by Jessica Lee
Enrique dropped his arms. “Tell me,” he snapped.
“I haven’t said yes.”
“I know you, Markus,” Enrique drawled. “I’ve witnessed what you’re capable of when someone crosses you. You love being in control. This is too tempting for you to resist.”
The soulless monster knew how to play him—how to stab at all the dark spots tainting his soul. Markus uncrossed his arms, leaned his elbows on the table, and crooked his finger at the other dark-haired male. Enrique replaced his palms in the spot near Markus, meeting him.
Markus curled his lip at the other vampire. “You’re right.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
The door to the Enclave’s basement headquarters snicked shut behind Alex as she tugged on her leather jacket. Everyone had gathered inside the massive room.
All except Markus, of course.
A week had passed since he’d walked out the mansion’s door. According to the last report Elle had shared with her on his status, he’d successfully integrated himself into Enrique’s inner circle. He’d done it. Gotten himself wrapped up in Enrique’s madness. There’d been no doubt in her mind, though, that he would be able to lie his way through the front door. The male was a master when it came to deceit. She could attest to that.
But the news on Markus was seventy-two hours old. A lot could change in three days. Yet based on the buzz inside the room, something was going down—tonight.
Alex meandered over to where Elle stood talking with her mate. Both peered at a map of the docks along with Eve and Guerin. “What’s the latest?” Alex checked out the four-square-block area Guerin had circled in red ink.
“Good news,” Kenric called out. “We have some additional help coming in from Fairfield tonight.” The Enclave’s master dropped his cell onto the map and slapped his second-in-command on the back.
“Jean-Claude came through for us.” Guerin nodded at this friend. “Looks like you still got it, old man.”
“That’s Fairfield, though,” Elle said, her voice strained. “Are they going to make it here in time?”
“Got it covered,” Kenric replied. “I expressed our need for a timely arrival, and Jean-Claude assured me the males he’s sending have been to the area before. They’ll be phasing to the locale, so travel time won’t be an issue.”
“That’s good,” Eve said. “One less thing we have to worry about.”
“Out of what?” Christian walked over, his hands shoved into the pockets of his well-worn bomber jacket. His straight shoulder-length red hair covered most of his face and nearly all the tattoo swirling around his right eye. He stopped short of the group and propped himself on one of the leather chairs in the center of the room. “About two dozen damn scenarios that could go wrong tonight?”
“Is there something you’re not telling us, Red?” Guerin edged around his mate, approaching the other male.
“Nope,” he said, shaking his head. “I’ve told you everything I could get out of Enrique without raising his suspicion as to whose side I’m on.”
“What about Markus?” The question came out of her mouth before she could pull it back.
“What about him?” Christian looked her way.
She’d gone this far. Why not ask and be done with it. “Have you seen him or talked to him since he went in?”
“Do you really care, Alex?” Elle wrapped her hand around her arm, drawing her attention. “I wouldn’t think you’d give a shit about him after what he did to you.” She frowned.
“I don’t.” Alex shrugged, loosening her sister’s hold. “I’m just asking if Christian knew anything about his continued survival.” That’s all it was. Right? She only wanted him breathing so she could make sure he lived a long, miserable existence with the knowledge of what he’d done to the people he’d claimed to care about. So why did it feel like time had yawned? That someone had pushed pause, and her heart waited for Christian to fill her in on the smallest detail about Markus before it could resume beating?
“He’s alive,” Guerin replied instead.
“Good to know,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest in a vain attempt to disguise the sudden, rapid beat of her heart from the preternatural creatures in the room.
“He better be, since Enrique is counting on Markus tonight to reel in his prize catch,” Christian added.
“Wait…” Alex knew she probably had that deer in headlights look splashed on her face, but she couldn’t help it. “Markus is supposed to personally deliver Eve to Enrique?”
“I received a call from him last night, saying he wanted to talk to me and Eve,” Guerin said. “Enrique had to be listening, because Markus said he wanted another chance to come back to the Enclave. He said he thought if he spoke to us first, convinced me and Eve that he was sincere, perhaps Kenric would be more open to his second-in-command.”
“But Christian confirmed that it’s a ploy,” Kenric said. “He’ll be there to capture Eve.”
Her gaze darted between Kenric and Christian. “And you’re actually going to put her out there? That’s your plan? I thought Markus only wanted inside so he could take out Enrique?”
“Once we learned Enrique had brought in others and exposed Eve’s existence to them, everything changed,” Kenric said. “We have to bring down everyone involved in this, Alex. Put a cork in the information spread about my daughter.” Kenric eased closer to Eve and palmed her arm. Despite the fact that they’d only met months ago, the expression on his face, the look in his eyes, spoke of the tremendous respect and love he possessed for Eve. “And it’s going to take more than one male to make it happen,” he continued, turning back to the others in the room. “It’s imperative we snare every person involved, and unfortunately, the only way to make this happen is for Eve to draw them in close so we catch them in our net.”
A gnarled vine of anxiety spread through Alex’s chest. Outside of her sister, Eve was the closest thing she’d ever had to a friend. This plan was too dangerous. If anything ever happened to Eve, it would destroy not only Kenric, but Eve’s mate as well. What those two had together didn’t happen every day. Like Elle and Arran, Guerin and Eve were made for each other.
“You can’t send Eve out there,” Alex stated.
“Alex, you heard what Kenric said,” Eve said. “I have to do this.” As if by instinct, Eve palmed the hilt of the dagger at her thigh. “It means more to me than you know that you’re worried about me. I’ve never had a friend before now who knew me well enough to care.”
Guerin closed in behind his mate and rested his hands on her shoulders. “We both appreciate it,” he said.
“What if I offer you an alternative?” Alex glanced at Kenric.
“What do you mean?” The Enclave’s master edged around his second-in-command. His clear blue gaze captured hers, and with as little effort as breathing, they demanded she respond. “What kind of alternative, Alex?”
Steadying her resolve, she lifted her chin. “Me. You need Eve to lead you to them—to open the door, right? In the right disguise, I can do that for you. And by the time Enrique realizes he and his partner have been fooled, you’ll have them.”
…
The lazy and rhythmic licking of the water at the dock sent a calm, near serene, sense of innocence spilling into the night air.
Relax.
A bell rang out in the distance, its gentle melody driven by the sway of a boat.
Ding. Ding. Ding.
All is well.
Nothing to fear here.
Alex closed her eyes and inhaled, filling her lungs with the salt air. God, how she wished she could believe in its siren’s call. Lifting her lashes, she looked up from under her hood at the dark warrior with his mouth pulled into a tight, grim line.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
“I still say you’re crazy for doing this,” Guerin whispered.
“Would you have rather had Eve out here, putting her life on the line?” She hooked her arm on his elbow, doing he
r best to paint the picture of a couple in love.
“I didn’t say that.”
She didn’t have to look to know he’d chewed the words out through a clenched jaw. The tension in his biceps told her the male was strung tight.
“But I don’t have to like the fact that it’s you out here, either,” he added. “I care about you, as well.”
Warmth spread through her at his words. With anyone else other than Eve, Guerin was either the funny guy or the hard-as-hell second-in-command. He didn’t do warm and fuzzy. So to have him express how he felt really meant something.
Alex gave his arm a slight squeeze in response. “Thank you,” she uttered. Anything more would have probably made him uncomfortable.
“Let’s go over this one more time,” Guerin said. “What’s the plan?”
They’d rehearsed the details before they’d left the mansion until her brain had felt numb from the repeated pounding over the details. She glanced up at him from under her hoodie, giving him her best seriously? look.
“For me,” he drawled, pouring on the charm.
“Fine.” She sighed. Whatever. I’ll go over it again. If for no reason other than to make the last leg of our trip pass quicker.
“Markus is supposed to meet up with us in the next couple of blocks, believing his rendezvous is with you and Eve,” she said.
“And you’re allowing him to take you,” he said, tightening his hold on her arm. “But we’ll be hot on your trail. Remember… Don’t drop your act. Keep your face covered for as long as possible, and let him bring you in. We need you to take us into the heart of the operation.”
“I got it,” she snapped, her nerves fraying around the edges. Inhaling deeply, she tried to find her calm center. Rehashing everything again was making her crazy. “I’m sorry,” she breathed. “I’m just…”
“I know,” Guerin rumbled. He pulled his arm free and placed a warm, comforting palm between her shoulder blades. “I know.”
“I wasn’t sure you two would actually show.”
Her skin prickled at the sound of the familiar deep voice. A moment later, Markus appeared in front of them.
Reflex had her gulping hard, despite the fact that her throat was as dry as chalk dust. This was it. The urge to yank off her hood to get another look at the male who haunted her dreams—who am I kidding?—her every waking moment, rode her hard. But she kept her eyes cast downward and waited for Guerin’s response.
“I said we’d be here,” the Enclave’s second-in-command grumbled. “Now spit out what you came to say. Not that anything that comes out of your mouth is going to change my mind about you. You’re a loose cannon, Markus. Always were. Always will be.”
Alex slid her palm to the hilt of her weapon wrapped around her thigh. Guerin was damn good. But they had no idea who and how many would be watching their interaction. Because one thing was for sure, Markus wouldn’t be handling this alone. Enrique wasn’t a complete idiot. He’d want Markus under surveillance, in case the former Enclave warrior decided to betray him.
“Well then,” Markus said and sighed. “I never did give a flying fuck about your opinion of me.” His right arm brushed back the loose flap of his dark leather trench coat, and before Alex could scream, Markus pulled a pistol.
A pop rent the air as a bright flame burst from the weapon’s muzzle. Guerin cried out. Gripping his torso, the Enclave warrior doubled over a moment before his knees buckled. “Eve…” he groaned, the veins in his neck standing out in sharp relief.
“Guerin!” Alex cried out, and grappled for the crumbling large male. A single bullet shouldn’t be capable of taking down a vampire as powerful as Guerin. Dear God, this wasn’t supposed to be part the plan. She glanced up at the dark vampire holding the gun. “Markus…what have you done?”
Wide gray eyes stared back at her in recognition and disbelief.
Yes. It’s me. Damn you. She screamed the words inside her skull.
Yet the muzzle of the gun continued to sway in her direction. Her heart stuttered. Was he actually going to kill her?
Another pop sounded amid a burst of light. A fleeting hot arrow of pain radiated through her arm. She gasped, and suddenly Markus’s arms were around her.
“Scream,” he commanded at her ear.
A wave of dizziness rushed through her head at the same time the heat inside her biceps began to fade.
“Trust me.” He tightened his hold.
Apprehension sat like an anchor in her gut, weighing her down, pulling her under, but did she really have a choice other than to do exactly what he asked?
After that night in his cabin, she would have jumped into a murky abyss on his word alone. He’d gotten that deep under her skin. But that was before he’d ruptured the seal on her memories and shown her how deep the vein of darkness ran inside his soul. Before she’d watched him, without hesitating, shoot one of his own.
Yet the moment she’d taken Eve’s place, hadn’t she already put her trust in whatever he had planned? And after everything they’d been through, if he’d wanted her dead, wouldn’t she have already been dust on his boots?
There had to be a good explanation for what he’d done to Guerin. Markus wouldn’t turn on the Enclave again. Would he? He wouldn’t do that to Kenric—to her.
Alex cried out and slumped in his arms.
Please don’t hurt me again, she whispered inside her head. But she wasn’t worried about the pain.
Once again, she found herself at his mercy. Her life in his hands. Except this time, her fear centered on her heart. Would it survive another break?
Chapter Twenty-Three
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
Markus swung his arm low and behind Alexandria’s knees, lifted her up, and cradled her against his chest. She inhaled against his throat, and her body shuddered against his, causing his heart to clench.
What the hell had she been thinking? He surveyed the other male slumped on the sidewalk. Christ, Markus was so damn pissed. If he’d known Guerin had allowed Alexandria to switch places with Eve… He should have finished off the bastard instead of tagging him in his side where the silver would only hurt like a bitch. The cocktail of silver and a tranq in the bullet would only immobilize him, but knowing Guerin, he’d shake it off very soon. What the hell was he supposed to do now? How was he going to pass off Alexandria as Eve for long enough to take the others down before they both got killed?
“You’re going to have to help me here,” he whispered with his mouth close to the dark blue hood covering her head. “When we get in there, you’re going to need to pretend you’re out cold. Keep your face hidden as long as you can, and listen for my cues.”
A groan rumbled from her throat in confirmation. Good girl.
Closing his eyes, Markus pictured the front of the warehouse Enrique and Dominic had chosen for him to deliver Eve. Then he was falling, the world disappearing beneath his feet into a shimmering bottomless pit. A wave of momentary disorientation swamped him, and his gut rebelled. Markus tightened his grip on the precious cargo in his arms. Phasing any distance with someone other than himself expended more energy and was always a harsher trip.
But it was unavoidable.
He couldn’t travel for nearly a mile with a body in his arms without drawing unnecessary attention from the human population.
The dim yellow glow of a streetlight shimmered into view. Markus blinked, clearing his vision as his boots resettled against concrete. His destination, a large, rusted metal warehouse, sat in front of him. A soft breeze blew loose strands of hair across his face and salt air into his nostrils. Inhaling, he steadied himself for what waited for them behind the large metal door. He had to get Alexandria out of this alive.
Fuck that.
Alexandria would make it out alive.
Christian and the Enclave had better come through. He’d modified his own plans against Enrique in favor of helping Kenric and Guerin bring down the son of bitch as well as the other vampires he’d brought in for thi
s scheme. Yet somehow the only thing that had ever truly mattered to him had ended up in the middle of this—with her life on the line.
“Kenric, you’d better come through,” he muttered.
Markus grabbed the latch on the metal door and yanked it open. Alexandria’s head rested against his chest, her hood draped over her face. One of her arms fell free and swayed with each of his steps. He kicked the door closed and continued on, treading through the large dark space, aiming toward the beacon of light in the back of the building.
A few moments later, he rounded a series of crates and entered into what looked like a military triage setup. A metal surgical table sat near the back wall. Syringes, tubes, and an array of glass jars filled another nearby. Fucking hell. They were ready to dissect her. Except the “her” in his arms wasn’t the female they were after.
We’re so damn screwed.
“Anybody home?” Markus sauntered into the makeshift room. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted movement.
“I knew you were the right person for the job.” Enrique rounded the wall of crates to his left. With his lips spread into a wide smile, fluorescent lights glinting off his fangs, he eyed Alexandria’s slumped form. “Finally.” He sighed. “Dominic will be well pleased. As am I.” He chuckled. “We’re about to receive a glorious payday, my friend.”
Markus laughed. “I think your glee has affected your brain. ‘Friend’ is pushing it.”
“Who the hell cares?” Enrique threaded his fingers and cracked his knuckles, the sound of the snapping cartilage bouncing off the metal walls. “You have her. That’s all that matters.” The dark male edged closer as if prepared to inspect the package.
Shit.
Sidestepping the vampire, Markus made his way over to the empty metal table. “I assume this is for her?”
“That’s correct,” a new male voice said.
Dominic.
Gently, Markus deposited Alexandria onto the cool surface, making sure her covered head lolled away from the other males. Markus shrugged, adjusted his coat, and turned toward the others.