To Seduce A Siren

by Cousins, Jane

  “Yeah, yeah… I get it, the whole world gets it, you’re a bitch and you don’t care who knows it.”

  “Reputation is everything in my line of business.” Destiny traced an idle finger over the edge of the blade she held.

  Nate found himself laughing once more. “Oh I get it. When you fucked up that contract for Sek and Mot, they put the word out, didn’t they? The whole stalker thing… you can’t resist playing with your kills first. And that’s what you need to do isn’t it? To get your assassin rep back, kill a Maat warrior?”

  “My reputation is just fine thank you.”

  “Oh I doubt that. You failed to deliver them the blood of the descendant. You failed to deliver them the blood of the witch. You lost a whole mess of minions in the process. And you allowed a warrior of Maat to place a tracking device on you that almost led straight to your client’s hide out. If we look up the definition of ‘fuck-up’ in the dictionary, I’m pretty sure there’ll be a picture of your bony face.”

  “I’m a professional, everyone knows that.”

  Nate laughed again. “No wonder Sek and Mot aren’t chasing after you to extract revenge, they’ve already gone and had it, haven’t they? You’ve been black-balled from the assassins’ guild.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous.”

  “No, you lost everything when we found your lair. Trained minions gone. All your equipment gone and no way to create any more cash flow, unless you manage to kill me.”

  “Killing you would be nice, but I’ll settle for parading you around on a leash for a decade or two first.” Destiny launched herself off the table.

  Nate was ready for her, side stepping, sweeping out his sword as she flew by to crash land amongst some broken furniture on the far side of the room. Nate held his ground where he was, there was too much debris on the floor along the edges. Better to wait for Destiny to come to him, plus it allowed him more time to bait and fish for information. “I’m surprised you let Sek and Mot get away with that, considering how weak you said they were.”

  Destiny kicked a broken chair out of her way. “They’re weak alright, subsisting on strict rations but essentially they’re cowards. They know how to fortify themselves and surrounding themselves with hundreds of miles of desert in every direction is the most effective way of keeping my kind at bay… unless I was feeling in need of a tan and suicidal.”

  Nate grinned in victory, gotcha bitch. This time he was the one to launch himself across the room, Destiny forced to jump back out of range of his sword, slamming hard into the wall behind her, sending paintings crashing to the ground. The edge of Nate’s sword opened up a long dark cut along the side of her face. She shrieked and attacked, they rolled to the floor, broken furniture, shattered glass and pottery impeding them both.

  Destiny angled the knife to thrust it deep in Nate’s gut, with only a second to spare he managed to head butt her in the face, rocking her back and sending her knife skittering across the room. This close and under these conditions he was finding it hard to use his sword, not Destiny, who without the knife still had her lethal claws. Damn, he had no alternative but to use the hilt of his sword to hit her hard across the jaw, creating just enough space between them for him to grab a fistful of leather and send her flying across the room.

  Standing, Nate stalked after her, sword at the ready. With only one eye, a mouthful of broken teeth and fangs, a cut along her face and several arrow bolt wounds in her body Destiny was beyond a mess. As she struggled to her feet amongst the wreckage, for the first time Nate glimpsed a look of fear skitter across Destiny’s face. She was hurt, she had no minions and she had no escape. It looked as if the reality of her situation had finally hit her.

  “What if I surrender to you? Offer to go peacefully? As a warrior of Maat, you have a code of honour.”

  Still he stalked closer. “I swore to fight for the truth, which means I know a lie when I hear one.” He feigned going in low and instead went in high. Still Destiny managed to duck his sword but she couldn’t avoid his other hand that sent her slamming face first into the nearest wall with a loud thud.

  Nate could have bought his sword around, but the face slam had been so satisfying, he decided to do it again. Grabbing a fistful of her hair he sent her once more face first into the wall. “That’s for Vivian.”

  Thud.

  “That’s for hurting Cyd.”

  Thud.

  “That’s for ruining catsuits.”

  Destiny was a disaster; one cheek caved in, black blood bubbling from deep gashes and her empty eye socket and yet, as she reeled back one more time, she managed a laugh. “I knew you cared Lover.” She spat blood to clear her throat. “Why else would you be prolonging…”

  Her head separated from her body in one clean stroke.

  Before it could hit the ground, Nate slammed a broken chair leg deep into the pale flesh just over her heart. The resulting explosion of dust in every direction sent Nate flying backwards to hit the nearest wall hard, his head ringing. Thank Maat he’d held his breath, the thought of inhaling even a particle of that venomous vamp was abhorrent.

  Grabbing the neckline of his t-shirt he yanked it up over his mouth. He had the information he needed and all he wanted right at that moment was to get outside, breathe in some fresh air and reassure himself that Cyd was safe. With that plan in mind, he crunched his way across the living room, heading down the hallway to the front door where with the heel of his boot he managed to smash his way out.

  Standing, blinking under the surprisingly bright moonlight he pulled his t-shirt down and grinned at his fellow warriors.

  “Ding Dong, the vampire bitch is dead!”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Nate was alive. Charisse sagged against Declan in relief. Even better he looked relatively unscathed; some scratches, some cuts, a few splinters but nothing life threatening or even in need of medical attention. Thank the Goddess above for hearing her prayers. She felt tears of relief glitter in her eyes, blinking hard she forced them away. This was a moment of victory, not a time for tears, as the warriors all shouted out a celebratory war cry that had her cringing in surprise.

  Declan’s arm tightened around her as he sheathed his sword and smiled down at her. “It’s okay, just an ‘I am warrior, hear me roar’ kind of thing.”

  Charisse nodded and laughed. “Ah, the macho grit thing. I’ve heard of it.” Smiling in relief, watching as Nate accepted appreciative slaps on the back from his friends, though his eyes were on her… no, they were trained on Declan and they glittered an unfamiliar dark fiery amber.

  “Who are you?” Along with the hard look, Nate was now scowling, his tone abrupt and clipped.

  “That’s Declan, my apprentice.” Hadleigh supplied, noting with surprise the expression on Nate’s face, unsure if she’d ever seen the normally jovial warrior with such a murderous look before, not even on the battlefield.

  “And he’s their cousin.” Flynn and Dash provided helpfully.

  “Though I’m adopted.” Declan added with a broad grin and a cheeky wink, a breeze coming out of nowhere to mould his t-shirt to his rock hard abs and tousle his hair just so. “So, not actually a blood relative as such.”

  Drum growled. Vaughn growled and for some reason Nate found himself joining in, baring his teeth at the too good-looking to live himbo with his arms currently wrapped around Charisse.

  Hadleigh rolled her eyes, Nate… of all the warriors, jumping on Vaughn and Drum’s needlessly jealous of Declan bandwagon? She would have lost money on that bet. Seriously, she could not believe these century old warriors let Declan get under their skin. She looked at Charisse to gauge her reaction, the expression in her cousin’s green eyes turning rapidly from thrilled delight at seeing Nate safe and well, to shocked surprise, edged with anger at his reaction to Declan. Hmmm, it seems they still had a few things to sort out. Goddess, Darcy was going to go nuclear when she heard about these two. Hadleigh was no expert on relationships, but anyone with half a brain c
ould see melding was in their future.

  “Do you know where Sek and Mot are?” Vaughn rested a casual hand on the hilt of his sword, even as his whole body vibrated with eagerness.

  “Yes.” Nate confirmed with a nod. Damn, they had to go. He had so many things he wanted to say to Cyd. Though first things first, he’d be punching the so-called cousin, in that ridiculously handsome face of his. Even as he had that delightful thought he was taking a step in their direction, intent upon making his dream a reality.

  Only Drum’s large hand coming down to rest on his shoulder prevented Nate from taking a second step. “Later. Trust me I know what you’re feeling.”

  “So where are we going?” Marcus enquired.

  “And what equipment will we need?” Rafe followed up.

  “Explosives.” Nate glanced around at his fellow warriors. “Rafe, you still have all the building blue prints for the insane asylum where Serena was being kept?”

  “Yes I do.” Rafe nodded coolly.

  “Those tricky bastards…” Flynn whistled out softly.

  “Circling around behind us like that.” Dash finished the thought his brother had started.

  “I wanted to blow that sucker up the first time I laid eyes on it.” Drum rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

  “Well now you get your wish.”

  “We’re heading out people.” Vaughn announced, casually capturing his wife’s hand in his.

  “We can use the hall closet here to transport back to Atlanta to gear up.” Hadleigh gestured at Charisse’s house. “Assuming it’s not damaged?”

  Flynn glanced inside the house. “I think that might be the only thing Nate didn’t break.”

  “Move out warriors,” Vaughn instructed, keeping his warrior wife close to his side, her hand securely in his still.

  Still Nate found himself hesitating for a moment, before Drum literally used his massive body to block him and start herding him physically back inside the house. Maat, damn it… he glared up at the big guy. “Drum.” He tried to protest but Drum just continued to force him back towards the house. Shit… there were so many things he should say to Cyd. Apologise about the house. Make sure she knew how he felt about her. Angling his head to the side he caught one last glimpse of her, before Drum’s massive shoulders blocked his line of sight and he was muscled inside the house.

  Damn, he wished he’d gotten to say goodbye to Cyd. His next thought was much more primitive, stemming from that previously untapped jealous well he’d just discovered he possessed when it came to Cyd. “There’s something about that guy that just makes me want to rip the dimples right out of his head.”

  Drum’s growling response echoed off the walls and drifted outside. “I hear you. Next time, I’ll head-lock him, you bring the pliers.”

  * * *

  The sudden quiet was strange. After what had felt like hours of noise and mayhem, suddenly the night had gone perfectly still and hushed, the muted crash of waves as they broke on the nearby beach the loudest sound to be heard.

  Turning her head, Charisse stared up at Declan, who looked markedly unperturbed by the last exchange of words they’d overheard, if anything, it looked like he was trying hard not to burst out laughing.

  Charisse was instantly suspicious. “Just what game are you playing at?”

  “Me?” Declan batted overlong lush dark eyelashes her way.

  “Don’t play the innocent with me.” She slapped his arms away. “Using me to taunt the warriors of Maat like that… positively shameful.”

  Declan shrugged. “It’s hardly my fault they get riled so easily.”

  “Right.” Charisse eyed him again.

  “Hey, I’m your cousin, family, they’re getting all uptight over nothing.”

  “Family huh? So why did you feel compelled to remind everybody that you are adopted?”

  Declan shrugged again, failing completely to look innocent. “They might be Maat’s gift to the world but I don’t think they should get complacent when it comes to the women in their lives.”

  “Well I hope you know what you’re doing.” Charisse sighed, shifting her attention to her house… or what was left of it. Even as she contemplated the idea of heading inside to investigate the extent of the damage there came the sound of something heavy falling, followed by the tinkle of shattering glass. “Oh Goddess, my poor little house.” She took a tentative step towards it.

  “Not tonight.” Declan grabbed her hand.

  “But I…”

  “Shouldn’t have to tackle it alone for one thing. You need a good night’s sleep and tomorrow, I’ll ring around the family and get a working bee organised. Get Locke to take charge of the clean-up.”

  “Locke?” She frowned thinking of Hadleigh’s older brother, her cousin, who habitually wore three piece suits volunteering to help sort out the mess that had once been her sweet little house.

  “Trust me.” Declan laughed. “You want Locke in charge and Serena will be all too willing to help… she’s an Earth witch you know, cleaning up dirt, stains, mess, it’s kind of her forte… the hardest thing will be keeping those two apart.”

  “The rumours are true then? Locke is settling down?”

  “Hook, line and sinker. They just have to agree on a meld date… not that it seems to make much difference for them, they barely come up for air. Getting out of the house will be good for them.”

  There was a tone in Declan’s voice that had her eyeing him with suspicion. “I assume you flirt with Serena too?”

  Declan grinned, giving her the full blown dimple effect, it was a wonderful smile and she could see why women everywhere loved him but for some reason that smile of his just made her want to hug him, comfort him… be his friend. For all his teasing ways, she was positive there was a lot more going on with Declan than just his GQ, Man of the Year, looks.

  “Me, flirt with Serena? That would be a very safe assumption. Oh and I’ll put a call into Fen, Erik and Uncle Gun to help out. What about your brothers, are they in town?”

  Charisse shook her head, then clicked her fingers at a sudden thought. “No, but I know some builders that would be more than happy to help out if I asked.”

  “Course you do.” Declan laughed. “We also need to report this to the police. You might need to make a claim on your insurance for building materials and such.”

  “Can’t I just make one later, if it’s needed?”

  “You haven’t heard? We have a new Police Chief, he started two weeks ago. I hear he’s a Council approved hire but more significantly, he’s a norm.”

  “We have a non-magical Police Chief?” Charisse found that very hard to believe.

  Declan shrugged. “Who’s going to question the Council?”

  “I’m surprised Darcy didn’t make an official protest.”

  Declan smiled and shook his head. “She was too distracted at the time… stalking your boyfriend I believe.”

  Charisse gave him a tired smile before turning her attention back to her poor little house, she should be brave and walk in, catalogue the damage.

  “It will still be there in the morning.” Declan gently grabbed her by the hand and began to pull her away. “Come on, you can sleep at Hadleigh’s tonight. She won’t mind.”

  Charisse let out a small grateful sigh. “Thanks Declan.”

  “Hey, that’s what tall, physically blessed and mentally nimble cousins are for.”

  Charisse shook her head with a laugh. Thank the Goddess for family.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Three days on the hunt. Three days without sleep. As Nate turned the jeep on to Beach road, he questioned whether it was a good idea to see Cyd, considering the woeful state he was in. Problem was, common sense had long flown out the door when it came to Cyd. It had been all he could do when he was released from duty to shower, change and grab a quick bite before he was running for the nearest portal, destination the Southern Sanctuary.

  Unsure of his welcome, driving, rather than just
arriving via her hall closest portal seemed the wisest, if not the most expedient way of approaching Cyd. With that in mind he transported himself directly to Hadleigh’s place and commandeered an available vehicle.

  Bringing the jeep to a halt in front of her place, three things slapped him wide awake. The large ‘For Sale’ sign, smack dab in her front yard, being the first. The medium-sized moving truck backed into her driveway was the second and the third… perhaps the most galling of all, was the sight of cousin Declan, loading boxes into the van.

  At the sound of the jeep door slamming shut Declan looked up, giving Nate a friendly wave and one of those mega taunting dimpled smiles of his, before picking up three boxes at once as if they weighed nothing and sliding them into the van. Once that was done, he wiped his sweaty brow with the back of his hand, paused, then yanked his t-shirt off over his head, using it to wipe down his throat and the back of his neck.

  Maat, what Nate wouldn’t give for the ability to call a lightning strike right at this minute, he’d be frying that blonde haired, purple-eyed, freakishly handsome Romeo until he was an extra-crispy smouldering heap of nothing but ash.

  “Phew… hot work. Welcome back.” The sun’s rays fell lovingly across Declan’s unblemished alabaster skin, showcasing his honed six-pack and lean sculpted muscles.

  Nate clenched his teeth, forcing a smile, holding back the urge to growl. What was it about this dude that bought out his basest caveman urges? He wanted to protect his woman and beat this himbo to death with a club at the same time. “Yeah… warm.” He agreed, lame, but it was all he could manage. Just what was going on here? Where was Cyd moving too? Was she running? What about Bettina? More importantly, what about him? “Er… what’s going on?”

  “Moving.” Declan stated simply, throwing his discarded t-shirt into the truck with a careless back-handed throw.

  Maat, it would only be fair to the world if this man was as smart as a bag of rocks, but Nate had the distinct impression that Declan was fucking with him. A car horn tooted, Nate turned to see a car full of young girls idling across the street, giggling and leering Declan’s way. “Fan club?”