Hernando’s scream sounded raw and agonizing.
Gryke allowed Hernando’s other arm to remain free. Since he had no hand, he’d not be able to use it as a way of escape.
“Take your mate out of here,” Zyen demanded, meeting Gryke’s glittering gaze. “I do not wish her to witness this.”
Fiona stepped up next to them, determination on her face. “We’ll stay with you. Don’t worry about me. I’ve seen just about everything there is to see.”
Zyen stared deep into her eyes. “Not this.”
“Come,” Gryke coaxed, touching his mate on the arm. “This is something Zyen needs to do alone.”
Fiona studied Zyen for a moment longer before giving him a quick nod. “Understood.”
Zyen waited for them to disappear from view and then turned back to the bound and gagged Hernando. “Do you remember the helplessness and terror Carmen endured as you forced yourself on her?”
Hernando could only moan in the back of his throat, his tear-filled eyes glittering in the moonlight.
“No?” Zyen retrieved his knife from its sheath along the side of his thigh and cut Hernando’s pants free. “Perhaps this will refresh your memory.”
Hernando’s body tensed, and the sounds of begging came from behind his gag.
Ripping the pants in half, Zyen wrapped them around Hernando’s waist and secured them into a knot on the opposite side of the tree. That should hold him up for what was to come.
Zyen circled back around behind him, and rested the tip of the knife over to the center of Hernando’s shoulders. He applied pressure and slowly dragged the blade down his back.
Blood ran from the incision to disappear into the waistband of Hernando’s underwear. But nothing compared to the hoarse screams that vibrated his entire body.
Zyen wiped his blade clean on Hernando’s white underwear, sheathed it, and sank his fingertips into the open cut on the man’s back. He slowly peeled the skin outward, opening his back to expose the muscle underneath.
Hernando’s body went limp long before Zyen finished peeling back his skin. But that was okay. The unbearable pain would wake him soon. And if not, the ants and other crawlers would revive him with the rising of the morning sun. Either way, Hernando would be promised a long and unbearable death.
Chapter Twenty
Carmen had been up for hours, attempting to reach out to Zyen without any luck. She’d gotten Oz up, only to be startled by the sound of raised voices when he stepped outside. She recognized them as Gryke and Fiona’s.
Easing over to the window, Carmen quietly slid it up to listen.
“Why would you go into town without informing me?” Oz barked, his voice full of anger. “If you’d been spotted by the police, there’s no telling what would have transpired. And where’s Zyen?”
Carmen held her breath. Zyen hadn’t returned.
It was Fiona who answered. “He stayed behind to finish off Hernando. We left him in the trees a couple of miles back.”
“Who the hell is Hernando?” Oz snapped again. “If he gets caught out there, the president could very well revoke our pardon. Come on. I want you to take me to the place you left him.”
Gryke’s growly voice reached Carmen’s ears. “He needs to do this.”
Oz blew out an exasperated breath. “Zyen has never been in town before tonight. How the hell does he know someone named Hernando, and more importantly, why would he feel the need to torture him?”
Carmen slid the window up a bit further and answered for Gryke. “Because of me.”
Oz slowly turned to face the window, a look of surprise on his handsome face. “Get back in bed. We’ll come in there.”
Sliding the window closed, Carmen climbed into bed and pulled the covers over her legs. She was more than a little shocked that Gryke and Fiona had gone after Hernando with Zyen. Why hadn’t he returned with them?
A tap sounded on the door before it was pushed open. Oz stood in the doorway with Gryke and Fiona behind him. The trio entered her room.
“What’s going on, Carmen?” Oz took a seat in the chair next to her bed.
Carmen blew out a breath. “I haven’t told you everything about me.” She glanced at Gryke and Fiona, wondering how much Zyen had divulged to them.
“We know everything,” Fiona gently told her, moving closer to the bed.
Shame washed through Carmen. Fiona and Gryke knew what had happened to her.
Fiona gestured to the side of the bed. “May I?”
Carmen nodded, averting her gaze.
“There is nothing for you to feel ashamed of, Carmen. You did nothing wrong. You were the victim of a violent crime.”
Carmen could feel the sincerity in Fiona’s words. She brought her attention back to the redhead’s face. “I know. It’s taken me years to come to grips with what happened to me. I’ve suffered extreme panic attacks and woken up many nights from nightmares. But it wasn’t until Zyen saw into my memories that I was able to share my shame with another. Zyen has given me hope again…hope that, with a little help and patience, I can live a normal life…learn to trust again.”
Glancing at Oz, Carmen noticed a muscle ticking along his jaw. “You were attacked?”
Carmen simply nodded.
“When was this?”
“Before I met you, Oz. It wasn’t anyone in your employment.”
Oz leaned forward, his hands resting on his knees. “This man Hernando that Zyen went after, he’s the one who attacked you?”
“Yes,” Carmen whispered, hating to hear the scumbag’s name. “He wasn’t alone. There were two other men with him—”
“They’ve been dealt with.”
Carmen’s gaze flew to Gryke.
Gryke didn’t hesitate. “They are both dead. As I am sure Hernando is by now.”
Swallowing around the lump in her throat, Carmen asked the question that had been plaguing her all night. “Is Zyen injured?”
“I am not injured,” Zyen answered, standing in the hallway.
It took all Carmen had not to jump from the bed and throw her arms around the giant.
Zyen ducked into the room. “I would speak with Carmen alone.”
Oz got to his feet, as did Fiona.
Fiona followed her mate from the room, but Oz slowed his steps when he reached Zyen’s side. “I wish you’d told me before running off half-cocked. But I hope the asshole got what he deserved.”
“He did.”
With a nod, Oz left the room, pulling the door shut behind him.
Carmen licked her dry lips, never taking her gaze from the blond giant in her room. “I thought something had happened to you.”
Zyen didn’t move.
“Say something…anything,” she whispered.
“Hernando has been punished for his crimes against you. He will never hurt you again.”
Tears sprang to Carmen’s eyes. “Is he dead?”
“You cry for him?”
She shook her head.
“Then why do you cry?”
Pushing back the covers, Carmen stood and walked to the foot of the bed. She still had to tilt her head back to see his face. “You killed him for me.”
Something flickered in Zyen’s eyes. “You are mine to protect.”
Carmen stood on her toes and threw her arms around his neck. There was no fear or disgust in touching him, only gratefulness and something else she couldn’t name. “Thank you, Zyen.”
He stood completely still, his arms remaining at his sides.
Embarrassed by her display of emotion, Carmen released him and returned to her place beneath the covers. “I’m sorry, Zyen.”
“For what?” He moved to sit in the chair that Oz had recently vacated.
“That you had to take a life.”
Zyen appeared confused by her statement. “Do not be sorry, little one. His life was not worth saving.”
“I thought something had happened to you,” she confessed. “I couldn’t feel you. I still can’t.”
>
His mind suddenly opened to her and a rush of emotions invaded her senses. “I had to close myself off from you, else I would have been distracted from what I went to do.”
Carmen could feel his thoughts, his intentions. She stared back at him in amazement. This beautiful, giant creature sitting before her would never lay hands on her in anger. He would never harm her or force her to do anything she wasn’t comfortable doing. And he would protect her with his dying breath.
She realized she didn’t fear him. In fact, she trusted him with her life.
He abruptly stood and headed toward the door.
“Don’t go.”
Zyen’s shoulder’s stiffened. He stopped at the foot of the bed, his back still to her.
“Please,” Carmen whispered. “Stay with me until I fall asleep. I don’t want to be alone.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Zyen thought his heart would beat right out of his chest. He’d gone up against sharks, fought with Bracadytes, and taken more than his share of lives in battle, but when it came to this little slip of a female, he was reduced to a nervous, teenage boy.
He slowly turned to face her, only to find her staring back at him in innocent expectation.
“I will stay until you fall asleep.” He returned to the chair, avoiding her gaze. If he looked into her eyes now, he’d probably reveal his growing feeling for her.
Carmen turned onto her side and rested her hands beneath her cheek. “You have closed off to me again.”
“It is for the best,” he admitted, before changing the subject. “May I get you anything?”
“No, thank you. I’m good. Tell me more about your childhood.”
Zyen watched her yawn, her eyes showing fatigue. She wanted him to talk to her, to drive away her nightmares. And he would do it. He’d talk all night if that’s what it took to make her feel safe again.
In all his life of despising humans, hating everything they stood for, Zyen would never have guessed he’d end up caring for one.
Did he truly have feelings for Carmen? He did, he accepted, leaning back in his chair and stretching his long legs out in front of him. He just wasn’t sure exactly what those feelings were.
Carmen listened with rapt attention as Zyen told her about the day he and his brother Vayden had wandered close to shore to watch a group of men attempting to catch fish from a stick.
A giggle escaped her. “It’s called a fishing pole.”
Zyen enjoyed Carmen’s laugh and decided to keep her smiling. “We had no idea why they had the sticks to begin with. It looked to us as if they were preparing to beat the fish into submission.”
A deep belly laugh burst from Carmen. It swirled through Zyen to settle inside his heart.
“Did the men see you watching them?”
Zyen shook his head. “No, and we were glad of it, else we would have been the ones beaten into submission.”
Carmen suddenly sobered. “Your father beat you?”
“No, but he punished us in ways much worse than whipping us.”
“What could be worse than physical punishment?”
Zyen’s mind flashed back to his time spent alone in a small room. “Solitude.”
Carmen stared back at him, her eyes huge in her face. “But you were just children.”
“We were,” Zyen admitted, unable to look away from Carmen’s face. “But it worked. It taught us self-discipline and respect for the laws.”
A jaw popping yawn came from Carmen. She settled deeper beneath the covers. “I suppose it would. At least you weren’t beaten. I would never beat a child of mine.”
Blood immediately rushed to Zyen’s shaft with the thought of Carmen holding a babe in her arms.
He crossed his feet at the ankles and rested his folded hands over his lap. The last thing he wanted was for Carmen to realize he had an erection. She would no doubt run screaming from the room in horror.
Her next words caught him off guard. “Do you want children someday?”
Zyen needed to change the subject. His sex was bent at an awkward angle, and he desperately needed to free it from its confines. “I have not given it much thought to be honest with you.”
Carmen’s eyes slowly began drifting shut. “You would make a good father…”
Zyen didn’t move. He couldn’t. Carmen’s words echoed inside his head, bringing with them the realization that he did want a child of his own. Her child.
What am I doing? he mentally berated himself. Carmen is far too small to mate with me. She would never survive birthing a Bracadyte child.
It wasn’t lost on Zyen that her being human no longer mattered to him. But her size did.
He allowed his gaze to travel down her tiny form burrowed beneath the covers. Yeah, he was in trouble and he knew it. Try as he might, he couldn’t help but want her. And want her, he did.
* * * *
A soft sound brought Zyen out of his slumber. He opened his eyes to find Carmen tossing and turning in her bed. Sweat dotted her forehead, and her eyes fluttered wildly behind her closed eyelids.
He jumped from the uncomfortable chair he’d been sleeping in and rested a knee on the side of the mattress.
“Carmen?” Laying a hand on her shoulder, he gave her a gentle shake. “Wake up, Carmen. You are dreaming.”
Her eyes flew open, and she stared up at him in terror. Only, Zyen knew she didn’t see him, she was still trapped in the throes of a nightmare.
“It is me…Zyen. You are dreaming, little one. Come on, wake up.”
Something flickered in the depths of her eyes before they cleared of the nightmare. She blinked a couple of times, exhaling a shuddering breath. “Zyen?”
“I am here.” Zyen didn’t think. He pulled back her covers and crawled in bed next to her. “You are safe now. I will not let anything happen to you.”
A tremor passed through her body, but she didn’t pull away. Instead, she burrowed closer and laid her head on his chest.
Zyen stilled, a powerful feeling overtaking him. Protectiveness mixed with lust and something else he couldn’t name. He didn’t move as she snuggled closer, her scent killing him in a hundred different ways.
His arm came around her to hold her safely against his side. He would protect her with his life. Nothing or no one would ever hurt Carmen again. Not as long as he drew breath.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Carmen came awake with a start, her head resting on something hard and unyielding.
And then memories of the night before came rushing back.
She slowly sat up and stared down into the sleeping face of Zyen. He’d stayed with her, protected her through the night.
He looked younger and softer while sleeping, she noticed, her gaze traveling over his nose to his full lips. She wondered what it would feel like to be kissed by him. What am I doing?
A feeling of being watched abruptly overcame her. She lifted her gaze to his eyes to find him watching her back. “I have wondered the same.”
Carmen’s heart began to flutter erratically, or was that her stomach? She wasn’t sure.
He reached up and laid his palm against her cheek. “I know that I have no right, but I have thought about the taste of your lips more than once.”
Zyen’s innocent omission tugged at Carmen’s heartstrings. She suddenly found herself slowly descending toward him.
His eyes became hooded, and a soft growl resonated throughout the room. It took her a second to realize it came from him. But she wasn’t afraid. Quite the opposite actually. Carmen had found something with this gentle giant that she had never found in another man…Trust.
The feel of his warm breath touching her face drew her in, but nothing compared to the emotion shining in his amber colored eyes.
“Are you awake?” Oz’s gruff voice penetrated Carmen’s passion-fogged brain. And it was passion that she felt. Of that, she was certain.
She jerked back, more than a little shocked at what had almost happened. Carmen had never want
ed to kiss a man before. Never.
“I am not a man,” Zyen informed her, obviously reading her thoughts. He dislodged his big body from the covers and got to his feet.
Carmen waited for Zyen to take a seat in the chair next to the bed before calling out to Oz. “You may come in.”
The door opened, and Oz stepped into the room. His expression changed to one of surprise when he noticed Zyen’s presence. “Have you been here all night?”
Zyen merely nodded, his gaze returning to Carmen. She could practically feel his need to continue where they’d recently left off. Wait, she could feel it. His mind had opened to her.
It took everything Carmen could do to sit there and smile at Oz, when all she wanted was to delve deeper into Zyen’s mind. “Good morning.”
Oz’s gaze flicked between Carmen and Zyen before eventually settling on Carmen. “Morning? You mean, noon.”
Carmen had never slept until noon a day in her life. As a child, her grandparents woke her before the sunrise, and living on the streets had made sleep near to impossible. Carmen had slept when and where she safely could. But the attack she’d experienced at the hands of Hernando had left her emotionally wrecked and plagued with nightmares.
She glanced over at Zyen to find him watching her intently. And then his deep voice entered her mind.
“Hernando is dead. You will never have to fear him or anyone else ever again. This, I vow to you.”
“Missed breakfast, but Maria made a good lunch if you’re hungry,” Oz was saying, bringing Carmen’s attention back to him.
She shook her head. “I appreciate everything, Oz. You and Maria have gone above and beyond for me. But I think I’d like to go home now.”
“Are you sure? I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” Concern showed on Oz’s face.
Carmen reached for the waistband of her pink, cotton shorts, to assure Oz her stomach wound had almost healed, when a savage growl from Zyen stopped her.
Oz’s eyebrows shot up, and then a chuckle escaped him. “I believe you. Besides, I’d rather keep my head, if you don’t mind.”
Zyen: Science Fiction Romance (Enigma Series Book 10) Page 9