Underground Guardians BOX SET: Includes 'Protector' and 'Healer'

by Lisa Renee Jones

  He studied him and then looked back at her. “He wants to fuck you.” His eyes held anger and his tone a hint of hostility.

  Marcella gasped, shocked at the abruptness of his words. Most people didn’t verbalize such thoughts. “He does not!” She was quite certain Diego was a kind and gentle man. Why she didn’t know but it was there, a part of him. She always got a sense about a person. With Diego it was clearer than normal but at the same time unlike anything she’d read from another. There was something she didn’t understand. It conflicted with the other things she sensed. It was…more animalistic beneath his surface.

  His look was a reprimand. “You know I speak the truth. You sense what he feels for you even if you choose to pretend it’s something different. Some form of affection not built of lust.” He paused. “Besides, he is not capable of protecting you as I am.”

  She frowned at his arrogance. “He is just as good as you.” But she knew he wasn’t.

  “No.” His lips twitched as if he knew she had lied. “He cannot win against the enemy that hunts you.”

  She didn’t like the way he phrased things. It rang so true to her feelings over the past days, it was frightening. “Do you have to use the word hunt?” It bothered her. Maybe because it was so true to the dark feelings she had been having. “For all I know, you are the one hunting me. Perhaps you are simply trying to confuse me.”

  “We both know you can sense my motives. I speak the truth. Nothing less. Nothing more. I am your only hope of survival. You must come with me.”

  “I’m staying,” she responded instantly and then added, “I’m here to heal a child. I will not walk away from her need.” Why she felt the need to justify declining to go with him, she didn’t know. This man was a stranger.

  He took a long time to answer. “When do you see the child?”

  Why she told him anything, she didn’t know. Something inside her wanted to trust him. And she had been conditioned to let no one into her inner circle. It could get her killed or captured like some animal. “Soon. Tonight. In just a few hours.”

  His eyes narrowed and she had the distinct feeling he reached for her mind. A whisper of a touch, but it was there. “We leave the instant you have completed your duty.”

  “Duty?” she asked. “Why did you call it that?”

  “Because that is how you see it.” There was absoluteness to his words.

  He had touched her mind as she had thought. But it had been done with such precision even with her level of skill he had been barely perceivable. “How would you know that?”

  Taking her off guard, he pushed off the wall, closing the distance between them. He stood within a breath of touching her. The heat he generated warmed her skin, stirring a flutter in her stomach.

  “What are you doing?” she demanded, but the words were barely there.

  His body was big enough to frame hers, and again, unbidden images flashed in her mind. Him naked. Her naked. Him on top of her, inside her, all around her.

  He lowered his head near her ear, his breath trickling along her neck, enticing goose bumps along her skin. “I know you, as you do me.” Her mind processed his words, even as her body responded to the deep tone of his voice as if it were a physical caress. Her nipples tingled. Her thighs ached. “I can feel you,” he said,” as you do me.”

  She swallowed and raised her eyes to his. “Who are you?”

  “Meet me in this exact spot at midnight. If you don’t, I’ll come for you.”

  Who did he think he was? He couldn’t just order her around. “I won’t be here.”

  His gaze locked with hers, and she heard his voice in her head. You will.

  Her eyes went wide. She’d never met anyone who could communicate with her telepathically. “Who are you?”

  He ignored her question. “Go take care of the child. We don’t have much time.”

  And then his hand slid to the side of her face. The touch was like an electric charge. It, no, he ran though her body, touching each and every nerve ending. Her nipples tightened, her heart kicked up a beat and she had to fight the urge to reach up and touch his hand. She needed to touch him as he did her. Speaking didn’t even seem an option. For the briefest of moments, she was completely lost in this man.

  “Marcella!”

  David’s voice, bellowing through the air, snapped her back into reality. She forced herself to step away from his touch. And it took effort. Lots of it. “I have to go.”

  “Meet me or I will come for you.”

  Chapter Two

  Walking through the lobby of the hotel, Marcella’s mind replayed her encounter with Diego. The elegance of the white and black tiled floors and matching furnishings were a shadow in her mind. The man she had just met consumed her thoughts. She could still smell the spicy sweetness of his cologne. And God, how she felt that one simple touch. Dampness clung to her panties, making her all too aware of her extreme reaction to a mere stranger. Plain and simple, she wanted him.

  A stranger.

  It was the craziest thing she had ever experienced. Her mind raced as she tried to comprehend not only what she felt for him but also why he was so familiar. Not only that, he’d spoken of danger. It seemed she needed to talk to David and her aunt. But she hesitated and she wasn’t sure why. She needed peace and quiet to focus. The answers would come if she concentrated fully. An impossible task in a crowded lobby. And then, of course, there was David to deal with. He simmered with agitation. Even distracted by thoughts of Diego, she could feel his mood.

  The more she was around someone, the more sensitive she became to their emotions. For the most part, she knew how to block things and only see or hear them when she wanted to. Some people, David included, were so intense, they were hard to ignore. He tended to be a bit testy when he didn’t get his way.

  He’d get over it. He always did.

  She was just about to step into the check-in line when David’s hand settled on her arm. Reacting, she turned to him, a question in her expression.

  His face held a scowl. “You hired me to be your bodyguard.” There was a bite to his voice. “If I’m to protect you, you have to listen to me.”

  She didn’t like his sharp tone. Wanting his way was one thing. Expressing it rudely was another. Marcella was a quiet person. She’d been sheltered and hidden from much of the world. But she also had a strong aunt who had taught her to stand up for her beliefs. She heard of her mother’s bravery. Those stories pressed Marcella to help the needy despite the risk. And they pushed her aunt to ease her protectiveness enough to support Marcella’s efforts.

  “Aren’t you going to respond?” he asked, impatience in his tone.

  She stiffened. “I was giving you a minute to retract your bossy words. Since you didn’t, I will remind you I hired you to ensure my safety, not baby-sit me.”

  David didn’t seem fazed. “Who was that man?” he demanded, lips thin.

  The same thing Diego had asked about him. Each man wanted to know about the other. “Why do you care?” she countered, her eyes searching his. Had Diego been right? Did David want her? Was he jealous? Her stomach lurched as the answer came to her. Yes, David did indeed want her. Which made life much more complicated than it needed to be. She had too much to worry about as it was. Like a child who needed saving. Perhaps she had always known David wanted her. It was one of those things she simply preferred to dismiss. Maybe because if it existed, it had been carefully checked. Therefore, it was not an attention grabber. Until now.

  “Answer the question,” he said, using a sharp tone so very unlike the low monotone he typically addressed her with. It made her do a double take.

  She had no intention of explaining what was going on with Diego. David would freak. “I told you I know him.”

  His eyes flickered with something she couldn’t quite identify, and her mind was too consumed to focus beyond the obvious. David was an attractive man. Hispanic with blue eyes, he was quite striking. Most women found him appealing. But she wasn�
��t ‘most women’. She didn’t respond to the physical side of life. Or so she had thought. Diego had changed things. That, in and of itself, was enough to make her nervous. Why did she respond with such vibrant physical and emotional completeness to him?

  “How?”

  She stiffened, realizing she had slipped into her own thoughts. Refocusing, she met David’s probing stare. She felt uptight under his scrutiny, not sure what she wanted to tell him. Lies were not her forte. She liked honesty. “I told you I know him. That should be enough.” And she did. Somehow. Some way. She knew him.

  He paused a bit too long, as if he was trying to decide if he believed her. “But can you trust him?” he said, teeth clenched.

  Suddenly she realized her aunt had disappeared. “Where’s Catherine?” she asked, starting to turn away from him.

  “She’s sitting down. Her feet hurt.”

  Marcella bit her bottom lip. “I told her she shouldn’t have come. I worry about her.” Marcella barely remembered her mother. Her aunt had raised her since she was a small child. Her mother’s powers had made her entire family victims to power-hungry monsters. And one night years before, her father had died protecting her mother. Then her mother had taken her own life rather than allow herself to become an experiment.

  In turn, Marcella had lost her forever.

  David’s voice held impatience as he directed the conversation back to Diego. “Now answer my question. How do you know you can trust this man?”

  She gave her head a slight shake, pulling herself back to the present. The past was a dark place to visit. But then, now, this moment, David wasn’t all so bright and cheery himself. He was jealous. She hated to admit it, but now that she had opened her eyes and mind to the obvious, she saw it. Guilt made her frustration ease. Never in a million years would she taunt him.

  Reaching out, she touched his shoulder. “He means me no harm.” At least she hoped. He didn’t feel dangerous. Still, he had powers. The possibility he might have the ability to shield her from his true intent had to be considered. “Thank you for worrying but let’s focus on why we’re here. There’s a little girl who needs me.” And to Marcella that was what ranked number one. She was a Healer, given a gift. The same one her mother and father died to ensure wasn’t abused. And she would do the same if ever needed. “Please make contact. The sooner I see her, the better.”

  After several seconds, his expression softened. That was enough for her. Turning away from him, she didn’t wait for a reply. He was calming down now. All she wanted to do was check into the hotel and take care of business. Okay, so that wasn’t entirely true. She needed alone time to think. About how serious the danger she was in might be. Was it enough to upset her aunt? And about her stranger. About Diego. For some reason she wanted to use his name. It felt familiar and right. Diego…

  Just thinking of him made her heart kick up a beat.

  She stepped into line, hoping David would do as she’d said. Her back to him, she counted to three. When he didn’t say or do anything, she let out a breath. At least for the moment, David was done pressing. How could she explain what was going on when she didn’t understand herself? In the year David had been with her, his ability to keep her hidden had been perfection. Yet…Diego had found her. And the danger he spoke of…why did David not know about it?

  But she had known. She’d just dismissed it as nerves. Uneasiness began to build as she tuned into the feeling she had been having, this time seizing it rather than discarding it. By the time she was holding her room key in her hand, she was quite certain Diego was right. She was in danger. And it wasn’t from him. The darkness she felt was sinister. Diego was not.

  Ready to get to her room, Marcella went in search of her aunt, glad David had yet to return. She needed some time to decide what she should or shouldn’t tell him. After all, he was her bodyguard. Surely, he should be told there was imminent danger.

  In an instant, awareness washed over her, wiping away her thoughts. Her stranger was here. Halfway across the lobby, she stopped dead in her tracks. Scanning, she found him sitting at a table in the middle of a lounge area. Watching her.

  Diego. She said his name in her head. She didn’t mean to. It just came to her. Almost as if he had planted it there. Their gazes locked, the connection so intense, she could hardly breathe. His dark eyes seemed to speak to her. Any minute, she expected to hear him. But then he didn’t have to speak. Even without words, she knew what he was telling her. He wasn’t leaving without her. Logic said she should be scared. Reality said she was more afraid of how wet and wanting he made her. It wasn’t normal, this immediate, needy ache he induced. His eyes flared, hot with a sensual appeal, as if he read her thoughts. Head swimming, she wasn’t sure if he had touched her mind or not.

  He had the ability—of that she was sure. More like her than anyone she had ever met, he had special gifts.

  “Marcella, honey, over here.”

  It was her aunt. Marcella turned towards her voice, waving as she spotted her in a nearby chair. But she couldn’t resist one more glance at Diego. Her eyes went towards him, hungry for another fill.

  But he was gone.

  Disappointment settled into her gut like a heavy load. She shook her head, physically trying to shake her reaction. “This is crazy,” she mumbled under her breath as she started walking. He was playing some kind of mind trick on her. He had to be. No one reacted to a stranger the way she was to this man. Perhaps he had a way of shielding himself so she couldn’t see the true darkness of his nature.

  That had to be it.

  She needed to stay away from him.

  * * * * *

  Marcella followed her aunt into the hotel room. “I’m getting too old for these adventures of yours, dear.”

  Her aunt sat down on one of the two beds in the room with a heavy sigh. Flowers decorated the covering in bright colors. The room did nothing to calm Marcella’s nerves. Even the curtains were a bright orange.

  She shut the door and smiled. “Ah, now you and I both know that’s not so,” Marcella scolded. “You stayed up all night playing dominos with David. He’s a bad influence, that man.”

  She chuckled. “You found me out. I didn’t think you knew we were still awake.”

  Marcella waggled a finger at her. “You know better. I see all and know all.”

  If only that were true. Sometimes her visions failed her, and often they came after the fact or too late to prevent what was to come. Her true talent was her ability to heal. One she knew came from God—meant to help others. But in the wrong hands, her power could be dangerous. Not everyone was meant to be healed. God had a plan, and she knew when she was to act.

  She felt it.

  A knock sounded on the door. Marcella found herself taking a few steps backwards to allow entrance. “Who is it?”

  A familiar voice. “Me, David.”

  She opened the door and stood back to let him enter, shutting it again as he passed. “News?”

  He leaned against the oak dresser. “Yes, I’m afraid the family’s been delayed. It looks like tomorrow morning will be the soonest you can see the child.”

  Instantly, Marcella thought of Diego. Even if she had planned to meet him—which she hadn’t—this would make it impossible.

  Aunt Catherine looked worried. “A delay seems strange. You don’t think this is some plot to capture Marcella, do you?”

  Marcella moved to the bed across from her and sat down. “Don’t worry, Aunt. It’s not.”

  Catherine rejected her answer. “It’s impossible to be certain.” She looked at David. “Please be extra cautious. I have a bad feeling.”

  “Being nervous is understandable. After all, Marcella lives in danger but I do think things are on the up and up. We did a lot of checking before Marcella agreed to this meeting.”

  “I had to come.” Marcella’s heart tightened just thinking about the family. The parents had lost two other children in a car accident a year before. Now they were on the verge of
losing another to cancer. They needed their daughter to survive.

  “It’s dangerous for you to be out like this,” Catherine reminded her.

  This was not the first time she had had this discussion with her aunt. “I was given a gift meant to be used for good. If I hide my life away I can never give what I am meant to share.” She paused. “And I know you agree.”

  Catherine sighed. “I know.” Weariness settled into her features. “And I know you need quiet to meditate,” she offered. “I will join David in his room until later tonight.” She reached for the phone. “And I’ll order room service so you can eat before you rest.”

  Nodding, Marcella tried to smile, but her thoughts were heavy with the grief of the parents. She could feel their nearness. It was a comforting feeling she felt often. At times, she even felt they were with her. So far out of reach, but then, so close. And she knew they feared for their daughter. Meditation helped center her powers before a healing session. Under the circumstances, it felt more necessary than usual.