Tre reached out and rubbed a hand over Nic’s spiky hair, which did absolutely nothing to the short, purple-tipped strands. “Hey, brat. It’s good to see you home in one piece. You scared the shit out of me, by the way. Although I think after all this is done, you and I have some things to hash out, like why in hell you never told me about you and dickwad here.” Tre tilted his head in Michael’s direction.
Nic laughed and slid easily into Tre’s arms, giving him a tight hug, to Michael’s obvious torment. She stepped back and reached for Alex’s hand as well. “It’s a date, hot stuff, and bring your lady friend. I’ll even make some special cupcakes for the occasion.”
She sobered and squeezed his hand. “Thank you, Tre. All of you. I’m not afraid to admit I was starting to get a little worried that I might not make it out of there, right before Michael burst through the door and pulled me out. Definitely some scary shit.”
Michael quickly moved to Nic and pulled her back to his chest. Tre watched as Nic placed her arms over Michael’s, which were wrapped tightly around her middle. Yeah, definitely been going on a hell of lot longer than I realized. Damn, I’m losing my touch.
Dev rapped his knuckles on the desk, bringing everyone’s attention back to the urgent topic at hand. “Warriors, time to weapon up and head out. Sean, I want you to stay here at the house with Nic, Thea and Alex. The rest of us are headin’ to the compounds at Big Mar Lake to see what we can find and destroy the place—quietly, of course.”
“Wait, where’s Isla?” Tre asked, only now noticing her absence.
Dev stepped from behind his desk while strapping a long blade to his back holster. “She’s already headed back to Germany, intent on starting the search for the Valta hybrids Alex told us about.”
Sean moved to the center of the room, shoulders back, chin up. “Dev, you need all the men you can get on this. I may not be able to shift yet but I can hold my own in hand-to-hand and I can help the team.”
Dev stepped forward and addressed Sean. “It’s obvious Luca knows his sister is with us. He doesn’t know of our location so I’m confident there won’t be any trouble while we’re gone, but we can’t leave the women here unprotected. You’re not fully trained yet as a warrior but I trust your skills enough to protect what’s most precious to us—our women. And if you’ve learned anything about your Coteri heritage yet, then you should know what a great task I’m askin’ of you.”
Sean nodded but still looked unconvinced.
Tre turned to Alex and brought her close. “You’ll stay here with Nic and Thea until I return. You’ll be safe with Sean.”
She nodded in acquiescence.
He slid his hands down to her backside and pulled her flush against his groin as his head lowered and his lips caressed her ear. “I’m sorry about before, baby. The whole Neanderthal thing. No guarantees, but I promise I’ll try to work on that a little.”
He nipped her lobe before pulling back to meet her gaze. She smiled up at him, all apparently forgiven, and just that fast his dick turned to iron. “Just remember, we have a date to finish what we started earlier tonight, sugar. And I’m damn sure going to collect.” He closed his mouth over hers in a blazing kiss.
Cat calls and whistles filled the room as Tre presented his middle finger to his team behind Alex’s back. Assholes. But he was smiling as he left the room.
* * * * *
Two hours later Alex, Nic and Thea sat on the thick plush rug in the common room of the third floor, sharing a bevy of fattening snacks and drinks, gossiping like long-lost friends.
“So, sis, making any headway with your heavy-hangin’ GQ boss yet?” Nic asked as she popped a cheese fry in her mouth. “It’s been like, what…three years now? Please tell me one of you has made a move already.”
Alex watched Thea duck her chin as her porcelain skin turned three shades of red. Nic laughed loudly. “Ah-ha! I knew it! Okay, woman—spill. I need details.”
Thea lifted her chin and sent a glare at her younger sister that only a family member could get away with before she schooled her expression and a frown touched her lips. She took another long drink of her strawberry margarita. “There’s been progress, but to be honest I still feel hesitation within him. I practically threw myself at him and he kissed me senseless but then he put on the brakes. I think he’s afraid he’ll hurt me or some such nonsense.” Thea sighed and took another drink. “Or hell, maybe he just doesn’t really want me as much as I want him.”
Nic groaned and took a long pull from her beer. “Sis, look at me. From what Michael has told me, Dev has had the hots for you since day one. All his men have noticed. You just need to pull out the big guns, girl. Use your assets to the fullest and make it so he can’t say no.” She shrugged. “Besides, that’s what I did with Michael and look how that turned out.”
Alex sucked in a startled breath as Nic pulled the collar of her thin shirt down her shoulder to show a mating mark. Alex resisted the urge to move her hand to her own mark, its presence burning a hole through the light summer sweater she’d changed into after the men had left.
“What the fuck is that?” Thea exploded. “Michael did that to you and you let him? Are you insane?” Thea jumped to her feet, her earlier blush now hidden by her rage.
“Thea, sit back down here. You don’t understand and you need to, especially if you’re serious about pursuing a relationship with Dev. This mark is part of Michael’s Coteri heritage. It’s a symbol that one mate gives to another. And by mate, I don’t mean the fifty percent divorce rate type humans experience—I mean for life.”
Nic refilled her sister’s glass and handed it to her, clearly taking note of Thea’s stunned expression and surmising that her sister definitely needed more alcohol for this conversation.
“He’s it for me, Thea, and I love him with everything that I am and he loves me. This mark is a symbol of our bond so all who see it will know I belong to him just as he belongs to me.” Nic drained her beer before tossing it across the room into the trash bin. “Score!” she shouted.
Thea stared at her sister in dazed silence, then turned to Alex. “Is this true? Is this what Coteri men do to show their love and devotion to their women?”
Now it was Alex’s turn to blush. She didn’t even realize her left hand had moved up to her right shoulder and caressed Tre’s mark. “Holy shit!” Nic exclaimed. “Let me see it, girlfriend.”
Alex started, then glanced between Nic and Thea. Oh, hell. She guessed there was no hiding it now. She pulled the material from her shoulder.
Nic shot up from the rug and ran to Alex, throwing her arms around her neck in a spirited hug. “Welcome to the club, girlfriend. I’m so happy for Tre, and for you too, Alex. I know I teased him earlier but you really should have seen him after you left him high and dry all those months ago. He was absolutely miserable! And no amount of sweet confectionary I fed him was going to pull him out of his funk, so I just knew you were the one.”
Alex hugged the tiny woman back and couldn’t help the grin that spread across her lips. She looked over at Thea, who offered her congratulations as well but still looked too somber for Alex’s liking.
She reached out and clasped Thea’s hand. “I don’t know Dev well, Thea, but in the short time I’ve been here I’ve seen the way he reacts whenever your name is mentioned. He’s definitely interested, so don’t give up hope.”
Thea smiled and took another drink. Well, more like a gulp. “That’s it,” she declared as she set her empty Solo cup in front of her. “When Dev comes back tonight he’s gonna be in for the surprise of his life, and if he doesn’t deliver or chickens out, I’m gonna tie him to his bed, have my wicked way with him, then walk away and never look back. I’m tired of waiting on that damn man…Coteri…whatever.”
“Atta girl, sis.” Nic cheered. “But seriously? You’re gonna tie him to the bed? I really don’t think I needed to know that. The visual alone…just, ew.”
They all burst into hysterical laughter as Sean walk
ed into the room. “You ladies need anything else? I’m going to run downstairs and make sure all the doors and windows are locked up tight, then I’ll be right back.”
Nic popped the top off another beer and held it up in salute. “We’re good, Doc Sean.”
Sean smiled as he shook his head and descended the stairs to the first floor.
Alex lay on her side with her head propped in her hand, completely enjoying the company of these fabulous women. She’d never had many friends, given how her mother had isolated her, and for the first time in her life she was having a good time with friends of her own.
A warm breeze blew the strands of Alex’s hair and she turned her gaze to the open balcony doors in Dev’s office. She was sure they had been closed and locked before the men had left, yet the filmy sheers billowed in the breeze. Alex froze as she noticed a figure outlined behind the curtains and her blood ran cold.
Luca.
She didn’t hesitate as she jumped to her feet and pulled Nic and Thea up by their wrists and dragged them across the hall into Dev’s personal quarters. “Call Dev now and lock this door behind me. Don’t open it for anyone other than Dev, do you hear me?” Alex shouted as she slammed the door in her two new friends’ stunned faces. She waited until she heard the lock click. She crossed through the common room and dashed down the stairs, heading straight for Tre’s room, which was on the other side of the building. Her plan was to make it to his balcony, then shift and fly to find Tre and his team at the Scarlett Plantation.
She made quick time to Tre’s room. She was out of breath when she pushed through the door and continued out to his balcony. She didn’t hesitate before she shifted into her owl form and took to the sky, determined to protect her friends. Without warning, razor-sharp pain shot through her shoulders as spiked talons ripped through her flesh. She struggled to free herself from the hold but quickly lost the battle as a piercing pain flooded her body.
Alex’s wings felt heavy as she struggled against the blackness clouding her vision, no doubt due to the blood loss she was experiencing. The pain in her shoulders was immense as she was carried farther away from her home, from her friends, from Tre. She continued to fight the strong grasp but her struggles only worsened her wounds and amplified the pain. In the end she didn’t have the strength and simply let the darkness take her.
Chapter Twenty-One
Tre, Dev and the rest of the team burst through the front doors of the Royal house and charged up the stairs. They stuttered to a stop when they saw Sean sitting on the top step of the third floor landing with his head in his hands. He lifted his head to meet their gaze.
“I watched, helpless, as he fucking carried her off and I couldn’t do a goddamn thing about it because I couldn’t shift!” Sean pounded his fist into the marble floor, leaving a bloody mark with the force of the blow.
Tre pulled the man to his feet by the front of his shirt. “Who got carried off, Sean?” he asked through gritted teeth, although he already knew the answer.
Sean’s ice-blue eyes stared intently back at Tre, his guilt clearly overwhelming. “Alex, man. I’m so sorry but the bastard took Alex.”
Tre pushed Sean away with a force that sent him sliding across the room. He threw his head back and roared in anger and agony as he felt a pain in his chest unlike any he’d ever known. He moved to the balcony in Dev’s office and threw open the doors. Without a word or a look back he shifted and flew into the sky, quickly disappearing in the darkness.
* * * * *
With the rest of the team in his office, Dev and Michael went to his private quarters where Sean had told him the women had locked themselves away. Dev knocked softly on the door. “Thea, Nic? It’s Dev. Open the door.”
After several heartbeats and a fumbling sound with the lock, the door flew open and Dev watched as Nic launched herself into Michael’s arms and he quickly carried her away. His beautiful Thea, however, stood back and looked hesitant. The stunning violet eyes he normally got lost in had lost their brightness. She was scared, she looked lost, and he hadn’t been there to protect her. Dev simply opened his arms and prayed she would come to him. He held his breath at her look of uncertainty, then the air in his lungs expelled in joyous release as she molded herself to him, her hold desperate.
“Thea, darlin’. I’m here now, bébé’. I’m here. You did the right thing in calling me and I got here as fast as I could.” Dev heard her muffled sob against his chest as he gently swayed with her in his arms. He stroked her hair, her back, touching anything he could to reassure himself that she was truly safe.
Thea pulled away, but not completely out of his hold. Her tortured gaze met his. “She saved us, Devereux. Alex risked herself to get us locked away from danger at the cost of her own safety.” Tears pooled in her eyes and his heart nearly broke at the sight. “You’re going to find her, right? You’re going to bring her back and make sure she’s safe?”
Dev pulled Thea back within the safety of his arms, determined not to let her go. “We’ll find her, love. I promise you—we’ll find her and bring her home.”
After several minutes, Dev led Thea into his office where his men awaited them. It wasn’t his preference to have Thea present for this discussion but he couldn’t bear to not have her by his side. When they entered, he found Michael had the same idea, as Nic was sitting on his lap, his arms securely around her slight form.
Dev set Thea down gently in the corner of the sofa, pulling a light throw cover across her legs. Not giving a shit anymore what his men thought, he leaned down and brushed his lips gently across hers. “You’re staying with me, darlin’, so make yourself comfortable.”
He straightened and turned to address his men. “Okay, what do we know and what’s our next move?”
“The only thing that makes sense is that we were somehow followed by one of the Valta when we returned from scouting.” Jude shook his head. “It’s the only way they could have known of this location.”
“Shit,” Seth seethed. “The fuckers probably set up the whole damn thing, knowing we’d hit the levee location in full force. Assholes just waited for us all to leave before they saw their opening and took it.”
Michael stood and moved Nic’s cradled form over to the sofa with her sister. He brushed her cheek before turning to his general. “Look, Dev, I know what I have to say isn’t going to be popular, as everyone here seems to be drinking the Kool-Aid, but may I remind you that Samantha Peterson had us all fooled in Washington? She played the victim and she played her part well. She even had Talon fooled, which we all know is nearly impossible to do. And in the process, the bitch nearly got me killed as well as Chloe.”
He paced to the far wall before turning back. “I for one refuse to be that stupid or naïve ever again. Alex was raised Valta—she’s the fucking daughter of Valencia and sister of Luca, no less. And we’re just supposed to believe she’s turned her back on her entire upbringing, her beliefs and her family after a conversation with you and Isla and a quick fuck with Tre?” Michael sighed. “I just can’t go there, Dev. Not with Nic’s and the team’s safety at stake. Hell, for all we know Alex told them our location.”
A quiet voice filled the silence of the room as all eyes turned toward the sofa. “You’re wrong, Michael. He’s marked her.” Nic looked up and met Michael’s gaze. “Tre marked her and you don’t know what you’re talking about. Thea and I know her—she opened up to us tonight and it was clear she’d never had the opportunity to experience true friendship before and believe me, she cherished it and it was genuine. You know my abilities and I would have sensed any deception in her. There was none.”
Thea turned her head and looked at Dev. “It’s true, Devereaux. And I told you, Alex risked herself to ensure that Nic and I were safely locked away in your room and took the danger upon herself. She didn’t betray us.”
She turned her piercing gaze on Michael. “She’s not what you think. She’s good, she’s a victim in this fucked-up feud between the Coteri and the V
alta, and she’s our friend. So show her some goddamn respect.”
Dev was startled by Thea’s vehemence but then she locked her violet gaze on him again. “Now let’s figure out where Alex was taken and how we can get her back.”
Dev smiled at the strong woman before him, seeing a new side to her he’d never witnessed. Pride flooded his system at her fervent determination and his dick suddenly didn’t have much room in his pants. Oh hell yeah, this one was his and he was going to make damn sure to stake his claim.
A loud thump on the balcony drew everyone’s attention and the warriors drew their blades, ready for anything. The doors flew open and Tre stalked inside, sweat-soaked, his hair wild, mud caked on his hands and face. He was breathing heavily and his eyes held a fury Dev had never seen in the man before. Without saying a word or looking at anyone, Tre tracked through the room and headed down the stairs. A few silent seconds passed before Dev heard the heavy door slamming shut to Tre’s room.
“Shit,” Dev cursed as he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and punched in the number. It rang three times before the familiar voice answered. “We’ve got a situation. How soon can you get here?” Dev waited for the response before he spoke again. “Make it sooner.” He disconnected the call.
* * * * *
Alex lay on a bed of clouds. Her body ached but the downy softness enfolded her in comfort. She forced her eyes to open, the light streaming through the windows nearly blinding her. What time was it? Where was she? She tried to sit up and cried out at the pain that lanced through her shoulders.
“Easy there, little sister. Lie back and stay still. You’ve had a rough night.”
She recognized that voice, had heard it her entire life. She turned her head and looked into eyes that matched her own. “Luca,” she whispered.
He smiled and ran his hand gently over her hair, just as he had when she was young. Alex closed her eyes. She wanted to go back to that time, back to when she’d believed in him, loved him, trusted him. But she couldn’t go back because now she knew the truth and a piece of her heart broke with that knowledge. Alex opened her eyes and allowed one lone tear to fall down her cheek before she pulled her head back out of his reach.
Infinite Desire Page 17