Page 1 of Indecent

Chapter 1

Daniel

The world around Daniel Garcia was endless and gray. It was the first sign that he was Not Okay in a very big way. The ground beneath his feet was flat, dry earth. He couldn’t see much around him, because a thick, gray fog obscured the world around him. There were no sounds, no visible landmarks, nothing to indicate where he was or where he should go.

He couldn’t remember how he got here. That was troublesome. Patting his pockets turned up no phone or keys or even his wallet. He didn’t remember dressing in these clothes, but he did recall that he owned them. Jeans, brown leather work boots, and a simple blue T-shirt. He felt neither cold nor hot. There was no wind. No sounds. No signs of life at all. He’d never realized how loud Los Angeles was. Cars, people, machinery, birds, wind. The complete absence of it all sent a chill slithering down his spine.

He wasn’t supposed to be here. He’d been doing something important—but what? Why couldn’t he remember?

“Hello?” he called, turning in a slow circle. “Is anyone out there?”

His voice didn’t echo, like the blanket of fog around him dampened the sound.

Unease prickled across the back of his neck. This was a bad place. He needed to leave. But which direction? Whatever he picked could be wrong, and he could wind up walking even further away from civilization and help.

Somewhere, deep in his gut, he knew it didn’t matter. There was no civilization here.

But that made no sense.

Daniel lurched into motion, picking a direction at random. Anything was better than here. While he walked, he talked to himself. It was better than listening to his own heartbeat thundering in his ears.

“I’m Daniel Garcia. I’m a paladin—or, I was a paladin.” Paladins were holy warriors who fought demons. At one time, he’d loved the job. But recently, the commander had turned on his people, creating a cult of followers who punished anyone who stepped out of line. He’d been unhappy there for a long time, and he’d finally walked away, because… his brother, Nicolas, had asked him to. But Nicolas hadn’t gone with him. Why not?

What happened to him? How did he get here? Why couldn’t he remember?

He absentmindedly looked down at his left hand, where he’d once worn the guild’s signet ring—a pearl cross inlaid on a bed of ruby—and stumbled to a stop when he found the ring sitting snugly on his finger like he’d never removed it.

What the hell? He could’ve sworn he’d abandoned it ages ago. He remembered leaving it behind in his apartment. That was weeks ago… wasn’t it? How was he wearing it again? Was it connected to whatever was going on?

The guild had turned on him. Imprisoned him, whipped him, shunned him. He didn’t want their symbol on his finger.

He tugged the ring off and threw it into the gray fog as hard as he could. Scowling, he marched in the opposite direction.

“My name is Daniel Garcia,” he went on. “I used to be a paladin, before they decided following the rules was more important than doing the right thing. My brother is Nicolas Garcia. My best friend is Julian Heroux. I joined the Sentinels, who are ten times better than the paladins ever were. They don’t judge. They don’t hate. They just try to make the world safer for everyone.”

It still felt like the weight of the ring was on his finger. He moved to rub it—and stopped. When he looked down, it was back. Silver band, ruby stone, pearl cross. Just as it always was. He’d gotten so used to seeing it on his finger that not wearing it had felt strange for a while. But now it felt like an intruder, forcing itself upon him.

“What the fuck?” he breathed, jerking it off and throwing it away again, harder this time. “I don’t want you!”

What kind of trick was this place? Was he dreaming?

He took a sharp breath and screamed into the abyss, “What the fuck is going on? Where am I? Somebody answer me!”

No one answered.

Pushing his fingers into his short curls, he struggled to remember how he’d gotten here. It was like wading through molasses in his own mind. He remembered leaving the guild. Nicolas had asked him to, because… because he was trying to find someone they’d hidden away. Kids. Two kids who were important to the Sentinels. In order to find them, Nicolas had planned to get closer to Sloan and his people, and he didn’t want Daniel getting caught in the crossfire.

So Daniel had left the guild. Left everything, even his apartment, because the guild had his address on record. He’d gone to the Sentinels’ base, an old, converted skating rink. He’d slept on one of their medical cots there until Ashmedai, a sin eater demon, had offered to share an apartment with him. Ashmedai and Nicolas fell in love—or whatever demons called love. Daniel wasn’t too clear on the details, but it certainly looked like love to him.

Sharing an apartment with Ashmedai hadn’t felt much like sharing at all. Ashmedai rarely used it, since he didn’t do things like eat or sleep. He stored some clothing there and occasionally showed up to bide his time while he waited for Nicolas to get home. But eighty percent of the time, Daniel had the place to himself.

And then… what? Did they find the kids? The Sentinels would have wanted to be there when they were freed. Did he go with them? Did he⁠—

“Sweetheart.”

Daniel whipped around. The woman standing in the fog looked so viscerally real that it stole Daniel’s breath. She looked just like he remembered. Just like the pictures that were all he had now.

“Mom?”