Dark Survivor Echoes of Love

by I. T. Lucas

  Dark Survivor Echoes of Love

  The Children of the Gods Book 21

  I. T. Lucas

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  The Children of the Gods

  THE CHILDREN OF THE GODS

  Annani’s Story

  Goddess’s Choice

  Kian & Syssi’s story

  1: Dark Stranger The Dream

  2: Dark Stranger Revealed

  3: Dark Stranger Immortal

  Dark Stranger Trilogy + Goddess part 1

  Amanda’s story

  4: Dark Enemy Taken

  5: Dark Enemy Captive

  6: Dark Enemy Redeemed

  Kri & Michael’s Story

  6.5: My Dark Amazon Novella

  Andrew’s Story

  7: Dark Warrior Mine

  8: Dark Warrior’s Promise

  9: Dark Warrior’s Destiny

  10: Dark Warrior’s Legacy

  Bhathian & Eva’s Story

  11: Dark Guardian Found

  12: Dark Guardian Craved

  13: Dark Guardian’s Mate

  Brundar & Calypso's Story

  14: Dark Angel's Obsession

  15: Dark Angel's Seduction

  16: Dark Angel's Surrender

  Turner' Story

  17: Dark Operative: A Shadow of Death

  18: Dark Operative: A Glimmer of Hope

  19: Dark Operative: The Dawn of Love

  Anandur’s Story

  20: Dark Survivor Awakened

  21: Dark Survivor Echoes of Love

  22: Dark Survivor Reunited

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  Copyright © 2018 by I. T. Lucas

  All rights reserved.

  Dark Survivor Echoes of Love is a work of fiction!

  Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any similarity to actual persons, organizations and/or events is purely coincidental.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  1. Grud

  2. Anandur

  3. Wonder

  4. Grud

  5. Wonder

  6. Anandur

  7. Magnus

  8. Wonder

  9. Anandur

  10. Wonder

  11. Anandur

  12. Wonder

  13. Grud

  14. Magnus

  15. Anandur

  16. Wonder

  17. Ruth

  18. Nick

  19. Ruth

  20. Anandur

  21. Wonder

  22. Grud

  23. Magnus

  24. Losham

  25. Magnus

  26. Wonder

  27. Magnus

  28. Anandur

  29. Wonder

  30. Anandur

  31. Nick

  32. Anandur

  33. Kian

  34. Syssi

  35. Wonder

  36. Anandur

  37. Wonder

  38. Anandur

  39. Wonder

  40. Syssi

  41. Kian

  42. Ruth

  43. Anandur

  44. Wonder

  45. Ruth

  46. Kian

  47. Magnus

  48. Anandur

  49. Wonder

  50. Anandur

  51. wonder

  52. Anandur

  53. Losham

  54. Anandur

  55. Wonder

  56. Anandur

  57. Ruth

  58. Nick

  59. Wonder

  60. Anandur

  61. Wonder

  Also by I. T. Lucas

  Sneak Peek at my next book

  Acknowledgments

  1

  Grud

  Hunched low, Grud crept from one shaded spot to the next while listening for signs of pursuit, or any sounds at all for that matter.

  But other than the occasional vehicle traveling up or down the road bordering the industrial park, there was nothing. It was as if the entire area was deserted.

  Except, he knew it wasn’t true.

  He was there, and so were the four immortals inside the facility he’d just escaped from—the woman, Dur, Shaveh, and Mordan.

  There was also the driver of the car parked outside the building. Grud still hadn’t heard the car door opening, nor had he heard the engine turning on, which meant that the driver was just sitting there.

  Doing what?

  Grud’s best bet was that the guy was waiting for reinforcements, either human police or Guardians. There was always the possibility that the driver was talking on the phone or doing something else that had nothing to do with him or the other immortals inside the building. Except, Grud’s gut knew better.

  Experience had taught him that ignoring its warning signs was a bad idea. Besides, it was always better to err on the side of caution.

  His general direction was north, where he could see the hill with the residential neighborhood. Getting there on foot would take him no more than an hour of brisk walking, but getting his hands on an escape vehicle would be preferable.

  The faster he got out of the area, the better.

  An opportunity presented itself as soon as he rounded the corner of the next warehouse over.

  The gardener’s truck pulling into a parking spot in front of the building’s manicured front lawn was an old, beat-up clunker, but it was there, and Grud didn’t get a bad vibe from its driver like he had from the other one.

  Crouching even lower, Grud tightened his grip on the iron rod that had served as his escape tool and was now doing double duty as a weapon, and sprinted toward the truck. Opening the door, he yanked the driver out, and before the guy had a chance to open his mouth, brought the rod down on the back of his skull.

  With no time to hide the unconscious human, Grud dragged him to a half-shaded spot under the low bushes bordering the grassy lawn. Quickly going through the guy’s pockets, he found a phone and a wallet. Regrettably, the thing held only a few dollars and no credit cards.

  Not a big deal, anyway he had no intention of keeping any of it. As soon as he got to the residential neighborhood, he was going to dump the truck together with the phone and the wallet and get himself something better.

  Casting one last look at the human lying crumpled under the bushes, Grud climbed inside the cabin, turned the ignition on, pulled the truck out of the driveway, and turned north toward the hill.

  Except, a mile or so up the road he changed his mind and turned around.

  If he left now without checking what was going on, he would always think that he’d missed an opportunity.

  A quick drive by the facility should do.

  If the car was still there, he would keep on driving and then come back later. But if it were gone, Grud could continue with his original plan, although he would probably need to make some adjustments.

  He could get back inside the facility and listen from a safe distance to what Wonder and Dur were doing. As long as the woman had her Taser on, he couldn't get close enough to incapacitate her or kill Dur. But if he was lucky, the two had been done with the talking and had gotten busy fucking.

  It was certainly worth a quick investigation, and the risk was low. Unless they’d already found out that he’d escaped. Then the risk was too high.

  Fuck, the car was still there.

  Grud kept o
n driving, made a U-turn at the nearest intersection, and headed north once again.

  He hadn’t expected the sense of loss that had twisted his gut in a tight knot. Up until then, he’d hung on to a small hope that the woman could still be his. But it seemed like this opportunity was lost to him forever.

  Or maybe not. Should he turn around and make another pass through?

  Searching for other possible explanations for why the car was still there, he remembered seeing the for sale sign outside the facility. Maybe the guy was a realtor taking a look at the property?

  If that was the case, he would be gone soon, and Grud could go back.

  The twisting in his gut was getting worse the further away from the woman he got, and eventually Grud pulled to the side of the road and killed the engine.

  He needed to think.

  It was hard to decide how long to wait before going back. Too soon and the realtor, if that’s who he was, might still be there. Too long and Wonder would be done with Dur, return him to his cage, and discover that Grud was gone.

  Fifteen long minutes was the most he managed to force himself to wait before turning the ignition on and once more turning around.

  What he saw when he got there nearly made him shit his pants.

  Five more cars were parked in front of the building, and Shaveh and Mordan were being led out in handcuffs.

  Whether they were being taken away by the police or by Guardians, Grud would probably never know. He didn’t even slow down.

  If those were Guardians, Wonder was lost to him forever, and his best bet was to get out of there as fast as he could.

  But what if those males were human policemen?

  He was pretty sure Wonder had been using the place illegally. The police would arrest her as well.

  Shaveh and Mordan might be too nervous to thrall the humans, but they would be allowed to make a phone call, and they would call their commander. A rescue team would arrive at the police station and free them. If Wonder got arrested too, they would take her as well.

  No one was stupid enough to leave an immortal female behind.

  But if the Brotherhood took her, she would no doubt become the property of Lord Navuh. Simple soldiers didn’t get to fuck immortal or Dormant females.

  Grud’s only hope was that she’d managed to escape. If she had, he could find her in the club she worked at. The name was printed on the T-shirts she always wore. And even if she quit that job, he could follow her trail.

  The problem was that Shaveh and Mordan had seen those T-shirts too.

  They would probably try to hide the humiliating fact that they’d been taken by a female, so there was a chance they wouldn’t tell anyone about her. But they might go after her themselves.

  And then there was Dur.

  If he were captured with them, the son of a bitch would sing like a canary, making up a story of how he’d allowed himself to get caught on purpose to investigate her. And if he escaped with Wonder, he would claim her for himself.

  Still, Dur could be taken out.

  First things first, though. Grud needed to get away and lay low until he could figure out his next step.

  2

  Anandur

  “Welcome to my home away from home.” Anandur punched the numbers into the keypad and pushed the door open, peeking inside before pulling it all the way to let Wonder in.

  Thank the Fates, the place was presentable. He was never again going to complain about the human cleaning service coming once a week and keeping the Guardians’ apartments from looking like pigsties.

  Walking inside, Wonder took a look around. “You have more than one place?”

  “This used to be the clan’s keep, but after everyone moved into the new village, most of it got rented out. We keep a few apartments for the Guardians who are on rotation here and are training in the basement.”

  Wonder didn’t move from the entry. “Should I take my shoes off? Everything looks spotless.”

  “No need. We have a cleaning service.” He took her by the elbow and led her to Magnus’s bathroom. “This one is my roomie’s, but since the service was here after we left for San Francisco, it’s all nice and tidy. You can take a shower, and I’ll bring you a T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants of mine.” Having a good excuse for it, he allowed himself a thorough look-over. “It’s good that you’re so tall. My stuff is still going to be too big on you, but at least you’re not going to drown in it.”

  Wonder blushed. “Yeah. I guess.”

  “What’s the matter?” He bent his knees a little so he could look into her green eyes. “What’s bothering you, lass?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t like reminders about my size. I know I’m big for a woman.”

  “What? Who told you such nonsense? You’re perfect.” He waved a hand over her body. “You’re tall, not huge. And I happen to like women who don’t need to crank their necks way up to look into my eyes.” He flexed his pectorals, each one separately so they did a little dance. “Most women see only this. I know my muscles are awesome, but I have pretty eyes too.” He pretended to pout.

  Wonder couldn’t help but chuckle. “And you’re not shy either.”

  “Nope. I know that I’m gorgeous, and I own it,” Anandur said in his best valley-girl impersonation while batting his eyelashes. “Now off with you, girlfriend.” He snapped his fingers.

  With one hand on his hip, he kept on snapping the fingers of the other. “Get in there and get cleaned up. I’m going to use the other bathroom, and when I’m done scrubbing the yuk off, I’m going to heat us up something yummy to eat.” He didn’t drop the act until he was done, wresting a few more smiles out of Wonder.

  All he had as far as food selection were frozen dinners, which were as far from yummy as it got, but after surviving on rice and beans even those were a huge improvement. Besides, saying yummy went well with his valley-girl persona.

  Damn, it felt good to slip into his old self again.

  Making people smile was what Anandur liked doing best. So yeah, he was an awesome fighter, but other Guardians were nearly as good, or better at one skill or another. However, there was no one better than him at spreading the cheer.

  Except, entertaining would be much more enjoyable while he was all cleaned up and wearing freshly laundered clothes that fit.

  Whistling a happy tune, Anandur walked into the bathroom, dropped the clothes he had on into the trash, and stepped into the shower. Cranking the temperature way up, he let the scorching water pelt him for a few moments before attacking the filth.

  All throughout the soaping and scrubbing, shampooing and conditioning, he kept on whistling one cheerful tune after the other. At first, he thought that his good mood was about finally getting rid of the filth, but then he had an ‘aha’ moment. It had nothing to do with getting clean and everything to do with getting into his old role and following a familiar pattern, one that had been dearly missed.

  Anandur had associated the unease he’d been feeling lately with all the recent changes the clan had undergone. But it wasn’t about the move to the village, or about renting out Amanda and Kian’s penthouses to humans, or even about all the new Guardians that had been added to the force.

  None of that had been the real issue.

  At the source of it was just one monumental change that had eclipsed all others.

  Brundar didn’t need him anymore.

  Up until now, Anandur had refused to acknowledge the big chunk missing from his life because doing so would have implied, at least in his own mind, that he wasn’t completely happy about his brother’s good fortune, which was absurd. But the truth was that without having to take care of Brundar and ensuring that his brother was doing okay, Anandur felt lost.

  Except, what did it mean?

  Was he taking Wonder on as his new project?

  Was she an honorary little sister to take Brundar’s place?

  The girl was so alone, and she needed a protector, maybe not in the physical sense, but in eve
ry other.

  She had no one but him to look after her. It was the same as it had been with Brundar, and it felt damn good to be needed again.

  After what had happened to Brundar as a boy, his brother had grown into a formidable warrior and didn’t require Anandur’s muscle for protection. But even though he would never admit it, Brundar had needed Anandur to keep him among the living in the metaphysical sense.

  The dark abyss that constantly threatened to swallow Brundar up had never been far off. It had lurked in lonely moments of isolation and in the cold space that Brundar called the zone.

  The only one standing between its destructive allure and Brundar’s sanity had been Anandur, with his jokes and his smiles and the company of people who gravitated toward him because he was the clown who was cheering everyone up.

  Anandur had made sure that Brundar was never alone with his demons for long enough to succumb to them.

  But then Callie had taken Anandur’s place and put him out of a job.

  Except, it wasn’t really the same with Wonder, not by a long shot.

  As much as Anandur would have liked to believe that he was taking her under his wing as a little sister, he knew it for the big fat lie that it was.