He literally stole her breath.
“What was that for?”
His hold tightened almost painfully. He lifted her elbow, bringing her injured arm to his mouth and licked the slash of the bullet wound. She expected pain, the wound sluggish to heal, but the air vanished from her lungs as heat spread from the injury to tingle along her nerve endings, a strangled moan escaping her. Her hips shifted restlessly, aching to feel him inside her, her body pulsing in pleasure.
When he drew back, his eyes were black, his vampire in control, but her hunger was sated. She nearly begged him to do it again, but when she glanced down, she was shocked to see the wound had been sealed shut.
No wonder vampires were so sought-after.
He ran his hands up and down her arms, easing the aching need, and she allowed herself to sink back against the warm, solid muscles of his arms.
“I don’t want to wake up.” Rylan’s eyes bled to the deep blue she loved, his whispered words broken.
“What?” Raven scrambled to understand his meaning, her brain too blurry with pleasure to function properly.
“My dreams always end when you disappear from my arms.” The words were soft, almost distracted. “I don’t know how to let you go.”
Raven wiggled in his lap, annoyed to feel the rasp of his jeans between them. “Do I feel like a dream to you?”
His stormy eyes locked with hers, his hold tightening as the blue color bled fully back into his eyes. “Gods, yes.”
Tears crowded her eyes, and she blinked them away. “I’ve been running for most of my life, but never from you. I’m not going anywhere.” She rested her head on his shoulder, stunned to hear his heart beating—for her. “I have something to fight for now.”
Chapter Sixteen
By the time the three of them were dry and dressed, the sun had long since sunk beneath the horizon. While the men were gathering the others for a meeting, Raven snuck into the kitchen, then nearly backed out when she found London sipping coffee.
Instead of giving her a knowing look, his gaze was steady and unflinching.
“What?”
Without answering, he strode toward the fridge, returning seconds later with an armful of sandwich supplies and began preparing three sandwiches, hacking off thick slices of ham.
He carefully arranged the food on the plate, then set it before her on the table and waited expectantly. Raven stared blankly at her plate, feeling uncomfortable now she knew bears only shared their food for one reason. She thought about refusing, push him away to give her time to settle into the idea of them, but London took everything in stride. She thought back on their time together, and realized he’d been silently courting her the whole time, she’d just been too blind to see it.
And he wouldn’t stop now, even if she refused his food.
Raven shrugged her shoulder, too hungry to turn down the meal. She picked up the sandwich and took a big bite. That seemed to please London. He turned back and quickly devoured his own sandwich. By the time he took the last bite, she was only half finished.
People began to trickle into the room, each stopping to make their own plate. Jackson and Taggert came in together, Griffin only a step behind. Randolph wandered in next, and she stiffened when she realized that he’d been wandering her house alone. By the time everyone crowded into the room, it was packed.
When Durant and Rylan entered, they each passed by her chair, brushing their fingers against her in silent greeting, and heat blasted through her while blistering erotic memories replayed in her mind.
Seeing the two of them together would forever make her imagination run wild. Jamie entered through the glass door that led out to the back patio, while Luca and the kids snuck in behind him when they thought no one was looking.
Last to enter were Digger, Dina, and Gavin. Dina quickly puttered around the kitchen, setting out a plates of cookies. Everyone in the room winced, but dutifully took one. While the others either tried to swallow or hide the evidence of their cookie, Randolph knocked his on the cupboard with an audible thwack. Not even a crumb dropped. To her surprise, when Dina looked at him, he shoved the whole thing into his mouth and gave her a strained smile.
Apparently even the hardened assassin was afraid of disappointing the itty-bitty fox.
When she swallowed the last bit of her food, the room fell silent.
They were waiting to discover what she learned from her would-be assassin.
“The man who called himself the Master was human, but he was infected with something that was slowly killing him. My guess is a serum was used to change him into a paranormal, which gave him the ability to mentally compel others to obey him. The ability twisted his already damaged psyche, and he acquired a taste for evil.” No one seemed surprised. Every paranormal creature went through the same thing when they finally crested. They either gave into the beast or learned to master the wild urges.
“And what happened to you?” Taggert didn’t seem concerned about what she discovered, he was more worried about her reaction.
She shivered, his diseased touch like a stain she couldn’t scrub away, remembering how it tried to invade her mind and shatter her hold on her sanity. “I slipped into his mind. It left me open for him to do the same. He wanted to destroy me, rip apart my memories to torment me. He’s had a lot of practice, and managed to do some damage before I kicked him out.”
Instead of being reassured, Taggert paled, gripping the back of the chair so hard the wood splintered.
“The nosebleed was me fighting to keep him from taking me over.” She gave him a reassuring smile. “Apparently I’m just too stubborn.”
Durant snorted, Jackson smothered a smile, and everyone else in the room relaxed.
“What’s wrong with your magic?” Curiosity gleamed in Randolph’s eyes. Digger perked up at the accusation, studying her with dark eyes, and she barely resisted flinching.
“I don’t know what you mean.” She ducked her head, hiding away from everyone’s scrutiny.
“It’s different.” Naturally Randolph refused to do as she silently bid and let the matter drop.
No one moved, and she cursed her inability to lie effectively. “It’s an infection.”
Randolph studied her, weighing and judging, before he finally spoke. “It’s not an infection. It’s not bad, it’s just different. More powerful.”
Raven narrowed her eyes at the way his voice dropped on the last word, as if intrigued. “I tripped a curse, which must have triggered a protective mechanism within the ancient magic, and it’s rewiring my magic.”
“Maybe.” But he didn’t seem convinced, and she couldn’t help wondering if he had a different theory.
When he didn’t elaborate, she raised a brow in challenge, and he shrugged. “The changes could either mean your rise or downfall, depending on how you react to the new magic. What may feel like a curse could actually be a blessing.”
If anything, he seemed fascinated by the change, and she had the sudden suspicion that he knew what it meant, or he at least suspected the truth…that she was a queen from old.
He didn’t appear the least bit surprised.
She expected to see the desire to challenge her, the urge to test his powers against her, but he seemed content to watch…at least for now.
London and Jackson inched closer, bulking up, sensing her shift in mood. Raven expected the mating heat to warm her skin and kick her in the ass at their nearness, but nothing happened. Shock held her frozen, and a new idea took hold.
What if the mating heat was simply meant to force her to complete the bonds between her and her pack?
She felt better than she had in ages, stronger, and she eagerly reached for her animals…only to smack into a dark void of nothing.
For a wild second she’d believed everything would go back to normal. Shoving away her disappointment, she turned toward Griffin. “Tell me what you’ve learned.”
Griffin glanced at the others. When no one protested the change of
subject, he took out his phone and clicked through his notes. “As Gavin said, three of the people on the list are already dead, while another one is missing and presumed dead.”
“Are there any similarities among their deaths?” Raven held her breath—they needed a lead. She refused to sit back while others took potshots at her men.
“All reported as accidental.” Disgust filled his voice.
Raven slumped back in her seat.
“The Council didn’t order the hit, either.” He drummed his fingers on the table, his face grim. The only way he could know that was if he reached out to his father, the head of the Council. He and his father had parted ways long ago.
He went to a lot of trouble, pulled a lot of strings to unearth that nugget of information.
She owed him.
Big time.
“I ran a background check on the remaining people on the list.” He clicked his phone off and dropped it on the table with a thud, then met her gaze squarely. “None of them are good people.”
Meaning they were the scum of the scum, but powerful enough that someone wanted them dead.
“Are there any connections between the marks?” She was grasping at straws.
“None.” He heaved out a sigh and ran his fingers through his hair.
“The way I see it, we have three options.” Raven refused to sit on her ass and do nothing until they were attacked again. “One team will need to track down the people who attacked today. Another team will need to track down those remaining on the list to see if we can catch the rest of the killers that way.”
“And the third team?” Durant’s silky-smooth voice was deceptively low and calm.
“The morgue.” She bit back her grimace, but when Taggert narrowed his eyes on her, she realized she hadn’t been very successful. She hated going to the morgue. The dead had a habit of getting up and walking around when she was in the vicinity.
“And who goes on which teams?” Jackson sounded suspicious, and she realized that she hadn’t been trusting them to do their jobs, which was to help her run the pack.
“Jamie can pick his own team. He and his rogues are better suited to slip in and out of places without being noticed. They’re also the best suited to pick up traces left by the hunters.” Jamie nodded, pride shining in his brown eyes at being chosen.
“London, I think it would be best if you stay behind and fortify and defend the house. I have a feeling some of us may be coming in hot.” She half expected him to protest, but his muscles flexed in challenge, and he eyed Luca and the kids expectantly, enough for them to swallow audibly.
“Griffin and Randolph are better suited to track down the would-be targets and possibly determine if they’re being hunted.” Raven gave Griffin an apologetic shrug when he glared at her for being paired with the assassin. They were the best suited to the job, and if they became trapped between two potential killers, both were more than capable of taking care of themselves in any situation.
“Do you want us to follow the killers back to their base or retrieve information from them?” Randolph sounded indifferent despite talking about interrogating and murdering suspects.
“The ones after me weren’t full shifters. While they had paranormal strength and speed, they were trained. I suspect a few of them are or were in the military. Be prepared to defend yourself if they spot you. If you’re close enough, one thing will give them away—they smell wrong, the stench of decay almost overpowering.”
Both men nodded, Randolph’s eyes gleaming, as if he relished the prospect.
“Why are we going after them?” Gavin scowled, obviously believing she was wasting their time.
“War between the humans and the shifters is inevitable, and if what I suspect is true, the humans have figured out how to remove the biggest obstacle to them winning the war—our superior strength and speed. If they find a stable chemical solution, we’ll be the next species that goes extinct.”
She’d been tested in the labs when she was younger. She’d been told her paperwork was destroyed, but what if it wasn’t?
All they would need is a sample of her blood to decode the crucial difference between shifters and humans.
While the humans believed she was their salvation, so did the paranormals.
“I’ll go with you.” Durant practically purred, jerking her out of her morbid thoughts, and she snorted.
“Did no one ever play with you as a child?” She gave him an amused smile. “You’re supposed to wait your turn to be picked.”
Durant just shrugged, not the least bit repentant.
“You’re going to the morgue.” Jackson leaned against the wall by the door, his arms crossed. “You hate it there.”
Raven raised her brow, surprised that he even noticed, trying not to think about walking into the sterile, chemical stink of the morgue. “While I don’t relish being around the dead, I’m also the best suited to picking up clues from them.”
Everyone stared at her suspiciously, since she’d chosen what appeared to be the least dangerous mission, but they were used to her throwing herself into danger, so she admitted the truth. “The blast in the labs, plus the curse, have weakened me. Going to the morgue will be tame. The police watch it twenty-four seven. What could possibly go wrong?”
“Famous last words,” London muttered.
Taggert opened his mouth, no doubt to protest or offer to go with her, and she shook her head. “I can’t take you with me. You’re too volatile when you’re near me, and the humans are already on edge. The last thing we need is for a rogue shifter—plucked directly from their nightmares—running through their streets, causing mayhem.” When he opened his mouth again, she waved away his protest. “We both know that if I’m threatened, you don’t have the restraint yet to remain human and not shift to protect me.”
Emotions vanished from his face, and Raven hated when he hid himself from her. Worse, she hated that she’d hurt him.
Raven shoved back her chair to get more coffee, but before she could stand, London was next to her with the pot and poured the rest of the brew in her cup as if he’d been guarding it specifically for her.
She blinked up at him in surprise, but he simply shrugged and lumbered back to his spot, ignoring Gavin’s scowl and empty cup.
Raven rose, stopping short when the whole room moved with her, and she shook her head in exasperation. “I’m going to be in my office. Pick your teams, then come and get me when you’re ready to go.”
She walked out the door with a sigh of relief, craving a few minutes alone. She wasn’t indifferent when it came to the men. If she chose a team, she would choose her pack, even if their abilities were better suited elsewhere. But the men weren’t modest. They knew their strengths and weaknesses and honed their abilities accordingly. She trusted them to decide what was best.
Five minutes later a knock sounded on her door. “Enter.”
She wasn’t surprised to see Durant stride in first, no doubt having bullied his way onto her team. He was quickly followed by Jackson, but what she hadn’t expected was to find Gavin with them. She raised a brow at them in challenge. “Don’t you think all three of you is overkill?”
Durant shrugged. “You need one of us with you at all times.”
Her good mood plummeted—he was talking about the mating heat nonsense. They were being ridiculous, and their overprotectiveness was going to get them into trouble one of these times. “There is no need. I’m fine.”
“For now.” Durant didn’t even bother to hide the way hunger lit up his eyes, and she fought a blush. “The effects will wear off. Bear in mind that right now one touch could set you off again.”
As if to prove his point, he reached out, barely brushing his fingers along her jaw, and a shiver of lust skittered down her spine, and memories of the tub flooded her.
She wanted to curse him for bringing it all back, but it wasn’t his fault.
She should’ve known her luck wouldn’t hold.
“It’s lat
e. The sun set hours ago.” Durant murmured softly. “We’ll head out in the morning—”
“No.” She cut him off before he finished his sentence, ignoring his frown. “I am no longer a member of the police force and can’t come and go whenever I please.”
“You want to break in.” Rigid, by-the-book Jackson didn’t seem amused.
“Unless you have another suggestion?” When he didn’t respond, she turned toward the other two. “Any objections?”
The men didn’t look at each other or say a word.
“Very well.” She pushed back her chair and rose. “Who’s driving?”
Chapter Seventeen
DAY FOUR – MIDNIGHT – MORGUE
Raven bolted out of the car the second it came to a stop. Jackson spent more time looking in the rearview mirror than he did watching the road, as if he expected ninjas to jump out of the shadows and snatch her away the instant he took his eyes off her.
The morgue was located off the main road, far enough away from the shops to be deemed acceptable, the traffic minimal at this late hour. When they parked out front, a dozen or so cars were scattered along the streets, overflow parking from the nightclubs around the corner.
The guys followed her along the sidewalk as she headed for the front door, and Gavin shook his head. “Not much for stealth, huh?”
He obviously thought her an idiot. “Tell me, what do you find more suspicious? A bunch of people parking and entering a building or watching them park down the block and sneak around the shadows?”
He grunted in reply, clearly not impressed. “And the cameras?”
She followed his look, then shrugged. “They’re not recording.”
“What do you mean?”
At least he didn’t call her crazy, and she mentally gave him points for that. She hurried toward the door, calling over her shoulder. “I emit a static that interferes with recordings. When I walk into range, the feed turns fuzzy.”
When she reached for the door, the scanner next to it remained red. Electricity hovered around the monitor, so slight most detectors would’ve missed it. She grabbed the handle, allowing a small spark of current to flare, then smiled when the red light flashed green.
Electric series- Raven Investigations BoxSet Page 75