing?"
Asmodeus's anger rose as he stepped toward Naberius. Brother or not, the demon needed to back off. He said not a word as he opened the door to the car. "May I have your keys, Brianna?"
She took them out of her pocket and handed them to him, tears in her eyes.
He held the keys out to Raum.
"You are making a mistake," Raum said.
"It is my mistake to make."
He climbed in the car, taking a place beside her. She was shaking. He put his arm around her and drew her close, trying not to breathe. Nephilim had a terrible odor. It clung to Brianna. Still, he felt she needed the touch, the connection.
The circumstances between them couldn't have taken a sharper turn. Just that morning she had been a prisoner in Naberius's house, now she felt safe enough to go there of her own free will.
Naberius slid into the driver's seat. "What happened, Brianna?"
She swallowed visibly, looking as though she could barely keep it together. "I was jogging one minute, and then something just jumped me from behind."