Stealing Hope [Midnighter Seductions 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Corinne Davies

  He felt the pulses against his inner arm when Wolfe sent him the message to alert him that he was on his way. He started up the ATV and drove far enough away to ensure Hope thought he was gone and yet he’d still have an eye on her place. Parking behind a large outcropping of rocks, he grabbed a bag of supplies from under the seat and climbed up on the rocks and got comfortable.

  In the past months, they’d learned the Kimil here on Earth had changed, much as the natives had. This breed of Kimil was much more primal than those they fought in their own world. They’d reverted to an animalistic state and only thought of hunting and food. Rock and Jag had been concerned about the unclaimed Atans drawn to the portal’s energy. So far it seemed the Kimil didn’t notice them until the women had come in contact with a Midnighter. That triggered the latent energy in their bodies, which put them in danger because it attracted the Kimil like a moth to a flame. Only the newly awakened energy of an Atan was more like a bonfire.

  The twilight dwindled as darkness wrapped itself over the area. Falcon kept scanning the horizon watching for any threats and praying that the Kimil were squabbling in other areas. He’d seen lights turn on and off in Hope’s house and her shadow pass the large window, still hobbling as she had earlier. She needed to have that knee looked at, stubborn woman.

  A shadow caught Falcon’s attention. He sat very still and concentrated on a spot about five hundred feet behind the house. There. Another movement, black on black and unnoticeable unless you were watching for it. The creature moved like a large cat stalking its prey.

  It circled her house, pausing at the windows, and then leapt up onto the roof. There it looked as though it was trying to dig through the roof. Nice try. In a single practiced movement, Falcon stood up and raised his bow. Storm was the best of them with this weapon, but he’d discovered that he really liked it. With the discovery of pepper spray, they’d modified a few weapons to give them an advantage. Breathing out slowly, he aimed and let the bolt fly.

  A heartbeat later, Falcon worried his aim was off, but the creature suddenly reared up and fell back. An animalistic shriek echoed across the ground, letting him know he’d made the shot. Falcon squatted back down against the rock and waited.

  Sure enough, it didn’t take long before a couple more Kimil skulked out of the shadows after hearing the death cry of their competitor. Falcon slid the bolt into place and then stood up again, taking aim. A heavy weight slammed into his side, knocking him off his feet. He twisted his body and grabbed hold of the scaled body as they careened to the ground. A quick jerk twisted them and forced the Kimil to land first.

  The inertia bounced the creature out of Falcon’s grip when they hit the dusty ground, forcing the air out of his lungs. He didn’t have a chance to gasp a breath when the Kimil lunged for him again. Vicious-looking teeth inside a twisted muzzle snapped at his neck. Falcon grasped handfuls of his scaly fur, stopping it from tearing his neck out. He felt the Kimil’s claws drag down his forearms, leaving a fiery trail in their wake.

  The pain helped to snap him back into the fight. He rolled with the Kimil, tucking his legs up and forcing them against the creature’s body, flinging him away. The Kimil hit the dirt, twisting his body like a cat to charge at him again. Falcon stretched out his arm and snagged the bolt that had landed near him. The rushing Kimil didn’t have enough time to pause when Falcon lifted up the weapon. It impaled itself on the length, the pocket of capsicum in the tip exploding inside of its chest, making the Kimil melt away in a cloud of dust.

  “Falcon!” He heard the rumble of another ATV as Wolfe drove up next to him. He didn’t have the small vehicle completely stopped when another Kimil launched himself up. Falcon grabbed the animal by the back leg, shortening the leap and forcing the Kimil to the dirt. Wolfe leapt up and backhanded the creature with his fist before spraying it with the canister of pepper spray in his hand.

  “You okay?” Wolfe ran over to Falcon and stretched out his arm.

  “Scratches, some deeper than I’d like to admit. We’ve got to get Hope out of here now.” Falcon grabbed his hand and after Wolfe pulled him up they clasped each other’s elbows. The markings on their arms flared up with a golden light and Falcon felt a rush of energy flood his system, burning away the pain. The Kimil attacked again before Falcon could absorb much into his system.

  One Kimil launched himself at Wolfe’s arm, biting down hard on his arm and forcing him to let go of the canister in his hand. Wolfe clenched his teeth and drove his fingers straight for the creature’s eyes. Falcon balled up his fists and swung at the one who jumped at him. He caught the animal in the chest, forcing the animal to the ground. The moment its paws touched the ground it launched back up at him. These two must’ve fed on the energy of a large animal or human recently, because after a few hits they should have gone down. That was the problem with Kimil. Once they fed on human energy, it was harder and harder to defeat them. Absorbing the energy of an Atan would make the evil bastard practically immortal.

  Falcon dove for the pepper spray and managed to get it up and spray at the creature as it leapt for his face. A death shriek rang painfully in Falcon’s ears as the creature hit him in a cloud of dust. The pepper spray flowed back at him and burned his eyes, nose, and throat. He coughed and gagged, his eyes watering so terribly that he couldn’t see how Wolfe was making out, but the steady stream of grunts and curses let him know that his brother was winning.

  “Throw it!”

  Falcon whipped the canister in the direction of Wolfe’s voice, hearing it thump against his hand a moment later. Another death shriek rang in his ears, but it wasn’t as painful as his body’s reaction to the chemical compound.

  “Tilt your face back.” Falcon felt Wolfe’s hand on his forehead and then the blissful feeling of whole milk running over his burning skin. He tried to blink and allow the milk to rinse off his eyes as well. I’ll never tease him again about carrying around small fresh bottles of milk with him.

  “Is that better?”

  “Yeah.” Falcon coughed hard as he wiped the moisture from his face. His chest spasmed, forcing him to cough hard again. “Did we get them?”

  “I don’t see any more.” Wolfe scanned the area with a pair of binoculars Eddie had gotten them that let them see heat signatures. “No guarantee that more won’t be back tonight.”

  “The death cries would have scared them off for a bit.” Falcon stretched out his neck and rolled his shoulders, ascertaining the amount of damage he’d sustained. His eyes were still watering but the burning was almost completely neutralized. While he had a number of aches, he didn’t think there was any permanent damage. His shirt was torn and bloodied.

  “Let’s get Hope out of here.” Wolfe lifted up his arm and scowled at the scratches and claw marks. “I don’t want her to see us like this, but there isn’t time to change.”

  “Are those bad?” Falcon asked. His eyes were still stinging and he couldn’t make too much out at the moment. He pressed the palm of his hand against a particularly bad gouge and concentrated on stopping the bleeding and healing most of the side effects of the pepper spray. The Midnighters had the ability to heal some wounds by using the pure energy inside of them. He wasn’t willing to risk using up too much in case they had another encounter with the Kimil later.

  “About as bad as yours.” Wolfe lifted up his arm and started tapping on the band on his wrist. “You get Hope. I’m going to get one of the others to pick up the ATV and we’ll drive the truck back.”

  “Good. Hope has hurt her knee and I didn’t want to transport her on the four-wheeler.”

  Wolfe paused in tapping out his message. “How bad is she hurt?”

  “She said it looks worse than it is, but I think she was being stubborn. The sooner we can have IxChel look at it the better.”

  They both jogged back toward Hope’s house. Wolfe peered in through her window as Falcon went to the door. “She’s asleep on the sofa.”

  “That will make this easier. If we’r
e careful we might be able to do this without waking her.” Falcon closed his hand around the door handle and twisted it slowly. Thankfully Hope hadn’t locked the door after he left earlier and gaining entry was easy.

  The cuts and gouges in his arms fired in agony as he tried to slip his arms under her to lift her up. There was no way they were leaving her here now. She wouldn’t last till morning if more Kimil showed up. Hope whimpered in her sleep when she moved her leg before calming down and slipping into a deeper sleep again. He couldn’t feel her pain, but he could sense her anxiety over it and wished he could take it from her. He’d accept the pain in her knee if it meant she didn’t have to feel it. Kneeling by her head, he pressed his lips against her skin, between her eyes, and concentrated on pulling her into a deeper sleep. He wasn’t entirely certain what he was doing, but a memory buried deep in the soul of a Midnighter understood what needed to be done. His arms started to heat up, and glancing down he saw the intricate markings begin to glow with an unnatural light. “Sleep, my Hope.” His palmed tingled against her cheeks and he felt the way she slumped against him. Her breathing deepened as it evened out and slowed.

  He pressed another kiss to her skin before leaning back and looking down at her. She slept with the peace of a soul who trusted him to take care of her. And he would with every breath in his body. With her sleeping, he went to her room and packed what he thought she would need. Eddie had told him she’d only arrived with a couple bags and her laptop, so it didn’t take long to gather her things. He didn’t want to leave anything behind that would attract Kimil to anyone who stayed here in the future. By the time he’d gathered up her laptop and everything else he thought belonged to her, Wolfe had pulled up in front of the house.

  Wolfe carried the large canister of pepper spray in one hand and cast an eye over the yard as he approached the door.

  “See anything?” Falcon asked as he handed her suitcase to him.

  Wolfe only glanced at the bag before scanning the area around him again. “Not yet, but we saw evidence of them in this area. They appear to be fighting amongst themselves, so hopefully that will distract them. I don’t know how fast they can move, but I’m not willing to take them on with so many humans around. I don’t want them becoming victims as well.”

  “Agreed.” Falcon opened his senses to the muted Earth energy, hoping to feel some warning of danger. He scooped Hope up into his arms and headed out the door behind Wolfe.

  They were only three steps from the house when a bright light shone in his eyes. “Hey, what are you boys up to?”

  Wolfe muttered a curse under his breath. “Going on a trip.”

  “Is that right?” The man’s voice sounded from the other side of the headlights. “Why isn’t Hope awake?”

  “She had a scare last night and didn’t sleep well. I didn’t want to wake her now that she drifted off,” Falcon answered, the hair on the back of his neck starting to bristle. He wasn’t entirely certain if it was because of the delay in their departure or that the Kimil were drawing closer.

  “Wake her up.” The order made Falcon’s heart sink. He couldn’t. She wouldn’t wake until they reached Lu’um.

  “She took a sleeping aid,” Wolfe replied. “Her knee was badly hurt and she couldn’t sleep.”

  “Really? It looks to me like you’ve drugged her and are taking her somewhere against her will.”

  “That’s ridiculous. She knows she can trust us.”

  “See, I’ve already heard about you two and her.” The man stepped closer and Falcon could make out the uniform he was wearing. “I also heard about your temper.” His gaze never left Falcon, and Wolfe turned and looked at him questioningly.

  “Jim and Donovan were fired today, after I taught them both a lesson in manners and speaking respectfully about women.” Falcon looked at Wolfe but didn’t have to elaborate. He knew Wolfe would sense his anger every time he thought about what Jim and Donovan had said about Hope.

  Wolfe nodded and then turned back to the officer. “I don’t see the problem here. Falcon was defending our woman’s honor.”

  “What, are you Sir fucking Lancelot now? Listen to me, boy, I’ve already had one woman disappear in my jurisdiction and I won’t have another.” There was a sharp snap and then Falcon watched as the officer raised his gun. “Lay her on the ground and put your hands above your head.”

  “No.”

  “Boy, I’m not joking. You will put her down and do as I say, or I’ll shoot you both in the balls and say I caught you trying to rape her.” He peered closer at Falcon. “Your eyes look a little red and glazed. You want to tell me what you’ve been drinking or smoking tonight?”

  Falcon waged an inner war with his instincts. The anxiety of leaving her defenseless battling with the drive to kill this man for trying to put her in danger sparked his nerve endings. Rock and Jag had made it very clear they didn’t want any police involvement or attention on the business they were creating.

  “I’ll put her in the house where she’ll be safe.” Falcon stepped to the side and the firearm followed his movements.

  “Give her to Jimmy and he’ll carry her in.”

  “That’s never going to happen.” Falcon would go along with this nonsense for the moment, but nothing would make him put his Atan in another man’s arms. “I’ll put her in the truck. She’ll be safe in there.” That way if she woke up she wouldn’t be far from her house.

  “You.” The officer flicked his gun in Wolfe’s direction. “Open the door for him and keep your hands where I can see them. Jimmy, let’s cuff them.”

  “Yes, sir, Officer Froud.” Jim stepped out of the shadows with a smug look on his face. “Y’all didn’t know I work part time for the police as well, did ya?” There was a shadow along his neck and his clothes looked too big for him. He pulled his gun from its holster and pointed it at Wolfe. “Put the bitch down and then back up with your fingers laced together on the top of your head.”

  He heard a primal snarl from Wolfe as the officer cuffed his hands behind him. “We can’t protect her if you bind us like this.”

  “Looks like you were doing more damage than good if you ask me.” Officer Froud grabbed Wolfe by the shoulder and shoved him toward the car.

  Falcon placed Hope in the backseat of the vehicle. Even though she was unconscious he was careful of her knee, not wanting to take any chances with her. As he backed out of the vehicle, he saw the keys hanging in the ignition. Before shutting the door, he engaged the locks and slammed the door.

  “What did you do that for?” Jim shoved him in the back and Falcon spun with every intention of hitting the man.

  “Falcon, No.” Wolfe’s voice managed to cut through his anger and he stopped the motion before connecting with Jim’s nose. Jim stood there, frozen, blinking at the heel of Falcon’s hand. It took him a second to come to his senses and slap a metal hook on his wrist and squeeze it closed. The bracelet pinched Falcon’s thick wrists and Jim yanked down his arm and locked the second one to it.

  “Ya’ll are under arrest.”

  “No, they’re not,” Officer Froud snapped. “We’re bringing them in for questioning on suspicious behavior.”

  “What about Hope?”

  “Where are the keys, boy?”

  Wolfe clenched his teeth and refused to say anything.

  “This one locked them in the vehicle.” Jim shoved Falcon in the spine with what felt like the butt of his gun. “You do realize that if anything happens to her you both will be charged.”

  Falcon knew that nothing would happen to Hope as long as she remained in the vehicle and the Kimil couldn’t get to her. “Eddie has another set of keys.”

  Officer Froud nodded. “At least one of you has some brains.” He led Wolfe over to his car and put his hand on his head as he pushed him down. He shut the door and then grabbed Falcon’s upper arm. “Jimmy, get on the radio and call Eddie and tell him to bring the keys.”

  The officer tugged at Falcon’s arm at the same time Falc
on felt the pulses on his inner arm from the communications band. Wolfe telling him to stay calm as the officer led him to the other side. “Now I’m going to trust that you two can behave. As long as you make this easy on us, we’ll get all this straightened out as quickly as possible.” He opened the door on the other side of the car and placed his hand on top of Falcon’s head.

  Falcon got into the cramped backseat, his legs bent up as the metal cuffs bit into his skin. His fingers were starting to feel tingly, but what really concerned him was the darkness settling in around them. The remnants of daylight were fading to black, which meant they were all in danger.

  “Storm and Derechos are on their way,” Wolfe said quickly as the rotund officer made his way around the vehicle. He paused to point Jim to his vehicle and the younger man finally did as ordered.

  Knowing that their Atan would be safe did a lot to relieve Falcon. Despite their hobbled situation, he and Wolfe could have fought their way out. But more than their honor was at stake. If any more Kimil reached Hope before their warrior brothers, Falcon and Wolfe would lose what sense of civility they’d worked so hard to regain. They’d lost so much to the Kimil already, they would go on a rampage if prevented from saving their woman.

  Chapter Six

  Wolfe wanted to rage at the bindings holding him and at the officer who continually asked the same questions over and over. He was sitting in a small, windowless room that smelled like rotten wood with bright artificial humming lights over his head. He’d had the misfortune of being in some miserable predicaments in his lifetime, but this room was one of the worst. They’d offered to look at the cuts and scratches on his arms, but he told them not to bother. The last thing he needed was to have any of his blood work on record. Instead one of the officers wrapped gauze around his arms and taped it down while looking over the markings on his arms. As soon as Wolfe got home he’d be able to draw from the energy that flooded his home world and heal himself.