by Cynthia Eden
Excellent. The spider’s trembles stopped. He crawled back down her arm and disappeared under the covers.
“Fuck.” Harrison shook his head.
She slid from the bed. “Who was at the door?”
“Gray. Get dressed. We have to move. Now.”
“Why? What’s the rush?”
“I’m the rush.” At that angry, rough voice, Elise’s head whipped up. Gray stood in the doorway, and he was aiming his gun right at her.
Harrison swore and immediately stepped in front of her. “Gray, I told you, I can handle this.”
She peeked around him.
Gray hadn’t lowered his weapon. The guy didn’t look nearly as cocky and put together as he’d appeared the last time their paths had crossed. In fact, she’d say his expression appeared to be quite desperate. And desperate was bad. Desperate people did desperate things. She knew because she was one of those desperate people doing some extremely shady and desperate things.
“I don’t have a choice.” Gray was sweating. “It’s Holly. My Holly.”
She had no idea who Holly was.
“I can’t let her die,” Gray cried out.
Okay, so Holly was someone who was in danger. Maybe dying.
“The trade is simple. I get Holly back if I turn over Elise.” Gray swallowed. His gaze found hers. “I’m sorry, but she’s my world.”
He was going to shoot her. Elise was sure of it. “Please—”
Harrison shoved her behind him again. “You don’t beg anyone for anything.” His voice was a snarl.
Something brushed against her bare foot. She looked down. Saw a spider. Not the big, plump spider she’d put under the covers.
A small, black spider. One. Two. Three…
Uh, oh. A whole lot of spiders.
Someone’s power must have gotten stronger. Someone had been practicing while she’d been gone. She was both proud…and afraid.
“You are not taking Elise.”
Her head whipped up at that dangerous rumble. Harrison was a giant, angry wall in front of her. Was the air heating up? She rather thought it was. His shoulders were stiff and his back ramrod straight as he added, “I’ll help you get Holly back, I swear it, but you aren’t putting Elise at risk.”
“Get out of the way, Harrison! I don’t want to shoot you!”
“And I don’t want to have to beat your ass, but if you try to take Elise from me, that’s exactly what will happen.”
His words made her feel all warm and tingly. Harrison wanted to protect her, and that was awesome except for—
“You won’t shoot Harrison!” Elise heard herself yell as a wild fury blasted inside of her. She didn’t even realize she’d moved her hand in the fast motion to signal an attack until the spiders swarmed. They rushed around Harrison and went straight for their target. Not just a few spiders. Hundreds of them.
“What in the hell?” Yes, Harrison sounded shocked.
Gray was busy yelling and swiping at the spiders.
“Stop it!” Harrison ordered. “You’ll have all the humans in the hotel rushing up here! Dammit, these walls had better be thick.” He lunged forward.
When he moved, she saw that the spiders were rushing up Gray’s body. He’d dropped his gun and was swatting at the spiders with his hands. “Stop, stop, stop!” Gray yelled at them. “My daughter, I have to get my—”
Daughter? Curious, Elise raised her hand and spread out her fingers. “Stop.”
The spiders immediately retreated. They raced back across the room, searching desperately for shadows. She backed up, turned off a lamp, and let them go.
Gray’s gun was near his foot. Harrison scooped it up and aimed the weapon at his friend.
“What just happened here?” Gray’s eyes were huge. “Where the hell did those spiders come from?”
You don’t want to know. “This hotel obviously has a spider problem.” Elise cocked her head as she studied him. “Someone should complain to the manager. Personally, I think I’d like a new room.”
A low, rumbling growl broke from Harrison. It was the only warning she had before he attacked. One second, he was growling, and in the next instant, he’d shoved Gray against the nearby wall. Shoved him so hard that she was pretty sure Gray’s head had dented the sheetrock. Harrison lodged one forearm under Gray’s chin, pressing hard to his neck, and with his other hand, he put the gun to Gray’s head.
Hold up. He was going to kill the other hunter? “Uh, Harrison,” she began.
“He would have shot you. He was going to shoot you.”
“It’s…m-my d-daughter…” Gray gasped. His face was purpling. “H-have t-to save…”
“You didn’t care about Elise’s life.” Harrison’s fury filled the suite. “I had already told you that I’d help you to get your girl back. We’ve handled monsters before, we can handle whoever the hell has your kid.”
A kid. Her heart did a funny flip. “How old is this girl, this Holly?”
“S-seven…” Gray barely managed to say.
All right. That particular shade of purple was not flattering on anyone. She hurried forward and reached out a hand to tentatively touch Harrison’s shoulder. Wow. He was so hot he was practically burning her. She snatched her hand back. “Let him go, Harrison.”
He didn’t let Gray go.
She cleared her throat and tried tapping his shoulder again. “Let the not-so-nice hunter go, Harrison.”
Still no change. She was pretty sure that if she didn’t stop Harrison, Gray would lose consciousness soon.
So Elise slipped between their bodies. Not a whole lot of room there, but she managed to wiggle up between them. Her back pressed to Gray’s chest while her front slid against Harrison’s rock-hard body. He’d forgotten to put on a shirt. Yum. Well, normally yum. For the moment, though… “Hi, there.” She smiled at him.
His gaze flickered over her face. No flames were in his eyes, just ice-cold, deadly rage.
Elise kept her voice gentle as she informed him, in case he didn’t realize it, “You’re killing your hunter friend.”
“He was going to kill you.” A low, savage declaration. “No one hurts you.”
She smiled at him. “I love this protectiveness. It’s the sexiest thing I’ve seen in ages, but we all need to take a breath here.” Elise heard gurgles behind her. “Like, really, I think Gray needs a breath or he’s going to pass out and die.”
Harrison’s gaze dropped to her mouth. “Why are you defending him?”
Why the hell was she defending him? If Harrison snapped and killed the other hunter, wasn’t that good for her? Another point for team bring-out-his-wicked-ways? Only…Elise stared into his eyes and tried to figure out what she really wanted, and she realized it wasn’t for Harrison to lose himself to the darkness he carried inside. “He’s your friend.”
Harrison’s eyes flickered.
“And he needs you.” Actually… “He needs us. Someone took his little girl. One of those jerks who’s been after me. Gray is desperate and he’s scared and when people feel that way, they can make bad choices.”
“He was going to shoot you. That’s not a bad choice. That’s asking for death.”
“It’s his daughter. He loves her. He wants to keep her safe. Don’t you understand how he feels? Haven’t you ever loved anyone?” No, no, she had not meant to ask that.
“No, I’ve never loved anyone, and I don’t think I fucking ever will.”
Huh. Wasn’t that a cold blade to her heart?
But at least Harrison stepped back. He let Gray breathe. And he even dropped the weapon onto the bed. Lots of wins.
“Th-thank you,” a hoarse whisper from Gray.
She spun to stare at him. “I don’t like you.”
He flinched.
“Normally, I’d want you dead at my feet.” Total truth. “But there is more to you than I thought. Your daughter is out there, and you need me to get her back.”
A weak nod. “Need you…” He sucked in a
breath. “Alive or dead. Doesn’t m-matter which.”
A deep, angry snarl came from Harrison. Low and deadly enough to have goosebumps rising on her arms. For the moment, she ignored him. She didn’t exactly want to face Mr. I’ll Never Love You. Not like she loved him, either. But still.
Still.
Elise tried to consider the situation. “I’m guessing whoever took your daughter gave you a place for the exchange?”
Another one of those weak, bobbing nods. “Colonial Park Cemetery.”
She had no idea where that place was, but Elise figured finding it wouldn’t be that hard. Not with all the helpful technology humans had at their fingertips. She’d grab a phone and have the address in seconds. “Who took her? Vamps? More werewolves?”
He didn’t nod this time. He gave a slow, rolling shake of his head. “L-looked like Vikings.”
“Say that again?” Had he been denied too much oxygen?
“Tall. Blond. Wearing all black.” He motioned to the side of his head. “Wore long braids right here.” A shudder. “And their eyes were pitch black.”
Oh, crap. Crap, crap. “How long do you have to deliver me?”
“An hour.”
She lunged away and started grabbing clothes. “We need to move. Now. If we’re even a minute late, your daughter is dead.”
“Y-you know who they are.” Gray’s voice was stronger.
She didn’t bother replying. Mostly because, yes, unfortunately, she did know who they were, and this was so bad. A million times bad. But she could handle this. She could save the girl.
Hopefully. Maybe.
“Get the hell out of here,” Harrison suddenly bellowed.
Her head whipped around just as he threw Gray out of the bedroom. Then he slammed the door and flipped the lock.
Gray pounded against the door. “My daughter!”
Harrison had focused his stare on Elise. What a very, very angry stare it was.
“We’ll get your daughter!” Elise called out. “Give us a minute!”
Harrison stood right in front of her. He seemed to suck all of the light from the room. So many shadows dipped and swirled around him. She shivered even before he said—
“You’ve lied to me.”
Elise shook her head. “Never. Not once.”
He smiled, and it was chilling. She almost backed up. Almost. Then she remembered who she was and that she should retreat from no one. Her chin lifted as she held his gaze.
His eyes were so cold as he told her, “You will not die for Gray.”
“I’m not planning on dying. I just want to help the hunter’s daughter.” Words she’d never expected to say. Not in a million years.
“Why?”
Her mind went blank and it took her a moment to say… “Because she needs me.”
His eyes narrowed.
“She was taken because of me. She had no control. No choice in this matter.” Elise wet lips that felt too dry. “Children shouldn’t be hurt.”
His hand lifted.
She flinched.
And something happened—his face hardened with such fury…
Oh, no. What did I—
“You flinch at my touch?”
“I—”
“You flinch as if you expect me to hit you?”
She didn’t say a word, but her eyes must have given her away.
“Someone fucking hit you.”
Elise forced down the lump in her throat. “It was a long time ago.”
“I will kill him.”
“Too late. He’s already dead.”
“Good.”
She couldn’t look away from his gaze. She also couldn’t speak.
“I will not hurt you. How many times do I have to make that promise?”
He didn’t know the truth she was keeping from him. When he did, would he still want to protect her? Or would she become just another one of the monsters he wanted to destroy?
His knuckles slid over her cheek. “I’ll break your curse, and I’ll kill any beast who comes for you.”
Of course. Beasts. Monsters. He thought he had to kill them. She would not let her tears fall. “Let’s go get the girl. If we’re late, she’s dead.” She backed away from him. Searched for clothes. There. She could wear—
“We will talk about the spiders.”
She didn’t look at him. “I don’t see any spiders.”
“We’ll talk about them and everything else you don’t want me to know. We will talk, my Elise.”
Sure. “After we get the girl.” She glanced over her shoulder.
He nodded. “After, and then, every secret you have will be mine.”
He stormed out.
She released the breath she’d been holding. A big, fat spider ran across the floor. “I am so screwed.”
***
Gray stood in front of the fireplace. His shoulders were hunched and his head bowed forward. Harrison marched toward him. Gray heard him coming and spun around. “Harrison, look, I—”
Harrison drove his fist into Gray’s jaw. Gray staggered back. Harrison grabbed Gray’s shirt and fisted his hand in the material as he jerked Gray toward him. “If you ever aim a gun at her again, you’re dead.”
Gray’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “It’s…my daughter. I didn’t have a choice.”
“Yeah, you did. I had already told you that I’d get Holly back. But you went in there after Elise. You aimed your gun at her. You were going to shoot.”
Gray didn’t speak.
“We get your daughter back and I don’t ever see you again.” Rage burned so hotly that Harrison swore he could taste ash on his tongue.
Gray’s face blanched with terror.
Harrison let him go.
“What are you?” Gray’s expression was stunned.
Harrison frowned at the dumbass. “I’m the man you just made into an enemy. I’m also the man who is going to save your daughter. For the record, you’re fucking welcome.”
Gray blinked. Appeared confused. “Your eyes…I thought…”
The suite’s bedroom door opened. Elise had changed—she wasn’t wearing his t-shirt any longer. She’d put on some of the fresh clothes she’d bought earlier, down in the hotel’s boutique. Designer jeans that fit her like a second skin, black boots that hit just below her knees, and a filmy, blue top that dipped low to reveal the swell of her perfect breasts. Her thick, golden hair slid over her shoulders. Her dark eyes held a thousand secrets, and her blood-red lips curved in a smile. “I’m ready.”
He wasn’t. Harrison stalked toward her. The bastards holding little Holly only cared about one thing. He stared into Elise’s eyes. “You don’t die.”
Her head tilted as she studied him. “Be careful, or you’re going to make me think you care.”
He…
“Don’t worry,” Elise continued breezily, as if they weren’t off to confront who the hell knew what. “I don’t plan on dying. We’ll get the girl, save the day, and vanquish the bad guys. I mean, isn’t that what hunters do?”
“You’re not a hunter.”
“And neither are—” She stopped. Cleared her throat.
What had she been about to say? His stomach twisted, and deep inside, a voice whispered…You know.
“The things we’re after…” Elise nodded. “I’ve seen them before. They like shadows. Dark places.”
Gray bounded forward. “That’s where I saw them. In the shadows. They were waiting in the hotel’s parking garage. And Cassie told me they grabbed her when she was walking home through the park with Holly. The trees are thick, and there are plenty of shadows. She never saw them coming.”
“Who’s Cassie?” Elise asked, voice soft.
“My wife.” Gray shook his head. “Ex-wife. After those freaks vanished—like, the SOBs literally vanished in front of me—I sent her home, called Razor and told him to guard her until I was back at her side.” A determined nod. “Back with Holly.”
Elise seemed to consider his words. �
�It’s good that she’s not here. I would hate for Cassie to die in the crossfire.”
Gray’s mouth dropped. After a moment, he snapped his lips closed. He paled and finally said, “Yeah, we’d all hate that.”
Elise walked toward him. She lifted her hands.
Gray’s nervous gaze darted over her. “Are you about to punch me, too?”
“I did notice the bruises you’re sporting.” Her stare darted to Harrison.
He shrugged. “He aimed a gun at you. He’s lucky I didn’t break every bone in his body.”
“It’s hot when you get all protective.” She winked at him, then faced Gray once more. She still had her hands up, and Elise wiggled her fingers at him. “You’re going to need to cuff me. Or tie my hands together. Or, you know, do some kind of bondage thing.” A shrug. “Then you can take me to the cemetery and they won’t suspect that you’re betraying them. You give them me, you get your daughter, then you run with her.”
Harrison didn’t like where this was going. Suspicion settled heavily around him. “Seems like you already have a plan in place.”
She slanted him a quick glance. All confidence. “I do.”
He waited. She didn’t share more. Of course, she didn’t share more. She never did what he expected. He tapped his foot. Sighed.
Her head angled toward him as her smile bloomed. “You’re my plan.”
Harrison lifted one eyebrow.
“You promised to protect me.”
He had. He would.
“So when the bad guys get their hands on me, let’s just see how protective you can be.” Her smile slipped away. “These bastards—if they are who I think they are—like I said, I’ve encountered them before. Iron won’t work against them, so don’t even try it.”
Gray ran a hand through his hair. “What does work? Holy water? Are they some kind of demon?”
She shook her head. “No, holy water doesn’t work, either.”
Iron hadn’t worked on Elise. Neither had holy water. He’d tested her again and again, and she’d passed those tests.
Harrison still held Gray’s gun. “What about silver? Will silver bullets stop them?”
“Silver will sting, and it can slow them down. That slow down helps. Silver can wound them but to kill them, you’ll need to take their hearts.”