by HK Savage
“Depending how much trouble he gives her it shouldn’t take more than a few days before he’s here.” That Black kept Kenneth’s return from him stung. He thought he’d been fighting to keep Becca safe, fighting to minimize how much Black knew, let Becca take her time to get stronger before he used her up. It meant all of his objections voiced, punishments suffered, tormented moments were for naught. Black was moving forward with his plan regardless, just using another resource.
“Did she say why he’s bringing him back?” Ryan watched him closely. “Do you know?”
He shrugged one shoulder, grim expression revealing his defeat. “Does it matter? We’re a four-man team, not five. I don’t see this as a good thing.”
Ryan grunted and bobbed his head. “You going to tell her?”
“I don’t know. There isn’t much I can say other than that he’s coming back.” That much was true. Was it better to give her a heads up or let her have a few days more without knowing this good thing they had was going to end exactly as he’d feared all along? They were both quiet for a few breaths.
“So, we’ve got a few days off.” Ryan’s tone lightened. “I know I could use some time out of these four walls. Want to go cause some trouble, the three of us?”
He wanted nothing more than to leave this place. But when he thought of a few days with Becca, raising hell with Ryan Hallbeck wasn’t what came to mind. No, a dark room with no phones and locks on all the doors was more in line with what he was thinking; as far from Admiral Black and the rest of the world as physically possible. A quick scan of the other man’s face revealed tension and desperation in equal measure. Ryan was in pain at the thought of time off without distraction. Michael understood not wanting to be alone with his demons.
“Sure.”
“All right.” Ryan whooped and shoved himself off from his perch, spinning to face Michael. “I’m thinking of heading up the coast. Carmel? Or we could tear it up in San Diego. Some pretty sweet clubs in LA if you want to do more of the nightlife thing.” A troubled look crossed Ryan’s broad, tanned features and he tossed back the shaggy auburn hair that had fallen across his brow. “Clubs are okay, right?” He referred to the mission in Wisconsin when a demon controlling partiers at a club nearly got Becca sent to the hospital for a breakdown and Michael more than casually molested by two overzealous dancers.
Managing to quell the growl that automatically curled his lip at the wildly unpleasant memory, Michael gave him an affirmative nod. “Yeah, we can do a few mellow clubs.”A night of wild dancing and partying probably isn’t the best thing for her if she can barely stand.Michael attempted to placate himself with a reminder she’d gone for an exhausting run after their misunderstanding earlier; she was looking for some distraction too. “You pick, I’ll check with Becca to make sure it’s okay.”
“Cool.” Lighter at the prospect of blowing off some steam, Ryan put a hand to block an imaginary blow, reaching with his other and starting to dance in a mock fight. Before Michael could say anything, one big fist connected with his right bicep and an audible snap froze Ryan in place. “Holy shit, Mike, I’m sorry man. I didn’t hit you that hard, did I?” His expression was a mixture of horror and disbelief.
Grimacing, Michael clutched his broken, mending, re-broken arm, and swore. “It wasn’t you, Ryan. That was a little handicap from the admiral to keep me from killing you.”
All signs of playfulness were gone in an instant. “We’re cool, right Mike?” That he would even ask spoke to a depth of feeling Ryan didn’t confess often. After he’d changed, begun his transformations into a giant reddish wolf, he left his home and entire community behind. This unit was everyone he knew and cared about, and even if he acted like this was all fun and games, Ryan cared deeply for each member. One moreso than the rest.
Michael stopped grimacing and forced a tight smile. “We’re cool.”
Chapter 6
Two light raps on her door brought Becca’s eyes open in an instant. She lay sideways on her bed where she’d dozed off after her shower. She couldn’t get enough sleep lately and it was getting worse. The fear that she was going backward, that she would continue to grow weaker terrified her. Would anyone be able to trust her, could she trust herself in a fight with a combative shifter or vampire if she couldn’t out wrestle a ten-year old human girl?
“Come in.” Sitting up, she patted her head and felt what had to be an impressive look if her fingers read the lumps right. Falling asleep with wet hair was always an adventure in hairstyling, even with straight hair like hers. A light brown fluffy mess surely awaited her guest. That it would be Michael was a no-brainer. Not after that little spectacle downstairs or how they’d left things. If she’d been able to do any more than stand on wobbly Bambi legs she would have tried to clean up the mess, but she’d barely been able to carry herself upstairs to shower and then fall into bed. Carrying giant table legs and heavy oak boards wasn’t really doable right now.
Michael’s dimmer than usual blue eyes found hers immediately upon entry. The tension around his mouth as well as the way he scanned her as thoroughly as he could without asking her to put on a hospital gown didn’t escape her notice. “How are you feeling?” He held up a hand, palm out then pointed at hers, which now bore not a mark nor did her knees. He used the same hand, odd. Most people did that little maneuver using one hand for each gesture. Michael’s dominant hand remained firmly in his pocket.
“Fine,” a yawn escaped before she could stifle it. Becca waved it off. “My run really took it out of me. I’m fine, seriously.” Stubborn yes, stupid no, Becca didn’t wade back into the fight where they’d left it before her little fit. Michael would tell her what he could, when he could. Being with him meant accepting the limitations Black’s rule over him held. Considering the burden that heaped upon Michael, Becca forced herself to let it go. She could manage her frustration. She could manage anything for him. “So...a couple of days leave. Do you have plans?”
“Funny you should ask.” Some of the tightness in his features faded and the corner of his mouth turned up. His relief they were past fighting easily read. “We were thinking Carmel or maybe LA.” He caught her raised brow. “Ryan,” he started then shifted uncomfortably.
Smiling, Becca felt the residual animosity dissolve. She had brothers and was constantly surrounded by male pride in the military. She knew that look. “You two made up and you don’t want him to be alone because he’s sad?”
He grinned and Becca felt something in her heart shift. He was a good man and they were all lucky to have him to soften the blow of serving directly under Admiral Black aka King Asshole Extraordinaire.
“Busted,” he replied softly with a grin.
She patted a spot on the dark blanket covered mattress beside her and Michael, shutting the door behind him, walked past her to take a seat on her other side. Her hand slid into his of its own accord. Some little motions had become habit for her. “Has he talked to her at all since they broke up? Likereally talked to her?”
A small shake of his head landed several black waves on his pale forehead. God, he took her breath away. She had trouble concentrating sometimes when he was just being him. No wonder she couldn’t function when he really turned it on. As tired as she was, a part of her, a part demanding attention at that very moment, wanted to forget all the talking. His thumb rubbed the back of her knuckles, reigniting the flame that hadn’t quite gone out when he’d left her so suddenly downstairs.
“You know Gabrielle, she’s doesn’t want to talk unless it’s work, so no, they haven’t.” His voice was gentle, gliding over her skin with the same effect on her heart rate as his touch.
Becca’s breath hitched and she leaned in without thinking, so close their noses nearly touched. Her eyes closed. “I don’t know how she can stand seeing him like this. She’s just so cold, I don’t get it.” Mind going fuzzy, she tried to hold onto her train of thought. “She couldn’t always have been like this. Didn’t you say she used to be a nurse?�
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Michael eased toward her, lips brushing lightly against hers. She closed her eyes, letting his whispered kisses draw her in as her head began to spin. A warm puff of air against her jaw warned her a heartbeat before his tongue slid along her neck. Becca moaned. A soft chuckle sent a shiver through her body, her nipples tightening under her shirt. Michael continued to touch her only with his mouth, the one hand holding hers continued to stroke the back of her hand, unchanged in its pace. Slow and steady, he touched her, tongue slipping down the gentle curve of her throat, teeth scraping lightly on flesh. Goosebumps rose on her arms. The sensitive places he had yet to touch ached for his attention and she shifted on her seat bones, giving herself some friction a bit lower. Tipping further and tossing her hair out of the way with a flick of her head, Becca offered yet more of herself and felt her breasts rub against his shirt. A small sound escaped her parted lips and Becca reached a hand out to touch his flat stomach. Slipping it down, she let her fingers spread out until they found what she sought through the fabric currently stretched to capacity. His growl rumbled against her chest.
Becca shuddered. She stroked him through his pants. “Michael.”
That one whimpered request was his undoing. Moving shifted, looming over her. His sheer presence pressed her to her back and her eyes opened. Blue irises were barely visible, outlines growing black as his natures fought for control. Becca’s hand slid up his abdomen to his chest, glorying in the strength she felt there. Power Michael could use to kill one-handed or hold himself poised above her while he loved her so completely. Wanting both hands on her, teasing and touching to match his mouth’s tormenting efforts, Becca reached out to guide the non weight-bearing arm to ease her discomfort. Her fingers touched his elbow and slid up, wrapping around the back of his arm. Michael’s body stilled but Becca, too lost in their heat to stop and analyze, pulled.
A cool breeze against her skin emphasized the fact that she was suddenly alone and Michael was now standing by the foot of the bed. One hand was wrapped protectively over the arm she’d touched and fangs distorted his upper lip, several crimson drops stood out on his chin. Her hand automatically went to her lip and came away red. So distracted was she with what he was doing to her elsewhere, she hadn’t felt the bite. Her eyes rose to meet his, pausing at the way he protected the arm, remembering how he’d been guarding it since he’d come to her.
“What happened?” She was panting, her words soft though the anger already building behind them was anything but. “Did you and Ryan get into it again?” Her eyes narrowed. “Didhedo this to you?” They both knew whohe was.
“I’ll be fine by this time tomorrow.” He squeezed out through gritted teeth, his struggle obvious. The physical pain he was in was compounded by the anguish he clearly felt at having accidentally nipped her.
Protectiveness wasn’t strictly a vampire thing. Becca stood, clenching her fists at her sides. She struggled to keep her voice down. No one here could know what she did about the admiral’s hold over Michael’s tongue. “What won’t you tell him? What won’t you let him ask of me? Please Michael, whatever it is he wants, I’ll do it.” Tears blurred her vision and choked her words. “I can’t watch him hurt you anymore.”
Michael remained motionless by her door, his eyes holding her in place. For an eternity they faced off, each making their own decision about what had to be done.
He gave first. “You’ve heard us talk about Kenneth.”
She nodded slowly, her eyes never leaving his.
He took a breath through his nose to speak. “Black is recalling him to active duty.”
Becca felt the air go out of her. Her knees, unable to hold her weight, buckled and she sank back on the bed. “So he’s decided I’m not moving fast enough.” Her voice sounded hollow. “That’s it.” Eyes never having strayed from his face, Becca watched the little color his body had pulled from his recent feeding bleed from Michael’s face. She felt sick.
“How long have you known? Why can you tell me this now?” She was familiar with the way his bond with the admiral worked; she’d felt it when she used her ability to “jump” into his head and use his senses to listen in on a planning session with Black. When Michael tried to argue it felt like a band tightening around his skull. The pain was blinding.
The hand cradling his injured limb dropped, slipping into his other pocket. A picture of defeat, he fell back against the wooden door. “He’s been considering it for a while. We were coming back from a trip, just he and I when he mentioned it. I didn’t know he was planning to do it so soon.” A twitch at the corner of his eye and Becca knew that was all he would say. All hecould say without suffering by the admiral’s hand. “I thought we had more time.”
The admiral knows I’m weak and he needs his witch.
“He told Gabrielle to bring him in. He didn’t tell her it was confidential, so I can say that. For now.” She recalled the scars she’d seen fading when he came home from those trips. The admiral was not one to have patience for anyone questioning his motives, even Michael.
Facing the possibility that her days, hours even, were numbered, Becca found herself surprisingly calm. Body and mind strangely at peace, she studied her tormented lover as her thoughts slammed into hyperdrive. “So this is it. What you’ve been afraid of all along. It’s not enough what I can do, he wants someone less,” she hesitated, “fragile for the team.”
His lips tightened at her use of his own word for her and her kind. She knew she was right. He couldn’t speak to confirm or deny any extrapolations she made, he didn’t need to. Experience gave her the insight to read Michael’s reactions well enough to tell her when she was on the right track. That was why he usually shut her down when she started asking questions. His letting her make the assumptions she had was a frightening indicator as to how worried he was. Was he warning her the only way he could?
If the words passed between them Black would sense it. Was this Michael’s silent push that she should go AWOL? Try to run from Admiral Black? But what of her unit? And Michael? Only a fool would believe he wouldn’t suffer for letting her go. Plus, something bigger was going on here and it all led back to Washington. She needed to help them find those who were trying to harm her unit. It was why she’d been brought on board, to sense danger. And right now only the desperate grip she had on her defenses was holding the dancing spots and certain blindness of that sense at bay. There was danger here for certain and not just for her, for all of them.
Michael took a step away from the door just as three loud knocks sounded from the other side.
“Come on boys and girls, pack your dancing shoes. Let’s go get some R&R.” Ryan’s large boots should have clomped away but the grace his dual nature allowed had him retreating as quietly as he’d come. Becca heard not a scrape or scuff on the stone in the hall to mark his passing.
“Sounds like we’re heading up to LA.” Michael’s voice sounded strangled. He wanted to tell her something but couldn’t.
Becca’s words were flat as she struggled to keep hold of herself. “Give me a few to throw a bag together.”
“We’ll meet you out front.” He turned abruptly and left.
The door closing barely registered.
He’s going to kill me.Becca felt the weight of that surety settle on her consciousness. Black was going to have her killed. Would he make Michael do it? The thought that she would have to look into Michael’s eyes while he took her life, knowing he was under compulsion and what it would do to him was devastating. She couldn’t let that happen. Not only did she have a marked interest in living, she couldn’t let Michael spend an eternity suffering her blood on his hands.
Swallowing hard, she forced one foot to move then the other.
Chapter 7
“I hate this place.” Gabrielle pointed the nose of the small aircraft in the direction the man with the giant glow sticks indicated. Night was falling at Brandenburg airport and the orange wands were lit, though Gabrielle required neither guidance nor
illumination to find the hangar she’d been using longer probably than the man in front of her had been alive.
She couldn’t wait to get Kenneth and get the hell out of Berlin.There was a time when you would have given anything for one more day here. The thought crept in through some unguarded channel in her mind along with an image of bare skin, tangled sheets, and the ghost of masculine laughter that made her hurt in ways that would floor most who knew her these days. Quickly, she locked it down. That sort of inattention was what got her in so deep with Ryan. The no strings attached sex that had somehow grown not strings, but freaking Teflon cables. Baring her teeth, Gabrielle gripped the controls and growled.
“Enough.”
Voicing the command out loud seemed to give her back control of her sentiments. There was more here than just a call to action for the crazy vampire she hoped had settled into a more tolerable creature than he’d been when turned out to pasture decades ago. There was finally progress on her own personal pursuits. Black’s sources had gotten wind of the monster that had taken everything from her. Just before she left he’d informed her there was another mention of the only name she’d been patiently listening for for decades. If she wanted to finally catch the son of a bitch she was going to have to stay focused. Deep breaths brought her back to calm. She was able to secure the aircraft and transfer her bags to the car without any further unwanted intrusions from her tortured heart.