by I. T. Lucas
In a much better mood, Syssi got back inside the rooftop vestibule and pressed the button for the elevator. It was good that the penthouse level had one that was dedicated. She would've been mortified to encounter anyone and get caught looking like she did, with puffy red eyes, red wet nose, and a shirt covered in snot. Lucky for her, both of the penthouse occupants weren't there.
Oh, God! Lucky was such an inappropriate word. Amanda wasn't home because a dangerous Doomer held her captive, and Kian wasn't home because he was on his way to rescue his sister. The situation was as far from lucky as it could get.
Bad, bad Syssi.
And the floor wasn't completely deserted either. Annani, Kian's mother, was staying at Amanda's with her two servants. And there was Okidu, Kian's butler, and Onidu, Amanda's.
Kian had suggested for her to wait for the team's return with Annani.
Not a bad idea, because she really didn't want to be alone, and Okidu wasn't exactly good company—the guy had the personality of a mannequin.
But first, a change of clean clothes was in order, and she had to do something about her blotchy face. On second thought, a quick fix wouldn't do. To look presentable enough for another audience with the goddess, Syssi would need to invest a lot more effort in sprucing up.
CHAPTER 19: ANDREW
Andrew's stomach was giving him a hard time. Nothing new there, it always did on helicopter rides—no matter how many missions he'd flown.
Was it the noise? The change in altitude?
Because it sure as hell wasn't fear…
At least not for himself…
Hell, he prayed Amanda was all right.
But he knew better than to delude himself that she'd remained unharmed. The best he could hope for was that she was still alive and that whatever damage the motherfucker had done to her would heal. Except, rape was particularly hard to recuperate from. Probably impossible. Unlike injury or even torture, the part of one's soul that got ripped out by that particularly vile act of violence could never be fully restored.
Fuck. The worst part was not knowing…
It had been easier when he hadn't known the victim. It wasn't that he hadn't felt for the other abductees or their families, but to be a professional in this type of business one had to develop an emotional barrier—a numbness. Feelings led to mistakes—mistakes with life or death consequences. He imagined that surgeons had to develop a similar detachment. That's why they were advised to never operate on a family member.
Unless, there was no other choice—like in this case. And besides, he wasn't a family member. Not yet. He'd met Amanda only once. Except, with a woman like her, the impact had been profound.
Andrew glanced at his watch again.
He estimated another fifteen minutes to touchdown, and then about two hours of trekking through the woods for a stealth attack.
Sitting next to him, Kian looked just as grim. Now that there was no more need to front confidence for Syssi's sake, the poor bastard looked tortured, probably by the same kind of thoughts that were twisting Andrew's gut.
Not counting the pilot, they had four more guys on the rescue team, which should be more than enough if Kian was right in his assessment that Amanda was being held by a single guy.
But if Kian was wrong, they were fucked.
Jake and Rodney, the guys Andrew had brought on the mission, were buddies from his old unit and he knew he could count on their professionalism. But although Kian's guys, Brundar and his redheaded brother, gave off a vibe of experienced soldiers, they had no prior experience with hostage retrieval.
Fuck.
Between an overwrought brother and the two deadly cousins there were too many wild cards in the mix, but apparently he needed their special abilities.
The kidnaper wasn't the usual variety of scumbag.
He was a near-immortal.
Like them.
Andrew still had trouble wrapping his head around the immortal thing. Not that he doubted what he'd been shown, but man, what a trip down the rabbit hole.
It wasn't easy to adjust to the fact that the reality he was familiar with was only part of the story, and that besides governments and economic forces there were also two factions of immortals who manipulated the show from behind the cover of shadows.
The one good and the other evil—to put it in simplistic terms.
And the kicker was that apparently he and his sister belonged to this exclusive tribe, with the caveat that unless activated, those superior genes they were lucky to inherit from their mother would remain dormant.
Syssi had gotten activated by the big guy sitting next to him, but her transition hadn't gone as smoothly as Kian and his people had hoped it would. It had been a touch and go for a while.
Thankfully, Andrew had been spared the gut-wrenching worry by showing up on the scene after the fact.
As big and as freaky as his sister's boyfriend was, he would've killed the bastard for putting her in harm’s way…
Or at least given it his best try…
As he'd been told, killing one of these immortals was next to impossible, and Andrew had neither fangs nor venom, not yet anyway, and he wasn't armed with a sword to slice off a head or cut out a heart either.
Kian, on the other hand, was well prepared and fully equipped. Besides the deadly instruments he'd been born with, he brought a wicked looking blade just for that purpose.
Gruesome, but effective.
Andrew wondered how it would feel to have deadly weapons as an integral part of his body. Was the experience different from that of an MMA fighter? Or of how the knowledge affected any other guy who was deadly with his bare hands?
How would he feel after the transition?
Damn, having fangs would be so weird…
What was really surprising, though, was that he and his sister and only one other guy, Michael—a student at Amanda's university—were the first dormant carriers of those special genes Kian's people had ever found. The rest of their clan members were all related to each other, descending from one single female and some anonymous mortal sperm donors.
The plan was, after they brought Amanda home, of course, for Andrew to go through the process as well. But he wasn't sure he was going to go for it. Not that becoming an invincible immortal didn't appeal to him, or that becoming a possible mate for Amanda wasn't as tempting as hell, but the flip side was that he might end up dead instead of immortal.
And that would really suck.
Given that Syssi, fourteen years his junior, had such a hard time transitioning, chances were good he wouldn't make it through the ordeal at all.
Good thing Kian didn't try to sugarcoat it for him, telling him the risks straight up.
Decent guy that immortal. Syssi could've done worse.
Glancing sideways at Kian, Andrew smiled a little. His future brother-in-law was one handsome motherfucker. No wonder he had Syssi wrapped around his little finger in such a short time…
True, no one was talking about a wedding yet, but they'd better, or else…
And besides, once they got hitched, there was a good chance they'd make him a little niece or a nephew, and that he wouldn't mind at all.
Not. At. All.
And if they had a boy, they could name him Jacob… after the brother he and Syssi had tragically lost.
CHAPTER 20: KIAN
Touching. Kian glanced at Andrew's tough profile as he got a whiff of the guy's fear. It must've been for Amanda because Andrew didn't strike him as one who had any qualms about jumping head on into danger.
Unfortunately, it wasn't as if Kian could assuage Andrew's worry by telling him that Annani had seen her daughter unharmed—in a vision.
He himself had trouble putting much faith in his mother's mystical remote viewing, despite her proven record.
Knowing the kind of animals the Doomers were, it was too much of a stretch for him to suspend belief.
Fuck! It was an insult to animals to equate them with that evil…
&
nbsp; Still, he had to believe Amanda was alive. She was, after all, too valuable to kill.
Fates, he hoped she hadn't revealed her true identity. As an immortal female, she was valuable enough, but if the fucker were to discover that he was holding Annani's daughter, the consequences would be disastrous. Currently, the Doomer's agenda seemed to be of a personal nature—grab an immortal female and keep her for himself. But Annani's daughter was a ticket to fame and glory that the fucker might be tempted to cash, and surrender her to Navuh.
The Doomers could demand anything they wanted and get it in exchange for Amanda.
No, she wasn't that stupid. Though that being said, with his sister's runaway mouth, she might've been dumb enough to goad the fucker into a murderous rage…
Which she probably had…
No, he couldn't think this way. Amanda must be alive, and whatever else the fucker had done to her, she was strong enough to survive it.
She'd heal.
The fucker, on the other hand, was a dead man. Kian was going to kill that Doomer himself. And if Annani had a problem with that, tough. For this, he was more than willing to sacrifice his mother's approval and disregard her standing order to keep any Doomers they caught in stasis instead of offing them for good.
Unfortunately, with his venom glands swelling and his fangs pulsating within his mouth, Kian had a feeling the sword he'd brought specifically for the purpose of slicing the fucker's head off would remain unsullied in its scabbard.
Death by venom was too kind for that animal…
Tearing out the fucker's throat, though…
Fuck. He was reverting to a beast himself, wasn't he?
Kian heaved a sigh. If his sweet Syssi had known the kind of thoughts he was harboring, she would've run screaming.
Poor girl.
Instead of the romantic dinner he'd promised to take her on, she'd spent the night unconscious while her body had fought to survive the transition.
She could've died if his mother hadn't come to the rescue…
He would've never forgiven himself if she…
Yeah, better not go there.
Lately, it seemed that he couldn't make a move without it turning into a disaster.
His instructions to speed up the rate with which the clan had traditionally transferred information to mortals had resulted in Mark's exposure and subsequent murder by Doomers. Syssi almost dying was, of course, his fault. It had been his fangs and his venom that had facilitated her transition. Even Amanda's kidnaping was his fault. If he hadn't insisted on Syssi going shopping and taking Amanda with her, his sister would've never crossed paths with that Doomer.
The chances of the fucker bumping into her accidentally were so negligible that it almost seemed like the cursed fates had a hand in it.
But why?
What had he or Amanda ever done to deserve such punishment?
Damn, he was losing his mind…
Fates…
Really…
Don't tempt the fates, Kian, his mother's voice sounded in his head.
Yep, he was definitely losing it.
CHAPTER 21: AMANDA
Dear fates, the man was impossible.
As those big brown eyes of his gazed at her with such tender emotion, the idea of clobbering Dalhu with a shovel made her feel like dirt.
"I could never just fuck you." Dalhu's palms were still on her cheeks as he shifted up and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. "I will worship your body with mine, make love to you the way a rare treasure like you should be made love to," he breathed.
Okay, now he made her feel lower than dirt—more like a piece of dung.
To hide her perfidy, she kissed him back, funneling all of her guilt and self-loathing into the kind of desperate passion that had her cling to him as if she would never let go.
Only when the lack of oxygen made her dizzy, she released his mouth and buried her face in the crook of his neck. "I would like that," she whispered against his skin.
With his powerful arms wrapped around her, Dalhu held her to him, clinging just as desperately, his chest heaving as he gulped air into his oxygen-deprived lungs.
"I want to spend hours learning your body an inch at a time." He eased up on his tight hold as he moved his palm up and down her spine.
Such a lovely sentiment. Problem was, he'd drive her absolutely crazy like that, and in no time she'd take over and drive them home…
Except, she wanted this to go Dalhu's way, for this one time they had together to be about his pleasure. A parting gift so he'd remember her as something other than the underhanded, conniving slut that she was.
"You'd better tie me up, then…" she blurted in a hurry.
"What? No…! I would never do that." Dalhu sounded horrified by the suggestion. "I only want to bring you pleasure…" He pulled back a little and dipped his head to look into her eyes. "Whatever you want, however you want it."
What a sweet man… And to think she was talking about a Doomer…
Amanda palmed his scruffy cheek. "I want to experience something new—something different with you. But patience is not one of my strong points, nor is relinquishing even a tiny bit of control to another, and I don't want to spoil it for both of us by taking over and speeding things up. All I need is a reminder, like a T-shirt or some other piece of clothing tied around my wrists. You do know that I'm strong enough to rip it apart if I want to, right?"
"You are?"
"Dalhu, darling, you keep forgetting that I'm not a mortal. And just as you're stronger and faster than a mortal male, so am I compared to human females." She ran her hands over the sculpted perfection of his chest. "Though with that magnificent body of yours, I suspect you're stronger than most immortal males as well."
"Really… so you want to tell me that you could've gotten free from those handcuffs I used on you?" Dalhu's smile was conceited.
"Like I didn't know those were reinforced… Which begs the question of why you had them in the first place…" She eyed Dalhu suspiciously. "You said my kidnaping wasn't planned. So what gives?"
"It wasn't. And the reason behind the cuffs is no longer relevant. Let's just forget it…"
"Tell me."
"I don't want to spoil the mood."
"If you don't spill, there’ll be nothing to spoil."
Amanda felt like banging her head against a wall. She was such an idiot—so damn stupid it was criminal.
Here she was in a unique position to learn the enemy's dastardly plans for her family, but instead of using her head to pump Dalhu for information, all she could think about was the kind of pumping that involved both of them getting sweaty…
Dalhu sighed, his expression turning utterly despondent. "Before I answer, I just want you to know that everything is different now. I would never hurt you by hurting your family. But before I got to know you, before I pledged my future and myself to you, I was part of an organization that expected me to deliver certain results. I wouldn't lie to you; I wasn't some big shot, but I wasn't just a mindless cog following orders either."
Wiping a nervous hand over his mouth, Dalhu sighed again. "I came with the idea that males of your clan could be found where mortal females went searching for hookups. I planned on apprehending such a male to learn from him the location of your center of operation."
Deflated, he dropped his arms to his sides and leaned back against the couch cushions, his head falling back. But if he expected her to get off him, he was dead wrong. Up close and personal, bare chest to bare chest, she had the kind of leverage that would keep him talking.
"Would I be right to assume that this plan is still in effect without you?"
"Yes, the men I left behind are a bunch of incompetent morons and they’ll do nothing without me, but reinforcements are coming—a large contingent this time—and they are likely to send someone higher up on the chain of command to lead them."
Oh, that was just getting better and better…
"When are they going to get here?"
/> Dalhu lifted his head, a spark of hope lightening the pits of darkness his eyes had become.
"I don't know exactly, but the leader with a few men could arrive as early as tomorrow night. The good news is that a contingent this large will require a few days at the least to take care of the logistics before the rest of the men could get here, and then they'll need more time to get organized. It leaves plenty of time to warn your family to take preemptive measures."
"You would do that for me? For real?" Amanda searched Dalhu's eyes for signs of deception.
"You can write an email to someone who knows you well and include something only you and that person are privy to, some anecdote or a private joke that’ll convince them you sent it out of your own free will. Tomorrow, first thing in the morning, I'll drive to a Starbucks and use their free Wi-Fi to send it. I just hope you know somebody who will take it seriously and is in a position to do something about it."
"Do I know someone…" Amanda snorted, but then the red light in her addled brain flashed the stage-five alarm, and she closed her big mouth before blurting who she really was.
The way Dalhu kept calling her princess, it was easy to forget he had no clue she was Annani's daughter. And despite his professed loyalty to her, she'd be stupid to trust him with that piece of information.
After all, before pledging himself to her just thirty-something hours ago, he'd been a member of the Brotherhood for eight centuries. And he'd already proven that switching loyalties in a heartbeat wasn't a problem for him.
Finding out that he had in his possession Annani's daughter, he might come to the realization that she was more valuable to him as an asset he could surrender to Navuh, in exchange for a prime position in the organization, than the mate he'd been fantasizing about.
"Who is it? Do you know a Guardian? It would be great if you do. A Guardian would be taken seriously."
"Yeah… that was exactly who I've been thinking of. I have a girlfriend on the force. We go clubbing together, a lot, so there are quite a few memories only she and I share…"